Blinken to meet Chinese counterpart at UN as Beijing signals unease with Russia’s war
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a meeting in Bali on July 9, 2022. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that the South China Sea is not a “safari park” for countries outside the region nor a “battle arena” for the great powers. to compete
Stephanie Reynolds | Afp | Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly.
The meeting between Blinken and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi comes as the Biden administration works to dissuade governments from providing aid to the Kremlin for its fight in Ukraine.
Washington has long expressed concern about Beijing’s alignment with Moscow and the possibility that the world’s second-largest economy might try to help Russia curb global sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said China, one of the few world powers not to condemn the Kremlin’s aggression, had “questions and concerns” about the war.
— Amanda Macias
Ukrainian forces find large stockpiles of Russian ammunition after troop withdrawal
Photos show ammunition belonging to Russian forces after they withdrew from the village of Nova Husarivka in Balakliya, Kharkiv province.
Ukrainian forces found a large amount of ammunition belonging to Russian forces during their searches of the village. (
Metin Atkas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
A photo shows a checkpoint belonging to Russian forces after Russian forces withdrew from the village of Nova Gusarivka as war between Russia and Ukraine continues in Balakliya, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on September 21, 2022.
Metin Atkas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Ukrainian forces found a large amount of ammunition belonging to Russian forces during their searches of the village. (Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Metin Atkas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
A photo shows military uniforms, canteens and a large number of ammunition belonging to Russian forces after Russian forces retreated to the village of Nova Gusarivka as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues in Balakliya, Kharkiv Oblast in Ukraine on September 21 of 2022.
Metin Atkas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
— Metin Atkas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Britain says Putin’s call for war is likely an admission that Russia has exhausted its supply of volunteer volunteers
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with directors of the country’s leading engineering schools and their industrial partners in the city of Veliky Novgorod, Russia, on September 21, 2022.
Gavriil Grigorov | Sputnik | via Reuters
Britain’s Ministry of Defense says Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to mobilize more troops “is effectively an admission that Russia has exhausted its supply of volunteers willing to fight in Ukraine.”
In its daily intelligence update published via Twitter, the UK Ministry of Defense says it expects the Kremlin to “struggle with the logistical and administrative challenges” of raising an extra 300,000 for the Ukraine war .
“Putin is accepting considerable political risk in hopes of generating much-needed combat power,” the ministry said.
—Sam Meredith
Finland says traffic reaching its border with Russia increased overnight
Cars with Russian license plates wait to cross the Nuijamaa border crossing between Finland and Russia in Lappeenranta, Finland, on September 19, 2022.
Lauri Heino | AFP | Getty Images
The Finnish Border Guard said traffic on the country’s eastern border with Russia “intensified” overnight, Reuters reported, following President Vladimir Putin’s order to mobilize more troops for the Ukraine war .
“The number has clearly increased,” Matti Pitkaniitty, head of international affairs at the Finnish Border Guard, told Reuters. He added that the situation was under control and that border guards were ready at nine checkpoints.
Prices for one-way flights out of Russia rose after Putin announced a partial mobilization of the country’s military and images on social media appeared to show long queues at border posts.
—Sam Meredith
“Our heroes are free”: Ukraine rejoices at the release of prisoners
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 200 prisoners of war on September 21, 2022 as a result of Turkiye’s mediation and diplomatic dealings with the leaders of the two countries, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced.
Security Service of Ukraine | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Top Ukrainian officials are applauding the release of several hundred Ukrainian fighters as part of a prisoner swap with Russia that took place on Wednesday.
“President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set a clear task: to return our heroes. The result: our heroes are free,” the head of President Zelenskyy’s office Andrii Yermak said on Telegram last night.
More than 200 Ukrainian prisoners were exchanged for 55 Russian troops and a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician, as well as 10 foreign prisoners of war who had been fighting in Ukraine.
Yermak said that among the released Ukrainian prisoners were “soldiers, border guards, policemen, sailors, national guardsmen, territorial defense fighters, customs officers, civilians.”
“Among them are officers, commanders, heroes of Ukraine, defenders of ‘Azovstal’ [a steelworks complex in Mariupol defended by Ukrainian fighters during a long seige] and pregnant soldiers,” he added.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners of war on September 21, 2022.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
“It is a great success and I am grateful to everyone involved in this operation, everyone who has done this titanic work. I sincerely congratulate our heroes on their return home. We will provide them with all the necessary help: medical, social and any other “, he said.
He added that the 10 foreign fighters were in the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh, which helped negotiate their release, before traveling home to their respective countries of origin.
—Holly Elliott
More than 1,300 arrested in anti-war protests across the country
Police officers detain a man following calls for protest against the partial mobilization announced by the Russian president, in Moscow, on September 21, 2022.
Alexander Nemenov | AFP | Getty Images
More than 1,300 people have been arrested in Russia following nationwide protests over President Vladimir Putin’s decision to mobilize more troops for the war in Ukraine.
Around 1,307 people were arrested in 39 cities across the country, according to the independent human rights group OVD-Info.
The largest number were arrested in the capital Moscow (at least 527) and St. Petersburg (at least 480).
—Sam Meredith
Foreign fighters freed after major prisoner swap
Ten prisoners of war from five countries, including the United States and Britain, have been freed after being detained in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine on Wednesday as part of a wider prisoner exchange.
The prisoner exchange came after Saudi Arabia brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine, the Saudi government said in a statement. The deal saw the exchange of 10 prisoners of war – Moroccan, American, British and Swedish and Croatian – as part of a larger prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv.
Some of the POWs had been put on “trial” in tribunals set up by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine and told they faced the death penalty for fighting in Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged about 200 prisoners of war on September 21, 2022.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
As part of a wider prisoner exchange also brokered by Turkey, Russia exchanged 215 Ukrainian soldiers, including those who were locked up in the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol in a long-running siege in the early stages of the conflict , by 55 Russian soldiers and a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician and oligarch, Viktor Medvechuk.
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy’s Telegram channel on Thursday praised the exchange, saying “a total of 215 heroes” finally returned home after being detained by Russian-backed forces in Ukraine. There have been reports of torture and ill-treatment during captivity, although Russia denies these.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged about 200 prisoners of war on September 21, 2022.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
“The exchange just ended. We are bringing our people home. This is definitely a victory for our state, for our entire society. And most importantly, for 215 families who will be able to see their loved ones loved ones for sure.
“We remember all our people and try to save all Ukrainians. This is the meaning of Ukraine, our essence, this is what distinguishes us from the enemy. We value every life! And we will definitely do everything to save everyone who is in Russian. captivity,” he said.
—Holly Elliott
Zelensky calls Russia a state sponsor of terrorism
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 16, 2022.
Valentyn Ogirenko | Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that world leaders hold Russia accountable for its months-long assault on his nation.
“Russia should pay for this war,” Zelenskyy said, calling for a special UN court to “punish Russia.”
“We must finally recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism,” Zelenskyy told the 77th UN General Assembly in New York City.
Zelenskiy’s dramatic remarks to world leaders followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops for war.
Zelensky, who has not left his war-weary nation since Russia’s invasion in February, appeared virtually after a presentation by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to the 77th General Assembly of the ‘UN.
— Amanda Macias
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 5:17 PM EDT
Partial mobilization is “a great tragedy” for the Russian people, Ukrainian official says
A senior Ukrainian official has described Russia’s announcement of a partial mobilization of its military as a “great tragedy” for the…