Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 09-19-2024

Experts suggest that if it is confirmed that the missile and its 4.5-ton warhead perform as advertised, it could soon attract interest from Russia.

North Korea tested new tactical ballistic missiles with super-large warheads and modified cruise missiles on Wednesday, Sept. 18, according to the KCNA state news agency.

The test occurred while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was said to be pushing for the development of stronger conventional and nuclear capabilities. Kim, who oversaw the tests, said they were of necessity due to the severe external threats to national security. This follows reports from the South Korean military about North Korea’s second missile test in a week.

The Ukrainian sea commandoes aboard open boats were outgunned and exposed, but someone thought a hand-held missile might come in handy.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense proposed that Vladimir Putin utilize his re-election as an opportunity to initiate a new military mobilization.

A few months before Putin’s fifth presidential inauguration in May, Russian Ministry of Defense officials suggested Putin leverage his re-election and the associated public support to justify a new mobilization to compensate for losses on the front lines, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

However, according to the WSJ report, the Kremlin chief insisted that only volunteers should be sent to fight, rejecting the idea of forced mobilization.

Russian state-controlled media has been saying very little about the massive attack, but satellite images of the aftermath tell a story of sheer devastation.

A Ukrainian kamikaze drone strike hitting a major ammunition storage facility in central Russia on Wednesday was likely the most damaging long-range attack launched by Kyiv in 30 months of combat, and possibly the most devastating air strike ever to hit Russia, World War II included.

Kremlin-controlled information platforms on Thursday were downplaying damage reports and assuring the public that the situation was well under control. But one day after a Ukrainian nighttime air raid against Toropets Northeast Ammunition Depot, in Russia’s Tver region, evidence was pointing to a wildly successful long-range strike by Kyiv against a war-critical piece of Russian military infrastructure.

Trump has rattled European countries by saying the United States could stop protecting NATO members that do not spend enough on defense.

Outgoing NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will caution the United States and Europe against “isolationism” in his parting speech on Thursday, as Donald Trump vies to return to the White House.

“We have heard voices on both sides of the Atlantic calling for America and Europe to part ways,” he was to say in a speech on Thursday afternoon in Brussels, according to excerpts seen by AFP.

A Kyiv Post journalist spoke with Russian conscripts and Chechens, learning details about the orders from the Russian military command and the POW's speculations about the events in the Kursk region.

Desperate to give the folks back home some positive news a pro-Kremlin blogger posted a video showing a column of destroyed Ukrainian tanks – except they were really Russian.

The independent Russian news site The Insider reported  on Wednesday how the Russian milblogger “Brigada ‘North-V’ of the Russian Armed Forces' Palace of Culture” posted a video on his Telegram channel on Saturday, Sept.14, entitled “Cemetery of Ukrainian armored vehicles destroyed in the SVO zone.”

The footage shows a line of around 10 damaged, immobile tanks standing at the side of the road on the edge of a typical Ukrainian town. They are filmed from a car as it drives past the column. There is no commentary, just the sound of the car’s engine and “music” from the car stereo.

Initial reports said Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine would be the subject of discussion before the next day’s meeting of the UN General Assembly which would address Ukraine’s victory plan.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to address a UN Security Council meeting in New York on Sept. 24 where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would be on the agenda, the Slovenian mission to the UN said.

The meeting, set to take place ahead of the gathering of world leaders in New York for the annual session of the UN General Assembly, was reportedly requested by the US, the UK, France, Japan, South Korea and Malta, according to RBC Ukraine.

Millions of barrels of Russian fuel and other products are still being imported into the UK and EU members via subsidiary companies in third countries, despite existing sanctions.

The European Union is aiming to broaden sanctions against Russia by including foreign subsidiaries of European companies under the regulations umbrella, a senior official has said.

The move will hopefully block the flow of goods that may be aiding Russia’s military efforts, EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan said at an event in Brussels on Wednesday.

According to partisans, this transfer of equipment indicates a shortage of weapons in the Kursk sector, which is being compensated for by moving resources from currently less active frontline areas.

Agents of the Atesh partisan movement have reported that Russian troops are transferring weapons, ammunition, and military equipment from occupied Crimea to the Kursk region, releasing the corresponding photos.

