After partial mobilization: Putin has to appease reservists - Ukraine achieves successes in the east

Created: 10/01/2022 04:52

By: Christina Denk, Stephanie Munk, Franziska Schwarz, Fabian Müller

Ukrainian troops appear to be gaining territory again in eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv accuses Russia of attacking civilians.

News ticker.

• Putin

  must

  appease

  reservists

  after partial mobilization

  : the families of the recruits receive "first aid"

• Next

  Ukraine offensive

  ?

  Apparently, Ukrainian troops managed to “virtually encircle” the town of Lyman in the Donbas.

• After

  the annexation

  , experts expect a new

  problem

  : Ukrainian men could be forcibly recruited.

• This

  news ticker on military developments

  in the Ukraine war is constantly updated.

Update from September 30, 10:07 p.m .:

In the evening, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj also confirmed the recapture of the city of Lyman.

"Everyone has heard what is happening in Lyman," said Zelenskyj in a video speech on Saturday night, with a view of the strategically important small town in the Donetsk region, which has just been incorporated into Moscow.

Previously, the Donetsk occupation chief Denis Puschilin had already admitted the almost complete encirclement of Russian troops in Lyman by Ukrainian soldiers.

"These are steps that mean a lot to us," said Zelenskyj.

"We must liberate our entire country and this will be the best proof that international law and human rights cannot be broken by any terrorist state."

Attack on car convoy in Zaporizhia: number of victims increases after civilians were shot down

Update from September 30, 8:28 p.m

.: In the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia there was a rocket attack on a civilian car convoy on Friday.

President Zelenskyj spoke of a deliberate attack on civilians.

The confirmed death toll has now risen from 25 to 30.

Another 88 people were injured, the police said.

The governor of the Zaporizhia regional administration, Olexander Starukh, blamed Russian troops for the attack.

The information cannot be verified independently.

The Kremlin had officially annexed the area in the afternoon.

A rocket attack hit a car convoy near Zaporizhia.

30 people lost their lives.

© Viacheslav Tverdokhlib/dpa

Update from September 30, 8:11 p.m.:

The first reports had already reported that the Russian reservists did not have any medical equipment

Apparently, the conscripted Russians also lack equipment.

As a video on

shows, the soldiers are provided with weapons and protective equipment, but the recruits usually have to buy other equipment such as sleeping bags themselves.

It's not enough for everyone.

Warm coats, gloves and hats are sold out in many stores, according to an owner in the video.

Sometimes the administration takes care of the additional equipment for their residents.

But even the weapons with which the reservists are stocked up are said to be rusting in some cases.

also read

Rusty AKs and plastic bags: video to show how Russia equips new recruits

"Our value is the love of people": Putin announces Ukraine annexation in wild speech

Putin must appease reservists after partial mobilization - with gifts to the families?

Update from September 30, 4:02 p.m.:

On September 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered partial mobilization.

Now Putin seems to want to appease the population.

A mutton is distributed to each of the families of the conscripted reservists in the Siberian region of Tuva as first aid.

reported on Friday that 91 animals had already been handed out,

citing regional Minister of Agriculture Sergei Ondar.

Relatives of the soldiers and the soldiers themselves should feel that they are not alone with their everyday problems, it said, citing information from the regional government.

In Tuva, the home region of Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, there have been protests in recent days against the partial mobilization ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.

According to the civil rights organization

, around 20 women were arrested.

Separatists confirm Lyman encirclement: Ukrainian troops advancing

Update from September 30, 1 p.m.:

After initially only the Ukrainian military leadership had reported an encirclement of the strategically important small town of Lyman, this has now also been admitted by the pro-Russian separatists.

"Right now Lyman is in a semi-encirclement, the road to Svatove is under our control, but is periodically under fire," wrote the head of the Donetsk separatists Denis Puschilin, via the Telegram news service.

The Lyman area is important as a bridgehead for a further advance of Ukrainian troops deep into the neighboring Luhansk region.

The advance of Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk region is also of great importance because the official announcement of the annexation of Donetsk to Russia is expected on Friday.

The Ukrainian troops would thus be on Russian territory, at least according to Moscow.

Zelenskyy accuses Russia of attacking civilians: "Only terrorists can act like this"

Update from September 30, 12:02 p.m .:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has accused Moscow of targeting civilians in the Zaporizhia region.

"Only absolute terrorists, for whom there is no place in the civilized world, can act like this," Zelenskyy wrote on his official Telegram channel.

