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"52 countries are fighting against us": in Russia, after plans to "take Kyiv" in three days, Russians from the border are advised to prepare for evacuation

Kremlin propagandists

who dreamed of "taking Kyiv in three days" complain about the difficult situation at the front. Now they are calling on residents of Russia's border regions to pack up and evacuate.

Russians were also told that 52 countries were allegedly fighting against the Russian Federation.obozrevatel.com/ukr/topic/ross… 2/
The russians were also told that 52 countries are allegedly fighting against the Russian Federation. This is reported by the Telegram channel "Wind Sower".


The propagandist complained that the russian population lives according to the principle "there is no war and no mobilization is needed."

At the same time, the Russians are being threatened by a major offensive by the Armed Forces in the coming months.

"It is possible that the enemy will occupy even large cities, including Kursk and Belgorod, which are under threat.

I strongly recommend first of all to put documents, money, everything you need in one or two large bags, which you shove into the car in one fell swoop," he said. propagandist.t.me/wind_sower/7105

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Bluff or real threat: Putin frees himself to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine even after drone attack

russian dictator Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the russian Security Council on nuclear deterrence on September 25, announcing significant changes to the country's nuclear doctrine.

This is about expanding the scenarios in which the russian authorities reserve the right to use such weapons.

The changes that the russian dictator proposed to make to the nuclear doctrine are so general that they can put the russian leadership itself in an uncomfortable position.

For example, the new version envisages a nuclear response to a mass drone strike. Recently, Ukraine has launched dozens of UAVs over russia at a time.

It is likely that such strikes will be repeated, and then the Kremlin will be faced with a difficult choice - either to wage a nuclear war in response to another drone strike, or to demonstrate that nuclear threats are once again empty shaking of the air 2/
The other day, State Duma deputy from "United Russia" Andriy Kolesnyk proposed detonating a nuclear bomb at a russian test site to "remind the world of the threat posed by such weapons."

The last nuclear test was conducted on Novaya Zemlya in October 1990 during the USSR.
- russia has not conducted nuclear tests at all.

russian propagandist Sergei Markov said that the threshold for using nuclear weapons has now been lowered and it will be easier for russia to deploy nuclear weapons.

"In general, this means that according to the new doctrine, russia can now use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. There is aggression by Ukraine in the Kursk region.

There is nuclear support from the USA, Great Britain and France.

So it is possible to strike Kiev with nuclear weapons," said Markov. In his opinion, "the amendments were designed to create 'uncertainty and ambiguity about the possibility of a response.'"

"In general, this message is intended to warn the West that the aid currently being discussed may be problematic," he said.

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russia involved the FSB in operations in #Kursk, but faced problems - ISW

The FSB of the russian Federation has difficulties in coordinating combat missions with the russian military in the Kursk region.


From the very beginning, the Kremlin appointed the security forces responsible for controlling the "counter-operation" against the offensive of the Armed Forces, but then duplicated the tasks of the Ministry of Defense and the russian Guard, and now they have faced problems.

This was pointed out by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Analysts drew attention to reports in rosZMI, which cited several complaints by FSB officers about their inability to fight and lack of communication with the military.obozrevatel.com/ukr/topic/nast… 2/
This was pointed out by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
understandingwar.org/backgrounder/r…

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They agreed to discuss in more detail: @VZelenskyUA met with Biden and talked about the Victory Plan

"Volodymyr Zelenskyi focused on the issue of the Victory Plan. The leaders agreed to discuss it during the negotiations in Washington on September 26", - said in the OP

The President told Biden about the situation on the battlefield in #Ukraine and thanked him for the support that helps our country maintain its independence.
2/
On Wednesday, September 25, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi


- held a meeting with the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden.

During the conversation with his American colleague, the Ukrainian president focused on the issue of Ukraine's Victory Plan.obozrevatel.com/ukr/person/vol…

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Everything is just for the hands of the trash": the russian occupiers began to surrender their commanders en masse

Every day, scandals break out in russia because of what is currently happening in its occupation forces.

Mobilized russians and contract workers began to en masse record videos about the arbitrariness of the commanders, fearing for their lives.

Appeals to the "military authorities", of course, do not lead to anything.

More details about the order in the "second army of the world" 2/
Very smart? You are going to storm

The war became a "window of opportunity" for Russian commanders who, judging by the reports of their subordinates, could already be millionaires.

