September 21, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks with U.S. Senators John Kennedy, Ron Wyden, Maisie Hirono and Tom Carper after a meeting with all members of the Senate held in the Old Senate Chamber, during a visit to the Capitol in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his meeting with US senators on Capitol Hill on Thursday was a “great dialogue.”

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that Zelensky had warned them about the dangers of not passing more Ukraine funding.

“There was a single sentence that sums it all up, and I’m quoting him verbatim, Mr. Zelensky said, ‘if we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war.’ That’s a quote from him,” he said. 

US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell added it was a “good meeting.”

Earlier Thursday, Zelensky also met with lawmakers from the US House of Representatives. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would not commit to putting Ukraine aid on the chamber’s floor by end of the year despite what he described as a productive meeting with Zelensky, insisting instead domestic spending is a priority.

White House meeting this afternoon: President Joe Biden is set to welcome Zelensky to the White House this afternoon. Biden is seeking to hear a “battlefield perspective” from Zelensky as a second autumn of war approaches, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told reporters.

Biden is expected to talk to Zelensky about battlefield needs, Kirby said, but it comes amid CNN reporting that ATACMS, the long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, may not be part of a new weapons package, something Zelensky suggested to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer would be a disappointment. ATACMS are “not off the table,” Kirby said.

The Biden administration has been asking Congress for more Ukraine funding amid skepticism from some GOP lawmakers.

CNN’s Lauren Fox contributed reporting to this post.

The death toll from Thursday’s Russian strikes on the Kherson region has risen.

Since the beginning of the day, five people had been killed and 10 others injured, said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of Kherson Region Military Administration.

The strikes in Kherson were part of a larger Russian attack across Ukraine, just hours before President Volodymyr Zelensky was set to meet US President Joe Biden at the White House.

The attack marked the first time in six months that Russia has launched attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure, according to the state energy provider Ukrenergo, just as the country gears up for colder seasons that will require more energy use for heating.

Last year, Russia began a series of intense attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October.

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy speaks to reporters after leaving the House Chambers in the U.S. Capitol Building on September 20, in Washington, DC.

Asked repeatedly if he would commit to putting a $24 billion Ukraine aid package on the floor, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would not commit to moving the aid forward despite what he described as a productive meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, insisting instead that domestic spending is a priority.

He said he raised issues such as accountability in his meeting with Zelensky, and the Ukrainian president answered a series of questions too. The House speaker described the conversation as “good” and “productive.”

McCarthy also told reporters he was asked to host a joint session of Congress, but declined because he said there wasn’t time with Congress’ busy schedule and that Zelensky just got one last year.

Looming shutdown: Zelensky’s visit is coming as House Republicans are engaged in a bitter fight over government funding on the domestic front and as the prospects for more money for Ukraine – while very much alive in the Senate – are far less clear in the House even with the Biden administration sending over a request for $24 billion in support.

The White House has said there is a “critical need” for Congress to grant the funding request for Ukraine for its counteroffensive capabilities, and that the aid “will have a significant impact on Ukraine’s fight.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a joint session of Congress, which would have allowed him to give a speech and address everyone, a source told CNN. 

“What I was asked for was a joint session. We don’t have time for a joint session,” McCarthy told reporters. “So, I did exactly what I’ve done with the prime minister of Italy, the prime minister of the UK. I always bring when leaders come in, I bring a bipartisan group of leadership together.”

This comes as members of Congress remain divided over aid to Ukraine.

McCarthy also avoided being seen with Zelensky publicly. He denied official photographers access to the room where House leaders met the Ukrainian president, the source added. But he took photos with Zelensky during a closed-door meeting, and a source shared with CNN photos from the room.

Punchbowl was first to report McCarthy denied Zelensky’s request. 

Ukrainian servicemen fire a Polish self-propelled howitzer Krab toward Russian positions on a frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on January 17.

One of Ukraine’s closest and most vocal allies has now said it will stop sending arms to Kyiv, a major reversal that threatens to upend Europe’s strategic relationship with the country as it wages a counteroffensive against Russia.

Poland’s decision was both sudden and predictable, coming after months of tensions over a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports to a number of European Union countries.

It also follows a pattern of increasingly confrontational behavior towards Kyiv from Poland’s government, just weeks before a tight general election.

And it could have implications for Ukraine’s attempts to push Russian forces out of the country’s southern regions, in an ongoing assault that has been making slow and grinding progress.

What has Poland announced? “We no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a blunt social media statement on Wednesday.

Morawiecki added in a television interview that Poland will now focus on supplying “the most modern weapons” for its own purposes, state news agency PAP reported. “If you want to defend yourself you have to have something to defend with,” the prime minister said.

