Closing summary
We will be closing this blog soon, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Russia and Ukraine coverage here.
Our US team will be covering Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House later in the latest US politics live blog:
US president Joe Biden will host Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at 1.45pm local time (5.45pm GMT/6.45pm BST), the White House said. The Ukrainian leader and Kamala Harris will deliver remarks at 3.05pm local time before their meeting in the vice-president’s office.
Here is a recap of today’s latest developments:
US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a “surge” in assistance to Ukraine, including nearly $8bn in military aid and new long-range munitions, ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Today, I am announcing a surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war,” Biden said in a statement, which did not, however, mention Kyiv’s hoped-for green light to fire US-made long-range missiles into Russia.
Biden on Thursday said he would convene a high-level meeting of 50 of Ukraine’s allies in Germany in October. “I will convene a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group in Germany next month to coordinate the efforts of the more than 50 countries supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression,” he said in a statement.
Zelenskyy said that the almost $8bn in military aid announced by the US on Thursday will help his country achieve victory against Russia. “We will use this assistance in the most effective and transparent way possible to achieve our main common goal: a victorious Ukraine, a just and lasting peace, and transatlantic security,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post.
Ahead of his White House visit, Zelenskyy met a handful of senators on Capitol Hill before heading across the Capitol to talk to House members, including the Republican chairs of several committees.
Zelenskyy will present his “victory plan” to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Thursday, but a row with Donald Trump underscored how the US election could soon upend support for Kyiv. Trump accused Zelenskyy on the eve of the visit of refusing to strike a deal with Moscow and once again questioned why the US was giving billions of dollars to Kyiv. Additionally, the US House speaker, Mike Johnson, has demanded that Ukraine fire its ambassador to Washington, Oksana Markarova, over a visit to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, last week.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that changes outlined by president Vladimir Putin to Russia’s nuclear weapons documents should be considered a signal to the west that there will be consequences if western powers participate in attacks on Russia. “It must be considered a specific signal. A signal that warns these countries of the consequences if they participate in an attack on our country by various means, not necessarily nuclear,” Peskov told reporters of changes outlined by Putin.
Ukraine’s foreign minister has discussed ways to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine with his Chinese counterpart at the UN general assembly, Kyiv said on Thursday. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi met Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga and the head of Zelenskyy’s office, Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said. Wang earlier discussed the war in Ukraine with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov at the UN general assembly in New York.
Putin said on Thursday that Russia should strengthen what he called its global leadership in the nuclear power sphere. Putin, who was speaking at the Russian energy week forum, also said that Moscow would continue to cooperate with OPEC+, saying that Russia fulfilled its obligations on energy supplies.
The EU on Thursday rejected as “reckless and irresponsible” a plan by president Vladimir Putin to authorise a nuclear response to a massive air attack on Russia. “Not for the first time, Putin is playing [a] gamble with his nuclear arsenal,” EU foreign policy spokesperson Peter Stano told reporters. “We of course strongly reject these threats.” “This is just the continuation of the very irresponsible and unacceptable behaviour on the side of Putin,” the Stano said of the latest threat.
A Nato spokesperson said a Reuters report that Russia has established a weapons programme in China to develop and produce long-range attack drones for use in its war against Ukraine was “deeply concerning” and that Nato “allies are consulting on this matter”. The White House national security council said it appeared to be an instance of a Chinese company providing lethal assistance to a US-sanctioned Russian firm. The White House had not seen anything to suggest the Chinese government was aware of the transactions involved, but China had a responsibility to ensure companies were not providing lethal aid to Russia for use by its military, a spokesperson added.
Ukraine and Russia are to exchange 13 children, displaced by Moscow’s invasion, reuniting them with their families after mediation by Qatar, officials in the Gulf state said on Thursday. The “family reunification process involves the safe reunification of nine minors and one adult with their families in Ukraine,” a Qatari official said. “It will also include the reunification of four minors with their families in Russia.”
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s east on Thursday killed at least three people and injured five more, regional authorities said. Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin said on the Telegram messenger that one person was killed and three others injured near the town of Chasiv Yar. In the night hours, Filashkin added, two people were killed and two injured in Russian shelling of nearby Toretsk.
Russia conducted another massive combined strike on Ukraine’s energy system overnight, Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday. In particular, three power transmission facilities were targeted, he said on the Telegram messenger, including one in the southern Mykolaiv region. Shmyhal said the attacks did not achieve their goal and Ukraine’s energy system was operating in a “balanced mode”.