One of the most common schemes is extortion from mobilized and contract workers, and in case of refusal, brutal revenge.

A very revealing story happened with the russian Hryhoriy Kotovsky - a 41-year-old father of many children, who voluntarily went to fight against Ukraine and joined the UAV unit of the 3rd battalion of the 33rd motorized rifle regiment.

- According to him, extortion by the commanders began almost immediately:
- a sergeant with the call sign "Buhor" and a platoon commander with the call sign "Moscow" demanded money from him allegedly for the purchase of a UAV.

At first, the occupier gave them 30,000 rubles (according to the NBU exchange rate, this is a little more than 13,000 UAH), then another 70 (about 31,000 UAH), but the drones never appeared.

- Then he already refused to "reset" and the commanders began to threaten to transfer him to attack aircraft

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Exclusive: Russia has secret war drones project in China, intel sources say

Sept 25 (Reuters) - Russia has established a weapons programme in China to develop and produce long-range attack drones for use in the war against Ukraine, according to two sources from a European intelligence agency and documents reviewed by Reuters. 2/
IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned weapons 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 can be deployed in the "special military operation" in #Ukraine, the term Moscow uses for the war.

- Kupol, Almaz-Antey and the Russian defence ministry didn't respond to requests for comment for this article.

#China's foreign ministry told Reuters it was not aware of such a project, adding that the country had strict control measures on the export of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

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Trump briefed on "threats from Iran to assassinate him," his campaign says 2/
Former President Trump said early Wednesday after his campaign announced intelligence officials had briefed him on Iran's efforts to assassinate him that he believes Tehran "will try again."
axios.com/politics-polic…

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@VZelenskyUA spoke about the end of the war and explained what Putin is afraid of

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that Ukraine's war with Russia is closer to the end than many people think. At the same time, the head of state noted that the approach to peace depends on the support of the West.

Zelenskyy said this during an interview with "Good Morning America" ​​on the ABC News channel.

" I think we are closer to peace than we think. We are closer to the end of the war. The victory plan is to strengthen Ukraine. That is why we are asking our friends, our allies to strengthen us. This is very important ," said the President of Ukraine. 2/
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that the end of the war is "closer than many people think." At the same time, the head of state noted that the approach to peace depends on the support of the West.
obozrevatel.com/ukr/person/vol…

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Russia's threats with nuclear weapons are losing influence on the West, Putin is looking for a new "mechanism" - ISW

the kremlin has undertaken to review the effectiveness of nuclear-arms-rattling tactics as part of its efforts to influence the west.

Namely, the long debate between American and European officials about the policy of supporting Ukraine and, in particular, allowing #Kyiv to use their weapons against military facilities in the Russian Federation.

So the Russian dictator Putin is looking for a new "mechanism" for duplicating threats.

This is stated in the report of the Institute for the Study of War. 2/
So the Russian dictator Putin is looking for a new "mechanism" for duplicating threats. This is stated in the report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) dated September 22.


Earlier in the day, the Washington Post, citing officials close to senior Russian diplomats, said Putin may be realizing how Russian nuclear threats are beginning to lose their hold on Western officials.

He may also be developing an unspecified more subtle and limited information response to the West's future approval of long-range strikes on Russian territory.

An unnamed official from the Russian Federation said that they have already understood that nuclear threats "do not scare anyone."

And the Russian scientist, who has close ties with the diplomats of the aggressor country, emphasized that Russia's partners in the "global South" are dissatisfied with its nuclear threats.

"ISW cannot independently verify the credibility of the publication's sources, but these reports are consistent with our various assessments of how the Kremlin is using the rattle of nuclear weapons to promote Western self-restraint.

And that such statements are not a sign of Russia's readiness to use it," the analysts emphasized.

They continue to believe that the Kremlin's thinly veiled threats of nuclear confrontation are aimed at derailing and delaying key decision-making points in the West's political discussions on further military aid to Ukraine.

- They also believe that the aggressor country of the Russian Federation is unlikely to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine or elsewhere.

the other day Russia failed the test of the RS-28 "Sarmat" intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region.

