September 21, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country “will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes” in a statement released by his office Thursday night.

The comments come ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Canada scheduled for September 21 and 22.

“The two leaders will continue to work closely together to strengthen ties between our countries and help ensure the Ukrainian people can continue to defend themselves against Russia’s brutal and unjustifiable invasion,” the statement read.

Trudeau will meet with Zelensky in Ottawa “to reiterate Canada’s ongoing military, economic, humanitarian, and development support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s brutal war of aggression,” the statement read.

Both leaders will participate in a signing ceremony “to continue strengthening economic ties.”

Zelensky will also deliver an address to Parliament, according to the statement.

“In close coordination, we will apply more economic pressure on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s regime until it respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, including in sectors that are strategically important for Russia, such as oil and gas,” the statement read.

Since January 2022, Canada “has committed more than $8.9 billion in multifaceted support to Ukraine, including $4.95 billion in direct financial support and over $1.8 billion in military aid ranging from Leopard 2 tanks and air defence and artillery systems to armoured vehicles, ammunition, and more,” the Canadian Prime Minister’s office said.

“Budget 2023 extended a $2.4 billion loan to the Government of Ukraine for this year, to support Ukraine’s budgetary needs,” his office added.

Every cent of US investment in Ukraine’s security and “global protection of freedom” is working, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address in front of the National Archives Thursday night.

The Ukrainian leader also said American aid has demoralized Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

“Putin is forced to humiliate himself by personally entertaining a delegation from Pyongyang and trying to (get) favor with Tehran. This shows his obvious weakness,” Zelensky said.

He also said he was thankful for “Americans who have done and are doing extraordinary things at the call of their hearts,” referring primarily to the American doctors who have helped thousands of Ukrainian children and adults affected by the war.

“American hearts beat the same way as Ukrainian hearts. I want you all to know that America has saved millions of Ukrainian lives,” Zelensky said.

While at the National Archives, Zelensky said he viewed a telegram from former President Abraham Lincoln to which he told Gen. Ulysses Grant to “hold on like a bulldog.” Zelensky likened the phrase to the disposition of Ukrainian fighters.

“Every day of this war, Ukrainian soldiers hold on with a bulldog grip,” he said. “They bite and strangle the Russian invaders as much as possible. Never before has the Russian dictatorship met such strong resistance.”

Zelensky was joined in front of the archives by his wife, first lady Olena Zelenska, who also addressed the crowd. During his trip to the United States, the Ukrainian leader spoke at the UN General Assembly and met with a number of high-profile leaders, including President Joe Biden.

White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told CNN Thursday the administration has seen “resounding support” for aid to Ukraine from Congress, “particularly at the leadership level.”

Kirby acknowledged that “a growing number of voices, particularly in the House Republicans, of people that are disputing whether or not Ukraine is worth the effort.” But he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an interview that those detractors “don’t represent their leadership — they don’t even represent the majority of their party, so we’re going to keep at it.”

On the president’s meeting today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kirby said Biden “was very grateful to get a battlefield update,” from his Ukrainian counterpart. 

And he pushed back against concerns that today’s newly announced $325 million doesn’t include Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), as Ukraine has previously requested.

“I would just tell you that we continue to talk to the Ukrainians — we have and we will — about what they need on the battlefield, and you heard yourself President Zelensky saying that this package that the President announced today is exactly what his forces need,” Kirby said. “We’re not going to take anything for granted, we’re going to continue to talk to him about that going forward.”

Democrats welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Thursday, while Republicans were far more split.

The divide between the two parties is not surprising given the polling data on Zelensky specifically and Russia’s war in Ukraine more broadly.

Republicans, it turns out, have become far more dovish on that conflict and in how they view the United States’ role in the world more generally.

It may be hard to imagine now but Zelensky was once admired on both sides of the political aisle. At the beginning of the war, Zelensky sported a 77% favorability rating among Democrats and a 61% favorability rating among Republicans, according to a March 2022 Quinnipiac University poll. Just 6% of Republicans and 2% of Democrats viewed him unfavorably.

Since then, however, the tone from Republican leaders has soured. Whether these officials are guiding their voters or merely following them, the poll numbers have shifted significantly.

A July 2023 Gallup poll found that Zelensky’s favorability rating with Republicans had declined to 51%. His unfavorable rating, meanwhile, had skyrocketed to 41%. This meant his net favorability with Republicans went from +55 points to +10 points in a little over a year.

Democratic leaders have been far more supportive of the Ukrainian leader, which could be why their voters have largely stayed that way too. Zelensky’s favorability rating among Democrats was 75% in July, according to the Gallup poll — similar to the 77% in 2022, per Quinnipiac. While his unfavorable rating had ticked up, it still remained low at 11%.

The views toward Zelensky are emblematic of how Americans feel about the US involvement in the Ukraine-Russia conflict as a whole.

Read more about the divide over aid to Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden announced a new tranche of aid for Ukraine in remarks from the White House Thursday, during a visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He told Zelensky that as winter approaches, “the people of Ukraine are steeled against the trouble ahead, and the American people are going to continue to stay with you.” 

Following his remarks, a reporter asked Zelensky if he’d received any assurances from Congress on funding for additional aid. Biden interjected, saying:

On the aid announced today, Biden detailed a litany of military support for Ukraine in its ongoing fight against Russia’s invasion. 

“Today, I approved the next tranche of US security assistance to Ukraine, including more artillery, more ammunition, more anti-tank weapons, and next week, the first US Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine,” Biden said in an expanded bilateral meeting with members of his Cabinet and the Ukrainian delegation. “We’re also focused on strengthening Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, to protect the critical infrastructure that provides heat and light during the coldest and darkest days of the year.” 

Biden also offered a blistering assessment of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he said mistakenly believed he would be able to crush support for Ukraine in a matter of months.

Biden went on to offer an optimistic assessment of American’s support for the country as it beats back Russian forces.

“Mr. President, the American people — Democrats, Republicans alike, families all across our nation, understand what Ukraine is fighting to defend — what generations of Americans have also stepped to protect and preserve,” Biden said. “It’s pretty basic: Freedom, liberty, and sovereignty.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday announced $128 million in new US security assistance to Ukraine as well as $197 million in arms and equipment.

The announcement comes amid President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House, where he met with President Joe Biden.

During a meeting with Cabinet members, Biden reaffirmed the US commitment, along with its partners, to Ukraine.

“We’re committed to build a force capable of assuring Ukraine’s long-term security. Capable of deterring future threats against sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom — which are under way now. Because that’s what this is all about. The future. The future of freedom. America can never, will never, walk away from that,” Biden said. “That’s why 575 days later we stand with Ukraine and we’ll continue to stand with you, Mr. President.”

Zelensky in turn thanked Biden and the American people for their support.

Here are the latest developments:

Lithuania is offering to facilitate conversations between Poland and Ukraine after Warsaw, one of Ukraine’s closest and most vocal allies, has said it will stop sending arms to Kyiv.

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda said his country could help Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish President Andrzej Duda “resolve current tensions,” he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Poland’s decision is a major reversal that threatens to upend Europe’s strategic relationship with the country as it wages a counteroffensive against Russia.

What happened: Poland’s decision to stop sending weapons to Ukraine came after months of strain over a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports to a number of European Union countries.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that it will now focus on supplying “the most modern weapons” for its own purposes, state news agency PAP reported.

