September 9, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage has ended. Read more about Russia’s war in Ukraine here. 

A Ukrainian counteroffensive began this week “with the aim of restoring the lost territories” from Russia’s invasion, according to a top Ukraine military official.

So far, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims the country’s military has retaken more than 1,000 square kilometers of territory since the beginning of the month as forces continue to press on in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions. 

Here are the other top headlines to know:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has taken control of more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that offensive actions by the country’s armed forces continue “successfully” in several directions.

“As of now, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have liberated and taken control of more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region,” Zelensky said in his daily video message.

Zelensky also appealed to “some bloggers,” as he put it, “not to complicate the task for our army with your haste. Please do not report the specific details of the defense operation earlier than the official representatives of our state.”

Zelensky singled out the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade for its contribution to the Kharkiv offensive, as well as marines of the 503rd Naval Infantry Battalion “for their courage in Donetsk region.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a forum on September 7.

Several elected deputies in the St. Petersburg area have been summoned by police after calling for the impeachment of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a rare display of dissent in Russia, the local deputies from the Smolninskoye municipality appealed to the Russian Duma to impeach Putin for what they called crimes of high treason. 

Palyuga and fellow deputy Nikita Yuferev later posted on Twitter a summons issued to them by the St. Petersburg police for “discrediting of the ruling establishment.”

Palyuga later reported that two of the four deputies summoned have been released by the police and all are expected to face fines. 

A Russian military journalist in the Kharkiv region has reported on the arrival of reinforcements around two key locations currently under threat by advancing Ukrainian forces.

The reporter, Yevgeniy Poddubny, showed video on his Telegram channel of transport helicopters arriving in the eastern region, with at least one seen unloading an armored vehicle.

“For the redeployment of reserve troops to Kupiansk and Izium, the Russian military HQ is using Mi-26 helicopters, taking troops and armored vehicles for reinforcement of Russian military units in Kharkiv Oblast,” he said in the video.

Ukrainian forces are on the western outskirts of the city of Kupiansk and have also struck south toward Izium after launching a sudden offensive at the beginning of the week.

In a later report, Poddubny said that “Kupiansk is still under enemy fire,” adding, “our reserves are arriving at the front line. The air bridge has been active all day today.”

On his Telegram, Poddubny said that as a result of Ukrainian action, the bridge across the Oskil River in Kupiansk was seriously damaged.

“The city is now under artillery strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” he said.

“The defense of Kupiansk continues. Reserves continue to approach,” he added. 

Kupiansk is an important rail hub for Russian resupply. The town of Izium has been in Russian hands since April and is the launching point for attacks southward into the Donetsk region.  

A senior US Defense Department official said the Ukrainian counteroffensive that began on Sept. 1 in the Kherson region has shown the Ukrainians have been “creative” in integrating military capabilities provided by the US and other countries in their operations.

This is the first time the US Defense Department has called the Ukrainian operation a counteroffensive, a term previously avoided by department officials, including US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.

A general view of the damaged buildings as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 9, 2022.

The head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said he toured recently liberated areas of the region — and the “Russians left broken infrastructure and houses, many trophies and piles of garbage.”

Syniehubov posted photographs of his tour on his Telegram channel.

“But the first thing is cleansing and demining,” Syniehubov said. “For those who have left, we do not recommend returning until the relevant orders of the military.”

He also issued a warning to those who had collaborated with the occupation.

“No traitor will escape responsibility. Today, the head of one of the villages of the de-occupied community, who collaborated with the enemy, was detained,” he said.

“The most important thing: thanks to our Armed Forces, there are already Ukrainian flags everywhere!” Syniehubov said.

The Ukrainian military has claimed that desertion among Russian forces is increasing in the southern Kherson region in the face of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

It did not provide specific evidence for the claim.

The General Staff said that in one town close to Crimea, the Russians had used helicopters “to search for fugitives and return them to combat positions.”

Elsewhere, it said Ukrainian units had blocked several enemy attacks in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, away from the area where a Ukrainian advance continues. 

It also said Ukrainian combat planes had carried out more than 10 strikes in both Donetsk and the south. 

The Ukrainian Air Force appears to have been more active in recent weeks, thanks to the acquisition of US missiles capable of seeking out and destroying Russian air defense units.

