Key developments from September 23rd to 24th:
- Zelensky praises new American aid package as “historic”
- Duda says Poland is preparing transit corridors for Ukrainian grain, Zelensky presents state awards to Polish volunteers
- Ukrainian forces advance near Melitopol
- Shmyhal and Pritzker hold first meeting
- The speaker of the US House of Representatives drops a plan to remove the $300 million aid package for Ukraine from the funding bill
- IAEA: Previously reported mines remain at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the new American defense package in his evening address on September 24th as “historic”.
According to Zelensky, the new package will include “artillery, missiles for HIMARS, missiles for air defense, additional air defense systems, tactical vehicles” and more.
“This is a historic decision by America to jointly produce weapons and defense systems, including air defense. Until recently, this was an absolute fantasy. But it becomes reality. We will make it a reality.”
Earlier this week, Zelensky met US President Joe Biden at the White House as part of his official meeting visit to Washington, DC
During the stay of the Ukrainian President in the US capital, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $325 million.
The new package included additional cluster munitions and air defense but excluded the long-awaited ATACMS missiles. However, NBC News reported that Biden told Zelensky that America would send a small number of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.
Zelensky’s late-night address also highlighted a newly reached agreement between Ukraine and the government of Canada on long-term defense support.
Duda says Poland is preparing transit corridors for Ukrainian grain, Zelensky presents state awards to Polish volunteers
Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview with local broadcaster TVP1 on September 24 that Poland had prepared transit corridors for exporting Ukrainian grain “to where it is needed.”
“Transit corridors have been prepared in Poland, thanks to which Ukrainian grain can pass through Poland and be exported where it is needed. We are trying to help Ukraine and the countries that need this help,” Duda said, according to his office.
Ukraine’s dispute with Poland, traditionally one of its most ardent supporters in the fight against Russian aggression, was sparked by Warsaw’s decision extend the import ban on Ukrainian grain products that have exceeded their expiry date set by the EU on September 15th.
The EU introduced the measure in May at the request of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, which said the influx of cheaper Ukrainian products was putting pressure on their farmers.
“I believe that it is the right decision that the Polish government maintained the ban on the sale of Ukrainian grain on the Polish market. However, we must do everything we can to ensure that transit is as high as possible,” Duda said in his recent interview.
“Their excellent harvests hardly reached the countries that really needed them during the war,” Duda said of Ukrainian agricultural products.
He also said that “we are self-sufficient thanks to the work of our farmers,” adding that Poland does not need grain from Ukraine.
Duda said this on September 22nd disagreement Excessive grain exports should not upend Polish-Ukrainian relations.
The grain dispute is just “an absolute fragment of Polish-Ukrainian relations” and should not jeopardize the close ties between the two countries, the president added.
Although the BBC linked the grain dispute to the arms announcement, other media outlets have linked the Polish government’s increasingly harsh language towards Ukraine as an electoral tactic in the run-up to Poland’s upcoming parliamentary elections on October 15.
Meanwhile, on September 23, during a stop in Lublin, Poland, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented state awards to two Polish volunteers for supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
“What you are doing is significant work – you are helping and supporting the Ukrainians on the front lines who are truly defending not only Ukraine, but, in my opinion, Europe, the whole world and our common values,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky also acknowledged how much Poland has done for Ukraine since the beginning of Russia complete invasion in February 2022.
“I am proud that Ukraine has such a strong neighbor. I want to thank you. I would like to thank the entire Polish nation, all the people who, from the beginning, opened their families and their homes and committed themselves to help. I believe that all the challenges on our common path are nothing compared to the strength between our peoples,” Zelensky said.
Ukrainian forces advance near Melitopol
The Ukrainian counteroffensive continues operations in the Melitopol sector, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced on September 24th.
“The defense forces continue their offensive in the Melitopol sector. Our defenders successfully repelled enemy attacks near Robotyne in Zaporizhia Oblast,” the report said.
Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, said via Telegram that residents had reported loud explosions in Tokmak.
He also uploaded footage purporting to show a “direct hit” on a Russian observation post near Tokmak.
Melitopol City Day is celebrated on September 24th.
The US will reportedly hand over ATACMS to Ukraine. Will it change war?
After more than a year of asking to receive Long-Range Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the United States, Ukraine could finally receive this much-desired weapon. However, to Ukraine’s disappointment, it was not included in the recent $325 million military aid package announced by Washington in September.
