Situation at the frontline and ranks of occupiers, Ukraine's counteroffensive causes panic: the highlights of the day

The Armed Forces hit 3 ammunition depots and dozens of concentration points of the occupiers and their hardware

On September 20, the missile forces, artillery, and aviation of the Armed Forces hit three ammunition depots and approximately 40 places where the invaders and their hardware were concentrated. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a summary as of 18:00 on September 20.

According to the calculations of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on September 20, the Russian occupiers launched 7 missiles and carried out 20 air strikes and more than 15 rounds of anti-aircraft fire at military and civilian objects on the territory of Ukraine. Due to their shelling during the day, the infrastructure of more than 20 settlements was damaged.

Missile forces and artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit 17 areas of concentration of troops, weapons, and military hardware, as well as 10 areas of concentration of artillery of the occupiers. At the same time, to support the actions of ground groups, Ukrainian aviation struck 12 areas of concentration of the enemy's manpower and military hardware, as well as one position of an anti-aircraft missile system.

Situation in the ranks of the occupiers

The General Staff says that as a result of the successful actions of the Defense Forces in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka directions, the enemy continues to suffer significant losses. In Horlivka, the hospitals are full of seriously wounded Russian soldiers, and two trucks with the bodies of the dead from the 1st Army Corps of Russia arrived in Donetsk Oblast from Kherson Oblast.

The General Staff also claims that due to an unsuccessful covert mobilization, Russia decided to transfer units of the 217th Parachute Regiment from Syria to Ukraine.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down an Iranian drone and a Su-25 attack aircraft

As reported by the Air Force Command, the drone was shot down by anti-aircraft defense at approximately 16:00 in Mykolayiv Oblast. It is the Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drone, which the Russian occupiers label as “Geran-2”. It is a barrage munition weighing 200 kilograms and with a wingspan of 2.5 meters.

And the Russian Su-25 attack aircraft was shot down at approximately 17:00 in Kherson Oblast. This was done by servicemen of the Odessa anti-aircraft missile brigade.

Panic among the occupiers and the Kremlin's protégés

The American Institute for the Study of War points to an urgent discussion on September 19 among Russian protégés about the need for the immediate Russian annexation of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts (a large part of the latter is not under the control of the Russian Federation).

According to ISW, this shows that Ukraine's long counteroffensive in the east is causing panic among people close to the Kremlin and those who directly make some decisions there. Also, according to ISW, Ukrainian guerrilla activity is likely to cause panic among the occupation authorities and collaborators.

What will the announcement of mobilization in Russia lead to?

If mobilization is announced in Russia, it will not affect the final victory of Ukraine in the war. John Spencer, a military expert and retired major, who served in the US Army for over 25 years, including combat experience in Iraq, told us about this in an interview.

According to him, Russia may be embarrassed if it announces a national mobilization. Spencer notes that the Russians are already having problems with recruiting the usual number of conscripts, and if mobilization is announced, even more men may not come to the military enlistment offices.

Russia was not admitted to Euro-2024

The Russian national team will not be able to participate in the next European football championship – Euro-2024. This was announced by the head of the Ukrainian Football Association Andriy Pavelko and the UEFA website.

Russia will not be allowed to participate in the selection draw for Euro-2024, which will take place in October. This automatically means that the team will not have a chance to play in the main part of the tournament. According to Pavelko, the Russian national football team will not be able to participate in official competitions until at least 2024.