Live blog: Ukraine's Zelenskyy bolsters war support in Canada trip

Friday, September 22, 2023

1648 GMT — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with close ally Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on a visit to Canada, the third leg in a tour aimed at bolstering international support for his country's struggle to repulse a Russian offensive.

Zelenskyy also urged Canada to stay with his country to victory as he went to the Canadian Parliament seeking to bolster support from Western allies for Ukraine’s war against Russia's offensive.

Canada is home to the world's second-largest Ukrainian diaspora and Zelenskyy, visiting parliament, expressed thanks for the backing given to Kiev since Russian troops poured over the Ukrainian borders in February 2022.

"Thank you for your support. You've been with us from the first days of the full-scale war" and "I hope that you stay with us to our victory," Zelenskyy said after chatting with a senator of Ukrainian descent who came wearing her grandmother's traditional garb.

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1800 GMT — Canada pledges Can$650M in Ukraine aid during Zelenskyy visit

Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau pledged an additional $482 million for Ukraine during a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Ottawa.

The three-year "predictable, steady support for Ukraine" would include some 50 armoured vehicles as well as training for F-16 pilots, he told parliament.

1700 GMT — One dead, 15 injured in strike on Ukraine's Kremenchuk: official

One person was killed and 15 injured following a Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, authorities said.

"Fifteen are known to have been injured, one of them is a child," said Dmytro Lunin, the governor of the central Poltava region which includes Kremenchuk.

"One person died," he said.

Lunin said earlier in the day that Russia hit civilian infrastructure in the central Ukrainian city with missiles.

1331 GMT — Russia says Crimea naval HQ hit in missile attack

A Ukrainian missile attack struck the headquarters of Moscow's Black Sea fleet in annexed Crimea, leaving one missing and sparking a fire in Kiev's latest assault on the peninsula.

The Ukrainian army claimed responsibility for the strike, saying it took place at around 0900 GMT.

Ukraine has targeted Crimea throughout Russia's offensive but attacks on military installations there have recently intensified as Kiev vows to recapture the peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

"The headquarters of the fleet have been hit in an enemy missile attack," Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Crimea's largest city Sevastopol, said on social media.

Razvozhayev said that missile fragments had fallen near a theatre and urged residents to stay clear of the site.

0900 GMT — Ukraine, US to jointly produce weapons — Zelenskyy

Ukraine and the United States have agreed to launch joint weapons production in a step that will enable Kiev to start producing air defence systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as he wrapped up a visit to the US.

In his daily address to Ukrainians, Zelenskyy said the long-term agreement would create jobs and a new industrial base in Ukraine, whose economy has been devastated by Russia's war.

"It was a very important visit to Washington, very important results," Zelenskyy said in a video posted on the presidential website on Friday morning.

"And a long-term agreement — we will work together so that Ukraine produces the necessary weapons together with the United States. Co-production in the defence (sector) with the United States is a historic thing."

0930 GMT — Kremlin: No progress on Black Sea grain

The Kremlin has said that no progress had been made on the Black Sea grain issue and that no talks between President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan were scheduled.

0915 GMT — Ukraine war expected to have bigger impact on European economies - Swiss study

Examining the impact of the war on Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Switzerland's economies, the Swiss National Bank in a study said output would have been between 0.1 percent and 0.7 percent higher in the fourth quarter of 2022 if Moscow had not attacked Kiev.

Inflation in each of the countries would have been between 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent lower, it said.

"The negative consequences of the war are likely to be far greater in the medium-to-long term, especially with regard to the real economy," the study said.

"In one to two years, this effect is likely to be approximately twice as large," it added.

0908 GMT — Ukraine: Russian 'energy terror' has begun ahead of winter

Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said that Russia has restarted a systemic campaign of aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure but that air defences were better prepared for the onslaught than last year.

During winter last year, Russian forces launched repeated attacks on Ukraine's energy grid that left millions without electricity, heating and water for extended periods.

"We understand that the stage of energy terror in this heating season has already begun," Shmygal said at an economic forum in Kiev, one day after Moscow's forces fired more than 40 cruise missiles at Ukraine.

"We see it in the first attacks on regional power substations in the last two weeks," he said, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, also citing attacks on fuel production and storage facilities.

0841 GMT — Ukraine: ship carrying wheat leaves port for Egypt

A ship carrying wheat has left a Ukrainian port and was heading to Egypt, the second such trip since Russia reimposed its Black Sea blockade in July, a minister said.

