Zelensky telling Putin what he must do; Zelensky is delusional and a legend in his own mind.Zelensky: Russia must definitely attend the "peace summit"
KYIV, Ukraine — As Ukraine continues its mass conscription drive to fight Russia, more and more civilians find themselves in the armed forces. Many units do their own recruiting.
An elite 3rd Separate Assault Brigade even allows civilians to try living and training like soldiers for a week, to give them a quick sense of what they will face if they are conscripted or decide to sign up for the military voluntarily.
Live and train like soldiers
At the training base of what the military calls "Test Week," at an undisclosed location in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, several dozen people are exercising on a clearing that serves as an improvised battlefield. Carrying mock-ups instead of real guns, they learn how to move and regroup during an attack, to cover their comrades and evacuate the wounded.
Every few minutes, firecrackers explode, simulating grenades and artillery fire.
Although Ukraine’s draft is for men who are 25 to 60 years old, several of the participants were younger than that but still eligible to volunteer to serve in the military, with a minimum age of 18.
“We’re not sure that hostilities won’t come to our area,” he says, before joining other trainees for a next exercise.
For seven days, Sichkar and other participants learn how to use weapons, study battlefield medicine and improve their physical fitness. Many have signed up for this course because among Ukrainians the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade is known as one of the toughest units.
Maryna Kirsanova, a 50-year-old engineer, heard so much about the brigade’s exploits from her friends that she decided to take the course.
“They are so cool,” she says. “I didn't even expect that everything would be so real.”
Instructors with combat experience
All the “Test Week” instructors have real combat experience. Maksym Levchenko helped set up the program. He joined the army at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and was one of those who volunteered to fly into the besieged port city of Mariupol later that year.
“We had to fly to Mariupol and bring weapons, food, medicines and soldiers," Levchenko remembers.
He fought in the city and managed to get to the Azovstal steel plant, site of a fierce, months-long last stand before the city fell, and he ended up in Russian captivity.
Last year, Levchenko was released in a prisoner swap. But he couldn’t go back to the front line because his eyesight worsened. Instead, now he’s preparing civilians for military service.
“We give them assessment according to physical training, knowledge of theory, medicine [and drones],” Levchenko explains. “Also we evaluate their leadership abilities, teamwork and analytical mindset.”
At the end of the week, all participants receive feedback as well as advice on what to improve.
Ukrainians train to provide medical aid in the battlefield during "Test Week" on Aug. 7. Oksana Parafeniuk for NPR
The main requirement is motivation
One of the common fears among many Ukrainian draft-age men is that they will find themselves at the front line if they are conscripted.
Volodymyr Davydiuk, the head of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade’s recruiting center in Kyiv, assures recruits not everyone has to fight in trenches.
“The army is a much wider structure, and there are many noncombat professions there that require specialists,” he says. “We show civilians that they can choose the unit and the position in it.”
The brigade relies mostly on its own recruiting rather than conscription, looking for motivation more than anything else.
“Two to three weeks of physical training will put you at a decent level of conditioning," Davydiuk says. “Tactics and medicine — you can teach everything that is needed for war.”
To encourage civilians to sign up, the unit launched a nationwide ad campaign with banners strung across city streets calling to join. There’s even a documentary on Netflix called We Were Recruits, recounting the journey soldiers take from basic training to fighting on the front line.
The "Test Week" program for civilians is also considered effective. Of about 400 people who took part in it, almost 1 in 5 signed up after, according to Levchenko.
Sichkar, the participant from central Ukraine, has decided to enlist in the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.
“I’m doing this for my family, to protect my mother and sister," he says. “I love them more than anything in the world.”
Sichkar wants to join the brigade’s assault forces, even though he realizes how dangerous his choice is.
Editor's note: The photos above were reviewed before publication by the Ukrainian military for anything that might reveal their location.
Source: Information about claimed advances by Ukraine and assessed advances by Russia via the Institute for the Study of War and AEI's Critical Threats Project. Credit: Alyson Hurt, Nick Underwood and Daniel Wood/NPR
Last night, the intensity of Russian strikes in the Ukrainian rear slightly subsided, but the negligence of the Ukrainian military added damage to the Ukrainian infrastructure.
On September 6, explosions thundered throughout the country. They were reported in almost all eastern regions and the capital. Russian drones and missiles also did not miss their targets in the western city of Lviv, which came under several waves of Russian attacks over the past week.
