Zelenskyy says the war should not end at Ukraine’s expense
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given a wide-ranging interview to the New Yorker. In it he said that Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance is “too radical” in his ideas of how to end the war in Ukraine.
Vance, who has criticised US aid packages to Ukraine and pushed for negotiations with Russia, suggested earlier this month that Trump’s plan to end the war could include the establishment of a special demilitarized zone between Ukraine and Russia.
Vance said that Ukraine would retain its sovereignty, but would have to give assurances to Moscow that it would not join Nato or any other allied institutions.
“The idea that the world should end this war at Ukraine’s expense is unacceptable. But I do not consider this concept of his a plan, in any formal sense,” the Ukrainian president said in his interview with the New Yorker which was published on Sunday.
“I don’t take Vance’s words seriously, because, if this were a plan, then America is headed for global conflict. It will involve Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Taiwan, China, as well as many African countries. That approach would broadcast to the world the following implicit rule: I came, I conquered, now this is mine,” he added.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Zelenskyy asked for his country to be admitted to the 32-member defensive alliance as soon as possible.
Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing Nato secretary general, said Ukraine’s membership to Nato is not a “question of if, but when”, though he said Ukraine would not become a member during the war with Russia.
In the New Yorker interview, Zelenskyy said Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, does not know how to stop the war even if he thinks he does.
Key events
As we mentioned in the opening summary, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy began his visit to the US with a visit to the Scranton army ammunition plant, which produces components for artillery and mortar shells. He said in a post on X that he is grateful to American workers who are helping build “this incredible arsenal of global freedom”.
The Scranton plant is among the few facilities in the US that manufactures 155mm artillery shells, which are used in howitzer systems able to strike targets from a long distance. The plant is reported to have ramped up production of these shells in the last year.
During my visit to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, where components for artillery and mortar shells are produced, including 155 mm shells for Ukraine, I emphasized the dedication of the workers, which is truly inspiring—they are helping Ukraine stand strong in our fight for… pic.twitter.com/rs0vLZRlVU
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 23, 2024
In Kherson, Russian shelling and airstrikes hit residential buildings, killing one 61-year-old woman and wounding seven people Sunday, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Russia controls part of the territory in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. They have both been regularly attacked by Russia during the war.
In an update on Telegram, the air force of the armed forces of Ukraine said that two guided air missiles and four drones were detected in Ukrainian airspace overnight.
Three of the drones were shot down by anti-aircraft defence in the Sumy region, while the other drone and two guided air missiles did not reach their targets, it added.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy to present ‘victory plan’ to Biden, Trump and Harris on trip to US
Hello and welcome to the Ukraine live blog. I’m Yohannes Lowe and the time in Kyiv has just gone past 10:30am.
Here are the latest developments:
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the US on Sunday for a crucial visit to present Kyiv’s plan to end two-and-a-half years of war with Russia. The Ukrainian president will present his proposals – which he calls a “victory plan” – to President Joe Biden, as well as presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and will also attend sessions at the UN general assembly. The visit comes after a summer of intense fighting, with Moscow advancing fast in eastern Ukraine and Kyiv holding on to swathes of Russia’s Kursk region. Kyiv has for weeks pressed the west to allow it to use delivered long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia – so far to no avail.
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The Ukrainian president urged his partners to help achieve “a shared victory for a truly just peace”, in a post on X with his nightly video address. “This fall will determine the future of this war,” Zelenskyy said in the address, delivered from a plane. Ukrainian media later reported he landed in New York. He is also due to visit Washington later in the week.
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The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, indicated that delicate negotiations with the White House to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia are ongoing, arguing it was a time for “nerve and guts”. The apparent encouragement to Biden comes just over a week after Lammy and the prime minister, Keir Starmer, visited the US president in the White House but failed to resolve the sticking point between two countries. Speaking at a fringe event at the Labour party conference in Liverpool on Sunday, Lammy said it was “a critical time for nerve and guts and patience and for fortitude on behalf of allies who stand with Ukraine”.
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At least 16 civilians were injured, including a 15-year-old boy, on Sunday evening as a result of Russian airstrikes on the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. Rescuers evacuated residents from several damaged apartment buildings, Ukraine’s interior ministry said on Telegram. The ministry said that according to preliminary information Russia used its KAB guided aerial bombs to strike Zaporizhzhia.
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Russia launched new strikes in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv which hit high-rise apartment buildings, leaving at least 21 wounded in a second consecutive night-time attack, authorities said. The bombs fell on Saturday night on the district of Shevchenkivsky, north of the centre of Kharkiv, which is the second-largest Ukrainian city, local governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
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A firefighter was killed by a Ukrainian drone in Russia-controlled Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, the Russian emergencies ministry said on Sunday. The drone’s explosives detonated when Vyacheslav Glazunov, 33, was extinguishing a fire in the Novoaidar district triggered by fallen drones, the ministry said on Telegram. Another two firefighters were injured, it added.
