Unite to defeat Russia, Zelensky urges world leaders. Here's the latest
From CNN staff
In his first in-person appearance at the UN General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called on world leaders to unite to defeat Russia.
Russia's invasion is "not only about Ukraine," he said, citing Moscow's blockade of Black Sea ports, which makes it hard for Kyiv to ship grain, raising concerns about rising food prices contributing to global hunger.
"[Russia] is also turning other country's power plants into real dirty bombs. Look, please, what Russia did to our Zaporizhzhia power plant — shelled it, occupied it and then blackmails others with radiation leaks," he added.
He went on to say that Russia must be stopped. "We must act united to defeat the aggressor and focus all our capabilities and energy on addressing these challenges. As nukes are restrained, likewise, the aggressor must be restrained," Zelensky said.
Here are the latest developments:
Biden on Ukraine: US President Joe Biden thanked fellow leaders for their work in addressing global challenges, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in remarks to the United Nations Leaders' Reception in New York. "Our world stands at an inflection point, and the decisions we make now are going to determine our future for decades to come,” Biden said. In earlier remarks at the UNGA, Biden said supporting Ukraine's defense is "not only investment in Ukraine's future, but in the future of every country" that values the basic UN rules of sovereignty and territorial integrity "that apply equally to all nations" big and small.
G7 concerns: At a dinner of the G7 foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UNGA on Monday, “there was great concern in the room about what Russia and (North Korea) might be up to together,” a senior State Department official said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week traveled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin, and the two held what the Kremlin called “very substantive” discussions.
Shutdown warning: US military aid and training for Ukrainian forces could be disrupted in the event of a US government shutdown, a Pentagon spokesperson warned on Tuesday. The government appears to be barreling toward a shutdown, as lawmakers have acknowledged there will not be enough time before the September 30 deadline for either chamber to pass all 12 appropriations bills.
On the ground: Ukraine has liberated more than 54% of territory occupied by Russia, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Tuesday. Milley’s spokesperson said the figure refers to territory liberated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, including areas around Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson.
Russian attacks: At least six civilians were killed in a Russian missile strike on Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday. It comes after a warehouse worker was killed and more than 300 metric tons of humanitarian aid were destroyed during an earlier Russian drone attack on Lviv.
African impact: Ukrainian special services were likely behind a series of drone strikes and a ground operation directed against a Wagner-backed militia near Sudan’s capital, a CNN investigation has found, raising the prospect that the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spread far from the front lines.
3 hr 14 min ago
Defeating Russia is the "only guarantee of peace," Polish president tells CNN
From CNN's Caitlin Hu and David Shortell
Western support for Ukraine as it defends against Russia has globally significant consequences, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday, urging Kyiv’s backers to remain steadfast.
“It is about making sure that Russia is not able legally to forcefully shift the borders in Europe,” Duda told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview from the United Nations headquarters in New York. “This is the guarantee of peace in the future, also for the United States.”
Poland and Ukraine share a lengthy border, an area where the war resonated fiercely on Tuesday after Russian drones struck warehouses in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
There is no compromise solution, Duda also said — a position shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Both leaders took the podium in New York on Tuesday morning, as the United Nations General Debate got underway.
“Russia can be stopped only if it is defeated, and it will be defeated when Ukraine pushes out the Russian army from the occupied territories, thanks to the help of the United States, thanks to the help of the West, and when it regains control over its internationally recognized borders. Only then will we be able to say that Russian imperialism was really defeated,” Duda told Tapper.
Poland has been an ally of Ukraine since the Russian invasion, taking in more than a million Ukrainian refugees and leading the way in urging NATO partners to send more military supplies to Kyiv.
In the spring, Poland became the first NATO country to send fighter jets to Ukraine — months ahead of the US, which only agreed last month to approve the transfer of F-16 fighter jets, pending the completion of training by Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged a global front against Russian aggression in a dramatic speech delivered Tuesday during the UN General Assembly — his first in-person address to the global body since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
“The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our lands, our people, our resources into a weapon against you, against the international rules based order,” Zelensky said. “Many seats in the General Assembly hall may become empty if Russia succeeds with its treachery and aggression.”
Hailed with vigorous applause when he took the stage, Zelensky used his 15 minutes to accuse Russian leaders of terrorism and genocide, citing in particular the removal of Ukrainian children from the country.
Ukraine has long accused Russia of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children from occupied areas — allegations which form the basis of an international war crimes arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some Russian officials have admitted the practice, publicly boasting about their efforts to bring children to Russia, place them in Russian families and, in some cases, give them Russian passports.
