South Front

1. Military Situation In Southern Ukraine On September 21, 2023 (Map Update)

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• The AFU artillery shelled Novaya Kakhovka;
• The AFU artillery shelled Kakhovka;
• The AFU artillery shelled Golaya Pristan;
• The AFU artillery shelled Sagi;
• The AFU artillery shelled Aleshki;
• Russian forces destroyed Ukrainian group from the 126th brigade of the territorial defense on the Pereyaslavsky island;
• Russian forces destroyed 45 Ukrainian servicemen, 3 motor vehicles, and 1 U.S.-made M777 howitzer in the Kherson region.

 

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• The Russian Army repelled two attacks of the 71st Jaeger and 47th Mechanized brigades of the AFU near Novopokrovka and Rabotino;
• Russian artillery struck the 46th Airmobile Brigade of the AFU near Verbove;
• The Russian Army repelled Ukrainian attacks near Priyutnoye;
• The Russian Army repelled Ukrainian attacks near Novomaiorske;
• The Russian Army repelled Ukrainian attacks near Staromayorskoye;
• Ukrainian artillery hit an artillery position of Russian forces north of Tokmak;
• Russian forces destroyed 50 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 armored vehicles, 3 motor vehicles, 2 M777 artillery systems, 3 D-30 howitzers in the Zaporozhye region;
• Russian forces destroyed 45 Ukrainian servicemen, 3 motor vehicles, and 1 U.S.-made M777 howitzer in the Kherson region.

The post Military Situation In Southern Ukraine On September 21, 2023 (Map Update) appeared first on South Front.

2. Poland Says It’s No Longer Arming Ukraine Amid Grain Spat

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The position marks a significant shift as Warsaw has been a major supporter of NATO's proxy war

Originally published on AntiWar

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Wednesday that Poland is no longer arming Ukraine, marking a significant shift as Warsaw has been a staunch supporter of the NATO proxy war with Russia.

Morawiecki's comments come amid a spat between Warsaw and Kyiv over a Polish ban on Ukrainian grain. When asked if the dispute would impact Polish support for Ukraine, Morawiecki said, "We are no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine, because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons."

He insisted that Warsaw had no intention of risking "the security of Ukraine" and that weapons shipments from other countries transiting through Poland would not be interfered with. Poland has become the primary hub for NATO arms shipments into Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion.

Throughout the war, Poland led the charge when it came to NATO escalations in support for Ukraine. Military aid Warsaw has provided includes hundreds of Soviet-made tanks and about a dozen Soviet MiG-29 fighter jets. Poland was also the first NATO country that said it was willing to arm Ukraine with German-made Leopard tanks.

Despite all the support, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took a shot at Poland and two other EU countries for maintaining a ban on Ukrainian grain. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the disruption of Black Sea shipping, there's been an influx of Ukrainian grain shipments into the EU.

Earlier this year, the EU agreed to restrict the import of Ukrainian grain to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia over complaints from farmers about a drop in prices. Last week, the EU said it would lift the restriction, but Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia said they would continue banning Ukrainian grain from their markets.

At the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Zelensky accused the countries of helping Russia. "Alarmingly, some in Europe play out solidarity in a political theater — turning grain into a thriller. They may seem to play their own roles. In fact, they're helping set the stage for a Moscow actor," he said.

Ukraine has also said it will lodge a complaint to the World Trade Organization. In response to the Ukrainian criticism, Morawiecki said, "We were the first to do a lot for Ukraine, and therefore we expect our interests to be understood. We will defend our interests with all determination."

The post Poland Says It's No Longer Arming Ukraine Amid Grain Spat appeared first on South Front.

3. Israel Escalates Against Syria, Lebanon & Gaza

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Israel is once again escalating against Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Gaza Strip in what appears to be an attempt to maintain deterrence.

On September 11, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant accused Iran of building an airport in southern Lebanon in cooperation with Hezbollah for "terror purposes".

The minister presented photos of the airport, being built in the Qalaat Jabbour mountain region, 20 kilometers from the separation line with Israel. Meanwhile, Israel's Channel 14 reported that Hezbollah is planning to operate Iranian-made drones from the airport.

Gallant stressed that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) will not hesitate to use lethal force in any future conflict, warning that Hezbollah and Lebanon will pay "heavy and painful prices." The Lebanese group didn't respond to these accusations and threats.

Two days later, on September 13, two waves of Israeli strikes hit Syria, one of Hezbollah's main allies.

