Headlines

Ukrainian troops continue to recapture territory in Donbas and announced almost 60K Russian casualties since February.

Ukraine Sees ‘Significant’ Victory in the Northeastern front, UK Intel Claims Russian Army ‘Taken by Surprise’.

 Kyiv, Oct.1.– Serhiy Haidai, the Ukrainian government’s governor for Luhansk Oblast — currently under near-total Russian control — claims that around 5,000 Russians are trapped in Lyman, in the neighbouring Donetsk Oblast, according to Ukrainian media.

“As of October 1, 2022, the Russian military stationed in Lyman appealed to their command with a request to withdraw but got a refusal. Over 5,000 Russian troops are now encircled,” Haidai wrote on Telegram, suggesting surrender or a bloody attempt at a breakthrough were now the Russians’ only choices.

 San Juan y Martinez (Cuba), Sept.29 (AFP).– Western Cuba's tobacco-growing heartland has been devastated by Hurricane Ian with piles of wood and tiles where farms once stood.

A triangle of three municipalities in the Vuelta Abajo region of Pinar del Rio province, the Cuban region worst affected by the tropical storm, is where the best tobacco leaves grow and is a pillar of the island nation's ravaged economy.

• Russian-appointed occupation officials in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia oblasts announced on September 20 that they will hold a “referendum” on acceding to Russia, with a vote taking place from September 23-27. The Kremlin will use the alleged results of these sham referenda to illegally annex all Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine and is likely to declare unoccupied parts of Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia oblasts to be Russian territory as well

Washington DC, Sept.21 (ISW).– The Kremlin’s annexation plans are primarily targeting a domestic audience; Putin likely hopes to improve Russian force generation capabilities by calling on the Russian people to volunteer for a war to “defend” newly claimed Russian territory.

Putin’s illegal annexation of occupied Ukrainian territory will broaden the domestic legal definition of “Russian” territory under Russian law, enabling the Russian military to legally and openly deploy conscripts already in the Russian military to fight in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Eastern Ukraine: (Vovchansk-Kupyansk-Izyum-Lyman Line)

Ukrainian forces likely continued offensive operations along the Lyman-Yampil-Bilohorivka line on September 20. An unnamed senior US defense official stated that Ukrainian and Russian forces are engaged in artillery duels near Lyman. Several Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian troops are attacking Lyman from the northwest (around the Sviatohirsk-Yarova area) and south (along the Shchurove-Dibrova line). A Russian mil blogger stated that Ukrainian troops attempted to attack Drobysheve, about 5km northwest of Lyman. Geolocated combat footage confirms Russian and Ukrainian claims that Ukrainian troops have taken control of Bilohorivka, Luhansk Oblast (about 30km southeast of Lyman). Russian sources also continue to indicate that Ukrainian troops are likely conducting offensive operations across the Oskil River with the intention of penetrating Russian rear areas in occupied Luhansk Oblast.
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 Strasbourg, Sept.13.– The Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR will organise an International Round Table on “Civil Society: Empowerment and Accountability” in the framework of the Irish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.

The participants will discuss the challenges of inclusive decision-making processes. A special attention will be devoted to the regulations concerning foreign-funded NGOs.

The speakers in the opening session will include the Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić; High-level Representative of the Irish Presidency, Minister for European Affairs of Ireland Thomas Byrne (pre-recorded); President of the Venice Commission Claire Bazy Malaurie; Director of the OSCE/ODIHR Matteo Mecacci; President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Tiny Kox; Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatović; Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights Michael O’Flaherty and Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (pre-recorded).