It marks a major chance in policy. In the spring, Poland became the first NATO country to send fighter jets to Ukraine – months ahead of the United States, which only agreed last month to approve the transfer of F-16 jets, pending the completion of training by Ukrainian forces.

It has also previously sent more than 200 Soviet-style tanks to Ukraine, and most Western military equipment and other supplies reach Ukrainian forces by crossing Polish territory.

Poland will now only carry out the supplies of ammunition and weapons to Kyiv that were agreed before Warsaw made its decision to stop shipments, government spokesman Piotr Muller said Thursday, according to PAP.

Muller emphasized that Ukraine has made a series of “absolutely unacceptable statements and diplomatic gestures” and that “Poland does not accept this type of unjustified actions,” PAP reported.

How did we get here? Pressure has been building for months over a ban on Ukrainian grain, initially put in place earlier this year by several EU nations to protect the livelihood of local farmers worried about being undercut by the low price of Ukrainian grain.

Last week, the EU announced plans to suspend the rule. But three nations – Poland, Hungary and Slovakia – said they intended to defy the change and keep the restrictions in place. It prompted protests from Ukraine, which this week filed lawsuits against all three countries over the issue.

Ukraine, often called the “breadbasket of Europe” due to the vast quantities of grain it produces, had its Black Sea ports blockaded by Russia following its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Fearing that the situation was “threatening global food security,” the European Commission set up what it called “solidarity lanes” in May to facilitate exports, and temporarily eliminated all duties and quotas on Ukraine’s exports, allowing a glut of cheap Ukrainian grain to flow into the continent.

Anger in Poland has been simmering since the spring, when farmers led demonstrations against the moves. But they erupted once again in recent days, after the decision of the three nations to ignore the removal of the ban.

In a swipe against the trio on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly in New York that “it is alarming to see how some in Europe, some of our friends in Europe, play out solidarity in a political theater – making a thriller from the grain.”

Zelensky added that the nations involved “may seem to play their own role but in fact they are helping set the stage to a Moscow actor.” His comments sparked immediate condemnation from Poland, with the foreign ministry summoning the Ukrainian ambassador to convey its “strong protest.”

Read more here about Poland’s reversal and how it might impact the war.

US President Joe Biden is seeking to hear a “battlefield perspective” from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Washington, DC, on Thursday, the White House said.

It comes as the Ukrainian president pleas for additional aid for his war-torn country and the US Congress remains divided about how to proceed. Biden will also reiterate US support “that we’re going to continue to be with them for as long as it takes,” National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said.

Biden will talk to Zelensky about specific weapons needs, Kirby said. However, CNN has reported that ATACMS — the long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems — may not be part of a new weapons package, something Zelensky suggested to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer would be a disappointment. 

Kirby said ATACMS is “not off the table,” and “we continue to have discussions here in the interagency about that particular weapon system, but no decision has been made.

More broadly, Kirby said there is a “critical need” for Congress to grant the White House’s $24 billion supplemental funding request for Ukraine for its counteroffensive capabilities. He offered forceful pushback to Republican lawmakers questioning continued US aid to Ukraine and encouraged them to meet directly with the Ukrainian president.

How the visit is expected to unfold: First, Zelensky is meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and others at the Pentagon. In addition to the Senate, Zelensky is expected to talk with Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and other leaders, according to Kirby.

After that, Biden and Zelensky will meet in the Oval Office followed by an extended bilateral meeting in the Cabinet Room, Kirby said. 

Biden and Zelensky have met in person six times, Kirby noted, and “have spoken regularly,” adding that there will be an “air of familiarity” between the two. 

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the US Capitol to meet lawmakers and ask for continued support for the country’s defense against Russia, senators remain divided over the aid:

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley told CNN Thursday that he remains skeptical of funding for Kyiv and that Senate leadership who argue in favor of it are “totally wrong.”

“They’re going to ask for more later. There’s no end in sight. We were told this could literally go on for years. It’s another forever war,” the Missouri Republican told CNN.

Later Thursday, Hawley told CNN that Zelensky’s direct appeal to Congress today left him unconvinced.

“No. I mean, what the meeting revealed to me is, is that in the words of President Zelenskyy the conflict is a total stalemate. That’s what he said totally frozen,” Hawley told CNN.

Hawley noted that while he was unconvinced, he said Zelensky was “effusive” in his thanks and very respectful. He added that he told senators the aid from the US is not being diverted away from the war effort. 

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, however, described funding for Ukraine as a critical “investment.” 

“I’m totally committed to supporting Ukraine until we win this war and help them win that war that they’re willing to sacrifice their life for. So I think the majority of all senators feel the same as I do,” he added.

Soldiers of the 47th Brigade of the Ukrainian army are seen with a Leopard 2 at the Tokmak front in Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine, on September 16.

