First, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, Tass, Agence France-Presse, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM
– – –
Ukrainian forces burst through Russian lines in major advance in south, by Tom Balmforth | Reuters * Russian-installed official confirms Ukraine advance in south * Says Kyiv’s forces near Dudchany, 30km from former frontline * No official Ukrainian confirmation of advance in south * Russian military bloggers say troops fall back dozens of km * Ukraine buoyed by weekend capture of Lyman in east | KYIV — Ukrainian forces today achieved their biggest breakthrough in the south of the country since the war began, bursting through the front and advancing rapidly along the Dnipro River, threatening supply lines for thousands of Russian troops. . . . Russian sources acknowledged that a Ukrainian tank offensive had advanced dozens of kilometers along the river’s west bank, recapturing . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
Russia smuggling Ukrainian grain to help pay for Putin’s war, by Michael Biesecker, Sarah el Deeb and Beatrice Dupuy | AP BEIRUT — When the bulk cargo ship Laodicea docked in Lebanon last summer, Ukrainian diplomats said the vessel was carrying grain stolen by Russia and urged Lebanese officials to impound the ship. . . . An investigation by The Associated Press and the PBS series “Frontline” has found the Laodicea, owned by Syria, is part of a sophisticated Russian-run smuggling operation that has used falsified manifests and seaborne subterfuge to . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
State Duma passes laws on accepting DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions into Russia. From Tass. MOSCOW — The State Duma unanimously passed draft constitutional laws on accepting the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR), as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, into Russia in the first reading and in their entirety today. According to the laws, the residents of the new constituent entities are recognized as Russian citizens starting on September 30 . . . but have a month to reject Russian citizenship. The documents . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
Russia’s war machine faces ridicule from two Putin allies, by Guy Faulconbridge and Felix Light | Reuters LONDON — The withdrawal of Russian forces from a strategically important town in eastern Ukraine has prompted two powerful allies of President Vladimir Putin to do something rare in modern Russia: publicly ridicule the war machine’s top brass. Russia’s loss of the bastion . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
Head of Russian-held Ukrainian nuclear plant freed: UN watchdog. From AFP. The detained chief of Ukraine’s Russian-held nuclear power plant has been released, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said today. “I welcome the release of Ihor Murashov, director general of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant; I have received confirmation that Mr Murashov has returned to his family safely,” Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
Russia says woman killed after cross-border Ukrainian shelling. From AFP. A Russian official said today that Ukrainian shelling had killed a woman in the southern Russian region of Belgorod which neighbours Ukraine, in a rare cross-border attack. “The Armed Forces of Ukraine fired at the village of . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
How Russian forces lost control of the Ukrainian railway hub of Lyman. Reported by Steve Inskeep and Jason Beaubien | NPR Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the key railway hub is under his country’s control. Russian forces had been using the rail lines to resupply their troops farther south in Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
– – –
TO BE CONTINUED