THE RUSSO-UKRAINE WAR BRIEF
For: 2024-09-27
Slava Ukraini! In early 2022 I began a Telegram channel aggregating news from a number of sources daily on the war in Ukraine. In June 2023 I began providing a daily draft for the Ukraine War Brief Podcast collecting news from over 70 sources daily, much of which formed the basis of the script. While the Podcast no longer exists I have continued to make this Brief available both on my own Substack and The People’s Media for those who wish to keep up with events on a daily basis.
All the latest news on the Russo-Ukraine War 6 days per week
ALONG THE CONTACT LINE
GSAFU Morning Report
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in its Operational Information update at 22:00 on Sep 26 stated that day of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation against Ukraine was about to begin.
During the past day, 181 combat engagements took place. Over the past 24 hours, the enemy carried out 4 missile strikes, 57 air strikes, 729 drone strikes and more than 3,800 artillery strikes across the positions of Ukrainian forces.
At the same time, Ukrainian soldiers continue to inflict losses in manpower and equipment on the occupying troops, exhausting the enemy along the entire front line and continue to disrupt the plans of Russian occupiers to advance deep into the territory of Ukraine.
Air Force Daily Report
On the night of September 27, 2024, the enemy attacked with an Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missile from occupied Crimea, two Kh-22 cruise missiles from Tu-22M3 bombers from the Black Sea. Also, the occupiers launched 32 attack UAVs of the "Shahed" type over Ukraine (launch area: Primorsko-Akhtarsk - Russian Federation).
Anti-aircraft missile forces, mobile fire groups and units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine were involved in repelling the enemy's air attack.
As a result of anti-aircraft combat, 24 attack UAVs of the "Shahed" type were shot down. One drone entered the airspace of Romania, another enemy UAV was lost in location as a result of countermeasures by the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
Anti-aircraft defense worked in Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.
The Russian Border Incursion
Ukraine continues offensive towards Glushkovo
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US based think tank, in its Sep 26 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment assessed that Ukrainian forces continued ground assaults in Glushkovsky Raion, Kursk Oblast on Sep 26 but did not make any confirmed advances. Russian sources, including the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), claimed that Russian forces repelled Ukrainian assaults south of Glushkovo near Novy Put, Veseloye, and Medvezhye. The Russian MoD also claimed that Russian forces also attacked near Novy Put. A Russian milblogger claimed on Sep 25 that Russian forces repelled a Ukrainian mechanized assault of an unspecified size in the direction of Veseloye (south of Glushkovo).
Ukrainian forces continued assaults in the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on Sep 26 but did not make any confirmed advances. The Russian MoD claimed on Sep 26 that Russian forces repelled a Ukrainian assault in the direction of Obukhovka (south of Korenevo). A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked Russian positions on the outskirts of Lyubimovka (southeast of Korenevo) on Sep 25.
Russian forces continued ground assaults against the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on Sep 26 but did not make any confirmed gains. Russian sources, including the Russian MoD, claimed that Russian forces conducted assaults southeast of Korenevo near Lyubimovka, Darino, and Nikolayevo-Daryino and south of Sudzha near Plekhovo on Sep 25 and 26.The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces conducted 15 airstrikes with 26 glide bombs against unspecified targets within Kursk Oblast on Sep 25.
The Khortytsia operational-strategic group
(Responsible for the northeastern part of Ukraine. )
Kharkiv Sector: Over the last day Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 3 Russian attacks near Starytsya, Vovchansk and Tykhe.
Kupyansk Sector: Russian Forces carried out 20 unsuccessful offensive actions against Ukrainian defensive positions near Synkivka, Hlushkivka, Kolisynivka, Lozova and Stelmahivka. 1 engagement is currently ongoing.
Large armoured force repelled near Pischane
Soldiers of the Unmanned Strike Aviation Systems Battalion “Achilles” of the 92nd Assault Brigade repelled a large-scale attack by the Russian invaders near Pishchane in the Kupiansk sector. The Russians engaged about 50 units of military equipment and infantry in the assault. Militarnyi reports. Citing Yurii Fedorenko.
“Yesterday, September 26, 2024, the enemy attempted a mechanized assault in the Kupiansk sector near Pishchane. About 50 units of Russian armored vehicles with troops were moving towards Kolesnykivka and Kruhliakivka,” said the commander of the Unmanned Strike Aviation Systems Battalion “Achilles”.