The first wave of strikes targeted air defense positions near the towns of Kartu [al-Karimah] and Dier Alhajar in the southern countryside of Tartus. Two service members were killed and six others were wounded in the attack.

The second wave, which came a few hours later, targeted a facility of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) near Taqsees village in the southern countryside of Hama. The SSRC develops and produces military equipment, including precision-guided missiles and drones, for the Syrian military and its allies, with alleged support from Iran. The attack resulted in material losses only.

The attack on Tartus was apparently a suppression of enemy air defenses, or SEAD, mission, aimed at paving the way for Israeli fighter jets to strike their targets in Hama without needing to evade Syrian air defenses.

Later on September 15, an Israeli drone strike targeted an observation post of the Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip following protests by Palestinians on the separation line.

In a statement, the IDF said that hundreds of Palestinians "rioted" on the separation line. The protestors set off explosive devices on the separation line and hurled grenades, according to the IDF, who added that troops stationed there responded with riot dispersal means and live fire in some cases.

Nine Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire and crowd dispersal means. Among the wounded was a photojournalist who was hit in the hand by a tear gas canister.

People in Gaza resumed protests recently with the permission of Hamas to draw attention to the worsening living conditions in the impoverished coastal strip after Qatar, one of the biggest donors of the movement, has cut back on monthly disbursements.

The Israeli escalation against Syria, Lebanon and Gaza is creating much tension. However, a direct military confrontation remains highly unlikely as all sides understand the risks associated with a new full-blown war.

The post Israel Escalates Against Syria, Lebanon & Gaza appeared first on South Front.

4. Ukraine Increased Attacks On Crimea (Map Update On September 21, 2023)

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• On the night of September 21, Russian air defense systems shot down 19 Ukrainian UAVs over the Black Sea and the Crimea, according to the Russian MOD
• 4 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down near Dalekoe;
• 2 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down near Mezhvodnoe;
• 8 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down near Saki;
• 5 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down near Sevastopol;
• On September 19, two Ukrainian UAVs were shot down near Sevastopol;
• On September 19, 8 Storm Shadow missiles targeted Crimea. Five of them were shot down near the Cape Tarkhankut and Belbek airfield near Sevastopol. Three reportedly fell near Verhnesadovoe;
• On September 19, Unidentified UAV struck an oil depot near Sochi;
• On September 18, three Storm Shadow missiles that were targeting the Crimean Bridge were shot down near Melitopol;
• On September 18, a Storm Shadow missile that was targeting the Crimean Bridge was shot down near Genichesk.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• Military Situation In Ukraine On September 21, 2023 (Map Update)
• Military Situation In Southern Ukraine On September 20, 2023 (Map Update)

The post Ukraine Increased Attacks On Crimea (Map Update On September 21, 2023) appeared first on South Front.

5. The Need To Replace The Existing U.S.-Government-Controlled Web

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Written by Eric Zuesse 

Here will be explained many mysteries regarding public opinion, including (but not restricted to) this very important one: Whereas Russia is widely condemned for having invaded on 24 February 2022 an adjoining country, Ukraine, a country which has clear importance to Russian national security (as being a potential staging-base for U.S. missiles to be placed there a mere 300 miles away from The Kremlin — a threat to decapitate Russia's central command too fast for Russia's leader to have enough time to authorize a retaliation), and is being severely sanctioned by U.S.-and-allied countries and their media, for having done so (for having done what Russia needed to do).

America and some of its allies were not condemned and sanctioned by any countries for having invaded on 20 March 2003 a far-distant country, Iraq, which (in stark contrast to Russia's 24 February 2022 invasion of Ukraine) had no importance whatsoever to U.S.-or-allied nations' national security (Only lies about "Saddam's WMD" etc. had asserted to the contrary. Russia didn't similarly 'justify' by lies its invasion of Ukraine).

America and its invading allies weren't sanctioned even after their invasion of Iraq became widely known to have been based on entirely fraudulent U.S.-and-allied national-security excuses (such as that Iraq was only six months away from having a nuclear bomb). This glaring, and entirely unjustifiable, inequity in public opinion throughout the world (which was heavily propagandized against Russia for having done what NATO had actually forced it to do), is ignored in the news-media, but it demands an explanation, ESPECIALLY because the news-media themselves censor-out the very subject of this inequity, and pretend that it doesn't exist — that the public hasn't been fooled by them into this fear of Russia, such as was exemplified by Sweden and Finland then seeking to join NATO). Democracy within nations, and the achievement of peace between nations, are impossible unless this subject — this censorship itself — is openly and honestly discussed. Because this censorship is almost universally censored-out, the present article will be presenting the reader with immediate access to key items of its evidence (by means of links to documentation regarding any reasonably questionable allegation herein), so that the reader can judge the evidence on one's own.

