L to R: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Kyiv, September 11, 2024 (Leon Neal/AFP)

Wednesday’s Coverage: Trump Refuses to Support Kyiv v. Russia’s Invasion

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1640 GMT:

Two civilians have been killed and seven wounded by Russian shelling of the Kharikiv region in northeast Ukraine.

Emergency services were working after a Russian attack on Borova village when it was shelled again. Three rescuers are among the injured.

UPDATE 1636 GMT:

A civilian vessel carrying grain from Ukraine has been hit by a Russian missile in international waters in the Black Sea.

The ship, destined for Egypt, was struck just as it left Ukrainian waters. There were no casualties.

Ukraine Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the strike was “a brazen attack on freedom of navigation and global food security”.

UPDATE 1627 GMT:

Three staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross have been killed and two injured by Russian fire in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

The humanitarian workers were struck as they prepared to distribute wood and coal briquettes in Viroliubivka village, north of Donetsk city, to vulnerable households.

ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric said:

I condemn attacks on Red Cross personnel in the strongest terms. It’s unconscionable that shelling would hit an aid distribution site. Our hearts are broken today as we mourn the loss of our colleagues and care for the injured. This tragedy unleashes a wave of grief all too familiar to those who have lost loved ones in armed conflict.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy commented:

Another Russian war crime….

In this war, everything is absolutely clear-Russia sows evil, Ukraine defends life. If anyone wants to hear “both sides” in Russia, it is only perceived as permission to kill again.

The world must respond firmly and with principle. Countries and international organizations cannot remain indifferent. Only together can the world force Russia to stop this terror and make Moscow seek peace.

UPDATE 1603 GMT:

Local authorities say Pokrovsk, the hub in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine facing an advancing Russian offensive, is without drinking water supply or natural gas for cooking and heating.

With a water filtration station damaged by fighting, more than 300 hastily-drilled water wells are the last source of drinking water.

Governor Vadym Filashkin said the Russians destroyed a natural gas distribution station near the city, where around 18,000 people, including 522 children, remain.

More than 20,000 people have left in the past six weeks, Filashkin said: “Evacuation is the only…choice for civilians.”

UPDATE 0941 GMT:

At least 14 civilians have been wounded in a Russian drone attack on Konotop in the Sumy region in northern Ukraine.

Emergency services are working to restore power in the town, with mayor Artem Semenikhin saying the system is in critical condition: “At the moment, energy workers are doing everything they can to provide electricity to the hospital and the water supply system.”

The attack damaged seven apartment buildings, medical and educational institutions, a shop, a bank, and the town tramway.

The Ukraine Air Force said air defenses downed 44 of 64 Iran-type attack drones across nine regions.

UPDATE 0900 GMT:

A Russian SU-35 fighter jet reportedly crashed in the Black Sea on Wednesday after firing missiles towards Ukrainian targets.

Both Russian and Ukrainian-aligned information channels posted claims of a crash and a search operation.

UPDATE 0849 GMT:

A Russian commander and pro-Moscow war bloggers claim a significant counter-offensive has begun against Ukraine’s six-week incursion into the Kursk region in western Russia.

Pro-Ukrainian observers reported heavy fighting in part of the 1,300 square km (500 square miles) controlled by Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed the recapture of several villages on the west of the area.

The US-based Institute for the Study of War said on Thursday morning that it would be “premature to draw conclusions” about the counter-attacks: “The size, scale, and potential prospects… are unclear and the situation remains fluid as of this report….Ukrainian forces reportedly began new attacks against the Russian counterattack west of Snagost and throughout the Ukrainian salient in the Kursk oblast.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has indicated the Biden Administration may finally give permission for Ukraine to use long-range weapons for strikes inside Russia.

Speaking alongside UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Kyiv on Wednesday, Blinken said the US “from day one” had been willing to adapt its policy, including on the firing of US-made ATACMS missiles against Russian targets: “We will continue to do this.”

The Secretary of State said he and Lammy would report back to their “bosses”, President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The Foreign Secretary also implied that the UK’s Storm Shadow missiles — whose use inside Russia relies on American acceptance — may soon be deployed. He said Iran’s deliveries of ballistic missiles to Moscow, reported last week, was a “significant and dangerous escalation”:

The escalator here is Putin. Putin has escalated with the shipment of missiles from Iran. We see a new axis of Russia, Iran and North Korea.

British officials told media outlets that a decision had already been made to allow Ukraine to use the Storm Shadows, but it is not expected to be publicly announced on Friday when Starmer meets Biden in Washington.

The sources emphasized that the Blinken-Lammy trip to meet Zelenskiy would not have occurred had there been no positive decision on the Storm Shadows.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian officials made their case for the lifting of the ban. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Sybiha said, with Russian aircraft violating the airspace of neighboring countries and NATO countries”, allies should “explore the possibility of shooting down missiles over the territory of Ukraine”.

More Commitments of US and UK Aid

After meeting Zelenskiy, Lammy avoided any commitment while continuing to drop hints about a change in the UK approach.

We’ve looked at the breadth of things today, and as we’ve said, of course, I go back to Keir Starmer, able to assist him with some of the operational detail that we’ve learned from the Ukrainians today — you wouldn’t expect me to go into detail about that at this press conference, because I am not prepared to give Putin the advantage.

But as the closest of allies, we look forward to discussions we will have, not just on Friday, but discussions I suspect that will go on over the next few weeks as we head also to the UN General Assembly.

Blinken announced more than $700 million in US humanitarian aid, and Lammy confirmed that another $782 million in UK assistance and loan guarantees. The funding will help reinforce Ukraine’s energy grid amid Russia’s missile and drone strikes and the onset of winter.

Of the US aid, $325 million is for energy support, repairing and restoring Ukraine’s power generation facilities, providing emergency back-up power, and strengthening the physical security of infrastructure. Around $290m will fund food, water, shelter, health care and education programs for Ukrainians inside and outside the country. The remaining $102 million will be used for mine removal.