Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk, Maryana Zaviyska, Anna Dovha
Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov and Vlada Liberova
Human rights violations.
As of September 17, experts of the National Police in the Kharkiv region exhumed 59 bodies from the mass grave in Izyum. Most of the bodies have traces of violent death. The Institute for the Study of War stated that the revelations of mass graves of civilians and torture chambers in newly liberated Izyum confirm that these are the typical patterns of Russian atrocities throughout Russian-occupied areas. Meanwhile, the UN wants to send a team to probe the mass grave in Ukraine’s Izyum, Barron’s reported. In a basement on the territory of the de-occupied village of Kozacha Lopan, Kharkiv region, law enforcement officers discovered another torture chamber where Russian soldiers abused civilians. In general, the Russian invaders arranged torture chambers where Ukrainian citizens and foreigners were tourtured all around the Kharkiv region. In particular, seven citizens of the Republic of Sri Lanka, students of Kupyansk Medical College, had been captured by Russian soldiers and subsequently kept in a basement.
The Russian occupiers announced a new shelling of the colony in Olenivka, where Ukrainian prisoners of war are held. The Russian occupiers claim that one Ukrainian prisoner of war was killed and four others were wounded during the shelling. Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported that the Ukrainian side still has not received information about the names of the victims and is requesting it both directly to the Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Tetyana Moskalkova and through the UN and the Red Cross.
The Russian Federation ceased to be a Party to the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights reported. Nevertheless, Ukraine filed a tenth lawsuit against Russia to the European Court of Human Rights in the case of the rule of law and the collective guarantee of human rights and freedoms in Europe.
War crimes investigation.
The ‘Justice Initiative Fund’ has been launched in Ukraine, which collects information about Russian war crimes. The organization is engaged in private and journalistic investigations and seeks to bring to justice those who committed crimes in Ukraine. The organization’s website contains lists of those involved in war crimes in Ukraine.
Cities under occupation.
Kherson region. Russian occupiers kidnapped a primary school teacher and her husband from the village of Korsunka. Their whereabouts are currently unknown. Zaporizhzhia region. Russian invaders drove at high speed into a civilian car that was trying to evacuate in Vasylivka. Another civilian car blew up on a Russian mine.
Cities under attack.
Kharkiv region. On September 16, the Russian invaders shelled Kharkiv. A house was partially damaged, 5 garages were destroyed, and a car was burned. 4 people, including 2 children, received injuries. At night on September 17, Kharkiv was under the attack again. As a result of the attack, a fire broke out at one of the enterprises. During the day, the Russian occupiers fired on the districts of the region. As a result, residential buildings and commercial buildings, gas stations, garages and production facilities were destroyed and one child was killed. In the border village of Strilecha the Russian invaders fired a shot from a tank on a civilian car, 2 women were killed. Mykolaiv region. At night on September 16, the settlement of Berezneguvate was shelled. As a result, the warehouse of the farm was partially destroyed. Also, a fire broke out due to the fall of ammunition and their fragments. There are no casualties. At night on September 17, the Russian invaders shelled the city of Ochakiv. As a result, in some areas of the city there is no electricity and water. Also, in the village of Dmytrivka one person was killed and buildings and a power station were damaged due to the Russian attacks. On the same day, the Russian invaders fired on Mykolaiv. The civil infrastructure was damaged in the city. In particular, one of the hospitals and the auto garage cooperative where the fire broke out. Also, the car caught fire due to shelling. Dnipropetrovsk region. At night on September 16, the Nikopol and Kryvy Rih districts were under attack. One person was injured in Nikopol. Also, 11 high-rise and private buildings, a lyceum, a kindergarten, a social service center, several businesses, gas pipelines and power lines were damaged. At noon, the Russian occupiers shelled Kryvy Rih. As a result, critical infrastructure was damaged. Serious destruction of hydraulic structures were recorded in the city. In the evening, the village of Velika Kostromka was attacked by the Russian military. Two people were killed and one injured. The next night, on September 17, the Russian invaders fired on Nikopol district. Private houses, cars, lyceum, workshop of an industrial enterprise, gas pipelines and power lines were damaged. At night on September 18, the Russian occupiers shelled Nikopol district again. In Nikopol, 3 people were injured. High-rise and private buildings, cars, several farm buildings, gas pipelines and power lines were damaged, and a fire broke out in the local market. A kindergarten, several shops, a hairdresser and the building of the local administration were also hit by the shelling. During the day, in the Nikopol district 2 people were killed and 2 people were injured in the Nikopol district due to the attacks of the Russian military. Sumy region. From 16 to 18 of September the Russian military attacked the communities of the region. As a result of Russian shelling on September 16, more than 20 settlements were cut off. Due to the shelling on Bilopilsk community on September 18, one person was killed, a farm, a house and a water tower were destroyed. Chernihiv region. On September 16 and 17, the Russian invaders shelled the Snovsk territorial community in the border part of the region. No casualties were reported.
