We’re now closing the Russia-Ukraine war blog for today, thanks for following along with the Guardian’s live coverage. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.
For a summary of today's events, see this post for the major news headlines.
That’s all from me, Jem Bartholomew in London. See you next time.
Updated
After Ukraine began using a new naval route to bypass Russia’s de facto blockade of its Black Sea ports – with two ships in the past week successfully sailing the new route – here’s a rundown on what the Black Sea grain deal was and why it was so important before it collapsed when Russia pulled out in July.
My colleague Patrick Wintour wrote about the deal in late July:
What was the Black Sea grain deal? The Black Sea grain initiative was negotiated in July 2022 between Turkey, the UN and Russia as a way of ensuring that Ukraine, one of the breadbaskets of the world, could ensure that its grain could leave its southern ports via the Bosphorus. The grain could not be exported in the quantities required using the alternative methods of road or rail through Poland or by canal and river through Romania.
What did the grain deal promise? The initiative, one of the few diplomatic achievements since the war started, allowed for commercial food and fertiliser (including ammonia) exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea – Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdennyi (formerly known as Yuzhny). Ukrainian vessels guided cargo ships into international waters of the Black Sea, avoiding mined areas. The vessels then proceeded towards Istanbul along an agreed maritime humanitarian corridor. Ships heading to and from the Ukrainian ports were inspected by teams composed of Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian and UN inspectors.
Read the full story here:
Updated
There were explosions in two Russian military towns by “unknown saboteurs” targeting military equipment early on Sunday, Ukrainian media site Ukrinform has reported, citing a Telegram channel from the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Here is what Ukrinform has reported about the incidents:
On the night of 24 September, unidentified saboteurs expanded the geography of ‘bavovna’ [explosions] in the aggressor country, distinguishing themselves by successful actions in the Moscow and Kaluga regions.
In particular, a fuel truck was destroyed at the military town of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division of the 1st Tank Army (military unit 23626, Kalininets, Naro-Fominsk district).
Four vehicles with trailers were destroyed at the military town of the 60th arms arsenal (military unit 42702, Kaluga).
#ГУРінформує
— Defence intelligence of Ukraine (@DI_Ukraine) September 24, 2023
‼️ В ніч на 24 вересня невідомі диверсанти розширили географію бавовни на території країни-агресора, відзначившись вдалими діями в московській та калузькій областях
🔗 https://t.co/CkjMna4B7M pic.twitter.com/wEGbxsc9Tm
Updated
Summary of the day so far
The mayor of Russia’s Kursk had to cancel the Kursk City Day fireworks celebration after a Ukrainian drone struck an administrative building, damaging the roof. There have been more reports of explosions.
Ukraine has now begun using a new route that allows the country to bypass Russia’s de facto blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. This past week, two ships have successfully used the new route, with three more cargo vessels entering Ukrainian waters in recent days.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy handed awards to two Polish volunteers during a stopover in Poland on Saturday but did not meet any officials amid strained relations between Kyiv and Warsaw over grain imports.
An imprisoned Russian opposition figure has been transferred to a maximum security prison in Siberia, where he was placed in a tiny “punishment cell”, his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said.
Russia’s suspension of petrol exports will probably limit already tight supplies in the global market and have the biggest impact on countries that depend on Russian fuel supplies, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. In its latest intelligence update, the ministry said Russians had probably faced localised petrol and diesel shortages in recent weeks.
Pope Francis has said the weapons industry is a key driver of the “martyrdom” of Ukraine’s people in the war with Russia, saying that even the withholding of weapons now is going to continue their misery. The Associated Press reports that the pontiff appeared to refer to Poland’s recent announcement that it was no longer sending arms to Ukraine when reporters asked him about the war as he was returning to Rome from a visit to Marseille, France.
The Russian-installed head of the Donetsk oblast has imposed a curfew banning the presence of civilians on streets and in public places from 11pm until 4am from Mondays to Fridays, Reuters reported. Denis Pushilin published a decree on Sunday that forbade assemblies, rallies and demonstrations, in addition to other mass events, in the Russian-controlled parts of the Donetsk oblast – unless they were permitted by the local operational headquarters for military threat response.
