As the war enters its 932nd day, here are the top developments.
Here is the situation on Saturday, September 14, 2024.
Struggle
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At least two people were killed in the town of Yampil after Russian forces shelled 15 border areas in Ukraine's Sumy region, the regional authority said on the Telegram messaging app. Nine people were injured.
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Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said drone debris had fallen on a municipal building in the Obolon district, north of the city centre, but no fire had broken out at the site. Air defence units had been operating in the Ukrainian capital earlier, he said on Telegram.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk border region had produced the desired result of slowing Moscow's advance on another front in the east of his country.
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He said Russia had around 40,000 troops on the Kursk front. “So far we have not seen any serious threat.” [Russian] success.”
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The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops had recaptured 10 of the 100 villages Ukraine had occupied in Kursk. It was not possible to independently verify the comments from either side.
Arms
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Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said Russia had launched 8,060 Iranian-developed Shahed drones at Ukraine since it began its full-scale invasion two and a half years ago, resulting in “losses of homes and lives.”
- The US State Department has approved the sale of dozens of F-35 fighter jets to NATO ally Romania for a deal worth $7.2 billion. Romania occupies a strategic position at the gateway to Ukraine and the Black Sea.
Politics and diplomacy
- According to Zelensky, in the latest prisoner exchange with Moscow, Ukraine managed to free 49 people who were in Russian captivity. He did not specify how many Russians were released.
- Among the freed Ukrainians are civilians, members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the National Police and the State Border Guard Service, the statement posted on the social media platform X.
- The Ukrainian government has approved the draft budget for 2025, which includes $53.5 billion for defense, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to deepen ties with Russia as he held talks with Sergei Shoigu, head of Russia's Security Council and a former defense minister, state media reported.
- US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed concern about Iran and North Korea providing lethal weapons to Russia, the White House said in a statement.
- But they made no formal announcement about allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles toward Russia during their meeting in Washington, DC.
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U.S. and U.K. officials have questioned whether allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied long-range weapons to strike deep into Russia would make a significant difference in the war.
- Zelenskyy said he would meet Biden this month to present his “victory plan” for how to end the war with Russia, but gave no details, saying only that his proposal would involve “a system of interconnected solutions that will give Ukraine enough power, enough to put this war on a course toward peace.”
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new sanctions against three entities and two individuals linked to a Russian campaign to destabilise countries around the world, adding that Russian broadcaster RT was involved in the campaign.
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Ukrainian Canadians protested at the Toronto International Film Festival even after its organizers changed their stance and suspended screenings of the documentary Russians at War, which has been criticized as propaganda.