That's the mystery; the inequity is the mystery; and here is its explanation.

INTRODUCTION

As will be shown here, the U.S. Government controls the Web; and this means that it also indirectly controls the news-media (as is going to be documented here, by the evidence that will be linked-to here). This evidence will make clear the extent, and the means, whereby the U.S. Government is, by means of censorship, effectively controlling public opinion in all U.S.-&-allied (or vassal) nations, but even to a large extent world-wide outside of the U.S. and its vassal-nations (or colonies, such as are all NATO nations).

Censorship is an essential tool of any dictatorship, and is a mortal danger to any democracy, because censorship enables the controlling owners of news-media — and it enables the Government that those owners also control via their massive political-campaign donations — to control public opinion, and so to shape voting-results and thereby produce 'democracy' instead of democracy. Such monopoly control of information to the public, by billionaires, produces the result that every candidate for high public office must choose to serve some billionaires or else will lose the s'elections' (selections by billionaires, and then elections by voters from among those pre-selected billionaire-approved nominees). That's aristocracy (one-dollar-one-vote), instead of democracy (one-person-one-vote).

The U.S. Government (America's billionaires and their millions of hired agents) currently does have monopoly control over the Web (the world-wide web, the publicly available portion of the Internet (which latter includes also private pages, ones that can't be viewed by the public). Especially for international news, most people get their news mainly from the Web; so, censorship of the Web is especially important in order to get the public to support the Government's (its billionaires') international policies (such as invading Iraq and Libya, and sactioning Russia, and arming Ukraine and Taiwan).

Furthermore, Google has a virtual monopoly on browsing or searching through the Web and was created jointly by the U.S. CIA and Defense Department; so, not only does the U.S. Government (America's billionaires) directly control the Web, but it indirectly controls the finds on almost all searches of the Web (and the few competitors to Google are even less good than Google is, and moreover aren't doing anything in order to provide in their finds the Web-pages that Google's search-algorithms are especially excluding from their finds). (Anyone who finds unbelievable that Google manipulates U.S. electoral results should see the 18 September 2023 video explanation "How Google Shifted 6 MILLION Votes To Joe Biden! w/ Dr. Robert Epstein" — also here — in which that extemely prestigious Harvard-educated research-psychologist, who had voted for Biden against Trump, reports his impeccably researched findings, which have shocked himself, and which have caused predictions that there will probably be a Google-paid hit-job against him to stop his research.) The full extent of U.S. Government censorship will be documented in the following examples: specific censorship-actions by the U.S. Government and its hired agents, will be linked-to so that the reader can see them for oneself. (Consequently, this article, which is being submitted free to all news-media, will be published by few if any of them, and the reader is therefore urged to pass this article along, to others.)

DOCUMENTATION

Following are Orwellian cancellations by the U.S. Government, of news-sources that are at least as reliable and trustworthy as what the U.S.-and-allied Governments and their media publish, but which nonetheless are, as you will see here, being carefully blacked-out from the public, by those agents (agents hired by U.S.-and-allied billionaires):

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securingdemocracy.gmfus.org (LINK)

GMF [German Marshall Fund of the United States [a U.S. Government front]]

Alliance for Securing Democracy [imposing dictatorship]

Russian sites sanctioned for spreading disinformation ahead of war in Ukraine

On March 3, 2022, the US Treasury Department sanctioned 26 individuals and seven entities for spreading disinformation ahead of the war in Ukraine and around a series of other geopolitical flashpoints on behalf of the Russian government. The sanctions targeted employees of the Strategic Culture Foundation, InfoRos, NewsFront, and SouthFront — all of which are Russian intelligence-linked sites that were sanctioned in April 2021. Treasury also designated new sites for being affiliated with the Strategic Culture Foundation, including Odna Rodyna, Rhythm of Eurasia, and Journal Kamerton. The outlets New Eastern Outlook and Oriental Review were sanctioned for being linked to Russia's foreign intelligence agency. Sanctions also targeted the sites United World International and Geopolitica, which are connected to the Russian nationalists [that word, "natioonalists," intended to signify far-right, and maybe Nazi, but it's a lie, a smear] Darya Dugina and Alexander Dugin.

