Every manifestation of the world’s consolidation really helps save lives – address of President of Ukraine

6 September 2023 – 23:31

Dear Ukrainians!

Today was a difficult day. As of now, over 30 people have been wounded in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, after the attack by Russian terrorists. 16 people have been killed. My condolences to all who lost their loved ones! All services were working at the scene, clearing the rubble and rescuing people.

I am grateful to everyone in the world who condemned this latest manifestation of Russian evil and supports Ukraine, our people. And it is very important that the response to Russian terror was even greater consolidation of the world. Every manifestation of such consolidation really helps save lives.

Today, in Ukraine, in Kyiv, there are several important international events. Visits of partners. Denmark – Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The United States – Secretary of State Blinken. The First Ladies and Gentlemen of the partner states who participated in this year’s Summit – and this is the third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen – dedicated to the extremely important and sensitive topic of how we are going through this war, how our hearts and souls are experiencing the war. Therefore, how to overcome the pain of war. Mental health, the mental resilience of people, it is something that requires work just as much as any other manifestation of our resilience.

Today, I also addressed the leaders of the Summit of the Three Seas Initiative, a large region that is one of the sources of European strength. The Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Adriatic Sea – all the countries in our part of Europe. The Summit took place in Romania. I called on all our partners, our neighbors to continue to preserve unity in Europe.

On this day, we have new defense agreements. New political and humanitarian agreements. We are also preparing new international communications to make this week more active from the perspective of our foreign policy work. So that our soldiers, all our people feel more strengthened.

I thank everyone who helps and will help! Thank you to all whose strength is Ukrainian!

Glory to Ukraine!

The transition at the Ministry of Defense seems to be going well.

Today I completed my tenure as the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
I'm grateful to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy @ZelenskyyUa, who proposed my candidacy for this office, and to our Parliament, @verkhovna_rada which confirmed it 22 months ago.
I’m grateful to my colleagues in the… pic.twitter.com/48Yli1vhlG

— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) September 5, 2023

Today I completed my tenure as the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
I’m grateful to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy @ZelenskyyUa, who proposed my candidacy for this office, and to our Parliament, @verkhovna_rada which confirmed it 22 months ago. I’m grateful to my colleagues in the Government of Ukraine @Kabmin_UA and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal @Denys_Shmyhal
I appreciate the support from the defense ministers of our partner states, as well from as my colleagues in the EU and NATO.
I want to thank the team at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for our joint achievements.
I’m proud to have worked with @CinC_AFU Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
It was an honor to work for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which are defending all of us.

The Parliament of Ukraine has appointed Rustem Umerov @rustem_umerov as the new Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
He took the oath of Member of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at the plenary of the Parliament.
Welcome aboard, Minister.
🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/PQx9qaYMNV

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 6, 2023

My heartfelt congratulations to my colleague Rustem Umerov @rustem_umerov on his appointment as the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
I’ve known Rustem for a long time and I believe he is a great fit for this position.
The challenges are many, but such are the times in which we…

— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) September 6, 2023

My heartfelt congratulations to my colleague Rustem Umerov @rustem_umerov on his appointment as the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
I’ve known Rustem for a long time and I believe he is a great fit for this position.
The challenges are many, but such are the times in which we live. Through our strength and determination we will win this war.
Unity is the key to our victory.
Glory to Ukraine!
🇺🇦✌️

My greatest honor to become Ukraine’s Defense Minister. Grateful to the President @ZelenskyyUa for the trust.

Our main goal is victory.
Our defenders are the highest value and first priority.

Glory to Ukraine! 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/Z4nrzrZAO1

— Rustem Umerov (@rustem_umerov) September 6, 2023

Minister @rustem_umerov:
For me, this war did not begin in 2022, and not even in 2014. For my family and the Crimean Tatar people, the war with russia began several centuries ago, when moscow first occupied my native Crimea. I was born after my family had been deported, and as a… pic.twitter.com/IHoSAkf0yz

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 6, 2023

Minister @rustem_umerov:
For me, this war did not begin in 2022, and not even in 2014. For my family and the Crimean Tatar people, the war with russia began several centuries ago, when moscow first occupied my native Crimea. I was born after my family had been deported, and as a child lived through the hardships brought about by russian colonialism, which attempted to make indigenous Crimean Tatar people feel as though they were aliens on their own land. They did not succeed back then, and they will never succeed. Our main goal today is to win the war.