In the spring, Poland became the first NATO country to send fighter jets to Ukraine — months ahead of the United States. It has also previously sent more than 200 Soviet-style tanks to Ukraine, and most Western military equipment and other supplies reach Ukrainian forces by crossing Polish territory.

CNN’s Rob Picheta contributed reporting to this post.

The United States will give $128 million in new security assistance to Ukraine as well as $197 million in arms and equipment in previously authorized drawdowns, the secretary of state announced. 

The package includes additional air defense munitions “to help strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses against aerial assaults from Russia now and in the coming winter when Russia is likely to renew its attacks against Ukrainian critical infrastructure,” Antony Blinken said Thursday.

“It also contains artillery ammunition and anti-armor capabilities, as well as cluster munitions, which will further enhance Ukraine’s capacity to continue its counter-offensive against Russia’s forces,” he added.

This is the second time the US has provided the controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine, the Defense Department said. In late July, shortly after the US first provided cluster munitions, the White House said Ukrainian forces were using the weapons “effectively” and “appropriately” against Russian defensive positions.

The US will not be providing Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine, however, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, despite requests from Ukraine. He said while not providing it in this package, Biden is “not taking it off the table in the future.”

The announcement comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Joe Biden in Washington, DC.

US President Joe Biden welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House and said that the US remains committed to providing support in Kyiv’s efforts to defend itself against Russia’s invasion.

“Earlier this week at the UN General Assembly, I made it clear that no nation can be truly secure in the world if, in fact, we don’t stand up and defend the freedom of Ukraine in the face of this Russian brutality and aggression,” Biden said at the Oval Office. “That’s why we brought together a coalition of more than 50 countries — 50 countries to help Ukraine defend itself. It’s critical.”

Biden said the US has begun the process “of formalizing our long-term commitment to Ukraine’s security,” along with fellow G7 leaders and other international partners, “and that’s why we support a just and lasting peace, one that respects Ukrainian sovereignty and its territorial integrity.” 

Biden commended the “enormous bravery” of the people of Ukraine. “It has inspired the world, really inspired the world with a determination to defend these principles, And together with our partners and allies, the American people are determined to see to all we can to ensure the world stands with you,” he said.

Biden is expected to announce new military assistance, worth more than $325 million, during his meeting with Zelensky. It’s expected to include more cluster munitions, according to two US officials, marking the second time the US has provided the controversial weapon to Kyiv.

Earlier, the Ukrainian president visited Capitol Hill where he described his meeting with US senators on Capitol Hill as a “great dialogue.” Zelensky also met with lawmakers from the US House of Representatives.

CNN’s Oren Liebermann contributed reporting to this post.

US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are meeting now at the White House.

As Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, arrived for the bilateral meeting, one reporter shouted, “Mr. President, how important is this visit?”

“Very important,” Zelensky said, before entering the White House

During the meeting, Biden is expected to announce new military assistance, worth more than $325 million. It’s expected to include more cluster munitions, according to two US officials, marking the second time the US has provided the controversial weapon to Kyiv. 

Notably absent from the package, the US will not be providing Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), according to national security adviser Jake Sullivan — despite requests from Ukraine.

Biden is looking forward to hearing an in-person perspective on “the war and the road ahead,” Sullivan said.

Earlier Thursday, the Ukrainian president visited Capitol Hill where he described his meeting with US senators on Capitol Hill as a “great dialogue.” Zelensky also met with lawmakers from the US House of Representatives.

CNN’s Donald Judd and Oren Liebermann contributed reporting to this post.

A new $325 million Ukraine aid package is set to be unveiled as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the White House.

It’s expected to include more cluster munitions, according to two US officials, marking the second time the US has provided the controversial weapon to Kyiv. 

The National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, John Kirby, said in late July that Ukrainian forces were using the weapons “effectively” and “appropriately” against Russian defensive positions. The comments came shortly after the US first provided cluster munitions to Ukraine.

But until now, the US has not provided more of the Dual-Purpose Improved Cluster Munitions (DPICMs), which are fired from 155mm artillery tubes. And the US will not be providing Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said, despite requests from Ukraine.

“What I would say is that the president is constantly speaking both to his own military and to his counterparts in Europe and to the Ukrainians themselves about what is needed on the battlefield at any given phase of the war and then what the United States can provide, while also ensuring that we are able to provide for our own deferred deterrence and defense needs,” Sullivan said. “As he’s weighed all that up to today, he has determined that he would not provide ATACMS, but he is also not taking it off the table in the future.” 

The package – based on existing drawdown authority and pulled directly from US military inventories – will also include additional artillery, anti-armor, anti-aircraft and air defense capabilities that will better equip the country for an ongoing counteroffensive and beyond, US officials previously told CNN.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave lawmakers the same advice today that they told him two years ago, according to Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, who called it a “powerful” moment. 

“[Zelensky] said that when this war started you gave Ukraine a really good piece of advice, stay unified and stay strong. So what’s my message to you two and a half years later? Stay unified and stay strong,” Kaine told CNN’s Manu Raju. 

But GOP Sen. Rand Paul, a known skeptic of Ukraine funding, told CNN he didn’t attend Zelensky’s meeting on the Hill and argued that he will object to further Ukraine funding. 

“I’ll object to sending any more money to Ukraine. We don’t have any more money,” Paul told CNN.

The US Defense Department said Poland’s decision to stop providing weapons to Ukraine is “a sovereign decision.” 

“We’ve always said that it’s a sovereign decision for any country to decide what level of support that they’re going to provide,” said Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder at a news briefing on Thursday.

Ryder would not say whether it would cause other nations to need to provide more to Ukraine but highlighted the aid Poland has already provided.

“Poland has been one of the leading countries when it comes to providing security assistance to Ukraine, and not only security assistance but also in terms of providing significant humanitarian aid and support for more than a million displaced Ukrainians who have gone to Poland as a result of Russia’s invasion,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told US senators Thursday that if US money for the war dries up, it would have a cascading effect and eventually lead European countries to do the same

Zelensky warned Russia would win if the US walked away. 

“You give money, we give lives,” he said in his message to senators, according to attendees. 

More context: Republican leaders in the US Congress are now weighing cutting Ukraine assistance from their long-term spending bill to fund the Pentagon in order to win over hardline holdouts and unlock the gridlock on the House floor, two sources told CNN.

CNN’s Melanie Zanona and Lauren Fox contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House Thursday afternoon — where the US leader is looking forward to hearing an in-person perspective on “the war and the road ahead,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.

As part of the meeting, Biden will announce a new package of military assistance, including “significant air defense capabilities to help Ukraine protect its people,” which the White House official said, “will help Ukraine harden its defenses ahead of what is likely to be a tough winter, filled with renewed Russian attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure.”

The US will not be providing Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine, however, Sullivan said — despite requests from Ukraine.

“The president is constantly speaking both to his own military and to his counterparts in Europe and to the Ukrainians themselves about what is needed on the battlefield at any given phase of the war and then what the United States can provide,” Sullivan said. “As he’s weighed all that up to today, he has determined that he would not provide ATACMS, but he is also not taking it off the table in the future.” 

It is the sixth time the leaders meet and it “comes at a significant moment, as Ukrainian forces continue to make progress in their counteroffensive and just after Russia launched yet another brutal wave of airstrikes against five cities, five cities in Ukraine that hit critical civilian infrastructure and knocked out power for many people, many parts of the country,” Sullivan said.

