WAR IN UKRAINE: September 16, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen arrive to deliver a press conference in Kyiv on September 15. (Segei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images)
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 205
At the Shanghai Cooperation Summit in Uzbekistan, the Chinese supreme leader Xi Jinping stopped short of issuing public support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full scale invasion of Ukraine. “China is willing to make a great effort with Russia" to "take responsibilities and to play a role in the midst of the chaotic interweaving world," adding that it will be to "provide stability to the world." Meanwhile, Putin acknowledged differences between the two powers. In what was his first in-person meeting with Xi since the invasion, he said: “We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis. We understand your questions and concerns about this.”
The head of the shadowy Russian mercenary group, Wagner, has been filmed recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine. In the video verified by BBC, the prisoners are told their sentences would be commuted in exchange for service with his group. They were also told of the dangers of going to Ukraine and that deserting the mission would mean immediate execution.
Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have shaken off his car accident as he was shown greeting the president of the EU commission president in Kyiv on Thursday. The Ukrainian president was not seriously hurt in the incident, which happened on Wednesday night, his spokesperson announced on social media, but the cause of the accident is still being investigated - The Independent
Zelensky called on the US, Germany, Italy, France and Israel to provide air defense systems to counter Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure during a press conference with the European Commission's Ursula von der Leyen Thursday. Ukrainian officials are concerned that after suffering losses on the battlefield, Moscow is turning to missile strikes on critical civilian infrastructure. Regarding air defense systems, Zelensky said that in addition to talking to the US, "we are talking with France, Italy, Germany, and Israel, though we have not received a positive reaction from the latter [Israel]. There are not many countries capable of guaranteeing sky protection to us in terms of air defense. This issue is to be solved around these five countries” - CNN
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said that if the United States decided to supply Kyiv with longer-range missiles, it would cross a “red line” and become “a party to the conflict” in Ukraine. In a briefing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added that Russia “reserves the right to defend its territory”. Washington has openly supplied Ukraine with advanced guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS) rockets, which are fired from high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) launchers and which can hit targets up to 80km (50 miles) away. “If Washington decides to supply longer-range missiles to Kyiv, then it will be crossing a red line, and will become a direct party to the conflict,” Zakharova said - Al Jazeera
The U.S. Treasury Department added top Russian finance officials, relatives of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and a Russian children's rights official who allegedly directs the removal of Ukrainian children to Russia to its sanctions blacklist - RFE/RL
In major step towards a return to normalcy in the southern port city of Odesa, on September 17 and 18, the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater will host the premiere of the opera "Kateryna" based on the poem by Taras Shevchenko. About 400 people take part in the performance, including actors, a ballet and a choir.
Required reading…
From the CBC’s Susan Ormiston: As we debate gains and losses, retreats and counteroffensives, kids die in Ukraine, families mourn, meet one.
It all happened in a second, Serhiy Hulevich repeats over and over again as he recounts the death of his eight-year-old son, Oleksandr.
He anxiously circles the courtyard of his home, showing the newly formed pockmarks and constellation of shrapnel scars from shelling just a few days earlier.
"Everything was in one second. Everything started to fall apart," Serhiy told CBC News just days after his son's death, through a translator, with more shelling in the distance.
Read the full feature here