"(The enemy) is cynically destroying peaceful Ukrainians because it has long since lost everything human," the head of state continued.

Moscow wants to avenge its military failures with such atrocities.

In the morning, a waiting motorcade on the outskirts of Zaporizhia came under fire.

According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office, 25 people were killed and around 50 injured.

According to Zelensky, 16 rockets were fired at Zaporizhia and the surrounding area.

The occupation administration of the Russian-occupied areas, in turn, accused Kyiv of artillery shelling those waiting.

The affected location is around 40 kilometers from the front.

Ukraine-News: Too few bandages - Russian military leadership advises menstrual articles

Update from September 30, 10:30

a.m .: The Russian military leadership is apparently having difficulty maintaining the medical care of its armed forces in Ukraine.

According to British military experts, the troops lack bandages and other medical products on the battlefield.

The British Ministry of Defense reports in its daily report on the Ukraine war.

The medical training of the soldiers is by and large not sufficient.

Accordingly, newly mobilized reservists were instructed to bring their own first-aid kit, noting that menstrual items were a cost-effective solution.

"The lack of confidence in adequate medical care among Russian troops almost certainly contributes to declining morale and an unwillingness to participate in offensive operations (...), the statement said.

The conscripted Russian soldiers are said not only to have lacked training, but also to be inadequately equipped.

© Kirill Braga/imago-images

Next Ukraine offensive?

Donbass city "virtually surrounded" according to Russia

Update from September 30, 7:47 a.m

.: The small town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine is strategically important.

Now it looks like Ukraine can recapture the place in the Donbass region of Donetsk.

According to Russian information, Ukrainian troops captured several locations east of the city.

"Around midnight, the Ukrainian troops managed to effectively encircle Lyman," the nationalist military blog Rybar said.

"The road between Lyman and Torske is under constant enemy fire," Rybar continued.

After the advance of the Ukrainian forces to the west and north of Lyman, the road to Torske was the only route of supply for the Russian garrison in the city.

"If decisive action is not taken by the Russian military leadership within 24 hours, Lyman awaits the fate of Balaklija," Rybar warned.

With the recapture of Balakliya, Ukrainian troops launched a major offensive in the Kharkiv region, as a result of which Kyiv regained control of almost the entire region and forced the Russian troops into a hasty retreat.

If Ukraine succeeds in capturing Lyman, the Ukrainian military will have access to Svatove and Kreminna, and thus deep into the Luhansk region, which Moscow has largely brought under its own control since the summer.

The Kremlin wants to officially announce the annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Cherson and Zaporizhia in a ceremony on Friday.

Update from September 29, 9:31 p.m .:

One week after the start of partial mobilization for his war against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized errors in the recruitment of reservists.

"All mistakes must be corrected," Putin said at a National Security Council meeting on Thursday.

For days, reservists have been complaining that they were being drafted into military service despite fatal chronic illnesses, old age or other exclusion criteria.

There are many questions, mistakes should not be allowed, said Putin.

Anyone who was mistakenly sent to the front must return home.

This also applies to fathers of large families.

The Kremlin chief called on the Prosecutor General's Office to pursue violators of the mobilization.

War in Ukraine: Mobilization is rejected by large sections of the Russian population

Putin again stressed that the conscripts had to go through military training.

Reservists with special military knowledge and experience should be drafted.

But everyone would have to be prepared for the mission, said the President.

For days there have been reports that the district military replacement offices act ruthlessly when conscripted and also recruit reservists who officially do not fall under the partial mobilization.

"It is necessary to look at each individual case," Putin said.

The mobilization, which was rejected by large parts of the population, triggered the largest anti-war protests in months.

There were also arson attacks on conscription offices.

In addition, the recruitment of reservists for Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine triggered the largest mass exodus in the history of his more than 20 years in power.

Hundreds of thousands of Russians have left the country.

Almost every second Russian feels “horror” at partial mobilization – Ukraine advancing on Lyman node 

Update from September 29, 6:42 p.m.:

According to a survey, almost every second Russian reacted anxiously and frightened to the partial mobilization ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.

A total of 47 percent of those surveyed described their emotional state after Putin's speech a week ago as "fear, fear, horror," according to results published by the independent polling institute Levada on Thursday.

On the other hand, 23 percent stated that they were “proud of Russia”.

The polls by the independent Levada Institute are also valued by Western experts - as comparatively authentic and implemented according to recognized social science principles.

War in Ukraine: Proportion of war supporters falls to its lowest level so far

Meanwhile, the proportion of those who said they supported Russia's war against Ukraine, which began in late February, fell to 72 percent, its lowest level ever.

