Russia, wary of NATO’s eastward expansion, began a military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022 after the Western-leaning Kiev government turned a deaf ear to Moscow’s calls for its neighbor to maintain its neutrality. In the middle of the mayhem, Moscow and Kiev are trying to hammer out a peaceful solution to the conflict. Follow the latest about the Russia-Ukraine conflict here:
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 19, 2023.
The US is not expected to provide Ukraine with long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) imminently, US officials said, despite repeated requests from Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky.
The ATACMS will not be part of a new weapons package for Ukraine that may come as soon as Thursday, officials said, which is when Zelensky is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden for a bilateral meeting.
Currently, the maximum range of US weapons committed to Ukraine is around 93 miles with the ground-launched small diameter bomb.
The ATACMS, which have a range of around 186 miles, would allow the Ukrainian military to strike targets twice as far away – even further than the UK-provided long-range Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of about 155 miles. ATACMS missiles are fired from HIMARS rocket launchers, the same type of vehicle that launches the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles that Ukraine already employs.
The US Army’s head of acquisitions Doug Bush, stated on Tuesday that a final decision on ATACMS still had not been made. Biden is expected to decide soon on sending the missiles to Ukraine, a capability that would allow them to strike targets deeper in Crimea, according to reports.
“Ultimately the President owns that authority,” Bush continued, adding, “The Army has been providing data to decision makers, and they’ll make that decision at the right level with the right information.”
Asked what version of the ATACMS missile the Army would be able to provide, Bush said, “I think there are different versions of ATACMS, and I think that is just part of the conversation that would inform senior leader making the final decision.”
Bush added the number of ATACMS missile in the US inventory, which he would not divulge, is not a limiting factor in providing the missile to Ukraine. The Army would try to replace any missiles transferred to Kyiv with the newer Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) missile.
“If the decision is made, the Army is prepared to do that.”
There is also a version of the ATACMS that the US no longer uses, however, which could alleviate stockpile concerns. The US has in its stocks an earlier version of the system with rockets that carry cluster munitions, also known as dual purpose improved conventional munitions or DPICMs, officials told CNN. Those were retired after the US phased out the use of DPICMs in 2016, and Ukrainian officials have argued that the US has little excuse not to provide them if they are simply collecting dust in storage.
The cluster munitions they are equipped with have a higher dud rate than the US is comfortable with, however, officials have told CNN. The dud rate refers to the number of bomblets dispersed by the munition that fail to explode on impact, posing a long-term risk to civilians who may encounter them later. A US official stated the dud rate of the ATACMS cluster munition variant depends on how they are fired.
The US provided cluster munitions to the Ukrainians earlier this year that can be fired from shorter-range systems, and Ukraine has been using them effectively, officials added.
The US and its allies have openly meddled in Ukrainian affairs since the Soviet breakup and there’s evidence they engineered the crisis in that country, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.
“Since the collapse of the USSR and the emergence of independent states in its place, the US and its allies have blatantly and openly interfered in Ukraine’s internal affairs,” he stated.
“As US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland publicly, and even proudly, admitted at the end of 2013, Washington spent $5 billion to nurture politicians in Kiev who are amenable to the West. All the facts of how the Ukrainian crisis has been engineered have long been public, but attempts are being made to downplay them by all means, to undo the entire history leading up to 2014,” the minister added.
The Kremlin has said US President Joe Biden has never enjoyed the same level of support among the population as Russian leader Vladimir Putin, while responding to Biden’s recent characterization of Putin as “dictator.”
“In his entire political career, President Biden has not garnered the same level of support as (President) Putin,” Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Wednesday.
“This is perhaps something he should aim for, especially considering the challenging elections he faces,” he continued.
According to Peskov, Russian citizens have consistently given Putin strong support.
“There is an opinion of the overwhelming majority of the population of our country, which was repeatedly expressed during the elections,” he added.
Peskov also noted the Russian president never “lowered himself” to the level of personal insults against his colleagues.
Biden’s comment, made during a campaign reception in New York, emphasized his unwillingness to “side with dictators like Putin,” a sentiment he contrasted with former President Donald Trump and his supporters.
“I will not side with dictators like Putin. Maybe Trump and his MAGA friends can bow down and praise him, but I won’t,” Biden stated, according to the White House transcript.
In his address to the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his country, together with its allies, “will not stand idly by” if North Korea receives Russian help to enhance its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capabilities.
