Live blog: Klishchiivka village near Bakhmut recaptured — Ukraine general

Sunday, September 17, 2023

1733 GMT —

The general in command of Ukraine's ground forces has said that Ukrainian forces had recaptured the eastern village of Klishchiivka on the southern flank of Bakhmut, which the Russians claimed control of in January.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko also confirmed on Telegram that the village was recaptured in heavy fighting by the "Liut" national police united assault brigade, the 80th airborne assault brigade and the 5th assault brigade.

Bakhmut fell into Russian hands in May after months of heavy fighting.

For several months now, Ukrainian forces have been conducting offensives north and south of the city in order to dislodge Russian units from it.

Ukrainian military analysts said this week the liberation of settlements near Bakhmut would allow the military to advance from the southern flank in the Bakhmut area, gaining control of the heights.

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1826 GMT — First two cargo ships arrive in Ukrainian port after Russia's exit from grain deal

Two cargo ships arrived in one of Ukraine's ports over the weekend, using a temporary Black Sea corridor established by Kiev following Russia's withdrawal from a wartime agreement designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country’s ports.

Two Palau-flagged bulk carriers, Aroyat and Resilient Africa, docked on Saturday at the seaport of Chornomorsk in the southern Odessa region, according to an online statement by the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority.

The vessels are the first civilian cargo ships to reach one of the Odessa ports since Russia exited the grain deal.

1132 GMT — Russia says it hit armoured vehicle repair plant in Ukraine's Kharkiv

Russia has carried out a missile strike on a plant in the northeast Ukrainian city of Kharkiv where armoured vehicles for Ukraine's military are repaired, the Russian defence ministry has said.

Regional governor Oleh Synehubov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said that Russia had hit the building of a "civilian enterprise" in Kharkiv with four S300 missiles.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, had a population of more than 1.4 million before Russia iattacked Ukraine in February 2022. Parts of the city lie less than 32 kilometres from the Russian border.

Its northern suburbs were scarred by fighting earlier in the conflict.

1100 GMT — Canada will contribute $24.5M (C$33M) to partnership to buy Ukranie equipment

Canada will contribute $24.5M (C$33M) to a British-led partnership that is buying air defence equipment for Ukraine to help it fend off Russian missile and drone attacks, Defence Minister Bill Blair has said.

In a statement, Blair said the contribution was part of the $369.37M (C$500M) worth of military aid for Kiev that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in June.

Canada, home to one of the world's largest Ukrainian diasporas, is a vocal supporter of Kiev. Since Russia attacked in February 2022, Ottawa has committed over $5.91B (C$8B) in aid, including around $1.33B (C$1.8B) in military assistance.

1022 GMT - World Court to hear Russian objections to Ukraine genocide case

Russia and Ukraine will square off before the International Court of Justice in a case that centres around claims by Moscow that its offensive in Ukraine was done to prevent genocide.

Ukraine brought the case to the United Nation's highest court just days after the Russian incursion on Feb. 24 last year. Kiev argues Russia is abusing international law by saying the offensive was justified to prevent an alleged genocide in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow says Ukraine is using the case as a roundabout way to get a ruling on the overall legality of its military action. Ukraine has already cleared one hurdle as the court decided in its favour in a preliminary decision in the case in March last year. Based on that, the court ordered Russia to cease military actions in Ukraine immediately.

While Russia has so far ignored the ICJ's orders to stop its military actions and the court has no way of enforcing its decisions, experts say an eventual ruling in favour of Ukraine could be important for any future reparations claims.

0553 GMT — Russia launched a combined drone and missile attack on Ukraine - Ukraine

Russia has launched a combined drone and missile attack on Ukraine, targeting chiefly the southern parts of the Odessa region and hitting an agriculture facility there, Ukraine's Air Forces said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia launched six Iranian-made Shaheed drones and 10 cruise missiles, with Ukraine's forces destroying six drones and six missiles before they hit their target, the Air Force said.

"Fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, mobile fire groups and other means of attack were involved in repelling the air attack," the Air Force said.

0408 GMT — Ukraine damages Russian oil depot in drone strike says governor

A Ukrainian drone has damaged an oil depot in southwestern Russia, sparking a fire at a fuel tank that was later extinguished, the regional governor said.

"There are no casualties, all emergency services are working on the territory of the facility," the governor of the Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters could not independently verify the report, which did not specify whether the depot was hit by debris or targeted by the drone.

0126 GMT — Russia reports casualties in Donetsk attack

Five civilians have been killed and one wounded as a result of intense Ukrainian shelling of the Donetsk region, said a Russian-backed official in the eastern region of Ukraine.

The five were killed in the Kirov and Kuibyshevskyi districts and a woman was injured in Svetlodarsk, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of the region, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

There was no immediate comment from Kiev.

2342 GMT — Russia claims downing Ukrainian drones over Crimea, Moscow

Russia has shot down a Ukrainian drone over the outskirts of Moscow, according to the Ministry of Defence.

At around 1:45 am, one drone was intercepted over Moscow's Istrinsky district, the Defence Ministry said in a Telegram post.

"According to preliminary data, there was no damage or casualties at the site where the debris fell," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote in a separate Telegram post.

"Emergency services specialists are working at the scene."

Two Ukrainian drones were also destroyed at 1:15 am over the west coast of Crimea, with another four drones detected and destroyed over the peninsula between 1:45 to 2:20 am, according to the ministry.

For our live updates from Saturday (September 16), click here.