With wintertime approaching Eastern Europe, the battle seems to be taking surprising turns, as Russia retreats and Ukraine takes back cities and large amounts of land in less than a week.
Although Ukraine seems to be making impressive strides, Russia claims to be regrouping, and a Ukrainian city under Russian control has allegedly been attacked by Ukrainian forces. Here’s the latest on the war in Ukraine.
Thirteen killed in Ukrainian city, Russian officials point at Ukraine
Thirteen people were killed and more wounded from alleged Ukrainian shelling in the city of Donetsk, Ukraine, on Monday.
Donetsk has been under Russian control since 2014, and the Russian-backed mayor blames Ukrainian forces for the deaths, according to BBC.
BBC states that independent reporting is “hard to come by” in separatist cities such as this one, but local officials report that nine 150mm shells came from a village west of Donetsk. Ukrainian officials have not commented.
South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant narrowly missed
A Russian missile exploded just under 900 feet from the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant in the early hours of Monday morning, according to Ukraine’s defense organization.
The plant has remained fully operational and no vital equipment was damaged. However, the missile caused damage to a hydroelectric power station and shut down one of the plant’s hydraulic units, causing power outages nearby, The New York Times reported.
Ukraine makes notable strides
In a week, Ukraine has taken more territory than Russia has in five months of battle.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reports that Ukraine has reclaimed more than 2,317 square miles of territory in the month of September alone. This includes major cities Izyum and Kupiansk, key hubs for Russian supplies, after Russian troops reportedly fled the scene, per BBC.
The Institute for the Study of War calls this a “major operational defeat” on Ukraine’s part, turning events in its favor for now. However, the institute claims this isn’t an end to the war.
Russia’s warning
After pulling out of the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, Russia stated that it was doing so to “regroup” in another location, per Al Jazeera.
In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Ukraine’s counterattacks could provoke a “more serious” military response.
The Russian president remains steadfast in his plans to “liberate” Ukraine, specifically the territory of Donbas, a part of the country that is largely Russian-speaking.
Parts of the Donbas region of Ukraine have been under Russian control since 2014, including Luhansk and Donetsk. In short, Russia wants to claim all of the Donbas regions to strengthen Russian presence in Ukraine, in opposition to alleged relations between Ukraine and the West.
“We are really quite restrained in our response to this for the time being,” Putin said in a news conference on Friday, via Al Jazeera. “If the situation continues to develop in this way, the response will be more serious.”