September 11, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest Ukraine news here or read through the updates below.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is on his way to Russia on a private train, the country's state media KCNA reported. Kim will "meet and have a talk" with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit, KCNA said.

Discussions about the United States sending long-range missiles to Kyiv have ramped up in recent weeks as Ukraine officials put pressure on the Biden administration, people familiar with the discussions told CNN.

The transfer of the ATACMS – which have a range of up to 186 miles – would mark just the latest instance of the US reversing itself on providing a system after months of pressure by Ukrainian officials. The Biden administration also resisted sending multiple-launch rocket systems, Patriot air defense systems, Abrams tanks, and cluster munitions — all of which were ultimately provided to Kyiv.

Here's what to know:

US President Joe Biden is expected to make a final decision soon on sending long-range missiles to Ukraine for the first time.

It's a major step recommended by the State and Defense Departments after months of Ukrainian requests, people familiar with the discussions told CNN. 

Discussions about sending the long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as ATACMS, picked up substantially in recent weeks, the sources said.

No final decision to send the missiles has been made, officials said. But "there's a much greater possibility of it happening now than before," one official familiar with the discussions said. "Much greater. I just don't know when."  

US officials had been reticent to send the long-range surface-to-surface guided missiles amid fears about escalating the conflict as they could potentially be fired into Russia itself. That concern has largely abated, however, since Ukraine has shown it is not using other US-provided weapons to attack territory inside Russia, officials said.

Ukraine has carried out strikes inside Russia, but those have been conducted using homegrown drones and weaponry, allowing Kyiv to stand by its commitment not to use American weapons inside Russia.

Currently, the maximum range of US weapons committed to Ukraine is around 93 miles with the ground-launched small-diameter bomb. The ATACMS, which have a range of around 186 miles, would allow the Ukrainian military to strike targets twice as far away.

The transfer of the ATACMS would mark just the latest instance of the US reversing itself on providing a system after months of pressure by Ukrainian officials. The Biden administration also resisted sending multiple-launch rocket systems, Patriot air defense systems, Abrams tanks, and cluster munitions — all of which were ultimately provided to Kyiv.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left Pyongyang on Sunday afternoon for Russia by private train, North Korean state media KCNA reported Tuesday morning local time.

Kim is accompanied by leading officials of the party, government, and armed forces, KCNA reported.

Some background: Earlier Monday, the Kremlin confirmed Kim will go to Russia “in the coming days" but didn't specify the exact date of the visit.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin that Russia “will continue to strengthen” its “friendship” with North Korea.

Meantime, the White House urged North Korea to “not provide or sell arms to Russia.”

Just last week, the US warned Kim might travel to Russia to discuss a potential deal to provide weapons to the country as it wages its war in Ukraine, and the White House has said arms negotiations between the two countries are “actively advancing.” 

CNN's Gawon Bae, Anna Chernova and Darya Tarasova contributed reporting to this post.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called for the United States to continue to support Ukraine as the country defends itself from Russia and tries to take territory back.

"The United States isn't arming Ukraine out of its sense of charity. We're backing a fellow democracy because it is in our direct interest to do so," he said during floor remarks on Monday.

It comes as the White House is putting pressure on Congress to fulfill President Joe Biden’s supplemental funding request, which asks for more than $24 billion in additional funding to support Ukraine and $16 billion in disaster relief funds.

With lawmakers facing an end-of-the-month deadline to avoid a government shutdown, leaders in the Senate want to see the Ukraine aid and disaster relief funding tied to a short-term funding resolution. However, the GOP remains sharply divided on Ukraine aid as some hardliners in the House have demanded it be stripped out.

“If critics of US support for Ukraine disparage the principle that we should oppose adversaries who invade and destroy Western-aligned neighbors, how credible — how credible — is their commitment to defend Taiwan or other allies?” he asked.

McConnell also commemorated the 22nd year since the September 11th attacks, saying they serve as a reminder “of our commitment to confront growing threats from global terror” and tied it to the need now to support Ukraine.

The Kremlin has confirmed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia “in the coming days.”

The statement did not specify an exact date for the visit.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin that Russia “will continue to strengthen” its “friendship” with North Korea and said that a meeting “could take place one of these days."

“These will be negotiations between two delegations and after that, if necessary, the leaders will continue their communication in a one-on-one format,” he told Zarubin, adding that the two sides would discuss bilateral ties.

Peskov said that an “official dinner is also planned on behalf of the President of Russia in honor of the guest from North Korea.”

He said that “like with any neighbor, we consider ourselves obligated to establish good, mutually beneficial relations.”