Amid reports that the US president, Joe Biden, has decided to supply Ukraine with long-range army tactical missile systems – reports the White House has yet to confirm – the former US commanding general Ben Hodges called for the US to give Ukraine weapons with the capability to strike at Russian targets in Crimea.
The European commission has sent another €1.5bn in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. The commission has pledged a total of €18bn to Ukraine – the country has already received €12bn. The funds go towards keeping essential public services running, such as hospitals, schools and housing for relocated citizens, as well as paying wages and pensions.
Three people were killed and several more injured in Russian attacks on the Kherson oblast, with Russian forces targeting “the residential quarters of the populated areas of the region” as well as the banking institution in the Berislav district, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on the messaging app Telegram. In Berislav, the aerial attacks also destroyed private homes and injured a police officer, as well as a 48-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman.
Updated
Imprisoned Russian opposition activist transferred to Siberia
An imprisoned Russian opposition figure has been transferred to a maximum security prison in Siberia, the Associated Press is reporting.
Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr, 42, arrived last week at IK-6, a maximum security penal colony in the Siberian city Omsk, where he was placed in a tiny “punishment cell”, his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said today.
Kara-Murza, a journalist and opposition activist, was convicted earlier this year of treason for publicly denouncing Russia’s war in Ukraine and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Russian prison transfers, usually done by train, are notorious for taking a long time, information on the prisoner’s whereabouts is limited. Prokhorov said the transfer from a detention center in Moscow, where Kara-Murza was being held pending trial and appeals, took less than three weeks.
The charges against Kara-Murza stemmed from a speech he gave to the Arizona House of Representatives in which he denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kara-Murza, who survived poisonings in 2015 and 2017 that he blamed on the Kremlin, rejected the charges against him and called them punishment for standing up to Vladimir Putin.
A “punishment cell” is a tiny concrete cell where convicts are held in isolation for violating prison regulations.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images from Ukraine coming in over news agency wires:
Updated
Authorities have completed their search after a Russian rocket attack two days ago on Kremenchuk along the Dnipro River.
The injury count has increased to 55, six of whom are children, the city’s mayor Vitalii Maletskyi said on Telegram. Of the injured, 19 are receiving inpatient treatment at city hospitals, including one child.
One person was killed in the attack on 22 September.
Updated
The Ukrainian air force is warning several oblasts of incoming missiles, and repelling a number of them.
On Telegram, the air force announced that its personnel had taken care of aerial threats in the Dnipro, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv oblasts this morning.
Twice this morning alone, the air force repelled threats in the Kherson oblast. A few minutes ago, they repeated warnings of missile danger in the region.
The air force also warned that an air alert in the Sumy oblast is related to the activity of Russian army aviation along the border.
Updated
The mayor of the Russian city Kursk has canceled the fireworks celebrating Kursk City Day after at least one Ukrainian drone strike that damaged an administrative building.
Kursk’s mayor, Igor Kutsak, said on Telegram: “In connection with recent events, I decided to cancel the fireworks display in honor of City Day. I think this will be reasonable from the point of view of peace and safety of residents.”
There have been more reports of explosions in Kursk, but it’s currently unclear if they were caused by Ukrainian forces.
Updated
One person was injured in a Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Belgorod oblast, the regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.
A drone dropped an explosive device on a passing truck in Novoe in the Volokonovsky district, Gladkov said. The truck driver took himself to a hospital, where he was treated for a mild concussion and shrapnel wounds.
Updated
Civilians were injured after the activation of Russian air defences in Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia oblast, Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
Updated
Ukraine utilising Black Sea shipping routes amid threats
Since the Kremlin withdrew in July from a grain deal brokered by the UN and Turkey that allowed for the safe passage of agricultural exports from Ukraine, Russian forces have been targeting the port of Odesa and forcing Ukraine to stop using its usual Black Sea routes.
