According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), this is evidenced by the fact that the Russian armed forces continue to strengthen their positions in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, despite the collapse of the front line in Liman.

At the same time, Putin allocates resources to unsuccessful attempts to storm already deoccupied settlements.

"The defeat near Liman indicates that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is reducing the priority of the defense of the Luhansk region in order to maintain the occupied territories in the south of Ukraine," the message reads.

The decision not to strengthen the vulnerable front lines in Kupyansk or Liman was almost certainly made by Putin, not the military command, and shows that Putin cares about holding the strategically important parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions much more than the Luhansk region.


ISW also believes that Russia is probably setting the conditions for assuming legal responsibility for the Zaporizhia NPP.

In particular, the Russian authorities detained the director of ZAEP Igor Murashov.

The occupiers want to transfer the ZNPP under the control of Rosatom and create a new legal entity for it.

It is likely that the Russian Federation will try to use its control over the ZANP to pressure the IAEA to legitimize Russia's illegal annexation of occupied Ukrainian territory by forcing the organization to recognize Russia's legal control over the ZANP.

It is also reported that Russian troops launched an unsuccessful ground attack on Kazachaya Lopan in the north of the Kharkiv region on October 1.

Such attacks indicate that Putin likely remains committed to regaining control of territory beyond the areas he illegally annexed, and is willing to devote Russian military resources to such offensive actions rather than devoting them to defending against a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Donbass .

Russia's war against Ukraine

  • At 5:00 a.m. on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military operation against Ukraine in the Donbass at the request of the "DPR" and "LPR" groups.

    On February 21, during a televised address to Russians, Putin called the so-called "DPR" and "LPR" independent states within the regions.

    On February 22, the Federation Council ratified this decision.

  • All days of the war, Ukrainian cities were bombarded with rockets, aircraft flew over them.

    Russian troops are attacking, including from the territory of Belarus, using airfields, bases and roads.

    Representatives of Lukashenka's regime justify the war, his opponents consider the territory of Belarus to be occupied, many call for resistance to the Russian invaders.

  • On February 27, the International Legion of Territorial Defense was created in Ukraine, and foreign volunteers were invited to join it.

    Belarusians also entered there.

  • During the six months of war in Ukraine, 11 Belarusians are known to have died fighting on the Ukrainian side.

    These are Ilya Khrenov, Alyaksei Skoblia, Dmitri Apanasovich, Dmitri Rubashevskyi, Konstantin Dubaila, Pavel "Volat", Ivan Marchuk, Vasil Parfyankov, Vasil Grudovik, Vadim Shatrov and one of the fighters of Kalinovsky's regiment, whose name was not mentioned.

    In addition, it is known for sure about two prisoners from Kalinin - Ian Djurbeyka and Syarhei Dzhogtsev.

    There are no details about their fate.

  • It is also known about cases of death of natives of Belarus who fought in Ukraine on the side of Russia.

    During the six months of the war, there were nine such people.

  • On March 30, the UN approved the composition of an independent commission that will investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

    It included people who worked in the analysis of the genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

  • Contrary to Putin's statements about attacks only on military facilities, the Russians are bombing schools, kindergartens and residential areas of Ukrainian cities.

    The Russians are using banned weapons, including cluster bombs, against civilians.

  • On April 1, Lithuania became the first country in the European Union to completely abandon Russian gas.

    Latvia and Estonia followed her example.

    Germany has promised to completely stop using Russian oil by the end of 2022.

  • On April 2, after the liberation of the town of Bucha near Kyiv, photojournalists published dozens of photographs showing hundreds of dead people, victims of mass murders committed by Russian troops.

    Many are buried in spontaneous mass graves.

    The Russian occupation also brought great destruction to the people of Barodyan.

    It is also known about a number of rapes, including babies.

  • On May 9, the US President signed the Land Leasing Law.

    This law restores the program from the Second World War, which will speed up the delivery of weapons to Ukraine and increase the amount of such assistance.

  • In June, the so-called "DPR" sentenced two volunteers from Great Britain and one from Morocco to death.

    The same punishment threatens some other prisoners.

  • On July 29, as a result of an attack on the colony in Alenivtsi, at least 53 Ukrainian prisoners, who previously defended the Azovstal plant and surrendered after completing their mission, were killed.

    The Russians accused Ukraine of the attack, the Ukrainian side declared that the prisoners were deliberately killed by the Russian side.

  • The official number of dead Ukrainian soldiers was announced on August 22 by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny.

    According to him, it is about 9,000 soldiers.

  • During the six months of the war, Russia was able to occupy about 20% of the Ukrainian territory.

    In March, the area of ​​occupied land reached 30%.

    However, at the end of the month, Russian troops retreated from the north of Ukraine, as well as partially from Kharkiv.

    At the end of August, Crimea, Luhansk and Kherson regions were completely occupied.

    And also 50% of the territory of the Donetsk region, about 70% of the Zaporizhia region, approximately 30% of the Kharkiv region.

  • Kherson remains the only regional center of Ukraine captured by Russia after February 24.

    The city was occupied by Russian troops in the first days of the war without actually fighting.

    Kyiv suspects part of the former leadership of Kherson and the region of treason.

    The former head of the SBU of the Kharkiv region was also detained on such suspicion.

  • In September, Ukrainian troops launched a large-scale counteroffensive, as a result of which Russian forces began to rapidly flee from their positions in the Kharkiv region.

    Only on the day of September 11, Ukrainians liberated more than 20 settlements in Slobazhanshchyna.

  • In September, Ukraine withdrew its mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the AAN to send an aviation unit to defend against Russian aggression.

  • On September 21, Putin announced a partial mobilization in Russia.

  • Independent verification of information about military actions provided by officials of various parties is still impossible.