Zelensky also said the country was weaponizing the global food trade, after revival of the Black Sea grain deal failed, and of “turning other countries’ power plants into real dirty bombs.”
“Weaponization must be restrained, war crimes must be punished, deported people must come back home, and the occupier must return to their own land. We must be united to make it and we’ll do it,” he said.
In a warning to other nations over “shady” cooperation with Russia, the Ukrainian president also invoked the death of Russian Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin last month.
“I am aware of their attempts to make some shady dealings behind the scenes. Evil cannot be trusted. Ask Prigozhin if one bets on Putin’s promises,” he said.
The Russian representative in the General Assembly hall was shown on UN cameras taking notes and checking his phone throughout the speech.
Zelensky is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden and travel to Washington later this week.
3 hr 24 min ago
Russian missile attack kills at least 6 in Kupiansk, officials say
From CNN’s Mariya Knight and Eyad Kourdi
At least six civilians were killed in a Russian missile attack on Kupiansk, a city in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, according to the local police and Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office.
As a result, a bridge over the Oskil River was destroyed and several cars were damaged, according to Kharkiv regional police.
“On September 19, at about 1 p.m. local time, the enemy attacked the city of Kupiansk with a guided aerial bomb,” Kharkiv regional police said on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.
The attack took place when "a car with volunteers was crossing the bridge to evacuate civilians," according to the Prosecutor General's Office.
"Four men and two women were killed," the office said.
Kharkiv regional authorities said more than 2,000 people had left the Kupiansk district last week amid the intensified Russian shelling.
3 hr 26 min ago
Ukraine "likely" behind strikes on Wagner-backed forces in Sudan, military source tells CNN
From CNN's Victoria Butenko, Nima Elbagir, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Tamara Qiblawi, Allegra Goodwin, Andrew Carey, Pallabi Munsi, Mahamat Tahir Zene, Barbara Arvanitidis and Alex Platt
Ukrainian special services were likely behind a series of drone strikes and a ground operation directed against a Wagner-backed militia near Sudan’s capital, a CNN investigation has found, raising the prospect that the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spread far from the front lines.
Speaking to CNN, a Ukrainian military source described the operation as the work of a “non-Sudanese military.” Pressed on whether Kyiv was behind the attacks, the source would only say that “Ukrainian special services were likely responsible.”
The operation involved a series of attacks on the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is believed to be receiving assistance from Wagner, the Russian mercenary group, in its fight against the Sudanese army for control of the country.
CNN was unable to independently confirm Ukraine’s involvement in the series of strikes. But video footage obtained by CNN revealed the hallmarks of Ukrainian-style drone attacks.
Two commercially available drones widely used by Ukrainians were involved in at least eight of the strikes, with Ukrainian text seen on the drone controller. Experts also said the tactics used — namely the pattern of drones swooping directly into their target — were highly unusual in Sudan and the wider African region.
Covert strikes by Ukraine in Sudan would mark a dramatic and provocative expansion of Kyiv’s theater of war against Moscow. Aside from a string of Ukrainian drone attacks that hit deep inside Russian territory, Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive has been focused on the country’s occupied east and south.
Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks, which were captured in the drone footage. Portions of those videos have been circulating on social media since Thursday. Footage of the ground operation has not previously been published.
The Pentagon would still be able to access equipment from its own stockpiles, which is where the majority of equipment sent to Ukraine comes from, in the event of a shutdown, given that the department still has billions of dollars' worth of funding remaining under the Presidential Drawdown Authority.
But the delivery of that equipment, as well as the ongoing training of Ukrainian forces by the US, "could be impacted by furloughs of personnel and DoD's suspension" of all activities deemed not essential to US national security in the event of a shutdown, Pentagon spokesperson Chris Sherwood said.
Any impact on US support would come at a sensitive time in the conflict with Ukrainian troops in the midst of a critical counteroffensive against Russia.
Politico first reported on Sherwood's comments.
A possible shutdown could also impact the delivery and execution of aid provided under another program, known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which has funded the production of key equipment like Abrams tanks and training programs like F-16 pilot instruction.
The US is set to begin delivering 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in the coming weeks and expects to begin providing Ukrainian pilots with F-16-related language training "soon," Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Charlie Dietz said on Monday.
"Work or delivery of any equipment funded on previous USAI notifications such as F-16 pilot training would continue, but execution could be impacted by furloughs and DoD's suspension of non-excepted activities," Sherwood said.
About the possible shutdown: The US government appears to be barreling toward a shutdown, as Democratic and Republican lawmakers have acknowledged that there will not be enough time before the September 30 deadline for either chamber to pass all 12 appropriations bills.
