Russian politicians

Sources: Russia launched a large-scale counteroffensive at Kursk

According to online media Meduza, Russia has started a new big counterattack in Kursk. The information is based on both Russian and Ukrainian sources. Information about the attack is still somewhat uncertain.

Ukrainian open-source intelligence project DeepState says Ukrainian forces lost about 14.7 square kilometers of territory in just one day. According to information, Ukrainian troops may be threatened by a siege, says Meduza.

The Ukrainian offensive in Kursk has been going on for more than two months. According to the located video image, Russian troops have managed to break through the Ukrainian defense lines near the villages of Zelenyi Shljah and Olgovka.

The unofficial Russian Telegram channel Sever writes that Russian troops have penetrated the Ukrainian defenses and “captured five population centers and surrounded two enemy battalions, cutting off key supply and evacuation routes.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that the Ukrainian armed forces lost more than 300 soldiers in a day in the direction of Kursk. The Russian state Ria Novosti reports on Telegram.

On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that the United States believes that Ukraine will be able to hold on to the territory it captured in the direction of Kursk for at least several months. Russia is said to have only carried out small-scale counterattacks.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyin according to which Ukraine can use the territory captured in Kursk in negotiations with Russia.

Scholz: We do not accept peace dictated by Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi visited Germany on Friday, where he met Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Zelenskyi also said in Germany that he is hopeful that the war will end in 2025. Earlier this week, he also delivered the same message in Britain and France.

Scholz, on the other hand, assured that Germany will not stop supporting Ukraine. At the same time, the Chancellor announced that Germany would deliver 600 million euros in military aid to Ukraine.

In addition, Scholz announced that Germany and partner countries will deliver 1.4 billion euros in military aid by the end of 2024.

After the meeting between the two, Scholz also emphasized that he and Zelensky agree on the need for a peace conference. He emphasized that peace in Ukraine must comply with international laws.

– We do not accept peace dictated by Russia, the Chancellor assured.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Olaf Scholz met in Berlin. EPA/AOP

Germany: Putin refuses to discuss peace

According to Germany, Russia is the president Vladimir Putin the chancellor does not agree to discuss peace negotiations Olaf Scholzin with. The German foreign minister told about it Annalena Baerbock.

– Ukraine is ready for a fair peace, Baerbock said in Berlin.

He commented on the issue during a meeting with the Slovak foreign minister. Baerbock criticized Putin’s actions.

– He refuses to accept peace and every day sends a new message about war and destruction. These days, he is no longer ready to even talk to the German chancellor on the phone.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyin is scheduled to meet with Scholz on Friday.

Russian opposition figures Vladimir Kara-Murza and Yulia Navalnaya visited Finland at the beginning of September. petteri palasmaa

Vladimir Kara-Murza, one of Russia’s most prominent opposition figures, predicts that the country’s current regime will collapse suddenly and without prior warning. He spoke about it in an interview with the British newspaper Guardian.

Kara-Murza was recently released from prison as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries. He had previously been sentenced to 25 years in prison for spreading “false information” about the Russian armed forces.

Apart from being an opposition politician, Kara-Murza is also a historian.

It is the knowledge of history that strengthens the opposition politician’s assessment that the collapse of Vladimir Putin’s regime will be quick.

– That’s what happens in Russia. Both the Romanov Empire at the beginning of the 20th century and the Soviet regime at the end of the 20th century collapsed in three days. That’s not a metaphor, it literally happened in three days both times.

Russia’s defeat is inevitable

Kara-Murza believes that the best chance for a democratic Russia and peace in Europe is provided by Russia’s defeat in Ukraine.

– Lost wars have traditionally been the most significant force for change in Russia.

He also believes that the truth will be revealed in the end. According to Kara-Murza, accurate accounting is kept in the Kremlin.

– When the end comes, the archives will also open. We will learn about Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and the British, Kara-Murza believes.

The collective responsibility must be borne not only by the Russian people but also by Western politicians. They too have sins to deal with.