Biden will also announce former US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker as special representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery, who will be tasked with “engaging the private sector, partner countries and Ukrainian counterparts to generate international investment in Ukraine and work with Ukraine to make the reforms necessary to improve Ukraine’s business climate,” Sullivan noted.

The official also expressed confidence that Congress would pass additional funding for Ukraine, despite comments from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that Biden “hasn’t made the case to the American public.”

“I would say that Speaker McCarthy has himself been an advocate for the supply of military assistance to Ukraine, has voted for previous packages, and that Republicans in both the House and Senate in very large numbers have been strong advocates and supporters for this — haven’t just wanted to hear the case from us, they’ve been going out and themselves making the case to their constituents into the world for why this is so important,” Sullivan said.

Most Republicans would like to see the United States scale back its support of Ukraine in that country’s war effort against Russia, multiple surveys this fall suggest, although much of the public overall continues to favor actions such as sanctions against Russia and help with Ukrainian intelligence gathering.

A CBS News poll earlier in September found that 36% of US adults said the Biden administration should be doing less to help Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, with 38% saying the White House was handling things about right, and 26% that it should be doing more.

Most Republicans, 56%, say the Biden administration should be doing less in Ukraine, a view shared by 41% of independents and 15% of Democrats.

Republican opposition to Ukraine aid has grown over the course of this year, CBS finds. While 73% of Republicans currently favor continuing sanctions, they’re split on sending aid and supplies — 50% favor this, down from 57% in February. Just 39% support sending weapons, which is down from 49% in February. By contrast, solid majorities of Democrats continue to back all three of these proposals.

In a Fox News poll released last weekend, registered voters gave negative marks for the US response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with 43% approving and 54% disapproving. That’s down from May when views were about evenly split with 47% who said they approved and 48% who said they disapproved.

A CNN poll released earlier this summer also charted growing Republican opposition to aid in Ukraine and found 55% of the full public opposed to Congress authorizing more funding to support Ukraine, rising to 71% among Republicans.

A majority of the public overall did favor some specific forms of aid, such as help with intelligence gathering (63% support) and military training (53% support). 

Republican leaders in the US Congress are now weighing cutting Ukraine assistance from their long-term spending bill to fund the Pentagon in order to win over hardline holdouts and unlock the gridlock on the House floor, two sources told CNN.

While cutting Ukraine assistance might win over hardliners, it’s unclear if the GOP’s moderates, appropriators and defense hawks, who are already furious with the party’s right flank, would go along with that change — especially on the same Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

A bloc of hardliners tanked a procedural vote on the defense bill today, in part because of opposition to the bill’s $300 million in Ukraine funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance initiative. That initiative, however, is the same aid that has been funded since 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea.

The bill specifies the money can be used for training, equipment, lethal assistance, logistics support, supplies, services, salaries, stipends sustainment and intel. The defense spending bill includes all kinds of funding for foreign governments to help them including money for Kuwait.

After the failed vote, a number of GOP lawmakers — some visibly deflated — decamped to House GOP Whip’s office to figure out a path forward.

Remember: This bill is not the same as the additional aid for Ukraine that the White House has requested, which hardliners also oppose. US President Joe Biden asked Congress last month for more than $24 billion for Ukraine and other international needs. The request includes more than $13 billion in security assistance and $7.3 billion for economic and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.

The top Democrat in the US Senate emphasized the importance of Congress approving more aid for Ukraine as soon as possible after a meeting at the Capitol with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“I told the members that right now, this courageous man is at the fulcrum of democracy and freedom, and my message to President Zelensky and to my colleagues was simple — America must always stand with our friends around the world, and that includes the people of Ukraine,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday.

Congress faces a deadline to pass a funding bill by the end of next week. Schumer said it is “very clear” that if there is a government shutdown or a temporary measure passed that does not include aid for Ukraine “the damage that would occur on Ukraine’s campaign would be devastating.”

The majority leader argued that supporting Kyiv is bigger than just helping the Ukrainian people. He criticized some conservative Republicans for opposing Ukraine aid and attacked House Republicans for their partisan proposals for short-term government funding. 

“As President Zelensky reminded us, it’s about American security as well, because a victorious Putin would be an emboldened Putin,” Schumer said.

In his floor remarks Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell welcomed Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky to the US Capitol and defended US aid to Ukraine.

“American support for Ukraine is not charity. It’s an investment in our own direct interests,” the top Senate Republican said.
“Degrading Russia’s military power helps to deter our primary strategic adversary, China,” McConnell added.

On Zelensky’s visit, the GOP senator said he was glad that “our colleagues got an opportunity to hear from him firsthand and ask questions about the state of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.”

Earlier, Zelensky described his meeting with US senators on Capitol Hill as a “great dialogue.” Prior to meeting with the senators, he had also met with lawmakers from the US House of Representatives. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would not commit to reporters on putting Ukraine aid on the chamber’s floor by end of the year despite what he described as a productive meeting with Zelensky, insisting instead domestic spending is a priority.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his meeting with US senators on Capitol Hill on Thursday was a “great dialogue.”

“We’re thankful to you, to journalists, to senators, and all the rest for helping us,” the leader said as he left the meeting with the lawmakers. Zelensky said they “spoke about so many details,” though he didn’t share what they were.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that Zelensky had warned them about the dangers of not passing more Ukraine funding.

“There was a single sentence that sums it all up, and I’m quoting him verbatim, Mr. Zelensky said, ‘if we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war.’ That’s a quote from him,” he said. 

US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell added it was a “good meeting.”

Earlier Thursday, Zelensky also met with lawmakers from the US House of Representatives. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would not commit to putting Ukraine aid on the chamber’s floor by end of the year despite what he described as a productive meeting with Zelensky, insisting instead domestic spending is a priority.

White House meeting this afternoon: President Joe Biden is set to welcome Zelensky to the White House this afternoon. Biden is seeking to hear a “battlefield perspective” from Zelensky as a second autumn of war approaches, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told reporters.

Biden is expected to talk to Zelensky about battlefield needs, Kirby said, but it comes amid CNN reporting that ATACMS, the long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, may not be part of a new weapons package, something Zelensky suggested to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer would be a disappointment. ATACMS are “not off the table,” Kirby said.

The Biden administration has been asking Congress for more Ukraine funding amid skepticism from some GOP lawmakers.

CNN’s Lauren Fox contributed reporting to this post.

The death toll from Thursday’s Russian strikes on the Kherson region has risen.

Since the beginning of the day, five people had been killed and 10 others injured, said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of Kherson Region Military Administration.

The strikes in Kherson were part of a larger Russian attack across Ukraine, just hours before President Volodymyr Zelensky was set to meet US President Joe Biden at the White House.

The attack marked the first time in six months that Russia has launched attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure, according to the state energy provider Ukrenergo, just as the country gears up for colder seasons that will require more energy use for heating.

Last year, Russia began a series of intense attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October.

Asked repeatedly if he would commit to putting a $24 billion Ukraine aid package on the floor, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would not commit to moving the aid forward despite what he described as a productive meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, insisting instead that domestic spending is a priority.

“Look, we’ve got to get our fiscal house taken care of here in America. I’m more than willing to look at that. But the one thing I know is that if the President’s only focused on that, well, you’ve just had 10,000 people come across the border, and he wants to ignore that,” McCarthy told reporters Thursday. “I think there are priorities here.” 

