The Russian State Social University, located in Moscow, has announced the launch of a “voluntary basic military training course”, TASS reports, citing the university’s press service.
“The voluntary basic military training course starts at the Russian State Social University on 26 September. It was created on request of the students; attendance will be voluntary. The Russian State Social University is one of many universities that do not have a military centre (department), but, as we’ve found out, there is a demand for basic military knowledge,” the university stated.
The university rector Andrei Khazin stated that this course is a “worthy civil response of the youth to the current events”. According to him, the course will include “basic knowledge” that could be useful to the students who are planning to sign up for conscript service in the Russian military after they graduate.
On 19 September, United Russia party offered to grant a leave of absence to students taking part in combat activity in Ukraine. Chairman of the Russian State Duma Youth Policy Committee Artyom Metelev said that this would “raise their social protection”.
Bipartisan group of US lawmakers asked Pentagon to send advanced drones to Ukraine, letter shows
From CNN’s Ellie Kaufman
A bipartisan group of lawmakers asked the Pentagon to send advanced drones to Ukraine in a letter sent to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sept. 21 and obtained by CNN.
“Ukraine could better confront Russian threats" with advanced Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or drones, “like the MQ-1C Gray Eagle or the MQ-9A Reaper,” a group of 17 bipartisan lawmakers wrote in the letter to Austin.
“These advanced UAS systems, which could be staged far from the war’s front lines, would provide the continuous surveillance and long-range precision tracking and targeting needed to counter Russian rockets and missiles,” the lawmakers wrote.
Lawmakers stressed in the letter that it is important to complete the assessment of whether to send MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones “in a timely manner.”
“While important, thorough risk assessment and mitigation should not come at the expense of Ukrainian lives,” the lawmakers wrote.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the letter.
The Pentagon is aware of Ukraine’s request for MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon Thursday.
Foreign ministers discuss special tribunal to punish Russia for atrocities in Ukraine
From CNN’s Caitlin Hu
In a meeting moderated by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, foreign ministers of Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ukraine on Thursday discussed allegations of atrocities committed in the conflict in Ukraine and the possible establishment of a special international tribunal to judge the crime of aggression.
“Russia has to pay,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during the event, which was held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“We continue to believe that justice must be served in a way that will not leave space for impunity for the crime of aggression,” Kuleba said.
Clooney, who is advising Kyiv on finding accountability for Ukrainian victims, called for world leaders to help Ukrainians rebuild by supporting a draft UN resolution to establish a framework for a compensation commission.
“Ukraine may need up to $1 trillion to repair the damage. Documenting losses should start now,” she said.
A compensation fund proposed by Ukraine would draw on Russian assets abroad that had been seized and appropriated by foreign governments, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Justice Iryna Mudra, who was also in attendance.
Several other foreign ministers were in the audience and took the podium to voice support for Ukraine, including representatives from the UK, Poland, Canada and Estonia.
that part really made me laugh. Lets face it, the only thing they will be helping to ‘Raise’ will be next years crops in Ukraine.
This is probably one of the best videos Defense Updates has made so far. These guys appear to have kept a very good record of events since the war started
4 reasons Putin’s mobilization order wont make much difference
Russia continues to shell newly-liberated city after Ukraine’s counter-offensive
SAME OLD STORY - PUTIN’S ‘NEW’ FORCE IS ALREADY _____ AND CONFUSED
Sadly, because of the idiocy of one man, the lives of many others are defaced and destroyed. It is sad how deluded our minds are, beings who consider themselves the most intelligent on this planet. We are truly nothing but a virus on this planet.
They allegedly called the son of Putin’s press-secretary Dmitry Peskov, Nikolay, and asked him why he did not respond to the military commissariat summons
A good day to offer ‘Song of the day’’ Pussy Riot, - imprisoned many times for anti-Putin & anti-Kirill activiities are now on a world tour and headlined ib the Daily Telegraph today . They have accepted an invitation to play Kyiv.
A few hours ahead of their gig at the University of Kent, Russian punk collective Pussy Riot are laughing at a clip of a chat show where Kremlin MPs discuss the Ukraine war. The politicians are debating Russia’s next move, and their suggestions are not the kind of thing you hear on the BBC’s Question Time. One MP suggests nuking Britain, saying: “If we turn the British Isles into a Martian desert in three minutes flat, Nato won’t respond.”
Then the Pussy Riot giggles stop. “After years of hearing this kind of stuff, we make jokes about it, but of course it’s not funny - it’s frightening, evil,” says Maria Alyokhina, 34, one of the group’s founding members. “It took the Nazis years to come up with this kind of propaganda - Russia has taken just a few months.”
Nobody can say that Pussy Riot didn’t warn us. Ten years ago, they became the balaclava-clad face of Russia’s protest movement, after sneaking into a Moscow cathedral to perform a raucous “punk prayer” against Vladimir Putin. In outrage terms, it was Russia’s answer to the Sex P____ls’ God Save the Queen, although the penalties were more than just tabloid fury. Maria and two others were jailed for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”.
Since then, the collective have toured the world, their mix of Slavic girl power and LGBT politics earning namechecks from Madonna to Hillary Clinton. They have been jailed multiple further times, pepper-sprayed, squirted with Holy Water and whipped. Human rights groups have declared them prisoners of conscience. God-fearing Putin supporters suspect they may be witches. But for a long time, their warnings that his rule was becoming a dystopian nightmare seemed perhaps a bit overblown. Not anymore.
Ukraine says it’s taken more territory in Donetsk and improved positions around Bakhmut
From CNN’s Tim Lister and Olga Voitovych
Ukraine has taken another settlement in the Donetsk region, the Ukranian military says as it continues the consolidation of an offensive in the “tri-border” area where Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions meet.
As a result of assault actions, the village of Yatskivka in Donetsk region was now in Ukrainian hands, said Oleksii Hromov, deputy head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff.
Yatskivka is to the east of the Oskil river. Large areas west of the river, including the city of Izium, were captured by the Ukrainians in a sudden offensive earlier this month.
The situation further south around Bakhmut was “difficult but controlled,” Hromov said in a briefing in Kyiv on Friday, adding that Russia “continued offensive actions in order to expel our units” from their positions around Bakhmut and elsewhere along the front lines in Donetsk.
Ukrainian troops had improved their positions around Bakhmut, which has been under siege for several months, Hromov said.
“Thanks to the timely regrouping of units of one of the mechanized brigades and high-quality organization of the battle, we managed to restore the previously lost position and ensure control over the positions south to Bakhmut,” he said.
Elsewhere in Donetsk, near Avdiivka and Novopavlivka, Russian f___es were conducting offensive actions with the goal of taking the settlements of Nevirske and Novomykhailivka, Hromov said.
So the western countries are criticizing referendums happening there. But they didn’t have any issue with independence referendums in Scotland or Quebec, Canada. Also British people voted in referendum that they didn’t want to be part of the EU, also people from Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson have the right like British people to vote to leave Ukraine because they also don’t want to be future members of EU
pero que referendum vas hacer en tiempo de guerra? han votado hasta gente del este de Rusia porque eran imigrantes, han salido abuelas votando por sus nietas,
that part really made me laugh. Lets face it, the only thing they will be helping to ‘Raise’ will be next years crops in Ukraine.
Can’t prove it’s him but the tone of voice is really similar. https://t.co/kQv2WcdcCu“ / Twitter
