War in Ukraine: a new Russian advance, Iran denies any support, welcome authorization from the Netherlands… an update on the situation

L'armée russe poursuit son avancée dans la région de Donetsk. MAXPPP – PRESS SERVICE OF 24 MECHANIZED BRIGADE/HANDOUT

Tous les jours, Midi Libre fait le point sur la situation en Ukraine. Ce lundi 9 septembre, découvrez les dernières actualités autour du conflit.

As on the two previous days, the Russian army claimed on Monday a new advance of its troops in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine. After Novogrodivka on Sunday, the Ministry of Defense indicated in a press release that its soldiers had seized the village of Memryk and are now located about 20 kilometers from Pokrovsk, their target for several weeks. The city is an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army and its capture would constitute a turning point in the war.

Russian bombings also killed two people and injured three others on Monday in the Donetsk oblast, and the night before, two people died and four were injured, including two children, in Sumy, in the northeast of the country. The oblast authorities have also ordered the evacuation of the towns of Hloukhiv, Svesa and Esman, located about ten kilometers from the Russian border, the very place where Kiev launched an incursion in early August in the hope of creating a buffer zone there. The sector has since been a source of intense tension.

International pressure on Iran

This Monday was also intense on the diplomatic front. Iran initially assured that it was not transferring missiles to Russia, contrary to information revealed by CNN and the Wal Street Journal last week. Since then, kyiv's Western allies have been concerned that short-range ballistic missiles would be used. "We are reviewing the matter with member states, and if confirmed, this delivery would represent a significant material escalation in Iran's support for Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine",said Peter Stano, spokesman for the European Union's diplomatic service. In response, Iranian Fazlollah Nozari, deputy commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, asserted that “Iran does not support any side in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.“

“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran's support for Russia's aggression against Ukraine”, which could have consequences “important,” replied the deputy spokesman for the US State Department, Vedant Patel.

The Netherlands authorizes the use of its weapons against Russia

Another important announcement was made by Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans, who authorized the Ukrainian military to use weapons supplied by them in Russia, a request reiterated this Sunday by President Volodomyr Zelensky. “Kiev has the right to defend itself. And if the country is attacked from border areas or from Russian airfields, it can then target military targets. The same goes for enemy missiles: these can also be intercepted by our weapons over Russia,” he said, calling on Ukraine's other allies to do the same.