Here is the situation on Thursday, September 19, 2024.
Fighting
- At least one person was killed and a 90-year-old woman injured in a Russian attack on the central city of Kropyvnytskyi, regional authorities said.
- The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 46 of 52 drones launched by Moscow against Ukraine and that Russia had used three guided air missiles which did not reach their targets.
- Russia’s counteroffensive to retake Ukrainian-occupied territory in the Kursk region has been “stopped”, Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, a spokesman from Ukraine’s military administration in Kursk, told the AFP news agency. Russia is engaged in an effort to take back territory seized by Ukraine since its surprise August 6 incursion across the border.
- Ukraine said it struck an arms depot in Russia’s western Tver region, starting a massive fire that forced the evacuation of the nearby town of Toropets, some 400km (250 miles) northwest of Moscow. The Russian Ministry of Health said at least 13 people were injured in the attack.
Politics and diplomacy
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv had “fully prepared” its “victory plan” to end the war with Russia, and he would discuss the plan with United States President Joe Biden when he visits the US this month.
- Slovenia, which currently holds the presidency of the 15-member United Nations Security Council, said Zelenskyy would address the body on Tuesday as world leaders converge on New York for the annual United Nations meetings.
- Defence ministers from nine countries on NATO’s eastern flank called for a collective response to repeated violations of their airspace by Russian drones and missiles targeting Ukraine.
- Russia detained Major General Denis Putilov, head of the Central Military District’s armoured car service, on suspicion of taking a bribe of 10 million roubles ($108,000). It is the latest in a string of arrests linked to alleged corruption in the defence sector.
Weapons
- US officials told The Associated Press news agency that Washington wants more detailed information about how Kyiv plans to use the Western-supplied long-range weapons it says are necessary for strikes deep inside Russia, and how they would fit into its broader strategy for the war.
