RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian troops surrendering en masse – TASS

Large numbers of Ukrainian troops have surrendered to the Russian military in recent weeks, using a special radio frequency designed for fighters willing to lay down arms, TASS reported on Wednesday. 

The frequency, 149.200 call sign ‘Volga’, was set up by the Russian military during the summer. Thus far, it has been used by more than 10,000 Ukrainian servicemen who were subsequently taken into Russian custody, according to a source with knowledge of the situation cited by TASS. The person added that the radio frequency is active along the entire front line. 

“More than 10,0000 Ukrainian soldiers have chosen life and used the 149.200 ‘Volga’ frequency to surrender. The prisoners are well-fed and are provided with all the necessary medical care,” the source stated.

The process has seemingly accelerated recently as Ukrainian troops have surrendered in groups rather than individually, particularly around Rabotino, according to the TASS source. The village in Zaporozhye Region has become the scene of intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in recent weeks.

Rabotino remains one of the major flashpoints of the conflict, with the area repeatedly subjected to attacks during the long-heralded Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in early June. The push has thus far failed to yield any tangible results, while reports have indicated that Ukrainian forces are sustaining heavy personnel and materiel losses in the process. 

According to Moscow’s latest estimates, Kiev has lost more than 17,000 servicemen this month alone. The total number of Ukrainian troops killed since the counteroffensive began has now surpassed 83,000, with over 10,000 pieces of heavy military hardware also destroyed, according to the Russian military.

** Ukraine shells Russia’s Belgorod Region more than 130 times over day

The Ukrainian armed forces fired more than 130 different munitions at Russia’s Belgorod Region over the past 24 hours, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel.

"In the Valuisky district, the village of Dolgoye was shelled 20 times. One of the shells flew into the territory of a private house. As a result, a woman was injured - she was taken to the central district hospital with a shrapnel wound in the head, the doctors are providing her with all necessary assistance. Four private houses were damaged in various ways: windows were broken, facades and roofs were cut. In addition, two cars were damaged," Gladkov wrote.

The Ukrainian forces also attacked the village of Dolgoye three times with kamikaze drones, as a result of which one of the infrastructure communication facilities was damaged. Seven artillery shells were fired at Dubrovka, and ten artillery shells were fired at Biryuch.

In the Shebekinsky district, five artillery and two mortar shells were fired at the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, damaging a power line and a water tower, as well as a fence and outbuildings of a private house. The village of Chervona-Dibrovka was shelled from artillery two times. "As a result of shelling, the power line was damaged. It has been restored. In addition, the enemy's quadcopter was shot down. Ten artillery shells were fired at the village of Bolshetroitskoye. <...> Windows, facades, roofs, and fences of four private houses were damaged. Three commercial buildings, a car and a garage were also damaged," the governor said.

The town of Shebekino was also shelled from artillery nine times. A private house was damaged. In the Krasnoyaruzhsky district, one artillery shell was fired on the outskirts of the village of Prilesye, four and three artillery shells were fired on the outskirts of the villages of Terebreno and Vyazovoye, respectively. "The settlement of Zadorozhny was also shelled. No one was injured. As a result of the shelling, the power line was damaged. Now the power line has been restored," Gladkov wrote.

In the Belgorod district, six artillery shells were fired at the village of Nekhoteyevka, and a drone was downed over the village of Razumnoye. In the Borisovsky district, a drone dropped five explosives on the outskirts of Lozovaya Rudka. In the Volokonovsky district, six mortar shells were fired at the outskirts of Stariy. In the Graivoronsky district, fixed-wing drones were downed in Sankovo and Gorkovsky. "Fourteen mortar shells were fired on the outskirts of the Bairak settlement, ten and three mortar shells on the outskirts of the villages of Bezymeno and Pochaevo, respectively. <...> In addition, the village of Novostroyevka-Vtoraya was shelled from mortars three times. <...> There is damage to a private house: the roof, facade, windows, fence and an outbuilding were hit by shrapnel. Seven mortar shells were fired at the village of Poroz. <...> There was damage to four private homes: windows were blown out, roofs, fences and outbuildings were hit," the governor said.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian troops repel Russian attacks on eastern front -officials

Ukrainian troops held off determined attacks on Wednesday by Russian forces trying to regain lost positions on the eastern front, military officials said, while analysts suggested Kyiv's forces were also making progress in the southern theatre.

The Ukrainian military launched its counteroffensive in June intending to recoup ground in the east and in the past two weeks announced the capture of two key villages, Andriivka and Klishchiivka, near the shattered city of Bakhmut.

Its forces are also trying to advance southward to the Sea of Azov to sever a land bridge established by Russia between the annexed Crimean Peninsula and positions it holds in the east.

Ilia Yevlash, a spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern group of forces, told national television: "We continue to repel intense enemy attacks near Klishchiivka and Andriivka.

"The enemy is still storming these positions with the hope of recapturing lost positions, but without success."

There had been 544 Russian shelling incidents in the past 24 hours in the area, seven combat clashes and four air attacks, Yevlash said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy referred briefly in a post on the Telegram messaging app to "our advance in the Donetsk sector" in the east, but provided no details.

Ukraine's General Staff reported air strikes on four localities in the area and said 15 towns and villages had come under artillery and mortar attack.

In its account of military activity, Russia's Defence Ministry also reported heavy fighting in the area, saying its forces had beaten back 10 attacks by Ukrainian troops near Klishchiivka and further south, near the village of Nevelske.

Ukrainian officials have spoken of gains in the drive southward, with General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of forces in the south, telling CNN last week of a "breakthrough", while noting that progress was slower than had been hoped.

Zelenskiy and other officials have said the counteroffensive will take time and have dismissed Western critics who said the advance has been too slow and beset by strategic errors.

Tarnavskyi referred to the village of Verbove, which other officials have said Ukrainian forces are poised to seize. Ukrainian forces are targeting several other villages as they progress through Zaporizhzhia region towards the major town of Tokmak.

"There have been three or four days of painstaking hard work by our assault group and commanders conducting tactical tasks in this area which have led to very serious problems for the Russians," military analyst Roman Svitan told NV Radio.

"I would not speak of a breakthrough until we reach Tokmak."

** Ukraine appoints three new deputy defence ministers

Ukrainian government named three new deputy defence ministers on Wednesday, after six incumbents were dismissed following the appointment of a new defence minister this month.

Rustem Umerov became defence minister three weeks ago, saying his priorities include making the ministry the main institution for coordinating Ukrainian defence forces, enhancing the value attached to individual soldiers, developing Ukraine's military industry and fighting corruption.

"Rebooting of the ministry and implementation of qualitative changes that will be felt first by our soldiers," he said on Facebook, announcing the appointments.

The new deputy ministers include Yuriy Dzhyhyr, deputy finance minister in 2018-2020; Natalia Kalmykova, who most recently served as executive director of the Ukrainian Veteran Fund; and Kateryna Chernohorenko, head of Ukraine's "Army of Drones" project.

"The main priority for the new team members - our soldiers, their life, health and dignity," Umerov said. "Our most important task is to ensure respect for the dignity of soldiers in all interactions with the state."

RT/Tass/Reuters