Ukraine – 9/25/2023 Sitrep
By: Bohdan Chomiak & Robert Homans
September 25, 2023
The Ukraine War Ebook, “The Ukrainian People vs. The Russian Horde”
The Ukraine War Ebook we sent to those who were kind enough to support us, that included all our emails that we sent during the first week of the war, has been very well received. Since early July, when the Ebook was released, we have added several new email recipients. For new recipients, plus existing recipients who would like to receive the Ebook, we would be happy to send you a copy in return for your support for our efforts. If you would like to support us in any amount in any currency, and receive an Ebook as our gesture of gratitude, please click on the link HERE. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Segment on “60 Minutes” – “How US Tax Dollars are Being Spent & Tracked in Ukraine”
If President Biden ever explains the stakes of U.S. support to Ukraine directly to the American people, he would do well to use this segment of the U.S. Newsmagazine “60 Minutes” as a resource. From my own experience in Ukraine, here are my observations:
· 0.55 into the video – They visit a place near the Front where U.S. Bradley fighting vehicles are being repaired. One of the unappreciated factors explaining Ukraine’s ability to leverage U.S. assistance is the experience that many Ukrainians get from working in tractor stations. I expect that many Ukrainian soldiers seen working on Bradleys got their technical experience working in tractor stations. Tractor stations are located all over Ukraine, where technicians repair agricultural equipment including large and increasingly sophisticated combine harvesters. Most have received factory training from John Deere, Agco, Claas, and others. Ukrainian technicians have continually surprised Western donors with their expertise. Where they expect that Ukrainians will take months to learn how to maintain a Western tank; instead, it ends up taking weeks.
· 3:25 into the video – Gen. Hodges stated that without U.S. military assistance Ukraine would’ve folded. I don’t agree. As I’ve said before, in previous emails, Ukraine would’ve gone on fighting. The prospect of reduction and ending U.S. support for Ukraine will not change this. After all, as many point out Ukraine now has one of the strongest, if not the strongest, armies in Europe (more on this point later).
· 4:50 into the video – They talk about Ukraine’s first responders, of which my wife’s nephew is one. In Ukraine 1st responders are part of a national agency, not locally controlled. First responders play a critical role in the war.
· 6:45 into the video – John McCain Street. My family and I had the honor of having dinner with Sen. McCain and his Senate colleagues, during their visit to Kyiv in March 2014, 3 weeks after the end of Euromaidan. After shaking hands with Sen. McCain, my stepdaughter said that she would not wash her right hand for a week.
· 9:00 into the video – Picture of 3 anti-corruption activists. The person in the middle is Vitaliy Shabunin, Head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center. For his efforts, he had his house burned down. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Valeria Gontareva, former Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, also had her house burned down, and later she was a victim of a hit and run attack, leaving her with major injuries. Kateryna Handziuk was a local activist in Kherson, who died after she had sulphuric acid thrown in her face. Fighting corruption in Ukraine can be bad for one’s health, but they keep doing it.
· 9:20 into the video – Oleksandra Ustinova is a Member of Parliament. She describes the tracking system that Ukraine has developed that is able to track every piece of U.S. military equipment, from its arrival in Ukraine, to front-line units, to where/when it’s used.
I’m sure that none of this will change the minds of some Republicans, and some Democrats especially those in the House Progressive Caucus, to either end or curtail U.S. assistance to Ukraine, and/or attempt to impose a ceasefire on Ukraine. They strike me as people who cannot be disturbed with the facts.
Bill Browder & Ian Bremmer – “What Lies Ahead for Putin?”
It’s always worth watching, any time Browder and Bremmer get together.