The Palau-flagged Aroyat vessel left Chornomorsk after being loaded with 17,600 tonnes of grain, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on social media.

Ukraine is testing a new sea route that avoids international waters and follows those controlled by NATO members Bulgaria and Romania following Russia's withdrawal from a UN-backed grain export deal.

Kubrakov said the destination for the first ship, the Resilient Africa, was Asia.

0834 GMT — Ukraine intensifies assaults in Donbas: Russia-backed official

Ukrainian forces have mounted coordinated assaults on several villages in the eastern Donetsk region and are heavily shelling the city of Bakhmut, a Russian-backed official in the region has said.

The industrial territory has suffered the brunt of fighting since Russia's offensive and the battle for Bakhmut is the longest and one of the bloodiest of the conflict.

"Over the past 24 hours in the Krasnolimansk direction, the enemy took a number of actions and conducted combat reconnaissance in several directions at once," Denis Pushilin said on social media.

He listed several villages in the north of Donetsk near the city of Lyman, which is under Ukrainian control, and claimed the assaults were suppressed by Russian forces.

"The situation in (Bakhmut) remains hot, (the city) itself is under chaotic shelling," Pushilin said in the video statement on social media.

0832 GMT — Russia: Ukrainian missile, two drones destroyed near Crimea

Russian anti-aircraft units destroyed a Ukrainian missile and two drones near the annexed Crimean peninsula, Russia's defence ministry said.

0830 GMT — Moscow, Minsk start joint military drills in Belarus

Russia and Belarus started five-day joint military drills on the latter's territory on Friday, Belarus' defence ministry said.

0500 GMT — Ukraine's Zelenskyy to visit Canada, address parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the Canadian Parliament on Friday as he continues his efforts to shore up support from Western allies for Ukraine’s war against the Russian military operation.

Zelenskyy arrived at Ottawa’s airport late Thursday after meeting with US President Joe Biden and lawmakers in Washington, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office said.

"Canada will continue to support Ukraine as long as it takes and we will always stand fir m to defend the rule of law and the international rules-based order," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in New York on Thursday.

Canada is home to a large Ukrainian community and Trudeau's government has pledged firm and lasting support for Ukraine as it battles Russian forces.

There are 1.4 million people of Ukrainian descent in Canada, the third most after Ukraine and Russia.

0455 GMT — Second cargo vessel leaves Ukraine's Black Sea port after loading grain -source

A second cargo vessel, the Aroyat, has left the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Chornomorsk after loading grain, an industry source said.

The bulk carriers Resilient Africa and Aroyat arrived in Ukraine on Saturday and were due to depart after loading almost 20,000 tonnes of wheat for Africa and Asia.

Resilient Africa left Ukraine on Tuesday with 3,000 metric tons of wheat on board.

0032 GMT — First US Abrams tanks to reach Ukraine next week — Biden

The first US M1 Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine "next week," US President Joe Biden has said, boosting Kiev's forces as they battle Russian troops in a slow-moving counteroffensive.

"Next week, the first US Abrams tanks will be delivered in Ukraine," Biden said at the White House, alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is on his second visit to the United States since Russia attacked his country in February 2022.

Biden said there was "no alternative" to Congress supporting fresh military aid for Ukraine to fight Russia, after Republican lawmakers threatened to block a new package.

He also said he had "approved the next tranche of security assistance for Ukraine," which the Pentagon later valued at $325 million.

It includes air defense missiles, ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons, and artillery rounds. But the package does not feature the long-range ATACMS missiles that Kiev has repeatedly requested.

It does include 155mm rounds that contain cluster munitions, which Washington first agreed to provide to Ukraine in July despite concerns over the long-term risk posed to civilians by bomblets that fail to explode.

2225 GMT — Russian attack on town west of Donetsk injures 13: local official

A Russian attack on a town west of Donetsk near Ukraine's eastern front has injured 13 people, including one pulled out from under rubble, an official from the area was quoted as saying.

There were two strikes on the town, sparking a fire, according to Roman Padun, administrative head of the town of Kurakhove, speaking to public broadcaster Suspilne. He gave no details on what weapons had been used.

Photos posted on social media showed several buildings ablaze. Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports.

Kurakhove is near Maryinka, a town near the front line still held by Ukraine but under Russian attack for many months.

For our live updates from Thursday (September 21), click here.