Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin ‘weaponising’ food as troops target cargo ship in Black Sea
At the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “weaponising” everything from food and energy to abducted children in its war against Ukraine.
In his first in-person appearance at the annual UNGA since Russia invaded his country in February 2022, Zelensky criticised Moscow for what he said was an “attempt to weaponise (a) food shortage on (the) global market in exchange for recognition of some, if not all, of captured territories.”
Elsewhere, he accused Russia of committing genocide by kidnapping Ukrainian children and said Kyiv was working on preparing a global peace summit.
“Ukraine is doing everything to ensure that after the Russian aggression, no one in the world would dare to attack any nation,” Zelensky added. “The occupier must return to his own land.”
Meanwhile, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has confirmed that Putin’s forces targeted a cargo ship in the Black Sea.
“The Russian military’s pattern of targeted attacks against civilian ships demonstrates Putin’s willingness to weaponise food at the expense of the rest of the world”, its statement read.
Key Points
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Russia says Ukraine struck Kostiantynivka with missile on 6 Sept
Moscow court declines to consider appeal by US reporter Gershkovich against pre-trial detention
At UN General Assembly, Biden asks world to stand by Ukraine
Zelensky tells UN General Assembly: Russian occupier must return to own land
Russia targets cargo ship in Black Sea
Zelensky tells UN to not do deals with ‘evil’ Russia: ‘Ask Prigozhin whether Putin can be trusted’
08:30 , Lydia Patrick
Volodymyr Zelensky condemned ‘evil’ Russia and emphatically warned fellow leaders of stop ‘shady deals’ with Russia.
He said: “Evil cannot be trusted – ask Prigozhin if one bets on Putin’s promises,” Mr Zelensky said on Tuesday, claiming he was aware of “attempts to make some shady deals behind the scenes.”
“Please, hear me. Let unity decide everything openly.”
Read the full story here
Zelensky tells UN to not do deals with ‘evil’ Russia: ‘Ask Prigozhin’
Russian jet crashed during training flight
09:50 , Lydia Patrick
A Russian Su-34 fighter jet crashed in Voronezh region in Central Russia during a training flight on Wednesday morning, TASS news agency reported citing the defence ministry.
The plane was flying without ammunition and crashed in a deserted area, the report said. The crew of two people ejected and was later evacuated, it added.
The cause of the accident could be a technical malfunction, the ministry said.
Sochi fire extinguished
08:54 , Lydia Patrick
A fire at a fuel tank near an airport in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi has been extinguished, the city’s mayor said on Wednesday.
“There were no casualties,” the mayor, Alexei Kopaigorodskyi, said on the Telegram messaging platform.
“The airport and the entire transport system are operating as normal,” report Reuters.
The cause of the fire is being investigated further.
Zelensky’s UN speech warned of Putin’s ‘World War'
07:39 , Lydia Patrick
The Ukrainian president addressed other world leaders in his UN General Assembly speech, urging them to unite as he claims country suffers under conditions worse than nuclear destruction.
Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to New York to deliver his speech to the UNGA to stress the need for collaboration and peace.
He argues Russia holding nuclear weapons isn’t the scariest part of the war, but rather the weaponisation of other things such as food, energy and children.
He said:
But truly not the nukes are the scariest now.
While nukes remain in place, the mass destruction is gaining its momentum. The aggressor is weaponising many other things and those things are used not only against our country but against all of yours as well.
Zelensky
Why did Russia invade Ukraine?
07:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.
Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be “demilitarised and de-Nazified”, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine has fought back courageously against Mr Putin’s warped bid to restore territory lost to Moscow with the collapse of the Soviet Union and has continued to defy the odds by defending itself against Russian onslaughts with the help of Western military aid.
More here:
Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine
ICYMI: Shapps pledges ‘unwavering support’ for Ukraine in first meeting with Umerov
06:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Grant Shapps pledged the UK’s “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine with tens of thousands more artillery shells as he met the country’s new defence minister for the first time.
The Defence Secretary attended the 15th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) at the US Air Force base in Ramstein, Germany, alongside Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
The group brings together ministers and senior officials from nearly 50 nations to coordinate international support for the war-torn nation.
Nina Lloyd reports:
Shapps pledges ‘unwavering support’ for Ukraine in first meeting with Umerov
Drones shot down over Russian cities near Ukraine border in overnight attack
05:58 , Arpan Rai
Russia’s air defence units have shot down two Ukrainian drones flying over Belgorod and Oryol oblasts as Kyiv increases the pace of its counteroffensive against Moscow’s invasion.
The drone attacks come as Ukraine overtook two key villages recently and has stepped up counter attacks on Russia. Drone and missile attacks deep inside Russia and on Russia-controlled territory have shot up drastically in recent months, with the Russian defence ministry blaming the “Kyiv regime” for what it calls “terrorist attacks”.
While Ukraine has seldom responded to accusations of attacks, it has expressed satisfaction at the destruction of Russian military infrastructure and critical military sites.
Drones shot down over Russian cities near Ukraine border in overnight attack
ICYMI: Russia is ‘weaponising’ food, energy and children in war on Ukraine, Zelensky tells UN
05:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia is “weaponising” everything from food and energy to abducted children in its war against Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelensky told leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
While the world has agreements that restrict arms, “there are no real restrictions on weaponization,” he said.
He was addressing the gathering at a sensitive point in his country’s campaign to maintain international support for its fight.
Alastair Jamieson reports:
Russia is ‘weaponizing’ food, energy and children in Ukraine, Zelensky tells UN
Ukraine complains to WTO about Hungary, Poland and Slovakia banning its farm products
04:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine is filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization against Hungary, Poland and Slovakia after they banned grain and other food products coming from the war-torn country, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Tuesday.
It lays bare a widening rift with the three members of the European Union, which has been a pivotal backer of Kyiv as it works to fight off Russia’s invasion.
In a break with the wider EU, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have announced bans on grain and other food from Ukraine, a major agricultural supplier to parts of the world where people are going hungry. The 27-nation bloc last week lifted restrictions on Ukraine’s exports to five member states, also including Romania and Bulgaria.
More here:
Ukraine complains to WTO about Hungary, Poland and Slovakia banning its farm products
Biden calls on world leaders to stand up to Russia’s ‘naked aggression’ against Ukraine
03:00 , Eleanor Noyce
President Joe Biden on Tuesday called on world leaders to uphold the UN Charter’s “core tenet” of sovereignty and territorial integrity by supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invading forces during remarks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Mr Biden reminded the world leaders who had gathered to hear him at UN headquarters that the annual gathering, which he described as one that is “dedicated to peaceful resolution of conflicts,” was once again “darkened by the shadow of war, an illegal war of conquest brought without provocation by Russia against its’ neighbour, Ukraine”.
Mr Biden said the US, which has been Ukraine’s chief supporter during the nearly two-year war, wants the conflict to end, and stressed that “no nation wants this war to end more than Ukraine”.
Andrew Feinberg reports:
Biden calls on UN leaders to stand up to Russia’s ‘naked aggression’ against Ukraine
Why new fighting in Azerbaijan's troubled region may herald a new war
02:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Azerbaijan’s launch of reportedly intense artillery firing in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Tuesday raised fears that another full-scale conflict with Armenia could be underway, less than three years after a war that killed more than 6,000 people.
Nagorno-Karabakh, with a population of about 120,000, is an ethnic Armenian region of Azerbaijan that has been a flashpoint since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The region and sizable surrounding territories came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military at the 1994 end of a separatist war. Azerbaijan regained the territories and parts of Nagorno-Karabakh itself in fighting in 2020.
Read more:
Why new fighting in Azerbaijan's troubled region may herald a new war
Ukraine ‘has one month to hold knife to Crimea’s throat’ and force Putin into peace talks
01:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine has just four weeks to hold a “knife at Crimea‘s throat” and force Vladimir Putin into peace talks before Russia’s army recoups over winter, experts have warned.
Professor Mark Galeotti, academic and author of more than 20 books on Russia, said Volodymyr Zelensky’s troops need to move another 10 miles southwards to be in range of striking key Russian supply routes in Crimea.
He claimed this is the only “serious” chance Ukraine has to force Mr Putin into negotiations before the Russian army has the opportunity to regroup over winter.
Alexander Butler reports:
Ukraine warned it has one month window to force Putin into talks
ICYMI: Kremlin says Russia and China must edge closer to counter Western efforts to contain them
Wednesday 20 September 2023 00:01 , Eleanor Noyce
A senior Kremlin official on Tuesday called for closer policy coordination between Moscow and Beijing to counter what he described as Western efforts to contain them as he hosted China’s top diplomat for security talks.
Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that Moscow “seeks progressive development and strengthening of the Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.”
“Amid the campaign unleashed by the collective West that is aimed at the double containment of Russia and China, it’s particularly important to further deepen Russian-Chinese coordination and interaction on the international arena,” Patrushev said.
Read more:
Kremlin says Russia and China must edge closer to counter Western efforts to contain them
ICYMI: A Moscow court delays decision on the appeal of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich
Tuesday 19 September 2023 23:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich filed an appeal Tuesday to be released from jail on espionage charges, but the Moscow City Court did not immediately rule on it, causing confusion from Russian media that reported contradictory results from the closed session.
The court said in a statement it sent Gershkovich’s case back to a lower court due to procedural violations. The state news agency Tass reported the court had rejected Gershkovich’s appeal, meaning he will remain jailed until Nov. 30.
Before the session was closed, Gershkovich appeared in the glass defendants’ cage, smiling at journalists and wearing a yellow sweater and blue jeans. He was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg, about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) east of Moscow.
In case you missed it:
A Moscow court delays decision on the appeal of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich
Flames rage from destroyed warehouse after Russian drone strike on Lviv
Tuesday 19 September 2023 22:30 , Eleanor Noyce
A Russian drone attack over the city of Lviv, Ukraine, early on Tuesday 19 September heavily damaged a warehouse facility and injured a 26-year-old man, according to the regional governor.
Maksym Kozytsky reported that 15 out of 18 drones were intercepted.
Footage from the ground shows flames raging from a warehouse, as firefighters battle to control the blaze.
The state emergency service said the fire, caused by the drone attack, has reached 9,450 square meters.
A total of 27 out of 30 Shahed drones were intercepted Monday night across Ukraine, according to the Air Force report.
Watch:
Flames rage from destroyed warehouse after Russian drone strike on Lviv
ICYMI: Putin still has ‘well over 200,000 troops’ in occupied Ukraine, top US general says
Tuesday 19 September 2023 21:50 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine could take time to “kick out” over 200,000 of Vladimir Putin’s troops from its soil even if its military counteroffensive achieves all its goals, a soon-to-retire US military general has claimed in a new interview.
