Live blog: Biden, allies underscore continued support for Ukraine

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Biden, allies underscored support for Ukraine, White House says

US President Joe Biden spoke with allies on Thursday to underscore continued support for Ukraine, including through security and economic assistance, the White House said, vowing to continue to hold Russia accountable for its offensive.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden and other leaders also discussed Russia's weaponisation of energy and additional steps to secure sustainable and affordable energy supplies for Europe.

US, allies seek more coordination on energy for Europe: White House

US President Joe Biden and allied leaders discussed stepping up coordination Thursday on securing reliable energy supplies for Europe as the continent faces possible shortfalls in the coming winter due to the Ukraine crisis.

Leaders of the United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan and other countries "discussed Russia's weaponisation of energy and the need for further coordination to secure sustainable and affordable energy supplies for Europe," the White House said after the video conference.

Europe, which is heavily dependent on Russian supplies, has accused Moscow of using energy as blackmail in response to sanctions over Russia's attacks on Ukraine.

US support will help Ukraine reclaim territory: Zelenskyy

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said during a press conference with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that support from Washington will help Kiev's forces claw back territory lost to Russia.

"These are very important signals that the United States is with us. For us, this is a guarantee that we can return our territories," Zelenskyy said during the surprise visit from Blinken.

Poland, Baltics agree EU visa ban plan for Russians: Statement

Poland and the three Baltic states have said they would temporarily restrict access for Russian citizens holding EU visas by September 19 to address "public policy and security threats".

The prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland said in a statement they were concerned "about the substantial and growing influx of Russian citizens" into the EU.

"We believe that this is becoming a serious threat to our public security and to the overall shared Schengen area," they said.

Russia says it will retaliate against EU visa restrictions

Russia has said it would retaliate against European Union curbs on visas for Russians, but would not close itself off from the bloc.

"The interests of us, of our people, will be taken into account in the first place when choosing retaliatory measures," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters. "The Russian Federation won't close itself up to the EU in response."

EU foreign ministers agreed last week on measures to make it harder and more costly for Russian citizens to enter the bloc. The Kremlin has called the restrictions "ridiculous".

Russia says Italian journalist injured in Ukraine

Russia said an Italian journalist was injured last month in southern Ukraine and was receiving treatment in a medical facility controlled by Russian forces.

The defence ministry announced that journalist Mattia Sorbi was hurt on August 29 reporting in the southern Kherson region, where Ukrainian forces have launched a counter offensive against Russian forces.

It said that while covering fighting from the Ukrainian side the car he was travelling in hit a mine, seriously injuring the reporter and killing his driver. Russian soldiers retrieved Sorbi under "heavy fire", removed him from the vehicle and rushed him to hospital, the ministry said.

"Mattia Sorbi was admitted to a resuscitation unit with numerous shrapnel injuries," the ministry said. "He is receiving the requisite medical care. He is in a stable condition."

London 'disturbed' by Kiev claims UK man tortured before death

The UK government has said it is "disturbed" by Ukraine's claims that a British aid volunteer who died while imprisoned by Russian-backed separatists may have suffered "unspeakable torture".

"We are disturbed by reports that aid worker Paul Urey may have been tortured in detention," the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.

"It is essential that we see the results of a full post-mortem as soon as possible," the ministry said. It added: "Our thoughts are with Paul Urey's family at this distressing time."

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted on Wednesday that Russians had returned the body of Paul Urey, with "signs of possible unspeakable torture", which he said would be "a heinous war crime".

Ukraine energy chief says Russia trying to 'steal' nuclear plant

The head of Ukraine’s atomic energy operator has accused Russia of trying to “steal” Europe’s largest nuclear plant by cutting it off from the Ukrainian electricity grid and leaving it on the brink of a radiation disaster.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been without an outside source of electricity since Monday and receives power for its own safety systems from the only one of its six reactors that remains operational, Enerhoatom chief Petro Kotin said.

“We are trying to keep this unit running as much as possible, but eventually it will have to be shut down and then the station will switch to diesel generators,” he said, adding that such generators are "the station’s last defence before a radiation accident.”