He said he raised issues such as accountability in his meeting with Zelensky, and the Ukrainian president answered a series of questions too. The House speaker described the conversation as “good” and “productive.”

McCarthy also told reporters he was asked to host a joint session of Congress, but declined because he said there wasn’t time with Congress’ busy schedule and that Zelensky just got one last year.

Looming shutdown: Zelensky’s visit is coming as House Republicans are engaged in a bitter fight over government funding on the domestic front and as the prospects for more money for Ukraine – while very much alive in the Senate – are far less clear in the House even with the Biden administration sending over a request for $24 billion in support.

The White House has said there is a “critical need” for Congress to grant the funding request for Ukraine for its counteroffensive capabilities, and that the aid “will have a significant impact on Ukraine’s fight.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a joint session of Congress, which would have allowed him to give a speech and address everyone, a source told CNN. 

“What I was asked for was a joint session. We don’t have time for a joint session,” McCarthy told reporters. “So, I did exactly what I’ve done with the prime minister of Italy, the prime minister of the UK. I always bring when leaders come in, I bring a bipartisan group of leadership together.”

This comes as members of Congress remain divided over aid to Ukraine.

McCarthy also avoided being seen with Zelensky publicly. He denied official photographers access to the room where House leaders met the Ukrainian president, the source added. But he took photos with Zelensky during a closed-door meeting, and a source shared with CNN photos from the room.

Punchbowl was first to report McCarthy denied Zelensky’s request. 

One of Ukraine’s closest and most vocal allies has now said it will stop sending arms to Kyiv, a major reversal that threatens to upend Europe’s strategic relationship with the country as it wages a counteroffensive against Russia.

Poland’s decision was both sudden and predictable, coming after months of tensions over a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports to a number of European Union countries.

It also follows a pattern of increasingly confrontational behavior towards Kyiv from Poland’s government, just weeks before a tight general election.

And it could have implications for Ukraine’s attempts to push Russian forces out of the country’s southern regions, in an ongoing assault that has been making slow and grinding progress.

What has Poland announced? “We no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a blunt social media statement on Wednesday.

Morawiecki added in a television interview that Poland will now focus on supplying “the most modern weapons” for its own purposes, state news agency PAP reported. “If you want to defend yourself you have to have something to defend with,” the prime minister said.

It marks a major chance in policy. In the spring, Poland became the first NATO country to send fighter jets to Ukraine – months ahead of the United States, which only agreed last month to approve the transfer of F-16 jets, pending the completion of training by Ukrainian forces.

It has also previously sent more than 200 Soviet-style tanks to Ukraine, and most Western military equipment and other supplies reach Ukrainian forces by crossing Polish territory.

Poland will now only carry out the supplies of ammunition and weapons to Kyiv that were agreed before Warsaw made its decision to stop shipments, government spokesman Piotr Muller said Thursday, according to PAP.

Muller emphasized that Ukraine has made a series of “absolutely unacceptable statements and diplomatic gestures” and that “Poland does not accept this type of unjustified actions,” PAP reported.

How did we get here? Pressure has been building for months over a ban on Ukrainian grain, initially put in place earlier this year by several EU nations to protect the livelihood of local farmers worried about being undercut by the low price of Ukrainian grain.

Last week, the EU announced plans to suspend the rule. But three nations – Poland, Hungary and Slovakia – said they intended to defy the change and keep the restrictions in place. It prompted protests from Ukraine, which this week filed lawsuits against all three countries over the issue.

Ukraine, often called the “breadbasket of Europe” due to the vast quantities of grain it produces, had its Black Sea ports blockaded by Russia following its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Fearing that the situation was “threatening global food security,” the European Commission set up what it called “solidarity lanes” in May to facilitate exports, and temporarily eliminated all duties and quotas on Ukraine’s exports, allowing a glut of cheap Ukrainian grain to flow into the continent.

Anger in Poland has been simmering since the spring, when farmers led demonstrations against the moves. But they erupted once again in recent days, after the decision of the three nations to ignore the removal of the ban.

In a swipe against the trio on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly in New York that “it is alarming to see how some in Europe, some of our friends in Europe, play out solidarity in a political theater – making a thriller from the grain.”

Zelensky added that the nations involved “may seem to play their own role but in fact they are helping set the stage to a Moscow actor.” His comments sparked immediate condemnation from Poland, with the foreign ministry summoning the Ukrainian ambassador to convey its “strong protest.”

Read more here about Poland’s reversal and how it might impact the war.

US President Joe Biden is seeking to hear a “battlefield perspective” from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Washington, DC, on Thursday, the White House said.

It comes as the Ukrainian president pleas for additional aid for his war-torn country and the US Congress remains divided about how to proceed. Biden will also reiterate US support “that we’re going to continue to be with them for as long as it takes,” National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said.

Biden will talk to Zelensky about specific weapons needs, Kirby said. However, CNN has reported that ATACMS — the long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems — may not be part of a new weapons package, something Zelensky suggested to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer would be a disappointment. 

Kirby said ATACMS is “not off the table,” and “we continue to have discussions here in the interagency about that particular weapon system, but no decision has been made.

More broadly, Kirby said there is a “critical need” for Congress to grant the White House’s $24 billion supplemental funding request for Ukraine for its counteroffensive capabilities. He offered forceful pushback to Republican lawmakers questioning continued US aid to Ukraine and encouraged them to meet directly with the Ukrainian president.

“If you think that the cost of supporting Ukraine is high now, just ponder how exorbitantly higher it would be in blood and treasure if we just walk away and let them take Ukraine, all of it. And then he’s [Russian President Vladimir Putin] left in a much stronger position and oh, by the way, right up on to the shores of NATO territory,” he said. 

How the visit is expected to unfold: First, Zelensky is meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and others at the Pentagon. In addition to the Senate, Zelensky is expected to talk with Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and other leaders, according to Kirby.

After that, Biden and Zelensky will meet in the Oval Office followed by an extended bilateral meeting in the Cabinet Room, Kirby said. 

Biden and Zelensky have met in person six times, Kirby noted, and “have spoken regularly,” adding that there will be an “air of familiarity” between the two. 

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the US Capitol to meet lawmakers and ask for continued support for the country’s defense against Russia, senators remain divided over the aid:

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley told CNN Thursday that he remains skeptical of funding for Kyiv and that Senate leadership who argue in favor of it are “totally wrong.”

“They’re going to ask for more later. There’s no end in sight. We were told this could literally go on for years. It’s another forever war,” the Missouri Republican told CNN.

Later Thursday, Hawley told CNN that Zelensky’s direct appeal to Congress today left him unconvinced.

“No. I mean, what the meeting revealed to me is, is that in the words of President Zelenskyy the conflict is a total stalemate. That’s what he said totally frozen,” Hawley told CNN.

Hawley noted that while he was unconvinced, he said Zelensky was “effusive” in his thanks and very respectful. He added that he told senators the aid from the US is not being diverted away from the war effort. 

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, however, described funding for Ukraine as a critical “investment.” 

“I’m totally committed to supporting Ukraine until we win this war and help them win that war that they’re willing to sacrifice their life for. So I think the majority of all senators feel the same as I do,” he added.

Ukrainian officials indicated further progress has been made on the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia region, with some units advancing “deep into the Russian defenses.”