Ukrainian officials indicated further progress has been made on the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia region, with some units advancing “deep into the Russian defenses.”

However, Yevgeniy Balitskiy, the Russian-appointed acting governor of occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia region said on Telegram that Ukraine is “completing the redeployment of its units in the Robotyne area, after which we expect the situation in the Robotyne-Verbove area to deteriorate.”

CNN is unable to verify the battlefield reports of either side. However, open-source analysis of available video suggests some Ukrainian units have crossed through an important line of Russian defenses near the village of Verbove.

According to several analysts, Ukrainian vehicles from the 82nd Air Assault Brigade had crossed one trench system.

Without air superiority and in the face of dense minefields and reinforced Russian units, Ukrainian forces have so far struggled to break through the multiple layers of Russian defenses in occupied Zaporizhzhia. They still remain some 20 kilometers from the strategic Russian hub of Tokmak — their first major target on the southern offensive.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky walks with Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as he arrives for a meeting with members of the U.S. House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on September 21, in Washington, DC.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will return to Capitol Hill Thursday morning for his second visit since his country was besieged by Russia — only this time, the political landscape has shifted.

A year ago, Zelensky faced a much different reception in Congress. Democrats controlled the House and public support for funding the war effort in Ukraine was higher. As he stood to ask for more money and weapons before a joint meeting of Congress, Zelensky was met with a packed House, members adorned in yellow and blue standing in support with Ukraine.

Now, the Ukrainian president will return to Congress to a new speaker – facing a rebellion on his right – who has yet to promise future aid to Ukraine and will have to balance his own political future against the future Zelensky is hoping for his country.

This week alone, McCarthy’s right flank has openly taunted members for backing Ukraine. Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida posted a picture of McCarthy in a Ukraine pin and with a yellow and blue pocket square, writing, “How does this make you feel?”

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia posted a scene of Lord Farquaad calling his troops to battle from the animated film “Shrek,” tweeting, “Washington warlords speaking to the American people about Ukraine.”

US President Joe Biden is also set to welcome Zelensky to the White House on Thursday. Biden is seeking to hear a “battlefield perspective” from Zelensky as a second autumn of war approaches, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told reporters.

Biden is expected to talk to Zelensky about battlefield needs, Kirby said, but it comes amid CNN reporting that ATACMS, the long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, may not be part of a new weapons package, something Zelensky suggested to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer would be a disappointment. ATACMS are “not off the table,” Kirby said.

Zelensky’s visit is also coming as House Republicans are engaged in a bitter fight over government funding on the domestic front and as the prospects for more money for Ukraine – while very much alive in the Senate – are far less clear in the House even as the Biden administration as sent over a request for $24 billion in support.

Ukraine endured a deadly nationwide Russian missile barrage targeting energy facilities in Kyiv and other cities on Thursday, just hours before President Volodymyr Zelensky was set to meet US President Joe Biden at the White House.

Officials called it “a terrible night for Kherson city,” noting that apartment buildings and cars were also damaged in Russian shelling on residential areas. Two people were injured in the city of Kharkiv, where Russia launched six strikes in the early hours of the morning, according to local officials. And at least 10 people were injured in overnight missile attacks on the city of Cherkasy in central Ukraine.

The strikes marked the first time in six months that Russia has launched attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure, according to the state energy provider Ukrenergo, just as the country gears up for colder seasons that will require more energy use for heating. Last year, Russia began a series of intense attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October.

Ukrenergo said the overnight missile attacks resulted in damage to power facilities in western and central regions and caused blackouts in several areas.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 of 43 missiles launched by Russia on Thursday, Ukraine’s army chief said. But air raid alerts remain in place in parts of the country, as some Ukrainian officials warn that the missile threat is ongoing.

The attacks came as the capital Kyiv crossed the 1,000-hour mark of air raid alarms since the start of the Russian invasion, according to the head of the city’s military administration.

CNN’s Tim Lister and Karen Smith contributed to this report.

Jozef Bires in Horni Lidec, Czech Republic, on July 17.

Slovakia and Ukraine have agreed to establish a grain trade system that would enable a ban on imports of Ukrainian grain to be lifted, Slovakia’s agriculture ministry said Thursday. 

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic, Jozef Bires, held a “constructive” online meeting with Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi on Wednesday, Slovakia’s Agriculture Ministry said in a statement to CNN.  

“They agreed on the developing of a grain trading system based on the issuing and controlling of licenses,” the ministry said. It did not give details on how the licensing system would work.

However, “until this system is launched and its full operation is tested, the ban on the import of four commodities from Ukraine, which was approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic as of September 16, continues to apply until the end of 2023,” it added.