In my opinion the most important thing that was said, relating to Ukraine’s ability to keep fighting, is what Bremmer said about Ukraine’s drone industry (18:30 into the video). Since the start of the war, we’ve maintained that Ukraine will keep fighting, but at the time we assumed that Ukraine’s ability to prosecute a clandestine conflict would depend on its ability to get re-supplied from outside, a relatively plausible possibility given that Ukraine has physical borders with Poland and other NATO states. Now, as Bremmer pointed out, the calculus has moved more Ukraine’s favor. Ukraine now has its own drone industry, giving Ukraine continued ability to keep attacking Russia, to the point where they’ll force Russia out of Ukraine. Ukraine also has its own cruise missile industry. Ukraine’s ability to keep fighting now gives Ukraine independence from any outside effort to impose a peace on Ukraine, especially one that involves ceding of territory. Ukraine will drive Russians out of its territory, either the easy way or the hard way.
News From the Battlefield
“Reporting From Ukraine” covers the widening and deepening Ukrainian salient south and east of Robotyne. The latest assessment from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) states the following:
Ukrainian forces may be able to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough in the southern frontline if several key assumptions hold. A significant Ukrainian success will be more likely if:
Russian forces do not have the necessary reserves or combat power to maintain Russian defenses in western Zaporizhia Oblast;
Ukrainian forces retain enough combat power to continue pushing after exhausting Russian combat power; and
Russian defensive positions behind the current battle area are not as heavily mined or well prepared as the fortifications that Ukrainian forces have (already) breached.
This hypothesis is invalid if any of these assumptions are invalidated. There are indicators that these assumptions remain valid as of this writing.
ISW goes on to state, “The Ukrainian counteroffensive is in an extremely dynamic phase and ISW is not prepared to offer any confident forecast of events despite recent positive indicators. Recent promising reports of Ukrainian tactical progress, including breaking through some Russian field fortifications, in the Orikhiv area should not be read as a guarantee that Ukraine is on the cusp of a significant operational success. Observers should be patient with Ukraine's campaign design and should expect Ukraine’s counteroffensive to continue through winter 2023 and into spring 2024. Ukraine does not need to achieve a sudden and dramatic deep penetration to achieve success.” (My underlining)
9/25/2023 Sitrep
Please go to following page.
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon September 24 to 12:00 noon September 25, 2023
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration SBU = Security Service of Ukraine
RASHISTS = russian Facists/all russian invaders
INTERNATIONAL
Monday, September 25
8:04 AM: More than 1,000 people have already officially registered as refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia. This was reported by DW with reference to the Armenian government.
8:04 AM: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, during his first visit to Africa, held meetings with the leaders of Djibouti and Somalia, - Voice of America.
8:04 AM: Riga city authorities have deployed a plan to prepare civil defense for the possible threat of Russian aggression, - Delfi.
11:37 AM: The governments of Ukraine and the United States signed a joint memorandum on cooperation in the field of strengthening Ukraine's energy system. For this, the United States allocated $522 million.
● This was reported by Ms. Bridget Brink, the US Ambassador to Ukraine.
● "Our new energy agreement with Ukraine includes $522 million to strengthen the energy system, accelerate European integration and improve corporate governance of state-owned energy enterprises," she wrote.
Sunday, September 24
2:16 PM: Poland has prepared transit corridors through which Ukraine will be able to export its grain to countries that need it - Polish President Andrzej Duda.
● At the same time, he added that it is necessary to do everything so that the transit of Ukrainian grain is as large as possible.
6:52 PM: The Ministry of Defense of Poland reported on attempts to penetrate into Polish territory and destruction of border infrastructure by Belarus.
● "Thanks to the increased presence of the Polish army on the border, the Russian-Belarusian plan has failed," the department wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
7:16 PM: Great Britain will continue to support Ukraine and is going to train 30,000 Ukrainian servicemen by the end of the year.
● This was stated by British Defense Minister Grant Shapps in an interview with Sky News.
● "I've just announced tens of thousands of additional munitions, bringing the total to about 300,000 already, and we'll be providing a huge amount of additional support and equipment through the end of this year," Shapps added.
