All current developments on the war in Ukraine.
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Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has promised that Russia will conquer more territory in Ukraine a year after the alleged annexation of four Ukrainian regions, which was portrayed by Vladimir Putin as the fulfillment of the imperial New Russia project.
“The special military operation (in Ukraine) will continue until the complete destruction of the Nazi regime in Kiev and the liberation of primordially Russian territories from the hands of the enemy,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
“The victory will be ours. And more new regions will join Russia,” the deputy of the Russian Security Council added.
Also on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised “regeneration and socio-economic development” of the annexed regions in Ukraine in a speech broadcast by the Kremlin.
“By defending our fellow citizens in Donbass and ‘New Russia’, we are defending Russia itself and fighting for our homeland, our sovereignty, for our spiritual values and our unity,” Putin said.
At the end of September 2022, after organizing so-called “referendums” that Kiev and the West considered fictitious, Vladimir Putin agreed to the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in the south.
These annexations have sparked condemnation from Ukraine and its Western backers, which they consider to be “illegal.”
September 30 was declared “Reunification Day” by Vladimir Putin.
However, Russia only partially controls these regions and faces a counteroffensive from Ukraine that wants to retake them.
In Ukraine there is an attempt to attract defense industrialists to produce weapons on their territory
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has opened an international forum in Kiev dedicated to the defense industry, hoping to attract manufacturers capable of producing weapons in Ukraine and “building an arsenal” against Russia.
Since the Russian invasion began in 2022, Ukraine has relied heavily on Western arms supplies for its war effort.
Ukraine therefore brought together 252 defense companies from around 30 countries to the forum in Kiev on Friday to persuade them to set up shop in the war-torn country.
“We are interested in local production of the equipment we need for our defense and the advanced defense systems of our soldiers,” Zelensky said in his opening remarks on Saturday.
According to him, the aim is to “build a modern and powerful arsenal” at a time when Russia is also seeking to increase its military production capacity.
Zelensky promised participants that if they joined the so-called “defense industry alliance,” they would receive the benefits of a “special economic regime.”
According to the leader, a “special defense fund” for military production will also be created, which will be financed in particular from “the profits from the sale of confiscated Russian assets.”
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The issue of relocating defense industry to Ukraine was raised during Zelensky’s recent visit to the United States.
It was reported there that Kiev and Washington would begin “negotiations” on this issue “in the near future.”
Ukraine claimed to have advanced towards Bakhmut in a successful operation.
Kyiv’s State Border Guard Service released a video in which one of its fighters said his units, together with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, carried out a successful advance and “captured a strategically important location on the map of the Donetsk region.”
The video was shared on Friday, but no details were given about the timing of the operation.
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Russia claims success in air strikes
The Russian Defense Ministry published its weekly briefing on Friday, claiming that the Russian army carried out nine group attacks using long-range precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles from September 24 to 29.
“The attacks hit ammunition depots, military-technical equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, training centers for saboteurs and accommodation for Ukrainian soldiers and foreign mercenaries,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
“As a result of the attacks, the control center of the International Legion formation, two large arsenals of weapons and ammunition were destroyed, and the supply of foreign-made weapons and logistical support to Ukrainian troops operating in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia directions were disrupted. ” he added.
Wagner commander takes over the care of the volunteers
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered one of the top commanders of the Wagner military company to take over the leadership of volunteer units fighting in Ukraine. This statement signaled the Kremlin’s efforts to continue using the mercenaries after the death of their boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.
In a statement released on Russian state television on Friday, Putin told Andrey Troshev, one of Wagner’s senior officers, that his task was “to deal with the formation of volunteer units that will carry out various combat tasks, primarily in the area of the Russian Federation.” special military operation.” “, a term used by the Kremlin for its military operation in Ukraine.
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The meeting appeared to reflect the Kremlin’s desire to send some Wagner mercenaries to the front lines in Ukraine after their brief mutiny in June and the suspicious Prigozhin plane crash on August 23. The private army, which once numbered tens of thousands of soldiers, is a valuable asset that the Kremlin wants to exploit.
Troshev is a retired military officer who has played a leading role since Wagner was founded in 2014 and has faced European Union sanctions over his role as the group’s executive director in Syria.
Wagner mercenaries played a key role in Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, leading the capture of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in May after months of bitter fighting. Kiev’s troops are now trying to recapture it as part of their counteroffensive.
Zelensky pays respect to the victims of the Babi Yar massacre
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky paid his respects to the victims of the Babi Yar massacre in Kiev on Friday as the country marked the 82nd anniversary of one of the most notorious mass killings of World War II.
In Babi Yar, a ravine in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, nearly 34,000 Jews were killed in 48 hours in 1941, when the city was occupied by the Nazis.
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The killing was carried out by SS troops together with local collaborators.
Zelensky laid candles during a service at a memorial in the Ukrainian capital before thanking members of the Jewish community for hosting the event.