Both Denmark and Norway to send more tanks and other equipment to Ukraine
From CNN's Radina Gigova and Vasco Cotovio
Denmark will donate an additional 45 tanks to Ukraine, including 15 modernized T-72 tanks and 30 Leopard 1 tanks, the country's defense ministry told CNN on Tuesday. Copenhagen is also sending Kyiv additional arms, ammunition and mine-clearing equipment.
The donation is part of a joint initiative between the defense ministries of Denmark, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, which "share the understanding that the continued provision of materiel from industry stocks and production would be of vital importance for the military capabilities of Ukraine," according to a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Norway is also set to donate about 50 tracked cargo carriers to Ukraine, its government announced Tuesday. This type of vehicle is able to maneuver in terrain inaccessible for wheeled vehicles.
"The cargo carriers can transport ammunition, food and water to Ukrainian troops in the field," the Norwegian government said.
Norway has previously donated "a wide range of capacities to Ukraine," including ground-based air defense systems and battle tanks. It's also among the nations providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
7:54 a.m. ET, September 19, 2023
Latvia has shut a border crossing with Belarus in bid to curb illegal migration
From CNN's Radina Gigova
Latvia closed one of its two border crossings with Belarus on Tuesday in an effort to prevent illegal migration, the country's public broadcaster LSM reported.
The operation of Latvia's Silene border crossing point has been suspended, while its other crossing with Belarus will remain open for freight transport as well as for urgent humanitarian movement or emergencies.
The initiative to close the Silene border post was announced last week by border Guard Chief Guntis Pujāts, who said the situation was "probably the most tense in these three years since 2021," according to LSM.
Tensions on the border between Latvia and Belarus, which is Russia's closest ally, have increased since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
So far in September this year, Latvian Border Guard officials have prevented 1,773 illegal border crossings, LSM reported.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been accused of manufacturing a migrant crisis on his country's border by the prime ministers of three neighboring nations, leading Poland to adopt a bill for the construction of a wall along its border with Belarus.
The situation along the border escalated once again earlier this summer after Wagner private mercenary group fighters moved from Russia into Belarus. But after the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda said the need to close the border with Belarus had become less relevant as the threat of encroaching Wagner mercenaries was waning.
8:04 a.m. ET, September 19, 2023
Wagner built an empire in the Central African Republic. Post Prigozhin, its operations are consolidating
From CNN's Sebastian Shukla, Brent Swails, Clarissa Ward and Scott McWhinnie
Russia has been engaged in a high-stakes scramble to centralize Wagner's empire on the African continent since Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary group's leader, attempted a coup in June and subsequently died in a plane crash outside Moscow just months later.
The Wagner private mercenary group's diverse activities in the Central African Republic (CAR) include thousands of fighters on the ground, a vast array of business holdings and multiple soft power initiatives.
As the Kremlin tries to get its arms around Wagner’s sprawling commercial network, what’s next for the group remains unclear. But signs of what the future may hold in the CAR, one of the organization’s first client states and its laboratory on the continent, are beginning to emerge in the country's capital.
CNN visited Bangui, where Russia appears to be consolidating Wagner’s operations while continuing to exert its influence. The message that Moscow wants to project seems to be: it’s business as usual.
Ukraine's offensive is making "steady forward progress," US defense secretary says
From CNN's Tim Lister
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attends the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, on Tuesday, September 19. Michael Probst/AP
Ukraine's months-long counteroffensive is making "steady forward progress," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
"Brave Ukrainian troops are breaking through the heavily fortified lines of Russia’s army of aggression," Austin said at Tuesday's gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a bloc of 54 countries who are providing military support to Kyiv.
Austin pressed other representatives at the meeting, which is taking place at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, to continue offering Ukraine security assistance. He said that Ukraine's battlefield gains "hinge on the crucial capabilities provided by the members of this contact group."
More than $76 billion in direct security assistance has been given to Ukraine so far, Austin said. However, he added that Ukraine is in further need of air defense systems.
"Air defense is saving lives. So I urge this group to continue to dig deep on ground-based air defense for Ukraine," he said. "Our shared commitment will be vital during the current battles — and for the long road ahead."
