Saturday, September 23

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a bilateral meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Photo credit: Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

UPDATE: 9 people killed, 16 injured in Ukrainian attack against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters. At least 9 people were killed and 16 were injured as a result of Ukraine’s attack against the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on Sept. 22, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, told news outlet Voice of America. Russian generals are among the casualties.

Polish PM says Zelensky should ‘never insult Poles again.’ Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should “never insult Poles,” referring to his statements at the U.N. General Assembly, the Polish Press Agency reported on Sept. 22.

Ukrainian military strikes Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters. The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sept. 22 that a Ukrainian missile strike on Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea damaged the building of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters.

Sky News: Ukraine used Storm Shadow missiles to strike Black Sea Fleet headquarters. Ukraine used Storm Shadow long-range missiles in a strike against the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on Sept. 22, Sky News reported, citing information provided by the Ukrainian Air Force.

Reuters: Russian hackers target war crimes probes in Ukraine. Russian spies are using hackers to target computer systems at law enforcement agencies in Ukraine as means to identify and obtain evidence related to alleged Russian war crimes, Ukraine’s cyber defense chief, Yurii Shchyhol, told Reuters on Sept. 22.

Government postpones launch of oligarch register until after war. The government decided to postpone the launch of the register of oligarchs until three months after the end of martial law, according to an official document dated Sept. 19 and recently made public.

Large-scale cyberattack reported in occupied Crimea. Russian proxies in occupied Crimea announced on Sept. 22 that there was a cyberattack of an “unprecedented” scale.

Romanian PM to visit Kyiv to conclude grain import talks. Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Sept. 22 that he will visit Kyiv with several ministers to finalize an agreement on Ukrainian grain imports, as the news outlet Digi24 reported.

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Russia attacks Sumy Oblast 17 times in one day. Russian forces shelled ten communities in Sumy Oblast, firing 17 times over the course of the day, causing 75 explosions, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on Sept. 22.

Minister: Three more cargo vessels using temporary Black Sea corridor.

Another three cargo vessels that have agreed to use the Black Sea temporary corridor set up after Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal are moving towards Ukraine’s ports, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov reported on Sept. 22.

Romanian president: Russian drones not directly targeted at Romania, still a problem. Russian drones are not intentionally targeting Romania, but the situation is still “unacceptable,” Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said.

Bloomberg: Russia plans massive hike in defense spending in 2024. Next year, Russia’s defense spending will be increased to 6% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) from 3.9% this year and 2.7% in 2021, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 22.

CNN: Zelensky pledges to liberate Bakhmut, two other crucial cities. “We will de-occupy Bakhmut. And I think we will de-occupy two more cities,” Zelensky said, according to CNN.

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Ukraine war latest: Ukraine strikes Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters; Abrams to arrive next week

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sept. 22 that a Ukrainian missile strike on Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea damaged the building of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters.

Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

US will reportedly give ATACMS to Ukraine. Will it change the war?

After over a year of pleading to get long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the U.S., Ukraine might finally receive this much desired weapon. Though to Ukraine’s disappointment it was not included in the latest military aid package worth $325 million announced by Washington on Sept. 21,

Photo: South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images

Opinions and insights

Svitlana Romanko: UN climate summit offers chance to confront Russian fossil fuels, climate crisis

As world leaders gather for meetings at the UN’s Climate Ambition Summit, the urgency of addressing the climate crisis cannot be overstated. At the same time, we must confront Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, where innocent lives are being lost daily.

Human cost of war

UPDATE: 1 killed, 31 injured in Russian attack on Kremenchuk. One person died and 31 people were injured in a Russian missile strike against Poltava Oblast’s Kremenchuk on Sept. 22, Governor Dmytro Lunin announced after the conclusion of the rescue efforts.

Governor: Russian forces shell Kherson, killing 1, injuring 1. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Sept. 22 that Russian forces shelled residential neighborhoods of Kherson. A 25-year-old man was killed, and another was injured, Prokudin said on Telegram.

General Staff: Russia has lost 274,950 troops in Ukraine. This number includes 480 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.

International response

Media: US to send small number of ATACMS to Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden had told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. would provide Ukraine with a small number of long-range ATACMS missiles, NBC News reported on Sept. 22, citing three U.S. officials and a Congressional official familiar with the discussion.

Canada imposes 63 sanctions against Russian individuals, entities. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced 63 sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Canada, news outlet European Pravda reported on Sept. 22.

Zelensky addresses Canada’s parliament as Trudeau pledges more aid. President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Canadian Parliament on Sept. 22 after his talks with the country’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In his welcoming words at the House of Commons, Trudeau announced further aid for Ukraine, including 650 million Canadian dollars ($480 million) for 50 armored vehicles, as well as training on F-16 fighter jets.

Minister: Czechia wants to train Ukrainian pilots on Gripen jets. Czechia is in talks with Sweden about training Ukrainian pilots on Gripen fighter jets on its territory, Radio Prague International reported on Sept. 22, citing the Czech defense minister.

Bloomberg: EU Commission to recommend Ukraine membership talks. The European Commission is planning to recommend starting EU membership talks with Ukraine in October, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 22, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

Shmyhal: Ukraine receives another 1.5 billion euros in macro-financial assistance. Ukraine was transferred another 1.5 billion euros (about $1.6 billion) installment of the European Union’s macro-financial assistance package, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Twitter on Sept. 22.

Biden: ‘Next week, the first Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine.’ U.S. President Joe Biden announced at a press conference on Sept. 21 that the first tranche of U.S. Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine next week.

In other news

Russian state media: Nagorno-Karabakh forces begin to hand over weapons, military equipment. The armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh have begun to hand over weapons, ammunition and armored vehicles, Russian state-controlled media reported on Sept. 22, citing the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Azerbaijan claims to seek amnesty for Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh fighters who surrender their weapons. Azerbaijani authorities project a situation in which ethnic Armenian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh will receive amnesty in exchange for laying down their arms, said Hikmet Hajiyev, a foreign policy advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in an interview with Reuters.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Nate Ostiller, Oleksiy Sorokin,

Dinara Khalilova, Toma Istomina, Oleg Sukhov, Martin Fornusek, and Rachel Amran.

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