The Ukrainian army says it killed 104 Russian soldiers and destroyed a pontoon bridge in fighting in the south of the country on Sunday.
A Russian regiment is said to have refused to fight. One reason: lack of supply.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Schmyhal spoke to Chancellor Scholz about tank deliveries.
what happened in the night
The soldiers of the 127th Regiment of the 1st Army Corps of the Russian Armed Forces apparently refuse to continue fighting. This emerges from a report by the Ukrainian operations command in the south. Accordingly, there is a “collective refusal” to participate in the fight. Among other things, the lack of supply should be a reason. For example, there is not enough water for the unit. Russia withdrew the fighters from their positions because of the refusal, the report said.
According to the Operations Command South report, 104 Russian soldiers were killed in fighting on Sunday. In addition, the Ukrainian army destroyed six enemy tanks and 26 other war vehicles. In addition, 9 Russian howitzers were disabled.
The Ukrainians also managed to destroy a Russian army ammunition depot in the Tomina Balka area. To do this, the Ukrainian fighters wiped out a pontoon bridge near the village of Lviv.
At a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in Berlin, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal said he made concrete proposals for the delivery of Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Kyiv. “We talked about the subject. We even suggested how Germany can supply Ukraine with these tanks,” Schmyhal told journalists on Sunday after his talks with Scholz in the Chancellery.
Germany has already delivered the Panzerhaubitze 2000, the MARS-II multiple rocket launcher and other weapons to Ukraine. Schmyhal said he spoke to Scholz about expanding deliveries. He gave no details. “Of course we started discussions on new types of weapons.” The talks should be continued.
“I would like to emphasize that every German politician understands that today there is a war in Ukraine and a hybrid war in the territory of the European Union,” Schmyhal said. Russia is also waging this war in the energy sector – with gas, oil and electricity – with disinformation and cyber attacks. He felt that Germany “is absolutely ready to live through this heating season, to live through the difficulties,” he said. “And I am convinced that Russia will suffer corresponding losses after this heating season.”
Schmyhal expressed the hope that Ukraine will also get through the winter in a stable manner. “In fact, today we have around 13 billion cubic meters of gas in our storage facilities. Today we have more than two million tons of coal. This gives us hope that this difficult heating season will be stable.” Nevertheless, it will be difficult because of the military risks.
After the arms deliveries from Germany, too, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke of recapturing areas in the fight against the Russian attack. “Ukrainian flags are returning where they rightfully should be. And there is no place for the occupiers in our country,” Zelenskyy said in Kiev on Sunday. According to the Presidential Office, Ukrainian forces liberated the village of Vysokopillya in the northern part of the Kherson Oblast from Russian occupation. Monday is day 194 in the war.
According to media reports, Ukrainian troops had also recaptured the village of Oserne in the Donetsk region. This information could not be verified independently. In a video, Zelenskyj also reiterated the goal of recapturing the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea. “I believe that the Ukrainian flag and free life will return to Crimea. We are liberating our entire earth, all our people,” said Zelenskyy.
In a video recorded after a conversation with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, President Zelenskyj also reiterated his calls for entry bans for Russians. There must be restrictions on visas for those who support terrorism against Ukraine and seek fun and entertainment in Europe, he stressed.
“Europe is a country of values and not Disneyland for supporters of terror.” At the end of August, the EU announced that it would only completely suspend an agreement concluded with Russia to facilitate the issuing of visas for travellers. Travel is still possible.
Under the impression of the war in Ukraine and the high prices on the energy market, around 20 oil-producing countries, including Russia, are discussing their production quotas as part of the OPEC alliance from October. Many market watchers expect the group to stick to its previous production targets in Monday’s online session. However, Saudi Arabia, one of the dominant members, had recently floated a possible production cut.
At the end of the last trading week, oil prices had risen again after several days with discounts. Previously, crude oil had come under pressure. Factors behind the downtrend included concerns about the global economy, many central banks fighting inflation and the strong dollar making the US-denominated commodity more expensive for many market participants. However, because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the price level is still significantly higher than before the conflict.
The Ukraine update: Read what happened on September 4th here.