North Korean state media KCNA reported on Monday that Kim will "meet and have a talk" with Putin during the visit.

It did not say when the meeting between Kim and Putin would take place. 

Earlier, CNN reported that Kim appeared to be on a train heading to Russia, according to a South Korean government official. The source said the train departed from Pyongyang and is en route to Vladivostok, Russia.

The White House is urging North Korea to “not provide or sell arms to Russia” as Pyongyang and Moscow said Monday that Kim Jong Un would travel to Russia at the invitation of Vladimir Putin.

Just last week, the US warned Kim Jong Un might travel to Russia to discuss a potential deal to provide weapons to the country as it wages its war in Ukraine, and the White House has said arms negotiations between the two countries are “actively advancing.”

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a press briefing Monday the US remains "concerned" that North Korea is considering providing arms and equipment to Russia. Ryder could not say when and where the meetings will be held. 

The spokesperson said providing arms and equipment to Russia would “just serve to perpetuate this needless war and result in the death of innocent Ukrainians.”

More context: North Korea is already under United Nations and US sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction program.

The potential Putin-Kim meeting could lead to Pyongyang getting its hands on the sort of weapons those sanctions have barred it from accessing for two decades, especially for its nuclear-capable ballistic missile program.

It also comes after more than a year and a half of war in Ukraine has left the Russian military battered, depleted and in need of supplies.

CNN's Jake Kwon, Gawon Bae, Jessie Yeung and Brad Lendon contributed reporting to this post. 

Russian and Ukrainian officials report heavy fighting in a small area of the southern front, with no clear sign as to which side may have the upper hand.

The Russian Defense Ministry claims that its units along the southern front lines have repelled attacks by Ukraine near the village of Robotyne, which has been the focus of fighting for several weeks.

Ukrainian officials paint a different picture. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said there was progress in the area south of Robotyne and west of Verbove. Nearly five square kilometers of territory had been won in the previous week, for a total gain of 256 square kilometers (more than 98 square miles) since the counteroffensive began, she said.

CNN is unable to verify most of the claims made by either side, but Ukrainian units are in control of Robotyne, according to geolocated video, and attacking nearby Verbove.

Meanwhile in the east on the Bakhmut front, both sides have said that the village of Andriivka south of the city is the most intense part of the battle. The Ukrainian blogger Bakhmut Demon said that it was too early to celebrate victory there. Russia “artillery is still working, we have pushed the bastards back significantly, but they are not giving up yet,” the blogger said.

Much further east, and close to the Russian-held capital of Donetsk region, Russian blogger Neofitsyalnyi Bezsonov denied claims that Ukrainian units have a foothold in the heavily contested village of Optyne. “The enemy managed to enter the outskirts of the settlement, after which it was immediately knocked out of there. Optyne is fully under our control.”

Another well-known Russian blogger, Voenkor Kotenok, said Russia's problems in this area remain the same as they were six months ago — shortage of personnel, the lack of competent commanders and assaults.

Residents of Kyiv have been reacting to the warning from President Volodymyr Zelensky that the war against Russia may go on for some time yet.

“I have to be ready, my team has to be ready for the long war, and emotionally I am ready,” Zelensky told the Economist in an interview published Sunday.

Iryna Shpundra, a mother on maternity leave from Kyiv said she and her child had spent a year and a half abroad, but insisted that “Ukrainians are strong in spirit and ready for a long war, because we simply cannot stop it somehow and forget our guys who died or those who are now fighting for us.”

Yuriy Teplenko, a pensioner and former university lecturer, told CNN: “The war will not end tomorrow, that's for sure. I think it won't even be over next year. And this is very bad, but on the other hand, the ceasefire is even worse.”

Referring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Teplenko said: “We need to crush this bastard, otherwise we simply won't have any life. There is no other option here. Objectively speaking, I want to believe that the war will end in victory for Ukraine, but anything can happen.”

A soldier with the call sign Red said he agreed with the president. “The offensive is going on, but at a slow pace, gradually our land is being liberated every day. There can be no such thing as an offensive along the entire front line at the same time, because this will lead to even greater losses.”

Kyiv resident, Kateryna Polishchuk, said she understood ”that we should not expect any immediate success in this war. This war has not been going on for 8 or 10 years, it is a struggle that has been going on for 300 years.”

“I have stayed in Kyiv since the first day of the full-scale invasion, I was born here and have lived here all my life, I love my city and although it was scary, I stayed here," she added.

“I never expected this war to end so quickly, at least given the size of the population of Russia and Ukraine. But in our hearts, of course, we expect victory and ask God for it," Polishchuk said.