“Our agents tracked the movement of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment belonging to the 810th Marine Brigade,” the report read.

Berlin has been the second-largest contributor of military aid to Ukraine after Washington and had already earmarked around €7.5 billion for Kyiv in 2024.

Germany is planning almost €400 million ($445 million) in extra military aid for Ukraine this year despite a row over budgetary constraints, according to a finance ministry document seen by AFP Thursday.

Berlin has been the second-largest contributor of military aid to Ukraine after Washington and had already earmarked around €7.5 billion for Kyiv in 2024.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

Following two waves of explosions targeting Hezbollah's communication devices in Lebanon, the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is expected to deliver a major speech on Thursday. After Tuesday's blasts, the group said in a statement that it would "continue ... its blessed operations to support Gaza". It is widely believed that Israel orchestrated the explosive attacks targeting Hezbollah but the blasts have also killed civilians, including two children. Explosions on Tuesday targeting pagers killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000 people, and exploding walkie-talkies and other electronics on Wednesday killed at least 20 people and injured 450 others according to Lebanese health ministry figures. Japanese firm Icom said Thursday that it stopped producing the model of two-way radios reportedly used in Wednesday's blasts in Lebanon around 10 years ago. The company said it last exported the devices overseas, including to the Middle East, in 2014. - France 24

At least 41,252 Palestinians have been killed and 95,497 wounded in Israel's war in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel resulted in the deaths of more than 1,190 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures. Some 250 people were taken hostage, with about 120 remaining in Gaza. Many have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.

The ammunition supplied includes 155mm high-explosive incendiary fragmentation shells, 120mm and 125mm ammunition, and mortar shells of the same calibers.

India has continued to allow the supply of Indian-made artillery shells to Ukraine, despite objections from Russia, Reuters reports. European buyers have been transferring these shells to Ukraine for over a year.

According to three Indian officials, cited by Reuters, the Kremlin has raised concerns with New Delhi about these shipments at least twice, but without success.

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova said she considered the goal of Ukraine joining the EU by 2030 set by European Council President Charles Michel “not unrealistic.”

Katarina Mathernova, the EU ambassador to Ukraine, praised Ukraine’s progress in fulfilling the requirements for joining the bloc and said that European Council President Charles Michel’s goal of Ukraine joining by 2030 was “not unrealistic.”

In an interview with EuroPravda, Mathernova noted Ukraine’s quick progress compared to other EU candidates, and that current talks were done “in a very compressed time schedule when it comes to European processes.”

The Ministry of Finance borrowed more than Hr.10 billion ($245 million) in local currency but did not offer USD-denominated bills.

Twelve-month and 3.5-year securities usually saw the least demand in the auction – this week the Finance Ministry borrowed more than Hr.10 billion ($245 million). However, demand was highly volatile.

Two weeks ago, the demand was estimated at Hr.2.7 billion; last week, it fell to Hr. 0.9 billion; and this week, it surged to Hr.2.4 billion.

With Ukraine having lost two-thirds of its electricity production capacity since the Russian invasion, the report warned of a “yawning gap between available electricity supply and demand”.

The coming winter will prove the "sternest test yet" for Ukraine's energy grid since Russia's invasion, with numerous power plants destroyed or damaged, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday.

Putting forward a 10-point plan for Ukraine to safeguard its war-battered energy security, the IEA also warned of problems for neighbouring Moldova's electricity supply after Ukraine stops allowing the transit of Russian gas at the end of 2024.

German Armed Forces-funded research into the use of artificial intelligence to control the next generation of drone swarms brought together three companies who combined to prove the concept.

In July 2023 the Bundeswehr initiated the KITU 2 (Künstliche Intelligenz für taktische UAS) study, in English the artificial Intelligence (AI) for tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) study. Three German companies combined to address the requirement: Airbus Defence & Space as prime contractor along with the Munich based drone manufacturer Quantum Systems, and the software developer Spleenlab.

On Tuesday Quantum Systems announced that the consortium had made a “major breakthrough” after it had successfully flown an AI-controlled drone swarm made up of four different types of drone at the Airbus Drone Center in Manching, Bavaria at the beginning of August.

