Heading towards World War III?

Ukrainian rockets loaded with cluster bombs damaged a chemical plant in the Donetsk People’s Republic on Thursday and caused an electrical fire, according to local officials. The “Stirol” factory halted operations but there was no chemical release and the fire was eventually put out, authorities in the city of Gorlovka said.

The plant was struck on Thursday afternoon by two missiles from Ukrainian “Uragan” multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), Gorlovka Mayor Ivan Prikhodko said on Telegram. The rockets were allegedly loaded with cluster munitions, which exploded and started a fire at the electrical substation inside the “Stirol” plant and on the roof of the nearby “Transammiak” factory.

“Stirol” director Vasily Agarkov told local media that the factory halted operations until the fire was extinguished. Agarkov said that about 40 cluster bombs were scattered inside the factory, but that there was no risk of a chemical release. There were no reports of casualties.

Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) emergency services said they received a fire call shortly after 6 pm local time, and it took the firefighters until 7:45 to localize the blaze.

This was the second artillery attack on “Stirol” this month. On August 12, Ukrainian shelling, as claimed by DPR officials, also caused a fire at the plant, hitting a warehouse with construction materials.

Gorlovka is located northeast of Donetsk city, with heavy fighting currently going on north and west of the city between Russian and DPR forces on one side, and Ukrainian troops on the other.

Before the conflict, “Stirol” used to be one of Europe’s largest producers of mineral fertilizers, accounting for 3% of the global export of ammonia and related compounds.

www.rt.com/russia/561567-gorlovka-donetsk-chemical-attack

On the six-month anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, defence and security analyst Michael Clarke takes a look at how Moscow's war has unfolded.

Amnesty International is against putting Ukrainian POWs on trial for alleged war crimes, insisting that Russia and Donbass are in no position to do so.

Describing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as “Russian-backed armed groups,” the organization called the upcoming tribunals “illegal and abusive.” The organization also blasted the decision to set up the trials in the city of Mariupol, captured by Russian and Donbass forces during the ongoing conflict, saying it was “a further act of cruelty against a city.”

“Any attempts by Russian authorities to try Ukrainian prisoners of war in so-called ‘international tribunals’ set up by armed groups under Russia’s effective control in Mariupol are illegal and unacceptable,” Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers, said in a statement on Friday.

The remarks echoed those recently made by top Ukrainian officials, including Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who threatened to cut any potential negotiations with Russia should Ukrainian POWs, primarily fighters of the notorious neo-Nazi Azov regiment, be placed on a “show trial.”

“If this despicable show trial takes place … This will be the line beyond which any negotiations are impossible. Russia will cut itself off from any negotiations,” Zelensky said in a video address on Monday.

Zelensky’s call, however, has been promptly snubbed by top Russian and Donbass officials, with the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, stating such threats will have “no effect” on the tribunal plans.

“The data on 80 counts of crimes committed by the Azov has been collected, 23 people have been arrested and are in custody,” Pushilin stated.

Russian Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin issued a darker warning in response to Zelensky’s threats, suggesting the public hearings will expose Kiev’s crimes, which is why the Ukrainian president rightfully fears them.

“He and the Kiev regime have reasons to be afraid,” Volodin said. “He and his inner circle ordered to bomb, shoot and kill peaceful citizens: the elderly, women, children. That is why Zelensky is doing everything to prevent the tribunal.”

www.rt.com/russia/561625-amnesty-warning-donbass-trial

An inspection team from the UN nuclear watchdog is on its way to Ukraine's embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the organisation's head said.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the team was expected to arrive at the plant later this week.

"We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine's and Europe's biggest nuclear facility," he tweeted.

The nuclear plant has been occupied by invading Russian troops since March.

Fighting around the facility in Ukraine's south-east has led to mounting global concern over the safety and security of the site.

Ukraine and Russia have accused one another of shelling the area.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62710530

President Vladimir Zelensky said in his daily evening address on Sunday that Ukraine will recapture Donbass, which is now almost fully seized by Russian forces.

“We have not forgotten and will not forget any of our cities and any of our people,” he said.

