CONFLICTSUKRAINE
Ukraine updates: Deadly Russian strikes hit Kyiv and Kherson
Published 9 hours agoPublished 9 hours agolast updated 3 hours agolast updated 3 hours ago
At least two have been killed and at least 21 people wounded as Russian launched attacks overnight on the Ukrainian capital and several other cities. DW has the latest.
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Firefighters work at a site in a residential area, damaged during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine
The wide-ranging attack hit several cities across Ukraine overnightImage: Valentyn Ogirenko/REUTERS
Skip next section What you need to know
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
A barrage of Russian missile strikes killed two people in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kherson and wounded at least 21 more across the country, officials said on Thursday.
Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said at least seven people had been injured by Russian attacks in the capital. In the western city of Lviv, the strikes caused a fire in an industrial zone.
For the first time since last winter, Ukraine’s energy system was also attacked.
Russian officials at the same time reported they had destroyed over 20 Ukrainian drones, mostly over the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula.
Here are the main headlines concerning Russia’s war in Ukraine on Thursday, September 21:
Skip next section Britain charges 5 with spying for Russia
3 hours ago3 hours ago
Britain charges 5 with spying for Russia
The UK has charged three men and two women with spying for Russia, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced on Thursday.
The five individuals, aged between 29 and 45, are all Bulgarian nationals.
They will be charged with “conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy for a purpose prejudicial to the safety and interest of the state,” according to a CPS statement.
Their actions are believed to have been conducted between August 30, 2020 and February 8, 2023.
Three of the defendants were previously charged in February with possessing false identity documents with “improper intention.”
“Criminal proceedings against the five individuals are active and they each have the right to a fair trial,” the CPS said.
The five defendants are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 26.
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Skip next section Ukraine caused ‘severe damage’ to Crimea airfield, Kyiv says
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Ukraine caused ‘severe damage’ to Crimea airfield, Kyiv says
The Saki airbase in Moscow-annexed Crimea has been heavily shelled by Ukraine, international and Ukrainian media reported on Thursday.
Citing sources within Ukraine’s intelligence and security agency SBU, reports said the Ukrainian navy and the SBU carried out a joint overnight operation against the airbase.
According to the SBU, Ukrainian forces first overwhelmed the airbase’s aerial defense systems with a drone attack and subsequently shelled the base with missiles, causing “severe damage” to Russian equipment.
While Russian military bloggers gave similar accounts of the fighting, the reports could not be independently verified. Ukraine’s military confirmed there had been an attack on the Saki airbase without giving details.
Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the claims but said on Thursday it had downed 19 Ukrainian drones over and around Crimea.
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Skip next section Ukraine and Poland to hold talks on grain dispute ‘in coming days’
5 hours ago5 hours ago
Ukraine and Poland to hold talks on grain dispute ‘in coming days’
Ukraine said on Thursday it would soon conduct negotiations with Poland over the country’s decision to ban Ukrainian grain imports.
“The next negotiations will take place in the coming days, during which the issues prepared by both sides will be discussed,” Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.
Poland has extended an EU embargo on Ukrainian grain despite the European Commission’s decision to allow them again. The PiS-led government — which is gearing up for reelection and needs the support of Polish farmers — says it is protecting its agricultural sector.
Ukraine has filed a complaint against the ban with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
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Skip next section Poland says it’s not supplying Ukraine with weapons ‘at the moment’
8 hours ago8 hours ago
Poland says it’s not supplying Ukraine with weapons ‘at the moment’
Poland’s state assets minister Jacek Sasin confirmed on Thursday that his country was not currently supplying arms to Ukraine, but did not exclude future deliveries.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had announced Poland would no longer arm Ukraine and instead focus on its own defense.
“At the moment it is as the prime minister said, in the future we will see,” Jacek Sasin told Polish private broadcaster radio Plus when asked about Morawiecki’s comments.
The Polish government’s announcement to stop weapons supplies comes as relationships are already tense over Poland banning Ukrainian grain imports.
Ukraine has launched a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over this, while Poland argues it is protecting it is agriculture. Farmers have been key supporters of the governing PiS party, which is seeking reelection in October.
Poland casts doubt on Ukraine arms shipments
05:18
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Skip next section Russia claims over 20 Ukrainian drones destroyed overnight
9 hours ago9 hours ago
Russia claims over 20 Ukrainian drones destroyed overnight
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that its forces downed over 20 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Most of them were destroyed over Russian-occupied Crimea and the surrounding Black Sea, where Russian forces “thwarted” an attack by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the ministry wrote on the messaging platform Telegram.
“Air defense systems destroyed 19 Ukrainian UAVs over the Black Sea and the territory of the Republic of Crimea, and one each over the territories of Kursk, Belgorod and Oryol regions,” the ministry said.
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 and has been a prime target of Ukrainian forces recently, as they try to recapture the territory.
The Russian regions of Belgorod and Kursk share a border with eastern Ukraine. Oryol is located north of them, closer to the capital, Moscow.
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Skip next section At least 2 killed, over 20 injured in massive Russian attack
9 hours ago9 hours ago
At least 2 killed, over 20 injured in massive Russian attack
Firefighters work at a site in a residential area, damaged during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, UkraineFirefighters work at a site in a residential area, damaged during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine
A 9-year-old girl was reportedly among those injured in the overnight attacks on KyivImage: Valentyn Ogirenko/REUTERS
Overnight Russian attacks on Kyiv and at least five other Ukrainian cities injured numerous people early on Thursday.
At least 21 people were injured in missile strikes across the country, Ukrainian authorities said. Two people were killed overnight by Russian shelling in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.
“It is a restless morning. Explosions were heard in different regions of Ukraine,” Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.
In addition to the capital, Ukrainian officials reported blasts in Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskiy, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.
Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said at least seven people had been injured — including a 9-year-old girl — and infrastructure had been damaged in the capital.
In the western region of Lviv, close to the Polish border, the strikes caused a fire in an industrial zone, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
36 out of 43 Russian missiles were downed by Ukrainian air defense systems according to authorities.
Thursday’s attacks were the first to target Ukraine’s energy system since last winter. Ukraine reported damaged facilities and blackouts, raising concerns over energy security ahead of a second winter of war.
https://p.dw.com/p/4Wchd
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Skip next section Scholz: Germany to host Ukraine reconstruction talks
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Scholz: Germany to host Ukraine reconstruction talks
Germany will host an international conference on the reconstruction of war-torn Ukraine next year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Wednesday after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York.
The aim of the conference is to bring together international leaders and financial institutions to secure funds for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.
The last such summit brought together representatives of 60 countries and institutions in London earlier this year.
Scholz and Zelensky met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, where both had delivered their speeches earlier in the day.
They discussed the political, military and humanitarian situation in Ukraine, and “the priority needs of the defense forces of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said on messaging platform Telegram.
fc/rs (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