“While military strength may vary among countries, by uniting in unwavering solidarity and steadfastly adhering to our principles, we can deter any unlawful provocation,” Yoon said.
Yoon also called upon reform to the UN Security Council, saying it “would receive a broad support” if Russia was supplying North Korea with information in exchange for weapons.
“It is paradoxical that a permanent member of the UN Security Council, entrusted as the ultimate guardian of world peace, would wage war by invading another sovereign nation and receive arms and ammunition from a regime that blatantly violates UN Security Council resolutions,” Yoon stated.
“In such a situation, the call to reform the UN Security Council would receive a broad support. And if the DPRK acquires the information and technology necessary to enhance its WMD capabilities in exchange for supporting Russia with conventional weapons, the deal will be a direct provocation, threatening the peace and security of not only Ukraine, but also the Republic of Korea,” the president added.
Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim offered his support for Putin after their talks, saying “I will always be standing with Russia,” and appeared to endorse Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Putin described their discussions as “very substantive.”
A ban on Ukrainian grain put in place by neighboring countries is costing Kyiv more than $175 million a month, a senior official said.
Ukraine’s neighbors — which include Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania — have said that the arrival of cheap Ukrainian grain has distorted local markets. In some countries, farmers have protested and blocked roads to demand that the imports cease.
“If the bans continue, the losses could reach about €600 million ($644 million) by the end of the year,” stated Denys Marchuk, the deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council.
“For us, as a country at war, as a country that has been selling its products well below market prices for a year and a half, the possibility of losing export prospects is very problematic,” he added.
Marchuk said the embargo by other countries “plays into the hands of one country, the aggressor country of Russia.” Since pulling out of the Black Sea Grain deal in July, Russia has had the ability to “influence the course of ships in the Black Sea, does not allow Ukraine to fully export.”
“The ban in the Black Sea and the inability to carry out full exports via land routes will provoke an aggravation of the food crisis, which is beneficial for Russia,” Marchuk added.
Ukraine has already taken some legal action: Kyiv filed a lawsuit on Monday against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over their ban on imports, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said.
It came after the European Union announced on Friday that it planned to suspend the temporary ban on the export of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
The measure was put in place to counter the risk of farmers in these countries being undercut by a bottleneck of cheap Ukrainian grain. However, Poland, Hungry, and Slovakia said they would defy it.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday sought to highlight the horrific human toll of the ongoing war in Ukraine as the Biden administration seeks to maintain support for Kyiv amid growing dissension in Congress.
In remarks at a United Nations Security Council meeting, Blinken spoke in great detail about visiting the formerly occupied town of Yahidne during his recent trip to Ukraine, where Russian soldiers rounded up more than 300 villagers — “mostly women, children, and elderly people” — and imprisoned them in the basement of a school for nearly a month, “using them as human shields.”
He described seeing “two handwritten lists of names on the basement wall.” He said, “One was for the villagers the Russian forces had executed. The other, for the people who died in the basement.”
“The oldest victim was 93 years old. The youngest — six weeks old,” Blinken continued.
“The Russians only allowed the removal of bodies once a day — so children, parents, husbands, and wives were forced to spend hours next to the corpses of their loved ones,” he described.
“I begin here because — from the comfortable distance of this chamber — it’s really easy to lose sight of what it’s like for the Ukrainian victims of Russia’s aggression,” Blinken added.
Blinken noted, “This is what happened in just one building, in one community in Ukraine. There are so many others like it.”
The US official went on to discuss recent attacks by Russia.
“In the last week alone, Russia has bombed apartment buildings in Kryvyi Riv, it’s burned down humanitarian aid depots in Lviv, it’s demolished grain silos in Odesa, it’s shelled eight communities in Sumy in a single day,” he said.
“This is what Ukrainian families live through, every day. It’s what they’ve experienced for all 575 days of this full-scale invasion. It’s what they will endure tomorrow, and the day after that, for as long as Russia wages this vicious war,” Blinken added.
The top US diplomat’s effort to reify the horrific reality of the war comes ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to Washington, DC, and as the administration tees up for a potential funding fight with Congress over continued support for the war.
Blinken also spoke broadly about Russia’s violations of the international order, telling fellow UN members: “It’s hard to imagine a country demonstrating more contempt for the United Nations and all it stands for.”
“This, from a country with a permanent seat on this Council,” he continued.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has justified arming Kyiv, imposing sanctions on Moscow and support for UN resolutions as actions to defend the founding UN Charter.