Russia threatens to stop exporting energy to Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to halt all energy shipments to Europe if Brussels goes ahead with a proposal to cap the price of Russian gas, in a combative speech declaring Russia would not lose its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

"We will not supply gas, oil, coal, heating oil - we will not supply anything" if that occurs, he said. Europe usually imports about 40 percent of its gas and 30 percent of its oil from Russia.

The speech came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that some settlements near Kharkiv had been recaptured as both sides reported heavy fighting in the region.

US approves up to $675M in further military aid to Ukraine

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said President Joe Biden has approved additional military aid to Ukraine worth up to $675 million, an announcement that came as he gathered allies to renew their commitment to bolstering Kiev militarily “for the long haul.”

Austin made the announcement at the start of the fifth round of talks under the "Ukraine Defence Contact Group" at the US airbase in Ramstein, Germany. He added that the package includes howitzers, artillery munitions, Humvees, armoured ambulances, anti-tank systems and more.

He said that “the war is at another key moment,” with Ukrainian forces beginning their counteroffensive in the south of the country. He added that “now we're seeing the demonstrable success of our common efforts on the battlefield.”

Fighting rages in areas near Russian-held nuclear plant in Ukraine

Heavy fighting has been raging in areas near the Russian-captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine after Kiev warned that it might have to shut down the plant to avoid disaster.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its daily morning update that some villages and communities near the plant were heavily shelled in the 24 hours into the morning from "tanks, mortars, barrel and jet artillery".

Overnight, Russian forces fired rockets and heavy artillery into the nearby town of Nikopol four times, damaging at least 11 houses and other buildings, the area's regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.

Five more grain-loaded ships leave Ukraine under Istanbul accord

Five more ships have departed from Ukrainian ports under the landmark Türkiye-brokered deal for the resumption of the country's grain exports, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said.

Without disclosing the ships' points of departure or destinations, the ministry said grain shipments from Ukrainian ports continued as planned.

Since the first vessel sailed on August 1 under the deal signed by Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine, at least 100 ships have carried over 2.5 million tons of agricultural products from Ukraine.

Ukraine: 280,000 tonnes food will be exported soon for WFP

About 280,000 tonnes of agricultural products will be exported in the near future from Ukrainian ports for the World Food Programme (WFP) under the Türkiye-brokered grain deal, the Ukrainian infrastructure ministry said.

Around 2.37 million tonnes of food have already left its Black Sea ports, including 1.04 million tonnes for Asian countries and 470,000 tonnes for African states.

"Thanks to partners from the United Nations, another 190,000 tonnes of grain have already been purchased for further export to the states of the African continent," the ministry said in a statement. It gave no details on the other 90,000 tonnes of food to be exported.

Bankruptcy stay for Nord Stream 2 pipeline firm extended

A Swiss court has granted the operating company for the never-opened Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was built to bring Russian gas to Germany, a four-month extension to its “stay of bankruptcy.”

The stay for Nord Stream 2 AG was extended from September 10 through January 10 by a regional court in Zug canton (state), according to a notice published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce. The company, a subsidiary of Russia's Gazprom, is based in Zug.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government halted the certification process for the pipeline on February 22, after Russia recognised the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and two days before Moscow launched its offensive.

Zelenskyy: Ukraine focuses on defence in 2023 budget

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said next year's budget would be a "war budget", devoting $27.4 billion (more than a trillion hryvnias) to defence and security spending.

"More than a trillion hryvnias next year will go to the security and defense sector. This is going to be the number one priority," Zelenskyy said.

The government would present plans to reduce spending on state enterprises, officials and institutions that were deemed non-essential, he said.

Ukraine has estimated the costs of the war combined with lower tax revenues has left a $5 billion-a-month fiscal shortfall or 2.5 percent of pre-war GDP. Economists calculate that pushes the annual deficit to 25 percent of GDP, compared with just 3.5 percent before the conflict.

For live updates from Wednesday (September 7), click here