Instead, the House and Senate will have to find a short-term fix to allow them more time to negotiate, but it is unclear whether they will be able to do that.
President Volodymyr Zelensky urged a global front against Russian aggression in a dramatic speech to the UN General Assembly. "The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our lands, our people, our resources into a weapon against you, against the international rules-based order," he said.
US President Joe Biden said Russia was betting the world will grow weary of supporting Ukraine and it was incumbent upon UN members to stand firm.
Russian attacks Tuesday killed at least six civilians in Kupiansk, while a deadly attack on Lviv also destroyed tons of aid supplies, Ukrainian officials said.
In his first in-person appearance at the UN General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called on world leaders to unite to defeat Russia.
Russia's invasion is "not only about Ukraine," he said, citing Moscow's blockade of Black Sea ports, which makes it hard for Kyiv to ship grain, raising concerns about rising food prices contributing to global hunger.
"[Russia] is also turning other country's power plants into real dirty bombs. Look, please, what Russia did to our Zaporizhzhia power plant — shelled it, occupied it and then blackmails others with radiation leaks," he added.
He went on to say that Russia must be stopped. "We must act united to defeat the aggressor and focus all our capabilities and energy on addressing these challenges. As nukes are restrained, likewise, the aggressor must be restrained," Zelensky said.
Here are the latest developments:
Biden on Ukraine: US President Joe Biden thanked fellow leaders for their work in addressing global challenges, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in remarks to the United Nations Leaders' Reception in New York. "Our world stands at an inflection point, and the decisions we make now are going to determine our future for decades to come,” Biden said. In earlier remarks at the UNGA, Biden said supporting Ukraine's defense is "not only investment in Ukraine's future, but in the future of every country" that values the basic UN rules of sovereignty and territorial integrity "that apply equally to all nations" big and small.
G7 concerns: At a dinner of the G7 foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UNGA on Monday, “there was great concern in the room about what Russia and (North Korea) might be up to together,” a senior State Department official said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week traveled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin, and the two held what the Kremlin called “very substantive” discussions.
Shutdown warning: US military aid and training for Ukrainian forces could be disrupted in the event of a US government shutdown, a Pentagon spokesperson warned on Tuesday. The government appears to be barreling toward a shutdown, as lawmakers have acknowledged there will not be enough time before the September 30 deadline for either chamber to pass all 12 appropriations bills.
On the ground: Ukraine has liberated more than 54% of territory occupied by Russia, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Tuesday. Milley’s spokesperson said the figure refers to territory liberated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, including areas around Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson.
Russian attacks: At least six civilians were killed in a Russian missile strike on Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday. It comes after a warehouse worker was killed and more than 300 metric tons of humanitarian aid were destroyed during an earlier Russian drone attack on Lviv.
African impact: Ukrainian special services were likely behind a series of drone strikes and a ground operation directed against a Wagner-backed militia near Sudan’s capital, a CNN investigation has found, raising the prospect that the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spread far from the front lines.
Western support for Ukraine as it defends against Russia has globally significant consequences, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday, urging Kyiv’s backers to remain steadfast.
“It is about making sure that Russia is not able legally to forcefully shift the borders in Europe,” Duda told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview from the United Nations headquarters in New York. “This is the guarantee of peace in the future, also for the United States.”
Poland and Ukraine share a lengthy border, an area where the war resonated fiercely on Tuesday after Russian drones struck warehouses in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
There is no compromise solution, Duda also said — a position shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Both leaders took the podium in New York on Tuesday morning, as the United Nations General Debate got underway.
“Russia can be stopped only if it is defeated, and it will be defeated when Ukraine pushes out the Russian army from the occupied territories, thanks to the help of the United States, thanks to the help of the West, and when it regains control over its internationally recognized borders. Only then will we be able to say that Russian imperialism was really defeated,” Duda told Tapper.
Poland has been an ally of Ukraine since the Russian invasion, taking in more than a million Ukrainian refugees and leading the way in urging NATO partners to send more military supplies to Kyiv.
In the spring, Poland became the first NATO country to send fighter jets to Ukraine — months ahead of the US, which only agreed last month to approve the transfer of F-16 fighter jets, pending the completion of training by Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged a global front against Russian aggression in a dramatic speech delivered Tuesday during the UN General Assembly — his first in-person address to the global body since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
“The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our lands, our people, our resources into a weapon against you, against the international rules based order,” Zelensky said. “Many seats in the General Assembly hall may become empty if Russia succeeds with its treachery and aggression.”
