Live: Russia says it has downed Ukrainian drones over Crimea, outer Moscow

Issued on: 18/09/2023 – 07:35Modified: 18/09/2023 – 09:09

4 min

9:05am: Ukraine says recaptured 7 km2 from Russian forces last week

Ukraine said Monday its forces had recaptured small clutches of land from Russian forces in the south and east of the country, where Kyiv’s troops have focussed a months-long counter-offensive.

“Two square kilometres were liberated in the Bakhmut sector,” Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar told state media, referring to a war-battered city in the east, adding: “Defence forces in the south liberated 5.2 square kilometres of territory.”

7:38am: Ukraine says it downed 18 drones, 17 missiles in overnight attack

Ukraine said on Monday it downed 18 Russian drones and 17 cruise missiles attacking its territory overnight.

Russia launched 24 drones at the Ukrainian southern regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv overnight, Ukraine’s air force said in a post on Telegram.

It added that all of the 17 missiles were destroyed over the Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Khmelnytskyi regions.

6:17am: Clinton Global Initiative will launch network to provide new humanitarian aid to Ukrainians

The Clinton Global Initiative will announce the launch of the CGI Ukraine Action Network, as well as numerous financial pledges, to support nonprofits working in the country, as the annual conference opens in New York on Monday morning. 

The CGI Ukraine Action Network is the result of a collaboration between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Olena Zelenska, first lady of Ukraine, that began last year.

4:57am: Russia says more Ukrainian drones downed over Crimea

Russia said it repelled Ukrainian drone attacks over several parts of Crimea, outer Moscow and two border regions on Sunday.

“Drones were intercepted over the western, southwestern, northwestern and eastern parts of the Crimean peninsula; Istra and Domodedovo districts of Moscow region, Belgorod and Voronezh regions,” Russia’s defence ministry said on Telegram in the round-up of Sunday’s attacks.

Crimea has been targeted by Ukraine throughout Russia’s war but attacks there have recently intensified as Kyiv vows to recapture the Black Sea peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

And since Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in early June, Russia has weathered waves of drone attacks that have sporadically damaged buildings, including in the capital Moscow.

4:44am: North Korean leader ends Russia trip with ‘heartfelt thanks’ to Putin

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un expressed his “heartfelt thanks” to President Vladimir Putin, state media said Monday, as he headed home after nearly a week in Russia on a defence-focused trip.

Kim’s tour of Russia’s Far East, which began Tuesday, has showcased potential military ties, with North Korea’s leader inspecting everything from Russian space rockets to submarines, and including a symbolic exchange of rifles with Putin.

The trip has fanned Western fears that the isolated, nuclear-armed country could provide Moscow with weapons for its war in Ukraine.

4:02am: Ukraine and Russia to clash at top UN court

Russia and Ukraine will face off at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) from Monday over Moscow’s claim that “genocide” in eastern Ukraine was a pretext for its invasion of the country.

Representatives from the two nations will go head-to-head at the sumptuous Peace Palace in The Hague over whether the top UN court has the jurisdiction to order a halt to Russia’s ongoing war.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the February 24, 2022 invasion, part of his reasoning was that pro-Russian people in eastern Ukraine had been “subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime”.

Two days into the invasion, Ukraine filed suit at the ICJ, “emphatically denying” this and arguing that Russia’s use of “genocide” as a pretext went against the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.

3:15am: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi starting visit to Russia today

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi will visit Russia from today to Thursday for security talks, his foreign ministry said Monday, the latest in a series of high-level visits and phone calls between the countries.

China and Russia are strategic allies, with both countries frequently touting their “no limits” partnership and economic and military cooperation.

Key developments from Sunday, September 17:

Two cargo ships arrived in one of Ukraine’s ports over the weekend, using a temporary Black Sea corridor established by Kyiv following Russia’s withdrawal from an agreement meant to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country’s ports.

Ukraine said Sunday that its forces had retaken Klishchiivka, a tactically important town south of the key frontline city of Bakhmut, as it pursues a counterattack against Russian forces.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that there will not be a swift end to the war in Ukraine in an interview published Sunday.

“Most wars last longer than expected when they first begin,” Stoltenberg said to Germany’s Funke media group. “Therefore we must prepare ourselves for a long war in Ukraine.” 

Read yesterday’s liveblog to see how the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP)