Global Courant
Here is the situation on Wednesday, September 27, 2023.
To fight
Russia has released a video allegedly showing Viktor Sokolov, commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other top military officials, a day after Ukrainian special forces claimed he was one of the dozens of officers were killed in an attack in Crimea. Sevastopol naval base. Ukraine said it was clarifying information about Sokolov. Britain’s Ministry of Defense said “a dynamic, deep offensive battle” was underway in the Black Sea after Russia’s Black Sea Fleet suffered a series of major attacks. Kiev said its air defenses destroyed 26 of 38 Russian drones fired overnight, but some of the drones struck the Danube port of Izmail, damaging more than 30 vehicles and injuring two drivers during a two-hour attack. The drone barrage also prompted the temporary suspension of ferry services to Romania. Russia, meanwhile, said it repelled several Ukrainian drone attacks on the Belgorod and Kursk regions. Russian shelling has killed at least two people in a village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and wounded two others in the southern Kherson region, according to local authorities. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he visited troops at a shooting range near the front line in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on orders from President Vladimir Putin. Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of the Kremlin Security Council, said the troops showed “excellent fighting qualities: willpower, determination and a general attitude towards victory.”
Diplomacy and politics
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said sanctions on Russia were not enough to stop its “aggression” and promised new Ukrainian action against the “terrorist state”. Anthony Rota, the speaker of Canada’s parliament, resigned days after honoring a man who fought in a Nazi unit during the Second World War when Zelenskyy visited the House of Commons. Alexey Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, lost his appeal against a 19-year prison sentence on a series of charges, including alleged “extremist activities”, which were added to his existing sentence last month. The proceedings were closed to the media. Five Bulgarians living in Britain accused of spying for Russia have appeared in court via video link for an initial hearing. The three men and two women were arrested in February and are charged with “conspiracy to collect information intended to be of direct or indirect benefit to an enemy,” namely Russia, between August 2020 and February this year. They spoke only to confirm their names.
Weapons
Washington has imposed new sanctions on five Russian and 11 Chinese companies over their role in supplying drone technology components for use in the war. Estonia joined Germany in a joint ammunition procurement program for Ukraine, increasing production capacity. Ammunition “is and will remain a crucial factor for Ukraine’s resilience,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. Zelenskyy said more than 160 companies from 26 countries in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia would attend the country’s first defense industry forum later this year.