The Biden administration has announced more military aid for Ukraine:

RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 6, 2023

Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. This announcement is the Biden Administration’s forty-sixth tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. This package includes: additional air defense equipment; artillery munitions; anti-tank weapons, including depleted uranium rounds for previously committed Abrams tanks; and other equipment to help Ukraine counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression.

The capabilities in this package, valued at up to $175 million, include:

• Equipment to support Ukraine’s air defense systems;
• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
• 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
• 81mm mortars systems and rounds;
• 120mm depleted uranium tank ammunition for Abrams tanks;
• Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
• Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
• Over 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition;
• Tactical air navigation systems;
• Tactical secure communications systems and support equipment;
• Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing; and
• Spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment.
• This security assistance package will utilize assistance previously authorized under Presidential

Drawdown Authority (PDA) for Ukraine that remained after the PDA revaluation process concluded in June.

The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements.

Kyiv:

I welcomed @SecBlinken in Ukraine.

The Secretary became the first counterpart to begin his day in Kyiv by paying tribute to our fallen heroes at Berkovetske cemetery.

This is a sign of respect to all Ukrainian warriors who gave their life for our freedom and the right to live. pic.twitter.com/yMSWFRTqh5

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) September 6, 2023

Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister Kuleba went to McDonald’s with Secretary Blinken during his visit to Kyiv.

Kuleba: When I was a student, my best hangover food was from McDonald’s.

Blinken: I’m sure it was very rare. pic.twitter.com/t6C6bPBi7D

— Ostap Yarysh (@OstapYarysh) September 6, 2023

Mariupol:

Follow this account for updates: @20DaysMariupol

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) September 6, 2023

For you acquisitions and logistics enthusiasts:

This topic is rarely discussed, but I feel it's important to briefly talk about it. There's a significant focus on advanced weapons like ATACMS or F16, which are expected to reshape the battlefield.

While I don't dispute the significance of these weapons, I believe the constant…

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 6, 2023

This topic is rarely discussed, but I feel it’s important to briefly talk about it. There’s a significant focus on advanced weapons like ATACMS or F16, which are expected to reshape the battlefield.

While I don’t dispute the significance of these weapons, I believe the constant buzz around “game changers” sometimes overshadows the critical need for simpler, yet vital resources. These include medevac vehicles, basic IFVs, armored vehicles like the M113, infantry mortars, ammunition for them, artillery, medical kits, stabilization equipment, MANPADs, and drones.

The reality is that Ukrainian volunteers are tirelessly raising funds almost every day to purchase old, unarmored Toyotas in Europe just to secure one vehicle per company or even battalion for evacuating the wounded from the battlefield.

In active combat scenarios, it’s entirely possible to lose multiple drones at once, which is why you often see daily fundraisers for them.

Numerous frontline units require basic armored vehicles for transportation and fire support. Acquiring these might not be as glamorous as boasting about Abrams tanks or F16s, but their importance is no less significant.

Unfortunately, Ukraine is in a serious need of a significant amount of “essential vehicles”, and not only in the Southern front. Ukrainians are engaged in constant battles across the entire frontline, with particularly intense combat in areas like Bakhmut, Kreminna, and Kupiansk.

In a theater of war heavily influenced by artillery, landmines, and loitering munitions, the rate of equipment loss is far greater than many people realize. This is precisely why I’ve wrote this text, in an attempt to shed light on this pressing issue.

While I may not have the power to resolve this issue, I urge supporters of Ukraine not to disregard fundraisers for drones or evacuation vehicles, as they are undeniably crucial. We shouldn’t forget about essential supplies while chasing bigger goals like ATACMS.

Correct. I am not saying that they are disregarded, but it’s understandable that people get tired as it carries financial burden. This is rather a much larger issue which can’t be addressed unless publicly discussed (same like with other weapon systems).

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 6, 2023

There won’t be any impact from F16’s for at least one year, since it will take time to train enough pilots, meanwhile people are going to die due to absence of those vehicles. I understand what you are trying to say, but it doesn’t help the situation.