Speaking at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, Zelensky said: “Ukraine exercises its right to self-defence.
“Helping Ukraine with weapons in this exercise, by imposing sanctions and exerting comprehensive pressure on the aggressor, as well as voting for relevant resolutions, would mean helping to defend the UN Charter.”
Ukraine and Western countries have successfully isolated Russia diplomatically at the UN, where the 193-member General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted several times to condemn the invasion and demand Moscow withdraw its troops, saying Moscow violated the 1945 UN Charter.
Addressing the special session of the UNSC focusing on Moscow’s actions in Kyiv, Zelensky stated that the United Nations is at a dead end regarding aggressions.
“Everyone in the world can see what exactly makes the UN ineffective. In this seat in the Security Council, which Russia occupies illegally due to behind-the-scenes manipulations after the collapse of the Soviet Union, sit liars whose job it is to justify the aggression and genocide committed by Russia,” he continued.
“The veto in the hands of the aggressor is what drove the UN into a dead end. No matter who you are, the existing UN system still makes you less than the veto power that only a few have and that is used by one – Russia – to the detriment of all other UN members,” he explained.
“Many years of talks and projects on reforming the UN should become a process of reforming the UN. The use of the veto is what needs reform, and this could be a key reform,” the president added.
Addressing the special session of the UNSC focusing on Moscow’s actions in Kyiv, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told stressed that Russia’s war in Ukraine “is aggravating geopolitical tensions and divisions”.
He added that the conflict is “threatening regional stability, increasing the nuclear threat, and creating deep fissures in our increasingly multipolar world”.
All 32 states who spoke at the World Court on Wednesday have urged judges to determine that it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Kyiv alleging that Russia abused the Genocide Convention to provide a pretext for the invasion of Ukraine.
The states asked to take the case forward to the merits stage. This unprecedented number of intervening countries is a strong show of support for Kyiv, which said it will seek reparations if the court’s final ruling is in its favour.
Some 150 states have signed the Genocide Convention and as such have an interest in how it should be interpreted by the court.
The UK’s attorney general, Victoria Prentis, told journalists after the hearing that she “very much hopes” the court will rule the case can go forward.
Ukraine wants to reach an understanding with neighbouring countries on imports of agricultural products through negotiations, trade representative Taras Kachka has said.
“Ukraine wants to avoid a lengthy court [process] in the WTO [World Trade Organization] framework and to reach an understanding through negotiations,” Kachka added in a statement released by Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged Poland to “set aside emotions” as the trade dispute between the two countries mounts.
“We urge our Polish friends to put aside their emotions. The Ukrainian side has offered Poland a constructive path to resolve the grain issue,” foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said in a Facebook post.
A United Nations expert has urged the United States to reconsider its decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, saying these could harm civilians even decades after the end of the conflict there.
In a letter to the US government and President Joe Biden published on Wednesday, Alice Jill Edwards, a UN special rapporteur, said that cluster munitions “indiscriminately and seriously injure civilians both at the time of use and in post-conflict” and should not be used.
“I respectfully urge Your Excellency’s Government to reconsider the decision to transfer cluster munitions and to halt any plan towards the implementation of such decision,” Edwards, the special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, wrote in the letter.
The publication of the letter, dated July 14, comes days after US officials said the Joe Biden administration was close to approving the shipment of longer-range missiles packed with cluster bombs to Ukraine to give Kyiv the ability to cause significant damage deeper within Russian-occupied territory.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict may extend for another six to seven years, according to a senior G7 official who spoke with Bloomberg. The official emphasized that Kiev’s allies will confront various challenges as they endeavor to sustain their support for Ukraine.
In an article released on Wednesday, multiple officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, indicated that the prolonged timeline resulted from Ukraine’s much-heralded counteroffensive progressing slowly, which has led to “tempered expectations.”
One top European official informed Bloomberg that even with the support provided, Ukraine will likely grapple with challenges stemming from insufficient Western weapons supplies and the escalating toll of manpower losses.
Regardless of this dire outlook, Kiev and its allies remain opposed to negotiations and are unwilling to accept any resolution that does not include the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from territories Ukraine claims as its own, the officials told the outlet.
Kiev, for its part, has consistently emphasized its unwillingness to make any territorial concessions to Russia as part of potential peace agreements. In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky affirmed that despite the counteroffensive’s slow pace, Ukraine remains committed to it regardless of adverse weather conditions or other factors.