Foreign policy.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban delivered a pro-Russian speech and announced the collapse of the European Union in the near future at a closed meeting with his supporters in the village of Ketche. In particular, Orban stated that he would oppose the further extension of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, the European Commission proposed to freeze about 7.5 billion euros in payments to Hungary due to problems with the rule of law in the country.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have directly rebuffed Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, telling Russian President Vladimir Putin that now is not the time for war, CNN reported.
The European Union presidency, the Czech Republic, has called for an international tribunal over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after the discovery of mass graves in liberated Izyum, Kharkiv region. ‘We must not overlook it. We stand for the punishment of all war criminals,’ Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said.
Economic security.
The State Budget of Ukraine received a grant in the amount of 1.5 billion dollars. This is the last tranche of grant funds from 4.5 billion dollars, provided by the United States of America through the Trust Fund of the World Bank within the framework of the project ‘Supporting public expenditures to ensure sustainable public administration in Ukraine’.
Energy security.
The Ukrainian national energy company ‘Ukrenergo’ reported a record amount of electricity sold abroad during the first two weeks of September. Ukraine earned more than UAH 4.1 billion from the access to interstate power grids. The Government of Ukraine set a quota for coal exports at the level of 100 000 tons. In addition, the government excluded anthracite from the list of goods whose export is subject to licensing.
Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is once again receiving electricity directly from the national grid after engineers repaired one of the four main external power lines that have all been damaged, the IAEA reported. The restored 750 kilovolt (kV) line is now providing the ZNPP plant with the electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other essential safety functions. Russia refused to comply with the IAEA resolution adopted on September 15 and to withdraw the troops from the occupied territory of ZNPP. However, during the interview with Reuters, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that 500 Russian fighters stay at the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP.
On September 17, the Russian occupiers shelled the Sloviansk Thermal Power Plant. As a result of the attack, the equipment at the station was damaged.
Food security.
The third vessel chartered by the UN World Food Program left the port of Chornomorsk. More than 30,000 tons of wheat are on board. The ship is headed for Ethiopia, which, according to the UN, is on the verge of a food crisis.
Media.
39 journalists have been killed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Reading corner.
- Fire and Fear in South Ukraine | The New York Times – read the story of firefighters from Mykolaiv: ‘How Russia selects its targets is a subject of debate and bewilderment in Mykolaiv. Rarely, it seems, do the Kremlin’s forces hit military targets, but they have destroyed plenty of schools, universities, hospitals and homes.’
- Survivors of Russian occupation: ‘You say something wrong – you get a sack on your head’ | Kyiv Independant
Statistics.
- Russia’s war has killed at least 390 children, injured 757 since February 24. The largest number of casualties was reported in Donetsk Oblast, where 395 children have been killed or injured. The Prosecutor General’s Office reported on September 18 that the numbers are expected to be higher since they do not include casualties in the Russian-occupied territories and areas where hostilities are ongoing.
- Ukraine has exported 3.7 million metric tons of grain under the UN-backed deal. A total of 165 vessels carrying Ukrainian grain have left for Asia, Europe, and Africa since Ukraine and Russia signed the UN-backed grain deal on July 22. On September 18, 10 vessels carrying 169,3 metric tons of grain are scheduled to leave Ukrainian ports.
- The Ministry for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories reported that over 30 000 people from Zaporizhzhia Oblast were evacuated, as well as over 24 000 people from Kherson Oblast, 17 000 (including 3 000 children) from Donetsk Oblast, and more than 5 000 from Kharkiv Oblast.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., September 19, 2022: personnel – around 54650, tanks ‒ 2212, APV ‒ 4720, artillery systems – 1313, MLRS – 312, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 168, fixed-wing aircraft – 251, helicopters – 217, operational-tactical level UAV – 920, cruise missiles –238, boats and light speed boats – 15, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 3581, special equipment – 125.
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