The ban on Ukrainian grain was initially put in place earlier this year by several European Union nations to protect local farmers, who were worried about being undercut by the low prices of Ukrainian grain. Last week, the European Union announced plans to suspend the ban, but Slovakia — along with Poland and Hungary — said they intended to defy the change and keep the restrictions in place.

Kyiv filed a lawsuit on Monday against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over the ban on imports, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko had said. But Slovakia’s agriculture ministry today said Ukraine is pausing legal actions against Slovakia.

“Minister Bires asked his Ukrainian colleague that Ukraine stops all actions with the lawsuit against Slovakia, that already have happened, as well as the statements about stopping the trade of agricultural commodities from Slovakia to Ukraine,” the ministry said.

Solskyi “promised to stop these steps,” Slovakia’s agriculture ministry said.

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy prepares to return to Capitol Hill on Thursday to appeal for more support for Kyiv, a recent CNN poll shows that American public support for additional US aid for Ukraine has been shifting.

Most Americans oppose Congress authorizing more funding to support Ukraine in its war with Russia, according to an August CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Overall, 55% say the US Congress should not authorize additional funding to support Ukraine vs. 45% who say Congress should authorize such funding.

And 51% say that the US has already done enough to help Ukraine while 48% say it should do more. A poll conducted in the early days of the Russian invasion in late February 2022 found 62% who felt the US should have been doing more.

Partisan divisions have widened since that poll, too, with most Democrats and Republicans now on opposing sides of questions on the US role in Ukraine.

A majority, but not all (68%) of those who say the US should do more to support Ukraine favor additional funding, as do 23% of those who say the US has already done enough.

When asked specifically about types of assistance the US could provide to Ukraine, there is broader support for help with intelligence gathering (63%) and military training (53%) than for providing weapons (43%), alongside very slim backing for US military forces to participate in combat operations (17%).

Most Americans who say the US should be doing more to support Ukraine are in favor of providing assistance in intelligence gathering (75%), military training (68%) and weapons (60%), while among those who say the US has already done enough, only intelligence gathering earns majority support (52%).

A majority of Americans do express concern that Russia’s war in Ukraine will threaten US national security (56%), but that’s down significantly February 2022 (72% were worried about threats to US security then).

A bigger worry across partisan lines in the new poll is that the war will continue without a resolution for a long time. Nearly 8 in 10 are worried about that, including 82% of Democrats, 75% of independents and 73% of Republicans. Nearly two-thirds overall are concerned that the war in Ukraine will lead to increased threats to democracy elsewhere (65%) or lead to Russian attacks elsewhere (64%), and about 6 in 10 are worried it could lead to a broader war in Europe (59%).

Read more about the poll’s findings.

The White House is planning to provide a new aid package to Ukraine when President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Washington, DC, on Thursday, a US official told CNN. 

The package — based on existing drawdown authority — will include additional artillery, anti-armor, anti-aircraft and air defense capabilities that will better equip the country for an ongoing counteroffensive and beyond. 

Zelensky “will be leaving the White House with a significant package of additional capabilities to help near- and long-term defenses,” this official said. 

The package’s air defense capabilities are also expected to help Ukraine defend its skies ahead of a tough winter, with more strikes expected on critical infrastructure.  

Notably, the package is not expected to include Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, that would allow Ukrainian soldiers the ability to strike longer-range targets.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that ATACMs are “not off the table,” but the agencies reviewing whether to provide the weapons have not reached a decision.   

The US military has briefed the White House that while ATACMs would provide longer-range and longer-term defense capabilities, Ukraine’s more pressing needs during the counteroffensive are vehicles, mine-clearing equipment, and short-range anti-aircraft equipment to breach Russian defenses. 

Russia has launched a barrage of missile attacks across Ukraine, including, for the first time in months, on Ukraine’s power infrastructure, causing damage to facilities in central and western regions.

The latest Russian bombardment comes as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenksy is preparing to meet with President Joe Biden and meet with US lawmakers, marking his second visit since his country was besieged by Russia. 

Elsewhere, Poland has announced that it will only carry out previously-agreed weapons supplies to Ukraine, amid a growing rift over the export of Ukrainian grain.

Below are the latest developments:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in Washington, DC, says that air defense for Ukraine is among the top issues on his agenda.

“Today, important negotiations are taking place in Washington. Air defense for Ukraine is among the top issues,” Zelensky posted on Telegram.

Referring to the barrage of more than 40 cruise missiles that were fired at targets across Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, Zelensky said, “Russian terrorists launched another massive attack. In particular, on the infrastructure. Most of the missiles were shot down. But only the majority. Not all of them.”

Zelensky said he was “grateful to every country that has already provided Ukraine with anti-missile systems. We are working to completely deprive Russia of its terrorist potential. We must reach this result.”

DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko attends the Ukraine Gas Investment Congress at the Kyiv International Convention Center Parkovy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 20, 2021.

The CEO of Ukraine’s largest private energy provider is visiting the United States this week as he seeks financial support for Ukraine’s ambitions to build wind farms.

Maxim Timchenko, chief of Ukraine’s DTEK, is meeting US lawmakers, banks and company officials to discuss what he says is the solution for securing its energy infrastructure that’s under constant Russian attacks.

Russia has strategically shelled Ukraine’s power infrastructure, temporarily but repeatedly cutting off electricity, heat and water to millions. This campaign left Ukraine’s energy grid teetering on the brink of collapse, forcing constant repair work which involved scouring the world to find compatible parts.

DTEK’s infrastructure has also come under fire. Five of its thermal power turbines were destroyed considerably since the war began. Two of them were restored, Timchenko told CNN, adding that two others will be restored in 2024. However, one was attacked and destroyed beyond restoration, he said.

Aftermath of a Russian attack on an undisclosed DTEK power plant in Ukraine in this undated handout image.

The answer to preventing this damage, Timchenko says, lies in building renewable energy infrastructure because it’s harder to destroy.

A thermal power generation system producing 300 megawatt of power, for example, requires a big turbine and one boiler to burn coal and gas. “It’s usually the size of a room. If it’s hit by a missile, then it’s all destroyed in one moment,” he explained, adding that depending on the level of damage, it could take a month or a year to restore. “The same capacity of 300 megawatt, if it’s wind, you build 15 turbines 100 meters from each other. If you destroy one, the others still operate.”

DTEK, which owns coal and thermal power plants in various parts of Ukraine, is building the Tyligulska wind power plant in Mykolaiv that can generate 500 megawatt of energy. The project started seven months prior to Russia’s launch of a full-scale invasion, but it was suspended due to its proximity to the war’s front lines. In May 2022, DTEK started to resume building and in August 2022, the construction began again — and it was entirely the company’s own efforts.

Even as its private partners in the project left, the company has finished building the system enough to generate 114 megawatt of power in the first phase. It spent 192 million euros ($205 million) to erect 19 turbines supplied by Danish manufacturer Vestas, Timchenko told CNN. But to get to 500 megawatts, DTEK needs 64 additional turbines that will cost 402 million euros ($428 million), requiring investors and a variety of funding.

But no commercial banks or private investors want to be in Ukraine right now. They say they will wait till the war is over to return or need military security insurances supported by governments, Timchenko said.

If funding is secured by end of year, it will take 12-18 months to complete the massive project.

With the first phase of 114 megawatt complete, Ukraine showed that it can be done, even with missiles flying overhead. “It’s all about the bravery and courage of Ukrainian people,” Timchenko said.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks during a press conference at the PiS' headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, on September 20.

Poland is only carrying out supplies of ammunition and weapons to Ukraine that were agreed to before Warsaw made a decision to stop weapons shipments to its neighbor, government spokesperson Piotr Muller said Thursday, according to state news agency PAP.

Muller emphasized that Ukraine has made a series of “absolutely unacceptable statements and diplomatic gestures” and that “Poland does not accept this type of unjustified actions,” according to PAP.

In his remarks at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Zelensky said “it is alarming to see how some in Europe, some of our friends in Europe, play out solidarity in a political theater – making a thriller from the grain,” adding “they may seem to play their own role but in fact they are helping set the stage to a Moscow actor.”

On Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland will stop providing weapons to Ukraine, a change of policy that comes as tensions between Ukraine and its close ally rise over a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports to certain EU countries.

Poland also “urgently summoned” the Ukrainian ambassador to Warsaw Vasyl Zvarych on Wednesday over Zelensky’s comments, and Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told Zvarych that Zelensky’s “thesis is untrue in relation to Poland.”

Some context: The ban on Ukrainian grain was initially put in place earlier this year by several European Union nations to protect local farmers, who were worried about being undercut by the low prices of Ukrainian grain. 

Last week, the EU announced plans to suspend the ban, but Poland, Hungary and Slovakia said they intended to defy the change and keep the restrictions in place.

Ukraine's Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Mykola Solskyi, left, speaks with Poland's Minister for Agriculture, Robert Telus at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on May 30.

Amid a growing rift with Poland over the export of Ukrainian grain, Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy says he has spoken by phone with his Polish counterpart.

A statement from the Ministry said that Mykola Solskyi and Polish Farm Minister Robert Telus “discussed the situation and Ukraine’s proposal to resolve it, and agreed to find a solution that takes into account the interests of both countries.”

In what appears to be an effort to calm a situation that has led to angry exchanges between the two governments, the statement added: “The parties confirmed the close and constructive relations that they have repeatedly demonstrated and agreed to develop an option for cooperation on export issues in the near future.”

