Saturday, September 16

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Pro-Russian lawmaker Nestor Shufrych at a court hearing in Kyiv on Sept. 15. Shufrych was arrested on suspicion of treason. (Photo by STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images))

General Staff confirms liberation of Andriivka in Donetsk Oblast. Ukraine has liberated Donetsk Oblast’s village of Andriivka, located south of Bakhmut, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Sept. 15.

Court arrests pro-Russian lawmaker Shufrych without bail. The Pechersk Court in Kyiv put pro-Russian lawmaker Nestor Shufrych under arrest for 60 days without bail, Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne reported on Sept. 15.

UK Defense Ministry: Russian landing craft Minsk ‘almost certainly’ destroyed. The Russian landing vessel Minsk has almost certainly been “functionally destroyed” in the recent strike against the Sevmorzavod shipyard in occupied Crimea, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its intelligence report on Sept. 15.

White House: Biden, Zelensky to meet in Washington next week. President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with his American counterpart Joe Biden in Washington on Sept. 21, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at a press briefing.

Military: Russia accidentally drops aerial bomb on occupied Nova Kakhovka. Russian forces accidentally dropped an aerial bomb on occupied Nova Kakhovka in Kherson Oblast, causing casualties and damage in residential areas, spokesperson of Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command Natalia Humeniuk said at a press briefing on Sept. 15.

Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today.

Air Force: Russia tried to destroy Ukrainian bombers in overnight strike. A Russian overnight drone strike on Sept. 15 was targeting Ukrainian bombers in response to an attack against a Russian shipyard in Sevastopol earlier this week, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said.

Government approves half of 2024 budget to be spent on defense, security. The Ukrainian government has approved the draft budget for 2024 with the deficit set at over Hr 1.54 trillion ($40 billion), Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported on Sept. 15.

Minister: Belgium to train Ukrainian pilots, provide F-16s for training. Belgium has confirmed its participation in the international coalition to train Ukrainian personnel on F-16 fighter jets, Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said in a statement on Sept. 15.

European Commission ends embargo on Ukrainian grain. The European Commission said it has not extended the import ban on Ukrainian grain products in five EU countries beyond Sept. 15. Shortly after the announcement, the Polish government’s spokesman cited Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki saying that Poland would extend the restrictions unilaterally, as Warsaw warned before.

Military intelligence: Chechen warlord Kadyrov in critical condition. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has confirmed that Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov is in critical condition due to serious illness, SBU Spokesperson Andriy Yusov told the Ukrainian news outlet Obozrevatel on Sept. 15.

Read our exclusives

Beach during the day, air raids at night: Summer comes to end in Odesa

A year-and-a-half into the full-scale war, the Ukrainian port city of Odesa is getting back to its ways — with some changes.

Photo: Anastasia Vlasova

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine liberates Andriivka; fighting in Klishchiivka

Ukraine has liberated the village of Andriivka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Sept. 15.

Photo: Dmytro Smolienko / Getty Images

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 25 — Ukraine puts first oligarch behind bars

Human cost of war

Prosecutors: Over 500 children killed in Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a result of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, 504 children have been killed and 1,123 injured, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported on Sept. 15, citing juvenile prosecutors.

Ukraine retrieves bodies of 51 fallen soldiers. The bodies of 51 fallen Ukrainian soldiers were retrieved from Russian-occupied territories, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War reported on Sept. 15.

Russian attacks kill 1, injure 8. Russian forces carried out attacks against at least 10 oblasts over the past day, killing a child and injuring eight people, local officials reported early on Sept. 15.

General Staff: Russia has lost 271,440 troops in Ukraine. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Sept. 15 that Russia had lost 271,440 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year. This number includes 470 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

Watch Kyiv Independent’s investigation into Russia’s systemic killings of Ukrainian children

International response

South Korea concerned over Russia-North Korea arms talks, hints at sanctions. South Korea grows worried due to military cooperation talks between Russia and North Korea and is not excluding the possibility of unilateral sanctions against the two countries, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Sept. 15, citing South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin.

Finland bans entry for Russian-registered vehicles. Finland bans entry to cars under Russian registration only days after the Baltic countries instituted the same measure, the country’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen announced on Sept. 15, the Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported.

UK designates Russia’s Wagner Group as terrorist organization. The U.K. government has officially declared the Wagner Group a terrorist organization, which gives the group the same status as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have.

Poland, Hungary, Slovakia to extend bans on Ukrainian grain. Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia will implement their own bans on Ukrainian grain imports despite the European Commission’s decision to end the embargo on Sept. 15.

Want to get the news faster? Follow our website: kyivindependent.com.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Teah Pelechaty, Martin Fornusek, Alexander Query, Oleksiy Sorokin, Toma Istomina, Dinara Khalilova, Asami Terajima, and Abbey Fenbert.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program. Start supporting independent journalism today.