- It exploded deep in the mine, which likely caused fires and destruction of the surrounding landfill


Next @TheStudyofWar
👇understandingwar.org/backgrounder/r…
news.obozrevatel.com/ukr/russia/vib…

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Putin regime will collapse without warning, says freed gulag dissident:

Vladimir Kara-Murza and his wife, Evgenia, speak of his time in a Siberian jail and why the truth about Russia will come out

The last time I met Evgenia Kara-Murza, it was a grim day in early March. The timing couldn’t have been worse. As we spoke, Alexei Navalny’s coffin was being lowered into the frozen ground in a Moscow cemetery. Meanwhile Evgenia’s husband, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was still incarcerated in a Siberian prison cell almost identical to the one in the Arctic Circle in which Navalny had been found dead, presumed murdered.

The parallels were eerie. Because Vladimir, a journalist turned political activist, was not just also loathed and feared by the Kremlin and imprisoned on spurious charges, he’d also been poisoned – twice – targeted by the same FSB (Federal Security Service) unit that had poisoned Navalny.

The prospects were so grim and the news from Russia and Ukraine so unrelentingly depressing, it feels almost unimaginably miraculous six months later to see Evgenia walk into the lobby of a London hotel, this time with Vladimir right next to her.

Six weeks ago, he was in a Siberian gulag. Today, he’s a free man on a trip to London with his wife and their youngest son, nine-year-old Daniel, the result of the largest prisoner exchange between Russian and the west since the cold war. 2/
I find myself suddenly overwhelmed by the sight of them together so I can’t begin to imagine how Evgenia is feeling.

“I cry all the time,” she says. “And I make other people cry.

Just when I speak, people start crying in the audience. I just seem to have that effect on people.” She’d been so exasperated when we’d last met, fresh from a meeting she’d waited two years to get with the foreign secretary with the steely demeanour of a woman who can’t afford to give up.

“There has been so much emotional trauma.

- I mean, let alone the fact that Vladimir was in prison in those horrible conditions and solitary confinement in Western Siberia, but I also had to deal with people who couldn’t really understand this.

It’s so difficult for a person living in a normal democratic country to grasp what political repression is in the 21st century. They just couldn’t get it.”

But then, it is difficult to grasp. What’s disorienting about Vladimir’s descriptions of the Siberian gulag is how familiar it is from the works of Solzhenitsyn and other writers of the Stalinist era – though for Kara-Murza, who studied history at Cambridge, this was a source of both incredulity and solace.

“I’m a historian, and one of the biggest areas of study has always been the Soviet dissidents. I made films about it.
- I’ve written about it extensively. I’ve known many of these people. And it’s sometimes said that every historian subconsciously dreams of personally experiencing the area of his or her study. If that’s true, you know, I’ve got my wish fully.

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🇺🇸The US may provide Ukraine with medium-range cruise missiles for the F-16, Politico.

The $375 million package is expected to be officially announced on Monday.

By the way, the AGM-154 Joint Stand-off Weapon (JSOW) cruise bomb can hit targets at a distance of more than 110-130 km.

The $375 million will be the largest package the U.S. has sent Ukraine since May. 2/
The package, which is still being finalized according to two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the issue, will also include artillery munitions, rockets and air defense missiles.

The people were granted anonymity to discuss the package ahead of the announcement and acknowledged that the contents could still change before the official announcement is made.

A State Department official declined to comment on a pending arms transfer. The Defense Department did not return a request for comment.

The $375 million will be the largest package the U.S. has sent Ukraine since May, and could be the last presidential drawdown of equipment before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

Under authority granted by Congress, the U.S. pulls existing weapons from its stockpiles, and the money is meant to purchase replacement munitions and equipment

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#KharkivBrits Stunned By 15-Year-Old Ukrainian Refugee Girl’s Powerful Speech About the War:

Penned by teenager Anastasiia Kapustian, who is currently a student in a British school after her family left #Kharkiv amidst intense bombing, an emotional speech left teachers teary-eyed, with an effort now underway to try to get it published all over the world to inspire support for her homeland. 2/
“Where are your eyes, World?

- Can you not see? People are dying, people are dying every day! People are getting killed for no reason. Everywhere, at home, shopping centres and at the playgrounds.

- Just tell me why? Why do Ukrainians have to suffer these terrorist attacks from Russia?
express.co.uk/latest/russia

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ISW assessed whether Putin would decide to announce mobilization in Russia

In the aggressor country of Russia, mobilization remains unlikely in the short and medium term.

All because of the personal fears of dictator Vladimir Putin, who considers her a direct threat to the stability of his regime.

