Monday, September 25

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A view of the town of Staryi Saltiv damaged after a Russian attack in Kharkiv Oblast on Sept. 24, 2023. Few residents remain in the Staryi Saltiv town, struggling to survive among the rubble. (Photo by Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Zelensky praises new American aid package as ‘historic.’ President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the new American defense package in his evening address on Sept. 24 as “historic.” The new package will include artillery, missiles for HIMARS, missiles for air defense, additional air defense systems, tactical vehicles, and more.

Second grain freighter arrives in Turkey after grain deal disruption. A second freighter with Ukrainian grain has reached Turkey since Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July, France24 reported on Sept. 24, citing maritime tracking data.

Ukrainian forces push forward near Melitopol. The Ukrainian counteroffensive continues operations in the Melitopol sector, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces announced on Sept. 24.

Russia shells 6 communities in Sumy Oblast. Russian forces shelled six communities in Sumy Oblast on Sept. 24, firing almost 80 rounds from various types of weapons, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on Telegram.

National Resistance Center: Occupation forces prepare mobilization in Ukraine’s south. Russian-installed occupation officials are forming a system of military registration of conscripts among the residents of the occupied territories, the Ukrainian military’s National Resistance Center reported on Sept. 24.

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Ukrainian forces down 19 Shahed drones over southern oblasts. Russian forces launched 19 Shahed-136/131 attack drones overnight on Sept. 25 targeted against Odesa Oblast, as well as two Onyx supersonic missiles, according to Ukrainian military. At least 19 Shahed drones and 11 Kalibr cruise missiles were downed by Ukraine’s air defense mostly over Odesa Oblast.

Russia claims drones shot down over Kursk, Bryansk oblasts. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that air defense units destroyed two drones over the border Kursk and Bryansk oblasts on the evening of Sept. 24.

Media: Drone hits FSB building in Russia’s Kursk. A drone struck an administrative building in the Russian city of Kursk on Sept. 24, according to Roman Starovoit, the governor of the eponymous Russian region.

Military intelligence: Saboteurs hit Russian military targets in Moscow, Kaluga oblasts. “Unknown saboteurs” attacked military facilities in Russia’s Moscow and Kaluga oblasts overnight on Sept. 24, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency reported.

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Ukraine war latest: Zelensky praises new American aid package as ‘historic’

“This is a historic decision by America to jointly produce weapons and defense systems, including air defense,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 24. “This is something that was an absolute fantasy until recently. But it will become a reality. We will make it a reality.”

Photo: Tom Brenner/Getty Images

Zelensky, Netanyahu’s meeting in New York highlights their differences

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that his country will “continue to help Ukraine on humanitarian matters, including dealing with anti-personnel mines,” his declaration fell far short of the level of support requested by his Ukrainian counterpart.

Photo: The Prime Minister of Israel/Facebook

This week in Ukraine Ep. 26 — Is the counteroffensive almost over?

Human cost of war

Russia attacks Kherson, injures 7. Russian forces dropped two aerial bombs on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Sept. 24, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

Governor: Russian airstrikes kill 2 in Kherson Oblast. A Russian airstrike killed one person and injured three in the town of Beryslav in Kherson Oblast on Sept. 24, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on his Telegram channel.

Update: Number of injured in Kremenchuk attack rises to 55, including 6 children. The number of injured in the Russian attack on Kremenchuk on Sept. 22 has risen to 55 people, including six children, Kremenchuk Mayor Vitalii Maletskyi reported on Sept. 24.

Man hospitalized with shrapnel injuries after Russian shelling in Nikopol. Russian forces shelled Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast overnight on Sept. 24, injuring a 25-year-old man and damaging a supermarket and a kindergarten, according to Serhiy Lysak, head of the regional military administration.

International response

Duda: Poland prepares transit corridors for Ukrainian grain. Poland has prepared transit corridors for Ukrainian grain to pass through and be “exported to where it is needed,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview with local channel TVP1 on Sept. 24.

House speaker drops plan to strip $300 million Ukraine aid package from funding bill. Kevin McCarthy, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, said on Sept. 23 he would support keeping a $300 million aid package for Ukraine in the defense funding bill, walking back a comment he made the day before.

DeSantis opposes Ukraine’s NATO accession. Ron DeSantis, a leading Republican candidate in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, said in a Sept. 23 podcast he believes that it’s not in NATO’s best interests to admit Ukraine as a member.

In other news

Ukrainian wrestler Zhan Beleniuk wins bronze at World Wrestling Championship, earns spot in 2024 Olympics. Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler and politician Zhan Beleniuk won bronze at the World Wrestling Championship in Belgrade on Sept. 22 and earned a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Turkish wrestler Ali Cengiz defeated the two-time world champion in the 87 kg division.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Igor Kossov, Francis Farrell, Daria Shulzhenko, Lili Bivings, Rachel Amran, Olena Goncharova, and Abbey Fenbert.

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