The Secretary General of NATO spoke in particular, anticipating a “long war in Ukraine”.
“We must prepare for a long war in Ukraine”warned in an interview, Sunday September 17, the Secretary General of NATO then the American Chief of Staff judged that the Ukrainian counter-offensive “did not fail”. The Ukrainian army claimed to have taken control of a town near Bakhmut. Russian air defense, for its part, claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region and six others heading towards the annexed Crimean peninsula. Finally, Korean leader Kim Jong Un left the Russian Far East for the North Korean border, marking the end of a visit to Russia. Here’s what to remember from this day.
Ukraine says its forces have taken control of Klishchiivka near Bakhmut
Ukrainian authorities said Sunday that their military forces had recaptured Klichchiivka, a tactically important town south of the town of Bakhmut on the eastern front. “Klichtchiïvka has been cleared of the Russians”declared on social networks Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of the Ukrainian land army.
This town, with a few hundred inhabitants before the Russian invasion, was taken by Russian forces in January. This announcement comes after the Ukrainian armed forces declared on Friday that they had recaptured another locality, Andriivka, south of Bakhmut. The Russian military said on Sunday that this was not the case.
Statements by the NATO Secretary General and the American Chief of Staff
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that a rapid end to the war in Ukraine should not be expected, in an interview published as the Ukrainian army is engaged in a counter-offensive to push back Russian forces. “Most wars last longer than expected when they started.”underlined Jens Stoltenberg in this interview with the German media group Funke. “Therefore we must prepare for a long war in Ukraine”he added.
The Ukrainian counter-offensive “did not fail” but the road to a definitive victory for Kiev in the conflict is still very long, judged the American chief of staff, General Mark Milley, in an interview broadcast Sunday on CNN. “This offensive, although slow, slower than expected, has remained constant”he estimated, affirming that the Ukrainians still had “with a significant striking force”. The general, however, conceded that he “will take a long time” to achieve Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s goal of “kicking out all the Russians” from the country.
Russia says it shot down seven Ukrainian drones near Moscow and in Crimea
Russian air defenses shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region and six others heading towards the annexed Crimean peninsula, the Russian Defense Ministry said. One of the drones was intercepted at 1:45 a.m. (11:45 p.m. in Paris) in the Istrinsky district, in the Moscow region, the ministry announced on Telegram.
“According to preliminary information, there is no damage or casualties at the site where the debris fell”, said, also on Telegram, the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin. Two Ukrainian drones were also destroyed around 1:15 a.m. Moscow time (11:15 p.m. GMT) on the west coast of Crimea, then four others 30 minutes later above the east and northwest coasts of the peninsula, according to the Ministry of Defense. defense.
Kim Jong Un leaves Russia after receiving explosive drones as a gift
Kim Jong Un left the Russian Far East towards the North Korean border, marking the end of a visit to Russia where he displayed his closeness to Vladimir Putin, fueling Western fears of a possible agreement for arms deliveries to Moscow for its assault on Ukraine.
Earlier on Sunday in Vladivostok, the North Korean leader, who arrived on Russian soil on Tuesday for his first trip abroad since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, received a gift of five explosive drones from the governor regional, according to the official TASS agency. Highly symbolic military gifts in a context of Western fears regarding a potential military agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang.