Citing Yuriy Sobolevskyi, first deputy head of Kherson Oblast Council, Suspilne reported explosions in Russian-occupied Kherson. According to the media, smoke is rising above Kherson's Regional State Administration building. No casualties have been reported yet.
Lawmaker Andrii Derkach has received at least $567,000 from Russia’s law enforcement to discredit Ukraine in the international arena, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. In June, Ukraine’s Security Service also exposed a Russian agent network, allegedly spearheaded by Derkach. According to authorities, Derkach received funds from the GRU to create private security structures that Russia planned to use to capture Ukraine. Russia allocated $3-4 million every few months for the purpose.
The largest number of casualties was reported in Donetsk Oblast, where 393 children have been killed or injured. Just on Sept. 14-15, in Kharkiv Oblast, as a result of Russia’s shelling, three children were wounded, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported. The number of children killed and injured by Russia is expected to be higher and does not include casualties in Russian-occupied areas and near the front line.
The shipment of Ukrainian agricultural products bound for European and African countries continues as planned, as five more ships depart Odesa via "grain corridor," Turkey's Defense Ministry reported on Sept. 16. Ukraine has exported 3.33 million metric tons of grain since Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey on Aug. 1 to allow grain exports to restart, according to Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Sept. 16 that Russia had also lost 2,199 tanks, 4,690 armored fighting vehicles, 3,550 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,302 artillery systems, 312 multiple launch rocket systems, 168 air defense systems, 250 airplanes, 216 helicopters, 908 drones, and 15 boats.
Over the past day, Russian troops have killed one civilian in Selydove, one in Krasnohorivka, one in Marinka, one in Soledar, and one in Bakhmut, said Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. Russian forces also wounded three civilians in Selydove, two in Krasnohorivka, and one in Toretsk. According to Kyrylenko, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has killed 851 civilians in Donetsk Oblast, not including Mariupol and Volnovakha.
Four communities were hit in the oblast, with most strikes targeting Nikopol, where Russians damaged 11 residential buildings and injured a 57-year-old woman, said Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko.
"But no missile will bring Russia closer to its goal. There will be no subjugation of Ukraine. And each missile brings Russia closer to greater international isolation, greater economic degradation, and even clearer historical condemnation," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Sept. 15.
The U.S. is reluctant to provide Ukrainian forces with long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which Ukraine has been “requesting for months,” CNN reported on Sept. 15, citing U.S. officials. ATACMS have a range of up to 300 kilometers, while the maximum range of the weapons provided by the U.S. to Ukraine so far is around 79 kilometers. “The administration still thinks providing those systems could be escalatory because they could be used to fire into Russia itself,” CNN reported.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution on Sept. 15, “demanding that Russia end its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” Reuters reported, citing anonymous diplomats. Russia, which has been shelling Ukrainian positions from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Russian-occupied Enerhodar, is accused of using it as a shield and a tool of blackmail.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against two entities and 22 individuals involved in Russian aggression against Ukraine. These include Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov and his family, as well as Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights. Lvova-Belova has “led Russia’s efforts to deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia," the Treasury Department said. The list also includes Task Force Rusich, a Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group that has participated in combat alongside Russia’s military in Ukraine, as well as Russian-installed judges in Crimea.
According to Bild, Federal Defense Minister of Germany Christine Lambrecht made the announcement on Sept. 15. Germany will also provide Ukraine with two more MARS II multiple rocket launchers and 200 rockets, the publication reported.
According to Kirovohrad Oblast Governor Andrii Raikovych, Russia targeted some infrastructure in the Petrove village on Sept. 15. One rocket was shot down by the air defense, the official said.
Russia has again hit hydraulic structures in Kryvyi Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city's military administration, reported on Sept. 15. According to Vilkul, Russia's earlier missile strike on Sept. 14 hit the local dam, flooding over 100 homes in Kryvyi Rih.