However, Yevgeniy Balitskiy, the Russian-appointed acting governor of occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia region said on Telegram that Ukraine is “completing the redeployment of its units in the Robotyne area, after which we expect the situation in the Robotyne-Verbove area to deteriorate.”

CNN is unable to verify the battlefield reports of either side. However, open-source analysis of available video suggests some Ukrainian units have crossed through an important line of Russian defenses near the village of Verbove.

According to several analysts, Ukrainian vehicles from the 82nd Air Assault Brigade had crossed one trench system.

Without air superiority and in the face of dense minefields and reinforced Russian units, Ukrainian forces have so far struggled to break through the multiple layers of Russian defenses in occupied Zaporizhzhia. They still remain some 20 kilometers from the strategic Russian hub of Tokmak — their first major target on the southern offensive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will return to Capitol Hill Thursday morning for his second visit since his country was besieged by Russia — only this time, the political landscape has shifted.

A year ago, Zelensky faced a much different reception in Congress. Democrats controlled the House and public support for funding the war effort in Ukraine was higher. As he stood to ask for more money and weapons before a joint meeting of Congress, Zelensky was met with a packed House, members adorned in yellow and blue standing in support with Ukraine.

Now, the Ukrainian president will return to Congress to a new speaker – facing a rebellion on his right – who has yet to promise future aid to Ukraine and will have to balance his own political future against the future Zelensky is hoping for his country.

“Was Zelensky elected to Congress? Is he our president? I don’t think so. I have questions for where’s the accountability on the money we’ve already spent? What is this the plan for victory?” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy asked Tuesday.

This week alone, McCarthy’s right flank has openly taunted members for backing Ukraine. Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida posted a picture of McCarthy in a Ukraine pin and with a yellow and blue pocket square, writing, “How does this make you feel?”

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia posted a scene of Lord Farquaad calling his troops to battle from the animated film “Shrek,” tweeting, “Washington warlords speaking to the American people about Ukraine.”

US President Joe Biden is also set to welcome Zelensky to the White House on Thursday. Biden is seeking to hear a “battlefield perspective” from Zelensky as a second autumn of war approaches, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told reporters.

Biden is expected to talk to Zelensky about battlefield needs, Kirby said, but it comes amid CNN reporting that ATACMS, the long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, may not be part of a new weapons package, something Zelensky suggested to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer would be a disappointment. ATACMS are “not off the table,” Kirby said.

Zelensky’s visit is also coming as House Republicans are engaged in a bitter fight over government funding on the domestic front and as the prospects for more money for Ukraine – while very much alive in the Senate – are far less clear in the House even as the Biden administration as sent over a request for $24 billion in support.

Ukraine endured a deadly nationwide Russian missile barrage targeting energy facilities in Kyiv and other cities on Thursday, just hours before President Volodymyr Zelensky was set to meet US President Joe Biden at the White House.

Officials called it “a terrible night for Kherson city,” noting that apartment buildings and cars were also damaged in Russian shelling on residential areas. Two people were injured in the city of Kharkiv, where Russia launched six strikes in the early hours of the morning, according to local officials. And at least 10 people were injured in overnight missile attacks on the city of Cherkasy in central Ukraine.

The strikes marked the first time in six months that Russia has launched attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure, according to the state energy provider Ukrenergo, just as the country gears up for colder seasons that will require more energy use for heating. Last year, Russia began a series of intense attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October.

Ukrenergo said the overnight missile attacks resulted in damage to power facilities in western and central regions and caused blackouts in several areas.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 of 43 missiles launched by Russia on Thursday, Ukraine’s army chief said. But air raid alerts remain in place in parts of the country, as some Ukrainian officials warn that the missile threat is ongoing.

The attacks came as the capital Kyiv crossed the 1,000-hour mark of air raid alarms since the start of the Russian invasion, according to the head of the city’s military administration.

CNN’s Tim Lister and Karen Smith contributed to this report.

Slovakia and Ukraine have agreed to establish a grain trade system that would enable a ban on imports of Ukrainian grain to be lifted, Slovakia’s agriculture ministry said Thursday. 

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic, Jozef Bires, held a “constructive” online meeting with Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi on Wednesday, Slovakia’s Agriculture Ministry said in a statement to CNN.  

“They agreed on the developing of a grain trading system based on the issuing and controlling of licenses,” the ministry said. It did not give details on how the licensing system would work.

However, “until this system is launched and its full operation is tested, the ban on the import of four commodities from Ukraine, which was approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic as of September 16, continues to apply until the end of 2023,” it added.

The ban on Ukrainian grain was initially put in place earlier this year by several European Union nations to protect local farmers, who were worried about being undercut by the low prices of Ukrainian grain. Last week, the European Union announced plans to suspend the ban, but Slovakia — along with Poland and Hungary — said they intended to defy the change and keep the restrictions in place.

Kyiv filed a lawsuit on Monday against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over the ban on imports, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko had said. But Slovakia’s agriculture ministry today said Ukraine is pausing legal actions against Slovakia.

“Minister Bires asked his Ukrainian colleague that Ukraine stops all actions with the lawsuit against Slovakia, that already have happened, as well as the statements about stopping the trade of agricultural commodities from Slovakia to Ukraine,” the ministry said.

Solskyi “promised to stop these steps,” Slovakia’s agriculture ministry said.

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy prepares to return to Capitol Hill on Thursday to appeal for more support for Kyiv, a recent CNN poll shows that American public support for additional US aid for Ukraine has been shifting.

Most Americans oppose Congress authorizing more funding to support Ukraine in its war with Russia, according to an August CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Overall, 55% say the US Congress should not authorize additional funding to support Ukraine vs. 45% who say Congress should authorize such funding.

And 51% say that the US has already done enough to help Ukraine while 48% say it should do more. A poll conducted in the early days of the Russian invasion in late February 2022 found 62% who felt the US should have been doing more.

Partisan divisions have widened since that poll, too, with most Democrats and Republicans now on opposing sides of questions on the US role in Ukraine.

A majority, but not all (68%) of those who say the US should do more to support Ukraine favor additional funding, as do 23% of those who say the US has already done enough.

When asked specifically about types of assistance the US could provide to Ukraine, there is broader support for help with intelligence gathering (63%) and military training (53%) than for providing weapons (43%), alongside very slim backing for US military forces to participate in combat operations (17%).

Most Americans who say the US should be doing more to support Ukraine are in favor of providing assistance in intelligence gathering (75%), military training (68%) and weapons (60%), while among those who say the US has already done enough, only intelligence gathering earns majority support (52%).

A majority of Americans do express concern that Russia’s war in Ukraine will threaten US national security (56%), but that’s down significantly February 2022 (72% were worried about threats to US security then).

A bigger worry across partisan lines in the new poll is that the war will continue without a resolution for a long time. Nearly 8 in 10 are worried about that, including 82% of Democrats, 75% of independents and 73% of Republicans. Nearly two-thirds overall are concerned that the war in Ukraine will lead to increased threats to democracy elsewhere (65%) or lead to Russian attacks elsewhere (64%), and about 6 in 10 are worried it could lead to a broader war in Europe (59%).

Read more about the poll’s findings.

The White House is planning to provide a new aid package to Ukraine when President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Washington, DC, on Thursday, a US official told CNN. 

