Russian colonel tortured civilians to death in Kherson region

11:38 am: A Russian colonel named Viktor Bedryk is said to have tortured and killed two Ukrainian civilians in occupied Kherson. This is reported by the Kyiv Independent, citing the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). According to this, Bedryk had been the military commander of the then-occupied Cherson region since March 2022.

Bedryk is said to have used “violence and intimidation” to suppress resistance to the Russian regime. He also set up “torture chambers” in Cherson. In these, “people were beaten” and “electric shocked” and finally even threatened with execution, writes the SBU.

The colonel himself is said to have participated in the abuse of at least 12 victims. Two people did not survive this torture. Ukrainian troops liberated the city of Kherson in November 2022.

Russia reports dead from Ukrainian shelling of border area

6.20 p.m.: Russia accuses Ukraine of artillery shelling on a border village in the Bryansk region with fatalities. Several people were killed and five others injured in the village of Klimovo, about 15 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, the governor of the region, Alexander Bogomas, wrote in his Telegram channel. Children are said to be among the victims.

The information cannot be independently verified at this time. Initially, there was no comment from Kiev. According to the governor, the shelling damaged a school building, as well as several residential buildings and administrative facilities.

In the past few weeks there have been repeated reports of alleged Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory. Most recently, Moscow reported on Sunday and Monday that drone attacks had been repelled over the Bryansk and Kursk border regions.

German entrepreneur arrested for supplying drone parts to Russia

11.05 a.m.: A German entrepreneur is in custody for allegedly helping Russia build weapons for the Ukraine war. The Attorney General is investigating him in 26 cases for commercial violations of the Foreign Trade and Payments Act. This is reported by the “Spiegel”.

The accusation: With his company Weicom Components from Saarbrücken, he is said to have sold electronic components for Orlan drones to Russia from 2020 to March 2023. The Orlan-10 is considered Russia’s “most successful” reconnaissance drone.

The allegations are not new. As early as December 2022, experts from the British think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) accused Weicom Components of supplying electronics for Russian reconnaissance drones. The head of the company was only arrested later.

The entrepreneur, who has German and Russian citizenship, apparently tried to cover up his sales. To do this, he sent the goods to Russia via third countries such as Lithuania or via Dubai. The goods are said to have had a total value of 750,000 euros.

Military Expert: An event “automatically initiates the end of this offensive”

8:50 a.m: According to Markus Reisner, Colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces, Ukraine is also fighting against time in its counter-offensive. Because the mud period “Rasputiza” is just around the corner, explains Reisner in an interview with ntv. This should start with the next autumn rains, which are usually expected between the end of September and the beginning of October. The initially dry ground then turns to mud, making it much more difficult to move forward.

“That doesn’t change the possibility of deploying the troops on foot,” said the expert. But it has “a major disadvantage” in that Ukraine “cannot develop the thrust like armored formations that need dry ground.” Rasputiza “automatically initiates the end of this offensive – no matter how she is doing at the moment,” predicts the colonel.

Regardless of the outcome of the offensive, Ukraine will then have to “consolidate”. “We will try to defend ourselves locally so that the Russians don’t have the opportunity to attack themselves,” said Reisner. The winter will be ushered in by “a period of pause” before the next military action is prepared, in which F-16 jets can then be used “possibly in the spring”.

London: Pay in the Russian army has risen sharply since the beginning of the war

8:15 a.m.: Since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine, pay in the Russian army has increased significantly, according to British sources. “Military service in the Russian armed forces has become increasingly lucrative since the invasion,” Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. Wages and bonuses are strong motives for joining the military, “especially for those from the poorer areas of Russia”. At the same time, the authority emphasized: “However, it is still unlikely that Russia will achieve its goals in recruiting volunteers for the armed forces.”

The British ministry referred to statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who on February 4, 2022 – just under three weeks before the start of the war – gave a lieutenant’s salary at 81,200 rubles a month. In the meantime, however, even privates who had already been mobilized received 195,000 rubles (currently 1,887 euros) according to official figures. And many NCOs fighting in Ukraine earn more than 200,000 rubles a month. “This is more than 2.7 times the Russian median wage of 72,851 rubles,” it said in London. Applied to the UK, that means an annual salary of more than £90,000 (€105,000).