Day 581 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• Russia blames the US for the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline
• At least 12 killed in new Russian attack in Kherson region
• Switzerland lifted its veto on the sale of Leopard 2 tanks
• A wave of outrage in Russia over a video with Kadyrov's son

Russia blames the US for the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline

Russia accused the United States of blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipeline. During a meeting of the UN Security Council, Russian permanent representative to the organization Vasily Nebenzya said that Washington's goal was to maintain its influence in Europe, which needs Russian energy resources.

According to him, more and more evidence is emerging that the sabotage was the work of the Americans. The representative of the United States countered that Moscow may insist on an impartial investigation, but already blames certain countries for what happened.

Also sharp was the statement by the British representative, who welcomed Russia's concern about the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the convening of the Council on the day of the anniversary of the blast, but stressed that every day for more than a year has been the anniversary of a deliberate Russian attack on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

"Dear colleagues, it has been exactly a year since the sabotage in the Baltic Sea. Almost as long since the first meeting of the Council on this subject. In the last 12 months we have heard a lot about the investigation carried out by Germany, Denmark and Sweden that will reveal the culprit for this crime at any moment. However, there was no result, and there is none now. At the same time, more and more evidence is emerging in the expert community that the Nord Stream explosion was carried out by Washington, which decided on this outrageous criminal an act driven by its self-interested pursuit of asserting its dominance in Europe, which is in dire need of Russian energy resources," said Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations.

"Russia has repeatedly said it wants an independent investigation despite its own attempts to preemptively incriminate certain countries. It is not surprising that it is selectively pushing those that are consistent with its own preconceived notions while rejecting alternative views," added John Kelly, policy coordinator of the United States at the United Nations.

At least 12 killed in new Russian attack in Kherson region

At least 12 people were injured in Kherson region after a massive Russian attack. Several school buildings, production facilities and a medical center in Berislav were affected.

According to the information of the General Staff, for the past 24 hours there were 26 battles between the opposing forces. The Russians have managed to interrupt the rotation of the Ukrainian forces in the Kupiansk region, Russian media claim. President Zelensky promised more and more active actions against Russia - not only in the form of sanctions, but also on the front.

#Russian occupiers struck #Beryslav, #Kherson region. The shells hit residential houses. pic.twitter.com/82yf3bwrZ0

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 27, 2023

London believes that a new offensive by Moscow in Ukraine is unlikely

Russia's need to redeploy troops along the excessively long front line with Ukraine means a new offensive by Moscow is unlikely. This is what the UK Ministry of Defense claims.

The ministry briefing notes the creation and deployment of the 25th Combined Arms Army (25 CAA), which was reportedly first spotted in Ukraine in August.

Instead of the army being deployed as a whole in one area of the front line from where a concerted offensive could be launched, its units were diverted to reinforce other weakly defended areas. Intelligence also reports that the 67th Motorized Rifle Division and the 164th Motorized Rifle Brigade are fighting on the front in a sector west of Severodonetsk and Kremina, along the border between Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

With parts of the 25th Army being sent to reinforce sections of the long front line, the Ministry of Defense concluded that a new offensive was unlikely to be launched in the short term, within a few weeks.

Switzerland lifted its veto on the sale of Leopard 2 tanks

The Swiss parliament has approved the sale of 25 Leopard 2 tanks back to their German manufacturer with a decision that will enable the decommissioned machines to be transferred to other European countries, DPA reported.

The move has already been approved by the Swiss National Council. The Swiss government has yet to decide the details and timing of the sale.

Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the supply of arms by many European countries to Kyiv, Switzerland maintains its policy of neutrality. The Swiss law on military equipment does not allow the supply of military equipment to countries involved in armed conflict. Bern said this is true regardless of whether a country - such as Ukraine - has been attacked and wants to defend itself.

In June, the Swiss government rejected an offer by Swiss arms company RUAG to sell 96 Leopard 1 tanks stored in Germany so they could be repaired and then delivered to Ukraine.

In February, however, the German government asked Switzerland to sell the decommissioned tanks back to the German arms company Rheinmetall, promising that the tanks would not be handed over to Ukraine.

Instead, decommissioned Swiss tanks will be used to replenish stocks in EU or NATO countries that have been reduced by supplies to Ukraine, which is currently fending off a full-scale Russian invasion.

A wave of outrage in Russia over a video with Kadyrov's son

A violent video released in real time by the leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, caused a wave of reactions in Russia, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.

The video shows a man Kadyrov says is his 15-year-old son Adam brutally beating a defenseless man. Kadyrov named the victim as 19-year-old Nikita Zhuravel, who was detained in May for burning a copy of the Quran and transferred to the Muslim republic of Chechnya as part of his pre-trial detention.

The video shows a young man punching and kicking another young man crouched in a chair, then knocking him to the ground and hitting him on the head, Reuters reports.

According to Russian ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova, in August Zhuravel stated that he was beaten by Adam Kadyrov during his detention. Then Moskalkova ordered an investigation.

Here we have Kadyrov's teenage son beating a Russian man who set a Quaran on fire a few weeks ago. The man was in custody at the time, under investigation, and under state protection. Kadyrov published the video himself saying he is proud of his son. Russian tankies who wore… pic.twitter.com/7ekbZXndXA

— Dmitri (@wartranslated) September 25, 2023

After the video was published, she pointed out on her channel on the Telegram app the "social danger" of burning a copy of the Quran, but did not mention Kadyrov, his son or the arrested Zhuravel.

The Chairman of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin, Valery Fadeev, also repeatedly emphasized in his reaction to the violence in the video that the burning of the Quran is a "serious crime".

Council member Eva Merkachova was more direct, describing the video released by Kadyrov as another test for Russia's entire judicial system.

"There will be more and more. I'm afraid it will get even more terrible," she said in a comment posted on Telegram by popular TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak.

Concerned for Zhuravel's safety, Merkacheva said she would promptly submit an application to the authorities to move him out of the Caucasus region.

At the same time, Reuters reported that the press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, refused to comment on the Kadyrov case. What was seen was condemned even by some hard-line associates of the Kremlin, the agency notes. Kadyrov said yesterday that he was proud of his son Adam for what he did to Zhuravel.

"No exaggeration - yes, I am proud of Adam's actions," Ramzan Kadyrov, who describes himself as a ruthless man and an ally of Putin, wrote in a post.

Asked by reporters why he would not comment on the video, Peskov replied: "I don't want to."

"To call a spade a spade - what we see is illegal," read a post on the military blog Rybar, which has 1.2 million followers, in addition to its commentary on Putin's war in Ukraine. Another such channel - "Grey Zone" - declared the actions of the young Kadyrov outrageous.

Russia's Investigative Committee announced in May that Zhuravel was detained for burning a copy of the Quran in the Russian city of Volgograd and admitted that he had done it for payment by Ukrainian intelligence, Reuters recalls. It is not clear under what circumstances this confession was made, the agency specifies.

Novinite is still the only Bulgarian media that publishes a summary of events and highlights related to the conflict, every single day. Our coverage began on day one - 24.02.2022 and will not stop until the war has concluded. Despite the pressure, our independent media will continue to provide its readers with accurate and up-to-date information. Thank you for your support! #stayinformed

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