Wednesday, September 20

Lviv is set to host the 2023 IT Arena, Ukraine’s largest tech event, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

Over 3,000 attendees and dozens of top-level speakers will gather for the 10th annual English-language event to cover everything from the latest tech developments and AI startups to new business opportunities and product insights.

The Kyiv Independent will cover the event as a media partner.

Russia’s war against Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. (Photo credit: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Zelensky at UN: Russia’s aggression poses threat beyond Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 19 that Russia’s war against Ukraine poses a threat to global security as the Kremlin weaponizes energy and food against nations across the world.

Biden asks UN leaders to stand with Ukraine against Russian aggression. U.S. President Joe Biden appealed to world leaders to stand with Ukraine against Russian aggression in his speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 19.

Minister: First ship with Ukrainian grain leaves Black Sea port through temporary corridor. The Palau-flagged Resilient Africa bulk carrier loaded with 3,000 metric tons of wheat has left the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk and is moving towards the Bosphorus, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov reported on Sept. 19.

NYT reports Ukrainian missile might have accidentally struck Kostiantynivka market, Kyiv still investigating. The New York Times reported on Sept. 18 that the Sept. 6 missile strike on a market in Donetsk Oblast’s city of Kostiantynivka could have resulted from a Ukrainian malfunctioning air defense missile fired during battles nearby.

EU condemns Azerbaijan’s offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. The EU top officials condemned Azerbaijan’s military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh launched on Sept. 19, calling for immediate cessation of hostilities.

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Umerov names 5 Ukrainian defense priorities at 15th Ramstein summit. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that Ukraine’s allies at the Sept. 19 Ramstein meeting agreed to form ‘Capablities Coalitions’ around five key defense priorities: air defense, artillery, aviation, the navy, and armored vehicles.

Shoigu arrives in Tehran for talks with Iran’s military leaders. A Russian delegation led by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Tehran on Sept. 19 for talks with the Iranian military leadership, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

CNN: Military source says Ukraine ‘likely’ behind strike on Wagner forces in Sudan. Ukrainian special services may have been responsible for a military operation against a Wagner-backed militia in Sudan, according to a CNN investigation published Sept. 19.

State Bureau of Investigation opens case over alleged abuse at Lviv Oblast’s enlistment office. Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation reported on Sept. 19 that it had launched an investigation into the alleged abuse of a civilian at a military enlistment office in Sambir, Lviv Oblast.

Bulgarian minister: Opposition to Ukrainian grain incited by Russian propaganda. The opposition among Bulgarians to Ukrainian grain has been incited by Russian propaganda, the country’s Transport Minister Georgi Gvozdeikov told the local TV channel bTV on Sept. 18, as local farmers launched protests against grain shipments from Ukraine.

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Azerbaijan strikes targets in Nagorno-Karabakh, launches military operation

Azerbaijan has launched a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh with the claimed “goal of restoring the constitutional order,” the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan announced on Sept. 19.

Photo: Tofik Babayev/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian advances point to ‘severe degradation’ of Russian units, says ISW

Recent Ukrainian advances in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast and south of Bakhmut correspond with evidence that Russian units in those areas have suffered heavy losses, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in its Sept. 18 report.

Photo: Vincenzo Circosta/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Morning strike on Kherson kills 2, injures 1. A Russian artillery strike hit Kherson on the morning of Sept. 19, killing a police sergeant and seriously injuring two men in a trolleybus, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported.

Police: Death toll of Russian attack on Kupiansk rises to 6. As of around 5 p.m. local time, six people have been confirmed killed in Russia’s Sept. 19 air strike on Kharkiv Oblast’s Kupiansk, according to Serhii Bolvinov, head of the regional police’s investigative department.

Russian drone strikes on Lviv kill man, injure another. Russian attacks against Ukraine have killed six civilians and wounded another 17 in the past day and overnight, regional authorities reported on Sept. 19.

General Staff: Russia has lost 273,460 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 520 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

Opinions and insights

Yaroslav Zhelezniak: Ukraine’s economy weekly, Sept. 18

“Cooperation with international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund has played a key role in maintaining the stability of Ukraine’s national economy.” writes Yaroslav Zhelezniak, first deputy head of the parliamentary committee for finance, tax, and custom policy.

Photo: Ukrainian Presidency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

International response

Minister: Denmark to send Ukraine 45 more tanks in cooperation with partners. Denmark will donate to Ukraine an additional 45 tanks purchased in cooperation with other countries, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on Sept. 19, cited by the TV2 channel.

UK promises ‘tens of thousands’ artillery shells for Ukraine. The U.K. will provide Ukraine with tens of thousands more artillery shells in the coming months, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said on Sept. 19 after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Ramstein, Germany.

Latvia pledges more military aid to Ukraine. Latvia plans to send more weapons to Ukraine in a new military aid package, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds announced following the Ramstein summit on Sept. 19.

Latvia closes border crossing point with Belarus. Latvia will close one of its two border crossing points with Belarus due to the ongoing Minsk-engineered migrant crisis, the Latvian government announced on Sept. 19.

Poland says it may cut aid for Ukrainian refugees next year. Poland will likely not extend the support for the roughly 1 million Ukrainian refugees it is hosting to the same extent for the following year, Polish government spokesperson Piotr Müller told Polsat News on Sept. 18.

Reuters: EBRD expects to invest over $3 billion into Ukraine over next 2 years. The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects to invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) into Ukraine annually for the coming two years, Reuters reported on Sept. 18.

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