Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has arrived in the USA to take part in the UN general debate. Zelenskyj wrote today on the X platform, formerly Twitter, that he had arrived in Washington with his wife for the UN week and a visit.
The 45-year-old is scheduled to take part in the world's largest diplomatic meeting in New York. It is eagerly awaited whether Zelenskyj could meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN general debate starting today or in a meeting of the UN Security Council tomorrow.
For Zelenskyj, it is the first personal participation in the UN General Assembly since the Russian war of aggression began in February 2022. Last year he addressed the United Nations in a video address. After the visit to New York, Zelenskyj wants to travel to the US capital Washington, where meetings with President Joe Biden and members of Congress are planned for Thursday.
Ukraine is suing three EU states at the World Trade Organization
Ukraine filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against three EU states over their ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products. “It is fundamentally important for us to prove that individual member states cannot impose an import ban on Ukrainian goods,” said the deputy head of the government responsible for economic affairs, Yulia Svyrydenko, according to a statement yesterday. However, Ukraine hopes that Poland, Slovakia and Hungary will lift their import bans and that the legal proceedings will not drag on for long.
At the same time, the pressure from the European Commission and other EU member states on those bordering Ukraine should be increased to allow agricultural imports again. Germany's Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir has already criticized the grain blockade by the governments in Warsaw, Budapest and Bratislava as "part-time solidarity". As a result of the Russian war of aggression, the Ukrainian seaports through which grain was exported before the war are also blocked.
Pistorius announces further arms aid for Ukraine
Before an international meeting to support Ukraine, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced further German arms aid for Kiev. “In total, the package will be worth 400 million euros,” said the SPD politician to the “Bild” newspaper.
"We are supplying additional ammunition: explosive ammunition, mortar ammunition, mine rockets. Because ammunition is what Ukraine needs most in its defense against the brutal war of aggression," he said. "In addition, we will help with protected vehicles and mine clearance systems. But we also have an eye on the approaching winter: we will send clothing, but also electricity and heat generators."
Ukrainian army chief: Three Russian elite brigades wiped out
The Ukrainian army says it wiped out several of the best Russian brigades in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. "In the fighting in the Bakhmut sector, some of the enemy's best units were crushed and completely lost their combat effectiveness," said the commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces, Olexander Syrsky, according to a statement distributed yesterday. These are the 72nd Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 31st and 83rd Airborne Brigades. The Ukrainian information could not be independently verified.
According to Syrskyj, the Ukrainian units continued their advance. At the same time, the Colonel General emphasized that the general situation in the eastern sector of the front remained difficult. With counterattacks, the Russians tried to recapture lost positions near Andriyivka and Klischchiivka. Nevertheless, according to Syrskyj, the Ukrainians broke through the Russian defense line at that point.
What is important today
The general debate at the UN General Assembly begins in New York. According to the provisional list of speakers, over 140 heads of state and government have announced themselves for the world's largest diplomatic meeting from September 19th to 26th this year. Zelensky is scheduled to speak at the United Nations headquarters for the first time since the beginning of the war against his country.
Meanwhile, the Ukraine contact group is meeting again at the US base in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate to discuss further aid for the attacked country.