Ukraine initiated its offensive in June; however, territorial gains have proven elusive, with heavy casualties being the predominant outcome. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine has incurred substantial losses during this push, including over 71,000 troops, 543 tanks, and nearly 18,000 armored vehicles.
China is ready to continue business cooperation with Russia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in St Petersburg.
The top Chinese diplomat is on a four-day tour of Russia, seeking to deepen ties and also discuss arrangements prior to Putin’s landmark visit to China in October.
Beijing and Moscow’s budding relationship has made the West wary. According to a Reuters report, at the UN Security Council, EU Council President Charles Michel will ask China directly to do more to push Russia towards “just peace” in Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin has formally accepted an invitation to visit China in October, the Russian newspaper Vedomosti reports.
It would be Putin’s first known trip abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him over the deportation of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin denies the war crime allegations.
News of Putin’s visit was released on the same day he hosted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for talks in St Petersburg.
Moscow and Beijing’s close ties have made the West wary. Beijing has not publicly condemned Moscow’s actions in Ukraine but has sent a peace envoy to Russia, Ukraine and European countries to find a “political settlement” to end the crisis.
The Kremlin announced that Russia wants to expand ties with North Korea in all possible areas.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov was replying to a question from reporters about last week’s visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia’s Far East, where he held talks with President Vladimir Putin.
At their meeting, Kim pledged his full support to Putin and supported Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
North Korea is one of the few countries to publicly support Russia in its invasion and war in Ukraine.
China is willing to work with Russia and also Mongolia to deepen cooperation, promote regional prosperity and stability, and share the outcome of regional development, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said.
Wang made the comments at a high-level security affairs consultation in Moscow with delegates from Russia and Mongolia.
Earlier, the Kremlin announced Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet China’s Xi Jinping for talks in Beijing in October. The visit will be Putin’s first known international trip since an arrest warrant was issued against him over the deportation of children from Ukraine.
Russia has downed several drones near Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-annexed Crimea, according to the RIA Novosti state news agency.
The Kremlin has said Ukrainian forces have been launching drones in the region and Russia has been successfully downing them.
Ukrainian air attacks inside Russia have increased since the first reported drone attack against the Kremlin was averted in early May.
European Council President Charles Michel will ask China directly at the UN Security Council to do more to push Russia towards a “just peace” in Ukraine, according to his draft speech at the UN.
At a Security Council meeting to be held on Wednesday during the annual high-level UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Michel will call for “a just peace that respects the UN Charter and its core principles — the territorial integrity of a sovereign nation”, according to the Reuters news agency.
Michel will then turn directly to the Chinese delegation to say: “As responsible nations, let’s join forces – to persuade Russia to end this criminal war that is hurting so many,” the draft says.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng is in New York for the annual UNGA gathering and is currently expected to attend the meeting of the 15-member council on Beijing’s behalf.
China has previously abstained from UN votes demanding that Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
Fumio Kishida, prime minister of Japan, opened his speech at the United Nations General Assembly by saying that Russian aggression against Ukraine had yet to cease and that the world needed to work towards cooperation and not division and confrontation.
“At a time when the international community is facing multiple crises and increasingly being divided, we need a common language which resonates with all of us,” he stated.
“By shedding new light on human dignity, I believe the international community can overcome difference in regimes, in values and steadily advance towards human-centred international cooperation.”
Kishida called for the building of a peaceful and stable international community where human dignity was respected, and called on nuclear-armed states to step up efforts towards disarmament to create a world “without nuclear weapons”.
Japan wanted to protect the rights of vulnerable nations and people to live in peace under the rules of international law, he added.
“However, even to this day, Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, is infringing upon international law and the rule of law. Unilateral changes to the status quo by force or coercion are unacceptable anywhere in the world,” he continued.
Violations of the UN charter and human rights must end, as must nuclear threats, the PM stressed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz began his speech at the United Nations General Assembly by referring to the time when Germany was split between East and West, but both had joined the UN together, though as separate states, 50 years ago.
Germany’s history reminded that a policy of peace must not stop on one’s own doorstep, Scholz said, adding that Germany is aware that its current freedom, democracy and prosperity are “deeply rooted” in the wellbeing of Europe and the world.
More international cooperation is required in a multipolar world and the UN system is where that cooperation can be realised, he stated, adding, “All of us. Almost all of us want force as a political instrument to remain banned.”
