Fierce fighting in the Kharkov direction

1 Ukraine

On 9th of September the Russian Ministry of Defense published a video of the transfer of Russian forces to the Kharkov direction. The published video shows the movement of a military convoy of IFVs ’BTR-82A’ and towed artillery D-20 — the TASS reported. «There is a bad humanitarian situation in Balakleya — fierce battles are taking place. Balakleya isn’t under our control. There are attempts to push out the Ukrainian forces. Our forces are being stopped near the town due to the fighting» — the head of the administration of the Kharkov region, Vitaly Ganchev, stated on-air of the «Russia 24» TV. According to him, the situation near Shevchenkovo is difficult as well. The head of the Kupyansky district, Maxim Gubin, stated that the situation is complicated. The Russian forces hold their positions firmly, the city is safe. The local authorities will organize an evacuation of the population to the LPR and Russia, until the situation is fully stabilized.

2 Germany

The 5th meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine began in Germany, in the Ramstein air base. Before the meeting, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Aleksey Reznikov held negotiations with the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. «We appreciate the strong US support for Ukraine. Let’s make Ukraine stronger together» — Reznikov stated. Lloyd Austin stated that the USA and their allies will continue to do everything possible to help Ukraine to fight «the aggressor». After the negotiations Aleksey Reznikov announced that the new military aid package from the USA — worth of $675 millions of dollars — will include artillery pieces and ammo, humvees, armored ambulances, and anti-tank systems. In addition to the meeting with the US military officials, Alexei Reznikov met with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. According to Aleksiy Reznikov — «The NATO is planning to organize a training for the employees of the Ukrainian Defense Procurement Agency».

3 Norway — France — Ukraine

Norway will supply Ukraine with ’AGM-114 Hellfire’ missiles, plus launchers, and guidance systems. The government of Norway announced the new batch of military aid to Ukraine. «The donation includes about 160 Hellfire missiles, launchers, and guidance systems. Ukraine will also receive night vision devices from the stocks of our armed forces» — end of quote. France meanwhile will supply Ukraine with ’TRF1’ towed artillery pieces, which were completely decommissioned by the French forces — the lopinion news agency reported. There is no precise data on how many artillery pieces will be transferred to the Ukrainian forces. The guns will be purchased by the French government from a private company.

4 The USA

The NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, stated that the NATO is deploying new forces on the eastern borders. His speech at a press conference, which took place after his meeting with the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, was broadcast on the NATO website — the RIA NEWS reported. «We are significantly increasing our presence in the eastern part of the NATO» — he stated and added that the NATO sends a clear signal to Moscow that the NATO will protect every inch of the territory of the allies. He urged to prepare for a long confrontation with Russia, and to supply Ukraine with weapons, even at the cost of the domestic defense capability.

5 the EU

The EU energy ministers didn’t support the proposal to introduce a ceiling on the Russian gas prices. The EC must come up with a proposal that will help to reduce the cost of gas. The proposal must not hurt the gas supplies to Europe — the ’Reuters’ reported while citing the diplomats. The Hungarian Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjártó, confirmed this information. He added that the participants of the meeting were limited to a political dispute, which served as a guide for the EC — the RIA NEWS reported. «Now we expect that in the coming week, or the week after it, the EU States and the European Commission will come up with written, real proposals» — he stated.

6 The DPRK

Kim Jong-un stated that the nuclear status of North Korea is permanent. On 7th of September the Supreme People’s Assembly passed a corresponding decree called «The policy on Nuclear Weapons». With the passage of the new law, North Korea has classified its own status as a nuclear power state. North Korea has indicated that the country won’t part with its own nuclear arsenal. Any negotiations on the denuclearization are out of question. According to the document, the decisions on the nuclear weapons can be made personally by Kim Jong-un. He stated that the possession of nuclear weapons is a sovereign right of the DPRK. This right won’t be taken away even by a century of sanctions. Pyongyang secured its right to be the first to launch a nuclear strike and immediately destroy enemy forces in case of a danger to North Korea, its leadership, and its people from an another state — the KCNA reported. Constantine Reztsov, specially for the ANNA NEWS