Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gives an award to a recovering Ukrainian soldier at the Staten Island University Hospital, New York, September 18, 2023 (Eduardo Munoz)
EA on Poland’s TVP World: The UN General Assembly, Ukraine, and Southeast Asia
Monday’s Coverage: Counter-Offensive in East Liberates 2nd Village in 4 Days
Map: Institute for Study of War
UPDATE 1852 GMT:
Addressing the UN General Assembly, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has revisited the “Peace Formula” which he presented via video address to the Assembly.
Noting that more than 140 states and international organizations have either fully or partly supported the formula, the President said he will present details at Wednesday’s UN Security Council.
The Ukrainian Peace Formula is becoming global. It’s poised to offer solutions and steps that will solve all forms of weaponization that Russia used against Ukraine and other countries.
Meanwhile, the world must stand firm against the invasion: “We have to stop it. We must act united to defeat the aggressor and focus all our capabilities and energy on addressing these challenges.”
Zelenskiy addressed Russian war crimes and the Kremlin’s attempts to break Ukrainian resistance. He noted “treacherous” actions such as the mass abduction of Ukrainian children.
We know the names of tens of thousands of children and have evidence on hundreds of thousands of others kidnapped by Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine and later deported….
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for these crimes and we are trying to get children back home. Fine. Time goes by — what will happen with them?
Warning that the children will be taught to hate Ukraine, with all ties with their families broken, he summarized: “This is clearly a genocide.”
Zelenskiy spoke of Russia using energy as a weapon — “Now this threat is even greater” — and of its attacks on global food supplies.
Russia is launching the food prices as weapons. The impact spans from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the south-east Asia.
He called for support for a temporary corridor in the Black Sea to break the Russian blockade.
Referring to bans by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary on Ukraine’s grain imports, he said it was “alarming” to see how some European countries “play out solidarity in political theater”.
UPDATE 1719 GMT:
Ukraine has liberated more than 54% of territory seized by Russia since February 2022, says the US Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley.
Speaking after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Milley said “every inch of reclaimed territory” is due to “the bravery, the honor, and the incredible sacrifice made by the Ukrainian people and their military”.
Ukraine continues to make deliberate, steady progress in liberating their homeland from Russian occupation….They continue to retain the strategic initiative.
UPDATE 1713 GMT:
UN Secretary General António Guterres told the General Assembly that Russia has created a “world of insecurity” with its invasion of Ukraine: “[This has] unleashed the next phase of our lives: historic human rights abuse, families torn apart, children traumatised, hopes and dreams shattered.”
He pointed to Vladimir Putin’s shredding of the July 2022 Black Sea grain deal as he described “serious implications” for all nations: “The world badly needs Ukrainian food and Russian food and fertilizers to stabilize markets and guarantee food security.”
US President Joe Biden told the Assembly that support of Ukrainians against Russia’s invasion is “not only investment in Ukraine’s future, but in the future of every country” that values the UN rules of sovereignty and territorial integrity “that apply equally to all nations”.
We strongly support Ukraine in its efforts to bring about diplomatic resolution that delivers just and lasting peace. Russia alone, Russia alone, bears responsibility for this war. Russia alone has the the power to end this war immediately.
And it’s Russia alone that stands in the way of the peace. Because Russia’s price for peace is Ukraine’s capitulation, Ukraine’s territory and Ukraine’s children.
Biden said the Kremlin “believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence”, but no UN member state would be secure if Ukraine is “carved up”.
We have to stand up to this naked aggression today, and deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow. That’s why the United States, together with our allies and partners around the world, will continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity and their freedom.
UPDATE 1146 GMT:
The New York Times says evidence points to an errant Ukrainian air defense missile killing at least 17 civilians and wounding more than 30 others in Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine on September 6.
At the time, the casualties were blamed on a Russian attack.
See also Ukraine War, Day 560: Russia Kills 17+ in Strike on Market in Kostyantynivka
The Times based its findings on missile fragments, satellite imagery, witness accounts, and social media posts.
A spokesman for Ukraine’s armed forces said that the State security service SBU is investigating the incident, and he could not comment further under national law.
Ukrainian authorities initially tried to prevent Times journalists with The Times from reaching the site and missile debris. Reporters eventually were on the scene, interviewing witnesses and collecting remnants of munitions.
Security camera footage indicates the missile flew into Kostiantynivka from the direction of Ukrainian-held territory, not from behind Russian lines.
Minutes before impact, the Ukrainian military launched two surface-to-air missiles toward the Russian frontline from the town of Druzhkivka, 10 miles northwest of Kostyantynivka.
Holes in buildings in Kostyantynivka and fragments were consistent with a strike by a 9M38 missile, fired by the mobile Buk anti-aircraft vehicle.
UPDATE 1139 GMT:
At least three people have been killed in Russian bombing of Kupyansk in northeast Ukraine.
“Today, the enemy attacked the town of Kupyansk with a guided air bomb,” Governor Oleh Synehubov posted on Telegram.
UPDATE 1038 GMT:
At least one person has been killed in Russian drone strikes on three industrial warehouses in Lviv in western Ukraine (see 0621 GMT).
The body of a man who worked at one of the warehouses was found under the rubble.
Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said the warehouses stored windows, household chemicals, and about 300 tons of humanitarian aid.
Russian shelling of Kherson city in southern Ukraine killed a policeman and wounded two civilians on a trolley bus.
The Ukraine Air Force said it downed 27 of 30 attack drones and an Iskander ballistic missile.
UPDATE 0632 GMT:
In a meeting in Moscow with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has declared that the two countries will continue “well-coordinated work” at the UN General Assembly.
Wang said Beijing and Moscow should work together on the formation of a “multi-polar world”:
In the face of unilateral actions, hegemony and confrontation, China and Russia should … continue to strengthen strategic cooperation…and push forward the development of global governance in the direction of greater fairness.
UPDATE 0621 GMT:
A Russian drone attack on Lviv in western Ukraine has set the roof of an industrial warehouse on fire and injured a 26-year-old man, pulled from the rubble.
A woman was rescued uninjured.
Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said, “I want to emphasise that these were ordinary industrial warehouses. Nothing military was kept in them.”
Seven drones were downed over Lviv.
Elsewhere, a high-rise building was on fire and three other buildings were damaged in Kryvyi Rih.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has arrived in New York to address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Zelenskiy told reporters during a visit to Staten Island University Hospital, where he met rehabilitating Ukrainian troops, including amputees: “For us it’s very important that all our words, all our messages will be heard.”
On Wednesday, Zelenskiy will attend a UN Security Council meeting. He suggested that it was not appropriate for Russia, following its invasion and war crimes, to remain as a permanent member.
If in the United Nations still…there is a place for Russian terrorists, the question not to me I think. It’s a question to all the members of the United Nations.
Asked if he would remain in the Council chamber while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was speaking, the Preisdent replied, “I don’t know how it will be, really.”
After his sessions at the UN — including his first with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — Zelenskiy will go to Washington to meet President Joe Biden and members of Congress. The discussions will take place as Congress considers an Administration request for $24 billion in aid to Ukraine.
“Recovery, Victory, and Return Home”
At the Staten Island hospital, Zelenskiy gave medals to recovering Ukrainian soldiers and to the staff:
Thank you for continuing to fight for our country and defend its borders. I also thank the doctors and all those who have been supporting Ukrainian soldiers since the beginning of the full-scale war.
We will be waiting for all of you. We need you – every warrior of Ukraine – to defeat the enemy. Thank you for your service! Everyone is proud of you! I wish you recovery, victory and return home!