The comments come as Ukraine has stepped up its counteroffensive against Russia in the last few days by retaking a couple of key villages near battle-worn Bakhmut and launched joint intelligence ops in Crimea, the territory Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.
“There’s well over 200,000 Russian troops in Russian-occupied Ukraine,” General Mark A Milley, who is set to retire as the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an “exit interview” to CNN.
Arpan Rai reports:
Putin still has ‘well over 200,000 troops’ in occupied Ukraine, top US general says
Zelensky tells Russia to stop war so world can fight climate, other crises
Tuesday 19 September 2023 21:20 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky implored world leaders gathered at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to stand united against Russia’s invasion and said Moscow had to be pushed back so the world could turn to solving pressing global challenges.
Zelensky drew applause as he took his place at the United Nations General Assembly lectern in New York for his first in-person appearance at the annual UNGA since Russia invaded his country in 2022.
“Ukraine is doing everything to ensure that after Russian aggression, no one in the world will dare to attack any nation,” he said. “Weaponisation must be restrained, war crimes must be punished, deported people must come back home and the occupier must return to their own land.”
“We must be united to make it - and we’ll do it.”
He accused Russia of manipulating global food markets to seek international recognition of ownership of land it seized from Kyiv.
In a nod to the Global South, whose support he is seeking in his standoff with Russia, Zelensky spoke about the worsening climate crisis and natural disasters, mentioning the recent earthquake in Morocco and floods in Libya.
“We have to stop it. We must act united to defeat the aggressor and focus all our capabilities and energy on addressing these challenges,” he told the General Assembly.
Voices: Republican supporters of Ukraine don’t sweat the GOP critics
Tuesday 19 September 2023 20:50 , Eleanor Noyce
The fight amongst Republicans about how to keep the government open has many facets, but perhaps one of the most fraught ones includes whether to include support for Ukraine. And it is coming just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is about to come to Washington.
Earlier this year, I reported how Republican backing for Ukraine was always fraught, with some being sceptical about US support for the country as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his assault and some elected officials are outright hostile to Ukraine and Mr Zelensky. The split between pro-Ukraine and anti-Ukraine Republicans came on full display during the first GOP presidential primary debate as well.
Erica Garcia writes:
Republican supporters of Ukraine don’t sweat the GOP critics
UN General Assembly: Ukraine urgently needs air defenses -NATO head
Tuesday 19 September 2023 20:25 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine urgently needs air defenses, including ammunition, spare parts and maintenance for the systems the Ukrainian military already has, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters on Tuesday.
Stoltenberg said the war, now well into its second year, was a “war of attrition” but not a stalemate, given the gains Ukraine has made with a counteroffensive it began in June to try to reclaim territory occupied by Russian forces.
“If we want an end to the war, if we want a just and lasting peace, then military support to Ukraine is the right way,” said Stoltenberg in an interview while in New York for the annual high-level United Nations General Assembly. “Ukraine needs many different types of support.”
“There is an urgent need for air defense, not only new systems, but also ammunition, maintenance, spare parts ... We see that air defense is saving lives every day in Ukraine and we need to sustain the air defense systems of Ukraine.”
He spoke after a senior State Department official said earlier on Tuesday that reinforcing Ukraine‘s air defenses was key, including to protect critical infrastructure as winter descends.
Stoltenberg declined to say how many rounds of munitions NATO allies can deliver to Ukraine each year, or when exactly F-16s would be delivered to Kyiv.
“Allies are working hard to train (F-16 pilots) as fast as possible,” he said. “The importance of the F-16s is also that it sends a message of long-term and enduring support.”
“We are ready for the long haul. Not because we are able to predict exactly how long this war will last, but because we need to send a message that President Putin cannot wait us out.”
UN General Assembly: End wars, focus on climate change instead -Colombia's Petro
Tuesday 19 September 2023 20:05 , Eleanor Noyce
Colombian president Gustavo Petro used his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to call for peace summits to resolve conflicts in Ukraine and between Israel and the Palestinians, so humankind can focus instead on addressing climate change.
Petro, Colombia’s first leftist leader, is seeking peace and surrender deals in his own country with rebel groups and crime gangs to end a six-decade conflict which has killed at least 450,000 people.
“I propose ending war so we have the time to save ourselves. I propose the United Nations sponsor as soon as possible two peace conferences. One on Ukraine, the other on Palestine, not because there are not other wars in the world, like in my country, but because it would show how to make peace in all the regions of the world,” Petro, 63, said.
Petro called climate change “the mother of all crises” and said the world should work toward a de-carbonised economy.
War crimes tribunal ICC says it has been hacked
Tuesday 19 September 2023 19:51 , Eleanor Noyce
The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday its computer system had been hacked, a breach at one of the world’s most high-profile international institutions and one that handles highly sensitive information about war crimes.
The ICC said it had detected unusual activity on its computer network at the end of last week, prompting a response that was still ongoing. A spokesperson declined to comment on how serious the hack was, whether it has been fully resolved, or who might be behind it.
“Immediate measures were adopted to respond to this cybersecurity incident and to mitigate its impact,” the ICC said in a short statement.
The ICC is the permanent war crimes tribunal in the Dutch city of The Hague, established in 2002 to try war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors at the court are currently conducting 17 investigations into situations in Ukraine, Uganda, Venezuela, Afghanistan and the Philippines, among others.
In March, the court made headlines when it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of illegally deporting children from Ukraine. The Kremlin rejects the accusations and the court’s jurisdiction.
Highly sensitive documents at the ICC could include anything from criminal evidence to names of protected witnesses, though the court did not disclose what part of its systems had been accessed.
