Live blog: UN bid to revive Black Sea grain deal 'not realistic': Lavrov

Saturday, September 23, 2023

1726 GMT — Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Ukraine's proposed peace plan, as well as the latest UN proposals to revive the Black Sea grain initiative, were both "not realistic."

"It is completely not feasible," Lavrov said of a 10-point peace blueprint promoted by Kiev. "It is not possible to implement this. It's not realistic and everybody understands this, but at the same time, they say this is the only basis for negotiations."

He said the conflict would be resolved on the battlefield if Kiev and its Western allies stuck to that stance.

Lavrov added that Moscow left the Black Sea grain initiative because promises made to Russia - including on removing sanctions on a Russian bank and reconnecting it to the global SWIFT system - had not been met.

He said the latest UN proposals to revive that export corridor for Ukrainian agricultural products were "simply not realistic".

More updates 👇

1911 GMT — Russian FM accuses West of direct fighting in Ukraine

Western powers through their support to Ukraine have effectively entered direct fighting against Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"You can call it anything you want, but they are fighting with us, they are straight-up fighting with us. We call it a hybrid war, but that doesn't change things," Lavrov told a news conference at the United Nations.

Lavrov pointed to the billions of dollars in Western military equipment provided to Kiev since Russia attacked last year, as well as US and British intelligence support and the presence of Western military advisors.

Westerners are "de facto fighting against us, using the hands and bodies of Ukrainians," Lavrov said.

"I think everybody present here who pays at least some attention to... the situation in Ukraine knows very well that Americans, Britons and others are fighting, first of all, through providing more and more weapons," he said.

He also pointed to the presence in Ukraine of Western mercenaries. The United States and several other Western governments say that they discourage citizens from travelling to Ukraine and that such fighters have gone on their own.

1857 GMT — Zelenskyy stops over in Poland to award two volunteers

Zelenskyy awarded two Polish volunteers state awards during a stopover but did not meet any officials as relations between the two countries are strained over grain imports.

He handed awards to Bianka Zalewska, a journalist who helped transport wounded children to Polish hospitals, and Damian Duda, who gathered a medical team to help wounded soldiers near the front line.

Zelenskyy thanked all Poles who "from the first days opened their families, their homes, opened themselves up and helped".

"I believe that any challenges on our common path are nothing compared to the fact that there is such strength between our people".

1307 GMT — Zelenskyy meets Sudanese leader, discusses Russian paramilitaries

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he held an impromptu meeting in Ireland's Shannon airport with the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al Burhan, and that they discussed Russia-funded armed groups.

"We discussed our common security challenges, namely the activities of illegal armed groups financed by Russia," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

He thanked Sudan, which is currently in the midst of a deadly civil war, for its support of Ukraine's territorial integrity.

1030 GMT — Ukrainian heavy artillery inflicts 'hell' on Russian lines near Bakhmut

The use of heavy weapons supplied by the West in the fierce battle raging on the outskirts of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia in May, is inflicting a significant toll on enemy lines, Ukrainian commanders have said.

Buoyed after the capture last week of the key village of Klishchiivka, Ukrainian troops have lauded the 155-millimetre howitzers as key equipment being provided by the United States and its NATO allies.

Unit commander Oleksandr said Ukraine's armed forces "very much rely " on heavy artillery, including the Polish-made Krab gun and the US-made M109 self-propelled howitzer.

"The main thing is to aim where needed. They (the Russians) hate our hardware. That's what we gather from our intercepts. We hear that we keep giving them hell, and they keep wondering how much ammunition we have left."

1015 GMT — Kiev breaks through Russian lines in south

Kiev's army has broken through Russian lines in southern Ukraine, the general leading the counteroffensive there told US media this weekend, in the latest Ukrainian claim that it is making progress in the Zaporizhzhia area.

"On the left flank (near the village of Verbove), we have a breakthrough, and we continue to advance further," General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy told CNN.

"Not as fast as it was expected, not like in the movies about the Second World War," he added in the interview.

It was important "not to lose this initiative," he said.

1008 GMT — Ex-Wagner commander arrested in Norway for attempting return to Russia

Norwegian police have arrested a former commander of the Wagner mercenary group on suspicion that he tried to illegally cross the border back into Russia after seeking asylum in Norway earlier this year, the man's lawyer said.

Police said in a statement late on Friday that a man in his 20s had been taken into custody for attempting to illegally cross the Russian border, but did not name him. An officer with the Finnmark local police declined to give the arrested man's identity.

Crossing the border to Russia is only allowed at designated points.

But Medvedev's arrest was due to a misunderstanding, his Norwegian lawyer Brynjulf Risnes said.

"He was up there to see if he could find the place where he crossed (into Norway in January). He was stopped when he was in a taxi. He was never near the border... It was never his intention to cross the border (into Russia)," Risnes said.

0759 GMT — Russian official in Crimea reveals 'danger' alert of new Ukraine attack

The Russian-backed head of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea has warned of a possible new Ukrainian missile attack, a day after Kiev hit Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the city.

"Attention! Missile danger!" Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram.

"Close your windows properly and stay away from them," he said, asking commuters to get out of cars and public transport and seek shelter in a safe place. But shortly afterwards he said the "danger is over."

0755 GMT — Ukraine 'killed or injured' senior Russian commander in Crimea

Ukraine has said dozens, including "senior Russian navy commanders", died or were injured when it staged a missile attack on Moscow's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol a day earlier.

"The details of the attack will be revealed as soon as possible and the result is dozens of dead and wounded occupants, including senior fleet commanders," the Ukrainian army said, adding that the strike happened when "a meeting of the Russian navy's leadership" was going on.

2141 GMT — Canadian PM Trudeau announces $482M more in aid for Ukraine

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has vowed that he would continue to stand "strongly and unequivocally" with pro-Western Ukraine, unveiling an additional $482 million in aid for over three years.

The pledge includes 50 armoured vehicles and training for F-16 fighter pilots, and comes on top of the $6.6 billion in aid that Ottawa has already contributed.

"History will judge us on how we defend democratic values. And Ukraine is at the tip of the spear in this great challenge of the 21st century," Trudeau said.

"We will be with you and all heroes of this courageous fight for as long as it takes."

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to all partners of Ukraine during his speech before the Canadian parliament.

"We are very grateful for the help," Zelenskyy emphasised.

For our live updates from Friday (September 22), click here.