The day is dawning in Europe and in Ukraine the 578th day of armed conflict begins after the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
This Saturday, two people were killed in Russian attacks in Ukraine in the Donetsk and Sumy regions.
Russian diplomat chief Sergei Lavrov rejected UN proposals aimed at bringing Moscow back into the deal on Black Sea grain exports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is back in Europe after his trip to the USA and Canada.
We take stock of the events that have shaped the last few hours.
ALSO READ: Breakthrough on the Russian front, new alert in Crimea… Update from Saturday, September 23, 2023
Moscow rejects UN proposals for grain agreement
This Saturday, September 23, 2023, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the recent UN proposals to revive the Black Sea grain export agreement. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to Sergey Lavrov last month outlining four measures the United Nations could support to improve Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports to allow Moscow’s return to the agreement .
But Sergei Lavrov indicated this Saturday that the UN proposals do not meet Moscow’s demands.
“We have explained to the Secretary-General the reasons why his proposals would not work. We don’t reject them. They are simply unrealistic. They cannot be implemented,” explained the head of Russian diplomacy.
He also said that the Ukrainian peace plan is “Completely impractical” and that the conflict would be resolved on the battlefield if Kiev and the West were willing.
Sergey Lavrov recalled that Moscow withdrew from the agreement because its demands – in particular the return of the Russian Agrarian Bank (Rosselkhozbank), which is the subject of the sanctions adopted by the EU after the offensive in Ukraine, into the international banking system SWIFT – were not met had been fulfilled.
The USA will supply long-range missiles to Ukraine
According to the American broadcaster NBC, American President Joe Biden has decided to supply Ukraine with ATACMS long-range tactical missile systems. Citing US officials, NBC states that Joe Biden told his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that a small number of weapons would indeed be transferred.
As the Wall Street Journal explained, Ukraine would still commit not to use these new weapons in Russia, and a waiver authorizing the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine allows expanding the number of potential weapons the Ukrainian army will use on its territory can .
As the British newspaper The Guardian points out, Ukraine has actually been demanding these ATACMS systems for several months.
One dead in strikes in Yelyzavetivka, another in the Sumy region
One person was killed in bombings in the Donetsk region of Ukraine this Saturday, September 23, 2023, reports the Kyiv Independent.
As media outlet Suspilne News originally reported, the Russian army is said to have attacked the village of Yelyzavetivka in the Pokrovsk sector. “After the enemy attack, a 74-year-old woman died of a penetrating chest wound” Anastasiia Medvedeva, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, told Suspilne News that another 44-year-old resident was injured in the strikes.
The military administration of Sumy in the northeast of the country also reported the death of a resident this Saturday, September 23, 2023, confirming that he had died in one of the 21 bomb attacks during the day.