About This Incident

Threat Actors: Russia

Tools: Information Manipulation [actually far less deceptive than the New York Times and Washington Post]

Incident Metadata

Date: March 2022

Country: Ukraine

Source: LINK1, LINK2

PS (from me): I have requested the U.S. Government to supply me with evidence backing up their claims, on each one of those Websites, that it is controlled by Russia's Government, but never received an answer. I have also asked some of the Websites. None said it was controlled by the Government; but one, SouthFront, said emphatically that it is NOT, and that they have received no support whatsoever from it.

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strategic-culture.su

There was no website on the domain STRATEGIC-CULTURE.SU yet, but on 25 December 2021 it started being set up, in preparation for the U.S. Government's shutting down their existing site (strategic-culture.org).

This page is a copy of the earliest appearance on the Web, of the Website the Strategic Culture Foundation in Russia was then setting up to replace their then-existing site, www.strategic-culture.org, which they knew would be taken down by the U.S. Government, because I and other Americans who had some of our articles published there, were warned in late 2021 that if we continued to have articles published there, we would be potentially fined $325,000 by the U.S. Government, and so we all quit submitting our articles to that site. I told the site then that the FBI had warned me not to submit more articles. This replacement-site was started soon after.

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southfront.org

21 July 2023 was the last day of southfront.org, which then switched to southfront.press on 19 August 2023: southfront.press.

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orientalreview.org

On 21 August 2023, orientalreview.org was cancelled. It switched, on August 25th, to: orientalreview.su

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RealScottRitter (LINK)

Scott Ritter, 11 August 2023, 620.4K Views

@RealScottRitter

When it rains, it pours. The same day that YouTube deplatformed "The Scott Ritter Show", they deplatformed "Ask The Inspector." This is a targeted effort by YouTube to remove/minimize my voice, and those of my guests and the people who took the time to ask probing questions about the pressing issues of the day. Those who are behind this should know — you won't succeed. There is a vast social media world out there beyond YouTube. And for those voices who still use YouTube as the primary vector to your audience, understand this — conform or perish. If you're doing a geopolitical show, and you're still platformed by YouTube, ask yourself why. And be willing to live with the answer. More on this later.

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strategic-culture.org

17 August 2023 was the last day of strategic-culture.org. Then it switched to:

strategic-culture.su

23 August 2023

 Dear friends,

Today, our website, strategic-culture.org has been denied access to the .org domain, run by the U.S.-based Public Interest Registry. This comes in the wake of numerous cyberattacks aimed at the website's infrastructure.

There is no doubt that this act of cyber warfare is an attempt to silence another independent media critical of the American empire.

Currently, all our materials are accessible on Telegram and we will resume the operation of our website soon.

Stay tuned!

Sincerely,
Strategic Culture Foundation

——

On 28 August 2023, I headlined "How the U.S. Government Targets Websites for Destruction", and reported that

This is about the supposedly international organization that controls the internet and thus the Web. It mentions that there are also "other organizations [than ICANN] such as OpenNIC, that are charged with overseeing the name and number systems of the Internet." However, if one clicks onto that "OpenNIC" it explains that "Like all alternative root DNS systems, OpenNIC-hosted domains are unreachable to the vast majority of Internet users, because they require a non-default configuration in one's DNS resolver." In other words: ICANN, which is controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce (SouthFront is correct about that), has a global monopoly over the internet and Web.

So: not only are they violating the U.S. Constitution, but they are violating the entire world. In order to break that U.S.-imperial monopoly, a new internet/Web must be constructed. Who will do that? (It would be a service to the entire world, if the U.S. empire ends; but at least it would be a service to the publics in all non-U.S.-empire — or non-U.S.-'allied' — countries, otherwise; and the result of that would be much faster improvement of the non-U.S.-empire countries.)

This is above and beyond any direct actions by U.S. Government agencies, such as by the FBI and U.S. Department of 'Justice'. But here are merely a few of the Web-sites that used to publish me but that the U.S. Government has directly shut down, via those two agencies:

Three site-cancellation notices were shown there, for: American Herald Tribune, Press TV, and One World Press. All were high quality sites that contradicted lies that are commonly spread in U.S.-and-allied media.

ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) from the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the master-authority that actually controls the Web. It can remove any site it wants (such as those). The CIA-edited and written Wikipedia, which blacklists (blocks from linking to) sites that aren't CIA-approved, provides the Orwellian description, that "ICANN's primary principles of operation have been described as helping preserve the operational stability of the Internet; to promote competition; to achieve broad representation of the global Internet community; and to develop policies appropriate to its mission through bottom-up, consensus-based processes.^[8]" However, despite a number of legal challenges, culminating in 2016, to ICANN's monopoly power, there has been no real change except added legalese to muddy up the waters and add yet more obscurity, hiding that U.S. Government monopoly power. This "bottom-up" remains actually top-down from the U.S. Government, which almost certainly won't ever willingly cede control over it.