The court said in its statement that it was continuing to “analyse and mitigate the impact of this incident” with the assistance of the Dutch government. It said it was also taking steps to strengthen its cybersecurity.
Zelensky tells UN General Assembly: Russian occupier must return to own land
Tuesday 19 September 2023 19:35 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told world leaders gathered at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that Russia was trying to manipulate global food shortages to win international recognition of land it grabbed from Kyiv.
In his first in-person appearance at the annual UNGA since Russia invaded his country in 2022, Zelensky criticized Moscow for what he said was an “attempt to weaponize (a) food shortage on (the) global market in exchange for recognition of some, if not all, of captured territories.”
He accused Russia of committing genocide by kidnapping Ukrainian children and said Kyiv was working on preparing a global peace summit.
“Ukraine is doing everything to ensure that after the Russian aggression, no one in the world would dare to attack any nation,” Zelensky said. “The occupier must return to his own land.”
Shapps pledges ‘unwavering support’ for Ukraine in first meeting with Umerov
Tuesday 19 September 2023 19:28 , Eleanor Noyce
Grant Shapps pledged the UK’s “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine with tens of thousands more artillery shells as he met the country’s new defence minister for the first time.
The Defence Secretary attended the 15th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) at the US Air Force base in Ramstein, Germany, alongside Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
The group brings together ministers and senior officials from nearly 50 nations to coordinate international support for the war-torn nation.
Read more:
Shapps pledges ‘unwavering support’ for Ukraine in first meeting with Umerov
Ukraine should remember help it receives from Poland, says Polish president
Tuesday 19 September 2023 19:05 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine should remember that it receives help from Poland, the Polish president said on Tuesday, amid a deepening row between the countries over agricultural imports.
“It would be good for Ukraine to remember that it receives help from us and to remember that we are also a transit country to Ukraine,” Andrzej Duda told reporters in New York following an address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Russia targets cargo ship in Black Sea
Tuesday 19 September 2023 18:35 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia has targeted a cargo ship in the Black Sea, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has alleged.
“Declassified intelligence shows Russia targeted a cargo ship in the Black Sea”, a statement on X, formerly Twitter, read.
“The Russian military’s pattern of targeted attacks against civilian ships demonstrates Putin’s willingness to weaponise food at the expense of the rest of the world.”
Declassified intelligence shows Russia targeted a cargo ship in the Black Sea.
The Russian military’s pattern of targeted attacks against civilian ships demonstrates Putin’s willingness to weaponise food at the expense of the rest of the world.#FoodIsNotAWeapon pic.twitter.com/uXOAJZS0bz— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) September 19, 2023
ICYMI: A Moscow court delays decision on the appeal of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich
Tuesday 19 September 2023 18:05 , Eleanor Noyce
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich filed an appeal Tuesday to be released from jail on espionage charges, but the Moscow City Court did not immediately rule on it, causing confusion from Russian media that reported contradictory results from the closed session.
The court said in a statement it sent Gershkovich’s case back to a lower court due to procedural violations. The state news agency Tass reported the court had rejected Gershkovich’s appeal, meaning he will remain jailed until Nov. 30.
Before the session was closed, Gershkovich appeared in the glass defendants’ cage, smiling at journalists and wearing a yellow sweater and blue jeans. He was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg, about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) east of Moscow.
More here:
A Moscow court delays decision on the appeal of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich
Why new fighting in Azerbaijan's troubled region may herald a new war
Tuesday 19 September 2023 17:35 , Eleanor Noyce
Azerbaijan’s launch of reportedly intense artillery firing in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Tuesday raised fears that another full-scale conflict with Armenia could be underway, less than three years after a war that killed more than 6,000 people.
Nagorno-Karabakh, with a population of about 120,000, is an ethnic Armenian region of Azerbaijan that has been a flashpoint since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The region and sizable surrounding territories came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military at the 1994 end of a separatist war. Azerbaijan regained the territories and parts of Nagorno-Karabakh itself in fighting in 2020.
The latter war ended with an agreement to deploy Russian peacekeepers in the region, but tensions have soared since December when Azerbaijan began blocking the road that connects Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia proper. The artillery firing that Azerbaijan calls an “anti-terrorist operation” started hours after it said four soldiers and two civilians were killed by landmines that it claimed were planted by Armenian saboteurs.
Read more:
Why new fighting in Azerbaijan's troubled region may herald a new war
Biden calls on world leaders to stand up to Russia’s ‘naked aggression’ against Ukraine
Tuesday 19 September 2023 17:17 , Eleanor Noyce
President Joe Biden on Tuesday called on world leaders to uphold the UN Charter’s “core tenet” of sovereignty and territorial integrity by supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invading forces during remarks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Mr Biden reminded the world leaders who had gathered to hear him at UN headquarters that the annual gathering, which he described as one that is “dedicated to peaceful resolution of conflicts,” was once again “darkened by the shadow of war, an illegal war of conquest brought without provocation by Russia against its’ neighbour, Ukraine”.
Mr Biden said the US, which has been Ukraine’s chief supporter during the nearly two-year war, wants the conflict to end, and stressed that “no nation wants this war to end more than Ukraine”.
Andrew Feinberg reports:
Biden calls on UN leaders to stand up to Russia’s ‘naked aggression’ against Ukraine
UK pledges tens of thousands of more artillery shells for Ukraine
Tuesday 19 September 2023 17:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Britain will supply “tens of thousands” more artillery shells to Ukraine this year, the government’s defence department announced on Tuesday.