“All of us have an interest in ensuring that the sovereignty, territory integrity and political independence of our countries is respected, and all of us should know what this requires. Namely, that we also grant others these rights. These golden rules are universal.”
Scholz then directed his words towards people suffering amid conflict from Africa to Ukraine.
“Russia’s war of aggression has caused immense suffering, not only in Ukraine. People around the world are suffering as a result of inflation, growing debts, the scarcity of fertiliser, hunger and increasing poverty,” he said.
Because the war in Ukraine had consequences for the wider world, it was “right and proper” that the world is involved in the quest for peace. But it had to be a real peace, the German chancellor added.
“Peace without freedom is called oppression. Peace without justice is called dictatorship. Moscow too must finally understand that.”
Russia is responsible for the war in Ukraine and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin can “end it any time with one single order”.
There is no place for imperialism in the multipolar world of the 21st century, he stressed.
Germany and all UN members promised on joining the world body to “unite our strength to maintain international peace and security”, Scholz said, adding, “Let us all do our best to live up to that promise.”
President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel said the United Nations General Assembly carries “great responsibility for the shape of humanity’s future” and emphasised that no nation can cope with current global challenges alone in a speech that stressed the threat Russia posed to the wider world amid Moscow’s war of aggression on Ukraine.
“Because of Russia and a handful of other countries, our world is more dangerous,” Pavel stated.
“The Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues to constitute a manifest violation of the UN charter and international law we all subscribe to,” Pavel added in his speech.
“My country has its own experience with wars and interventions, including decades-long military occupation imposed by Moscow,” he continued.
Pavel told of how he had visited Ukraine and seen the infamous war crime scenes in Bucha and Borodyanka, and was close to the front lines in areas ravaged by fighting.
“The account of Russia’s atrocities, human rights violations and ferocious attacks against the innocent civilian population is overwhelming,” the Czech president stressed, drawing attention to the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia for “re-education” to “make them forget their culture and who they are”.
Czechia will support Ukraine as long as necessary, Pavel stated.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi accused the US of “fanning the flames of violence” in Ukraine.
“Any type of fanning the flames of violence in Ukraine has been done by the United States of America in order to weaken the European countries and this is a long-term plan unfortunately,” Raisi said in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
“We support any initiative for a cessation of hostilities in the war and we support any political measure,” he continued, adding, “We fully announce our support for such initiatives.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned global leaders at the United Nations General Assembly that the goal of Russia with its invasion is “not only about Ukraine.”
First, he gave the example of Russia’s blockade of the Black Sea ports which makes it hard for Ukraine to ship its food grains, raising concerns about rising food prices contributing to global hunger.
“It’s clear — Russia’s attempt to weaponize the food shortage on the global market in exchange for recognition for some, if not all, of the captured territories,” Zelensky said.
“Russia is launching the food prices as weapons. Their impact spans from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the southeast Asia. And this is a threat scale.”
Then, Zelensky pointed to Russia trying to block gas and oil supply to European countries that were dependent on it, calling it “weaponization of energy.”
“Kremlin weaponized oil and gas to weaken the leaders of other countries,” he stated, adding that “now, now this threat is even greater.”
“It is also turning other country’s power plants into real dirty bombs. Look, please, what Russia did to our Zaporizhzhia power plant — shelled it, occupied it and then blackmails others with radiation leaks,” he continued.
Zelensky also pointed to Russia’s relations with other countries.
“When hatred is weaponized against one nation, it never stops there. Each decade Russia starts a new war. Parts of Moldova and Georgia remain occupied. Russia turned Syria into ruins,” he said, adding, “Russia has almost swallowed Belarus. It’s obviously threatening Kazakhstan and other Baltic states.”
Russia’s goal with its invasion is to turn Ukraine into a weapon against “the international rules-based order,” Zelensky warned.
“Many seats in the General Assembly hall may become empty if Russia succeeds with its treachery and aggression,” Zelensky said, adding that Russia has to be stopped. “We must act united to defeat the aggressor.”
The president said the world must unite to defeat Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
“We have to stop it. We must act united to defeat the aggressor and focus all our capabilities and energy on addressing these challenges. As nukes are restrained, likewise, the aggressor must be restrained,” Zelensky stated.
Zelensky added he is working on a global peace summit but did not say when it would be held.
“While Russia is pushing the world to the final war, Ukraine is doing everything to ensure that after Russian aggression, no one in the world will dare to attack any nation,” he continued.
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