In addition, there exist 'independent' 'fact-checking' corporations (such as 'NewsGuard'), which likewise 'police' truth (and accept without question, and tolerate no variance from, Establishmentarian opinions) and have no accountability, and which further police against writers and speakers on the Web who contradict the presumptions in the U.S. Government's propaganda, and which virtually force the owners of news-sites on the Web, to either terminate dissident writers and speakers, or else to become terminated themselves — financially squeezed out-of-business, either by drying-up the advertising income that keeps the site going, or else by otherwise driving down the market-price of the site if its owner is aiming to sell it — but, in either case, forcing it out-of-business unless it will comply with that 'truth'-police's demands. (In that instance concerning 'NewsGuard', the site's owner was forced to not only remove an article from me, but to remove all of the hundreds of articles that had previously been published there from me — and truth had nothing actually to do with this; the threat by 'NewsGuard' had everything to do with it.)

Behind censorship stand only gangsters, no truth. They war against open public debate, and use 'truths' from the powers-that-be (typically coming ultimately from some billionaire or group of billionaires) in order to disempower the public to determine individually on their own whom is telling only the truth, and whom is instead lying or otherwise misrepresenting reality so as to fit those billionaires' agenda. Any statement might be true and might be false, but no external 'authority' should be empowered to evaluate that — only each individual has a right to determine, for him or her self, what is true, and what is false. Otherwise, democracy can't even function, at all. But, of course, that's the very point of censorship, isn't it — to prevent democracy?

How, then, can ICANN be replaced? I don't know enough technically to be able to say. I know only that it MUST be replaced — not merely 'fixed' (such as has been attempted during decades now). The U.S. Government continues to block the required change, because the required change is to replace ICANN altogether — to end the U.S. Government's choke-hold over the Web. The U.N. keeps debating what to do about this. Perhaps the BRICS nations will simply DO it.

A physicist whom I know, responded to this article by saying:

"All the BRICS/Russia could do is create a parallel Internet, with all this entails (and it entails a lot, from satellites to its own namespace to gargantuan server farms to time)."

To that, I replied:

"Sounds right to me, and it would be worth far more than the expense and time to do it; it would transform the world politically; so, why isn't it being done?"

If it's not for Russia to do, then perhaps it is something for China to do. Or: What about Russia and China together, doing it? Or a consortium of BRICS countries? If the U.N. can't do anything about the matter, because of its U.S.-&-'allied' members, then maybe the BRICS will have to create a competitor to the U.N. Isn't that what the U.S. and its 'allies' are forcing to happen, anyway, by means of their sanctions? So: the sooner it starts to happen, the better that will be for the whole world — the sooner to end the American empire before it ends all of us in a WW III.

—————

Investigative historian Eric Zuesse's new book, AMERICA'S EMPIRE OF EVIL: Hitler's Posthumous Victory, and Why the Social Sciences Need to Change, is about how America took over the world after World War II in order to enslave it to U.S.-and-allied billionaires. Their cartels extract the world's wealth by control of not only their 'news' media but the social 'sciences' — duping the public.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• The Fraud That's Called 'Democracy' In The West
• Eric Zuesse: What's Wrong With Billionaires? Too Much.
• Why America Is at War Against China & Russia

The post The Need To Replace The Existing U.S.-Government-Controlled Web appeared first on South Front.

6. Military Situation In Syria On September 21, 2023 (Map Update)

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• On September 21, the Russian Ministry of Defense recorded 2 cases of hostilities and ceasefire violations in the Idlib region in the past 24 hours;
• On September 21, two members of Palestinian Al-Quds Brigades reportedly were killed by an Israeli drone attack in the town of Beit Jinn;
• On September 21, the Syrian President arrived in China in his first official visit since 2004 to meet with Chinese officials;
• On September 21, artillery of Turkish-backed forces shelled the SDF north of Manbij;
• On September 21, artillery of Turkish-backed forces shelled the SAA near Kafr Nubl;
• On September 21, SAA artillery shelled positions of Turkish-backed forces in Fatirah;
• On September 21, SAA artillery shelled positions of Turkish-backed forces in Kafr Uwayd.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• Military Situation In Syria On September 20, 2023 (Map Update)
• Military Situation In Syria On September 19, 2023 (Map Update)

The post Military Situation In Syria On September 21, 2023 (Map Update) appeared first on South Front.

