Sunday, September 22

Russia’s war against Ukraine

The aftermath of a Russian attack on a high-rise apartment building in Kharkiv on Sept. 21, 2024. The attack injured 21 people, including an 8-year-old child and two teenagers. (Oleh Syniehubov / Telegram)

Russian strike on apartment building in Kharkiv injures 21, including children. The injured include one 8-year-old child and two 17-year-olds, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. At least six of the wounded have been hospitalized and over 60 people have been evacuated from the high-rise.

Ukraine confirms overnight strikes on Russian arms depots. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces confirmed on the afternoon of Sept. 21 that the country’s military and security service struck two Russian arms depots overnight.

Russia preparing strikes against Ukrainian nuclear facilities ahead of winter, Foreign Minister says. The possible targets include open distribution devices at nuclear power plants and transmission substations, “which are essential for the safe functioning of the nuclear energy system,” according to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

Zelensky’s ‘victory plan’ includes invitation to NATO, commitment to sustained weapons supply, Bloomberg reports. Bloomberg sources said that the “victory plan” also includes a clear pathway to European Union membership.

Japanese PM Kishida to meet Zelensky in US, media report. According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, Kishida is expected to convey Japan’s intention to continue supporting Kyiv and imposing sanctions against Russia during the meeting.

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Zelensky to visit US ammunition factory producing shells for Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, a factory producing critically-need 155 mm shells for Ukraine, during his visit to the United States on Sept. 22.

Russia says it will not take part in follow-up peace summit. Russia has announced it will not participate in any future iterations of the Swiss-hosted peace summit held in June, labeling the process a “fraud,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sept. 21.

Former Wagner base in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai reportedly on fire. A fire broke out at the Wagner Group’s former military base in Molkino in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai on Sept. 21, Russian independent media outlet Meduza reported, citing Wagner-linked Telegram channels.

Zelensky signs law to increase state budget by $12 billion for defense expenditures. The law aims to finance “urgent measures in the field of security and defense to counter the large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine,” according to an explanatory note on the Ukrainian parliament’s website.

Putin must not win in Ukraine, Russian dissident Kara-Murza says. “Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to win this war in Ukraine. More than that, he must not be allowed to have a face-saving exit from this war,” Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza said at a press conference in London.

Read our exclusives

US Ambassador Brink: ‘We have some sense of contours of Zelensky’s victory plan’

The Kyiv Independent spoke with the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink on the sidelines of the National Media Talk, an annual journalism conference held in Kyiv, and supported by USAID and Internews.

Photo: STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Russian commanders reportedly warned of plans for Ukraine’s Kursk incursion

Russian commanders anticipated that Ukraine was planning an incursion into Kursk Oblast months before it occurred, the Guardian reported on Sept. 20, citing a collection of documents seized by Ukrainian soldiers.

Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attack on Nikopol kills 2, injures 2. A Russian drone attack on the city of Nikopol killed two civilians, including a 12-year-old girl, and injured two others, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 8, injure 53. Russian attacks against Ukraine killed eight people, including a 12-year-old boy, and wounded another 53 over the previous day, regional authorities reported on Sept. 21.

General Staff: Russia has lost 640,920 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. Russia has also reportedly lost 8,746 tanks, 17,170 armored fighting vehicles, 24,966 vehicles and fuel tanks, 18,270 artillery systems, 1,193 multiple launch rocket systems, 949 air defense systems, 369 airplanes, 328 helicopters, 15,561 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.

International response

US, India, Japan, Australia issue joint statement calling for peace in Ukraine. “(W)e reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.“

In other news

Iran unveils new ballistic missile, upgraded Shahed drone. The Shahed-136B is reportedly an upgraded version of the Shahed-136, a type of drone used by Russia in near-daily attacks against Ukraine. The newer drone has an operational range of 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles).

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dinara Khalilova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olena Goncharova, and Abbey Fenbert.

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