Hailed with vigorous applause when he took the stage, Zelensky used his 15 minutes to accuse Russian leaders of terrorism and genocide, citing in particular the removal of Ukrainian children from the country.
Ukraine has long accused Russia of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children from occupied areas — allegations which form the basis of an international war crimes arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some Russian officials have admitted the practice, publicly boasting about their efforts to bring children to Russia, place them in Russian families and, in some cases, give them Russian passports.
Zelensky also said the country was weaponizing the global food trade, after revival of the Black Sea grain deal failed, and of “turning other countries’ power plants into real dirty bombs.”
“Weaponization must be restrained, war crimes must be punished, deported people must come back home, and the occupier must return to their own land. We must be united to make it and we’ll do it,” he said.
In a warning to other nations over “shady” cooperation with Russia, the Ukrainian president also invoked the death of Russian Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin last month.
“I am aware of their attempts to make some shady dealings behind the scenes. Evil cannot be trusted. Ask Prigozhin if one bets on Putin’s promises,” he said.
The Russian representative in the General Assembly hall was shown on UN cameras taking notes and checking his phone throughout the speech.
Zelensky is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden and travel to Washington later this week.
At least six civilians were killed in a Russian missile attack on Kupiansk, a city in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, according to the local police and Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office.
As a result, a bridge over the Oskil River was destroyed and several cars were damaged, according to Kharkiv regional police.
“On September 19, at about 1 p.m. local time, the enemy attacked the city of Kupiansk with a guided aerial bomb,” Kharkiv regional police said on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.
The attack took place when "a car with volunteers was crossing the bridge to evacuate civilians," according to the Prosecutor General's Office.
"Four men and two women were killed," the office said.
Kharkiv regional authorities said more than 2,000 people had left the Kupiansk district last week amid the intensified Russian shelling.
Ukrainian special services were likely behind a series of drone strikes and a ground operation directed against a Wagner-backed militia near Sudan’s capital, a CNN investigation has found, raising the prospect that the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spread far from the front lines.
Speaking to CNN, a Ukrainian military source described the operation as the work of a “non-Sudanese military.” Pressed on whether Kyiv was behind the attacks, the source would only say that “Ukrainian special services were likely responsible.”
The operation involved a series of attacks on the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is believed to be receiving assistance from Wagner, the Russian mercenary group, in its fight against the Sudanese army for control of the country.
CNN was unable to independently confirm Ukraine’s involvement in the series of strikes. But video footage obtained by CNN revealed the hallmarks of Ukrainian-style drone attacks.
Two commercially available drones widely used by Ukrainians were involved in at least eight of the strikes, with Ukrainian text seen on the drone controller. Experts also said the tactics used — namely the pattern of drones swooping directly into their target — were highly unusual in Sudan and the wider African region.
Covert strikes by Ukraine in Sudan would mark a dramatic and provocative expansion of Kyiv’s theater of war against Moscow. Aside from a string of Ukrainian drone attacks that hit deep inside Russian territory, Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive has been focused on the country’s occupied east and south.
Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks, which were captured in the drone footage. Portions of those videos have been circulating on social media since Thursday. Footage of the ground operation has not previously been published.
The Pentagon would still be able to access equipment from its own stockpiles, which is where the majority of equipment sent to Ukraine comes from, in the event of a shutdown, given that the department still has billions of dollars' worth of funding remaining under the Presidential Drawdown Authority.
But the delivery of that equipment, as well as the ongoing training of Ukrainian forces by the US, "could be impacted by furloughs of personnel and DoD's suspension" of all activities deemed not essential to US national security in the event of a shutdown, Pentagon spokesperson Chris Sherwood said.
Any impact on US support would come at a sensitive time in the conflict with Ukrainian troops in the midst of a critical counteroffensive against Russia.
Politico first reported on Sherwood's comments.
A possible shutdown could also impact the delivery and execution of aid provided under another program, known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which has funded the production of key equipment like Abrams tanks and training programs like F-16 pilot instruction.
The US is set to begin delivering 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in the coming weeks and expects to begin providing Ukrainian pilots with F-16-related language training "soon," Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Charlie Dietz said on Monday.
"Work or delivery of any equipment funded on previous USAI notifications such as F-16 pilot training would continue, but execution could be impacted by furloughs and DoD's suspension of non-excepted activities," Sherwood said.
About the possible shutdown: The US government appears to be barreling toward a shutdown, as Democratic and Republican lawmakers have acknowledged that there will not be enough time before the September 30 deadline for either chamber to pass all 12 appropriations bills.
Instead, the House and Senate will have to find a short-term fix to allow them more time to negotiate, but it is unclear whether they will be able to do that.