7. In Video: Israeli Tanks Shell Syrian Army Positions In Al-Qunitra

A Merkava IV tank. FILE PHOTO: Rafael Advanced Defense Systems

On September 21 afternoon, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that its tanks had shelled two temporary structures that were being used by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).

These structures violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights, the IDF said in a statement.

"The IDF holds the Syrian regime responsible for all activities emanating from its territory and will not allow any attempts to violate Israeli sovereignty," the statement reads.

Syria's Al-Watan newspaper confirmed that IDF tanks opened fire at an area located right to the west of the town of Hadar in the countryside of al-Qunitra governorate. The shelling resulted in material losses only, according to the pro-government newspaper.



The shelling came just a few hours after two men were killed in a drone strike that media outlets affiliated with the Syrian opposition alleged it was carried out by Israel. The strike took place near the town of Beit Jinn in the countryside of Damascus. Syrian opposition activists alleged that the two casualties were members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), but the group denied this.

Two waves of Israeli strikes hit Syria last week, specifically on September 13. The first wave targeted air defense bases in the western coastal governorate of Tartus, killing two service members and wounding several others. The second wave hit a military research center in the west-central governorate of Hama. Only material losses were reported there.

Hundreds of Israeli strikes targeted Syria over the past decade as a part of a covert military campaign known as "the war between the wars". The IDF rarely acknowledges responsibility for the strikes.

Israel has been especially concerned with the presence of key allies of the SAA, including Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Lebanon's Hezbollah and the PIJ, near the al-Golan Heights Front.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC:

• Two Killed In Alleged Israeli Drone Strike On Southern Syria (Photos)
• President Assad Arrives In China On First Visit Since Start of War in Syria

The post In Video: Israeli Tanks Shell Syrian Army Positions In Al-Qunitra appeared first on South Front.

8. Military Situation In Ukraine On September 21, 2023 (Map Update)

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• Explosions thundered in the Kiev region. One of the targets was the local radio plant;
• Explosions thundered in the Lviv region. An industrial facility and warehouses were struck in Drogobichi;
• Russian forces struck an energy facility in the Rivne region;
• Explosions thundered in the Sloboda district in the Kharkiv region;
• Russian forces struck a hotel used by the Ukrainian military in the Cherkasy region;
• Explosions thundered in the Vinnytsia region;
• Explosions thundered in the Khmelnitsky region;
• Russian air defense systems shot down 19 Ukrainian UAVs over the Black Sea and the Crimea, according to the Russian MOD;
• Russian air defense systems shot down 3 Ukrainian UAVs over the Kursk, Belgorod and Oryol regions, according to the Russian MOD;
• 19 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down over the Black Sea and Crimea;
• Ukrainian UAV was shot down over the Kursk region;
• Ukrainian UAV was shot down over the Belgorod region;
• Ukrainian UAV was shot down over the Orel region;
• The Russian Army repelled Ukrainian attacks near Priyutnoye;
• The Russian Army repelled Ukrainian attacks near Dibrova;
• The Russian Army repelled Ukrainian attacks near Klescheevka;
• The Russian Army repelled Ukrainian attacks near Orekhov;
• Russian forces destroyed 20 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 motor vehicles, 1 M109 Paladin artillery system in the Kupyansk area;
• Russian forces destroyed 75 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 armored vehicles, 2 pickup trucks, 1 D-30 howitzer in the Krasny Liman area;
• Russian forces killed and wounded 300 Ukrainian servicemen and destroyed 2 armored vehicles, 5 motor vehicles, 1 Olkha MLRS, 1 Krab artillery system in the Donetsk area;
• Russian forces killed and wounded 110 Ukrainian servicemen and destroyed 1 armored vehicle, 4 motor vehicles, 1 Uragan MLRS, 1 Gvozdika artillery system in South Donetsk area;
• Russian forces destroyed 50 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 armored vehicles, 3 motor vehicles, 2 M777 artillery systems, 3 D-30 howitzers in the Zaporozhye region;
• Russian forces destroyed 45 Ukrainian servicemen, 3 motor vehicles, and 1 U.S.-made M777 howitzer in the Kherson region;
• Russian air defense systems shot down the record 75 Ukrainian drones over the past day;
• Russian air defense systems shot down 5 Storm Shadow cruise missiles, 4 HIMARS MLRS projectiles, 1 HARM anti-radiation missile over the past day.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• Military Situation In Ukraine On September 20, 2023 (Map Update)
• Military Situation In Donbass On September 20, 2023 (Map Update)

The post Military Situation In Ukraine On September 21, 2023 (Map Update) appeared first on South Front.