Shortly after the beginning of the war it was 80 percent.

However, the Levada sociologists had already pointed out at the time that many Russians did not view the fighting, which the Kremlin described as a "special military operation", with enthusiasm but with fear.

Experts also warn that people in Russia may not always honestly express their opinions, even in anonymous surveys, for fear of repression.

Putin's announcement that he would send 300,000 reservists to the front in Ukraine in the coming weeks and months has triggered the biggest protests in Russia since the beginning of the war and a large wave of refugees.

War in Ukraine: Ukrainian army advances on important junction

Update from September 29, 5:52 p.m .:

The Ukrainian armed forces are moving ever closer to the occupied city of Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region.

This is reported by the US TV channel

, citing Alexander Petrikin, head of the local pro-Russian city administration.

The railway junction was captured by Russian forces and their allied militias at the end of May.

The situation has become "difficult" for Russian soldiers trying to hold the area, Petrikin said in a video message on social network vk.com.

“The situation in the city is difficult.

Ukrainian fighters continue to shell Lyman and the Krasny Liman district,” Petrikin said in the video.

Ukrainian forces have made gains south, west and north of Lyman - only one eastbound road is still under the control of pro-Russian groups.

Putin now apparently wants to receive separatist bosses – party preparations for the annexation are underway

Update from September 29, 1:05 p.m .:

Putin wants to officially annex four Russian territories to Russia on Friday (September 30).

At a ceremony in Moscow, he wants to sign the relevant agreements and also give a "comprehensive speech".

All information on this in the news ticker on the negotiations in the Ukraine war.

Putin now apparently wants to receive separatist bosses – party preparations for the annexation are underway

Update September 29 11:30 am

Separatist leaders of Ukraine's four Russian-controlled regions have arrived in Moscow to take part in Russia's annexation of those territories.

Putin apparently wants to receive the four men.

On Wednesday (September 28) they formally asked Putin to admit the four regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia into the Russian Federation.

According to Russian news agencies, the Russian parliament is expected to vote on it in the coming days.

On this occasion, a speech by Putin to the parliamentarians is apparently also planned.

Meanwhile, celebrations are being prepared in Moscow.

The annexation is apparently to be celebrated on Friday (September 30).

The authorities announced that streets in the city center would be closed for the day, especially around Red Square.

Update from September 29, 11:15 a.m .:

Almost 100,000 Russian conscientious objectors have fled from Putin’s partial mobilization to neighboring Kazakhstan in Central Asia.

Russia now apparently wants to put a stop to this: Russian authorities want to intercept conscript men there at the border in the future.

Passports would be checked against draft lists in the future.

Anyone who falls under the mobilization criteria and does not have an official deferment or an exit permit from the military is not allowed to leave the country.

This was announced by the responsible regional administration, according to the Russian state agency TASS.

Ukraine-News: Russians flee from partial mobilization - There is a risk of a "brain drain"

Update from September 29, 9:33 a.m .:

The mass flight of many Russians from the partial mobilization for the Ukraine war apparently leads to intellectual bloodletting in Russia.

According to the findings of the British secret service, it is currently mainly the "better off and well-educated" who are leaving the country.

The British Ministry of Defense announced that the economic consequences for Russia should be enormous due to the loss of skilled workers.

"In the seven days since President Putin announced partial mobilization, a significant exodus of Russians seeking to evade conscription has begun," the report said.

There are no exact numbers, but the number of people who left the country probably exceeds the strength of the army with which Russia attacked Ukraine in February.

According to estimates, Putin had about 150,000 soldiers deployed on the border with the neighboring country.

Ukraine-News: Experts expect new problem after annexation

Update from September 28, 9:10 p.m .:

In addition to the annexation of the Ukrainian territories, Russia is probably also pursuing the goal of forcibly recruiting Ukrainian men as soldiers.

According to reports from ARD correspondents, a number of men have already been kidnapped from the streets and forced to fight against their own country.

Russian soldiers with the characteristic "Z" symbol (archive image) © Vitaly Nevar / Imago Images

The Center for Civil Liberties, a non-governmental organization in Kyiv, has received numerous inquiries from men in Russian-occupied territories.

By forcibly recruiting Ukrainian men, Russia is violating the Geneva Conventions.

President Zelenskyy appealed to his compatriots to hide from the Russian mobilization.

Ukrainian advance near Lyman: Russian troops surrounded

Update from September 28, 4:15 p.m .:

In the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the Russian troops are apparently threatened with being surrounded by the Ukrainian army.