9:23 PM: The Ukrainian military will need about 3 months to learn how to launch Taurus missiles, — Bild.
● "All the arguments of the chancellor's office regarding the delay (Taurus transfer - ed.) are now invalid. Reason suggests that the Taurus should be delivered immediately," the publication writes.
● According to Bild, even if Taurus missiles are delivered to Ukraine in the near future, the problem will be the long training period for them.
9:42 PM: Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced a military operation against at least 30 armed men, Koha.
● According to him, organized criminal groups are attacking Kosovo with the political, financial and logistical support of Serbia.
● Yesterday, unknown assailants clashed with the Kosovo police in the village of Bansk. It is known about the death of a policeman, as well as the wounding of three of his colleagues. Police confirmed that three attackers were killed and one attacker was arrested.
9:54 PM: Saudi Arabia is ready to mediate between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, said the head of the country's Foreign Ministry, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
● He once again called for an end to the war in Ukraine and limiting its negative consequences for security and stability in the whole world.
● We will remind that on August 5 and 6, a two-day summit was held in Saudi Arabia, the main topic of which was the Ukrainian peace formula.
10:57 PM: Kyiv and Warsaw are working on the creation of a large military-medical hub, the purpose of which will be the exchange of experience, as well as the provision of practical assistance, which is important in the conditions of war.
● This was announced by the director of the Military Medical Institute in Warsaw, General Grzegorz Gelerak.
● As the Polish general emphasized, the decision to create a large-scale hub in the military-medical sphere between the two countries was made during a meeting of representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Poland. He noted that the schedule and cooperation plan was determined then.
NATIONAL
Monday, September 25
12:15 AM: Central and eastern regions - missile danger. - reported the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
12:24 AM: Rockets between Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions, heading west. - reported the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
12:31 AM: West - missile danger. - reported the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
12:42 AM: Missiles changed course to south. - reported the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
1:26 AM: Repulse by regions.
● Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions - the threat of the use of attack UAVs.
8:16 AM: At night, air defense forces destroyed 11 "calibres" and 19 "shaheeds", - Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
● In total, during the night attack, 33 means of air attack were recorded:
● 12 Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles;
● 2 P-800 Onyx anti-ship missiles;
● 19 strike BpLA «Shahed-136/131».
8:30 AM: During the past 24 hours, the aviation of the defense forces carried out 8 strikes on the areas of concentration of personnel, weapons, and military equipment of the Russian Federation, - the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
● Units of the missile forces damaged 2 anti-aircraft missile systems, 4 artillery units and 1 ammunition depot.
9:49 AM: On the night of September 25, People's Deputy of Ukraine Andriy Ivanchuk passed away.
● The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Stefanchuk, announced this.
● Ivanchuk was 50 years old. The cause of death is currently unknown.
10:28 AM: International lawyers are preparing a submission to the International Criminal Court accusing Russia of another war crime — deliberately causing famine during a full-scale aggression against Ukraine, - The Guardian citing Yusuf Khan, senior lawyer at the Global Rights Compliance law firm.
● Khan emphasized that Russia's use of food as a weapon occurred in three stages:
● at the beginning of the invasion, when Ukrainian cities were under siege and food supplies were cut off;
● during the destruction of food and water supplies, as well as energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine as a result of hostilities;
● with Russia's attempts to prevent or limit the export of Ukrainian food due to the blockade of ships in the Black Sea and attacks on the grain infrastructure.
10:52 AM: Attention! Activity of the Russian army aviation near the borders of Chernihiv and Sumy regions, - Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
● There is a threat of using aviation weapons for frontline areas!
Sunday, September 24
4:47 PM: Activity of enemy tactical aircraft on the southeast and east directions. The threat of the use of aviation weapons for front-line areas, — PS of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
7:36 PM Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 18:00 on September 24:
● "24 combat clashes took place during the day.