9. Kiev In Search For New Energy Sources Using Inmates And Bicycles

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Written by Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant

The evidence of Ukrainian despair is becoming increasingly clear. In an attempt to obtain new sources of energy, the possibility of using prisoners to generate electricity is being discussed in the Ukrainian Parliament. In practice, this would be an extreme human effort to make a small amount of energy, which shows how desperate Kiev is to reduce the effects of its energy crisis.

The proposal was presented by Ukrainian legislator Sergey Grivko and will be evaluated by other parliamentarians soon. What he plans is to literally "motivate 50,000 inmates to generate electricity with the help of bicycle generators." Thus, Grivko and his political partners hope to at least alleviate the disastrous effects of the serious energy crisis currently affecting Ukraine.

The measure, called "unconventional" by its own proponent, comes amid a situation of true desperation on the part of the Kiev regime, which is trying to find safe sources of energy as quickly as possible, as the country's energy infrastructure has been severely affected by the conflict. Recently, the head of Ukraine's national power company Ukrenergo, Vladimir Kudritsky, had already made it clear that it will be impossible to repair the destroyed facilities before the advent of winter.

In theory, the project is expected to be implemented through a "win-win" relationship between the state and prisoners. They will be able to "work" on generating energy on electric bicycles in exchange for shorter sentences. The more they work, the shorter their time in prison will be. In practice, however, things could be very different and more difficult than that.

It is virtually impossible for the use of electric bicycles to be sufficient to restore a country's energy stability. The capacity of these bicycles is low compared to conventional energy sources. The bicycle model was designed as an ecological and sustainable alternative for domestic use and to reduce energy costs in small facilities, but it does not seem like a viable alternative to overcome a national energy emergency.

In order to generate a significant amount of energy, prisoners will need to work on the bicycles for many hours. And this can be a problem considering that certainly not all prisoners have the health conditions and physical capacity necessary for this type of bodily effort. In this sense, considering the dictatorial, terrorist and anti-humanitarian nature of the neo-Nazi regime, it is very likely that, in practice, prisoners will be coerced to work until exhaustion to generate as much energy as possible, creating a system analogous to slavery and to corporal punishment.

This type of unconventional and irrational plan only shows how serious the country's energy crisis is and how local authorities are looking for "solutions" in every possible way. This crisis is due to the massive attacks launched by the Russian armed forces since last year, mainly after the beginning of the command of General Sergey Surovikin. At the time, a wave of high precision strikes was launched against Ukraine's critical infrastructure, leaving several regions of the country without energy and severely affecting Kiev's military logistics.

Unlike Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian regions, Moscow's intention with this type of operation was never to harm the Ukrainian population and energy supplies in civilian areas. On the contrary, the strategic value of the attacks was precisely to neutralize the energy supply lines that guaranteed both the maintenance of decision-making centers and the operability of the Ukrainian armed forces. Indeed, Ukrainian energy stability was making terrorist incursions against Russian civilians viable, thus Moscow had to damage it.

Unfortunately, in many cases the civilian population is affected by the consequences of the destruction of infrastructure, but this was the only alternative left for Moscow in the face of so many terrorist attacks carried out by the Ukrainian armed forces. In other words, Russia just reacted in order to protect its own citizens.

In fact, with the arrival of winter, Ukraine will certainly face very difficult times, even worse than those seen in 2022. And this will happen amidst the already catastrophic situation of the country's armed forces, which were unable to launch a "counteroffensive" in the spring-summer season. The damage in winter is expected to be substantial both from a military point of view and in the social sphere, accelerating the inevitable process of defeat in the conflict and collapse of Ukrainian society.

The correct way to prevent the worst from happening is not by forcing prisoners to work on inefficient sources of energy generation, but by making strategic decisions that bring an end to the conflict. Kiev should break with the West, stop being a proxy state and accept Russian peace terms. And then Moscow would certainly help Ukraine to overcome social problems caused during the hostilities. But unfortunately the Kiev Junta does not seem interested in this type of solution.

You can follow Lucas on Twitter and Telegram.

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The post Kiev In Search For New Energy Sources Using Inmates And Bicycles appeared first on South Front.