But Ukraine has now begun using a new route that allows the country to bypass Russia’s de facto blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, the New York Times is reporting.
This past week, two ships have successfully used the new route, with three more cargo vessels entering Ukrainian waters in recent days.
A second ship carrying Ukrainian grain has reached Turkey using a temporary Black Sea humanitarian corridor. pic.twitter.com/1otjan99ok
— TVP World (@TVPWorld_com) September 24, 2023
Summary of the day so far
Volodymyr Zelenskiy handed awards to two Polish volunteers during a stopover in Poland on Saturday but did not meet any officials amid strained relations between Kyiv and Warsaw over grain imports.
Russia’s suspension of petrol exports will probably limit already tight supplies in the global market and have the biggest impact on countries that depend on Russian fuel supplies, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. In its latest intelligence update, the ministry said Russians had probably faced localised petrol and diesel shortages in recent weeks.
Pope Francis has said the weapons industry is a key driver of the “martyrdom” of Ukraine’s people in the war with Russia, saying that even the withholding of weapons now is going to continue their misery. The Associated Press reports that the pontiff appeared to refer to Poland’s recent announcement that it was no longer sending arms to Ukraine when reporters asked him about the war as he was returning to Rome from a visit to Marseille, France.
A Ukrainian drone has struck an administrative building in Russia’s Kursk oblast, damaging the roof – on Kursk City Day – and there have been more reports of explosions.
The Russian-installed head of the Donetsk oblast has imposed a curfew banning the presence of civilians on streets and public places from 11pm until 4am on Mondays through Fridays, Reuters is reporting. Denis Pushilin published a decree on Sunday that forbade assemblies, rallies and demonstrations, in addition to other mass events in the Russian-controlled parts of the Donetsk oblast – unless they were permitted by the local operational headquarters for military threat response.
Amid reports that US president Joe Biden has decided to supply Ukraine with long-range army tactical missile systems – reports the White House has yet to confirm – the former US commanding general Ben Hodges called for the US to give Ukraine weapons that have the capability to strike at Russian targets in Crimea.
The European Commission has sent another €1.5bn in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. The commission has pledged a total of €18bn to Ukraine – the country has already received €12bn. The funds go towards keeping essential public services running, such as hospitals, schools and housing for relocated citizens, as well as paying wages and pensions.
Three people were killed and several more injured in Russian attacks on the Kherson oblast, with Russian forces targeting “the residential quarters of the populated areas of the region” as well as the banking institution in the Berislav district, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on the messaging app Telegram. In Berislav, the aerial attacks also destroyed private homes and injured a police officer, as well as a 48-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman.
Updated
The Associated Press reports that among the hundreds of trains crisscrossing Ukraine’s elaborate railway network every day, the train traveling from the capital of Kyiv to Kramatorsk in the Donetsk oblast stands apart, shrouded in solemn silence as passengers anticipate their destination.
It’s the train to the frontline.
Every day, around seven in the morning, passengers of this route leave the relative safety of the capital and head east to frontline areas where battles between Ukrainian forces and Russian troops rage, and Russian strikes are frequent with imprecise missiles that slam into residential areas.
The passengers are a mix of men and women that offer up a slice of Ukrainian society these days. They include soldiers returning to the front after a brief leave, women making the trip to reunite for a few days with husbands and boyfriends serving on the battlefields, and residents returning to check on homes in the Donetsk region.
Here are some images of this very unique train route:
This route holds the fourth position for passenger volume among all intercity high-speed trains and maintains one of the highest occupancy rates – 94% – among all Ukrainian trains.
Updated
A 25-year-old man was hospitalised with shrapnel wounds following a Russian attack near Nikopol in the Dnipro oblast, said Serhiy Lysak, head of the regional military administration.
The man was injured in a series of artillery barrages and ammunition drops from unmanned aerial vehicles overnight, Lysak said. The attacks damaged a department store and a kindergarten.