Separately, the military’s Operational Command South said Ukrainian units continued to suppress “concentration of manpower and combat equipment, the pontoon crossing in the Darivka area and the temporary bridge in the Nova Kakhovka area,” which the Russians have erected to try to resupply forces on the west bank of the Dnipro river.

Ukrainian forces have continued to advance deep into Russian-occupied parts of Kharkiv region in the country’s northeast, according to multiple social media videos as well as accounts from both the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian social media channels. 

The Russian 202nd motorized rifle regiment, “located in the Kharkiv region, withdrew from their positions and moved to the nearest forest. The unit was left without commanders and communications,” Ukrainian intelligence said.

Ukrainian forces have advanced more than 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) eastwards into Russian-held territory across a widening front, threatening to cut off Russian forces to the south around Izium.

Russian soldiers were “calling to relatives with requests to contact the command and find out where they should go next. Some of them ask their wives to contact the hotlines of the Ministry of Defense of Russia and the Red Cross with the demand to remove them from the territory of Ukraine,” the Intelligence Directorate claimed.

It provided no evidence for the assertion.

The Directorate said the Russians had sued flamethrowers in an effort to stay the Ukrainian advance but “suffered serious losses, left their positions and retreated in small groups.”

“Due to the lack of logistics, they are retreating in a disorganized manner.”

The Directorate also claimed that the “237th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment of the Russian Federation ceased to exist due to the death or injury of all servicemen.”

A pro-Russian Telegram channel called the Kharkiv People’s Republic said that a “really large force” of Russian reserves had been deployed and “were able to repel an attack by the AFU [Ukrainian forces] on Horokhovatka and prevent the cutting of the Izium - Borova bridge.”

It acknowledged fighting in the area and suggested that Ukrainian forces were advancing south towards Izium.

The channel said that civilians were being evacuated from both Izium, which has been the main hub for the Russian assault southwards into Donetsk region since April. The evacuation of civilians from Kupyansk, a critical point for Russian resupply, was also continuing, it said.

“The Russian Armed Forces are preparing for defenses and a possible siege of the settlements,” it said.

The channel also acknowledged that a Russian command post had been hit and a bridge disabled near Kupyansk.

It concluded that “the most optimistic scenario for the [Russian] Armed Forces command is the creation of an encirclement” of Ukrainian forces but added that the Ukrainian tactic of using small, manoeuvrable groups had been effective, adding that if they “manage to gain a foothold, it will be much more difficult to recapture the seized territories.”

Through geolocation and the statements of the Ukrainian military, independent analysts and Russian military bloggers, it’s estimated that Ukrainian forces have taken well over 400 square kilometers of territory this week in the Kharkiv region. 

A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on August 30.

The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a dire warning urgently calling for the immediate cessation of shelling in the area surrounding the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant due to the risk of a “nuclear accident.” 

A “serious situation” developed after the power infrastructure feeding the city of Enerhodar — which houses the plant operators and their families — was destroyed by shelling, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement. 

The shelling has led to a complete power blackout — with no running water, power or sewage — in the city.

Without confidence in the restoration of offsite power, the operator is considering shutting down the only remaining operating reactor — meaning the whole plant would be fully reliant on emergency diesel generators, he explained. 

Grossi again called for the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone.

Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly traded accusations for who is responsible for the shelling. CNN has been unable to verify either government’s claims.

As Ukrainian forces take swathes of territory in the Kharkiv region, they are also claiming successes in the southern region of Kherson.

But she said Russian forces continued to strike from the air. 

“They are weak on land, they try to hit civilian positions, populated areas, and rear areas.”

Humeniuk also claimed that some Russian units were refusing to fight.

CNN is unable to verify the Ukrainian claims. Very little video evidence has emerged from the southern front in recent days about the battlefield situation.

The Russian Ministry of Defense Thursday claimed that Ukrainian forces had abandoned their positions in two locations on the border between Kherson and Mykolaiv regions due to heavy casualties.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participate in a media conference after a meeting of NATO ambassadors at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, on September 9.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday he believes the war in Ukraine “is likely to go on for some significant period of time,” noting that “there are a huge number of Russian forces that are in Ukraine, and, unfortunately, tragically, horrifically, President Putin has demonstrated that he will throw a lot of people into this at huge cost for Russia and huge cost to its future.”

“The Russian forces in Ukraine, many of them have no idea why they’re there. Some didn’t even know where they were being sent. We see reports that their morale is low. And when you don’t know what you’re fighting for, that is something that’s not sustainable,” Blinken said.