● The enemy launched 1 missile and 44 air strikes, fired 52 salvo rockets at the positions of our troops and populated areas.
● As a result of the Russian terrorist attacks, unfortunately, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population."
● "During the day, the Air Force of the Defense Forces carried out 8 strikes on areas where the enemy's personnel, weapons and military equipment were concentrated.
● Units of the missile forces hit 2 anti-aircraft missile systems, 4 artillery pieces and 1 enemy ammunition depot.
7:59 PM: Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad regions - missile danger, - Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
8:04 PM: Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions - missile danger, - PS ZSU.
8:13 PM: Vinnytsia, Cherkasy region - missile danger, — PS ZSU.
8:36 PM: The preparation of the "Vyshka Boyka" operation took about two weeks, said the commander of the special unit of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Timur.
● "My unit only had experience of river diversions. Snake Island, Boyka towers and the landing in Crimea are naval operations. A little different feelings, different adrenaline," he noted.
● According to Timur, all the towers were occupied by Russian troops who left these facilities as Ukrainian units approached.
9:07 PM: Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk regions - air alert related to the activity of enemy tactical aviation in the southeast direction. - reported the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
9:54 PM: Alleged launches of "Shahed" type attack UAVs from Primorsko-Akhtarsk, — Air Forces of the ZSU.
11:18 PM: The threat level has been raised. the Russians launched another missile carrier into the sea.
● "A surface missile carrier - a small missile ship of the "Buyan-M" project - has been deployed by the enemy for combat duty in the Black Sea. Its equipment is up to 8 missiles of the "Calibre" type, - the Defense Forces reported.
11:59 PM: Alleged launches of Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea. - reported the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
MORDOR - ruZZia
Monday, September 25
6:41 AM Social Networks: A loud explosion was heard in Kursk, Russia.
7:25 AM: According to the governor of the Kursk region, several private houses and the roof of an administrative building were damaged in the central district of the city due to an UAV strike, and windows in an apartment building were broken.
● In addition, another drone fell in the Kursk district, as a result of which the windows of a private house were broken.
11:14 AM: In Sevastopol, smoke is rising over the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, local channels report
● The local "authorities" announced that they planned to demolish the remains of the damaged part of the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet.
Sunday, September 24
12:05 PM: "Wagnerivtsi" return to the front. Most likely, they will participate in operations on the southern flank of Bakhmut, ISW.
● "They are likely to have little impact on Russia's combat capabilities, without bringing the full range of effectiveness that Wagner had as a unitary organization under the leadership of Prigozhin and its founder Dmytro Utkin," says a recent report of the Institute for the Study of War.
12:52 PM: Repeated explosions are heard in Kursk, Russian Federation, local residents report.
1:51 PM: The so-called "head of the DNR" Denys Pushylin signed "orders" on strengthening security measures on the territory of the "republic":
● a special mode of communication with neighboring regions is introduced;
● checkpoints, filtering and control posts will appear at the borders;
● protection of public order, military, administrative and special facilities will be strengthened;
● military censorship of mail, Internet messages, and telephone conversations is introduced;
● the curfew is in effect from Monday to Friday from 23:00 to 04:00 as before.
3:32 PM: Temporarily occupied Crimea is armed with a Russian AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM, but it cannot cope with the Western missiles that Ukraine has, Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said.
● The spokesman is sure that Ukraine will be able to receive long-range ATACMS missiles from the USA, because more and more news about this is appearing. He expressed hope that Germany would also hand over its Taurus.
4:24 PM: On the night of September 24, unknown saboteurs successfully destroyed equipment in the Moscow and Kaluga regions, — GUR Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
● Moscow region — a fuel station was destroyed. Kaluga region — 4 units were destroyed. automotive equipment with trailers. Photos and video of the cotton for safety reasons will be presented later.
6:23 PM: A serviceman's car was blown up in the temporarily occupied Dzhankoy, — rosZMI.