“Today we’ve demonstrated the UK’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine and set out more military support, including pledging tens of thousands more artillery shells to enable Ukraine to defend itself,” defence minister Grant Shapps after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) in Germany said.
“We have also set out how the UK will go further in the coming months in our priority support areas, including air defence and long-range strike capabilities, and training.”
Britain, a key defence supplier for Ukraine, is trying to increase its production of weaponry, particularly artillery shells, to try to help Kyiv push back Russian forces and replenish its own stockpiles.
Russia the ‘aggressor’ stands ‘in the way of peace’, Joe Biden tells United Nations
Tuesday 19 September 2023 16:52 , Eleanor Noyce
At the U.N. General Assembly, Joe Biden has warned that Russia the “aggressor” stands “in the way of peace.”
“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalise Ukraine without consequence,” Biden said in his speech to UNGA. “If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?”
Elsewhere, he described the situation in Ukraine as an “illegal war of conquest.”
Watch:
Ukraine ‘has one month to hold knife to Crimea’s throat’ and force Putin into peace talks
Tuesday 19 September 2023 16:37 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine has just four weeks to hold a “knife at Crimea‘s throat” and force Vladimir Putin into peace talks before Russia‘s army recoups over winter, experts have warned.
Professor Mark Galeotti, academic and author of more than 20 books on Russia, said Volodymyr Zelensky’s troops need to move another 10 miles southwards to be in range of striking key Russian supply routes in Crimea.
He claimed this is the only “serious” chance Ukraine has to force Mr Putin into negotiations before the Russian army has the opportunity to regroup over winter.
Alexander Butler reports:
Ukraine warned it has one month window to force Putin into talks
Latvia to shut one of two Belarus border crossings to stop illegal migrants
Tuesday 19 September 2023 16:22 , Eleanor Noyce
Latvia’s government decided on Tuesday to close one of its two border crossing points with Belarus as the prime minister accused Minsk of again using illegal migrants as a “hybrid threat” to undermine the Baltic state’s security.
In 2021, Latvia, Poland and Lithuania faced an immigration crisis when thousands of people, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, began crossing from Belarus.
The three countries, all members of NATO and the European Union, eventually resorted to pushing the migrants back, a policy that remains in place.
Fifty officers now working at the Silene border station will be redeployed to guard the actual border, in what Latvia’s border guard chief has described as “the most tense situation since 2021” due to an influx of migrants from Belarus.
Guards have turned back 894 people attempting to cross the border in the last six days, taking September’s total to 1,773, Latvian news wire LETA reported.
“Border tensions are increasing, and Belarus is engaging more and more in such a hybrid threat, that we have an increasing number of illegal travellers”, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina told reporters.
The border crossing point has been closed to “send signals internationally”, she added.
However, Belarus Border Guard said on its website on Tuesday that the Silene crossing point remained open and that Latvia had not informed it of any changes.
Poland and Lithuania have fenced their borders with Belarus and the new Latvian government has pledged to finish its own fence by the end of the year.
Belarus is a close ally of Russia. It allowed Russian armed forces to use its territory as a staging post to invade Ukraine, Belarus’ southern neighbour, in early 2022. In May this year, Russia deployed tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.
Flames rage from destroyed warehouse after Russian drone strike on Lviv
Tuesday 19 September 2023 16:05 , Eleanor Noyce
A Russian drone attack over the city of Lviv, Ukraine, early on Tuesday 19 September heavily damaged a warehouse facility and injured a 26-year-old man, according to the regional governor.
Maksym Kozytsky reported that 15 out of 18 drones were intercepted.
Footage from the ground shows flames raging from a warehouse, as firefighters battle to control the blaze.
The state emergency service said the fire, caused by the drone attack, has reached 9,450 square meters.
A total of 27 out of 30 Shahed drones were intercepted Monday night across Ukraine, according to the Air Force report.
Watch:
Flames rage from destroyed warehouse after Russian drone strike on Lviv
Ukraine complains to WTO about Hungary, Poland and Slovakia banning its farm products
Tuesday 19 September 2023 15:50 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine is filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization against Hungary, Poland and Slovakia after they banned grain and other food products coming from the war-torn country, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Tuesday.
It lays bare a widening rift with the three members of the European Union, which has been a pivotal backer of Kyiv as it works to fight off Russia’s invasion.
In a break with the wider EU, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have announced bans on grain and other food from Ukraine, a major agricultural supplier to parts of the world where people are going hungry. The 27-nation bloc last week lifted restrictions on Ukraine’s exports to five member states, also including Romania and Bulgaria.
Read more:
Ukraine complains to WTO about Hungary, Poland and Slovakia banning its farm products
At UN General Assembly, Biden asks world to stand by Ukraine
Tuesday 19 September 2023 15:49 , Eleanor Noyce
U.S. president Joe Biden appealed to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to stand with Ukraine against Russian invaders, hoping Republicans in Congress will also take notice.
“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Biden said in his speech to UNGA. “If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?”
Biden’s address at the annual gathering was the centrepiece event of his three-day visit to New York, which will include meetings with the heads of five Central Asian nations, and the leaders of Israel and Brazil.
Biden, a Democrat, has made rallying U.S. allies to support Ukraine a leading component of U.S. foreign policy, arguing the world must send a clear signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will not be able to outlast the West.
Biden has faced criticism from some Republicans who want the United States to spend less money on the war effort.
Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, has vowed to seek a quick end to the war if returned to power.
Trump has voiced scepticism about Washington’s engagement with traditional allies, including NATO, and has been complimentary of Putin.
House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the leading Republican in Washington, has questioned whether the United States should keep sending billions of dollars in weaponry to Ukraine.
In his speech, Biden argued that Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and occupation of territory violated the founding U.N. Charter, a main principle of which is respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Biden echoed remarks of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who in his opening speech to UNGA on Tuesday said Russia’s invasion “has unleashed a nexus of horror.”
Ukraine lawyers insist that UN's top court has jurisdiction to hear Kyiv's case against Russia
Tuesday 19 September 2023 15:21 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine insisted Tuesday that the United Nations’ highest court has jurisdiction to hear a case alleging that Moscow abused the genocide convention to justify launching its devastating invasion last year.
Kyiv wants judges at the International Court of Justice to order Russia to halt its attacks and pay reparations. But it appears unlikely Moscow would comply. Russia has flouted a binding interim order issued by the court in March last year to end its invasion.
“Russia’s defiance is also an attack on this court’s authority. Every missile that Russia fires at our cities, it fires in defiance of this court,” the leader of Ukraine’s legal team, Anton Korynevych, told the 16-judge panel.
Mike Corder reports:
Ukraine lawyers insist that UN's top court has jurisdiction to hear Kyiv's case against Russia
Kremlin says Russia and China must edge closer to counter Western efforts to contain them
Tuesday 19 September 2023 15:05 , Eleanor Noyce
A senior Kremlin official on Tuesday called for closer policy coordination between Moscow and Beijing to counter what he described as Western efforts to contain them as he hosted China’s top diplomat for security talks.
Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that Moscow “seeks progressive development and strengthening of the Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.”
“Amid the campaign unleashed by the collective West that is aimed at the double containment of Russia and China, it’s particularly important to further deepen Russian-Chinese coordination and interaction on the inetrnational arena,” Patrushev said.
More here:
Kremlin says Russia and China must edge closer to counter Western efforts to contain them
UN chief assails Russia's war in Ukraine for 'unleashing nexus of horror'
Tuesday 19 September 2023 14:49 , Eleanor Noyce
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday assailed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a violation of the U.N. Charter, telling the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders that the war “has unleashed a nexus of horror.”
He warned that the world badly needs Ukrainian food and Russian food and fertilisers to stabilise markets and guarantee food security, adding - to the applause of leaders - “I will not give up on my efforts to make it happen.”
G7 countries recognise Russia settling in Ukraine war for longer term, U.S. says
Tuesday 19 September 2023 14:35 , Eleanor Noyce
There is a recognition among the G7 advanced countries that Russia is settling into its invasion of Ukraine for the medium and long term, and therefore the collective response should focus on supporting it accordingly, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity, the official said reinforcing Ukraine‘s air defenses was key not only for the battlefield but also to protect Ukraine‘s critical infrastructure as the winter settles in.
Macron and Starmer ‘reaffirm will’ to support Ukraine and its people
Tuesday 19 September 2023 14:19 , Eleanor Noyce
French President Emmanuel Macron and British opposition leader Keir Starmer on Tuesday stressed the importance of strengthening the cooperation between the two countries as well as the need to guarantee economic and energetic security in Europe.
“The also reaffirmed their will to bring an ongoing support to Ukraine and its people,” the French presidency said in a statement after a meeting between the two men in Paris.
This meeting took place on the eve of King Charles’ state visit to France, from Wednesday to Friday.
Moscow court declines to consider appeal by US reporter Gershkovich against pre-trial detention
Tuesday 19 September 2023 14:05 , Eleanor Noyce
A Moscow court on Tuesday declined to consider the latest appeal by U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich against his pre-trial detention, nearly six months after his arrest on spying charges that he denies.
The court’s press service announced the decision without explanation, after a closed hearing. State news agency RIA said the appeal was being sent back to a lower court because of unspecified “procedural violations”.
Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested on 29 March in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage that carry up to 20 years in prison.
No date has been set for his trial, and last month his detention in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison was extended by three months to Nov. 30.
He had failed in two previous appeals, in April and June, against his pre-trial detention.
The United States has designated Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, an American convicted of espionage in 2020 and serving 16 years in a Russian penal colony, as “wrongfully detained”, meaning that it considers the cases against them to be bogus and politically motivated.
“It is unacceptable that Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan still languish in Russian prisons on charges that are baseless,” U.S. ambassador Lynne Tracy told reporters after Tuesday’s hearing.
“The United States will not rest until Evan and Paul are safely at home with their families and friends.”
Russia said Gershkovich was caught “red-handed” on a trip to the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, where the FSB security service said he was trying to obtain military secrets.
Russia using genocide 'lie' as pretext to destroy, Ukraine tells World Court
Tuesday 19 September 2023 13:51 , Eleanor Noyce
Ukraine told the U.N.’s highest court in The Hague on Tuesday that Russia justified waging war against Ukraine by invoking “a terrible lie” that Moscow’s invasion was to stop an alleged genocide.
“The international community adopted the Genocide Convention to protect. Russia invokes the Genocide convention to destroy,” Ukraine‘s representative Anton Korynevych told judges.
He called on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to decide that it has jurisdiction to hear the case fully and eventually rule that Russia must pay reparations for invading under a false pretext.
“Can a state use false allegations of genocide as a pretext to destroy cities, bomb civilians and deport children from their homes? When the Genocide Convention is so cynically abused, is this court powerless? The answer to these questions must be ‘no’,” Korynevych said.