Meanwhile, four private homes as well as some cars and power lines sustained damage from Russian shells in Chervonogrihorivska, and officials are still investigating the damage in the Myrivska and Pokrovska rural communities.
Updated
There have been more reports of explosions in the Russian city of Kursk, which earlier today had an administrative building damaged after a Ukrainian drone struck it.
These attacks are taking place on Kursk City Day, after city officials cancelled City Day celebrations due to concerns over the city’s proximity to the Ukrainian border.
Another strike in #Kursk. pic.twitter.com/PB0n2gewld
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 24, 2023
Updated
Through the War, an NGO that helps civilians displaced by the war in Ukraine, has established an elder care unit in Kharkiv city. Here are some images of their work:
Updated
Russian-backed head of Donetsk imposes five-hour curfew
The Russian-installed head of the Donetsk oblast has imposed a curfew banning the presence of civilians on streets and public places from 11pm until 4am on Mondays through Fridays, Reuters is reporting.
Denis Pushilin published a decree on Sunday that forbids assemblies, rallies and demonstrations, in addition to other mass events, in the Russian-controlled parts of the Donetsk oblast – unless they were permitted by the local operational headquarters for military threat response.
This comes after Pushilin signed a decree last week introducing “military censorship of postal mail and messages transmitted via telecommunications systems as well as control of telephone conversations”.
Pushilin’s order also established checkpoints and security posts at borders with the Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
Updated
Two people killed in Russian attacks of Kherson oblast
Russian forces killed a woman in Berislav and a 67-year-old man in Lviv as shelling continues in the Kherson oblast, the regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
In Berislav, the aerial attacks also destroyed private homes and injured a police officer, a 48-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman.
⚡️Explosions are heard in Kherson, subscribers report. We are waiting for official information.
— FLASH (@Flash_news_ua) September 24, 2023
Updated
The US must give Ukraine the army tactical missile systems that have the full capabilities to strike at Russian targets in Crimea, the retired US lieutenant general Ben Hodges told Newsweek.
Ukraine needs full ATACM capabilities: Ret. US general https://t.co/lg9syVZIe0
— Ben Hodges (@general_ben) September 24, 2023
“The [Biden] administration still seems to have a fear of providing long-range precision strike capability, which Ukraine might use against targets inside Russia,” said Hodges, a former commanding general of the US army in Europe. “Nonetheless, delivery of these weapons, immediately, will make a difference in support of Ukraine’s efforts to make Crimea untenable for Russian forces.”
The retired general’s comments come amid reports that Joe Biden has decided to supply Ukraine with long-range army tactical missile systems – reports the White House has yet to confirm.
The systems would provide an important boost to Kyiv’s capacity to target Russian military logistics at long-range distances, but officials feared that Ukraine would use the weapons to attack Russian territory. However, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Ukraine will commit to not target Russian territory with them, and a waiver allowing the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine has expanded the number of potential missiles that could be used there.
Updated
Members of the Ukraine-Nato Interparliamentary Council (Unic) and the Nato parliamentary assembly met yesterday in Lviv.
“Time and again, the assembly has reaffirmed its unwavering support for Ukraine’s democracy, independence, sovereignty, self-defence and self-determination,” the Unic co-chairs Oleksandr Korniyenko and Audronius Azubalis said in a joint statement. “Its members have consistently urged their governments and Nato leaders to redouble their support. In Lviv, Unic members reaffirmed their determination to do everything they can to support Ukraine for as long as it takes to prevail.”
#NATOPA #Ukraine-#NATO Interparliamentary Council Chairs @OlekKorn & @Azubalis release statement after meeting in #Lviv to discuss further concrete and tangible steps to support 🇺🇦. Full statement👉https://t.co/AGfAqwxf13 pic.twitter.com/0TWf4gziH9
— NATO PA / AP-OTAN (@natopapress) September 24, 2023
During the meeting, the co-chairs discussed the outcomes at the Nato Vilnius summit, which included:
• Allied leaders should take bold, strategic decisions regarding Ukraine’s Nato membership at the Washington summit in 2024.