● "Probably, an explosive device went off under the car," the message reads.
● According to rosZMI, allegedly "no one was injured as a result of the explosion", and the glass on the first floor of the building was broken.
8:50 PM: Explosions are heard in Kursk, Russia, local residents report.
● The head of the region announced the "work of the AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM".
11:21 PM: The "Carpet" plan has been announced at all Moscow airports. Departure and arrival flights are delayed. - local media reports.
11:43 PM: In the temporarily occupied Sevastopol, explosions are heard again, local residents report.
11:47 PM: Explosions are heard in the Tula region of the Russian Federation, according to local social networks. We are waiting for official information.
REGIONS
SUMY
Sunday, September 24
4:29 PM: The air alert in the Sumy region is related to the activity of enemy tactical aviation along the border, — PS ZSU.
LUHANSK
Monday, September 25
11:45 AM: Explosions rang out in Luhansk region, local channels reported.
● In advance, the mass media reported about getting to the "Yunist" factory. We are waiting for official information.
ZAPORIZHIA
Monday, September 25
3:43 AM Zaporizhia RMA: Activity of Russian tactical aviation. The threat of the use of aviation weapons (KAB/KAR) for the front edge of the Zaporizhzhia region, - the head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA Yury Malashko.
10:09 AM Zaporizhia RMA: Over the past day, Russian military personnel carried out 140 strikes on 23 settlements in the Zaporizhia region.
● 17 reports were received about the destruction of residential buildings, farm buildings and infrastructure facilities. Residents of peaceful communities were not injured.
11:15 AM Social Networks: Explosions are heard in the temporarily occupied Berdyansk district.
Sunday, September 24
3:06 PM: Flights will arrive in temporarily occupied Tokmak, Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said.
● "Residents report that as a result of the work of the racist "peveo" there are injured civilians," the mayor said.
5:04 PM Social Networks: Explosions are heard in the temporarily occupied Tokmak of the Zaporizhia region.
6:05 PM Air Command East: Ukrainian military in Zaporizhzhia region destroyed 2 Russian drones, previously ZALA and Orlan.
DNIPRO
Monday, September 25
1:09 AM: Kryvyi Rih - speed targets in your direction. - reported the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
9:39 AM Dnipro RMA: At night, air defense forces destroyed a Russian UAV. Falling debris caused a fire at an industrial enterprise in Kryvyi Rih. Rescuers extinguished the fire
● The aggressor attacked the Nikopol district twice. With heavy artillery, he hit the Pokrovska rural and Myrivska communities. An agricultural company and a power line were mutilated.
● It passed without any deaths or injuries.
Sunday, September 24
5:41 PM: Dnipropetrovsk region - missile danger, — Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
KHERSON
Monday, September 25
10:45 AM Kherson RMA: Over the past day, the Russians carried out 87 shellings of the Kherson region, firing 497 shells from mortars, artillery, Grads, tanks, UAVs and aircraft. 23 shells were fired in the city of Kherson. 2 people died, 11 more were injured.
● Today at 01:00 the Russians shelled Kherson. The building of the educational institution was damaged. Around 05:00, the Russian army struck the populated areas of Olhivka and Lviv with air strikes.
Sunday, September 24
12:16 PM Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson.
12:30 PM Kherson RMA: The army of the Russian Federation struck Berislav from aviation, it was reported.
● "Private houses were destroyed. A woman was killed. A policeman born in 1990 was injured. A 48-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman were also injured to varying degrees. Another airstrike hit the village of Lviv. A 67-year-old man died," said the head of OVA.
12:59 PM Kherson RMA: The occupiers have just launched artillery fire at the Naval district of Kherson.
● "As a result of the enemy strikes, private houses of Kherson residents were damaged. At least six victims are already known. The information is being clarified," the administration said.
3:56 PM: Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson RMA, published the results of the shelling of Kherson by Russian troops.
