Russian forces regularly target the Odessa region in southern Ukraine, overlooking the Black Sea. This is where key port infrastructure for maritime trade is located. Attacks have increased since the abandonment last July of the grain agreement which allowed Ukraine to freely export its production.
On Sunday, September 24, a second cargo of Ukrainian wheat arrived in Istanbul across the Black Sea using a maritime corridor set up by Kiev despite threats from Moscow to attack boats entering and leaving Ukraine.
The Odessa region still targeted by Russia
Russia has again attacked the Odessa region in southern Ukraine with 19 drones and 14 missiles. Moscow “attacked the Odessa region with offensive drones and two types of missiles,” Governor Oleg Kiper explained on Telegram, mentioning several “strikes” including the attack on “port infrastructure.” “A civilian was injured by a shock wave,” added Oleg Kiper, specifying that the victim had been transferred to hospital.
According to the Ukrainian military, Russia carried out the assault with 19 Iranian-made Shahed drones, two Onyx supersonic missiles and 12 other Kalibr missiles. A submarine was also mobilized, said the same source.
All the drones and 11 Kalibr were shot down by air defenses, the army continued, indicating that the seaside resort of Odessa had suffered “significant” damage and that a fire, quickly extinguished, had broken out in a hotel building. Two Kalibr missiles out of the 11 destroyed were in the regions of Mykolaiv (south) and Kirovograd (center).
The Onyx projectiles destroyed grain granaries without causing any casualties, according to the army, which reported warehouses and businesses damaged by falling debris in the suburbs of Odessa.
Russia: Kursk district targeted by Ukrainian drones
In Russia, the Kursk district, in the southwest of the country, was targeted by Ukrainian drones, regional governor Roman Starovoyt reported on Telegram on Monday, September 25. “There are no casualties”, but an administrative building suffered damage, he noted, assuring that the “air defense worked”.
In the neighboring region of Bryansk, just to the north, Governor Alexandre Bogomaz counted three Ukrainian aerial drones shot down, including two in the Souraj district (west), without reporting any casualties or damage.
The European Commission criticizes China
Beijing’s refusal to condemn the Russian invasion in Ukraine “harms the image” of China, European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis warned on Monday. “There is […] a risk in terms of reputation for China”, declared the commissioner, speaking to students at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and this posture “harms the image of the country, not only vis-à-vis European consumers, but also businesses.
“Territorial integrity has always been a key principle for China in international diplomacy”, but “the war led by Russia constitutes a flagrant violation of this principle”, he stressed. “Moreover, China has always advocated that each country be free to choose its own development path,” added Valdis Dombrovskis. “So it is very difficult for us to understand China’s position on Russia’s war against Ukraine, because it violates China’s basic principles.”
China and Russia consider each other strategic allies, with the two countries frequently touting their “limitless” partnership and economic and military cooperation. They have grown even closer since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which China refuses to condemn. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Russia last March, while his counterpart Vladimir Putin is expected in China next October.
Zelensky welcomes Washington’s “historic decision” to produce weapons in collaboration with kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday once again welcomed a “historic decision” after the United States decided to produce weapons and defense systems in collaboration with Ukraine. “This is a historic decision. […] This is something that was an absolute dream until recently but is about to become a reality. We will make it a reality,” said Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily address.
“We have a clear vision – what we agreed on – of a stronger Ukraine to prevent a repeat of Russian aggression. I am grateful to President Joe Biden, and his team, and all those to the United States which values freedom and supports Ukraine.”
After participating in the UN General Assembly in New York and meeting the American president, Volodymyr Zelensky returned to Ukraine at the end of the week with “significant results”. Joe Biden assured Thursday that the first Abrams tanks would arrive in Ukraine “next week” in order to strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces in their counter-offensive against Russian forces.
In the presence of Volodymyr Zelensky, Joe Biden also announced that he had approved a new tranche of military assistance to kyiv, estimated by the Pentagon at some $325 million. It includes air defense missiles, ammunition for Himars multiple rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons and artillery ammunition. But Washington will not for the moment provide the long-range ATACMS missiles that kyiv demands.
Zelensky in Ottawa: a controversial invitation embarrasses the Canadian government
An association defending the Jewish community in Canada is demanding an apology from Ottawa after a Ukrainian who fought with the Nazis during the Second World War was honored in Parliament during Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit.
The Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) said it was “deeply troubled that the Canadian Parliament recognized a Ukrainian veteran who served in a Nazi military unit during the Second World War,” Sunday in a statement.
Friday, on the occasion of the Ukrainian president’s visit to the Canadian capital, Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota greeted Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian immigrant, in the stands. “He is a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero and we thank him for his service,” he said in the chamber, eliciting a warm ovation from the members of Parliament. These comments “ignore the fact that Anthony Hunka served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, a Nazi military unit whose crimes against humanity during the Holocaust are well documented,” denounces the FSWC organization.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office has denied any involvement in this matter. “Neither the Prime Minister’s office nor the Ukrainian delegation had been informed in advance of the invitation or recognition,” said the Prime Minister’s office in a statement relayed Sunday evening on X (formerly Twitter) by a press secretary of Justin Trudeau.