The Security Service of Ukraine and the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a massive fire attack on Russia’s Saky military air base in the temporarily occupied Crimea last night.

This is reported by Ukrinform, referring to sources in the Security Service of Ukraine.

“According to the data from our sources, at least 12 combat aircraft (Su-24 and Su-30) were in the airfield, as well as the Pantsir missile system. A training base of the Mojaher unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operators was also located there. Russians use these UAVs to coordinate their air attacks and as combat drones,” the interlocutors told.

Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, said that there will be no second march on Moscow following the example of the Wagner rebellion, but a rebellion is in fact brewing in Russia and it will lead to fragmentation of the Russian Federation. Ukraine knows who is leading the rebellion and how it manifests itself.

Source: Danilov on the air of the United News newcast, Ukrinform

Quote: "I think that this will no longer be a march. Remember how in August 1991 there was a collapse of the USSR. It is indeed brewing there, as it was with the ‘SCSE group’ in 1991, this is already maturing there and they are already groupin up there, this is a well-known fact. And we understand who is leading this, how it is happening [SCSE, or State Committee on the State of Emergency, a group of eight high-level Soviet officials who attempted a coup-d'etat against Mikhail Gorbachev - ed.].

The question of when another rebellion will occur in Russia is a matter of a short period of time. What time it will be, let's see, but the processes are ongoing. And the fact that Kadyrov [Ramzan Kadyrov's serious illness - ed.] is one of the factors that will also affect these processes."

Details: Danilov noted that Russian oligarchic groups that lived their own lives should forget about stability and calmness after Putin's crazy decision to start a war.

Answering the question whether international partners are ready for Russia to break up, Danilov said: "Many are aware, but some believe that this process can be controlled and things can be done that will not allow Russia to break up. I can say that no one can influence this, Russia will have to fragment and this will necessarily happen in our lifetime. And no force can stop this, because this is a historical process"

Ukrainian troops have broken through the Russian defensive line on the eastern front, which the enemy was trying to reinforce with all available reserves, Ukraine’s Military Media Center reported on its Telegram channel on Sept. 18, citing Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi.

The Russians are trying to resume offensive actions on the Kupyansk and Lyman directions, and are actively preparing for this, Syrskyi said.

Fierce fighting is taking place near Bakhmut, he added. The enemy is conducting numerous counterattacks from various directions in an attempt to regain lost ground, after Ukrainian forces liberated Andriyivka and Klishchiyivka, which are vital elements of the Russian defensive line from Bakhmut to Horlivka.

"As a result of the successful actions of our troops, we have broken through the enemy's defensive line, which they tried to close by throwing all available reserves into the battle," Syrskyi said.

Ukrainian forces have defeated and rendered completely combat ineffective some of the best-trained Russian units, including the 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, the 31st and 83rd Separate Airborne Assault Brigades, in the Bakhmut front battles, he said.

The Liut (Rage) United Assault Brigade of the National Police of Ukraine has confirmed the liberation of the village of Klishchiivka in Donetsk Oblast.

Source: the Liut Brigade on Facebook; Illia Yevlash, press service chief for Operational Command Skhid (East), in a comment for Ukrainska Pravda

Quote from Yevlash: "I can confirm that this happened thanks to the efforts of the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade, the 5th Separate Assault Brigade, and the combined Liut National Police Brigade."

Ukrainian SeaBaby drone hits Russian Samum missile warship in Black Sea
Ukrainska Pravda
Fri, September 15, 2023 at 9:57 AM EDT·1 min read

A Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessel (USV) hit a Samum-class missile carrier hovercraft on Thursday, 14 September.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda’s sources in the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU)

Details: The sources said the SSU's SeaBaby USV hit the Samum near the entry to Sevastopol Bay.

The USV hit the rear right side of the vessel, causing significant damage, which resulted in the ship losing power.

The sources stated that the Russians had to tow the Samum away for repairs "with a significant tilt at the stern and listing to starboard".

The SSU used an experimental model of USV capable of operating in a storm, using high waves for cover. The waves were 1.5-2 metres high at the time of the special operation.

Background:

On 14 September, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed that Ukrainian forces had attempted to attack a Samum missile ship with a USV on 14 September. The Russians alleged that the attack was "unsuccessful".

The United States and European Union on Thursday criticised remarks about the World War Two persecution of Jews and antisemitism by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

In a statement, the EU's diplomatic service said the 87-year-old Abbas's remarks, made in late August to a meeting of his Fatah movement's Revolutionary Council, were "false and grossly misleading".

Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, called for an immediate apology for what she said were Abbas's "hateful, antisemitic remarks".

There was no immediate comment from Abbas. Members of his Fatah party did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

In his remarks Abbas said Jews were targeted by Nazi Germany because of their "social role" rather than their religion.

"This has been explained by many Jewish authors. When they said that Hitler killed the Jews for being Jews, and that Europe hates the Jews because they were Jews, no. It was clearly explained that they fought (the Jews) because of their social role and not their religion," Abbas said.

-- snip--

In a statement, the foreign affairs spokesman for the EU, one of the major donors to the Palestinian Authority, called the remarks "an insult to the millions of victims of the Holocaust and their families".

"Such historical distortions are inflammatory, deeply offensive, can only serve to exacerbate tensions in the region and serve no one's interests," he said. "They play into the hands of those who do not want a two-state solution, which President Abbas has repeatedly advocated for."

The Russians have started looting businesses in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and have developed a plan to smuggle out high-value items due to the challenging situation on the southern front.

Source: Ukraine’s National Resistance Center (NRC)

Details: The NRC has reported that the Russian occupying forces have looted a local forging and stamping plant in the temporarily occupied city of Tokmak. The Russian military took most of the equipment, and its further status is unknown.

Furthermore, the local occupying authorities drafted a plan to take valuables out of the seized city. It will be put into action should the situation worsen for the Russians.

"Western handlers" deliberately put a Jew in charge of Ukraine – Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that "Western handlers put an ethnic Jew in charge of modern Ukraine" to "cover up the anti-human nature" of Ukraine.

Source: Putin in a comment to a journalist from the Kremlin-aligned TV channel VGTRK, as cited by Meduza

Quote: "This makes the situation utterly repugnant: that an ethnic Jew is covering up the glorification of Nazism and of those who once presided over the Holocaust in Ukraine."

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has signed a law on streamlining the administrative and territorial structure of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

Source: This was reported by the press service of the representation of the President of Ukraine in Crimea.

Quote: "The President of Ukraine has signed a law On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Resolution of Certain Issues of the Administrative and Territorial Organization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," the message reads.

Tomilinsky Electronic Plant research and production enterprise in Lyubertsy, Moscow Oblast, is reportedly ablaze after a drone attack on Sep. 1, according to our sister publication, Ukrainska Pravda.

The Tomilinsky plant is under sanctions by the Ukrainian government as it manufactures electronics for Russian missile systems.

The plant was attacked in an operation directed by Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), who believe they have achieved their aim, a well-informed source told Ukrainska Pravda.

The HUR has thus far refused to publicly confirm or deny its involvement. The agency’s spokesman, Andriy Yusov, commented that Russian state media had issued "a mountain" of lies about the attack and said that "cotton has really blossomed" at the plant in Lyubertsy on Friday.

Explosions in Russia or Russian-held territory far behind the frontlines are popularly referred to in Ukraine as “bavovna”, or “cotton” in English.

Drones tried to attack the Russian capital on Sept. 1, said Moscow mayor Serhiy Sobyanin, adding that one drone was allegedly shot down near Lyubertsy.