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 6, 2023

Ah yeah, another great deal with a truce and security guarantees. Worked well for Prigozhin

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 6, 2023

I agree with Tatarigami. As I wrote a couple of weeks back, the advantage of the F-16s and other advanced weapons systems and armaments is in their deterrent effect. Specifically tactical deterrence. Providing these types of weapons to the Ukrainians gives them a plus up. Having them means that the Russians have to keep their equivalents farther back from the lines, relieving pressure on the Ukrainian forces and allowing them to do more with the less advanced weapons systems and armaments. This does not mean that by providing F-16s and other advanced weapons systems that the US and the coalition it has built to support Ukraine can skimp on the ordnance that must be used every day.

And here’s some bonus logistics and acquisitions reporting from The Economist‘s Shashank Joshi:

https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1699367000613548392

https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1699376796817350792

https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1699401516929401070

Last night in comments, Chetan Murthy brought this long assessment of the training the Ukrainian military is getting that was posted by a Ukrainian combat veteran who now supplies drones to the Ukrainian military.

My thoughts regarding the issues reported by the @KyivIndependent article about the evaluation of NATO training and the 32nd Mechanized Brigade.

Please consider this text as a supplementary piece interjected with opinions – my own and those I spoke to in the field.

I got in… pic.twitter.com/PCkBk6XEbi

— ✙ Constantine ✙ (@Teoyaomiquu) September 5, 2023

My thoughts regarding the issues reported by the @KyivIndependent article about the evaluation of NATO training and the 32nd Mechanized Brigade.

Please consider this text as a supplementary piece interjected with opinions – my own and those I spoke to in the field.

I got in touch with not only the 32nd but also the 92nd Mechanized Brigade. The 92nd fought alongside the 32nd and can provide unique insight, as they are experienced and saw firsthand the schism between theory and practice.

Our new infantry brigade did a heroic job in the given circumstances: limited time, resources, and ammunition. My conversations with everyone outside of the 32nd were marked with gratitude, as nobody appreciates people willing to do the job of infantry more than infantry.

Don’t doom over this text. My effort is to give another small input into making Western training more effective.

Let me also point out that when dealing with losses, emotions run high, and there is an opening for toxicity to seep in. The disconnect between expectations set by the training and the reality of the Ukrainian battlefield can be explained better with a lack of communication at the higher level than with “Western arrogance”. It can still get you angry, but you would be a fool to escape into a simple narrative that relies on a lack of intelligence or empathy. You can not expect Western militaries to be perfectly in tune with the requirements of the Ukrainian battlefield at the institutional level when our own institutions run into similar problems with less distance to the front. If you think Ukrainian training is perfect, I have an illegal bridge to sell you.

You can watch the videos of Western instructors saying farewell to Ukrainian recruits anytime. Twitter replies made by armchair generals do not represent them. I think they very much care.

Background:

The 32nd Mechanized Brigade was formed at the beginning of 2023 and partially equipped with Western equipment with the core of its mechanized infantry utilizing the American M113 armored personnel carrier.
Its infantry battalions underwent training in the spring of 2023 in a NATO country. After the return to Ukraine, the brigade received equipment and ammunition and was fully staffed. During the summer, the 32nd brigade was deployed alongside the 92nd brigade, which had been fighting for the past nine months in the Svatove axis in the northeast of Ukraine.

The deployment quickly became problematic and resulted in heavy casualties, eventually forcing the command to reconsider.

The training:

I’ve spoken to one of the sergeants in the brigade with the call sign “Nestor” about the training they received abroad.

Overall, the training included basic infantry, reconnaissance, and assault tactics.

Nestor said the most interesting and useful part was the reconnaissance training. “We learned how to get close to the enemy and build secure observation posts. It was essential.” They also learned how to adjust artillery and navigation. “Navigation was useful; spotting was interesting, but it was not particularly useful on the battlefield so far.”

However, his overall verdict of the training was mixed: “It was like the instructors were in a vacuum. We received training in infantry tactics, while this war is a war of artillery and drones.”.

On one occasion, Nestor’s commander asked if trainers would at least consider the presence of drones on the battlefield. The answer was a damning “No.”.
“You didn’t take your drones with you, and the only drone we have available is DJI Phantom 4, but we can’t even use it for bureaucratic reasons.” he recalls them saying. So they continued the training as is.

Western-provided training fell short of considering current realities on the battlefield. The brigade’s first deployment in Ukraine was to hold the defense in the Svatove direction. However, Nestor commented: “Our battalion received zero defensive combat training. It was all assault oriented.”

