Tuesday, September 17

Russia’s war against Ukraine

The aftermath of the Russian attack against the city of Kharkiv on Sept. 15, 2024. (Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov / Telegram)

Russia has launched over 640 Shahed-type drones at Ukraine in September, Zelensky says. Zelensky’s statement comes after a recent Russian attack against nine oblasts and Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, with 56 Shahed-type drones.

Russia continues to store ammunition, deploy troops at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Kyiv says. The facility is housing Russia’s National Guard units totaling up to 1,300 people, the center said, citing data from Ukrainian citizens on the ground.

Zelensky signs law establishing Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces. President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 16 signed a bill on the formation of a separate branch of Ukraine’s Armed Forces dedicated to unmanned systems.

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Meta blocks Russian state media across its platforms amid “foreign interference activity”. U.S. tech giant Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, announced a global ban on Russian state-run media outlets like RT and Rossiya Segodnya, citing their involvement in covert influence operations.

Ukraine’s Victory Plan 90% complete, Zelensky says. Zelensky said on Aug. 27 that he would present U.S. President Joe Biden with a plan for victory during a meeting in September.

Putin signs decree increasing number of military personnel, staff to 2.38 million. The decree will take effect on Dec. 1, 2024, and will increase the total number of Russian troops by 180,000.

Read our exclusives

Estonian President Karis: We have to cross all ‘red lines,’ then start forcing Russia out of Ukraine

Estonian President Alar Karis’ country of 1.3 million people borders Russia, while the ongoing messy election campaign in Washington, D.C. forces European diplomats to question whether the U.S. will help countries like Estonia in case of a direct confrontation with Moscow.

Despite that, Karis doesn’t avoid questions, saying that Russia must be defeated and NATO allies must do more to make it happen.

Photo: Ukrainian President’s Office

US reassures, but sense of urgency questioned by Ukraine as $6 billion military aid hangs in the balance

News that $6 billion worth of outstanding U.S. military aid to Ukraine could expire by the end of September if Congress doesn’t take urgent action is unsettling some in Kyiv.

Photo: Andreas Arnold/picture alliance via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 2, injure 63 over past day.

Ukrainian air defense shot down 53 Shahed-type drones out of the 56 that were launched by Russia overnight on Sept. 16, according to the Air Force. Three Russian drones were “lost” on the radar on Ukrainian territory, the statement read.

General Staff: Russia has lost 634,860 troops since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,060 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Ex-US ambassador on Putin’s ‘red lines’ and US role in Ukraine war

International response

Latvia to supply Ukraine with British-made CVR(T) armored vehicles. Latvia will provide Ukraine with an unspecified number of CVR(T) armored vehicles previously purchased from the U.K., the Delfi outlet reported on Sept. 15, citing the Latvian Defense Ministry.

Poland will finance Czech artillery initiative for Ukraine, minister pledges amid delays. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski confirmed that Warsaw has not yet participated in the project due to “temporary formal obstacles.”

Ukraine to receive another batch of Danish F-16s this year, minister says. The Danish government promised to transfer another batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of this year, the DR broadcaster reported on Sept. 15, citing Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.

Ukraine passed mobilization law a year too late, Polish FM Sikorski says. Sikorski said that the law should have been passed when there were “many volunteers” to serve in the army, and “people felt personally threatened.”

UK’s Starmer seeking European support for Ukraine long-range missile strike proposal, Bloomberg reports. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she supports the decision of allies to give Ukraine the go-ahead, adding that Italy is committed to ensuring Ukraine can enter peace negotiations with Russia in the “very best conditions.”

Up to each NATO country to decide policy on Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities, Stoltenberg says. “It’s for the individual allies to make these decisions, but it’s important that we consult closely on these issues as we do,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Opinions and insights

Opinion: Life, death, and social solidarity in dark times

“I hope the current epoch will give us an impetus for new thinking, reflection, and philosophy. I keep thinking about the basic concepts of philosophy. I hope this period will produce something new in Ukrainian philosophy, and maybe it already is” writes Volodymyr Yermolenko, president of PEN Ukraine, for the Kyiv Independent.

Photo: Alexey Furman/Getty Images

Opinion: Putin’s red carpet in Mongolia was a betrayal of justice and accountability

“There’s no question about what Mongolia was required to do. Putin should never have been invited in the first place, and as soon as he set foot on Mongolian soil, he should have been arrested – not met with a red carpet,” writes Alice Autin, Officer at Human Rights Watch.

Photo: Kremlin Press Office/Anadolu via Getty Images

In other news

As FIDE considers lifting sanctions, Ukrainian chess community calls for continued ban on Russian and Belarusian players. A group of 13 Ukrainian chess players has sent a letter to the International Chess Federation (FIDE), urging the continued ban on Russian and Belarusian players from competitions due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Toronto Film Festival resumes ‘Russians at War’ screening, ignoring widespread criticism. After announcing on Sept. 12 that screenings of the controversial documentary “Russians at War” would be paused due to “significant threats to festival operations and public safety,” the film is set to return to the Toronto International Film Festival’s lineup on Sept. 17.

Fugitive Ukrainian ex-MP Derkach appointed to Russian Senate. Derkach, who had been a Ukrainian lawmaker for nearly 20 years, has not attended meetings of the Ukrainian parliament since the start of the full-scale invasion. In 2023, his parliamentary powers were prematurely terminated.

‘Ukraine can keep them’ — Chechen commander renounces compatriots who surrendered to Kyiv. Chechen commander Apti Alaudinov on Sept. 15 said that fighters who willingly surrendered to Ukrainian forces do not deserve to live and should “do everything they can to get themselves killed.”

Zelensky denounces apparent assassination attempt on Trump. “It’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Journalist Georgiy Gongadze, murdered 24 years ago, commemorated in downtown Kyiv on the day of his abduction. A number of Ukrainian journalists gathered in downtown Kyiv to open a temporary “memorial alley,” where, over the course of a week, people can learn more about one of Ukraine’s first high-profile journalists murdered for his work.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Kate Tsurkan, Sonya Bandouil, Kateryna Hodunova, Nate Ostiller, and Martin Fornusek.

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