Later on in the Tuesday gathering, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said The Ukrainian military has liberated more than 54% of territory occupied by Russia.
“[E]ach Ukrainian advancement, every inch of reclaimed territory, only happens because of the bravery the honor and the incredible sacrifice made by the cranium people in their military. Ukraine continues to make deliberate, steady progress in liberating their homeland from Russian occupation,” Milley said at a news conference after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
“To date, Ukraine has liberated over 54% of Russian occupied Ukraine and they continue to retain the strategic initiative.”
That 54% of territory is in regard to territory liberated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Milley’s spokesperson Col. Dave Butler said on Tuesday, including areas around Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson.
Attacks on grain: Austin said that Russian attacks on Ukraine's grain infrastructure are directly threatening global food security.
Moscow has been targeting Ukrainian infrastructure since July, when it pulled out of a deal that allowed Ukrainian ships to bypass a Russian blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports and navigate safe passage through the waterway to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait in order to reach global markets.
Austin alleged that the Kremlin has destroyed "at least 280,000 tons of grain. That’s enough to feed as many as 10.5 million people for a year."
"The more Russia prolongs its war, the more glaring its cruelty becomes. Russia’s assaults have reached far beyond the battlefield and inflicted untold human suffering," Austin said. "History will show the full folly of Putin’s reckless, cruel, and unprovoked invasion of his peaceful neighbor."
CNN's Haley Britzky contributed reporting to this post.
5:14 a.m. ET, September 19, 2023
US defense secretary says M1 Abrams tanks will enter Ukraine “soon"
From CNN's Oren Liebermann
American M1 Abrams tanks are expected to be sent to Ukraine "soon," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday at a meeting with Ukraine and its other military partners.
The arrival of the tanks, which Kyiv has sought to help its forces break through the Russian front lines, has been anticipated for months. The US began training Ukrainian troops how to operate them earlier this year.
Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a bloc of 54 countries that are providing military support to the country in the face of Russia's invasion, Austin urged Kyiv's partners to help supply it with other critical weapons systems, like air defense and artillery ammunition.
“Time is not on Putin’s side,” he said from the meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. “We will stand by the Ukrainian people for the long haul.”
Umerov's arrival: Tuesday's meeting was the first of its kind since former Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was dismissed two weeks ago.
Austin thanked Reznikov “for his hard work and dedication -- and for everything that he did for a free Ukraine in a secure world" in his opening remarks.
Austin said he looked forward to "working closely” with Reznikov's successor, Rustem Umerov. The two spoke on the phone last week and met in person for the first time at the meeting.
4:20 a.m. ET, September 19, 2023
Warehouse worker dead and tons of humanitarian supplies destroyed in Lviv attack, mayor says
From CNN's Olga Voitovych
A view shows an industrial warehouse damaged by a Russian drone strike in Lviv, Ukraine, on September 19. P Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout/Reuters
A warehouse worker was killed and more than 300 metric tons of humanitarian supplies were destroyed during a Russian drone attack on Lviv early Tuesday, the western Ukrainian city's mayor said.
Speaking at the scene of an extensive fire caused by the assault, Mayor Andrii Sadovyi said a warehouse belonging to NGO Caritas-Spes was hit, resulting in the death of a worker and the destruction of humanitarian supplies.
"The warehouse contained about 300 tonnes of humanitarian goods and humanitarian vehicles," he said. "Unfortunately, a dead man who worked here was found under the rubble."
The supplies were worth millions of dollars, Sadovyi said.
"I have just spoken to the head of Caritas, they had just received humanitarian aid — warm clothes, shoes, generators to send from Lviv to other parts of Ukraine. Now it's all on fire. A lot of food and light industry products are burning," Sadovyi said. "The damage is measured not even in tens, I think it will be hundreds of millions [of hryvnia.]
Earlier, Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv regional military administration, said Ukraine shot down down 15 Russian drones heading toward the city, but three drones evaded air defenses and hit the warehouses.