The package — based on existing drawdown authority — will include additional artillery, anti-armor, anti-aircraft and air defense capabilities that will better equip the country for an ongoing counteroffensive and beyond. 

Zelensky “will be leaving the White House with a significant package of additional capabilities to help near- and long-term defenses,” this official said. 

The package’s air defense capabilities are also expected to help Ukraine defend its skies ahead of a tough winter, with more strikes expected on critical infrastructure.  

Notably, the package is not expected to include Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, that would allow Ukrainian soldiers the ability to strike longer-range targets.

“For us, that’ll be a loss for us, if we won’t be able to get that weapon which will protect us,” Zelensky said when asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer whether he would be disappointed not to receive those capabilities. “But it’s not disappointment. It will just be a loss.” 

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that ATACMs are “not off the table,” but the agencies reviewing whether to provide the weapons have not reached a decision.   

The US military has briefed the White House that while ATACMs would provide longer-range and longer-term defense capabilities, Ukraine’s more pressing needs during the counteroffensive are vehicles, mine-clearing equipment, and short-range anti-aircraft equipment to breach Russian defenses. 

Russia has launched a barrage of missile attacks across Ukraine, including, for the first time in months, on Ukraine’s power infrastructure, causing damage to facilities in central and western regions.

The latest Russian bombardment comes as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenksy is preparing to meet with President Joe Biden and meet with US lawmakers, marking his second visit since his country was besieged by Russia. 

Elsewhere, Poland has announced that it will only carry out previously-agreed weapons supplies to Ukraine, amid a growing rift over the export of Ukrainian grain.

Below are the latest developments:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in Washington, DC, says that air defense for Ukraine is among the top issues on his agenda.

“Today, important negotiations are taking place in Washington. Air defense for Ukraine is among the top issues,” Zelensky posted on Telegram.

Referring to the barrage of more than 40 cruise missiles that were fired at targets across Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, Zelensky said, “Russian terrorists launched another massive attack. In particular, on the infrastructure. Most of the missiles were shot down. But only the majority. Not all of them.”

Zelensky said he was “grateful to every country that has already provided Ukraine with anti-missile systems. We are working to completely deprive Russia of its terrorist potential. We must reach this result.”

The CEO of Ukraine’s largest private energy provider is visiting the United States this week as he seeks financial support for Ukraine’s ambitions to build wind farms.

Maxim Timchenko, chief of Ukraine’s DTEK, is meeting US lawmakers, banks and company officials to discuss what he says is the solution for securing its energy infrastructure that’s under constant Russian attacks.

Russia has strategically shelled Ukraine’s power infrastructure, temporarily but repeatedly cutting off electricity, heat and water to millions. This campaign left Ukraine’s energy grid teetering on the brink of collapse, forcing constant repair work which involved scouring the world to find compatible parts.

DTEK’s infrastructure has also come under fire. Five of its thermal power turbines were destroyed considerably since the war began. Two of them were restored, Timchenko told CNN, adding that two others will be restored in 2024. However, one was attacked and destroyed beyond restoration, he said.

The answer to preventing this damage, Timchenko says, lies in building renewable energy infrastructure because it’s harder to destroy.

A thermal power generation system producing 300 megawatt of power, for example, requires a big turbine and one boiler to burn coal and gas. “It’s usually the size of a room. If it’s hit by a missile, then it’s all destroyed in one moment,” he explained, adding that depending on the level of damage, it could take a month or a year to restore. “The same capacity of 300 megawatt, if it’s wind, you build 15 turbines 100 meters from each other. If you destroy one, the others still operate.”

DTEK, which owns coal and thermal power plants in various parts of Ukraine, is building the Tyligulska wind power plant in Mykolaiv that can generate 500 megawatt of energy. The project started seven months prior to Russia’s launch of a full-scale invasion, but it was suspended due to its proximity to the war’s front lines. In May 2022, DTEK started to resume building and in August 2022, the construction began again — and it was entirely the company’s own efforts.

Even as its private partners in the project left, the company has finished building the system enough to generate 114 megawatt of power in the first phase. It spent 192 million euros ($205 million) to erect 19 turbines supplied by Danish manufacturer Vestas, Timchenko told CNN. But to get to 500 megawatts, DTEK needs 64 additional turbines that will cost 402 million euros ($428 million), requiring investors and a variety of funding.

But no commercial banks or private investors want to be in Ukraine right now. They say they will wait till the war is over to return or need military security insurances supported by governments, Timchenko said.

If funding is secured by end of year, it will take 12-18 months to complete the massive project.

With the first phase of 114 megawatt complete, Ukraine showed that it can be done, even with missiles flying overhead. “It’s all about the bravery and courage of Ukrainian people,” Timchenko said.

Poland is only carrying out supplies of ammunition and weapons to Ukraine that were agreed to before Warsaw made a decision to stop weapons shipments to its neighbor, government spokesperson Piotr Muller said Thursday, according to state news agency PAP.

Muller emphasized that Ukraine has made a series of “absolutely unacceptable statements and diplomatic gestures” and that “Poland does not accept this type of unjustified actions,” according to PAP.

In his remarks at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Zelensky said “it is alarming to see how some in Europe, some of our friends in Europe, play out solidarity in a political theater – making a thriller from the grain,” adding “they may seem to play their own role but in fact they are helping set the stage to a Moscow actor.”

On Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland will stop providing weapons to Ukraine, a change of policy that comes as tensions between Ukraine and its close ally rise over a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports to certain EU countries.

“Ukraine is defending itself against the brutal Russian attack and I understand this situation, but as I said, we will protect our country. We no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine, because we are now arming Poland,” Morawiecki said.

Poland also “urgently summoned” the Ukrainian ambassador to Warsaw Vasyl Zvarych on Wednesday over Zelensky’s comments, and Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told Zvarych that Zelensky’s “thesis is untrue in relation to Poland.”

Some context: The ban on Ukrainian grain was initially put in place earlier this year by several European Union nations to protect local farmers, who were worried about being undercut by the low prices of Ukrainian grain. 

Last week, the EU announced plans to suspend the ban, but Poland, Hungary and Slovakia said they intended to defy the change and keep the restrictions in place.

Amid a growing rift with Poland over the export of Ukrainian grain, Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy says he has spoken by phone with his Polish counterpart.

A statement from the Ministry said that Mykola Solskyi and Polish Farm Minister Robert Telus “discussed the situation and Ukraine’s proposal to resolve it, and agreed to find a solution that takes into account the interests of both countries.”

In what appears to be an effort to calm a situation that has led to angry exchanges between the two governments, the statement added: “The parties confirmed the close and constructive relations that they have repeatedly demonstrated and agreed to develop an option for cooperation on export issues in the near future.”

“Further talks will take place in the coming days to discuss the questions prepared by both sides. The Polish side will also study the Ukrainian export plan and prepare its proposals for it.”

The tone of the statement is in marked contrast to one from the Foreign Ministry in Kyiv on Wednesday, which asserted that Kyiv’s ambassador in Warsaw “once again explained the Ukrainian position on the unacceptability for Ukraine of the Polish unilateral ban on imports of Ukrainian grain.”

Some context: Poland has long been one of Ukraine’s staunchest backers since Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor, alongside multiple former Eastern bloc nations who fear they could be next if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expansionist war is successful.

However, the country has found itself at loggerheads with Ukraine after, along with Hungary and Slovakia, it refused EU plan to lift a ban on Ukrainian grain imports.