The tone of the statement is in marked contrast to one from the Foreign Ministry in Kyiv on Wednesday, which asserted that Kyiv’s ambassador in Warsaw “once again explained the Ukrainian position on the unacceptability for Ukraine of the Polish unilateral ban on imports of Ukrainian grain.”

Some context: Poland has long been one of Ukraine’s staunchest backers since Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor, alongside multiple former Eastern bloc nations who fear they could be next if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expansionist war is successful.

However, the country has found itself at loggerheads with Ukraine after, along with Hungary and Slovakia, it refused EU plan to lift a ban on Ukrainian grain imports.

This prompted protests from Ukraine, which this week filed lawsuits against all three countries over the issue.

Ukrainian rescue service members work at the site of a missile strike on a residential area, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 21.

Ukraine’s state energy provider Ukrenergo says that Russia’s overnight missile attacks caused damage to power facilities in western and central regions in Ukraine.

Ukrenergo said it was the first time that Russia had launched attacks on the power infrastructure in six months. The strikes come as Ukraine prepares for the winter months. Last year, Russia began a series of intense attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October.

It added: “Currently, the operation of main power grids in [Rivne and Zhytomyr] has been restored, and household consumers are being supplied with power in the regional power company grids. The attack also damaged power grids in Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv and Kharkiv regions. Emergency repair work began immediately after the air raid alarm went off.”

“The power supply is restored subject given the security situation and with the permission of the military.”

Vitalii Koval, head of the Rivne regional military administration, said the region had suffered several missile strikes. “Unfortunately, there are hits on the energy and civilian infrastructure.”

Speaking in front of a service station that was damaged, Koval said that there were no casualties, but added “There is also no power supply in part of Rivne district.”

Some context: Last year, Russia ramped up strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as temperatures dropped.

In October 2022, the country’s energy facilities were attacked at least 82 times — more than in all previous months of the full-scale invasion combined.

From October through to January, Russia hit infrastructure throughout most of Ukraine.

Nezlamna

The sunset paints the Zaporizhzhia countryside with an orange hue as a friendly figure opens the gates to a rundown shanty.  

“Welcome,” says Nezlamna, ushering us in. 

Hidden under a leafy combination of grapevines and camouflage netting, the derelict property now houses several Ukrainian soldiers fighting nearby on the southern frontline. Among them is Nezlamna, a mother of three — two daughters and a son.  

“I last saw them in April,” she says, admitting the distance makes their relationship difficult. “I even try to call less, not to get upset. And so that they don’t get upset.”

Nezlamna — which means ‘unbreakable’ in Ukrainian — is one of thousands of women who have joined the ranks of Ukraine’s armed forces to help defend the country from Russia’s invading army. For her, military service began well before Russia’s full scale invasion. 

She joined in 2016, after Moscow illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, and has been fighting Russian-backed separatists and Russian forces ever since. 

Currently leading a reconnaissance unit on the southern front line, Nezlamna says she is fighting for her children’s future, for their right to live in a “flourishing” Ukraine.

“Their task will be far more difficult - they will have to rebuild the country and bring it back to its feet. And that’s much more difficult than to recapture the borders,” she says. 

It may not be as difficult as rebuilding Ukraine, but pushing Russia out means risking her life daily.

Nezlamna

“I think, I’ve seen pretty much everything in my life already, I can hardly be surprised by anything in combat. Yes, of course, there’s a risk, there’s constant risk,” she says, shrugging her shoulders, downplaying the actual danger. 

“There’s shelling, the self-destructing drones may fly, and one moment you are asleep and the next moment - your house is gone. No one is immune to when exactly they will die,” she adds. 

Her biggest worry is leaving her children. 

“The fear is always present,” she says. “Somehow I manage to control it even if I understand this is war, and we all won’t return home alive.”

That horrifying possibility sometimes fuels fiery arguments at home. 

“They still sometimes get offended that I’m not with them, when they need a parent. However, they understand that somebody has to do what I’m doing,” she says. 

Her main ally is her husband, himself a soldier serving with an artillery unit. Before her recent promotion they were in the same battalion.

“We have our own family values, same views, one direction,” she says. “We have been working alongside each other since 2016.”

Despite the dangers of her work and how much she misses a sense of normalcy and a stable life, close to her children, she’s pragmatic: “It’s not on the horizon,” she says. 

Russia has a large army, and even if Nezlamna and her fellow soldiers continue to gain ground, it is going to be a slow grind before Moscow completely leaves Ukraine. 

Sources in Ukraine’s Security Services (SBU) say that a massive strike was launched on Wednesday night against the Saki military airfield in Crimea.