“Now Donbass is almost destroyed by Russian strikes, devastated. The proud and glorious Ukrainian Donetsk was humiliated by the Russian occupation and robbed. But Ukraine will return. For sure. Life will return. The dignity of the people of Donbass will return. The ability to live will return. The opportunity to live safely and happily,” the president added.

According to him, this is what the Ukrainian flag will symbolize “when we set it up in Donetsk, Gorlovka, Mariupol, in all cities of Donbass, Azov area, in all areas under Russian occupation – in Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Kherson regions. And definitely in Crimea.”

“Ukraine remembers everything,” Zelensky said.

The US may be helping Ukraine prepare for an impending counteroffensive against Russia, the Washington Post claimed in a piece published this week, pointing to the type of weaponry making up the latest batch of military aid pledged to Kiev by the Pentagon. Last month, a number of top Ukrainian officials suggested that the country’s military would launch a counteroffensive in the south of the country in August to retake the city of Kherson.

www.rt.com/russia/561696-ukraine-donbass-recapture

The head of the Russian-backed administration of the Kherson region, Vladimir Leontiev, says the situation in the area has been "tense" and there have been "around 15" missile strikes over the course of the past two days.

According to Russian state news agency Tass, Leontiev says: "These are not single strikes, but a series of strikes. As such we can probably say that up to 100 missiles in total have hit the city."

www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-62717569

Ukraine’s much-heralded “counter-offensive” in Kherson has “failed miserably,” the Russian Defense Ministry insisted on Monday, listing estimated losses suffered by Kiev during the operation.

Ukrainian forces had attempted to attack in three directions on orders of President Vladimir Zelensky but made no gains, Moscow explained.

Russian troops caused “great losses” to the Ukrainian attackers during the day’s battles, a statement read. Kiev saw 26 tanks, 23 armored fighting vehicles, nine more armored vehicles, and two SU-25 ground-attack jets destroyed, while more than 560 troops were lost, according to the summary.

The enemy's latest attempt at offensive actions has failed miserably.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian outlet Suspilne quoted Southern Command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk as saying that “offensive actions in various directions” had begun, “including in the Kherson region.” She offered no details, however, saying only that “any military operation needs silence.”

By Monday evening, however, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine mentioned only a Russian attack near the village of Potemkino.

Kiev has been talking about a “Kherson counteroffensive” all summer, while soliciting more weapons and ammunition from its Western backers. In a video address to the people on Sunday, Zelensky vowed that “Ukraine will return” to Donbass – as well as Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Kherson and “definitely to Crimea.”

www.rt.com/russia/561758-ukraine-counter-offensive-fails

Russian forces have taken out hundreds of Ukrainian troops and dozens of tanks and armored military vehicles after repelling an ill-fated offensive in the south of the country, the Defense Ministry claimed on Tuesday.

A statement added that officials believe the failerd operation was mounted at the personal order of President Vladimir Zelensky.

“The effective actions by the Russian forces destroyed 48 tanks, 46 infantry fighting vehicles, 37 other armored combat vehicles, eight pickups with heavy machine guns and more than 1,200 Ukrainian servicemen in one day,” they outlined. The Ministry added that Kiev sustained these losses during a botched offensive whose directions led to Nikolaev, Krivoy Rog, and other cities in southern Ukraine.

The ministry went on to say that Moscow’s forces routed the units of the 128th Ukrainian Mountain Assault Brigade, which had been redeployed from western Ukraine to take part in the operation. “Five service members from this brigade laid down their arms and gave in,” the ministry added.

Russian forces also wiped out “more than 200 militants, including about 40 foreign mercenaries” as well as more than 20 armor units, according to the military.

The Russian Defense Ministry’s statement comes after its claim on Monday that the Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson had “failed miserably.” At the time, the ministry put Kiev’s losses at 26 tanks, 23 armored fighting vehicles, nine more armored vehicles, two jets and at least 560 troops.

Kiev has been talking about a “Kherson counteroffensive” all summer, while soliciting more weapons and ammunition from its Western backers. In a video address to the people on Sunday, Zelensky vowed that “Ukraine will return” to Donbass – as well as Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Kherson, and “definitely to Crimea.”

www.rt.com/russia/561816-russia-ukraine-counter-offensive-losses