Ukraine’s President Zelenskyi said he will discuss with President Biden the possibility of the U.S. sending long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, to Ukraine. Ukraine regains control of oil and gas drilling rigs in the Black Sea. One year after Kharkiv region’s liberation, the remains of 57 victims exhumed from a mass burial site in Izyum are still not identified.
Ukraine regains control of oil and gas drilling rigs in Black Sea
Ukraine has regained control of oil and gas drilling platforms off the coast of Crimea in the Black Sea, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on September 11. After Russia occupied the peninsula in 2014, the drilling rigs were towed closer to the coast.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the drilling rigs also known as “Boyko’s towers” had been used by the Russians as helicopter landing sites and for the deployment of radar equipment, which can track the movement of ships in the Black Sea.
On Monday, September 11, Ukraine’s defense intelligence released a video and photos of its special operation to recapture the drilling rigs in the Black Sea.
The photos show intelligence personnel navigating the storm waters on inflatables, establishing control of the towers, and dismantling Russia’s radar equipment. There was also a battle between Ukrainian special forces on boats and a Russian aircraft. During the operation, a Ukrainian service member who goes by the call sign Konan fell overboard and spent 14 hours in the water. He was rescued and evacuated.
Will U.S. send ATACMS to Ukraine this fall?
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyi told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview he will discuss with President Biden the possibility of the U.S. sending long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, to Ukraine.
“Let’s start from ATACMS. I hope that I will speak with President Biden. His thoughts and support are very important to me. I think he can change this page and this war,” Zelenskyi said.
In earlier stages of the war, Biden approved the transfer of HIMARS [High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems] to Ukraine, the Ukrainian President reminded.
“Once he did it with the HIMARS. It was very important. I will speak with President Biden again about the ATACMS. This is not our first dialogue. We are moving [forward]. I hope we will get them [this] autumn,” he said.
For Ukraine, it is important not to pause the counteroffensive, Zelenskyi added, explaining the urgency of getting ATACMS.
President Biden is nearing a decision on sending ATACMS to Ukraine, The Financial Times earlier said, quoting a senior Biden administration official.
The Biden administration is likely to send Ukraine long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, to help in its fight to repel the Russian invasion of its territory. “They are coming,” one official who had access to security assistance plans told ABC News.
Remains of 57 victims exhumed from a mass burial site in Izyum last year still not identified
September 10 marks one year since Ukrainian troops recaptured the city of Izyum in Kharkiv region. The remains of 57 victims exhumed from a mass burial site on the outskirts of Izyum are still not identified, spokesperson for the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office Dmytro Chubenko told Ukrinform.
“It has not been possible to identify [the remains of] 57 people. We have collected personal data of 58 others, but there are no family members of these victims to pursue identification through DNA testing,” he said.
Fifteen victims have been found to have gunshot wounds, and 87 others had blast injuries, Chubenko said, citing forensic experts. At least 15 victims had signs of violent death, (these were bodies with tied hands or a rope around their neck), and 23 had jaw, skull, arm, or ribs fractures, he added.
Russian forces fled Izyum on September 10, 2022, leaving behind a significant amount of weapons.
On September 15, President Zelenskyi said Ukrainian authorities had found a mass burial site on the outskirts of the recaptured city of Izyum.
On September 23, Ukrainian forensic teams completed exhumation work at the mass burial site, where a total of 447 bodies have been unearthed, including those of children.
Law enforcement personnel and forensic teams have examined the site more than 100 times, Chubenko said. They have conducted more than 450 examinations on the remains to figure out causes of death, injury types and distinguishing features that could help identify the victims, he added.
Conclusions of the UN Commission on the Crimes of the Russian Federation. Ukraine in Flames #505
In this episode, we discuss the UN Commission on the Crimes of the Russian Federation’s findings. Erik Møse, Chair of the UN Commission on Ukraine, highlights the report’s focus on accountability and a future tribunal and the commitee address questions about genocide findings and evidence of war crimes. Despite challenges in accessing occupied territories, the commission tells how they interviewed victims and also discusses the investigation into Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and its ecological impact, acknowledging that ecocide falls within the Ukrainian Criminal Code for domestic legal action. Take a watch of Ukraine in Flames episode #505 to learn more