After detecting the movement of equipment with the Russian invaders towards Ukrainian positions in this area of the front line in the Kharkiv region, operators of attack drones of the 92nd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to hit Russian tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and MT-Lbs.
Ukrainian defenders used FPV strike drones and drones with ammunition to defeat them.
It is reported that as a result of the combat work of the Unmanned Strike Aviation Systems Battalion “Achilles”, 40 units of Russian military equipment had been destroyed and damaged.
In particular, the following were destroyed: 5 IFVs, 3 tanks, 1 armored personnel carrier, 1 MT-LB, 2 Ural trucks, 1 Bukhanka truck, and 1 ATV.
It is also noted that 26 units had been hit, including: 10 tanks, 10 infantry fighting vehicles, 1 armored repair vehicle, 3 MTLBs, 1 Ural truck.
Lyman Sector: Russian Forces carried out 15 offensive actions against Ukrainian defensive positions near Hrekivka, Nevske, Novosadove and Torske.
Siversk Sector: Russian forces carried out 4 unsuccessful assaults in the vicinity of Bilohorivka, Verkhnokamianske and Spirne .
Kramatorsk Sector: Russian forces carried out 10 offensive actions, assisted by aviation near Minkivka, Hryhorivka and Bila Hora. 2 engagements continue.
Toretsk Sector: Russian forces carried out 17 offensive actions with air support near Toretsk, Shcherbynivka and ivka. 3 engagements continue.
The Tavria operational-strategic group
(Responsible for the central-eastern and southeastern part of Ukraine.)
Pokrovsk Sector : Russian forces conducted 39 attacks against Ukrainian defences in this area over the last day in the vicinity of Zelene Pole, Mykolaivka, Krasnyi Yar, Krutnyi Yar, Lysivka, Novohrodivka, Marynivka and Selydone. 5 engagements continue.
Kurakhove Sector: The enemy, supported by aviation, made 34 assaults on Ukrainian positions near Tsukuryne, Zhelanne Druhe, Heorhiivka, Paraskoviika, Katerynivka and Konstantinivka. 7 engagements are ongoing.
Vremivka Sector: Russian forces made 5 assaults against Ukrainian positions near Bohoyavlenka and Vodiane. 1 engagement is ongoing.
Orikhiv Sector: In this sector, over the last day, the situation has not changed significantly. Russian forces made 3 assaults against Ukrainian positions near Robotyne.
The Odesa operational-strategic group
(Responsible for Kherson, Qırım, (also known as Crimea) and the Black Sea.)
Prydniprovsk Sector: In this sector, over the last day, the situation has not changed significantly. Russian forces made 2 unsuccessful attempts to force Ukrainian units from their positions on the left bank of the Dnipro.
TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Nothing major to report.
THE HOME FRONT
Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 8, injure 49 over past day
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed eight people and injured at least 49 others over the past day, the Kyiv Independent reported on Sep 27 citing regional authorities.
Ukrainian forces downed 24 out of 32 Shahed-type drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. One more drone was "lost," and another entered Romanian airspace, it added.
Russia also fired a North Korean Iskander M/KN-23 missile and two Kh-22 cruise missiles at Ukraine, the statement said.
Russian drones attacked the town of Izmail in southern Odesa Oblast, killing three people and injuring at least 11, including a child, Governor Oleh Kiper said. Two women aged 80 and 69 as well as a 73-year-old man were killed.
The attack damaged houses, apartment buildings, and cars, causing several fires that were put out, according to the governor.
Two people were killed in the town of Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast, Governor Vadym Filashkin said. Two more people were killed in the settlements of Chasiv Yar and Siversk. A total of 11 people suffered injuries in the region over the past day, Filashkin added.
A Russian attack on the city of Kharkiv injured three women and two men, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Three men, aged 77, 74 and 46, suffered injuries after Russian attacks on Kupiansk, Vuzlovyi, Vovchansk and Ivashky in Kharkiv Oblast.