The resulting fire affected an area of 9,000 square meters (nearly 97,000 square feet), Kozytskyi said. "I want to emphasize that these are ordinary industrial warehouses. Nothing military was stored there," he said.
At least two people were injured in the attack, Kozytskyi said.
4:00 a.m. ET, September 19, 2023
Russian drones hit Lviv warehouses, Ukraine says
From CNN's Olga Voitovych and Alex Stambaugh
Firefighters work at a site of an industrial warehouse damaged by a Russian drone strike in Lviv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, September 19. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout/Reuters
Russian attack drones struck warehouses in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Tuesday, sparking a huge fire and injuring two people, a local official said.
In a Telegram post, Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv regional military administration, said Ukraine shot down down 15 Russian drones heading toward the city, but three drones evaded air defenses and hit the warehouses.
The resulting fire affected an area of 9,000 square meters (nearly 97,000 square feet), Kozytskyi said.
"I want to emphasize that these are ordinary industrial warehouses. Nothing military was stored there," he said.
A 26-year-old man who was injured is in "moderate condition," Kozytskyi said. "There was also a woman at the scene who did not need hospitalization," he added.
Russian attacks: The assault on Lviv comes as the Ukrainian Air Force said it destroyed 27 of 30 Russian attack drones launched Tuesday. Russia additionally fired one ballistic missile in the direction of the city of Kryvyi Rih and Ukraine also destroyed a reconnaissance drone, the Air Force said.
This post has been updated with additional information.
3:41 a.m. ET, September 19, 2023
Moscow and Beijing tout their cooperation ahead of Putin's expected China visit
From CNN's Simone McCarthy, Katharina Krebs, Darya Tarasova and Yong Xiong
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi attend a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, September 18. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout/Reuters
Russia and China’s top diplomats discussed strengthening their international cooperation during a meeting in Moscow on Monday ahead of an expected landmark visit from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing in the coming weeks.
The two countries would continue “well-coordinated work” at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), which opened a new session this week, and other summits and high level meetings, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told visiting Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in opening remarks.
"Strategic cooperation": In his meeting with Lavrov, Wang said China and Russia should work together on the formation of a “multi-polar world,” adding that the two countries bear a “special responsibility” in terms of maintaining global strategic stability and peace.
“In the face of unilateral actions, hegemony and confrontation, China and Russia should … continue to strengthen strategic cooperation … and push forward the development of global governance in the direction of greater fairness,” Wang said, according to a readout from China’s Foreign Ministry, using terms Beijing typically employs to refer to actions from the US.
The readout appeared to allude to the expected visit from Putin to China next month, with the Chinese ministry quoting Lavrov as saying Russia would “prepare for the next high-level exchanges between the two countries.”
War in Ukraine: Russia’s war in Ukraine has shifted the self-declared “no limits” partnership between the two — making sanctions-hampered Moscow increasingly reliant on Beijing as its most powerful economic and diplomatic partner.
China has also attempted to frame itself as a potential peace broker and neutral party in the conflict, even as it provides an economic lifeline for Russia and has not called for Moscow to cease its onslaught or withdraw troops.
In a statement Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Lavrov and Wang agreed that Moscow’s interests must be considered in resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
“The parties discussed in detail the current state of affairs in Ukraine, noting the futility of attempts to resolve the crisis without taking into account interests and, especially, without the participation of Russia,” the statement said.
China’s summary only presented its position as “consistently adhering” to the direction of peace talks and noted its pledge to “play a constructive role” in a “political settlement of the crisis.”
Russian drone attack injures 1 in Lviv, mayor says
From CNN's Olga Voitovych and Alex Stambaugh
Russia launched a drone attack on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv early Tuesday, injuring one person, according to local officials.
"As a result of the attack, the roof of an industrial warehouse in one of Lviv's districts is on fire," the city's mayor, Andrii Sadovyi, said in a post on Telegram.
A 26-year-old man has been hospitalized after he was pulled out of the rubble with an open fracture of a limb, he said.
Emergency services are working at the scene, he added.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, attack drones were in the airspace of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Khmelnytskyi regions early Tuesday.