According to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov, before retreating from Balakliia, Russian soldiers ruined the building of the local gas operator. They also stole almost all of the company's specialized vehicles, Syniehubov said, adding that the Ukrainian utility services are already working to restore the gas supply in the area.
The Strategic Communications Department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that they had attacked the base overnight on Sept. 15. Additionally, the Southern Operational Command informed that Ukraine had also fired at Russian troops and military equipment in the suburbs of Kherson.
Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov reported two powerful explosions in the Russian-occupied city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Sept. 15. Fedorov didn't provide any details about the attack but hinted at expected Russian losses.
"This is the second, and largest, tranche of a 9 billion euro EU support package, of which €1 billion has already been disbursed," the European Parliament announced on Sept. 15. The loan is set to help Ukraine cover its emergency needs caused by Russia’s invasion and contribute “to the public debt sustainability of Ukraine,” according to the report.
Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitaliy Kim said on Sept. 15 that the earlier reports that the village of Kysylivka in the neighboring southern Kherson Oblast were false. Kim said that fighting over the village continues amid Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south.
According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, in total, Ukraine expects to receive 1.59 billion euros from the EIB. The money will be used for rebuilding infrastructure, supporting the economy, and covering the urgent needs of Ukrainians, Shmyhal said.
According to the State Investigation Bureau, a civilian car hit the car of President Volodymyr Zelensky and the accompanying vehicles in Kyiv suburbs on Sept. 14. The Presidential Office earlier reported that Zelensky wasn't seriously injured in the accident.
According to the Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Sept. 15 that if the U.S. provides long-range missiles to Ukraine, it will make them a “party to the conflict,” and Russia will respond to it. Earlier on July 22, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Washington was not ready to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons so that the world doesn't end up heading toward "a third world war.”
According to the Mariupol City Council, some of the local residents say they haven't had electricity or water supply for over two months. They protested to demand from the occupying forces to resolve these issues ahead of the winter, the council reported on Sept. 15.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that they discussed a possible deal to let Russia export its fertilizers. He also said that Russia wouldn't put "any obstacles" to a UN fact-finding mission at the Olenivka prison in Donetsk Oblast, where over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed by an explosion on July 29. He also confirmed that talks were taking place between Russia and Ukraine over the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Russian-occupied Enerhodar. "I have the feeling that we are still far away from peace," he said.
Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks on the settlements of Spirne, Soledar, Mayorsk, Zaytseve, Odradivka, Vesela Dolyna, Vodyane, and Novomykhailivka, Ukraine's General Staff reported on Sept. 14. Russia also launched 8 missile strikes on Ukraine, according to the General Staff.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said lawmakers should pause its progress in parliament until the European Union can weigh in with recommendations. If passed, the legislation would expand the powers of the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council. It would allow the council to regulate online and print outlets, invalidate the license of any media outlet, block online media without a court order, and request that social media platforms and web browsers remove content forbidden under the law.
Oleksandr Samoilenko, the speaker of Kherson Oblast's legislature, confirmed the settlement's liberation on Sept. 14. Kyselivka is located less than 30 kilometers from Kherson, a key target of Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south.
According to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, Ukraine's military has liberated about 388 settlements where about 150,000 people had lived under Russian occupation.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia continues to wage war against civilians after its military hit hydraulic facilities in an attempt to flood Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. "All the occupiers can do is to sow panic, create an emergency situation, and try to leave people without light, heat, water, and food," he said.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said that the Russians had hit the facilities with Kh-22 missiles. As a result, several districts of Kryvyi Rih were left without water.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has appealed to the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization to help it restore its territorial integrity. Armenia, a member of the bloc, accused Azerbaijan of shelling a vehicle of Russia's Federal Security Service and of invading internationally recognized Armenian territory. Pashinyan said 105 Armenian soldiers had been killed since the latest clashes began on Sept. 13. Azerbaijan won a war against Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized Azerbaijani territory populated by Armenians, and seized most of the area controlled by Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. Azeri troops also seized the Lachin corridor, which links Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, in August 2022.
According to Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh, there were no casualties.
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