On a positive note, the sergeant says that our infantry learned to move and storm buildings and trenches. “If you consider this basic infantry training, it was good.” The infantry companies spend seven days practicing assault combined arms operations, storming different objectives. One day, it was a small town. Another day, it was an enemy trench. “We went through swamps, mud, and cold nights. Once, our instructor said that living through it on the battlefield would be easier if we experienced these conditions now. He was right.”

But the companies received too little training on surviving the battlefield: “There was no camouflage training. The infantry didn’t learn how to conceal positions, build bunkers, and no defensive combat training.”

In the end, Nestor adds that one of the things that they needed was EOD awareness and training. “You must understand the battlefield is littered with booby traps, mines, and explosive ordinance. We knew it before the deployment. Everyone in Ukraine knows it. We asked trainers if we could get any training on the topic.” But for some reason, the trainers refused to even discuss it. It was a taboo. “We regret the lack of EOD training specifically. It could have saved lives.”

The deployment:

After the training in Germany by a NATO country was complete, and after a short period in Ukraine, they were sent to reinforce Svatove direction.

Problems appeared immediately. Nestor’s battalion was deployed shoulder to shoulder with one of the battalions of the 92nd brigade. The 92nd brigade soldier with the call sign “Zero” explains, “It appears that they were trained on another planet. What was obvious to us was a terra incognito for them.” He continues with a story of one of their first encounters with 32nd infantry: “We were driving 15km from the front line, and I noticed a military Ural (truck), with a full platoon clustered around near one of the small local grocery stores. They acted like they didn’t know it was a war zone. We had to stop and tell them that ZALA (russian) drone was reported around. The platoon commander did not know the enemy had such capabilities.”.

A grave mistake in NATO training was that a company commander stayed in the trenches with the company. While it sounds heroic and may work when facing a poorly equipped enemy, russia is well-equipped and has hundreds of drones. This costly mistake was corrected after they lost a couple of positions. “The company commander has to have the eyes in the sky. He has to have his own drone stream and communicate with platoon or group commanders.” – It was a costly lesson for Nazar’s unit; “It cost us lives.”

I asked why a company commander couldn’t stay in the trench. My friend from the 92nd Brigade explained that when the company commander is in the trench, he becomes another link in the chain of command: “Please understand controlling 100 soldiers in combat is a hard task. The higher-level commander watches a drone stream and makes decisions. He gives an order to the company commander over the radio. The company commander has to understand exactly what is going on to make decisions and pass orders to the platoons. For that, you need to observe the battlefield from the top. Try sitting under tank shelling and yelling over the radio while being yelled over the radio yourself. It is much more efficient when the company commander has his own command and control room with drone streams coming in. He can make calm and weighed decisions looking at the battlefield instead of listening to what is happening, and it is no longer a game of telephone.”

“In the current battlefield, even the group or a platoon commander has to have a tablet with our special map application to be effective, and you can not rely on a stupid enemy anymore. They evolved.” summarizes Nestor, “We knew none of that, and no one could share the experience and knowledge with us. Now we are smarter, but the price was terrible.”

Another capability that was undertrained might surprise: driving. It might sound absurd to some, but those familiar with the battlefield know how hazardous and costly even a simple drive toward or away from the front can be. Our drivers must be more experienced in driving at night; driving during the day is too dangerous. Training for night driving operations is critical to avoid casualties and the loss of valuable equipment. It is also emblematic: It may not seem a top priority for NATO training personnel with a shortened schedule. However, its importance must be communicated just like any other discrepancy mentioned here and elsewhere.

Conclusion:

The disconnect of the NATO training leads to a brigade being unprepared on the battlefield. Specifically, the lack of UAV, defensive, mine awareness, and EOD training has led to unnecessary casualties on the battlefield.

To avoid a similar situation in the future, Ukraine needs to treat NATO training as basic infantry training instead of a complete cycle of brigade/battalion-level preparation. We need to perform post-training exercises and adapt the units to the newest technologies and tactics on the battlefield.

Ultimately, the brigade has gained enough experience to be effective, but the cost could have been much smaller.

Problem is that we don’t have enough training capacity, so we have to reach out for help

— ✙ Constantine ✙ (@Teoyaomiquu) September 5, 2023

We have to built on top of what we have, and not try to build castles in the sky.