Russia unleashed an overnight airstrike on Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least one person and damaging critical infrastructure, authorities said. Kyiv’s military said Russian forces fired 78 attack drones and six missiles over various regions across the country during the hours-long attack. Air defences destroyed 66 drones and four missiles, it added. One woman was killed in a missile strike on southern Ukraine’s Odesa and another eight people were injured in a guided-bomb attack on the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said on social media.
Around a dozen drones were destroyed over the capital Kyiv, where 20 cars and a residential gas pipe were damaged, said Serhiy Popko, head of the local military administration. Parts of the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk were left without power after a Russian strike on critical infrastructure there, said regional governor Svitlana Onyshchuk. Ukraine’s national grid operator also reported outages in the central Poltava and northern Chernihiv regions. On Thursday morning, Kyiv’s air force said it had recorded the launch of several hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, but offered no immediate details
The UN lacks the funds needed to help Ukraine through the winter, as Russian bombardments have wiped out half the capacity of the power grid, the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Thursday. “The reality is that the funding situation for organisations like ours is far too low at this time of the year – we are 47-percent funded,” UNHCR’s representative in Ukraine, Karolina Lindholm Billing, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Lindholm Billing added: “It’s critical that Ukraine receives support to repair damaged energy infrastructure, to create decentralised energy generation capacity.”
The UK said on Thursday it had sanctioned five new ships and two other shipping entities under its Russian sanctions regime. Earlier this month the UK slapped sanctions on 10 further ships in Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of vessels which it says use illicit practices to avoid western restrictions on Russian oil.
Updated
The UN lacks the funds needed to help Ukraine through the winter, as Russian bombardments have wiped out half the capacity of the power grid, the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Thursday.
“The reality is that the funding situation for organisations like ours is far too low at this time of the year – we are 47-percent funded,” UNHCR’s representative in Ukraine, Karolina Lindholm Billing, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Ukraine is bracing for a difficult cold season after Moscow’s bombing campaign has ravaged its critical infrastructure.
“The expectations and asks from the authorities for support from organisations like UNHCR is actually increasing,” Lindholm Billing said.
AFP reports that Ukraine currently has 3.6 million internally displaced people, but advances by the Russian army in the eastern Donetsk region and an increase in airstrikes are forcing more to flee their homes.
“Almost 99,000 people have been evacuated or fled from frontline villages in Donetsk region since 1 August,” Lindholm Billing said.
The UNHCR assists local Ukrainian organisations to house those displaced and helps the most vulnerable with supplies to help get them through the winter. About 650,000 people receive aid such as warm clothing or kits to better insulate their homes.
“If we can get the funds, I am convinced we’ll be able to help them,” said Lindholm Billing.
European officials in countries neighbouring Ukraine fear that unless there is urgent help to fix power supplies there could be a new wave of refugees entering the EU this winter.
AFP reports that the UNHCR since the summer has seen increasing numbers of people citing power cuts or lack of electricity as a key reason for leaving the country.
A sharp increase in Russian strikes and a harsh winter could see a big leap in the numbers fleeing, said Lindholm Billing.
“So the main message is that it’s critical that Ukraine receives support to repair damaged energy infrastructure, to create decentralised energy generation capacity,” she added.
Ukraine and Russia to exchange displaced children under Qatar deal
Ukraine and Russia are to exchange 13 children, displaced by Moscow’s invasion, reuniting them with their families after mediation by Qatar, officials in the Gulf state said on Thursday.
Russia has been accused of forcibly deporting thousands of Ukrainian children from schools, hospitals and orphanages in parts of the country controlled by its forces.
The “family reunification process involves the safe reunification of nine minors and one adult with their families in Ukraine,” a Qatari official said, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). “It will also include the reunification of four minors with their families in Russia.”
The nine Ukrainian children, aged between 12 and 17, with one 19-year-old sibling accompanying them, include a child who lost his one remaining parent after the invasion and others who were staying with relatives when they were separated from their family, reports AFP.
Also among the Ukrainian minors are two teenagers with cerebral palsy, one of whom was placed in a children’s home before the war. Both are accompanied by medical teams for their return.
The Russian children, aged between two and seven, include two who were in care centres before the war started, while the other two had been staying with relatives.
Qatari representatives will host the children at the embassy in Moscow before they are reunited with their families in Ukraine or elsewhere in Russia.