• More nations should support [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy’s peace plan, which provides the foundation for a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace.
• Russia must be held accountable, through national and international initiatives, for the crime of aggression. Those who committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and potential acts of genocide on the territory of Ukraine must be prosecuted.
• Sanctions on Russia must be sustained and expanded to cripple its ability to continue the war effort, and national and multilateral mechanisms to prevent sanction circumvention must be stepped up.
• Belarusian, Iranian and North Korean authorities must be condemned for actively supporting the Russian aggression. Co-aggressors and accomplices of the Russian state, which under the current regime is a terrorist one, must be held accountable for their actions.
• Ukraine’s democratic partners must start putting in place a comprehensive aid programme – akin to the Marshall plan – for the reconstruction of a more prosperous Ukraine firmly anchored to the liberal democratic family of nations. The co-chairs are fully convinced that blocked or frozen sanctioned Russian assets should be used for this purpose. Russia will ultimately have to pay for the damages and losses inflicted upon Ukraine.
Updated
Ukrainian forces fired 11 artillery shells at the village of Shchetinovka in Russia’s Belgorod oblast yesterday, the regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.
Air defence systems shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle in the villages of Krutoy Log and Toplinka. And although Ukrainian forces dropped two fragmentation munitions on the village of Naumovka, there were no casualties or destruction in any of the settlements in the region.
Ukrainian forces also shelled the village of Dolgoye in the Valuysky district, and fired five mortar shells on Stary village in the Volokonovsky district. There was also mortar fire in the Grayvoronsky urban district, but there were no casualties or damage.
A production workshop’s roof was damaged after shelling in the city of Shebekino. There were no casualties or damage in the villages of Murom, Novaya Tavolzhanka or Krasnoye after attacks from Ukrainian forces.
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskiy met top US financiers – including Mike Bloomberg – during his visit to the US. According to Reuters, they discussed investment and the reconstruction of Ukraine during this meeting.
Під час візиту до 🇺🇸 Президент 🇺🇦 @ZelenskyyUa та наша команда зустрілися з найвпливовішими американськими підприємцями й керівниками найбільших фондів. Вона була організована за підтримки банку JP Morgan. pic.twitter.com/hXMc7XKHnN
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) September 24, 2023
Updated
Ukrainian drone strikes administrative building in Russia's Kursk oblast
A Ukrainian drone has struck an administrative building in Russia’s Kursk oblast, the regional governor Roman Starovoit said on Telegram – on Kursk City Day.
Starovoit reported that the roof of the building was slightly damaged, and he made no mention of casualties.
The attack comes after city officials cancelled City Day celebrations due to concerns over the city’s proximity to the Ukrainian border.
In #Kursk, a drone hit an administrative building
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 24, 2023
Local residents report powerful explosions. pic.twitter.com/JVELxOaVjy
Updated
The European Commission has sent another €1.5bn in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine.
The commission has pledged a total of €18bn to Ukraine – the country has already received €12bn. The funds go towards keeping essential public services running, such as hospitals, schools and housing for relocated citizens, as well as paying wages and pensions. The funds will also go towards restoring critical infrastructure destroyed in Russia attacks, such as energy infrastructure, water systems, transport networks, roads and bridges.
Our commitment to #StandWithUkraine is unwavering.
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) September 24, 2023
This week, we've disbursed another €1.5 billion in Macro-Financial Assistance to Ukraine.
Month after month, we continue to play our part in rebuilding a prosperous country, while helping to cover the country's needs.
Updated
The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces is estimating that Russian forces lost 390 personnel yesterday.
Russian forces launched five missile, 57 airstrikes and 38 multiple launch rocket system attacks at Ukrainian troops and civilian targets across the country, the general staff said in its morning briefing.