This prompted protests from Ukraine, which this week filed lawsuits against all three countries over the issue.

Ukraine’s state energy provider Ukrenergo says that Russia’s overnight missile attacks caused damage to power facilities in western and central regions in Ukraine.

Ukrenergo said it was the first time that Russia had launched attacks on the power infrastructure in six months. The strikes come as Ukraine prepares for the winter months. Last year, Russia began a series of intense attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October.

“Due to the consequences of the attack, there were partial blackouts in Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Dniproptrovsk and Kharkiv regions. The power supply is being restored to consumers,” Ukrenergo said.
“Due to the hostilities and other reasons, 398 settlements remain without electricity as of the morning.”

It added: “Currently, the operation of main power grids in [Rivne and Zhytomyr] has been restored, and household consumers are being supplied with power in the regional power company grids. The attack also damaged power grids in Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv and Kharkiv regions. Emergency repair work began immediately after the air raid alarm went off.”

“The power supply is restored subject given the security situation and with the permission of the military.”

Vitalii Koval, head of the Rivne regional military administration, said the region had suffered several missile strikes. “Unfortunately, there are hits on the energy and civilian infrastructure.”

Speaking in front of a service station that was damaged, Koval said that there were no casualties, but added “There is also no power supply in part of Rivne district.”

Some context: Last year, Russia ramped up strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as temperatures dropped.

In October 2022, the country’s energy facilities were attacked at least 82 times — more than in all previous months of the full-scale invasion combined.

From October through to January, Russia hit infrastructure throughout most of Ukraine.

The sunset paints the Zaporizhzhia countryside with an orange hue as a friendly figure opens the gates to a rundown shanty.  

“Welcome,” says Nezlamna, ushering us in. 

Hidden under a leafy combination of grapevines and camouflage netting, the derelict property now houses several Ukrainian soldiers fighting nearby on the southern frontline. Among them is Nezlamna, a mother of three — two daughters and a son.  

“I last saw them in April,” she says, admitting the distance makes their relationship difficult. “I even try to call less, not to get upset. And so that they don’t get upset.”

Nezlamna — which means ‘unbreakable’ in Ukrainian — is one of thousands of women who have joined the ranks of Ukraine’s armed forces to help defend the country from Russia’s invading army. For her, military service began well before Russia’s full scale invasion. 

She joined in 2016, after Moscow illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, and has been fighting Russian-backed separatists and Russian forces ever since. 

Currently leading a reconnaissance unit on the southern front line, Nezlamna says she is fighting for her children’s future, for their right to live in a “flourishing” Ukraine.

“Their task will be far more difficult - they will have to rebuild the country and bring it back to its feet. And that’s much more difficult than to recapture the borders,” she says. 

It may not be as difficult as rebuilding Ukraine, but pushing Russia out means risking her life daily.

“I think, I’ve seen pretty much everything in my life already, I can hardly be surprised by anything in combat. Yes, of course, there’s a risk, there’s constant risk,” she says, shrugging her shoulders, downplaying the actual danger. 

“There’s shelling, the self-destructing drones may fly, and one moment you are asleep and the next moment - your house is gone. No one is immune to when exactly they will die,” she adds. 

Her biggest worry is leaving her children. 

“The fear is always present,” she says. “Somehow I manage to control it even if I understand this is war, and we all won’t return home alive.”

That horrifying possibility sometimes fuels fiery arguments at home. 

“They still sometimes get offended that I’m not with them, when they need a parent. However, they understand that somebody has to do what I’m doing,” she says. 

Her main ally is her husband, himself a soldier serving with an artillery unit. Before her recent promotion they were in the same battalion.

“We have our own family values, same views, one direction,” she says. “We have been working alongside each other since 2016.”

Despite the dangers of her work and how much she misses a sense of normalcy and a stable life, close to her children, she’s pragmatic: “It’s not on the horizon,” she says. 

Russia has a large army, and even if Nezlamna and her fellow soldiers continue to gain ground, it is going to be a slow grind before Moscow completely leaves Ukraine. 

Sources in Ukraine’s Security Services (SBU) say that a massive strike was launched on Wednesday night against the Saki military airfield in Crimea.

Saki — which suffered an extensive attack in August 2022 — is home to Russian combat aircraft.

The sources told CNN that “the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy launched a massive fire strike on the Saki military airfield.”
“There were at least 12 combat aircraft (Su-24 and Su-30) and Pantsir MPADS [air defense systems] at the airfield.”

“There was also a training base for operators of [Iranian-made] Mojaher UAVs. These are the drones used by the Russians to coordinate their own air attacks and as a combat attack drone.”

“The strikes of the Security Service and the Navy hit the target and caused serious damage to the occupiers’ equipment. To defeat the enemy, drones were used to overload Russian air defense, and then Neptune missiles were launched,” the sources told CNN.

Neptune missiles are Ukrainian-made and were used to sink the Russian warship Moskva last year.

Some background: Since 2014, the Saki Air Base has been home to a Russian naval aviation regiment, part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, according to the state-run RIA-Novosti news service.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent military forces into what was then an autonomous region of southern Ukraine with strong Russian loyalties.

Thousands of Russian-speaking troops wearing unmarked uniforms poured into the peninsula in early March that year. Two weeks later, Russia completed its annexation of Crimea in a referendum slammed by Ukraine and most of the world as illegitimate.

CNN’s Brad Lendon contributed to the reporting in this post.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 of 43 missiles launched by Russia on Thursday in attacks across the country, Ukraine’s army chief said.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said in a Telegram post that cruise missiles launched from aircraft in southern Russia were “constantly changing course along the route.”

In an update Thursday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian forces launched “a massive missile attack” on civilian infrastructure in multiple regions.

Ukrainian officials said at least seven people were wounded in aerial assaults on Kyiv, while two people were injured in Kharkiv.

Meanwhile, Russian shelling killed at least two people in the southern city of Kherson.

Air raid alerts remain in place in parts of Ukraine on Thursday after Russian forces launched deadly strikes across the country, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Ukraine’s air force said the missile threat is ongoing, while Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko urged Ukrainians “to follow the safety rules in the regions where the repeated alarm is announced” and to take shelter.

“It’s a restless morning,” Klymenko said.

Here’s where Russian attacks have been reported so far:

At least two people were killed and five others were wounded in the southern city of Kherson following Russian shelling overnight, Ukrainian officials said Thursday.

In a Telegram post, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson region military administration, said two men ages 29 and 41 died in a Russian strike on a dormitory.

Among the injured are three women and two men, he added.

Roman Mrochko, head of the Kherson city military administration, said apartment buildings and cars were damaged after Russian forces shelled residential areas.

Reports of the shelling in Kherson Thursday comes after Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks had injured seven people in Kyiv and two others in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

Air raid sirens in Kyiv have sounded for more than 1,000 hours since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February last year, a Ukrainian official said following Moscow’s latest assault on the capital.

Seven people, including a 9-year-old girl, were injured in Russian aerial attacks Thursday, which caused damage and power outages in several districts, Ukrainian authorities said.

“The capital has already crossed the mark of 1,000 hours of air raid alarms since the beginning of the full-scale invasion!  said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, in a Telegram post Thursday. “Just imagine - a month and a half of continuous air raid alarms! We have survived it and we will overcome much more together!”

