Here is the situation as it stands on Monday, September 19:
Fighting
- Ukraine troops have advanced to the eastern bank of the Oskil River, threatening Russian occupation forces in the eastern Donbas region. Crossing the Oskil is another important milestone in Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
- US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited a military base in Poland hosting US troops and called for vigilance, saying the war was “not going too well for Russia right now”.
- The Russian army, seeking contract soldiers for its war in Ukraine, is using mobile recruiting trucks to reach out to volunteers, offering nearly $3,000 a month as an incentive.
- The Ukrainian military said its forces repelled attacks by Russian troops in the Kharkiv region in the east and Kherson in the south, where Ukraine launched counteroffensives this month, as well as in parts of Donetsk in the southeast.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed there will be no let-up in the counterattack that has reclaimed towns and cities from Russian troops.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said mass graves found in Ukraine are evidence of Russia’s war crimes and full accountability for its actions was needed.
Diplomacy
- US President Joe Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use tactical nuclear or chemical weapons in the wake of military setbacks in Ukraine.
- Australia will not ban Russian tourists from entering the country as part of sanctions on Russia, its defence minister said.
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a global food crisis aggravated by the war will be the focus of world leaders when they convene for the United Nations General Assembly this week.
- Alla Pugacheva, the queen of Soviet pop music, denounced Putin’s war in Ukraine, saying it is killing soldiers for illusory aims, burdening the people, and turning Russia into a global pariah.