Late Sept 4 issue

Two power units at Ukrainian nuclear power plants are underperforming, causing a 625 MW deficit. One unit lost 200 MW in generation capacity due to unspecified problems that started in spring 2023, while another reduced output by 425 MW on September 3. Ukrenergo reporteded increased power restrictions due to these losses in power generation. Which power plants these power losses occurred at has not been revealed.


Davyd Arakhamiia, leader of the Servant of the People party stated that a major government reshuffle is underway, with more than half of the Cabinet expected to be replaced.

FT.com reporter Chris Miller provided a good summary of what the shake-up looks like so far.

Chris Miller:

    “Here's how things stand tonight in Kyiv after Zelensky met with his Servant of the People faction to discuss the govt overhaul. This is from my sources at the meeting as well as faction leader David Arakhamia who shared some of this on his Telegram.
-FM Dmytro Kuleba is out; deputy FM Andriy Sybiha will become foreign minister
-Dep PM Olha Stefanishyna will be reappointed deputy PM Prime for Euro Integration and Justice Minister.
-Dep PM Iryna Vereshchuk will go to the president's office where she'll work on social policy. Her ministry of temporarily occupied territories will be closed and folded into ministry of infrastructure. [Vereshchuk announced she will become a new deputy to Andriy Yermak, the head of the President’s Office. Vereshchuk after resigning from her previous role. She requested for Zelenskyy to transfer her to this position.]
-Oleksiy Kuleba will be minister of infrastructure
-Oleksandr Kamyshin will be Zelensky's adviser on strategic industries; Ukroboronprom CEO Herman Smetanin will take his place as minister of strategic industries
-Svitlana Hrynchuk will replace Ruslan Strilets as environmental minister
-Matvii Bidnyi will be appointed minister of youth and sports after serving as acting minister
-Vitaliy Koval of the State Property Fund, will lead the ag ministry
-Mykola Tochytskyi will be the minister of culture and info policy
-Nataliia Kalmykova will move from dep defense minister to minister of vet affairs”

On September 3, 2024, President Zelenskyy dismissed Rostyslav Shurma, the deputy head of the President’s Office, with an official decree.

The Verkhovna Rada has dismissed Denys Maliuska as Ukraine's Justice Minister with 249 votes. Despite his dismissal, Maliuska received a standing ovation from MPs.

David Arakhamia also announced that Ukrainian leaders are considering the creation of a new government department dedicated to facilitating the return of Ukrainian citizens from abroad. This proposed department, tentatively called the Repatriation Ministry, was discussed in a recent meeting with party MPs and President Zelenskyy. A survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in April revealed that 50% of Ukrainian refugees in Germany, Poland, and Czechia indicated they would not return to Ukraine.


A survey published on September 3, 2024, shows that over half of Ukrainians believe the President’s Office has excessive influence over the parliament, Cabinet, law enforcement, anti-corruption bodies, and the judiciary. 58% of respondents think the President’s Office exceeds its powers with the Verkhovna Rada, and 59% believe it influences the Cabinet. Around 55% feel the Office interferes with the courts and anti-corruption agencies.


On September 3, 2024, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada approved the first reading of bill No. 11417, which increases the 2024 state budget by $12.16 billion. Supported by 301 MPs, the bill includes an additional $3 billion in tax revenues but will be amended before the second reading. The Rada also rejected a bill to raise taxes by $730 million.


Emergency workers have completed search and rescue operations after a Russian missile strike on a historic residential area of Lviv on September 4. The strike killed 7 people, including 2 children, ages 7 and 14, and injured 53. At least 12 people were pulled from the rubble. Over 150 workers and 38 vehicles were involved. Psychologists helped 103 people, including 16 children. The attack also caused a fire, damaged schools, and shattered windows. Overall, more than 50 buildings were damaged. A family of four was among the victims, the only survivor was the father.


On September 3, 2024, a Russian missile attack on Poltava resulted in 53 deaths and 271 injuries. As of September 4, 65 people are in critical condition, 146 in moderate, and 87 in fair condition. Emergency services, including 30 ambulances, are providing care and clearing rubble from the hit educational facility. Rescue efforts continue with up to 5 more people possibly trapped. Poltava Oblast has begun three days of mourning for the victims.