Two people were injured after Russia struck the northeastern city of Kharkiv on Thursday, a Ukrainian official said.

In a Telegram post, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said the wounded had been taken to hospital.

Syniehubov said earlier that the attacks were focused on the city’s Slobidskyi district and had damaged civilian infrastructure.

The strikes came as officials in Kyiv said seven people were injured in Russian attacks early Thursday.

A 9-year-old girl is among seven people who were injured after Russia launched an aerial attack on Kyiv Thursday, the city’s mayor said.

In a Telegram post, Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said the injuries were reported in the capital’s Darnytskyi district.

The child and an 18-year-old woman were hospitalized after debris fell from an infrastructure facility onto a residential building, he said.

Russian forces launched six strikes on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said Thursday.

In a Telegram post, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said the city’s Slobidskyi district was the focus of the attacks.

“There is damage to civilian infrastructure, information about the casualties is being verified,” he said.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said several explosions were heard in the city. “Information on the damage and casualties is being clarified,” he said.

The strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, come as officials in Kyiv said the capital was also under Russian attack early Thursday.

Russian forces launched an aerial attack on Kyiv early Thursday, according to officials in the Ukrainian capital.

In a Telegram post, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said air defenses were repelling the attacks but some buildings had been damaged.

“There are explosions in the city. Air defense is working. Stay in shelters!” Klitschko said. “In Darnytskyi district, there is destruction of non-residential buildings. There is no information about the casualties as of now.”

Klitschko also warned of power outages and water cuts in some parts of the capital.

Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said debris had fallen in at least two districts.

“Air raid alarm continues in Kyiv. As a result of air defense work on shooting down enemy targets, debris fell in the Holosiivskyi and Darnytskyi districts of the capital,” Popko said in a Telegram post. “All emergency services are on their way. Information on casualties and damage is being clarified. Stay in shelters until the air raid alarm is over!”

Poland said Wednesday it will stop providing weapons to Ukraine as tensions rise between Kyiv and Warsaw over a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports to some EU countries.

“We no longer transfer weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on social media.

The grain ban was initially put into place earlier this year to protect the livelihood of local farmers worried about being undercut by the low prices of Ukrainian grain. Last week, after the EU announced plans to suspend the ban, Poland, along with Hungary and Slovakia, said they intended to defy the change and keep the ban in place.

Kyiv has repeatedly spoken out against the ban. 

Here’s what else you need to know:

Poland said Wednesday it will stop providing weapons to Ukraine amid a growing dispute between the two countries over a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports.

Poland has long been one of Ukraine’s most staunch supporters since Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor, alongside multiple former Eastern bloc nations who fear they could be next if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expansionist war is successful.

Now Kyiv and Warsaw are at loggerheads.

The ban on Ukrainian grain was initially put in place earlier this year by several European Union nations, to protect the livelihood of local farmers worried about being undercut by low prices of Ukrainian grain.

Last week, the EU announced plans to suspend the ban. But three nations — Poland, Hungary and Slovakia — said they intended to defy the change and keep the restrictions in place.

It prompted protests from Ukraine, which this week filed lawsuits against all three countries over the issue.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke out against the ban on Wednesday when addressing the UN General Assembly, saying “it is alarming to see how some in Europe, some of our friends in Europe, play out solidarity in a political theater – making a thriller from the grain.”

He added that the nations involved “may seem to play their own role but in fact they are helping set the stage to a Moscow actor.”

Zelensky’s comments sparked immediate condemnation from Poland, with the foreign ministry summoning the Ukrainian ambassador to Warsaw to convey their “strong protest.”

Read the full story here.

A ban on Ukrainian grain by neighboring countries is costing Kyiv more than $175 million a month, a senior official said.

Ukraine’s neighbors — Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania — have said the arrival of cheap Ukrainian grain has distorted local markets. In some countries, farmers have protested to demand the imports cease. 

“If the bans continue, the losses could reach about 600 million euros ($644 million) by the end of the year,” said Denys Marchuk, deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council.

Marchuk said the embargo “plays into the hands” of Russia. Since pulling out of the Black Sea Grain deal in July, Moscow has been able to “influence the course of ships in the Black Sea, does not allow Ukraine to fully export,” he said.

“The ban in the Black Sea and the inability to carry out full exports via land routes will provoke an aggravation of the food crisis, which is beneficial for Russia,” Marchuk said.

Legal action: Kyiv filed a lawsuit Monday against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over their ban on imports, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said.

It came after the European Union said Friday it planned to suspend the temporary ban on the export of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The measure was put in place to counter the risk of farmers in these countries being undercut by a bottleneck of cheap Ukrainian grain. However, Poland, Hungry, and Slovakia said they would defy the EU’s suspension of the ban. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the United Nations Security Council to remove Russia’s veto power, arguing “this will be the first necessary step.”

While allies have already imposed sanctions on Russia since the start of the war, the Ukrainian president called for applying preventative sanctions to countries that engaged in conflicts. 

“Anyone who wants to start a war should see before their fatal mistake what exactly they will lose when the war would start,” Zelensky said. 

Ukrainian soldiers are doing on the battlefield “at the expense of their blood” what the UN Security Council “should do by its voting,” he said.

“They’re stopping aggression and upholding the principles of the UN Charter,” he said.

Russia’s response: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defended the right to veto during the Security Council meeting.

“The Western aggressive clique has been pedaling the theme of the abuse of the right of the veto with an incorrect focus on members of the UN,” Lavrov said.

“The right to a veto is an absolute legitimate instrument which is stipulated in the charter of the United Nations to prevent the adoption of decisions that would divide the organization.”

Some background: When the UN charter was signed in 1945, it established the Security Council with five permanent members and six nonpermanent members. The permanent members — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and the Republic of China — were each given the power to veto any resolutions they opposed.

Today, the Security Council has 15 members, but the five permanent members have remained the same, with Russia holding the former Soviet Union’s seat and China taking the seat of the Republic of China. And the veto hasn’t changed either.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened his remarks at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday recounting his recent trip to Yahidne — a Ukrainian town roughly two hours north of Kyiv that had been occupied by Russian soldiers.

“I begin here because — from the comfortable distance of this chamber — it’s really easy to lose sight of what it’s like for the Ukrainian victims of Russia’s aggression,” Blinken told his fellow diplomats seated in the room, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“Russia’s forces … went door to door, rounding up residents at gunpoint, and marching them to the local elementary school,” where they forced more than 300 villagers — “mostly women, children, and elderly people” — into “just a few small rooms with no windows, no circulation, no running water” in the basement.
The Russian soldiers kept them imprisoned there for nearly a month, “packed together so tightly that they could barely breathe,” denying them medical care, and allowing them to remove their dead only once a day, Blinken described.
“Children, parents, husbands, and wives were forced to spend hours next to the corpses of their loved ones,” he continued.
“The oldest victim was 93 years old,” he said. “The youngest: 6 weeks old.”

The top US diplomat’s effort to highlight the horrific realities of the war in Ukraine come as the Biden administration seeks to maintain support for Kyiv amid growing opposition in Congress and as the international community faces the prospect of war with little end in sight.

On Wednesday, Blinken will join fellow national security officials including Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director Bill Burns, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to brief the Senate on Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be in the US capital on Thursday — following on the heels of his time at the UN — for a high-stakes visit to try to shore up support and convince lawmakers not to cut aid.

Read more here.