Hello, dear readers!
On the anniversary of the formal annexation of four incompletely occupied regions of Ukraine into Russia, Putin addressed the people, in which he told how glad the residents of the war-ravaged territories were to return to Russia and how willingly they confirmed this in the recent free elections. Medvedev agreed in a telegram and promised that there will be more new regions within Russia – as the army becomes victorious… (The Russian army, if it does something, will do so without the mayor of Pechora: he was detained in the case of bribery half a day before he was supposed to leave “for the Northern Military District zone” as a volunteer.)
Moscow authorities did not allow the traditional event in memory of victims of political repression “Returned Names” to be held at Lubyanka, citing coronavirus restrictions. In the Tver region, on the territory of the Mednoe memorial complex, dedicated to victims of repression, busts of Stalin, Lenin, Kalinin and Dzerzhinsky were installed (here is a conversation on this topic with Oksana Matievskaya, an employee of the Last Address Foundation). On the 40th day after the crash of Prigozhin’s plane, a monument was erected at the site of the disaster, a prayer service was held at the grave, and memorials to the leader of the Wagner PMC were revived in different places in Russia and even memorial car rallies were held.
On October 1, parking meters stopped working in Vladivostok (the French company Flowbird stopped their software support due to EU sanctions), and in Barnaul, the police detained poet and activist Artem Sakharov for reading anti-war poetry.
Military reports
Monday began in Ukraine with a new “Shahedov” raid and a warning about the threat of S-300 missile strikes in the southern regions. On Saturday night, the Russian army fired about 40 Shaheds across Ukraine, 30 of which were shot down over the Vinnitsa, Nikolaev and Odessa regions. The Ukrainian authorities did not say in detail where those who were not shot down ended up – they only know about a strong fire at an “infrastructure facility” in the Vinnytsia region (Romania expressed suspicions that Russian drones again flew into its territory). On Sunday night, the Russian strike was already combined: 30 Shaheds, cruise missiles, about 10 aerial bombs (they were dropped on the Kherson region, where four people were injured). Of the 30 Shaheds, only 16 were shot down; as a result of hits in Uman, Cherkasy region, grain warehouses caught fire, an enterprise was damaged in Krivoy Rog, in Kharkov too, there was a hit in Snigirevka, Nikolaev region, and explosions in Odessa. On Sunday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported one drone shot down over the Krasnodar region, five over the Smolensk region and another one over the Belgorod region. Two Ukrainian missiles were shot down over Crimea.
According to the representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ilya Yevlash, Russia has concentrated more than 10 thousand soldiers, tank, motorized rifle and airborne regiments in Bakhmut and is trying to regain lost positions. Near Tokmak, Zaporozhye region, Russian air defense shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter, killing the pilot. At the military airfield in Engels, Saratov region, Tu-95 strategic bombers began to paint on the asphalt (before this, real aircraft were covered with tires).
British military intelligence writes in its latest report that Russia is preparing for several more years of war. Ukraine too: Zelensky announced the creation of an international Alliance of Defense Industries, which has already been joined by 38 companies from 19 countries. The Czech Republic, as part of this alliance, will transfer to Ukraine a license for the production of CZ BREN 2 assault rifles.
Around the world
The flow of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia seemed to have dried up: on Sunday a bus arrived in Goris with only 15 people on it – volunteers took out people who could not leave on their own. As of Sunday evening, 100 thousand 500 people arrived in Armenia. Azerbaijani authorities detained former Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Minister David Babayan. In Ankara, a suicide bomber set off an explosion near the building of the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs: he himself died, and his accomplice was killed by the police. The authorities called it a terrorist attack, although there were no casualties and no one took responsibility for what happened. In the parliamentary elections in Slovakia, the first place was taken by the Kurs party of former Prime Minister Robert Fico, which promised to stop all aid to Ukraine. However, it is not yet clear how the coalition will form: the emergence of a minority government is still possible. A very massive opposition demonstration took place in Warsaw on Sunday. The elections will take place in two weeks. The US Congress quickly passed and President Biden signed a temporary budget law to avoid a shutdown. Military aid to Ukraine was not included, and Biden called on Congress to reach an agreement on this issue as soon as possible. In Kazakhstan, Maxim Galkin’s concerts were canceled, explaining this by the repair of the water supply in one case and the breakdown of the stage in another.
Six links
Ukrainian. Interview with writer Oksana Zabuzhko about her book “The Longest Journey.” Or a conversation with Slovak directors Ivan Ostrokhovsky and Pavel Pekarczyk about their film “Photophobia”, the main character of which, 12-year-old Nikita, and his family are hiding from Russian bombing in the Kharkov metro. Russian writers. Text by philosopher Mikhail Kurtov in memory of Boris Ostanin, the master of St. Petersburg freethinking. Or a conversation with Yuri Buida about his new novel “The Gift of Speech.” History of science. A story about the most resonant eugenic practices in the world over the last hundred years. Or an essay on the life and scientific work of Yale arachnologist Alexander Petrunkevich (1875–1964).
Sincerely yours,
Seven forty
