Poland refused to extradite a GRU agent, Ukrainian forces regain territory in the Donetsk region: September 22 highlights

Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv region, and Sumy

Russia struck Zaporizhzhia with aerial bombs on the morning of September 22, killing 3 people, damaging civilian infrastructure, and industrial facilities.

The enemy also attacked Sumy and the Kyiv region with Shahed drones at night, injuring two people.

Man accused of murder on Kyiv funicular sentenced to life imprisonment

On September 22, a court in Kyiv handed down a verdict to Artem Kosov, who was accused of murdering a teenager on the Kyiv funicular. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Those present in the courtroom applauded the decision, while the relatives of the murdered teenager were unable to hold back their tears.

Poland refuses to extradite GRU agent to Russia

Russia attempted to secure the release of GRU military intelligence agent Alexander B., who is suspected of coordinating parcel attacks at airports across Europe. Poland, to which the detainee was transferred, refused to extradite him to Moscow.

This is likely to be 44-year-old Alexander Bezrukov, one of the suspected members of a sabotage group involved in a series of parcel explosions in European countries.

Sources at the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza say that Poland's refusal to extradite the Russian is “the strongest blow to the GRU in recent years.”

Ukrainian forces regained control over 1.3 km² in the Dobropillia area

Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that Ukrainian forces regained control over 1.3 km² in the Dobropillia area in the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours and also conducted a search and destruction of the enemy on the territory of 2.1 km² in the Pokrovsk area of the Donetsk region.

As of September 22, a total of 164.5 km² has been liberated during the Dobropillia counteroffensive operation. Meanwhile, 180.8 km² has been cleared of enemy sabotage groups. In total, control has been restored over seven settlements, and nine have been cleared of enemy sabotage groups.

Pro-Russian Polish activist killed in Russia

Jerzy Tyc, the head of an organization involved in restoring monuments to Soviet soldiers in Poland, died in the war against Ukraine.

In recent years, Jerzy Tyc lived in Russia, then joined the Russian army, which was waging aggression against Ukraine, and took the call sign Zygmunt.

Polish media report that Tyc often appeared in Russian media, where he criticized the Polish government, and in 2023, in an interview with a Russian website, he said he believed in the “return of Polish-Russian friendship.”

In Russia, service members of the Ukrainian Aidar Battalion are facing up to 24 years in a colony

In Russia, 18 service members of the Ukrainian Aidar Battalion are facing up to 20-24 years in a strict regime prison colony for alleged “terrorism.” The service members are accused of allegedly participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, violently seizing power, and undergoing training for terrorist purposes.

Aidar members also reported torture by Russians while they were still in the temporarily occupied Donetsk region. The Battalion called the trial fictitious and fabricated, and said it had nothing to do with justice.

Other news

• For the first time, Ukrainian forces hit two Russian Be-12 Chaika amphibious aircraft in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
• French President Emmanuel Macron has rejected the confiscation of frozen Russian assets. He says it would be a violation of international law.
• Dnipro operational-strategic group denied reports that Russians had allegedly captured the village of Kalynivske in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
• Central street of Kyiv, Khreshchatyk, will be closed daily at 9:00 a.m. for a nationwide minute of silence.
• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the country will shoot down any “flying objects” that violate its airspace.