Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with US counterpart Joe Biden in Washington, September 21, 2023 (Reuters)

Thursday’s Coverage: Russia Seizes Another US Journalist

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1757 GMT:

The Ukraine security service has requested a court indictment of Metropolitan Pavel, the former abbot of the Ukrainian Orthodox monastery Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

Pavel is charged with the violation of the equality of citizens and with justification, recognition as legitimate, or denial of armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine.

The service asserts that Pavel repeatedly publicly denied the existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state, and called Russia’s invasion a “civil conflict” that has been ongoing since 2014.

Pavel was put under house arrest in April. The 1000 year-old monastery at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and several other Orthodox sites were raided last year.

On Thursday the Ukraine Parliament approved a draft bill banning the Moscow Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (see 0446 GMT).

UPDATE 1437 GMT:

The latest Russian attacks on the Kherson region in southern Ukraine killed in a woman this morning.

Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian forces used guided bombs and fired four anti-aircraft guns at the city of Beryslav. An 80-year-old woman was seriously injured in her home.

The Russians struck Novoberislav with two guided bombs. Authorities are assessing damage.

In the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, several people were injured and shops, civilian homes, and buildings, including a children’s center, were damaged.

UPDATE 1430 GMT:

The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has cited new evidence of Russia’s “indiscriminate attacks” and war crimes, including rape and the deportation of children to Russian territory.

The Commission said in its report to the UN General Assembly:

[We have] found new evidence that Russian authorities have committed violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, and corresponding crimes, in areas that came under their control in Ukraine….

The commission has recently documented attacks that affected civilian objects, such as residential buildings, a railway station, shops, and a warehouse for civilian use, leading to numerous casualties.

The inquiry said of sexual violence, “Most of the incidents occurred after the perpetrators broke into the victims’ homes. Victims reported rapes at gunpoint and threats of killing or of inflicting other serious harm to the victims or their relatives.”

It documented the transfer of 31 children from Ukraine to Russia in May in “an unlawful deportation and a war crime”.

UPDATE 0910 GMT:

Kazakhstan’s Trade Ministry has walked back Deputy Trade Minister Kairat Torebayev’s statement that the export of 106 items to Russia has been banned.

On Thursday, Torebayev said Kazakhstan was complying with international sanctions with the prohibition on technological assistant to Russia’s military, including the provision of special equipment, chips, drones and their components.

Countries such as the US have pressed Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic and — up to now — long-time ally of Moscow, to block the re-export of goods enabling Russia’s invasion. At a meeting of Central Asian leaders with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin in late September, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Astana would “follow the sanctions regime”.

But late Thursday, the Trade Ministry said the Deputy Trade Minister’s remarks were “incorrect”:

No prohibitions have been imposed on the export of any goods to the Russian Federation in relation to the anti-Russia sanctions

At the same time, the trade in so-called “double-use” goods, the export of which is subject to controls, is carried out in accordance with Kazakhstan’s international obligations.

UPDATE 0902 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has updated his post about US support (see Original Entry), following US counterpart Joe Biden’s televised address to the nation on Thursday night.

UPDATE 0446 GMT:

Ukraine’s Parliament has voted to ban the Moscow Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Ukrainian security agencies have accused the Russian Orthodox Church of acting for Moscow’s intelligence services for decades, with the Moscow Patriarchate in a prominent role.

During Russia’s 20-month invasion, the Patriarchate has been accused of providing funds and literature supporting the assaults. Some clerics have been detained, and church and monastery premises have been raided.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church says it is no longer aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church and has denied the allegations against the Patriarchate. The church argues that the draft law is unconstitutional.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his American counterpart Joe Biden have discussed US financial and military aid to Kyiv, as Biden prepares to send a request to Congress for another $60 billion in assistance against the 20-month Russian invasion.

Zelenskiy thanked Biden for the recent provision of long-range ATACMS missiles, used for the first time this week on the battlefield. The strike on Russian airfields in occupied eastern Ukraine destroyed nine helicopters, an anti-aircraft missile launcher, special equipment, ammunition depots, and runway infrastructure.

See also Ukraine War, Day 602: Kyiv Uses US Long-Range Missiles, Destroys 9 Russian Helicopters

Biden: “Ukraine Still Stands”

In a televised address from the White House on Thursday night, Biden confirmed that he was sending an urgent funding request to Congress for aid to Ukraine and Israel.

Biden did not specify the amount, but White House officials have told the media this week that there will be $60 billion for Ukraine and $10 billion for the Israelis.

He sharply rebuffed Vladimir Putin’s remarks that the US would abandon Ukraine, which would then collapse in a week.

Citing the “smart investment” for US security and global stability, Biden said:

We’re not withdrawing….If we don’t stop Putin’s appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he won’t limit himself just to Ukraine….If we walk away and let Putin erase Ukraine’s independence, would-be aggressors around the world would be emboldened to try the same.

The President drove home the point by referring to Russia’s war crimes in its invasion, “We’ve not forgotten the mass graves, the bodies found bearing signs of torture, rape used as a weapon by the Russians, and thousands and thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly taken into Russia, stolen from their parents.”

He concluded, “Putin has failed, and continues to fail. Kyiv still stands.”

Aid Threatened by Paralyzed US House

The new aid package for Ukraine had been included in a US Government funding bill in early October. However, it was removed amid a revolt by hard-right Republicans and Trumpists against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Administration officials immediately said that Biden would work with the House to ensure passage of a separate measure for Ukraine.

However, the House is still unable to conduct business. Amid the Republican split, several efforts to confirm a new Speaker have failed.

See also EA on Monocle 24: US House Still Paralyzed as Trumpist Jordan Denied Speaker’s Seat