EXTRAORDINARY ONLINE Ukraine launched a major counter-offensive, several towns and villages were liberated: Russian attacks caused power outages – Topky.sk

Live from Ukraine 200th day of war in Ukraine ONLINE 11:26 3,230 people from Ukraine crossed border crossings to Slovakia on Sunday. 12 applicants applied for temporary asylum. 3153 people crossed from Slovakia to Ukraine. This was reported by the press department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic. “On a daily basis, the Ministry of the Interior monitors the events related to the war in Ukraine and its impact on Slovakia. In terms of the arrival and departure of emigrants from Ukraine, the situation has been stable for a long time without significant changes,” stated the spokeswoman of the department, Zuzana Eliášová. 11:19 Ukrainian armed forces announced on Monday that they had managed to regain control of more than 20 villages in the last 24 hours. “Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian troops have driven the enemy out of more than 20 villages and are taking full control over them,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement. She added that the retreating Russian troops are “leaving their positions in droves and running away”. During the weekend, the Ukrainian counter-offensive reported successes in the east and south of the country. For example, the Ukrainians succeeded in liberating the cities of Izium, Kupiansk and Balaklija located in the eastern Ukrainian Kharkiv region. 10:59 The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Monday condemned the “intimidation” of people in Russia who express their disapproval of the war in Ukraine. In this context, the UN warned that this is a sign of undermining fundamental freedoms, AFP reported. Intimidation, restrictive measures and punishment of people expressing opposition to the war in Ukraine undermine the exercise of fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the constitution – including the right to freedom of assembly, expression and association. This was stated by the deputy head of the UN for human rights, Nada Al Nashifová, in a speech to the participants of the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which will last until October 7. Al Nashif is currently serving as acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, while new head Volker Turk replaces Michelle Bachelet. In her speech, Al Nashif also condemned “pressure on journalists, blocking of Internet sources of information and other forms of censorship” in Russia. According to her, all these measures are “incompatible with media plurality and violate the right to access to information”. 10:14 The shelling of one of the neighborhoods of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv by the Russian army on Monday night resulted in at least one victim and two wounded. Kharkov Mayor Ihor Terechov informed about this on Monday through the Telegram platform. He added that part of the five-story apartment building was damaged after being hit by a rocket. The head of the regional administration of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Synehubov, wrote in his statuses on social networks that the Russian army attacked Kharkiv with S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems. In another of his statuses, Terechov reported that water supplies have already been restored in Kharkiv, the subway and ground transportation have started to operate. All of these services have been down since Sunday, when the Russian military launched a missile attack on the Kharkiv Thermal Power Plant. 09:36 The Moldovan state airline announced on Monday that it is canceling the original plan to resume flights with the Russian Federation, which was supposed to restart on October 1. AFP informs about it. Air Moldova announced on Friday that it plans to resume flights following complaints from Moldovan citizens in Russia who want to return home. However, according to the airline’s latest statement, “the Moldovan Civil Aviation Authority has issued a directive that prohibits national companies from operating flights in Russian airspace.” As a result, Air Moldova “will not be able to provide (air) connections between Moscow and Chisinau, as originally announced”. 09:33 In the municipal and regional elections in Russia, candidates supported by the Kremlin won, the DPA agency reported on Monday, referring to the reports of the Russian state media. Elections were held from Friday to Sunday in more than 80 Russian regions and were the first since the Russian military invaded Ukraine in February. According to the DPA, all 14 previous governors who ran for re-election in the regional elections kept their posts. The expectation that the Kremlin’s United Russia party will retain the largest number of deputies in most regional and city legislatures has also been fulfilled. While independent election observers from the organization Hlas (Golos) point to numerous cases of fraud during voting and counting of votes or buying voters’ votes; the Russian authorities reported that they had not noticed any serious violations of election rules. Before the election, opposition activists complained that candidates who spoke out against Russia’s war in Ukraine were not even allowed to run. 08:48 The current counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army does not seem to end the war in Ukraine. In their latest report on the development of the Ukrainian conflict, experts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) claim this as quoted by the British station BBC. They point out that when the Ukrainian counterattack in the northeast of Ukraine ends, Russian troops will probably restore a stable defensive line and possibly launch territorially limited counterattacks. Ukraine will then have to start new counter-offensive operations to complete the liberation of the territory occupied by Russia. Therefore, ISW experts predict that the war will probably last until 2023. 08:05 Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov admitted that Ukrainian soldiers are tired after the six-day offensive in the Kharkiv region, but their morale is high. “It is a sign that Russia can be defeated,” he added in an interview with the American newspaper Financial Times (FT), which was monitored by the British station BBC. He pointed out that the territories liberated during the counter-offensive must now be controlled by Ukraine and must be ready to defend them. According to Reznikov, the operation, during which Ukrainian armies recaptured about 3,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, was developing “better than expected.” However, he warned that the retreating Russian troops could launch a counterattack on the Ukrainian army’s supply lines. He also admitted that if the Ukrainian troops advanced too deep into the territory controlled by the Russian army, enemy troops could surround them. 06:09 In many parts of Ukraine last night, Russian attacks on critical infrastructure caused widespread power outages, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced and accused Russia of terrorism. According to Zelensky, a complete blackout occurred in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, parts of Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk and Sumy regions are also without electricity. According to Ukrainian officials, the Russians attacked a thermal power plant near Kharkiv, where one of its employees died when a missile hit it. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia fired 11 cruise missiles at Ukraine. In the affected areas, lights are not working, there is no water due to problems with pumps, and there are also reports of standing trains in a number of regions, the Russian-language BBC website said on its website. “Russian terrorists remain terrorists and attack critical infrastructure, not military installations. Their target is to deny people light and heat,” Zelenskyy said on Twitter. Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine captured the city of Izium Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that as part of the ongoing large-scale counter-offensive, Ukrainian soldiers recaptured the strategic city of Izium in the east of the country. This was reported by the AFP agency on Sunday. In his televised address marking the 200th day since the start of the Russian invasion, Zelenskyy thanked Ukrainian forces for “liberating hundreds of our towns and villages… and most recently Balaklia, Izium and Kupyansk.” These are three important transport hubs that the Ukrainian army managed to regain control of Kyiv, the AFP agency reminds.