The Russian Invasion

The meeting between Putin and Kadyrov. Mikhail Metzel / AP  

Russian invasionKadyrov's health  

Putin met Kadyrov after rumors of illness  

On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin met Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, in what may have been an attempt to dispel rumors of illness surrounding Kadyrov, writes the independent Moscow Times. 

During the meeting in the Kremlin, Putin praised the Chechen economy, and Kadyrov in turn highlighted what he described as "good mood" among the soldiers in Ukraine. 

Earlier in September, rumors began to abound in social media, fueled by, among others, Ukrainian sources, that Kadyrov was suffering from severe kidney problems and was even on his deathbed.  

Kadyrov then posted an undated video of him taking a walk in the rain and announcing that he was in good health.  

A Ukrainian soldier near Bachmut on September 4. LIBKOS / AP  

The Russian InvasionThe Battles 

The blood gushes - but the front hardly moves at all  

Despite nine months of bloody fighting, the front line in Ukraine has barely moved this year, writes the New York Times. Analyzed satellite images also show that August was the month during the war in which the least territory changed sides.  

In total, Russia controls almost 1,300 square kilometers more area in Ukraine compared to when the year began, according to the newspaper. Now the Russians have taken about 18 percent of the country, an area larger than all of Switzerland.  

In September, Ukraine has indeed made some progress around the city of Robotyne. But the expert and researcher Marina Miron at King's College in London believes that the Russians have basically lost nothing on the battlefield.  

Miron says the Russian strategy appears to be to let the Ukrainians attack their defense line, then kill as many as possible and destroy as much Western technology as they can. They don't seem to be in any hurry.  

- Russia is trying to wait until the West turns its back on Ukraine, she says.