4:26 PM Social Networks: Explosions are heard again in Kherson.
5:20 PM Kherson RMA: The Russian army dropped two aerial bombs on Kherson.
● "One was aimed at an industrial zone in the Dnipro district, the other at civil infrastructure in the Korabelny district," writes Prokudin.
● Information about the victims and destruction is being established.
5:45 PM Kherson RMA: A 49-year-old woman was injured as a result of a Guided Aerial Bomb being dropped on one of the enterprises in Kherson, she has minor injuries.
8:14 PM: Consequences of a Russian air strike on an enterprise in the Dnipro district of Kherson.
● "The windows are broken in the houses. The whole street is littered with glass," writes the head of Kherson RMA Prokudin.
9:19 PM Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson.
ODESA
Monday, September 25
12:04 AM: "Shahed" type attack UAVs are moving in the direction of Odesa region. - reported the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
12:11 AM: An explosion was heard in Odesa. Previously, AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM works.
12:22 AM Social Networks: An explosion was heard again in Odesa. Previously, AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM works.
12:36 AM: Attack UAVs of the "Shahed" type from the Black Sea in the direction of Odesa region (Chornomorsk, Zatoka).
● Rockets enter the airspace of the Vinnytsia region.
● This is reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
12:45 AM Social Networks: Explosions were heard again in Odesa. Previously, AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM works.
12:46 AM: Missiles in Odesa region - heading south.
● "Shahed" type unmanned aerial vehicles - direction to Odesa and Izmail.
● This is reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
12:49 AM: Odesa region - Onyx supersonic anti-ship missiles launched in your direction. - reported the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
12:52 AM: Odesa - in your direction are shahedis, onyxes and calibers. - reported the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
12:53 AM Social Networks: Explosions were heard again in Odesa.
6:17 AM Odesa RMA: Russians attacked Odesa region with attack drones and two types of missiles. In Odesa, one civilian was injured as a result of the blast wave.
● Port infrastructure came under attack. A fire broke out in a non-residential high-rise in Odessa. It was quickly eliminated. Also, destruction was recorded in a warehouse and one of the private houses of Odesa district.
6:35 AM Operational Command South: the Russians directed 19 Shahed-136/131 type attack drones, 2 Onyx supersonic missiles, and also used 12 Calibers with complex trajectories in different areas over Odeshchyna at night.
● 19 Shaheds and 11 Kalibrs were shot down by AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM forces. 1 "Caliber" each over Mykolayiv region and Kirovohrad region, the vast majority - in the sky over Odesa region.
6:37 AM: The sea station in Odesa suffered significant damage. Granaries were destroyed by "Onyx", but people were not injured - Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine.
● A fire broke out in the building of the station hotel, which has not been functioning for several years.
● As a result of falling debris during combat operations, the warehouse buildings of one of the enterprises and a private house in the suburbs of Odesa were damaged and ignited. Grass was also cultivated in open areas. The fire has been extinguished. No casualties were recorded.
9:21 AM: New footage of the aftermath of the attack on the Odesa Maritime Railway Station appeared online.
● A fire broke out in the building of the station hotel, which has not been operating for several years. It was extinguished.
● "The hotel at the sea station in Odesa was a landmark and bright sight for everyone who visited our city at least once. Today, Russia destroyed it," the State Emergency Service said.
Sunday, September 24
1:57 PM Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Odesa region.
POLTAVA
Sunday, September 24
10:38 PM: The number of victims of the Russian strike on Kremenchuk has increased to 55, the head of the RMA said.
● 19 people are receiving inpatient treatment, including one child. A total of six children were injured. A pregnant woman is also among the victims.
Comparing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Russian invasion of Ukraine using Wikipedia and Ukraine Ministry of Defense Daily Bulletins. Soviet and Russian military losses not including captured equipment.
SOURCES
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/
https://espreso.tv/
https://t.me/uawarinfographics
https://t.me/svoboda_radio