“Now, Russia has significant resources, military resources. It is acting in horrific, indiscriminate ways. Ukrainians are bearing an incredibly heavy cost,” Blinken said. “Even on the front lines now, in and around the Kherson area, even as they’re making progress, they’re bearing real costs, but fundamentally, they’re fighting for their own homeland.”

The tops US diplomat said he believed that Russian citizens would eventually see the toll the war is bearing on them.

“How is what Putin is doing, doing anything to improve the lives of Russian people? How is this helping them? How is this assuring their own future? How is this creating opportunity for them?” he asked. “Not only is it not, it’s doing just the opposite. It’s cutting Russia off from the world. It’s denying opportunity. It’s depleting its resources, resources that go to help the Russian people.”

“In a closed information society that Putin has created and Russia, that information doesn’t get there as quickly as it as an otherwise might, but I believe it will. And Russians have to ask themselves, why in the world they are losing so many lives, trying to take another country that is not theirs,” Blinken said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (L) during a meeting in Sochi, on August 5.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are planning to meet in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, next week and are likely to discuss the grain deal, the Kremlin told journalists Friday.

“The [grain discussion] is essential, and a conversation between [Presidents] Putin and Erdoğan is being prepared already. We are planning to hold it in Samarkand,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a regular press briefing on Friday.

On September 15-16, the Uzbek city of Samarkand will host the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The success of Ukraine’s counteroffensive shows that it can retake its occupied territory and effectively use modern Western weaponry, said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff.

“What does effective Ukrainian counteroffensive tell the world? [Ukraine] proved the capability of de-occupying its territories. There will be no freezing of the conflict,” Podolyak tweeted on Friday. “[Ukraine] proved that it can effectively use modern Western weapons.”

He also called on Russian troops to “get out.”

The Ukrainian armed forces have reached the important logistics and supply node city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region, a photo geolocated by CNN shows.

The picture shows Ukrainian soldiers holding a flag in front of a signpost, at the southern entrance of the city.

Ukrainian forces have not yet retaken the city.

Kupyansk is an important logistical and supply hub for Russian forces not just in Izium and Lyman, immediately to the south, but also for some parts of the Luhansk and Donestk regions. 

Ukrainian forces have raised their country’s flag in the Kharkiv settlement of Shevchenkove

Ukrainian forces have raised their country’s flag in the Kharkiv settlement of Shevchenkove, located roughly 30 kilometers from the important logistical node of Kupyansk.

Pictures geo-located by CNN show the Ukrainian flag flying above the local administration building.

A reminder: Kupyansk is an important Russian logistics hub inside Ukraine and may become vulnerable if a Ukrainian counterattack in the region is sustained.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky address the nation from his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 8.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims the country’s military has retaken more than 1,000 square kilometers of territory since the beginning of the month, as they continue to press on in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions. 

Zelensky thanked the army, intelligence, and special services “for every Ukrainian flag that has been installed these days.”

The Ukrainian military says Russian forces in the Kharkiv region have suffered significant losses, leading some soldiers to desert and abandon their uniforms, hoping to blend in while wearing civilian clothing. 

“Some enemy units suffered significant losses,” the military’s General Staff said in a situational update on Friday. 

The General Staff reiterated the Ukrainian military assessment that it had advanced almost 50 kilometers (31 miles) into Russian controlled territory in three days, and said Moscow’s armies were retreating. 

Geo-located social media videos confirm Ukrainian forces are fast advancing in the region. 

Some context: In the past 24 hours, Kyiv has re-taken the city of Balakliia in Kharkiv, which was under Russian occupation for six months.

Ukraine has closed in on the important logistical and supply node of Kupyansk, which the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says Ukrainian forces are likely to capture in the coming days. 

“Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv Oblast counteroffensives advanced to within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of Russia’s key logistical node in Kupyansk on September 8,” the ISW said in its daily update on the war in Ukraine on Thursday.

The ISW said Ukrainian forces “will likely capture Kupyansk in the next 72 hours,” which may lead to “severely degrading but not completely severing” Russian ground lines of communication to Izyum in the southeast of Kharkiv.

A Ukrainian counteroffensive beginning this week “with the aim of restoring the lost territories” from Russia’s invasion has been successful in the northeastern Kharkiv region, according to a top Ukraine military official.

And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says a key city in the region has been reclaimed by Ukrainian forces, all while asserting that Russian offensives across the country are being repelled.