Ukraine has said 20,000 children were taken to Russia following Moscow’s February 2022 invasion. Ukraine says the invading forces took them illegally to Russia, and accuses the Russian authorities of trying to wipe out their Ukrainian identity. Teenagers that returned to Ukraine have said they were subjected to Russian patriotic education and made to praise the Russian army.
Moscow has denied forcibly taking children to Russia, saying that minors were moved for their own safety if they were without parental care.
The exchange is the latest in a series of family reunifications brokered by Qatar that has seen scores of children returned to Ukraine and Russia after visits by Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to Kyiv and Moscow last year.
“Qatar remains committed to its efforts to support the reunification of separated families and to ensure the safety, welfare and the reunification of children with their families,” the Qatari official said, according to AFP.
Ahead of his White House visit, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy met a handful of senators on Capitol Hill before heading across the Capitol to talk to House members, including the Republican chairs of several committees, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Russian attacks kill three people in Ukraine's Donetsk region, say authorities
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s east on Thursday killed at least three people and injured five more, regional authorities said.
According to Reuters, Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin said on the Telegram messenger that one person was killed and three others injured near the town of Chasiv Yar, which Russian troops have been pressing their assault on for months.
In the night hours, Filashkin added, two people were killed and two injured in Russian shelling of nearby Toretsk.
Moscow’s troops have been steadily inching forward towards the strategic hub of Pokrovsk, and recently advanced towards the town of Vuhledar, further to the south.
Here is some further information on Joe Biden’s pledge of nearly $8bn in military aid for Ukraine (see 11.48am BST), via Agence France-Presse (AFP). The sum includes $5.5bn to be authorised before it expires at the end of the US fiscal year on Monday.
Another $2.4bn was pledged via the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), meaning it will not immediately arrive on the battlefield, as the munitions need to be procured from the defence industry or partners, rather than drawn from US stockpiles.
AFP reports that Biden also announced Washington would provide Ukraine with the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) long-range munition, “to enhance Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities.”
The US has provided around $175bn in both military and economic assistance to Ukraine during the war, despite frequent opposition from Republicans.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has echoed many of Russian president Vladimir Putin talking points about previous US policy being to blame for the Russian invasion, and has been critical of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for years.
At an election rally on Wednesday, Trump called the Ukrainian president “probably the greatest salesman on Earth”.
“We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal, Zelenskyy,” he said.
Republicans were livid after Zelenskyy told The New Yorker magazine this week that Trump and his running mate JD Vance did not understand the war’s complexity.
Trump has claimed that he could arrange a peace deal within 24 hours if elected, but Kyiv fears it would involve ceding swathes of territory seized by Russia.
The Biden administration had announced another $375m on Wednesday, including munitions for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, cluster munitions and light tactical vehicles, reports AFP.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has told Russia he does not know how it can show its face at the UN after invading Ukraine and treating Russian citizens as “bits of meat to fling into the grinder”.
Speaking at the UN security council, of which Russia is one of five permanent members, the UK prime minister delivered a direct message to Moscow that it should not be present at the meeting.
Ukraine’s defence ministry said “we are grateful to our American friends for their ironclad support.”
🇺🇦🤝🇺🇸
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 26, 2024
The US has announced a historic security assistance package for Ukraine, which totals up to $7,9 billion.
The package includes additional Patriot air defense battery and missiles, JSOW long-range munition, training for Ukrainian F-16 pilots and other critical… pic.twitter.com/YzVWvwm7I5
Russia conducted another massive combined strike on Ukraine’s energy system overnight, Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday, reports Reuters.
In particular, three power transmission facilities were targeted, he said on the Telegram messenger, including one in the southern Mykolaiv region.
Shmyhal said the attacks did not achieve their goal and Ukraine’s energy system was operating in a “balanced mode”.
Updated
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia should strengthen what he called its global leadership in the nuclear power sphere, reports Reuters.
Putin, who was speaking at the Russian energy week forum, also said that Moscow would continue to cooperate with OPEC+, saying that Russia fulfilled its obligations on energy supplies.
EU rejects Putin’s 'reckless and irresponsible' nuclear weapon threat
The EU on Thursday rejected as “reckless and irresponsible” a plan by president Vladimir Putin to authorise a nuclear response to a massive air attack on Russia, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Putin on Wednesday announced an updated nuclear doctrine that would allow the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states when they are supported by nuclear powers – a clear reference to Ukraine and its western backers.