Shmyhal and Pritzker hold first meeting
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and the first US special representative for economic recovery in Ukraine, Penny Pritzker, had their first meeting online meet on September 23 to discuss energy, demining, housing rehabilitation, critical infrastructure and economics.
“I thanked USAID for their joint business support programs that help create new jobs. We are working with the World Bank on post-war reconstruction needs,” Shmyhal wrote on Telegram.
In addition, Shmyhal noted the need to seize frozen Russian assets to cover Ukraine’s post-war recovery costs.
According to the Prime Minister, the expansion of solidarity corridors and war risk insurance were also discussed during Shmyhal and Pritzkers meet.
“We are making progress on reforms towards the EU and NATO as well as on digitalization. I particularly highlighted our veterans policy and the integration of military personnel into the socio-economic life of the country,” Shmyhal wrote.
US President Joe Biden announced on September 14, the creation of a U.S. special envoy for Ukraine’s economic recovery and that Pritzker would take on that role.
Pritzker, 64, is valued for her experience as an “accomplished public servant” and “transformational industry leader.”
Beyond shaping donor priorities and strengthening Ukraine’s public sector, Pritzker must mobilize the U.S. private sector to invest in Ukraine.
As a special representative, she will be responsible for mobilizing foreign investment and supporting the reopening of closed businesses Russia’s warand to help Ukraine increase its exports.
Who is Penny Pritzker, the new US special representative for Ukraine’s economic recovery?
US President Joe Biden announced on September 14 the creation of a new role: US special envoy for Ukraine’s economic recovery. The new office will be led by Penny Pritzker, 64, known for her experience as an “accomplished public servant” and “transformative industry leader.” Pr…
The House speaker drops a plan to remove the $300 million Ukraine aid package from the funding bill
US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on September 23 that he would support keep a $300 million aid package for Ukraine in the defense funding bill, walking back a comment he made the day before.
McCarthy, a Republican, had previously said he would withdraw that aid because of opposition from Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The speaker said he decided to maintain the aid package for Ukraine because he recognized that draft legislation to fund the State Department and foreign operations also included aid to Ukraine and that it would be too difficult to eliminate that aid.
The U.S. Congress must pass a series of bills to fund the various parts of the government or it will come to a standstill.
A coalition of conservatives in the House of Representatives broke convention twice this week and rejected the rule for the Pentagon’s budget proposal.
Greene opposed the bill particularly because of its aid to Ukraine. She has repeatedly spoken out against aid to the country.
McCarthy claimed before last year’s midterm elections that he would ensure “a change in the allocation of Ukraine aid.”
The $300 million would fund training, equipment, lethal assistance, logistical support, supplies and services, salaries, stipends, maintenance and intelligence support.
Zelensky, Netanyahu’s meeting in New York highlights their differences
After nearly two years of rising tensions between Ukraine and Israel, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 19 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Their conversation, in which Netanyahu’s staff almost caused a stir…
IAEA: Previously reported mines remain at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring mission observed previously reported anti-personnel mines at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Rafael Grossi, the agency’s director general, said in a statement opinion on September 23rd.
IAEA experts continued to conduct inspections of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant this week.
“The team did not discover any heavy weapons during its patrols, but confirmed that previously reported mines remain in place,” the statement said.
Ukrainian military intelligence reported in early July that Russian forces had placed remote-controlled and uncontrolled anti-personnel mines in technical and machine rooms at the Zaporizhzhia plant. Shortly afterwards, the head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov said that the risk of a possible Russian terrorist attack on the plant is “reducing”.
According to the IAEA’s latest report, its experts also found that two of the power plant’s units remain in cold shutdown and one in hot shutdown.
Grossi also said the plant has completed drilling 10 groundwater wells, “which will soon provide the plant with a longer-term solution for supplying cooling water to the shutdown reactors destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June.
IAEA officials also reported hearing “numerous explosions in the distance.”
The power plant, located in the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar, has been under Russian control since the early stages of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in March last year. Russian forces used the nuclear power plant as a military base for attacks on Ukrainian-controlled areas.
On the brink of catastrophe: What could really happen if Russia destroys the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant?
In late June, 16 months after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky alerted his country to an unprecedented threat. Russia, the president said, had equipped the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with explosives and was ready to detonate the charges and cause radiation…