In Kherson Oblast, Russian forces targeted 24 settlements, including the regional centre of Kherson. One person was killed and 19 were injured, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
RUSSIAN WORLD
Russian Conscripts May Be Facing Deployment to Combat Zones as Military Pressures Increase
The UK Ministry of Defence in their Sep 27 Intelligence Update on Ukraine stated Russia’s autumn conscription cycle starts on October 1, 2024. All eligible Russian men under the age of 30 are required to serve one year of military service. To date conscripts have not been sent to fight in Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russian leaders have stated that conscripts will not be sent to the frontline, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
However, conscripts were deployed in the military operation in Kursk in August 2024. In response, some parents have voiced concerns that their sons have been sent to fight after serving less than four months. Legally, conscripts can serve in a combat zone if they have served four months and have been trained in a relevant specialisation.
The reaction of families of conscripts to their deployment in the defence of mainland russia likely reinforces for russian leaders the sensitivity of deploying conscripts to Ukraine itself. However, Russia will likely continue to force conscripts to sign contracts following their completion of service to ensure a steady supply of personnel for the war amid high attrition rates.
Russia has secret war drones project in China, intel sources say
Russia has established a weapons programme in China to develop and produce long-range attack drones for use in the war against Ukraine, Reuters reports citing two sources from a European intelligence agency and documents reviewed by Reuters.
IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned arms company Almaz-Antey, has developed and flight-tested a new drone model called Garpiya-3 (G3) in China with the help of local specialists, according to one of the documents, a report that Kupol sent to the Russian defence ministry earlier this year outlining its work.
Kupol told the defence ministry in a subsequent update that it was able to produce drones including the G3 at scale at a factory in China so the weapons could be deployed in the "special military operation" in Ukraine, the term Moscow uses for the war.
Kupol, Almaz-Antey and the Russian defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment for this article. China's foreign ministry told Reuters it was not aware of such a project, adding that Beijing had strict control measures on the export of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Kupol, Almaz-Antey and the Russian defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment for this article. China's foreign ministry told Reuters it was not aware of such a project, adding that Beijing had strict control measures on the export of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Fabian Hinz, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based defence think-tank, said the delivery of UAVs from China to Russia, if confirmed, would be a significant development.
"If you look at what China is known to have delivered so far, it was mostly dual-use goods - it was components, sub-components, that could be used in weapon systems," he told Reuters. "This is what has been reported so far. But what we haven't really seen, at least in the open source, are documented transfers of whole weapon systems."
NEWS WORLDWIDE
Kamala Harris slams Trump’s Ukraine 'surrender' proposal
Without naming her political rival ex-US President Donald Trump, Harris took jabs at his suggestion that Ukraine should accept a truce to end the war. DW reports.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has slammed proposals to "force Ukraine to give up large parts of sovereign territory," saying that such proposals were not "proposals for peace" but rather "for surrender."
Speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy in the White House on Thursday, Harris stressed that support for Ukraine was in the US' "strategic interest." Her comments didn't name Republican candidate Donald Trump, but seemed to be in reference to his proposal for Ukraine to accept a deal and end the war.
Trump and Zelenskyy meet in New York amid rising tensions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met face-to-face with Donald Trump Friday with public tensions rising between the two over Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. The Toronto Star reports.
“I think we have a common view that the war in Ukraine has to be stopped and Putin can’t win,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After arriving together at a conference room on Friday, Trump said “the fact that we’re even together today is a very good sign.”
The meeting came at a critical time in the Russia-Ukraine war as Election Day nears in the U.S. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, have taken sharply different approaches to Ukraine.
Trump has for months criticised U.S. support for Ukraine and derided Zelenskyy as a “salesman” for persuading Washington to provide weapons and funding to his military as it tries to fend off Moscow. On Friday, however, Trump brought up his first impeachment in 2019, which Democrats in Congress pursued after he asked Zelenskyy for a “favour” — that he investigate Joe Biden, now the president, and Biden’s son Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.Trump and Zelenskyy meet in New York amid rising questions about US support for Ukraine.
Friday’s meeting almost wasn’t scheduled despite Zelenskyy’s office saying something had been planned during the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the U.N. General Assembly, during which he is making his endgame pitch to allies.
In an interview with The New Yorker that was published earlier this week, Zelenskyy implied Trump does not understand and oversimplifies the conflict. The Ukrainian leader said Trump’s running mate JD Vance was “too radical” and has essentially advocated for Ukraine to “make a sacrifice” by “giving up its territories.”