“Not for the first time, Putin is playing [a] gamble with his nuclear arsenal,” EU foreign policy spokesperson Peter Stano told reporters. “We of course strongly reject these threats.”
The proposed broadening of Russia’s nuclear rules, which Putin himself has the power to approve, comes as Ukraine seeks permission from western allies to use long-range weaponry to strike targets deep inside Russia.
Kyiv says it is necessary to target Russia’s airfields and military infrastructure that it uses to launch attacks on Ukraine. The US and other western countries are cautious about enabling further escalation.
Earlier on Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the planned changes should be seen as a “specific signal” to the west.
Western powers have accused Putin of dangerous nuclear sabre-rattling throughout the Ukraine conflict. The Kremlin leader has issued multiple apparent threats about Moscow’s willingness to deploy nuclear weapons.
“This is just the continuation of the very irresponsible and unacceptable behaviour on the side of Putin,” the EU’s Stano said of the latest threat, which came as many world leaders attended the UN general assembly in New York.
Putin’s stance was all the more “reckless,” Stano said, coming from the leader of a permanent member of the UN security council.
Updated
Biden calls high-level summit of 50 Ukraine allies in Germany
US president Joe Biden on Thursday said he would convene a high-level meeting of 50 of Ukraine’s allies in Germany in October.
“I will convene a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group in Germany next month to coordinate the efforts of the more than 50 countries supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression,” he said in a statement, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Zelenskyy says latest US military aid will help achieve victory
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the almost $8bn in military aid announced by the US on Thursday will help his country achieve victory against Russia.
“We will use this assistance in the most effective and transparent way possible to achieve our main common goal: a victorious Ukraine, a just and lasting peace, and transatlantic security,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post.
I am grateful to @POTUS Joe Biden, U.S. Congress and its both parties, Republicans and Democrats, as well as the entire American people for today’s announcement of major U.S. defense assistance for Ukraine totalling $7.9 billion and sanctions against Russia.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 26, 2024
On behalf of the…
In the post on X, Zelenskyy wrote:
I am grateful to Joe Biden, US Congress and its both parties, Republicans and Democrats, as well as the entire American people for today’s announcement of major US defence assistance for Ukraine totalling $7.9bn and sanctions against Russia.
On behalf of the Ukrainian people and our brave warriors on the frontlines, I thank our closest ally, the United States, for finding a way to allocate the remaining security assistance to Ukraine and ensure that the Presidential authority is not expired by the end of the US financial year.
We will use this assistance in the most efficient and transparent manner to achieve our major common goal: victory for Ukraine, just and lasting peace, and transatlantic security.
I am grateful to the United States for providing the items that are most critical to protecting our people. An additional Patriot air defence battery, other air defence capabilities and interceptors, drones, long-range missiles, and air-to-ground munitions, as well as funds to strengthen Ukraine’s defence industrial base.
I also appreciate the decision to expand programs to train more of our pilots to fly F-16s, as well as the strong sanctions measures imposed to further limit Russia’s ability to fund its aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine and the United States remain close allies dedicated to defending freedom, human life, and shared security in Europe and beyond. We have always valued the strong bipartisan support in the United States and among Americans for Ukraine’s just cause of defeating Russian aggression.”
Updated
Biden announces 'surge' in Ukraine military assistance, including nearly $8bn in military aid
US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a “surge” in assistance to Ukraine, including nearly $8bn in military aid and new long-range munitions, ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Today, I am announcing a surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war,” Biden said in a statement, which did not, however, mention Kyiv’s hoped-for green light to fire US-made long-range missiles into Russia, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The UK announces fresh Russia sanctions
The UK said on Thursday it had sanctioned five new ships and two other shipping entities under its Russian sanctions regime, reports Reuters.
Earlier this month the UK slapped sanctions on 10 further ships in Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of vessels which it says use illicit practices to avoid western restrictions on Russian oil.
Russia rejects western pressure to limit its oil exports, and in the past year there has been a growth in the number of tankers transporting cargoes that are not regulated or insured by conventional western providers.
Updated
Ukraine’s foreign minister has discussed ways to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine with his Chinese counterpart at the UN general assembly, Kyiv said on Thursday.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, who had earlier met Russia’s top diplomat, told a security council session this week that diplomacy was the only solution to the war in Ukraine.
Wang met Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga and the head of president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said.
