A poll in Slovakia could lead to a shift in support for Ukraine
A poll in Slovakia could lead to a shift in support for Ukraine
AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, says he does not believe Russia should remain a member of the global body given the brazen and bloody invasion of his country.
Zelensky will address the UN Security Council on Wednesday. Russia will be seated in both halls and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to give a speech.
“If … there is a place for Russian terrorists, the question is not my question. I think it is a question for all members of the United Nations,” said Zelensky, who said he was unsure whether he would listen to Lavrov make remarks or leave before speaking.
Zelensky arrived in the United States on Monday and spent time visiting wounded Ukrainian soldiers in a New York hospital. He also plans to hold talks with President Joe Biden and some members of Congress as he pushes for support for Biden’s Ukraine aid package proposals.
Zelensky meets with Biden: Ukrainian leader will address Congress and UN: updates
Developments:
∎ An aerial bomb piloted by Russian forces struck the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, killing three civilians, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.
∎ Denmark will send 45 tanks purchased in cooperation with other countries to Ukraine, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on Tuesday.
Ukrainian officials on Tuesday vehemently denied a New York Times report that the Sept. 6 rocket attack on Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine that killed at least 15 civilians appeared to be a faulty Ukrainian missile. Ukraine’s security service said its investigation revealed that a Russian S-300 missile was responsible. The authority pointed to rocket fragments confiscated at the scene.
Zelensky blamed Russian “terrorists” for the attack, sparking international outrage. But the New York Times says surveillance camera footage suggests the “tragic accident” was the result of a missile fired from Ukrainian territory. Missile fragments, satellite images and witness reports “strongly suggest” that the missile was a faulty Ukrainian air defense missile fired from an old-fashioned, Russian-made Buk launch system, the Times said.
The high-tech M1 Abrams tanks that the United States has provided to Ukraine will soon arrive in the embattled country, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin said Tuesday. Austin said at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany, attended by representatives from more than 50 countries, that the United States and Ukraine’s other allies have provided more than $76 billion in aid for Ukraine’s defense. Kiev’s counteroffensive to retake territories captured from Russia “continues to make steady progress,” Austin said.
“The longer Russia prolongs its war, the more obvious its cruelty becomes,” Austin said. “Russia’s attacks have expanded far beyond the battlefield, causing untold human suffering.”
Contribution: The Associated Press