Saki — which suffered an extensive attack in August 2022 — is home to Russian combat aircraft.

“There was also a training base for operators of [Iranian-made] Mojaher UAVs. These are the drones used by the Russians to coordinate their own air attacks and as a combat attack drone.”

“The strikes of the Security Service and the Navy hit the target and caused serious damage to the occupiers’ equipment. To defeat the enemy, drones were used to overload Russian air defense, and then Neptune missiles were launched,” the sources told CNN.

Neptune missiles are Ukrainian-made and were used to sink the Russian warship Moskva last year.

Some background: Since 2014, the Saki Air Base has been home to a Russian naval aviation regiment, part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, according to the state-run RIA-Novosti news service.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent military forces into what was then an autonomous region of southern Ukraine with strong Russian loyalties.

Thousands of Russian-speaking troops wearing unmarked uniforms poured into the peninsula in early March that year. Two weeks later, Russia completed its annexation of Crimea in a referendum slammed by Ukraine and most of the world as illegitimate.

CNN’s Brad Lendon contributed to the reporting in this post.

An explosion of a missile is seen in the sky over Kyiv on Thursday.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 of 43 missiles launched by Russia on Thursday in attacks across the country, Ukraine’s army chief said.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said in a Telegram post that cruise missiles launched from aircraft in southern Russia were “constantly changing course along the route.”

In an update Thursday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian forces launched “a massive missile attack” on civilian infrastructure in multiple regions.

Ukrainian officials said at least seven people were wounded in aerial assaults on Kyiv, while two people were injured in Kharkiv.

Meanwhile, Russian shelling killed at least two people in the southern city of Kherson.

A firefighter works at a site damaged by a Russian missile strike in Kyiv on Thursday.

Air raid alerts remain in place in parts of Ukraine on Thursday after Russian forces launched deadly strikes across the country, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Ukraine’s air force said the missile threat is ongoing, while Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko urged Ukrainians “to follow the safety rules in the regions where the repeated alarm is announced” and to take shelter.

“It’s a restless morning,” Klymenko said.

Here’s where Russian attacks have been reported so far:

At least two people were killed and five others were wounded in the southern city of Kherson following Russian shelling overnight, Ukrainian officials said Thursday.

In a Telegram post, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson region military administration, said two men ages 29 and 41 died in a Russian strike on a dormitory.

Among the injured are three women and two men, he added.

Roman Mrochko, head of the Kherson city military administration, said apartment buildings and cars were damaged after Russian forces shelled residential areas.

Reports of the shelling in Kherson Thursday comes after Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks had injured seven people in Kyiv and two others in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

People take shelter in a metro station during an air raid alert in Kyiv on August 24.

Air raid sirens in Kyiv have sounded for more than 1,000 hours since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February last year, a Ukrainian official said following Moscow’s latest assault on the capital.

Seven people, including a 9-year-old girl, were injured in Russian aerial attacks Thursday, which caused damage and power outages in several districts, Ukrainian authorities said.

Two people were injured after Russia struck the northeastern city of Kharkiv on Thursday, a Ukrainian official said.

In a Telegram post, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said the wounded had been taken to hospital.

Syniehubov said earlier that the attacks were focused on the city’s Slobidskyi district and had damaged civilian infrastructure.

The strikes came as officials in Kyiv said seven people were injured in Russian attacks early Thursday.

Debris is seen in Kyiv's Darnytskyi district following Russian attacks on Thursday.

A 9-year-old girl is among seven people who were injured after Russia launched an aerial attack on Kyiv Thursday, the city’s mayor said.

In a Telegram post, Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said the injuries were reported in the capital’s Darnytskyi district.

The child and an 18-year-old woman were hospitalized after debris fell from an infrastructure facility onto a residential building, he said.

Russian forces launched six strikes on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said Thursday.

In a Telegram post, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said the city’s Slobidskyi district was the focus of the attacks.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said several explosions were heard in the city. “Information on the damage and casualties is being clarified,” he said.

The strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, come as officials in Kyiv said the capital was also under Russian attack early Thursday.

Russian forces launched an aerial attack on Kyiv early Thursday, according to officials in the Ukrainian capital.

In a Telegram post, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said air defenses were repelling the attacks but some buildings had been damaged.

“There are explosions in the city. Air defense is working. Stay in shelters!” Klitschko said. “In Darnytskyi district, there is destruction of non-residential buildings. There is no information about the casualties as of now.”

Klitschko also warned of power outages and water cuts in some parts of the capital.

Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said debris had fallen in at least two districts.

“Air raid alarm continues in Kyiv. As a result of air defense work on shooting down enemy targets, debris fell in the Holosiivskyi and Darnytskyi districts of the capital,” Popko said in a Telegram post. “All emergency services are on their way. Information on casualties and damage is being clarified. Stay in shelters until the air raid alarm is over!”