More than 70 settlements in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts came under artillery fire.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force launched nine airstrikes on Russian forces and seven airstrikes on anti-aircraft missile systems. Ukrainian airstrikes hit a concentration of troops, weapons and military equipment, as well as one anti-aircraft missile system, eight artillery systems and one radar station.
Загальні бойові втрати противника з 24.02.22 по 24.09.23 орієнтовно склали / The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.22 to 24.09.23 were approximately pic.twitter.com/4DRczQ6qSV
— Генеральний штаб ЗСУ (@GeneralStaffUA) September 24, 2023
Updated
One killed, three injured in Kherson
One person was killed and three more were injured in Russian attacks on the Kherson oblast, the regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
Russian forces launched 83 attacks over the past day, Prokudin said, firing a total of 332 shells – 28 shells at the city of Kherson alone.
”The Russian military targeted the residential quarters of the populated areas of the region.” Prokudin said, noting that the banking institution in the Beryslav district was also a target.
Updated
Pope Francis has said the weapons industry is a key driver of the “martyrdom” of Ukraine’s people in the war with Russia, saying that even the withholding of weapons now is going to continue their misery.
The Associated Press reports that the pontiff appeared to refer to Poland’s recent announcement that it was no longer sending arms to Ukraine when he was asked about the war during brief remarks to reporters while returning home from Marseille, France.
Francis acknowledged he was frustrated that the Vatican’s diplomatic initiatives hadn’t borne much fruit. But he said beyond the Russia-Ukraine conflict was the weapons industry.
He described the paradox that was keeping Ukraine a “martyred people” – that at first many countries gave Ukraine weapons and now they were taking them away.
Francis has long denounced the weapons industry as “merchants of death”, but he has also asserted the right of countries to defend themselves.
He said:
I’ve seen now that some countries are pulling back, and aren’t giving weapons This will start a process where the martyrdom is the Ukrainian people, certainly. And this is bad.
It was an apparent reference to the announcement by Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawieck, that the country was no longer sending arms to Ukraine as part of a grain trade dispute.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images from Ukraine coming in over news agency wires.
Updated
Moscow's halt of fuel exports set to hit countries reliant on Russian supplies, says UK MoD
Russia’s suspension of petrol exports will probably limit already tight supplies in the global market and have the biggest impact on countries that depend on Russian fuel supplies, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.
It its latest intelligence update, the ministry said Russians had probably been facing localised petrol and diesel shortages in recent weeks.
But the shortages were unlikely to be a direct result of the war in Ukraine, it said. Instead, they were probably being caused by factors including short-term increases in demand from the agricultural sector, the annual summer maintenance of refineries and attractive prices for exports.
On Thursday, Russia suspended nearly all diesel and petrol exports in order to stabilise its internal markets, the ministry said in its update, posted on X/Twitter.
The move will almost certainly further constrain supplies in a tight global market, likely having the greatest impact on countries currently dependent on Russian fuel supplies.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 24 September 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) September 24, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/5ySC69osc8
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/v2eCsBWeKS
Updated
Zelenskiy meets no officials during Polish visit
Volodymyr Zelenskiy awarded two Polish volunteers state awards during the Ukrainian president’s stopover on Saturday, but did not meet any officials as relations between the two countries are strained over grain imports.
Poland decided last week to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports, shaking Kyiv’s relationship with a neighbour that has been one of its staunchest allies during the Russian invasion.
Reuters also reports that Poland’s prime minister told Zelenskiy on Friday not to “insult” Poles, maintaining harsh rhetoric towards Kyiv ahead of elections on 15 October. The ruling Law and Justice party has been criticised by the far right for what it says is the government’s subservient attitude to Ukraine.
Zelenskiy angered his neighbours when he told the UN general assembly in New York that Kyiv was working to preserve land routes for grain exports, but that the “political theatre” around imports was only helping Moscow.
On Saturday, on his way back home, he handed awards to Bianka Zalewska, a journalist who helped transport wounded children to Polish hospitals, and Damian Duda, who gathered a medical team to help wounded soldiers near the front line.