The reality is that this is what we are getting, and we should built our strategy on top of it.

No fighting armies have luxury of prolonged trainings and experienced soldiers and commanders don’t…

— ✙ Constantine ✙ (@Teoyaomiquu) September 6, 2023

Here’s the full text of Raver’s tweet above:

\100% Constantine, no one knows the real conditions better than the army actually fighting in them. I don’t know if you read my essay, but I said it takes 2 years to take a horde of civilians and turn them into an elite army. No way to rush it, cutting corners costs lives.

For the TL:DR crowd here is the gold,

To avoid a similar situation in the future, Ukraine needs to treat NATO training as basic infantry training instead of a complete cycle of brigade/battalion-level preparation. We need to perform post-training exercises and adapt the units to the newest technologies and tactics on the battlefield.

Of course, not in any way I'm trying to blame someone. There are a lot of takeaways from this story, I think one of them would be better planning on the Ukrainian side and better integration of NATO instead of relying on their training.

— ✙ Constantine ✙ (@Teoyaomiquu) September 6, 2023

Here is The Kyiv Independent reporting that Constantine is referring to:

KHARKIV OBLAST – Fighting throughout Ukraine is grueling, even for hardened veterans. For inexperienced troops recently plucked from civilian life, it’s something else altogether.

Ihor, a former lawyer, recalls that day at the start of August when the Russians attacked the cratered ruins of Novoselivka in Kharkiv Oblast, which his 1st company was defending.

The attack was well-prepared. The Russian troops scouted out the position with their seemingly limitless drones. When they struck, their mortars zeroed in on what cover remained. A shell dropped into the living room of the house Ihor and a fellow soldier were occupying. They survived because they happened to be in the hall.

Enemy artillery established fire control over the only roads leading to the village, cutting off medevac and reinforcements.

This left Ihor’s unit, with their three weeks of NATO basic training and two months’ deployment in Kharkiv Oblast, one-on-one with professional Russian troops with superior firepower.

The casualties were only recovered by nightfall. An undisclosed number didn’t make it, including some of Ihor’s friends from the unit.

“I lost brothers in arms there,” he said. “I haven’t been back since, and I don’t want to go back. What I went through there is just chaos.”

Ihor’s company is part of the 32nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, one of the new brigades that Ukraine began staffing at the start of the year. It’s also one of the few brigades that are set to hold the northeastern front, while the majority of troops and equipment is stationed on the southern front where Ukraine’s slowly pushing forward.

While it’s doing its duty defending Russia’s push in Kharkiv Oblast, lack of experience and the limits of training and equipment made for a harrowing first two months in the field.

Before January, the 32nd didn’t exist, and the vast majority of its soldiers were civilians who had never shot anyone. Many did not want to be in the army.

This brigade is deployed to Kharkiv Oblast, over an hour east of Kupiansk — where Russian forces have conducted a big push over the past month and a half. Russian forces were alleged to have up to 100,000 troops that way.

Soldiers from different brigades told the Kyiv Independent that the Russians in this area are experienced and well-equipped soldiers, extensively stocked with artillery shells and MLRS rockets.

Soldiers from the 32nd are open about how in over their heads they often feel. The infantrymen talk about being outmatched by the competent and seemingly fearless Russian troops they saw on this axis of attack.

“Everything is not like what you read in daily briefings and on the news,” said Volodymyr, an infantry sergeant with the brigade, who was in the thick of the fighting.

Like most units, the 32nd is starved for vehicles and artillery ammo. Most of the good equipment is deployed to the counteroffensive on the Zaporizhzhia front.

It also lacks battlefield experience, from low ranks to commanding officers. Nor do they have many options to draw on somebody else’s. The year 2022 ground down Ukraine’s supply of experienced warfighters to the point where there can be said to be a shortage.

“The brigades where the commanders and sergeants are new are getting experience through ongoing field operations,” Sergiy Zgurets, the head of the military analytics center Defense Express, said.

Reached by email, the press services of the Defense Ministry and the Armed Forces said they wouldn’t be able to respond to questions on this topic.

All the infantrymen of the 32nd brigade had been to Germany to train to NATO standards for three weeks.

This was an obvious solution. Some of the soldiers here had been excited to go, thinking the training would help them become effective.