On Monday, Russia urged the ICJ, also known as the World Court, to throw out the case, claiming Kyiv’s legal arguments were “hopelessly flawed”.
Ukraine brought the case before the ICJ, also known as the World Court, days after the Russian invasion on 24 February last year.
Kyiv argues Russia is abusing international law by saying the invasion was justified to stop an alleged genocide in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine says there was no risk of genocide in eastern Ukraine, where it had been fighting Russian-backed forces since 2014. The convention defines genocide as crimes committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”.
Ukraine has already cleared one hurdle as the court decided in its favour in a preliminary decision in the case in March last year. Based on that, the court ordered Russia to cease military actions in Ukraine immediately.
Russia has so far ignored the ICJ’s orders to stop its military actions and the court has no way of enforcing its decisions. Experts say a full ruling in favour of Ukraine can pave the way for compensation payments.
Korynevych told journalists after the hearing Tuesday that reparations were a key issue for Ukraine in this case. However, any discussion about amounts and implementation “we will be dealing with further on”, he said.
The hearings, set to run until 27 September, will not delve into the merits of the case, but will instead focus on legal arguments about jurisdiction. The court is expected to rule if the case can go forward in several months.
South Korea urges Russia to halt military cooperation with North Korea
Tuesday 19 September 2023 13:36 , Lydia Patrick
South Korea summoned Russia’s ambassador to warn Moscow against any military cooperation with North Korea after last week’s summit raised concerns about a possible arms deal.
First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin summoned Russia’s ambassador in Seoul to urge “Russia to immediately halt any moves to expand military cooperation with North Korea and to abide by (UN) Security Council Resolutions,” South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Chang said Russia should live up to its role as a member of the U.N. Security Council to address North Korea’s nuclear threat, and added that any actions that threaten its security would seriously undermine Russia’s relationship with South Korea.
Russia's defence minister to visit Tehran on Tuesday
Tuesday 19 September 2023 13:21 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu will visit Tehran on Tuesday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, adding that he would meet top Iranian officials.
Since the imposition of Western sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Tehran and Moscow have deepened their bilateral ties, notably in the military sphere.
Tasnim added that Shoigu would discuss defence cooperation and regional developments with top Iranian officials, including his Iranian counterpart.
On Tuesday, Azerbaijan said its armed forces had launched what it called “local anti-terrorist activities” in the Nagorno-Karabakh region to restore constitutional order by disarming and forcing the withdrawal of Armenian military formations there.
Iran borders both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and has called upon Baku and Yerevan to uphold a 2020 ceasefire backed by Russia.
Last month, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia’s military cooperation with Iran would not succumb to geopolitical pressure, following a report that Washington had asked Tehran to stop selling drones to Moscow.
Iran’s air force received in recent weeks the delivery of two Russian Yak-130 pilot training fighters, Tasnim said.
Tehran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia but said in the past that they were sent before Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. Moscow has denied its forces have used Iranian drones in Ukraine.
Russia says Ukraine struck Kostiantynivka with missile on 6 Sept
Tuesday 19 September 2023 13:11 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia said on Tuesday that Ukraine was responsible for an explosion on 6 September in the Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka this month that killed at least 16 people.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine had fired a 9M38 missile from a Buk surface-to-air missile system which struck the city.
“Even if it was done unintentionally, it is obvious to everyone: the complete demilitarisation of the Kyiv regime is not just a requirement, but a vital necessity,” Zakharova said.
The New York Times reported that evidence suggested the explosion had been caused by an errant missile fired by Ukraine.
Ukraine blamed Russia for the attack at the time. President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was evidence of the need to destroy “Russian evil.”
Putin still has ‘well over 200,000 troops’ in occupied Ukraine
Tuesday 19 September 2023 13:00 , Lydia Patrick
As Ukraine makes significant gains in its couteroffensive, a US military general has claimed kicking out Putin’ troops, of over 200, 000 could be a lengthy process.
“There’s well over 200,000 Russian troops in Russian-occupied Ukraine,” General Mark A Milley, who is set to retire as the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an “exit interview” to CNN.
“This offensive, although significant has operational and tactical objectives that are limited in the sense that they do not – even if they are fully achieved – they do not completely kick out all the Russians, which is the broader strategic objective that president Zelensky has,” he said.
Read the full story by Arpan Rai here
Putin still has ‘well over 200,000 troops’ in occupied Ukraine, top US general says
Ex CEO of top firm accuses Zelensky’s advisor of corruption
Tuesday 19 September 2023 12:36 , Lydia Patrick
The former chief executive of one of Ukraine’s biggest construction firms has accused Zelensky’s aide of bribing public officials and law enforcement, reportReuters.
Oleh Maiborada has spoken out against Oleh Tatarov, a lawyer who is now a senior advisor to President Zelensky. In an interview with Reuters Maiborada alleged when he worked in construction, Tatarov would pay officials to approve building requests.
Maiborada spoke to Reuters in Vienna where has settled to escape prosecution in Ukraine, say Reuters.
Tatarov, the president’s adviser on law enforcement and security agencies since 2020, has denied wrongdoing, report Reuters.
He has said his accusers are trying to settle political scores.
Zelensky has previously said corruption has no place in his administration. He said: “I want to emphasise if those who work with me are suspected of corruption, these people will be fired. And I have not yet seen such examples in my Office,” he said in an interview in December 2020 with Ukraine‘s Focus magazine.