Wang was photographed shaking hands with Sybiga, who was appointed this month in a reshuffle.
Together with @AndriyYermak, we met with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Thanked China for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty & territorial integrity. Focused on next steps to develop bilateral relations and trade. Discussed perspectives of further contacts at the highest level. pic.twitter.com/7qJVkveNBE
— Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) September 25, 2024
The Ukrainians “thanked China for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, Kyiv said.
The pair “exchanged views on the principles of achieving a comprehensive, fair and lasting peace for Ukraine based on the UN Charter”, Sybiga was quoted as saying on the ministry’s Telegram channel, according to AFP.
The meeting also “focused on next steps to develop bilateral relations and trade” and “discussed plans for further contacts at the highest level”, the ministry said.
Wang earlier discussed the war in Ukraine with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov at the UN general assembly in New York.
“The two sides exchanged views on the issues including the Ukraine crisis,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Thursday.
Wang said bilateral ties had “gone through ups and downs, but the most important thing is that as long as we adhere to permanent good-neighbourly relations … China-Russia ties will move forward”.
AFP report that the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that the talks were “constructive” and discussed “the prospects of regulating the Ukraine crisis”.
China and Russia have strengthened ties in recent years, and bilateral trade has soared to record highs since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Western governments have accused Beijing of providing political cover and economic support during Russia’s war of aggression, a stance rejected by China, which says it has maintained a neutral posture in the conflict.
Chinese president Xi Jinping will also attend the Brics summit of emerging economies in Russia next month.
Updated
Agence France-Presse (AFP) has more detail on the comments by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov (see 10.45am BST).
“It must be considered a specific signal. A signal that warns these countries of the consequences if they participate in an attack on our country by various means, not necessarily nuclear,” Peskov told reporters of changes outlined by president Vladimir Putin to Russia’s nuclear weapons documents.
Kremlin says changes to nuclear policy are a signal to the west
The Kremlin said on Thursday that changes outlined by president Vladimir Putin to Russia’s nuclear weapons documents should be considered a signal to the west that there will be consequences if western powers participate in attacks on Russia, reports Reuters.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would make a decision on whether not to publish the updated nuclear documents, adding that adjustments to the document on state nuclear deterrence were being formulated.
Zelenskyy to visit White House under shadow of Trump spat
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will present his “victory plan” to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Thursday, but a row with Donald Trump underscored how the US election could soon upend support for Kyiv, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Zelenskyy’s trip to the White House is set to feature the announcement of a surge in US support, although it is unclear whether he will get the green light he wants for Ukraine to fire US-made long-range missiles into Russia.
Republican presidential contender Trump, who faces Democratic vice-president Harris in November’s close election, had also been due to meet Zelenskyy but their talks now appear to be on ice, reports AFP.
Trump accused Zelenskyy on the eve of the visit of refusing to strike a deal with Moscow and once again questioned why the US was giving billions of dollars to Kyiv.
Biden will host Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at 1.45pm local time (5.45pm GMT/6.45pm BST), the White House said. The Ukrainian leader and Harris will deliver remarks at 3.05pm local time before their meeting in the vice-president’s office.
Zelenskyy was also due to visit the US Congress.
During a meeting at the UN on Wednesday, Biden “informed president Zelenskyy that he has directed a surge in US security assistance to Ukraine, which will be announced publicly” on Thursday, the White House said.
Zelenskyy gave a defiant address at the UN general assembly on Wednesday in a bid to rally international support amid an increasingly difficult situation on the battlefield.
The Ukrainian has for several weeks touted the so-called “victory plan” he will present to Biden, but has given no details of his proposals to end the war, which is now in its third year, reports AFP.
Updated
Trump-Zelenskyy feud escalates as Republicans demand envoy’s removal
The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, has demanded that Ukraine fire its ambassador to Washington as the feud between Donald Trump and Volodymr Zelenskyy escalated and Republicans accused the Ukrainian leader of election interference.
In a public letter, Johnson demanded that Zelenskyy fire the Ukrainian ambassador, Oksana Markarova, over a visit to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, last week where the Ukrainian president thanked workers for providing desperately needed shells to his outgunned forces.
Johnson complained that Markarova had organised the visit to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant as a “partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats”. The event was attended by the Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who has campaigned in support of Kamala Harris.
“The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris, and failed to include a single Republican because – on purpose – no Republicans were invited,” Johnson wrote in a letter on congressional letterhead addressed to the Ukrainian embassy.
