Thursday, September 21

Lviv is set to host the 2023 IT Arena, Ukraine’s largest tech event, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

Over 3,000 attendees and dozens of top-level speakers will gather for the 10th annual English-language event to cover everything from the latest tech developments and AI startups to new business opportunities and product insights.

The Kyiv Independent will cover the event as a media partner.

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the U.N. Security Council on the war in his country in a meeting during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Sept. 20, 2023, in New York City. (Photo credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Poland to stop supplying Ukraine with weapons. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Sept. 20 that Poland will no longer supply Ukraine with weapons as rifts over the import of Ukrainian grain products deepens.

Zelensky meets with UN Secretary-General in New York. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in New York on Sept. 19. The two discussed Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure and possibilities for resuming the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Zelensky proposes restricting UN Security Council members’ veto rights.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 20 proposed reforms of the U.N. Security Council, including restrictions on the veto powers of its permanent members, arguing that Russia has been abusing its veto rights.

Ukrainian military claims successful strike on Black Sea Fleet command post near Sevastopol. The Ukraine’s Strategic Communications Directorate reported on Telegram that the country’s military hit a Russian Black Sea Fleet command post near occupied Sevastopol, Crimea.

Swedish journalists attacked by Russian drone in Ukraine. A car of two Swedish news channel TV4 journalists came under an attack by a Russian drone in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, leaving them unharmed but injuring their local Ukrainian producer and two policemen, TV4 reported on Sept. 20.

Kremlin confirms Putin’s trip to China in October. Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China to attend the Belt and Road Forum in October in his first official visit abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him, the Kremlin’s press service said on Sept. 20.

Military intelligence: Russian airbase hit by sabotage attack. “Unknown saboteurs” have seriously damaged two planes and a helicopter at Chkalovsky Military Air Base in Moscow Oblast, Ukrainian military intelligence reported on Sept. 20.

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Parliament approves public access to asset declarations, amends controversial law. The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, approved a new version of the law on asset declarations on Sept. 20, with the amendment that declarations will be made publicly accessible immediately.

Romanian authorities rescue crew after explosion on cargo ship in Black Sea.

The crew of a cargo ship in the Black Sea has been evacuated following an explosion, the Romanian maritime search and rescue organization ARSVOM reported on Sept. 20.

Media: Russian Su-34 jet crashes in Voronezh. A Russian Su-34 supersonic jet crashed in Russia on the morning of Sept. 20, Russian state media reported. The aircraft crashed in a field in Voronezh Oblast following the ejection of both crew members, state media said, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

Russian attack damages fire and rescue department in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Russian shelling damaged a fire and rescue station in Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on the evening of Sept. 19, the State Emergency Service reported on Sept. 20.

Russia attacks Ukraine with 24 drones overnight, oil depot hit in Kremenchuk.

Ukrainian air defense systems shot down 17 out of 24 Russian attack drones overnight, according to preliminary data from the Air Force on Sept. 20. However, one strike did hit an oil refinery in Kremenchuk in Poltava Oblast, causing a fire to break out.

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Ukraine war latest: Strikes on command post in Crimea, saboteurs attack airbase near Moscow

Ukraine hit a Russian Black Sea Fleet command post near occupied Sevastopol in Crimea, the military’s Strategic Communications Directorate reported on Sept. 20.

Photo: Screenshot

Uncertain Triumph: Ukraine picks apart Russia’s best air defenses in Crimea

The past month has not been kind to Russia’s forces in occupied Crimea. In a span of weeks, a ship, a submarine, and multiple air defense systems were destroyed.

Photo: Ukrainian Military Intelligence/Defense Ministry

Human cost of war

Mayor: 7 injured following Russian attack on Kyiv. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said via his official Telegram channel that an 18-year-old and a 9-year-old girl were taken to the hospital after Russia unleashed a missile attack against Kyiv in the early hours of Sept. 21. Five others were reported wounded in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district after debris caused a fire at a gas station and shattered windows in the nearby two-story building.

Governor: 5 injured in Russian attack on Cherkasy. Russia launched a mass missile attack against Ukraine in the morning of Sept. 21, targeting a regional center of Cherkasy among other cities. At least five people were injured in the attack.

Russian shelling of Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast kills 4. Russian forces shelled Donetsk Oblast’s Toretsk and the Pivnichne settlement on its outskirts on Sept. 20, killing four residents, the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 273,980 troops in Ukraine. This number includes 520 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

Zelensky met with US special representative to discuss reconstruction.

President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the new U.S. special representative for Ukraine’s economic recovery, Penny Pritzker, in NYC on Sept. 20. The two officials discussed priority areas in Ukraine’s reconstruction, as well as support for “the most promising branches of the Ukrainian economy.”

Ministry: Slovakia considers Ukraine’s grain import plan acceptable, talks continue. Slovakia is studying Ukraine’s proposed plan to export agricultural products and considers it acceptable, the Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry said on Sept. 20 following an online meeting between Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi and his Slovak counterpart Jozef Bíreš.

Reuters: Planned $325 million US military aid package for Ukraine not to include ATACMS. U.S. President Joe Biden will soon announce a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $325 million, including more cluster munitions but not the much-desired ATACMS long-range missiles, Reuters reported on Sept. 20, citing a U.S. official.

Polish minister: Grain disputes undermine Polish public support for Ukraine aid.

Polish European Affairs Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk said that Kyiv’s steps in the ongoing grain import dispute undermine Polish public support for aid for Ukraine, as the Polish Press Agency reported on Sept. 20.

Poland threatens further import bans, summons Ukrainian ambassador over grain dispute. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned that Warsaw may expand the list of banned Ukrainian goods if Kyiv imposes its own import embargo on certain Polish food products, the Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported on Sept. 20.

Official: Potential US Government shutdown could put Ukraine aid at risk.

The possibility of an impending government shutdown in the U.S. may threaten to disrupt the flow of military aid to Ukraine, a Pentagon spokesman stated to Politico in an article published on Sept. 19.

Poll: Majority of Americans support continued aid for Ukraine. A new poll released by Ukrainian grassroots organization Razom has recorded 63% of respondents in the U.S. expressing support for continued military aid to Ukraine.

Media: Norway to restrict entry for Russian cars. Norway will restrict entry and use of Russian-registered cars, the public broadcaster NRK reported on Sept. 19, citing Eivind Vad Petersson, the state secretary of the country’s foreign minister.

In other news

Nagorno-Karabakh authorities surrender in apparent Russia-brokered deal.

Reuters reported that authorities in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh declared that they had “no choice but to cease hostilities” with Azerbaijani forces on Sept. 20.

Azerbaijan’s president says country’s ‘sovereignty restored’ after Karabakh offensive. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said that his country “restored its sovereignty” following the Azerbaijani military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC) reported on Sept. 20.

Military intelligence: Sudan strike on Wagner signals Russia’s decreasing influence in Africa. Military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said in an interview with Radio NV on Sept. 20 that he cannot confirm nor deny Ukraine’s role in a strike against Wagner-backed militia in Sudan.

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