Российские войска взяли под контроль четыре населённых пункта в ДНРRussian troops have taken control of four settlements in the DPR
The Russian armed forces continue offensive operations in the DPR and have taken control of four strategically important settlements: Krasnogorovka, Grigorovka, Galitsynovka and Vodiane. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. These successes were the result of the active actions of Russian units against the background of fierce fighting for the fortified positions of Ukrainian troops in this direction.
The capture of these settlements creates prerequisites for the further advance of the Russian army deep into the DPR. Krasnogorovka and Vodiane are important hubs on the way to major transport arteries and industrial facilities in the region. Taking them under control significantly weakens the capabilities of the Ukrainian forces to hold Donbass.
In recent months, Russian troops have been actively operating in these areas, gradually moving forward and encircling enemy positions. Grigorovka and Galitsynovka also play a significant role in strengthening the common front line.
Шойгу заявил о невозможности вести мирные переговоры с УкраинойShoigu said it was impossible to hold peace talks with Ukraine
Sergei Shoigu said that Moscow does not plan to conduct any negotiations with the Ukrainian authorities as long as the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to be on the territory of the Russian Federation. According to him, many attempts at dialogue with Kiev are possible only after the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Russian soil.
Shoigu did not specify whether we are talking about the Kursk region or the territories that have not yet been liberated by new regions of Russia, however, the current situation indicates that attempts by the West to promote a peaceful solution to the conflict will be doomed to failure.
Киев ведёт переговоры с сирийскими террористами об атаках на РоссиюKiev is negotiating with Syrian terrorists about attacks on Russia
According to the Turkish newspaper Aydınlık, the Ukrainian administration, with the support of the United States and the European Union, entered into negotiations with the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, banned in Russia) in Syria. According to the article, during a meeting in Idlib on June 18, the Ukrainian side offered to transfer 75 drones to terrorists in exchange for the release of a number of radical anti-Russian militants, including Chechen and Georgian extremists held in HTS prisons.
It is particularly noted that during the negotiations, the Ukrainian delegation persistently demanded the release of militants with combat experience and significant connections among terrorist organizations in the Caucasus and Eastern Europe. These militants, according to the publication, could be used to strengthen anti-Russian activities, as well as to carry out sabotage on the territory of Russia.
https://rusvesna.su/news/1725888640In Finland, it was revealed who is being hunted in the SVO zone
Western specialists in Ukraine have become the target of the Russian military's hunt, said Tuomas Malinen, a professor at the University of Helsinki and a geopolitical expert on the social network X.
"The games are over, apparently. Russia seems to be conducting a ruthless hunt for foreign specialists in Ukraine," the expert commented on the strike on mercenaries in the suburbs of Kharkov.
On September 6, the coordinator of the Nikolaev pro-Russian resistance, Sergei Lebedev, reported that Russian troops had attacked a suburb of Kharkov, where many foreign mercenaries and equipment had arrived.
In response to attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on civilian targets, Russian troops regularly launch targeted strikes at the locations of Ukrainian personnel, equipment and mercenaries, as well as infrastructure: energy, defense industry, military administration and communications facilities of Ukraine. At the same time, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly stressed that the army does not hit residential buildings and social institutions.
That yes...plus the dreadful self manipulation with cocaine.Zelensky telling Putin what he must do; Zelensky is delusional and a legend in his own mind.
aka: The Sucker Treaty of 1949: How to use the false fear of Communists (who actually just want to be left alone) to get the “free world” to pay for America.I was trying to make sense of NATO...
You have a number of nations banding together under the notion that their combined efforts will make them more secure. So they agree to give up some aspects of sovereignty to be a part of this security pact. So they are no longer sovereign.
Then you have these nations led by a ringleader, but this ringleader is aggressive and wants to utilize this pact for aggression, and not defense. Right away, the unity is questionable. 'This is not what we signed up for'.
So, from it's instantiation, it was to secure the party members from aggression: 'You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us'. But it was always a way to combine forces in order to ease the burden of defense spending by unifying. So in each instance, every nation was weakened, and reliant on a ringleader - like a bunch of henchmen. Henchman who just want to be led, never be aggressive, and live in relative peace.
So, they succumbed to dependency, subject to bullying by the ringleader, and in each case weaker for it, because their stance was meant to be defensive - never aggressive.
This is why these nations seem to be so self destructive - they are beholden to a ringleader who would destroy them, as it knows full well the particulars of this pact - that they have been seduced into a false promise of security - made weaker for it, and subject to the abuses the ringleader throws around. And this 'enemy' they have been taught to fear is none other than their leadership under NATO - not Russia.