He rejected a Defense Ministry request to compensate for the army's losses through another wave of mobilization in the spring of 2024, which could help him avoid public outrage over the involuntary conscription of Russians into the reserve.

This is stated in the summary of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), where it is noted that Putin remains committed to his campaign, which limits the conscription potential of the Russian Federation.
understandingwar.org/backgrounder/r… 2/
This is stated in the summary of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), where it is noted that Putin remains committed to his campaign, which limits the conscription potential of the Russian Federation.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing a source "informed" about the exchange of information between Putin and officials of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation several months before the inauguration of the dictator in May 2024, reported that instead of mobilizing, he announced his intention to join the army only those people who voluntarily signed service contracts.

At the same time, more and more Russian officials expressed the belief that another wave was inevitable.

The source added that the current number of Russian troops is insufficient to achieve Russia's stated "long-term goal" of occupying all of Ukraine, reducing its overall combat capability, and protecting Russia's own borders.

Kremlin press secretary Dmytro Peskov, in response to a WSJ inquiry, said that Russia allegedly continues to rapidly recruit contractors and volunteers, and that "these forces are sufficient" for its aggression against Ukraine.

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- The more weapons #Ukraine has, the higher the probability of the end of the war, - @jensstoltenberg

The end of the war in Ukraine directly depends on the increase in the supply of weapons to Ukrainian defenders.

Only in this way will the Russian dictator Putin realize that he will not get what he wants by force. 2/
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this during his farewell speech before his retirement.

He emphasized that Kyiv's military power is a necessary condition for dialogue with Moscow about peace.

However, according to the Secretary General, the fastest way to end the war in Ukraine is to lose it. But in this case there will be no peace, but occupation.

Putin believes that he will achieve his goal in the war by "waiting out" the West. That is why he continues to fight.

According to Stoltenberg, the West cannot change Putin's opinion.

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The blow to the haste caused hysteria among z-bloggers: the ISW assessed the effect that further attacks on Russian logistics facilities would have

On September 18, Ukrainian forces conducted a successful drone attack on a Russian missile and ammunition warehouse near Toropets in the Tver region.

After the initial strike, repeated detonations began at the military facility, which resulted in significant damage and loss of weapons.

In addition, it caused hysteria among Russian propagandists, who immediately began to criticize the military command and look for the culprit.

Analysts of the Institute for the @TheStudyofWar o gave the details, assessing the effect of further Ukrainian strikes on rear logistics facilities in the Russian Federation. 2/
Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War gave the details , assessing the effect of further Ukrainian strikes on rear logistics facilities in the Russian Federation.
understandingwar.org/backgrounder/r…

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The Armenian government has announced an attempted coup d'état

The rebels were trained at the Russian military base in Rostov-on-Don

2/
This was reported by the Georgian service of RFE/RL "Echo Kavkaza"

with reference to the Investigative Committee of Armenia. It is noted that the department initiated a criminal case of attempted usurpation of power against five citizens of Armenia and two former residents of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The names of the defendants in the case have not been released. It is noted only that three of them were detained, four more were declared wanted.

According to the investigation, they planned to seize power in the country using weapons. For this, this criminal group recruited citizens of Armenia and former residents of Nagorno-Karabakh for a reward of 220,000 rubles per monthekhokavkaza.com/a/sk-armenii-s…

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Ukraine's victory plan: what will actually break the course of the war? Interview with Mykhailo Samus

What will actually help change the course of the war, turn the situation in our favor?

- It cannot be considered that Western weapons are a "magic wand" as long as the Putin regime in Russia has the opportunity to receive hundreds of billions of dollars and invest them in "meat" - numerous people willing to kill Ukrainians as part of the occupation army.

The United States called the real threat of attacks by the aggressor country Russia on Ukrainian nuclear power plants and promised to help protect these facilities.

But instead of promises and "deep concern", Ukraine needs real samples of weapons to counter Russian ballistic missiles, as well as the cancellation of the ban on striking Russia at a depth of up to 300 kilometers.

Military analyst, director of the New Geopolitics Research Network Mykhailo Samus expressed this opinion in an exclusive interview 2/
Military analyst, director of the New Geopolitics Research Network Mykhailo Samus

expressed this opinion in an exclusive interview.

- President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced

that in a few days the allies will be presented with a victory plan consisting of military, political, diplomatic and economic components.