“The tour was clearly a partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats and is clearly election interference,” the letter continued. “This shortsighted and intentionally political move has caused Republicans to lose trust in Ambassador Markarova’s ability to fairly and effectively serve as a diplomat in this country. She should be removed from her post immediately.”
On the same day, Trump in a campaign event in North Carolina attacked Zelenskyy directly and accused him of “refusing” to negotiate a peace deal with Vladimir Putin.
Reuters reports that in addition to the news that parts of the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukraine were left without power after a Russian strike on critical infrastructure there (see 09.08am BST), Ukraine’s national grid operator has also reported outages in the central Poltava and northern Chernihiv regions.
On Thursday morning, Kyiv’s air force said it had recorded the launch of several hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, but offered no immediate details, according to Reuters.
Updated
Zelenskyy warns of Russia threat at UN as Putin steps up nuclear rhetoric
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the United Nations that Russia is planning to attack Ukrainian nuclear power plants as he repeated his calls for unity from world leaders in order to force Russia to the negotiating table to conclude a “just peace”.
His comments came as Vladimir Putin on Wednesday escalated his nuclear rhetoric, telling a group of senior officials that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if it was attacked by any state with conventional weapons.
In a speech to the UN general assembly on Wednesday, the Ukrainian leader said he had received information that Russia was gathering intelligence on Ukrainian nuclear power plants in preparation for a potential strike.
“Any missile or drone strike, any critical incident in the energy system could lead to a nuclear disaster … a day like that must never come,” Zelenskyy said in an address in the general assembly hall. “And Moscow needs to understand this, and this depends in part on your determination to put pressure on the aggressor.”
He added: “These are nuclear power plants, they must be safe.”
Zelenskyy also said that the war in Ukraine could threaten the region with instability and the potential for a nuclear catastrophe if Russia went forward with the attacks.
“If, God forbid, Russia causes a nuclear disaster at one of our nuclear power plants, the radiation will not respect state borders,” he said, comparing the consequences to the Chornobyl nuclear accident of 1986. “And unfortunately, various nations could feel that devastating effects.”
You can read the full article by Andrew Roth in New York and Pjotr Sauer, here:
Updated
Russia unleashed an overnight airstrike on Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least one person and damaging critical infrastructure, authorities said.
According to Reuters, Kyiv’s military said Russian forces fired 78 attack drones and six missiles over various regions across the country during the hours-long attack. Air defences destroyed 66 drones and four missiles, it added.
One woman was killed in a missile strike on southern Ukraine’s Odesa and another eight people were injured in a guided-bomb attack on the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said on social media.
Around a dozen drones were destroyed over the capital Kyiv, where 20 cars and a residential gas pipe were damaged, said Serhiy Popko, head of the local military administration.
Parts of the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk were left without power after a Russian strike on critical infrastructure there, said regional governor Svitlana Onyshchuk.
Updated
Vladimir Putin warns west he will consider using nuclear weapons
Vladimir Putin has escalated his nuclear rhetoric, telling a group of senior officials that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if it was attacked by any state with conventional weapons.
His remarks on Wednesday came during a meeting with Russia’s powerful security council where he also announced changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine.
The comments marked Russia’s strongest warning yet to the west against allowing Ukraine to launch deep strikes into Russian territory using long-range western missiles.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been asking for months for permission to use British Storm Shadow missiles and US-made Atacms missiles to hit targets deeper inside Russia.
Putin said that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if Moscow received “reliable information” about the start of a massive launch of missiles, aircraft or drones against it.
Putin also warned that a nuclear power supporting another country’s attack on Russia would be considered a participant in aggression, issuing a thinly veiled threat to the west as foreign leaders continue to mull whether to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons.
Putin said the clarifications were carefully calibrated and commensurate with the modern military threats facing Russia. “We see the modern military and political situation is dynamically changing and we must take this into consideration. Including the emergence of new sources of military threats and risks for Russia and our allies,” he said.
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, dismissed the new nuclear doctrine, saying: “Russia no longer has any instruments to intimidate the world apart from nuclear blackmail. These instruments will not work.”
You can read the full piece here:
Report of Russian weapons programme in China ‘deeply concerning’, Nato says
A Nato spokesperson said a Reuters report that Russia has established a weapons programme in China to develop and produce long-range attack drones for use in its war against Ukraine was “deeply concerning” and that Nato “allies are consulting on this matter”.