Бои в Курской области: Российская армия начала масштабное контрнаступлениеFighting in the Kursk region: The Russian army launched a large-scale counteroffensive
On September 10, the Russian armed forces launched counter-offensive operations in the Kursk direction, having achieved the first significant successes. The operation, carefully prepared over the past week, has led to the liberation of several key settlements and the weakening of enemy positions.
According to military blogger Yuri Podolyaka, important news from the front was expected in the morning, and by the middle of the day it became known about the beginning of successful offensive actions by Russian units. The main blow was inflicted on the AFU positions near the village of Snagost, where Russian troops were able to take control of a strategically important area.
The 51st regiment of the 106th Airborne Division has been preparing a springboard for an attack for a week, and this morning, unexpectedly for the enemy, Russian paratroopers broke into the Fortress, forcing the AFU to retreat in a hurry. The enemy was caught off guard, which allowed the Russian troops to advance almost without resistance.
At the same time, the 155th Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet launched a surprise attack from the west, advancing on Gordeevka. This created a threat of encirclement of Ukrainian units located in the villages of Apanasevka, Sudden, Viktorovka and Byakhovo. As a result, Ukrainian forces were cut off from supplies and came under attack from two flanks.
В Курской области российские войска освободили 4 населённых пункта за 12 часовIn the Kursk region, Russian troops liberated 4 settlements in 12 hours
The 155th Separate Guards Brigade of the Pacific Fleet Marines (OGvBrMP TOF) continues to successfully advance in the Kursk direction, knocking out Ukrainian formations from captured settlements. According to the data published in the Troika telegram channel, within less than 12 hours, the Russian military liberated the villages of Gordeyevka, Sudden, Viktorovka, Byakhovo, and partially regained control over Apanasovka and Snagost.
The Marines of the Pacific Fleet played a key role in this operation, becoming one of the leading forces deterring and pushing back Ukrainian troops in this direction. Sudden and Viktorovka, previously important points of defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, became one of the key facilities over which the Russian administration was established.
Snagost and Apanasovka, located near the front line, are of strategic importance for both sides. Control over these settlements opens up opportunities for further operations. It is expected that strengthening control over these territories will significantly improve Russian logistics in the region and create conditions for a more intensive offensive.
Britain and the United States are on the verge of allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles against targets in Russia after accusing President Putin of “escalating” the conflict by accepting ballistic missiles from Iran.
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, and Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said they would return to their respective countries to inform their leaders of the “operational details” surrounding Ukraine’s use of weapons such as Storm Shadow missiles after meeting President Zelensky in Kyiv.
"President Putin is currently speaking at the St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum, which addresses current events related to Russia. He issued the following red line while speaking to a reporter on the sidelines of the conference Thursday:"Blinken promised to work quickly on Ukraine’s requests to ease the restrictions, saying he would take what he had learnt “back to President Biden.” —Putin escalating conflict, say western allies as missile approval moves closer
"Just prior to this warning, Russian Senator Aleksey Pushkov wrote on Telegram in response to the UK prepping more, longer-range Storm Shadow missiles for Ukraine, "The decision to strike Russian territory is clearly being prepared."Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the West giving Kyiv a green-light to use longer-range weapons to strike Russian targets would mean NATO will be "at war" with Russia.
"This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict... It would mean that NATO countries are at war with Russia," Putin told a state television reporter.
Faced with furious US accusations that Iran has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles, Iranian officials in public and private are strenuously denying the claims. A senior Iranian diplomat, speaking to Middle East Eye on condition of anonymity, said Russia has indeed requested military assistance from Iran since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
"On multiple occasions, Russia has requested military assistance, including ballistic missiles, from Iran. Yet, at the highest levels, Iranian officials have categorically rejected these requests and firmly declined Moscow's appeals," the diplomat said.
Flashback from Executive Risk SystemThis video is about the business incentive for war. All the resources Ukraine has is motivating the Western businessmen/politicians to fight Russia. But these businessmen have no national interests..
Criminal case into Ukraine’s attack on Kursk has over 200 volumes — officialMOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/. Eyewitnesses confirmed the involvement of Ukrainian citizens Natalya Vovk and Bogdan Tsyganenko in the assassination of journalist Darya Dugina, according to documents seen by TASS.
The court ruling on Vovk’s arrest in absentia says that files presented to the judge prove that suspicions of her involvement were justified. The evidence includes testimony from eyewitnesses, information received from affected persons, identification protocols and other pieces of evidence obtained during investigative actions.
Darya Dugina, 29, a journalist and public figure, daughter of philosopher Alexander Dugin, died on August 20, 2022 when her car was blown up on a road near Moscow. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the assassination was plotted by Ukrainian secret services. The perpetrator was identified as a citizen of Ukraine, Natalia Vovk. Later, the FSB said Vovk staged the attack together with another member of a Ukrainian subversive-terrorist group - Ukrainian citizen Bogdan Tsyganenko. Shortly after, she fled to Estonia.