As of September 4, 2024, about 26,000 people, including 1,076 children, remain in Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast. This is down from over 40,000 a month ago. Most public services in the city are closed, but essential services like family doctors and pharmacies continue to operate. 1,700 people remain in Toretsk. These people have limited access to humanitarian aid.


On September 4, 2024, Ukrzaliznytsia used diesel locomotives to reduce delays in train services following a Russian attack that caused power outages in Lviv Oblast. Affected routes include Kyiv-Chop, Kyiv-Lviv, Odesa-Yasinya, Chernivtsi, Odesa-Lviv, Poltava-Chernivtsi, Lviv-Kyiv, and Uzhhorod-Kovel. Despite the outage, train operations continue across Ukraine.


The 46th Separate Airmobile Brigade captured nine Russian soldiers after encircling and firing on their position near Kurakhove on the Pokrovsk front. Two Russians were killed, and the remaining nine surrendered. Due to heavy artillery fire, Ukrainian forces and the prisoners sheltered in place for an additional day or two before evacuation. These 9 men were captured by just 2 paratroopers.


On September 4, 2024, the US Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on RT’s management and the RaHDit hacker group for interference in the 2024 US presidential elections. The sanctions targeted Margarita Simonyan, RT's Editor-in-Chief; Yelizaveta Brodskaia, a Deputy Editor; Anton Anisimov, Deputy Director of RT's English-Language Information Broadcasting; Andrei Kiyashko, Deputy Director of the same division; Konstantin Kalashnikov, Digital Media Projects Manager; and Elena Afanasyeva, who works under Kalashnikov. These individuals are accused of spreading disinformation and attempting to recruit American officials. The sanctions also targeted a hacker group called RaHDit. It is composed of current and former Russian intelligence officers, including Aleksei Garashchenko, Anastasia Yermoshkina, and Aleksandr Nezhentsev. The group is known for influencing political events and spreading disinformation. Additionally, the sanctions target the Autonomous Non-Profit Organisation Dialog, which is linked to Russia’s influence operation network known as Doppelgänger, and its members.


On September 4, 2024, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 30 political prisoners convicted of "protest-related crimes." The group includes seven women and 23 men, many of whom are parents. To be pardoned, they had to meet conditions such as admitting guilt, expressing repentance, and pledging to follow the law.


The Swiss Federal Council has appointed Jacques Gerber as "delegate on Ukraine" to coordinate Swiss financial and reconstruction aid. Gerber will start on January 1, 2025. His job will be to oversee Swiss aid projects managed by the State Secretariats for Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs. Switzerland has provided approximately €4 billion in aid since the start of the full-scale invasion and plans to invest €5 billion over the next twelve years in Ukraine's development and rebuilding.


On September 4, 2024, Ukraine and Ireland signed a security and cooperation agreement. The agreement, signed by President Zelensky and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, includes Ireland's commitment to €128 million in non-lethal military aid and at least €36 million in humanitarian support. Ireland will also provide demining systems, continue training Ukrainian forces through the EU Military Assistance Mission, and look for new methods to provide support. Ireland has already contributed around €380 million in aid since the war began.


On September 3, 2024, SBU spokesperson Artem Dekhtiarenko revealed that the SBU did not perform a background check on Roman Hladkyi before he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Unmanned Forces. The SBU did not receive a specific request for additional vetting, and additional checks are not required for such appointments made by the Ministry of Defense. The appointment was made by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov based on a recommendation from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. During a parliamentary hearing on September 2, Syrskyi suggested further checks. Additional vetting is now underway and Hladkiy has been suspended from the position pending the results of the investigation. To be clear, there is not a specific charge he is being investigated over, but officially it is just additional clearance double check.