Trump ripped Zelenskyy and Ukraine on two separate occasions this week. Speaking Wednesday in North Carolina, he referred to Ukraine as “demolished” and its people as “dead.”
“Any deal — the worst deal — would’ve been better than what we have now,” Trump said. “If they made a bad deal it would’ve been much better. They would’ve given up a little bit and everybody would be living and every building would be built and every tower would be aging for another 2,000 years.”
As he was preparing to sit down for the Friday meeting, Trump was asked by a reporter if Ukraine could win the war and he replied, “Sure. They could.”
He said of Zelenskyy: “We have a very good relationship. And I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin. And if we win, I think we’re going to get it resolved very quickly.”
Zelenskyy cut into Trump’s remarks with, “I hope we have more good relations between us.”
US sanctions cryptocurrency exchange network accused of aiding Russia
The U.S. government on Thursday charged two Russian nationals and sanctioned a virtual currency exchange in an effort to crack down on transnational cybercrime involving cryptocurrency. The Hill reports.
The departments of Justice, State and Treasury announced the coordinated effort against Russian nationals Timur Shakhmametov and Sergey Ivanov as well Cryptex, a virtual currency exchange accused of servicing Russia-based cyber criminals.
The U.S. is sanctioning Ivanov and Cryptex, according to a release from the Treasury Department, while the Justice Department said Shakhmametov and Ivanov have both been charged with conspiracy to commit and aid and abet bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Shakhmametov is accused of operating an online marketplace for stolen credit card data called Joker’s Stash, while Ivanov is accused of laundering proceeds from Joker’s Stash and other platforms since 2005, the Justice Department said, citing the U.S. Secret Service.
The Department of State is offering a $10 million reward for information that leads to Shakhmametov and Ivanov’s arrest.
India won't buy gas from sanctioned Russian Arctic LNG 2 project
India will not purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project, which has been sanctioned by Western countries, Indian Oil Secretary Pankaj Jain said on Sept. 27, The Kyiv Independent reported citing Reuters.
Arctic LNG 2, owned by Russia’s Novatek, aims to produce nearly 20 million metric tons of LNG per year, primarily for Asian markets, potentially generating billions of dollars in revenue.
The project was envisioned as Russia's largest LNG plant and a key part of its plan to become the world's leading LNG producer.
Earlier this year, the U.K., along with the U.S. and the European Union, sanctioned Arctic LNG 2.
"We will not buy (from) Arctic LNG 2. We are not buying any sanctioned commodity. Something which has broad-based sanctions, we are not touching it," Jain said.
India has maintained close economic and diplomatic ties with Moscow since February 2022, with bilateral trade reaching a record high in 2023.
India overtook China as the world’s largest importer of Russian oil in July as Chinese refiners bought less due to lower profit margins from fuel production, Reuters reported on Aug. 22, citing a comparison of import data.
MILITARY & TECH
Pentagon reveals contents of $2.4 billion defense aid package for Ukraine
The U.S. Department of Defense has revealed the contents of the $2.4 billion defense aid package for Ukraine. These funds will be used to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense and defense industry. Militarnyi reports citing the Pentagon’s website.
This large aid package was allocated under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). This initiative allows for the purchase of weapons and equipment from industry instead of withdrawing them from U.S. stockpiles.
The capabilities in this announcement include:
Munitions and support for Ukrainian air defense systems;
Air-to-ground munitions;
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and components to support Ukrainian production of UAS;
Counter-UAS equipment; Unmanned surface vessels;
Secure communications equipment;
Equipment and materiel to support Ukrainian munitions production; and
Spare parts, maintenance and sustainment support, and other ancillary equipment.
This is part of the nearly $8 billion in new defense aid from the United States that Biden announced on Thursday, September 26.
The US President also directed the Department of Defense to provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense battery and missiles for these SAMs in order to help Ukraine protect its cities and its citizens.
According to Biden, this is a continuation of his decision earlier this year to redirect U.S. exports of anti-aircraft missiles to provide Ukraine with “hundreds of additional Patriot and AMRAAM missiles” over the next year.
This will be the second battery of Patriot air defense systems that Ukraine has received.
As previously reported, the United States approved the transfer of Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) bombs capable of hitting targets at a distance of 130 kilometers.
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