In many ways, it had been.

The infantry praised the physical training. Press officer Andriy Smiyan and his aide Oleksandr highlighted the life-saving power of tactical medicine training, widely practiced in the West but virtually unknown in Soviet-style armies.

The training also comes with a full set of gear for each soldier.

However, the same soldiers who spoke to the Kyiv Independent didn’t hide their scorn about how the training prepared them for a war that doesn’t exist in Ukraine. They said the NATO officers don’t understand the reality on the ground.

“A NATO infantryman knows he’s supported and can advance with the confidence that there’s a high likelihood that he won’t be killed or maimed,” Ihor said.

The NATO way of war calls for massive preparatory airstrikes and artillery barrages and demining before the infantry is sent in, he added.

It usually doesn’t work that way in Ukraine.

Between the country’s tiny, old air force, ancient T-64s, and a continuing shortage of artillery shells and infantry vehicles, it often falls to infantry to hold the line against Russian probing attacks and occasional assaults, supported by overwhelming artillery and huge numbers of drones.

Troops said they sometimes struggle to apply NATO small unit tactics because there often isn’t enough cover to do so.

Zgurets said that the instructors in Germany put a lot of emphasis on teaching urban combat. But the skills of how to smoke an enemy out from a trench, how to build an assault group, and coordinate it with artillery and drone support were lacking.

The style of battle in the Ukrainian countryside, blending World War I trench combat and 21st-century tech and tactics, are only seen in Ukraine — they are outside NATO’s wheelhouse.

Furthermore, the translators that are used often lack a military background and fail to convey accurate commands or responses between instructors and trainees, Zgurets added.

He said that it would be helpful for some of these instructors to visit Ukraine.

“European countries can correct their training,” Zgurets said. “There has been a mutual understanding of experiences and concerns, and this is the moment when they can be cleared away.”

Retired U.S. Major General Gordon Davis told the Kyiv Independent that training by NATO allies has been “indispensable. While specific tactics and procedures promoted by allied trainers may not have achieved the results that Ukrainian leadership and forces expected, the reason for this shortfall is certainly multi-dimensional.”

He added that the training abroad is still better than Ukraine can offer and while realism could be improved, it’d take a huge investment for training programs to be able to replicate Russian tactics.

“Therefore, it is all the more important for Ukraine to invest in the quality of Western provided or supported training by contributing the missing pieces of current combat intelligence and lessons learned from personal Ukrainian sacrifice and success.”

Much more at the link!

And for those enthusiasts of Russian equipment and material going boom:

The use by the Ukrainian military of 10 kg anti-tank mines TM-62 modified for drone drops. https://t.co/w0SLd9jPGq pic.twitter.com/o1fQl2cms2

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) September 6, 2023

Look a kitty!

Hello there 😺

A little later I will write what caused my long absence. In the meantime, let's wish one of the ambassadors of this channel a happy birthday. pic.twitter.com/n2myCE7gAF

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) September 6, 2023

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

Meanwhile in Kyiv pic.twitter.com/98oOXkfTNi

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) September 6, 2023

And a new video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Любі, зі мною усе гаразд! Усім лизь і гарного дня!❤️🌞

♬ Black Cat Zoning Out – I Green Screen Things

And here’s the machine translation of the caption:

Dear ones, I’m fine! A lick to everyone and have a nice day! ❤️🌞

Open thread!

We have outlined several priorities with the warriors; what needs to be done will be done – address by the President of Ukraine

5 September 2023 – 23:23

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

We are finishing this day in the capital, Kyiv.

Two days in Donbas and Zaporizhzhia region. 13 combat brigades.

Together with Generals Syrskyi, Tarnavskyi and Sodol. We talked to the brigade and battalion commanders.

We awarded our warriors. By the way, guys, we will add all the chevrons here – this is our new chevron board. I want every guest of Ukraine I talk to in my office to see how proud Ukraine is of its people!

I thanked the combat medics, our doctors. It is very important!

We are very proud of our warriors who return to their positions after wounds to join their brothers-in-arms.

All requests from the warriors will be addressed by senior generals, government officials, and our international relations officials.

There will be new supplies.

It is very important that there will be a new production of our weapons, and we have outlined several priority items with the warriors. This is what needs to be done. We will do it!

And about tomorrow.

