​On the 198th day of the Russian invasion, tensions are escalating as the Ukrainian counteroffensive gathers momentum. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken secretly came to Kyiv and told President Zelensky that the war with Russia is at a “decisive moment.”

The main thing from Friday, the 198th day of the Ukrainian war, LIVETEXT:

Synthesis of the last 24 hours of the war

• US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told President Zelensky that the war with Russia is at a “decisive moment” as the Ukrainian military continues its counteroffensive in the south of the country. Blinken’s surprise trip to Kyiv came after the United States allocated about $2.7 billion to Ukraine and other European countries threatened by Russia. Blinken secretly came to Kyiv for the second time since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

• The USA is preparing for a situation when Russia will launch a war in NATO countries

• Putin’s party proposes annexation referendum on November 4 / Why did he choose this date?

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that since September 1, Kyiv’s forces have liberated more than 1,000 square kilometers of territory and recaptured dozens of settlements as part of a counteroffensive against Russia, Reuters reports. Separately, he published a video in which the Ukrainian military says that they recaptured the key city of Balaklia.

• According to a government press release in Oslo, Norway announced on Thursday that it will transfer about 160 Hellfire missiles, launchers and guidance units to Ukraine. The Ukrainian army will also receive night vision devices from the reserves of the Armed Forces.

• Ukraine has recaptured more than 700 square kilometers of its territory in the east and south during a lightning counteroffensive, a Ukrainian general said on Thursday, giving the first official assessment of the operation, Reuters reports.

• Poland and the Baltic states have announced a temporary restriction of access for Russian citizens holding EU visas. The decision was made to mitigate “security threats” arising from “a significant and growing influx of Russian citizens” to the EU.

• Fierce fighting broke out near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Thursday after Ukraine warned it may have to shut down the plant to avoid a disaster.

06:09On the night of September 9-10, the Russians shelled the Saltivsky district of Kharkiv, the shells hit an educational institution, local mayor Igor Terekhov said in a statement.

03:05 “Emmanuel Macron has always been condescending to Vladimir Putin,” François Hollande believes

Hollande believes that the president of the republic “is the image of a part of the French political class that has always had Vladimir Putin, and not Russia… condescension.”

01:05Putin’s party proposes annexation referendum on November 4 / Why did he choose this date?

The proposed date is not accidental at all. This corresponds, in fact, to the day of “National Unity”. According to Le Point, quoted by Rador, the target may be the city of Kherson.

00:35The USA is preparing for a situation when Russia will launch a war in NATO countries

The U.S. State Department announced Thursday that it wants U.S. lawmakers to approve funds for countries neighboring Ukraine that are “potentially at risk of future Russian aggression,” Newsweek reported, citing Rador.

23:57Putin: Elizabeth II had “love, respect” and global “authority”.

“For many decades, Elizabeth II rightfully enjoyed the love and respect of her subjects, as well as authority on the world stage,” Putin said in a statement in the Kremlin.