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Situation Summary
Most fighting again occurred in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions. In Donetsk, fighting was concentrated around Bakhmut and Donetsk city, and the boundary with the Zaporizhia region to the west. In Zaporizhia, fighting focused on the central part of the region, where Ukrainian forces are attempting to expand their foothold near Verbove in the direction of a Russian-occupied transport hub in Tokmak. The number of clashes along the Kreminna-Svatove-Kupiansk line in the Luhansk and Kharkiv regions decreased by about 40% compared with the previous week, while Russian forces are reportedly stepping up airstrikes in the area.1Nicole Wolkov et al., ‘Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment,’ Institute for the Study of War, 28 September 2023
Russian indiscriminate shelling and strikes led to 25 civilian fatalities, 15 occurring in the Kherson region and nine in the Donetsk region. Additionally, two civilians died in Russian-occupied Donetsk city from shelling by Ukrainian forces. Russian forces continued targeting Ukraine’s port and grain infrastructure on the Black Sea and the Danube river, including a missile strike at a passenger port in Odesa city on 25 September, which killed two warehouse employees and damaged a high-rise hotel building. Meanwhile, two civilian cargo ships sailed to and from Chornomorsk port along a new route in defiance of Russia’s maritime blockade that intensified since its departure from the grain deal in July.2Matthew Mpoke Bigg, ‘Amid Black Sea Threats, Ukraine Steps Up Use of New Shipping Route,’ New York Times, 24 September 2023