Today we have already prepared. There will be events that are important for Ukraine. There will also be decisions that are important for Ukraine.

I thank everyone who fights and works for our country!

Glory to Ukraine!

The Parliament of Ukraine @verkhovna_rada has accepted the resignation of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov@oleksiireznikov
He held this office for 22 months and made the impossible possible by ensuring large-scale arms supplies for the #UAarmy from the free…

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 5, 2023

The Parliament of Ukraine @verkhovna_rada has accepted the resignation of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov @oleksiireznikov

He held this office for 22 months and made the impossible possible by ensuring large-scale arms supplies for the #UAarmy from the free world.
First Stingers, Javelins, and NLAWs helped Ukraine repel russia’s attack in the spring of 2022.
Then 155 mm artillery and HIMARS became game changers in the summer of 2022.
IRIS-T, NASAMS, Patriots, and others became our air shield.
Tanks, long-range missiles, and F-16s will make Ukraine’s victory inevitable.
🇺🇦

Ukrainian Parliament bid farewell to Reznikov with a standing applause. pic.twitter.com/3udPk1rhR7

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) September 5, 2023

Robotyne:

Ukraine's Armed Forces continue their advance from Robotyne to Novoprokopivka, pushing forward towards Melitopol, as reported by the General Staff. Ukrainian fighters are also making progress in the Verbove area. pic.twitter.com/zlrhTPrQeU

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) September 5, 2023

ROBOTYNE-VERBOVE / UKR forces have taken control of Russian defensive positions between Robotyne and Verbove. RU reported to have committed reserves. UKR counter-battery fire effective. pic.twitter.com/SAwQsbk7t3

— Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings | (@ChuckPfarrer) September 5, 2023

Orkhiv:

ORIKHIV AXIS /1600 UTC 5 SEPT/ UKR forces continue to press south on T-04-08 HWY axis; heavy combat ongoing NE of Novoprokopivka. UKR forces in contact NW of Verbove. Sources report that RU has committed reserves to stem UKR advances. pic.twitter.com/zI03FrWd56

— Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings | (@ChuckPfarrer) September 5, 2023

Velyka Novosilka

VELYKA NOVOSILKA /1745 UTC 5 SEPT/ UKR forces in contact at Novodonetske & Novomaiorske, diverting.
RU reinforcement/resupply from ongoing fight at Zavitne Bazhanya. UKR counter-battery fire takes out RU artillery. pic.twitter.com/A0qPY2sXOK

— Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings | (@ChuckPfarrer) September 5, 2023

Bakhmut:

Real heroes defend our country.
Let us always remember their daily sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/gq574UuPKZ

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 5, 2023

Makiivka:

Ukrainian rounds would often enter our prison courtyard!
It just couldn’t be helped and just a fact of life.
We thought we would be liberated long before we would be exchanged.

— Shaun Pinner (@olddog100ua) September 5, 2023

Here’s the full text if the first tweet:

Russian forces would congregate their forces around buildings and in city infrastructure. During my time at Makivka prison we could see from the windows of the prison how they used the jail as a big human shield. Artillery, Mortars and soldiers were based in and around the residential areas. It’s inevitable eventually some civilians would die even in such places as Donetsk City due to the placement of Russian assets. They really don’t care!

Southern Ukraine and Russian Occupied Crimea:

EuroMaidan Press has the details:

In the meantime, Ukrainians continued conducting their own strikes on the Russian military objects in the western part of the occupied Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine. As alluded to previously, after Ukrainians destroyed multiple Russian air defense systems along the western shore of Crimea and the southern shore of the Kherson Oblast, Ukraine gained almost absolute freedom of movement for the aerial drones, which allowed the Ukrainians to start using Bayraktar armed drones once again.

Today, the Ukrainians conducted another successful strike on the areas of concentration of Russian forces. If yesterday Ukrainians hunted down a boat with ammunition and personnel, then today they struck a truck with ammunition and personnel exactly in the same area.

Meanwhile, Russian sources started complaining that Ukrainian reconnaissance drones began to get even deeper into Russian-controlled territories, and Russian chase operations involving helicopters are slowly becoming a common occurrence.