10. Russian MoD Reveals Targets Of Recent Strikes On Ukraine (Videos)

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The Russian military had attacked several high-value targets in Ukraine with long-range, air-launched, precision-guided missiles, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced during a briefing on September 21.

According to the ministry, the missiles targeted Ukrainian military industrial facilities, signal and electronic reconnaissance centers as well as a training ground for saboteurs.

"The goal of the strike has been achieved," the ministry said in its briefing, affirming that "all the targets have been hit."

It's worth noting that Ukraine claimed its air defense intercepted 36 out of 43 Russian missiles that targeted its territory in the early morning. However, explosions were reported in the capital, Kiev, and several other regions, including Lviv, Rivne, Kharkov, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia and Khmelnitsky.

During the same briefing, the Russian MoD also provided details on recent developments across the frontline in the special military operation zone.

In the Zaporozhye direction, two attacks by Ukraine's 71st Jaeger and 47th Mechanized brigades were repelled by Russian forces near Novopokrovka and Rabotino. A gathering of the 46th Airmobile Brigade near Verbovoye was also targeted by Russian forces.

The ministry said that 50 Ukrainian troops, two armored fighting vehicles, including an American-made Bradley, and three motor vehicles were neutralized during the fighting in this direction. In addition, six towed howitzers, two American-made M777s, three D-30s and one American-made M119, were hit by counter-battery fire.

Meanwhile in the Donetsk direction, the Russian Yug Group of Forces repelled five Ukrainian attacks near Orekhovo-Vasilyevka Kurdyumovka, Klescheevka, Veseloye and Khimik.

Up to 300 Ukrainian troops were killed or wounded there, the ministry said, adding that two armored fighting vehicles, five motor vehicles, one Ukrainian-made Olkha multiple rocket launchers and one Polish-made Krab self-propelled howitzers were destroyed.

In the Kupyansk direction, the aviation and artillery of the Russian Zapad Group of Forces hit several Ukrainian positions near Sinkovka and Novosyolovskoye.

The strikes neutralized 20 Ukrainian troops, two motor vehicles and one American-made M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer, according to the ministry.

In the Krasny Liman direction, the Russian Tsentr Group of Forces repelled three attacks by Kiev forces near Chervonaya Dibrova and Shipilovka. The group also targeted several Ukrainian gatherings of manpower and equipment near Grigorovka, Torskoye and the Serebryansky forestry.

Ukrainian losses in this direction amounted to 75 troops, two armored fighting vehicles, two pickup trucks and one D-30 towed howitzer, the ministry said.

In the South Donetsk direction, the attack helicopters and artillery of the Russian Vostok Group of Forces targeted several Ukrainian units near Prechistovka and repelled one attack close to Priyutnoye.

The ministry said that 110 Ukrainian troops, one armored fighting vehicle, four motor vehicles, one Uragan multiple rocket launcher and one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer were neutralized during the fighting in this direction.

And in the Kherson direction, Kiev forces lost 45 troops, three motor vehicles and one American-made M777 towed howitzer to Russian military fire. A sabotage and reconnaissance group of Ukraine's 126th Territorial Defence Brigade was also obliterated close to Pereyaslavsky Island.

The Russian MoD also provided the following details in its briefing:

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged AFU manpower and hardware in 102 areas during the day.

In addition, one U.S.-made AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar station was destroyed near Kalinovo (Donetsk People's Republic).

Air defense systems have intercepted five Storm Shadow cruise missiles, four HIMARS MLRS projectiles, and one HARM anti-radiation missile.

In addition, 75 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were obliterated in the areas of Mirnoye, Tokmak, Chervonogorka, Pologi (Zaporozhye region), Volnovakha, Artyomovsk, Zolotarevka (Donetsk People's Republic), Golikovo, Lisichansk (Lugansk People's Republic), Olshana (Kharkov region), as well as Novaya Sburyevka, Sagi, Geroyskoye (Kherson region).

In total, 475 airplanes and 249 helicopters, 7,020 unmanned aerial vehicles, 438 air defense missile systems, 12,016 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,154 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 6,473 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 13,281 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

In addition, Russian news sources shared videos showing heavy Ukrainian losses near Novomaiors'ke in the South Donetsk direction as well as recent strikes by attack helicopters against armored vehicles of Kiev forces in other directions.



Over three months into their counteroffensive, Kiev forces are yet to break through Russian defenses in any direction despite sustaining heavy losses in manpower and equipment. With winter approaching, the counteroffensive appears to be on its way to complete failure.

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