At the MSPO2024 defense exhibition in Kielce, Poland, British company Modini showcased the Dart 250EW jet drone/The Dart 250 EW is designed to target electronic warfare systems. The drone can fly at altitudes of 50-100 meters with speeds over 400 km/h, aiding stealth and accuracy. Modini anticipates high demand due to the effectiveness and preponderance of EW systems in Ukraine. They are also developing a reconnaissance version, the Dart 250 ISR.

It was announced that Ukrspecsystems has licensed Polish ALS Systems to manufacture its drones, including the SHARK, MINI SHARK, and PD-2 reconnaissance UAVs. The Polish company will produce these drones at its southern Poland plant with assistance from Ukrspecsystems. This partnership aims to expand market reach and promote Ukrainian unmanned systems.


On September 4, 2024, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that negotiations to finalize contracts for gas supplies through the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline are ongoing without a fixed timeline or date. Putin had previously mentioned the possibility of supplying cheap gas to Mongolia if the pipeline is built. The pipeline would span 6,700 kilometers and have a capacity of 50 billion cubic meters annually. Negotiations for the pipeline have been ongoing for several years. Peskov’s new statement is being taken to mean that the negotiations are not anywhere close to being finalized. Previously, there was speculation that the pipeline project was essentially dead, as Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller did not even show up to negotiation meetings back in May.


Russia launched a shahed attack. They launched 78 shaheds at Ukraine, and 60 were shot down. 15 were brought down by other means, presumably electronic warfare. Two drones reportedly ended up back in Russia and one was shot down over Gomel, Belarus by the Belarusian airforce. Russia also fired one Iskander-M ballistic missile. This was not intercepted.


Belaruski Hajun reported that on the night of September 3-4, at least four Russian Shahed drones entered Belarusian airspace, prompting a Belarusian Air Force fighter jet to scramble. The drones crossed the Belarusian-Ukrainian border multiple times, with one heading north and going missing near Zhlobin. One crossed the border near the village of Verkhniya Zhary and reentered Ukrainian airspace near the Chornobyl exclusion zone. The frequency with which shaheds are crossing into Belarus is interesting and may be the result of Ukrainian EW interference.


German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the order of 17 additional IRIS-T air defense systems for Ukraine, including eight medium-range and nine short-range systems. This order is part of Germany's ongoing support for Ukraine, with plans to deliver 24 IRIS-T systems by 2026. Some systems will arrive by the end of this year, with the remainder coming in 2025. Scholz stated that Ukraine has shot down over 250 Russian missiles and drones using IRIS-T systems.


Ukrainian soldier officeralex_33:

    "It was possible to stop the [Russians] in the Pokrovsky direction, for several days without significant successes and advances. It is worth noting that the enemy did not slow down the pace on its own, did not take a break, the assaults with a large involvement of equipment and personnel continue, but the boys have occupied the lines and are holding the defense. The epicenters of the fighting in the direction are now Selidove and Halytsynivka."
...
"The [Russians] are stupid, they are throwing everything they can to block that unfortunate passage under the railway bridge near Selydovo. They've already spent four pieces of equipment on this, and they're just throwing them away."
...
[Alex comments on a video showing now destroyed vehicles that were parked in the the opening below a bridge]
"Abandoned [Russian] equipment to block the passage under the railroad bridge near Selydove.

They don't spare anything, you see, it's not a meaty assault on the equipment, it's the use of working military equipment to block the passage, the equipment serves as an obstacle....

This is not all the scrap metal, I will show you more interesting things later, our guys are also doing a great job."

Ukrainian soldier Stanislav Osman:

    “The enemy is also trying to “probe” our positions near Torske, trying to find weaknesses in the defense.
During a recent assault, the guys destroyed 2 armored personnel carriers, 2 buggies and up to two platoons of infantry.
Separately from the assault, a tank supporting the assault of a small group and several D-30 cannons were discovered and destroyed.
In general, the guys are handsome.”
…
“The guys from Kara-Dag have just captured a tank on the move.
The crew of the tank is 200😌.
Pokrovske direction.”

Quote of the Day:

    “The noble man is chiefly concerned with wisdom and hedgehogs; of these, the former is a mortal good, the latter an immortal one.”

― Epicurus