'tis but a scratch

"Hear what Zelensk* would tell Trump about Putin"

Politico.eu.com | Ukraine intends to push Russia entirely out, Zelenskyy says as counteroffensive continues, 9/11

"Our main goal is to de-occupy our whole territory," Zelensk* said through a translator on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS. "The main goal is de-occupation. We just cannot allow Russia to continue the same occupation that they started back in 2014."
[...]
Zelensk* referred to Russia's occupation as "cannibalism," but said the source of Ukraine's strength lies in its willingness to hold out. He met with host Zakaria in an outdoor walking interview, which Zakaria pointed to as significant, given the threats on Zelensk*'s life.

APsplainin Kherson, Khark*v counter-offensives, 12 Sep
Ukraine makes more gains, pushes back to NE border in places - video

As blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags fluttered over newly liberated towns, the Ukrainian military said its troops had freed more than 20 settlements in 24 hours. In recent days, Kyiv's forces have captured territory at least twice the size of greater London, according to the British Defense Ministry.

After months of little discernible movement on the battlefield, the momentum has lifted Ukrainian morale and provoked rare [Russian] public criticism of Russian President Vladimir PUTIN'S WAR. While Ukrainian cities began emerging from Russian occupation, a local leader alleged that the Kremlin's troops had committed atrocities against civilians there similar to those in other places seized by Moscow.
[...]
"The Russians were here in the morning. Then at noon, they suddenly started shouting wildly and began to run away, charging off in tanks and armored vehicles," Dmytro Hrushchenko, a resident of recently liberated Zaliznychne, a small town near the eastern front line, told Sky News of the quick withdrawal.

MSN Newsweek | Ukraine Map Reveals How Invasion Is Being Rolled Back 200 Days to 24 Feb

Video taken by the Ukrainian military showed soldiers raising the Ukrainian flag over battle-damaged buildings. In one scene, a fighter wiped his boots on a Russian flag on the ground. Other videos showed Ukrainians inspecting the wreckage of Russian military vehicles, including tanks.
[...]
Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, told Russian television that Ukrainian troops were mounting assaults on the town of Lyman, a rail hub captured by Russia in late May that offers access to bridges over the nearby Siversky Donets river. Pushilin said that pro-Kremlin soldiers "are holding them back, and the situation, despite the fact that it remains difficult, remains controllable."

The Donetsk [oblast] is one of two ["breakaway republics", "Russian puppet states"] that make up Ukraine's industrial heartland known as the Donbas [DPR, LPR], which continues to be a key target [?] of Russia's offensive.
[...]
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said Monday that Kyiv "will likely increasingly dictate the location and nature of the major fighting."
[...]
Some analysts praised Ukraine's initial move on the south[west] Kherson area for drawing the attention of enemy troops there, before pouncing on more depleted Russian lines in the northeast [Khark*v]. Even around Kherson, Russia is struggling to bring forces across the Dnieper to stop the Ukrainian offensive there, the British military said.

Without You! - Zelensky's Address to Russia

"Without gas or without you? - The answer is without you. Without electricity or without you? - Without you. Without water or without you? - Without you. Without food or without you? - Without you.

"For us, cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as dangerous and deadly as friendship and brotherhood with you. But history shows everyone and everything in its place. And we will have gas, electricity, water and food, and it will be without you!", Volodymyr Zelensky addressed to Russia.

Euromaidan Press | Ukraine LIBERATES one more village in Donetsk Oblast, improves positions near Bakhmut - GenStaff, 23 Sep illustrated

Ukraine has liberated Yatskivka village (Donetsk Oblast) from Russian occupation and improved their tactical positions near Bakhmut, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksiy Hromov said

kalerkantho AFP | Two dead in Kherson hotel strike: Officials, 25 Sep

"Today, at around 05:30 (0230 GMT), the Ukrainian armed forces fired a missile on the Play Hotel by Ribas" in Kherson, the regional Russian-controlled administration said in a statement....

Al Mayadeen | Ukrainian troops shell hotel housing journalists, staff in Kherson, 25 Sep

Ukrainian troops shell a hotel in the center of Kherson with US-supplied HIMARS systems, killing two people.
[...]
This comes as the Kherson Region, along with Donetsk, Lugansk, and Zaporozhye are holding referenda that began on September 23 on the accession into the Russian Federation.

Observers from France and the United States are monitoring the courses of the referendum taking place in Kherson, according to Marina Zakharova, the chairperson of the region's election commission.

US, French observers monitoring referendum in Kherson region

"Foreign observers have already arrived, they are representatives of two countries - France and the United States. They expressed a desire to travel to remote areas of the Kherson region, and we provided them with such an opportunity. At the moment they are working with our voters," [Kherson election commision chair Marina] Zakharova told reporters...

RFERL | Russia, Ukraine Trade Accusations Of Shelling In Southern Ukraine Amid Sham Referendums In Occupied Territories, 25 Sep