Since invading in February 2022, Moscow has carried out near daily drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, including targeting areas close to Ukraine's western borders with EU and NATO members.

Defence ministers from NATO's eastern flank on Wednesday called for a collective response to repeated violations of their airspace by Russian drones and missiles targeting Ukraine.

Since invading in February 2022, Moscow has carried out near daily drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, including targeting areas close to Ukraine's western borders with EU and NATO members.

During his upcoming visit Zelensky is set to present Ukraine's peace plan, including aspirations for NATO and EU membership, economic and security agreements, and requests for advanced weapons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet with Democratic US presidential candidate Kamala Harris during his upcoming visit to Washington, according to Bloomberg. The meeting is scheduled for next week, where Zelensky is expected to present his victory plan to President Joe Biden.

This plan includes Ukraine's aspirations for NATO and EU membership, economic and security agreements, and requests for continued supplies of advanced weapons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said that Kyiv has "fully prepared" its "victory plan" to end the war with Russia, which he has said he will discuss with US leader Joe Biden.

Russia's counteroffensive to retake Ukrainian-held territory in the Kursk region has been "stopped", a spokesman from Ukraine's military administration there told AFP on Wednesday, after Moscow said it was beginning to repel the surprise incursion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said that Kyiv has "fully prepared" its "victory plan" to end the war with Russia, which he has said he will discuss with US leader Joe Biden.

Once a summons is added to the registry, it is considered served after seven days. All Russian citizens listed in the registry are automatically banned from leaving the country.

The Russian government has unveiled the test version of a new electronic summons registry, operational in three regions. According to Novaya Gazeta, the site is currently in its trial phase and is scheduled for full-scale launch on Nov. 1.

The website provides details on how electronic summonses are issued. Once a summons is added to the registry, it is considered served after seven days. All Russian citizens listed in the registry are automatically banned from leaving the country.

Ukrainian forces resorted to this method due to damage to the missile, though it remains a rare and unconventional practice.

The Fatum unit, part of the anti-tank division of Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, demonstrated how warheads from the American-made FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank system could be repurposed for use in first-person view (FPV) attack drones, according to a report by Defense Express.

The unit released a video showing the extraction of a missile warhead from its transport-launch container.

Internet users have spotted the prototype tank during August’s Northern Strike 24 war games in Michigan, though it’s unclear how the US obtained it.

The US military reportedly used a Ukrainian T-72AG tank in its August war games to simulate Soviet T-72 tanks. 

A series of photos, which depicted the Ukrainian tank, were published by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service of the US Department of Defense (DoD), which it said were taken during the multinational Northern Strike 24 exercise between Aug. 3 and 17.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Ukrainian forces conducted a successful drone strike against a Russian missile and ammunition storage facility near Toropets, Tver Oblast on September 18.
• Continued Ukrainian strikes against rear Russian logistics facilities within Russia will generate wider operational pressures on the Russian military beyond the individual destruction of ammunition stockpiles and logistics facilities.
• Russian authorities arrested the head of the Central Military District (CMD)'s armor service on September 18 on suspicion of receiving a large bribe, marking yet another corruption case against a high-ranking Russian military official since the April 2024 appointment of Andrei Belousov as Russian Defense Minister.
• An unsuccessful armed assault against several offices of Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries in Moscow City highlights the fragility of Russia's domestic stability.
• Armenian officials continue to criticize the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) amid worsening bilateral relations between Armenia and Russia.
• Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned Israel for simultaneously detonating thousands of pagers belonging to Lebanese Hezbollah (LH) members across Lebanon and Syria on September 17, signaling Russia's continued rhetorical alignment with Iran's Axis of Resistance against Israel.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Glushkovsky Raion west of the main Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast amid continued Ukrainian assaults in and west of the salient. Russian forces regained positions within the salient.
• Russian forces recently advanced along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, within Toretsk, southwest of Donetsk City, and in eastern Zaporizhia Oblast.
• The Russian State Duma announced on September 18 that it approved a bill in its first reading that proposes releasing Russian servicemembers serving in Ukraine from criminal punishment associated with cases actively being tried in Russian courts.