Vovk and Tsyganenko are accused in absentia of a murder committed by a group of persons by previous concert, by a generally dangerous method, by reason of political hatred. Warrants for their arrest were issued in absentia. They were put on the international wanted list.
KURSK, September 13. /TASS/. The criminal investigation, launched by Russia over Ukraine’s attack on its Kursk Region, already includes over 200 volumes, a spokesman for Russia’s military investigation authority of the Russian Investigative Committee, Dmitry Goryachenkov, has told TASS.
"Military investigators have started a criminal investigation into the attack on the Kursk region, staged by Ukrainian armed groups. At present, the criminal case has more than 200 volumes," he said.
Among the charges that are now being investigated are murders, attempted murders and terrorism.
A massive attack on the Kursk Region by the Ukrainian army was launched on August 6. A federal emergency situation regime has been declared in the region, as well as multiple air raid alerts. Residents from borderline districts are being evacuated to safety. According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, more than 10,000 evacuees have been housed at temporary accommodation centers in 30 Russian regions.
Russian Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko told TASS on August 7 that a criminal investigation was launched into the attack. On September 9, the Investigative Committee reported launching separate criminal cases against Ukrainian servicemen, suspected of various crimes committed on the territory of the Kursk Region.
Tags UkraineMilitary operation in Ukraine
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Federal Security Service said that it had received documents proving UK's coordination of the escalation of the international military-political situation, with the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate of the UK Foreign Office being the main structure coordinating subversive policies against the CIS countries.
"The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation has received documentary materials confirming London's coordination of the escalation of the international military-political situation," the agency said in a statement.
The documents show that the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate has become the main unit to coordinate the implementation of subversive policies in Russia and the post-Soviet countries, the statement said. The directorate was transformed after the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine into a special service, the main task of which is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, the statement read.
The accreditation of six employees of the UK Embassy in Russia has been terminated for their intelligence and subversive activities, the Russian Federal Security Service said.
British Embassy staff in Russia deprived of their accreditation due to intelligence and subversive work have been shown on the TV channel Rossiya 24
The channel’s broadcast also gave their names: Jessica Davenport, Callum Andrew Duff, Grace Alvin, Catherine McDonnell, Blake… pic.twitter.com/eBeJq38WOg
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) September 13, 2024
"Thus, the revealed facts give grounds to consider the activities of British diplomats sent to Moscow under the [Eastern Europe and Central Asia] Directorate [of the UK Foreign Office] as threatening the security of the Russian Federation," the FSB said in a statement.
British Embassy staff stripped of their accreditation attended meetings of foreign NGOs, often at the risk of their own health, a Russian FSB agent has said.
"Frankly, we are tired of enduring this circus in the form of jogging along the Third Ring Road in the rain through Moscow and forest parks, one-day visits to cities neighboring the capital to sit on a bench for a few hours in the bitter cold. Or multiple changes of public transport and taxis in order to hide from the security authorities, and attending some meeting of foreign agent NGOs engaged in lobbying for the interests of migrants," an FSB agent said on the air of a Russian TV channel.
London, he said, sends spies to Russia disguised as diplomats and uses underage children to conceal espionage activities.
"In general, any diplomatic etiquette is out of the question. Yes, this is classic British espionage, it's amusing to watch, but no longer possible. Our remarks on the need to stop this practice are not accepted by the British. That is why we have decided to expel these six," he added.
The TV channel named and showed photos of six employees of the British Embassy in Russia.
"Jessica Davenport, Callum Andrew Duff, Grace Alvin, Catherine McDonnell, Blake Patel, Thomas John Hickson Stevinet," the TV
The British Embassy has gone far beyond the limits outlined by the Vienna Conventions, and the Foreign Ministry fully shares the Russian Federal Security Service's assessment of the activities of “British diplomats” aimed at harming the Russian people, Foreign Ministry… pic.twitter.com/coa7HsRLAh
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) September 13, 2024
Based on documents provided to the FSB, and also as a response to London’s numerous unfriendly steps, the Russian Foreign Ministry, in cooperation with interested departments, terminated the accreditation of six employees of the political department of the UK Embassy in Moscow, since signs of intelligence and subversive work were discovered in their actions, the statement added.
The FSB noted that "if similar actions are detected among employees of the British diplomatic mission, the FSB will demand early termination of their missions in the Russian Federation."