Tuesday, September 26

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A man points to an industrial building damaged after a Russian attack in Odesa Oblast, in southern Ukraine, on Sept. 25, 2023. (Photo by OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Zelensky confirms first Abrams tanks already in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Sept. 25 that the first U.S.-made Abrams tanks had arrived in Ukraine, without mentioning how many of the 31 tanks pledged had been delivered.

Ukraine’s economy grows year-on-year for first time since start of full-scale invasion. Ukraine’s gross domestic product grew by 19.5% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023, signaling the economy’s successful adaptation to wartime conditions following last year’s collapse.

Bild: Ukrainian military needs 3 months of training for Taurus missiles. Ukrainian troops would need around three months to learn how to operate Germany’s Taurus long-range missiles, Bild reported on Sept. 24, citing the weaponry’s manufacturer MBDA.

Russian attack on Odesa damages 9 buildings in historic city center. The blast wave from the attack on the nearby port damaged the windows and facades of the Vorontsov Palace and eight buildings on the Prymorskyi Boulevard, according to the Culture Ministry.

Russian strike hits kindergarten, residential buildings in Donetsk Oblast. Russian artillery hit a kindergarten, an industrial building, and multiple homes in the center of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, the regional administration reported on Sept. 25.

Lviv mayor: Energy grid fortified, prepared for winter. Lviv’s energy infrastructure is better protected this year by air defenses and the city’s electricity and heating supplies are adequately stocked for winter, mayor Andriy Sadovy told local news outlet Zaxid.net.

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UN Commission finds evidence of war crimes committed by Russian forces. The United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has found continuing evidence that Russian troops are committing war crimes, according to the Commission’s latest report on Sept. 25.

Media: Russian air regiment command hit in drone attack near Kursk. Russia’s 14th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment was inside a building of the Khalino air field near Kursk at the time it was hit by a drone strike on Sept. 24, Ukrainian media outlet Babel reported, citing a source in Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR).

Explosions reported in Russian-occupied Crimea. Several explosions have been heard in Russian-occupied Crimea on the evening of Sept. 25, according to videos shared on social media and reports from the occupation authorities.

Media: Missile fragments found in Transnistria. Fragments from a S-300 missile have been found in Transnistria, independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported on Sept. 25. The rocket fragments were found in a field in Chitcani, about 20 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

Russia puts top ICC officials on wanted list. The Russian Interior Ministry put the Chairman of the International Criminal Court Piotr Hofmanski, his deputy Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza, and Judge Bertram Schmitt on the list of wanted persons, the Mediazona news outlet reported on Sept. 25, referencing the ministry’s database.

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Ukraine war latest: Russian Black Sea Fleet commander killed in Sevastopol strike; Abrams tanks arrive in Ukraine

Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the Russian Black Sea Fleet commander, was among those killed in a Sept. 22 strike on the fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol that also injured 105 Russian soldiers.

Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Overcoming setbacks, NATO-trained brigade breaches Surovikin line in Zaporizhzhia Oblast

While Ukrainian brigades trained abroad and Western tanks slowly trickled in, Russia was digging formidable lines of defensive structures in the south, visible to the world on satellite imagery.

Photo: Anastasia Vlasova/Kyiv Independent

Human cost of war

Military: 34 Russian Black Sea Fleet officers, including commander, killed in Sevastopol strike. Last week’s strike against the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol killed 34 Russian officers, including the fleet’s commander, and injured 105 more soldiers, the Special Operations Forces Command of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Sept. 25.

International response

Canadian House Speaker apologizes for honoring Nazi unit veteran during Zelensky’s visit. Canada’s Speaker of the House Anthony Rota apologized on Sept. 24 for honoring a man who fought for a Nazi unit in World War II during a Ukrainian delegation’s visit.

US, Ukraine sign memorandum on strengthening Ukrainian energy system. Subject to the availability of funds, the U.S. plans to supply Ukraine with $522 million in energy-related assistance, including $100 million provided on the condition Kyiv makes progress in some energy sector reforms.

Orban: Hungary to only support Ukraine if it restores minority laws. The rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine must be restored before Budapest supports Kyiv in international affairs, Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed in a speech to Hungary’s parliament on Sept. 25.

Looming US shutdown threatens Ukraine aid. The potential U.S. federal government shutdown on Oct. 1 may complicate the delivery of aid packages to Ukraine, according to the State Department.

New US sanctions hit Russian, Chinese companies over war involvement. The U.S. government imposed fresh sanctions on five Russian and 11 Chinese companies for their role in supplying drone technology components used in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported on Sept. 25.

Duda: Poland could send Ukraine older weapons after replacing them with modern arms. Polish President Andrzej Duda sees no problem in providing Ukraine with older weapons from Poland’s arsenal after they are replaced by modern arms, he said in an interview with Super Express on Sept. 25.

In other news

Media: Fuel depot explodes in Nagorno-Karabakh. An explosion at a crowded fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh may have resulted in mass casualties, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Armenian service reported on Sept. 25.

Lawmaker Andrii Ivanchuk dies at 50. Andrii Ivanchuk, a member of the Ukrainian parliament since 2012, died overnight on Sept. 25, the parliament’s chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk announced.

Court keeps Kolomoisky in custody, rejects house arrest appeal. The Kyiv Court of Appeals refused to change oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky’s detention measure to house arrest and upheld the bail of Hr 3.8 billion ($105 million), the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on Sept. 25.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Lili Bivings, Dinara Khalilova, Martin Fornusek, Teah Pelechaty, Elsa Court, Olena Goncharova, Li Luo, Abbey Fenbert, and

Kateryna Ilnytska.

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