At least three people killed in Russian attack
Tuesday 19 September 2023 12:12 , Lydia Patrick
At least three people have been killed in a Russian attack on the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kupiansk on Tuesday, a regional official said.
“Today, the enemy attacked the town of Kupiansk with a guided air bomb,” Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukrainian police sergeant killed by Russian shell
Tuesday 19 September 2023 12:06 , Lydia Patrick
A Ukrainian police sergeant has been killed by a Russian shell which hit a trolley bus.
Two more civlians have been injured in the attack, according to local reports.
❗️The Russian military shelled #Kherson Region, hitting a trolleybus. A 49-year-old police sergeant was killed. Two more civilians were wounded, Ukraine's National Police reported. pic.twitter.com/NyOaDPFPdh
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) September 19, 2023
Russia drastically ramped up military hardware production
Tuesday 19 September 2023 11:36 , Lydia Patrick
Russia has ramped up the production of missiles, drones, combat vehicles and artillery by more than tenfold to supply its army in Ukraine, Moscow’s biggest weapons producer said today.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered production to be cranked up to ensure Moscow achieves the aims of what he calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine despite the West supplying Kyiv with weapons worth billions of dollars and imposing unprecedented Western sanctions on the Russian economy.
Bekhan Ozdoev, industrial director of the armament complex at Rostec, the Russian state corporation which controls much of the weapons industry, said production volumes for various types of weapons had increased from between two and 10 times.
Ozdoev said: “We are going forward at cruising speed, smoke from all the pipes.”
He said there had been significant growth in production of tanks, armoured vehicles, rocket launchers, artillery, the Iskander short-range ballistic missile, the Pantsir medium-range surface-to-air missile system and the hypersonic Kinzhal missile.
Ukraine lawyers insist that UN’s top court has jurisdiction to hear Kyiv’s case against Russia
Tuesday 19 September 2023 11:06 , Lydia Patrick
Ukraine have insisted that the United Nations’ highest court has jurisdiction to hear a case alleging that Moscow abused the genocide convention to justify launching its devastating invasion last year.
Kyiv wants judges at the International Court of Justice to order Russia to halt its attacks and pay reparations, but their cooperation remains doubtful.
Russia has flouted a binding interim order issued by the court in March last year to end its invasion.
“Russia’s defiance is also an attack on this court’s authority. Every missile that Russia fires at our cities, it fires in defiance of this court,” the leader of Ukraine‘s legal team, Anton Korynevych, told the 16-judge panel.
Kyiv filed the case shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.
It argues that the attack was based on false claims of acts of genocide in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine.
“Russia is waging war against my country in the name of this terrible lie that Ukraine is committing genocide against its own people,” Korynevych said.“
Putin’s brigades ‘suffer heavy losses’ as three Russian brigades targeted
Tuesday 19 September 2023 10:31 , Lydia Patrick
Russian troops face ‘significant losses’ as three brigades have been rendered ineffective and a commander has been killed, according to the Institute of Study of War.
Ukrainian military officer Oleksander Syrskyi said troops destroyed the combat capability of the 72nd Motorized Rifle Brigade (3rd Army Corps), the 31st Guards VDV Brigade, and the 83rd Guards VDV Brigade during the liberation of the villages Andriivka and Klishchiivka, south of Bakhmut.
Russian commander Alexander Khodakovosky claimed the 31st VDV brigade commander had been killed as the Ukrainian counteroffensive liberated Bakhmut.
Heartbroken Ukrainian girl breaks down in tears after seeing her nursery destroyed in Russian attack
Tuesday 19 September 2023 10:06 , Lydia Patrick
In pictures - the aftermath of Russian blasts on Lviv causing a Warehouse inferno
Tuesday 19 September 2023 09:40 , Lydia Patrick
Black smoke billows over the city after drone strikes in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv
Firefighters work at a site of an industrial warehouse damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine
The dramatic blaze at the warehouse struck by Russian attack
Watch Live : World Court hears Ukraine’s response to Russian objections in genocide case
Tuesday 19 September 2023 09:06 , Lydia Patrick
Ukraine claims Moscow falsely applied genocide law to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Why is Zelensky in New York City today?
Tuesday 19 September 2023 08:36 , Lydia Patrick
The Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelesnsky will join other world leaders in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly to make a security speech.
The war in Ukraine and the climate crisis are expected to be discussed at great lengths as more than 140 leaders gather.
It is not yet clear if he will stay for Russian diplomat Sergei Lavrov’s speech, last year Lavrov called Zelensky a ‘b*******’ and walked out after a strong line of accusations and condemnation aimed at Russia.
The Ukrainian leader questioned world leaders as to why Russia still has a place in the UN ahead of his speech.
He said: “For us, it’s very important that all our words, all our messages, will be heard by our partners. And if in the United Nations still – it’s a pity, but still – there is a place for Russian terrorists, the question is not to me. I think it’s a question to all the members of the United Nations.”
Ukraine destroys 27 Russian drones and one missile
Tuesday 19 September 2023 08:06 , Lydia Patrick
Ukraine‘s air defence systems destroyed 27 out of 30 drones and one Iskander ballistic missile that Russia launched on in the early hours of Tuesday, Ukraine‘s air force said on the messaging platform Telegram - as reported by Reuters.
The Iranian-made Shahed drones were destroyed in Ukraine‘s southern, central and western regions, while the missile was launched in the direction of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, it said.
Reuters could not independently verify the report.