- If we talk about the military component, in your opinion, what exactly is necessary for Ukraine to change the course of the war, to achieve a turning point in our favor?obozrevatel.com/ukr/person/mih…
war.obozrevatel.com/ukr/gotovij-bi…

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The defense forces continue to resolutely resist the invaders: the General Staff named the hottest areas

Since the beginning of the current day, the number of combat clashes at the front in Ukraine has increased to 88.

The most difficult was in the #Kurakhiv direction - there the enemy spent a quarter of all attacks 2/
This is stated in the summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook as of 16:00 on September 17.


The adversary tries to use the advantage in manpower and air support. At the same time, the Defense Forces resolutely resist his numerous attempts to advance deep into the territory of Ukraine.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.u…

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International Monetary Fund (IMF)

IMF plan to visit Russia to assess economy prompts dismay across Europe
Protest letter sent to fund’s head over move to send staff to #Moscow for first review since invasion of #Ukraine️ 2/
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will send staff to Moscow next week to review the Russian economy for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, in a move that has prompted anger and dismay across European capitals.


Officials of the Washington-based organisation will travel to the Russian capital and meet “stakeholders” before publishing an assessment of the economy and providing recommendations about how the Kremlin might improve its economic handling and tackle issues such as the climate crisis.theguardian.com/world/ukraine

A Blog:

By: Votaly Portnikov

"Russia will always need Putin and war"
-----

The discussion between the supporters of the "beautiful Russia of the future" and those who advocate its decolonization and predict a possible collapse as a result of the defeat in the war with Ukraine, is moving from social networks and television studios to high stands.

And now Yulia Navalna, who positions herself as the heir to the public capital of the husband who died in Putin's Gulag, speaks disdainfully of the "decolonizers" and is surprised at the attention paid to their utopian views.

And as an alternative to this utopia, of course, he suggests thinking about a democratic European Russia, "the beautiful Russia of the future."

This, of course, is not a utopian project, it remains only to wait for Putin's death or his elimination by unlucky associates - and we will live, Vitaly Portnikov writes for .svoboda.org
2/
But even if you treat the program of building a "beautiful Russia of the future" as a real project, and not as a dream or utopia of the anti-corruption team, you should still answer the question:

- what are the reasons for Russia's current aggressive war against Ukraine -
a war that allowed it to finally strengthen to Putin's totalitarianism, give up even the cardboard decorations of democracy, presented by the latest authorized media and anti-corruption projects, the war that allowed to kill Navalny and send people behind bars for decades for posts on social networks?

- Isn't it the belief of other people - not anti-corruptionists, but precisely corruptionists - that the collapse of Russia is impossible and any actions connected with this collapse or with the loss of Russia's role in its "natural zone of influence" in the post-Soviet space should be stopped?

Wasn't the actual occupation by the Russian army of part of the territory of the Republic of Moldova, wars in Georgia, wars in Chechnya, the occupation and annexation of Crimea, the war in Donbas and the attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022 connected with this idea of ​​Russia as an empire?

- And when, tell me, did the popularity of the Russian government - from Yeltsin to Putin - fall, and when did the rating rise to cosmic heights?

- When were these wars lost or when were they won?

How did the majority of Russians react to the annexation of Crimea?

- Were there among those who succumbed to chauvinistic hysteria, anti-corruption activists and other opponents of the regime, who only in February 2022 suddenly realized what a bloody mess their government had brewed?

Or did they, with burning eyes, demand to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine and were outraged by the annexation, instead of edifyingly explaining to the residents of the attacked country that Crimea is not a sandwich and that a referendum should be held to ask the opinion of its population about the future of the territory captured by the Russian army? How was it all?

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The Russian army will be forced to transfer troops from other directions to Kurshchyna to confront the ZSU - @TheStudyofWar analysts

The Russians continue their attempts to counterattack Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region.

However, in order to stop the Ukrainians, the Russian command will have to transfer additional forces to the region from other directions where the fighting is currently taking place.

This is stated in a new material of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Analysts also noted that Ukraine's Kursk operation foiled Russia's intentions to attack our country from the north, particularly in the Sumy region. 2/
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi has repeatedly stated that Russia has launched a counteroffensive operation in Kurshchyna.

The United States also commented on this operation:

"Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder confirmed that the United States had observed an attempt by the Russians to conduct "a certain counteroffensive operation", but so far it is of a "marginal" or "insignificant" nature.