Zelenskiy thanked all Poles who “from the first days opened their families, their homes, opened themselves up and helped”.
I believe that any challenges on our common path are nothing compared to the fact that there is such strength between our people.
Duda told Reuters that Zelenskiy was very informal at the meeting, like an old friend.
The head of the Polish president’s International Policy Office, Marcin Przydacz, told Onet.pl website that his office did not receive any proposal for a meeting during Zelenskiy’s stay in Poland.
Updated
Opening summary
Welcome back to our continuing coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is Adam Fulton and here’s a snapshot of the latest to bring you up to speed.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy handed awards to two Polish volunteers during a stopover in Poland on Saturday but did not meet any officials amid strained relations between Kyiv and Warsaw over grain imports.
Poland’s prime minister told the Ukrainian president on Friday not to “insult” Poles, after Zelenskiy angered his neighbours when he told the UN general assembly in New York that Kyiv was working to preserve land routes for grain exports but that the “political theatre” around imports was only helping Moscow.
More on that story shortly. In other news as it turns 9am in Kyiv:
The United States has decided to supply Ukraine with long-range army tactical missile systems (ATACMS), an important boost to Kyiv’s capacity to target Russian military logistics at long-range distances as the country prepares for a second winter at war. Joe Biden told Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a private meeting that a small number of the weapons would be transferred, NBC reported, citing US officials. Ukraine has been asking for ATACMS for months.
Ukraine has reported breaking through Russian defence lines in the Zaporizhzhia area in the country’s south, with a general leading the counteroffensive there saying the advance is still under way. “On the left flank [near the village of Verbove] we have a breakthrough and we continue to advance further,” Gen Oleksandr Tarnavskiy told CNN. He said progress was “not as fast as it was expected, not like in the movies about the second world war”, but it was important “not to lose this initiative”.
Nine people were killed and 16 injured, among them two generals, in a Ukrainian airstrike on Russia’s Black Sea naval headquarters in Crimea, according to the head of Ukrainian military intelligence. Kyrylo Budanov told the Voice of America that “among the wounded is the commander of the group, Col Gen [Alexander] Romanchuk, in a very serious condition. The chief of staff, Lt Gen [Oleg] Tsekov, is unconscious.” A Ukrainian missile hit the headquarters in Sevastopol on Friday. Russia’s defence ministry said one military service member was missing as a result.
Human rights lawyers working with Ukraine’s public prosecutor are preparing a war crimes dossier to submit to the international criminal court accusing Russia of deliberately causing starvation during the conflict. The aim is to document instances where the Russian invaders used hunger as a weapon of war, providing evidence for the ICC to launch the first prosecution of its kind that could indict the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said a peace plan proposed by Ukraine is “completely not feasible” and that the war will be resolved on the battlefield if Kyiv and the west stick to the plan as a basis for negotiations. Lavrov accused western powers of directly fighting Russia, in comments at the United Nations.
Lavrov said Russia left the Black Sea grain deal because promises to Moscow had not been met. On the latest proposals by the UN secretary general to revive the deal, Lavrov said: “We don’t reject them, they are simply not realistic.”
Lavrov said he would go to Pyongyang next month for more negotiations following agreements reached by Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Russian spies are using hackers to target computer systems at law enforcement agencies in Ukraine in a bid to identify and obtain evidence related to alleged Russian war crimes, according to Ukraine’s cyber-defence chief.
Norwegian police have arrested a former commander of the Wagner mercenary group on suspicion that he attempted to illegally re-enter Russia after seeking asylum in Norway earlier this year, a lawyer for Andrei Medvedev said.
Three successive commanders of one of Russia’s most prestigious airborne regiments have either resigned or been killed since its invasion of Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. That highlighted the “extreme attrition and high turnover in Russia’s deployed military, even amongst relatively senior ranks”, it said in an intelligence update.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy held an impromptu meeting with the head of the Sudanese sovereign council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, where they discussed Russia-funded armed groups. The meeting took place at Shannon airport in Ireland.
Updated