Romania:

🧵Thread:

I have successfully obtained satellite imagery that partially covers the region in Romania where, in the early morning of September 4th, a russian Shahed drone crashed and detonated. pic.twitter.com/99jAZq8dHJ

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 5, 2023

3/ The coordinates were established by the @Geoconfirmed team with a high level of confidence, based on their thorough research. I am highly certain that the incident occurred within the territory of Romania. You can review their research in detail here: https://t.co/OPjZ8r4Hnj

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 5, 2023

5/ This leads me to the conclusion that the explosion most likely occurred in closer proximity to the trees rather than in the open field. As a result, we may need to wait a few more days for clearer images to become available before I can confirm my hypothesis. pic.twitter.com/4bC6Mo8UJg

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 5, 2023

7/ Your contributions via Buy Me A Coffee have enabled the availability of this satellite imagery and analysis. If you found this thread valuable, please support by liking and retweeting the first message of the thread, and give @GeoConfirmed a follow

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 5, 2023

And this one from GeoConfirmed. First tweet from his thread, the rest from the Thread Reader App, and then the last two tweets from the thread that didn’t get picked up by the Thread Reader App.

GeoConfirmed UKR – Investigation.

The claim:

In the early morning of 04 SEP a Russian Shahed crashed and exploded inside Romania (NATO member).
Russia was attacking Izmail Port (next to the Romanian border).

Our volunteers looked into this. 👇

1/X pic.twitter.com/yvzgcY7Amv

— GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) September 5, 2023

Other footage same incident.

2/X

Proof it is the same incident:

3/X

GeoLocation conclusion:

Estimated area of the crash = the Romanian side of the river, area around 45.328864, 28.803601

Thanks to @auditor_ya, @neonhandrail and @LondonDigiTech

4/X

GeoLocation by @auditor_ya and @neonhandrail:

5/X

GeoLocation thread by @LondonDigiTech:

6/X

More proof by @neonhandrail, showing the treeline with the explosion is an exact match with other footage.

7/X

Chatter in local telegram groups stated that a Shahed was hit and flew to Romania.

8/X t.me/izmail_golovnu…

Кирило Дімов in ІЗМАЇЛ – ГОЛОВНИЙТого одного шахеда підбили і він до Румунії прилетівhttps://t.me/izmail_golovnui/195944

3 different statements by Romania are circulating:
175, 176 and 312.Statement 175 (seems to be the same as 312) by Romania:

9/X english.mapn.ro/cpresa/6037_pr…

Press InformationThe MoND Press Office makes the following specifications with respect to the security situation from the proximity of the Romanian borders, in the context of the recent attacks conducted by the Russia…https://english.mapn.ro/cpresa/6037_press-information?s=09

Statement 176:

10/X english.mapn.ro/cpresa/6038_pr…

Press StatementThe Ministry of National Defence firmly denies the information circulating in the public space with regard to a so-called situation occurred during the night of 3-4 September, when Russian drones woul…https://english.mapn.ro/cpresa/6038_press-statement

Statement by Ukraine:

11/X facebook.com/oleg.nikolenko…

Oleg Nikolenko – За інформацією Державної прикордонної…За інформацією Державної прикордонної служби України, сьогодні вночі під час масованої атаки Росії в районі Ізмаїльського порту російські «шахеди» впали…https://www.facebook.com/oleg.nikolenko.50/posts/pfbid026YqYsCnAHhV7UE26iKZdnmrYvvNRRGPut3BgpMxqYSSuarTyxN4FbF2nKbd8wxNml

Based on different investigations by different geolocators,

based on the OS knowledge how a Shahed works,

based on the OS knowledge and the Ukrainian communication that they are able to shoot down/hit a lot of Shaheds…:

12/X 

Conclusion:

– Highly likely a Russian Shahed crashed and exploded in Romania, likely after it was hit by Ukrainian AA.

– Ukrainian statement is opposed by Romanian statement 176: Based on our investigation Ukrainian statement is right.

13/X

Regarding the art. 5 discussion:
Asked a military expert his opinion:

Article 5 clearly states: "armed attack against a member".
In this case the attack was against Ukraine. The shahed likely exploded in Romania after it was hit or by accident.

= Not an art. 5 incident.

15/X pic.twitter.com/oEVQfvR8gl

— GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) September 5, 2023

Good morning! May your day begin with a joyful smile.

📷 59th Motorized Infantry Brigade pic.twitter.com/YKZpBSOq3G

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 5, 2023

That’s enough for tonight.

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