Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets Vice President Kamala Harris in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C., September 26, 2024 (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Thursday’s Coverage: Zelenskiy Addresses UN About Russia’s Threat as Putin Blusters About Nuclear Weapons

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1848 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy commented after his meeting with Donald Trump in New York City:

We share the common view that the war in Ukraine must be stopped. Putin cannot win. Ukrainians must prevail.

UPDATE 1832 GMT:

Ukrainian intelligence services have identified the source of the Russian missile attack that killed one Reuters staff member and wounded two of its journalists in a hotel in eastern Ukraine last month.

The services said the missile was fired by forces stationed in the Rostov region in southwest Russia. The launch site was close to Taganrog, a city on the coast of the Sea of Azov near the Ukrainian border. The 1st Guards rocket brigade of the 49th Army and the 107th Guards rocket brigade of the 35th Army were in the area, and the 47th rocket brigade of the 8th Army could also have carried out the operation.

The Iskander 9M723 ballistic missile fired from the area struck the Sapphire Hotel in Kramatorsk, where the Reuters team was staying, seven minutes later.

UPDATE 1427 GMT:

The meeting between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Donald Trump has begun in Trump Tower in New York City.

UPDATE 0841 GMT:

Two women, aged 90 and 69, and a 73-year-old man have been killed by Russian drone attacks on the Odesa region in southern Ukraine.

Twelve people were injured, including a child.

The drones struck the port city of Izmail, located near the border with Romania.

In Kryvyi Rih in south-central Ukraine, an Internal Affairs Department building was hit by a missile. Four people are injured, and four people may be trapped beneath the five-story structure.

Ukraine air defenses down 24 of 32 Iran-type drones, and another entered Romanian airspace.

The Russians also launched a ballistic missile and two cruise missiles.

UPDATE 0824 GMT:

Germany and France have also announced new assistance packages to Ukraine>

The German Ministry of Development said on Wednesday that it will send around €70 million to provide Ukrainian cities with combined heat and power plants, boiler systems, generators, and solar-power systems.

The Bundestag also announced a €400 million increase in military funding so Ukraine can purchase air defense systems, tanks, drones, ammunition, and spare parts.

During a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday, French counterpart Emmanuel Macron France will train and fully equip a Ukrainian brigade in the “near future”.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Hosting Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House, President Joe Biden has confirmed $7.9 billion in US military aid for resistance of Russia’s 31-month invasion.

But the Biden Administration is still refusing to approve Ukraine’s long=range strikes with Western-supplied missiles inside Russia.

Just before Zelenskiy’s visit, Biden said in a statement: “Today, I am announcing a surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war.”

However, he did not refer to Ukraine’s appeal for the US to give permission for strikes.

In the joint press appearance, Biden said, “We must strengthen Ukraine’s position on the battlefield…and in future negotiations.”

Zelenskiy expressed gratitude without raising the months-long American ban:

At the meeting, Zelenskiy presented his Victory Plan for an end to the Russian invasion, including security guarantees and economic support for Ukraine; talks with Moscow to ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; the strikes to help bring this about.

The White House issued only a brief statement after encounter:

The two leaders discussed the diplomatic, economic, and military aspects of President Zelenskiy’s plan and tasked their teams to engage in intensive consultations regarding next steps.

President Biden is determined to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to win.

The new US military aid includes $5.5 billion from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative Fund by the end of the year. The funds had to be confirmed to Congress by September 30 to avoid losing authority for the allocation.

Another $2.4 billion is under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative program, allowing the Biden Administration to buy weapons for Ukraine from companies rather than pulling them from US stocks.

The package include a medium-range “glide bomb”, fired from fighter jets, enabling Ukrainian forces to strike Russian troops and supply lines at safer distances.

Russia has used its own glide bombs to devasting effect against both civilian areas and military positions in Ukraine, aiding Moscow’s advance in an 11-month offensive in the east.

The US is also providing additional Patriot air defense batteries and missiles, unmanned aerial systems, and measures to strengthen Ukraine’s defense industrial base. Training for additional F-16 fighter pilots including 18 to be readied for battle next year.

But US officials primed the media for no breakthrough on the issue of long-range strikes inside Russia with the UK’s Storm Shadow missiles. They said American intelligence agencies “believe that Russia is likely to retaliate with greater force against the United States and its coalition partners, possibly with lethal attacks, if they agree to give the Ukrainians permission”.

The American officials added that “the Ukrainians currently have limited numbers of the weapons and it is unclear how many more, if any, the Western allies might provide”.

The line indicates that Vladimir Putin’s threats about the use of nuclear weapons, reiterated on Wednesday, are succeeding in limiting US support for Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yesterday that Putin’s latest statement, made in the State Security Council, is “a signal that warns these countries about the consequences if they participate in an attack on our country by various means, and not necessarily nuclear ones”.

Harris: Trump’s “Proposals of Surrender”

Vice President Kamala Harris, running for President in November’s election, derided her opponent Donald Trump for his “proposals of surrender” supporting Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Speaking alongside Zelenskiy, Harris said “some in my country” would pressure Ukraine to accept the Kremline’s “peace deal” establishing Russia’s seizure of 27% of Ukraine and barring Kyiv from joining NATO, the European Union, and other blocs.

“These proposals are the same as those of Putin, and let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace,” Harris said. “Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.”

Trump and his Vice Presidential running mate J.D. Vance have backed Ukraine’s capitulation, recycling the Kremlin’s talking points and threatening an end to support for Kyiv.

Trump ranted at a rally in North Carolina last Sunday:

The President of Ukraine is in our country. He is making little nasty aspersions toward your favourite president, me. We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal: Zelenskiy.

He followed up on Sunday, sneering at the Ukrainian leader as the “greatest salesman on earth” and lying that “every time Zelenskiy comes to the United States, he walks away with $100 billion”.

On Thursday, Trump again reversed his position and said he would see Zelenskiy at Trump Tower in New York on Friday morning.

Trump aides had told the media hours earlier that the candidate had withdrawn from any meeting with Zelenskiy.

Asked after his reversal if Ukraine should give up territory, Trump was non-committal: “Let’s get some peace … We need peace. We need to stop the death and destruction.”

Zelenskiy also met Republican and Democratic members of Congress on Thursday, posting afterwards:

I presented the key points of the Victory Plan, which can strengthen us on the path to peace.

We are at a critical juncture in this war. We need really strong pressure and strong positions for Ukraine.

We also discussed the situation on the battlefield, the protection of our energy grid, and the preparation of our country for the winter ahead.