Special operation near Yevpatoriia and fighting in the Bakhmut sector: highlights for September 14

Special operation near Yevpatoriia

On the night of September 14, the SBU Military Counterintelligence and the Ukrainian Navy conducted a unique special operation near temporarily occupied Yevpatoriia.

Sources in the SBU told hromadske that they managed to destroy the Russian air defense system Triumph worth $1.2 billion. According to our sources, drones and Neptune missiles were effectively used to hit the target.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that on the morning of September 14, they struck at the location of Russian missile systems near Yevpatoriya.

Situation at the front

In the evening report, the General Staff said that as a result of assault operations, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have partially succeeded in the areas of Klishchiivka and Andriivka in the Bakhmut direction. The Ukrainian troops are pushing the occupiers out of their positions and consolidating their positions.

Before that, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar reported that the Defense Forces had liberated the village of Andriivka. But later both the official and the military denied this information.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to conduct offensive operations in the Melitopol sector.

Evacuation in the Kherson region

On September 14, the Kherson Regional Defense Council decided to mandatorily evacuate families with children living under constant Russian shelling.

Earlier, on the night of August 14, a 6-year-old boy was killed in the Kherson region as a result of Russian shelling, and his 13-year-old brother was hospitalized in serious condition.

Import of Ukrainian grain

The Bulgarian Parliament decided to lift the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain after September 15. This happened after more than 2 hours of debate.

Minister of Agriculture Kirill Vatev spoke in the parliament and admitted that he had not supported the idea of extending the ban before. However, he changed his mind after hearing economic indicators and forecasts at a meeting of the Council of Ministers. Thus, the government noted that lifting the ban would not have serious consequences for the Bulgarian economy.

Military tax

The Cabinet of Ministers has submitted a draft law to the Verkhovna Rada that proposes to remove the military personal income tax, a tax paid by the state for the military, from local budgets.

The government claims that the removal of personal income tax from local budgets will allow it to raise UAH 25.8 billion this year and UAH 93.7 billion next year for additional purchases of drones and to increase the production of its own weapons.

Local government representatives did not like this idea. Two major associations - of cities and united territorial communities - opposed the draft law.

The Association of Ukrainian Cities notes that for the budgets of territorial communities, the withdrawal of personal income tax means a loss of UAH 20 billion in 2023 and UAH 65 billion in 2024.

To "prevent inappropriate use of funds for wartime", they proposed to identify targeted protected items of local budget expenditures, formed from 70% of military personal income tax, the so-called security and defense budget.

Arrest of Stepanov in absentia

Former Minister of Health of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov was arrested in absentia in the case of misappropriation of funds of the state-owned enterprise Polygraphic Plant Ukraine worth more than UAH 450 million.

According to the investigation, in 2013, Stepanov, then the head of the Polygraph Plant, bought an Estonian company using front companies. He then organized the purchase of materials for the production of document forms (passports of Ukrainian citizens, ID cards, driver's licenses, etc.) through this company.

The front company purchased the materials directly from manufacturers and then resold them to the state-owned enterprise at a 4-6 times higher price.

Other important news of the day:

• The occupiers attacked Ukraine with drones: 17 out of 22 "shaheds" were shot down.
• The United States will again provide Ukraine with a $1.25 billion grant.
• 14-year-old Ukrainian Oleksandr Bondarev became a member of the Drivers Academy of the Williams Racing team, which participates in Formula 1 races.
• The Minister of Education signed an order to dismiss an employee who devalued Ukrainian independence.
• Romania showed shelters near the border with Ukraine, installed after the fall of drone wreckage.