War in Ukraine: what to remember on the 203rd day of the Russian invasion

Europe 1 with AFP 3:02 p.m., September 14, 2022

THE ESSENTIAL

Volodymyr Zelensky visited the strategic city of Izium on Wednesday, retaken from the Russians during a surprise counter-offensive, and promised "victory" to his people on the 203rd day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This is the first trip by the Ukrainian head of state to the Kharkiv region since the liberation of the area this month, almost entirely reconquered by his forces in barely 15 days.

Izioum, a city of nearly 50,000 inhabitants before the war, had been the subject of deadly fighting in the spring before being taken by the Russians who made it a strategic node for the supply of their troops.

Its reconquest by kyiv is therefore a setback for the Russian army which has retreated towards Donetsk, an area under Kremlin control since 2014. "We are only advancing in one direction, forward, towards victory", wrote Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram.

Information to remember:

- "We are moving towards victory", assured Zelensky from Izium

- Russian army continues to shell Ukrainian forces

- Von der Leyen is going to kyiv on Wednesday

The destructions of Izioum compared to those of Boutcha

Surrounded by armed bodyguards, the president in khaki wore a "Ukraine or death" patch on his shoulder, according to photos from the presidency.

In a video, he compared the destruction of Izium to that of Boutcha, a town near kyiv from which Russian forces withdrew in the spring, leaving behind the bodies of coldly executed civilians.

Abuses that Moscow denies having committed.

"It's the same: buildings destroyed, people killed. It's part of our history, part of the modern Russian nation," he said in English, without detailing these accusations against the Russian occupier. Izioum.

Russian army pounding Ukrainian forces

Ukraine has announced that it has taken back thousands of square kilometers in the East and South from the Russians in September alone.

For its part, the Russian army, whose strikes have caused large power cuts in several Ukrainian regions in recent days, said on Wednesday that it was pounding Ukrainian forces across the country, particularly in the Kharkiv region.

“Massive strikes were carried out in the regions of the localities of Dvoritchna, Balaklya and Kupyansk targeting the vital forces and equipment of the 14th and 93rd motorized brigades of the armed forces of Ukraine”, indicated the Russian Ministry of Defense in its statement. daily briefing.

Many other cities and regions were also targeted.

Almost total reconquest of the Kharkiv region

In Mykolaiv (South), two buildings were hit and two people died, according to local authorities.

In Bakhmout, a city in the Donetsk region that Moscow has been trying to conquer for months, five civilians were killed on Tuesday, according to the regional governor.

Russia justifies its invasion by claiming that the Ukrainian government was repressing the country's Russian speakers and that NATO was using Ukraine to threaten it.

Ukraine's lightning counter-offensive has enabled the reconquest of almost the entire Kharkiv region, bordering Russia, in particular the towns of Balakliïa, Kupyansk and Izium.

The latter two were key logistics centers for the Russian forces.

A counter-offensive in the south of the country

Backed by Western arms deliveries, Ukraine is conducting a parallel counter-offensive in the south of the country, in the occupied region of Kherson, but the gains are less than in the northeast.

In recent weeks, the Ukrainian army has pounded strategic bridges there to disrupt the supply of Russian forces.

She claimed Monday to have taken over 500 km2.

On Wednesday, the Russian National Guard, deployed in the occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia, told Russian agencies that they had "arrested more than 130 people" working with the special services and the Ukrainian army.

Ukraine's September advances are the biggest since Moscow withdrew from the outskirts of kyiv and the center of the country in the spring after failing to capture them.

Von der Leyen in kyiv this Wednesday

The West has for its part adopted heavy sanctions against Russia and increased arms deliveries to the Ukrainians.

The leaders of the European Union and NATO countries regularly come to kyiv to show their support for Volodymyr Zelensky.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg that she would go there on Wednesday, promising "unwavering solidarity" with Ukraine and firmness against Moscow,

"It's time for determination, not appeasement," she said before greeting Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, applauded by the European Parliament, and her "tremendous courage to resist the cruelty of ( Vladimir Poutine".

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to the Russian president on Tuesday, calling for "a complete withdrawal" from Ukraine.