Russian war reporters on Wednesday reported on successful Ukrainian advances northeast and east of the small town of Lyman.

Should the settlement of Torske be recaptured, the Russians are threatened with cutting off the communication routes from Lyman to Kreminna and Swatowe in the Luhansk region.

The streets are already under fire from Ukrainian artillery.

According to Ukrainian sources, at least one other place on the east side of the Oskil River near the city of Kupjansk in the Kharkiv region, Kivscharivka, has been recaptured.

Do separatists mutiny?

According to experts, Russia is threatened with a new problem after the annexation

Update from September 28, 3:50 p.m.:

The referendums in the Russian-occupied areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, as well as in Cherson and Zaporizhia were successful from a Russian perspective.

However, according to experts, the annexation of the territories is not a final victory for Vladimir Putin.

The Institute for the Stufy of War does not rule out a Separatist mutiny.

"Russia's annexation of the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk is likely to exacerbate tensions within the forces, which regularly mutiny when asked to fight outside the borders of their own oblasts," an institute official wrote on Twitter.

Accordingly, parts of the militia of the People's Republic of Luhansk and the People's Republic of Donetsk had refused in the past to continue fighting outside their area.

Video taken in August shows Luhansk soldiers refusing to support the separatists.

According to the ISW, the soldiers then claimed that their job was done here.

Likewise, units of the militia from Donetsk complained about a transfer to other areas.

Ukraine war: Military expert expects victory for Ukraine

Update from September 28, 3:15 p.m.:

Ukrainian military expert Alexander Musienko expects a Ukrainian victory against Russia in the event of a long war.

On the Ukrainian television station "Espreso TV", Musienko referred to the logistically better formation of the Ukrainian armed forces.

"I think that the plans drawn up by our military-political leadership will continue to be implemented," Ukrainian news agency

the expert as saying.

"War is also a logistical matter," Musienko stressed, adding: "The armed forces of Ukraine receive much better logistical support than the Russian army." In addition, there is financial and military support for Ukraine.

Ukraine war: Expert sees no negotiations - "all actors want to win on the field"

Update from September 28, 12:29 p.m

.: According to Russia expert Gerhard Mangott, there are currently no negotiations between Moscow and Kiev in sight.

"All actors want to win the war on the battlefield," he told

However, Ukraine has made progress with its counter-offensive.

"For Putin, it would already be a success to keep the occupied territories," Mangott said, adding, referring to the state of Putin's army, "Russian forces are not and never were capable of conquering all of Ukraine."

Mangott is Professor of International Relations at the University of Innsbruck.

Here is the complete interview with his analysis of the current situation in the Ukraine war.

Ukraine-News: Russian soldier publishes video on partial mobilization

First report from September 28th

: ​​Washington/Moscow - The bloody fighting in the Ukraine continues.

Now Moscow has also announced the “result” of its sham referendums.

"This farce in the occupied territories cannot even be described as an imitation of referendums," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his recent video address.

However, the Russian partial mobilization continues to be a focus.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia sends soldiers to the front with almost no prior training.

One of the men newly recruited as part of the partial mobilization reported this in a video message.

According to the information, the unit should be transferred to Cherson in southern Ukraine, the military experts write in their analysis of September 27.

Military experts on partial mobilization: Moscow is sending untrained soldiers to the front

The ISW, a Washington-based think tank, suspects that the Russian military wants to increase its troops in southern Ukraine (which previously fought in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions) in a very short time.

At the end of August, Russian soldiers there asked to be released because of “moral exhaustion”.

The independent Russian platform 

 also reported that newly recruited soldiers from Valuiki near the Ukrainian border were sent to the Donbass after just one day of training.

This information could not be checked independently.

"Soldiers with just a day or two of training will do little to strengthen Russia in the fight against Ukraine's counteroffensive," writes the ISW.

Protests in Russia: Families of conscripts vent their anger

Reports that men were being drafted who had never served or were too ill or too old to fight, and mistreatment of new recruits, spread by word of mouth as families vented their anger.

According to ISW information, Vladimir Putin's Kremlin is increasingly trying to correct this image with reports that state intervention has revealed that those who were wrongly conscripted have been released from the recruiting centers.

However, according to the ISW, the Kremlin also risks undermining the integrity of its important administrative machinery if local authorities continue to be blamed for mistakes for which they are not solely responsible.

In addition, there have been protests against the conscription in dozens of towns in the past few days.