– Western politicians bought gas from Russia, invited Putin to international summits and rolled out red carpets in front of him, Kara-Murza reminds.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi admits that the situation near Pokrovsky is difficult, even though the Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region in Russia is going “as planned”.

Ukraine had hoped that the attack on Russian soil would relieve pressure in the direction of Pokrovsky in eastern Ukraine, in the Donetsk region. So far, however, the situation has not eased, even though, according to Zelensky, Ukraine has captured more than 600 Russian soldiers as prisoners of war in the operation.

Russia has advanced rapidly towards the city of Pokrovsk, which is an important center for the logistics and maintenance of the Ukrainian armed forces. Because of the many service routes passing through the city, it is strategically more significant than its size.

Zelenskyi commented on the issue at a press conference he organized with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof. They met on Monday in Zaporizhia.

At the press conference, Zelenskyi appealed to Ukraine’s western allies to give Ukraine permission to strike with long-range weapons on Russian soil and to supply weapons for these strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi hosted Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof in Zaporizhia on Monday. EPA/AOP

The “purges” continue in Russia

Russia has arrested a high-ranking officer who worked in the country’s Ministry of Defense, among others, the news agency AFP reports.

According to AFP, the officer arrested this time is a major general Valeri Muminjanovwho in the Ministry of Defense has been involved in organizing contracts for private companies that supply uniforms for the armed forces.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, Muminjanov received more than 20 million rubles, or about 202,000 euros, in bribes for his “assistance” in arranging the contracts. During the investigation, it was found that Muminyanov and his family have real estate worth more than 1.2 million euros in Moscow and the Voronezh region.

According to AFP, Muminjanov faces up to 15 years in prison if he is found guilty.

Since April, Russia has reportedly arrested at least ten military officials. Experts have referred to the arrests as “purges”, AFP notes.

In the spring, Russian President Vladimir Putin also pushed aside Sergei Shoigu, who had served as defense minister for almost 12 years. He was replaced by Andrei Belousov, known mainly for his financial expertise, who, like Shoigu, has no military background and no experience in national security.

Putin on Ukraine’s attack on Russia: The result is known

Vladimir Putin commented Monday on Ukraine’s invasion of Russia’s Kursk region, saying it would not stop Russia’s advance in eastern Ukraine. The news agencies Reuters and AFP reported on the matter, among others.

– Their calculation was to stop our offensive activities in the central parts of Donbas. The result is known, they failed to stop our advance in Donbas, Putin said during a visit to Siberia on Monday.

According to Putin, Russia is now advancing rapidly in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine launched a surprise attack on Russia on August 6. According to the Ukrainian administration, one of the goals of the attack was to force Russia to withdraw troops from other parts of the front to defend Kursk.

Another wave of missiles from Russia to Kiev

Russia bombarded Kiev again with numerous missiles overnight, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine’s air defense destroyed nearly 20 cruise and ballistic missiles, the city’s military administration said on Telegram, according to Reuters.

Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said on his own Telegram channel that the attack partially damaged the Kyiv waterworks and the Svyatoshyn metro station.

According to Klitschko, at least two people were injured in the attack. He added that cars were catching fire all over the city.

The attack came a week after Russia launched its largest single airstrike in Ukraine so far in the war. Russia bombed Ukraine with more than 200 missiles and drones. At least seven people died in the attacks.

Poland: Destroying Russian missiles a “constitutional duty”

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski says in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) that the country has a “constitutional obligation” to shoot down Russian missiles before they enter Polish airspace.

– NATO membership does not bypass the responsibility of each country for the protection of its own airspace. It is our constitutional duty, the foreign minister told FT.

According to Sikorski, Russian missiles are a serious risk if they are shot down only in Polish airspace, because when the missile debris falls, they can still cause destruction.

Missiles fired by Russia into Ukraine have often briefly flown in Polish airspace.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi last week called on European countries to help counter missiles and drones fired by Russia over Ukraine.