The White House national security council said it appeared to be an instance of a Chinese company providing lethal assistance to a US-sanctioned Russian firm. The White House had not seen anything to suggest the Chinese government was aware of the transactions involved, but China had a responsibility to ensure companies were not providing lethal aid to Russia for use by its military, a spokesperson added.
IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned arms company Almaz-Antey, has developed and flight-tested a new drone model called Garpiya-3 (G3) in China with the help of local specialists, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing two sources from a European intelligence agency and documents it had reviewed.
More on that in a moment. In other developments:
Former president Donald Trump said Ukraine should have made concessions to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, instead of going to war with its invading neighbour, describing the Ukrainian people as “dead” and the country “demolished”. Speaking at an event in North Carolina on Wednesday, the Republican presidential nominee – who is not expected to meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on his trip to the US – said: “The worst deal would’ve been better than what we have now.” Trump added: “What deal can we make? It’s demolished … The people are dead. The country is in rubble.”
The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, meanwhile, demanded that Ukraine fire its ambassador to Washington as the feud between Trump and Zelenskyy escalated and Republicans accused the Ukrainian leader of election interference. In a public letter, Johnson demanded that Zelenskyy fire the Ukrainian ambassador, Oksana Markarova, over a visit to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, calling it a “partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats”.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, announced $375m in military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, in a package that includes Himars precision rocket launchers, cluster munitions and light tactical vehicles. “The United States is committed to Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s brutal aggression,” Blinken said in a statement, adding Washington would “deploy this new assistance as quickly as possible”.
Zelenskyy told the United Nations that Russia was planning to attack Ukrainian nuclear power plants as he repeated his calls for unity from world leaders in order to force Russia to the negotiating table to conclude a “just peace”. In a speech to the UN general assembly on Wednesday, the Ukrainian leader said he had received information that Russia was gathering intelligence on Ukrainian nuclear power plants in preparation for a potential strike.
In further comments, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s peace plan must be supported by world leaders, and that alternative initiatives to hold talks with Putin would simply aid the Russian president. Zelenskyy in particular targeted a joint proposal by China and Brazil, which have proposed a six-point peace plan for the Ukraine war without Kyiv’s backing. “If someone in the world seeks alternatives … it likely means they themselves want to do a part of what Putin is doing … the question arises: what is the true interest?” Zelenskyy said. “Everyone must understand: you will not boost your power at Ukraine’s expense.”
Zelenskyy also criticised the UN security council, saying it was “impossible to truly and fairly resolve matters of war and peace because too much depends in the security council on the veto power”. Russia is one of five permanent members of the security council and it exercises a veto power over any decisions taken by the body.
Zelenskyy’s comments came as Vladimir Putin escalated his nuclear rhetoric, telling a group of senior officials that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if it was attacked by any state with conventional weapons. The Russian president told the country’s powerful security council that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if Moscow received “reliable information” about the start of a massive launch of missiles, aircraft or drones against it.
The UN chief also criticised the powerful but deeply divided security council at a high-level meeting on Wednesday for a failure of leadership to end the war in Ukraine as well as wars in Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere. “Peace demands action. And peace demands leadership,” the secretary general, António Guterres, told the 15-member council charged with ensuring international peace and security. “Instead, we’re seeing deepening geopolitical divisions and mistrust.”
Russia said on Wednesday it had captured two more villages in Ukraine and was attacking in the town of Vuhledar, a longtime Ukrainian stronghold. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had taken the villages of Hostre and Hryhorivka, though the claim could not be independently confirmed. State news agency Ria cited the Russian-installed head of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, as saying that fighting was taking place inside Vuhledar, which had a prewar population of 14,000. The Ukrainian governor of the region, Vadym Filashkin, said Russia’s troops had not reached the outskirts of Vuhledar but its reconnaissance groups were operating there.
Disinformation attributable to Russian and Belarusian services spiked on the internet by about 300% during the first days of severe flooding in Poland, the country’s deputy premier and digitalisation minister was quoted on Wednesday as saying. The worst floods in at least two decades left many towns in central Europe, including south-western Poland, submerged earlier this month, and the government warned of a spread of disinformation at the same time.
Russia on Wednesday struck the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk with guided bombs, killing at least two people and wounding 19, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said. The Donetsk region governor said in a video post from the scene there were fears that the toll could grow.