Poland said Wednesday it will stop providing weapons to Ukraine as tensions rise between Kyiv and Warsaw over a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports to some EU countries.

“We no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on social media.

The grain ban was initially put into place earlier this year to protect the livelihood of local farmers worried about being undercut by the low prices of Ukrainian grain. Last week, after the EU announced plans to suspend the ban, Poland, along with Hungary and Slovakia, said they intended to defy the change and keep the ban in place.

Kyiv has repeatedly spoken out against the ban. 

Here’s what else you need to know:

Poland said Wednesday it will stop providing weapons to Ukraine amid a growing dispute between the two countries over a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports.

Poland has long been one of Ukraine’s most staunch supporters since Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor, alongside multiple former Eastern bloc nations who fear they could be next if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expansionist war is successful.

Now Kyiv and Warsaw are at loggerheads.

The ban on Ukrainian grain was initially put in place earlier this year by several European Union nations, to protect the livelihood of local farmers worried about being undercut by low prices of Ukrainian grain.

Last week, the EU announced plans to suspend the ban. But three nations — Poland, Hungary and Slovakia — said they intended to defy the change and keep the restrictions in place.

It prompted protests from Ukraine, which this week filed lawsuits against all three countries over the issue.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke out against the ban on Wednesday when addressing the UN General Assembly, saying “it is alarming to see how some in Europe, some of our friends in Europe, play out solidarity in a political theater – making a thriller from the grain.”

He added that the nations involved “may seem to play their own role but in fact they are helping set the stage to a Moscow actor.”

Zelensky’s comments sparked immediate condemnation from Poland, with the foreign ministry summoning the Ukrainian ambassador to Warsaw to convey their “strong protest.”

Read the full story here.

A ban on Ukrainian grain by neighboring countries is costing Kyiv more than $175 million a month, a senior official said.

Ukraine’s neighbors — Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania — have said the arrival of cheap Ukrainian grain has distorted local markets. In some countries, farmers have protested to demand the imports cease. 

“If the bans continue, the losses could reach about 600 million euros ($644 million) by the end of the year,” said Denys Marchuk, deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council.

Marchuk said the embargo “plays into the hands” of Russia. Since pulling out of the Black Sea Grain deal in July, Moscow has been able to “influence the course of ships in the Black Sea, does not allow Ukraine to fully export,” he said.

“The ban in the Black Sea and the inability to carry out full exports via land routes will provoke an aggravation of the food crisis, which is beneficial for Russia,” Marchuk said.

Legal action: Kyiv filed a lawsuit Monday against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over their ban on imports, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said.

It came after the European Union said Friday it planned to suspend the temporary ban on the export of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The measure was put in place to counter the risk of farmers in these countries being undercut by a bottleneck of cheap Ukrainian grain. However, Poland, Hungry, and Slovakia said they would defy the EU’s suspension of the ban. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the United Nations Security Council to remove Russia’s veto power, arguing “this will be the first necessary step.”

While allies have already imposed sanctions on Russia since the start of the war, the Ukrainian president called for applying preventative sanctions to countries that engaged in conflicts. 

“Anyone who wants to start a war should see before their fatal mistake what exactly they will lose when the war would start,” Zelensky said. 

Ukrainian soldiers are doing on the battlefield “at the expense of their blood” what the UN Security Council “should do by its voting,” he said.

“They’re stopping aggression and upholding the principles of the UN Charter,” he said.

Russia’s response: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defended the right to veto during the Security Council meeting.

“The Western aggressive clique has been pedaling the theme of the abuse of the right of the veto with an incorrect focus on members of the UN,” Lavrov said.

Some background: When the UN charter was signed in 1945, it established the Security Council with five permanent members and six nonpermanent members. The permanent members — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and the Republic of China — were each given the power to veto any resolutions they opposed.

Today, the Security Council has 15 members, but the five permanent members have remained the same, with Russia holding the former Soviet Union’s seat and China taking the seat of the Republic of China. And the veto hasn’t changed either.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened his remarks at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday recounting his recent trip to Yahidne — a Ukrainian town roughly two hours north of Kyiv that had been occupied by Russian soldiers.

The top US diplomat’s effort to highlight the horrific realities of the war in Ukraine come as the Biden administration seeks to maintain support for Kyiv amid growing opposition in Congress and as the international community faces the prospect of war with little end in sight.

On Wednesday, Blinken will join fellow national security officials including Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director Bill Burns, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to brief the Senate on Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be in the US capital on Thursday — following on the heels of his time at the UN — for a high-stakes visit to try to shore up support and convince lawmakers not to cut aid.

Read more here.