“Ukraine – Russia”

Some MPs worried about waning enthusiasm among their constituents for supporting Ukraine’s defence say they hope President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit changes some hearts and minds.

“It’s important that we continue to stay unified as Canadians … and advocate for the aid necessary to ensure Ukraine wins the war,” said Toronto-area Liberal MP Yvan Baker, chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group.

Oh oh…

TORONTO: Trudeau and Zelensky leave Royal York Hotel as an even bigger crowd of protesters shout “F**K YOU” “GET OUT OF OUR COUNTRY”

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
pic.twitter.com/iwiYU8wkJT

— Kat Kanada (@KatKanada_TM) September 23, 2023

A Storm Shadow missile struck one of its highest profile targets yet, punching a huge hole in a navy headquarters in the key Crimean port city of Sevastopol.

Footage showed a large plume of smoke over the smouldering building in Sevastopol, after the audacious attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet nerve centre.

“The enemy launched a missile attack on the headquarters of the fleet,” confirmed Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol.

A video appeared online that shows the moment of the rocket strike on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. pic.twitter.com/GxZlmAkEVU

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) September 22, 2023

“Slava Ukraini,” a voice shouted as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy entered the chamber of the House of Commons to give his historic address to Canadians.

Zelenskyy appeared to wipe a tear away as he was met with a minute-long standing ovation before Trudeau gave his welcome speech emphasizing the “pivotal” moment facing the world, and pledging $650 million in new funding to support Ukraine over three years.

More at CBC – Russia’s violence ‘must not go unpunished,’ Zelenskyy tells Canadian parliamentarians

Polish prime minister, Matesuz Morawiecki, has declared that his country is “no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine”. Instead, it will be focusing on “arming Poland with more modern weapons”. As explosive as the announcement is, it is unlikely to change the situation in Ukraine in the short term.

What matters more is the language. It is incredibly telling that president Andrzej Duda described Kyiv as behaving “like a drowning person clinging to anything available”, potentially bringing down those attempting to save them. It sounds like an acceptance that Ukraine cannot win this war, at the current scale and intensity, and that Europe cannot continue to supply it.

Poland has announced it will stop supplying weapons to Kyiv amid a row over grain supplies, in a new crack in western support to Ukraine.

Warsaw had been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies but the trade dispute has thrown the relationship into doubt.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s prime minister, said the decision would allow his country to focus on upgrading its military.

The controversial American transgender spokesperson for Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces Sarah Ashton-Cirillo (born Michael Cirillo) has been suspended indefinitely by the Ukrainian military, also pending an investigation. According to an official Ukrainian military statement, Ashton-Cirillo’s recent statements regarding “hunting down” dissidents and “propagandists” were not approved…

Who hired this freak?

Oops …

BREAKING: Ukrainian media edited Zelensky's UN speech to make it look like he had a bigger audience

They forgot to edit out Zelensky himself sitting in the audience. Look at the 0:14 mark pic.twitter.com/xA1DLr2eXH

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 21, 2023

The United Nations Security Council is no match for Europe’s most consequential war in decades, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, told members of the council at its headquarters on Wednesday, dubbing the council’s attempt at ending the war “ineffective.”

If one needed an example of the UN’s most powerful body’s struggling to be effective, the session provided one, starting with a long procedural debate about when Mr. Zelensky would be allowed to speak. Eventually, Mr. Zelensky took the stage.

#Ukraine: An active Russian Osa SAM system was destroyed by a Ukrainian precision artillery strike south of Lozove, #Donetsk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/eVvSvgOnbb

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) September 20, 2023

Ukraine is reported to have rejected a consignment of Germany’s Leopard 1 tanks – on the grounds that they are technically flawed, and that Ukrainian engineers lack the skills and training to fix them.

Embarrassingly for Germany, this is the second time that Ukraine has turned its collective nose up at a delivery of German armour. When the first ten tanks – the advance guard of a total of 110 Leopard 1s that Berlin has agreed to supply to Kyiv – arrived in Ukraine, they too were found to be unsuitable for deployment on the front line. This despite the desperate need for armour to break through Russia’s defence lines resisting Ukraine’s vaunted counter offensive striking south towards the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine on Tuesday pushed back against a New York Times investigation, which said evidence suggested that Kyiv accidentally bombed a local market in its own town of Kostiantynivka killing 15 people.

According to the New York Times‘ report published Monday, a combination of witnesses, findings in Kostyantynivka and open-source investigation of video footage and local anonymous Telegram channels indicated the September 6 attack was actually a tragic accident, caused by a Ukrainian BUK missile system firing toward Russian forces from the Ukrainian-controlled nearby town of Druzhkivka.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Canada later this week after his visit to the United Nations and the U.S., sources told CBC News.

Zelenskyy will visit Ottawa and Toronto during his Canadian trip, sources said.

Zelenskyy is expected to address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to rally support for continued help to repel Russia’s invasion.

Twice last week, Crimea’s night skies lit up with the fiery destruction of valuable Russian military equipment.

In the early hours of Wednesday, cruise missiles struck the Sevmorzavod shipyard, home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Clips of the aftermath showed the skies over Sevastopol illuminated by a burning landing ship and attack submarine.

The following morning at Yevpatoriya, in the west of the Russian-occupied peninsula, footage circulated on social media showed another fireball. This time the target was said to be one of Russia’s sophisticated S-400 Triumf air defence batteries.

#Ukraine: The destruction of an abandoned Russian BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle by a FPV loitering munition of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade in #Donetsk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/4aLXbmEuXd

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) September 18, 2023

Human rights lawyers believe Kremlin is ‘intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare’

War crimes investigators say they aim to bring the first international prosecution for starvation following Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian food supplies and farming.

The targeting of Ukraine’s agriculture, its farmland and grains stocks, and even civilians searching for food, amounts to a weaponisation of starvation and a clear war crime, investigators argue.

#Ukraine: A Russian 2S9 Nona 120mm self-propelled mortar was destroyed and another one was taken out of action by two GMLRS strikes of the Ukrainian army near Makiivka, #Donetsk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/FByKkv7gRV

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) September 18, 2023