Here are the latest headlines in the war:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to media before departing at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine on Thursday, Sept. 8.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has departed Kyiv after his unannounced visit on Thursday, where he said the ongoing counteroffensive was “proving effective.”

The top US diplomat also said “it would be hard to imagine” that Russia’s so-called filtration operations, which have forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, would be possible without the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Blinken credited the success of the counteroffensive to the “incredible bravery, resilience of Ukrainians,” and said the US was “so pleased to have been able to support your efforts.”

Speaking to the press before departing the city by train, Blinken said he got “a comprehensive update on the on the counter offensive.

“Again, it’s very early, but we’re seeing clear and real progress on the ground, particularly in the area around Kherson, but also some interesting developments in the Donbass, in the east, but again, early days,” he said.

Blinken said he spent about two hours with Zelensky and his team, and called it “a very productive and in many ways meaningful day.” 

In addition to meeting with Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, he visited US Embassy, toured a children’s hospital and went Irpin, where he saw first-hand the devastation wrought from the Russian occupation of the suburb of Kyiv.

The top US diplomat told the press he “was able to bear witness to horrific attacks on houses, on buildings, clearly belonging to civilians, where the shelling, the missiles, the bullets, it’s all there. And at best, it’s indiscriminate. At worst, it’s intentional. And I was able to talk to people doing remarkable work in compiling evidence of war crimes and atrocities and also those responsible for the city who are working to rebuild it,” he said.

Ukrainian forces regained control of Irpin in late March, but the city was left in ruins. Damage was still visible as the top US diplomat toured a part of the city, guided by Deputy Mayor Dmytro Nehresha, according to press accompanying Blinken.

Blinken was told that 95% of the city was evacuated at one point, but a vast majority – about 78% — have returned, and it is receiving internally displaced people from Kherson.

A video posted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Facebook page on Thursday September 8, claims his soldiers have retaken the key Kharkiv city of Balakliia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed his country’s soldiers have retaken the key Kharkiv city of Balakliia.

Zelensky posted a video on his social media accounts with Ukrainian soldiers standing above a building in Balakliia, alongside the Ukrainian flag.

In front of the soldier, a Russian flag can been seen on the ground.

Zelensky captioned the video saying “everything was in its place.”

“The Ukrainian flag is in the free Ukrainian city, under the free Ukrainian sky,” the Ukrainian president said.

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on September 6.

US President Joe Biden spoke with counterparts from Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Romania, Poland and the United Kingdom, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and representatives from France and the European Union on Thursday to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine.

Biden “(underscored) continued international support for Ukraine, including through the ongoing provision of security and economic assistance and the sustained imposition of costs on Russia to hold the Kremlin accountable for its aggression,” according to a White House readout of the call.

That comes as the White House is “closely” monitoring an escalating energy crisis in Europe after Russian energy giant Gazprom halted flows through the vital Nord Stream 1 pipeline indefinitely, claiming it had found an oil leak in a turbine.

Torture and the forcible deportation of 2.5 million people were among the shocking details of human rights violations against Ukrainian civilians recounted at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

Deputy Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Khrystyna Hayovyshyn told the council that 2.5 million people, including 38,000 children, have been forcibly deported from the country under a Russian “filtration” program.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has also documented “filtration” cases, it said.

Brands Kehris said there have been credible allegations of forced transfers of Ukrainian children to “Russian occupied territory, or to the Russian Federation itself.”

In addition, Brands Kehris said that men and women “perceived as having ties with Ukrainian armed forces or state institutions, or as having pro-Ukrainian or anti-Russian views” being subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, and “enforced disappearance.”

Russian officials said the allegations of forced “filtration” are unfounded, adding that newcomers to the country go through “registration,” not filtration.

Refugees and displaced persons in Russia are given health and financial assistance, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said in his remarks to the UN Security Council Wednesday.

It’s very unfortunate that human rights groups are making unfounded allegations against Russia, Nebenzia said. “We have wasted time” discussing this issue rather than real issues, the ambassador added.

Meanwhile, Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs said that over 6.9 million people remain internally displaced in Ukraine, with most of the newly-displaced coming from eastern and southern Ukraine.

There have been 5,718 civilians killed, including 372 children, and 8,199 injured, including 635 children, during the war so far, she said.

DiCarlo added that “these are only verified figures and the actual numbers are likely significantly higher.”