Zelenskyj on the general UN debate in New York – the nightly update without photos Under prominent observation: the trial of Lukashenko’s accomplices in St. Gall

Zelensky in New York

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has arrived in the US to participate in the general UN debate. Zelenskyj wrote on platform X, formerly Twitter, on Monday that he had arrived in Washington with his wife for the UN week and a visit. The 45-year-old will take part in the world’s largest diplomatic meeting in New York. There is eager anticipation as to whether Zelenskyj will be able to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the general UN debate starting on Tuesday or at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday.

For Zelenskyi, it is the first personal participation in the UN General Assembly since the start of Russia’s war of aggression in February 2022. Last year he addressed the United Nations in a video address. After the visit to New York, Zelenskyj wants to travel to the American capital Washington, where meetings with President Joe Biden and members of Congress are planned on Thursday.

Ukraine is suing three EU countries at the World Trade Organization

Ukraine has filed a lawsuit at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against three EU countries over their ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products. “It is fundamental for us to prove that individual member states cannot impose an import ban on Ukrainian goods,” the deputy head of government in charge of the economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, said in a statement on Monday. However, Ukraine hopes that Poland, Slovakia and Hungary will lift their import bans and that legal proceedings will not drag on for long.

At the same time, pressure from the European Commission and other EU member states on Ukraine’s borders must be increased to make the import of agricultural products possible again. German Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir has already criticized the grain blockade by the governments in Warsaw, Budapest and Bratislava as ‘part-time solidarity’. As a result of the Russian war of aggression, Ukrainian seaports through which grain was exported before the war have also been blocked.

Pistorius announces further arms aid to Ukraine

Ahead of an international meeting in support of Ukraine, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced further German arms aid to Kiev. “In total, the package will be worth 400 million euros,” the SPD politician told the “Bild” newspaper. “We supply additional ammunition: explosive ammunition, mortar ammunition, mine rockets. Because ammunition is what Ukraine needs most in its defense against the brutal war of aggression,” he said. “We will also assist with protected vehicles and mine clearance systems. But we also keep an eye on the approaching winter: we send clothing, but also electricity and heat generators.”

Ukrainian army chief: Three Russian elite brigades wiped out

The Ukrainian army says it has wiped out some of the best Russian brigades in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. “During the fighting in the Bakhmut sector, some of the enemy’s best units were destroyed and completely lost their combat effectiveness,” Ukrainian Land Forces commander Olexander Syrsky said, according to a statement distributed on Monday. These are the 72nd Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 31st and 83rd Airborne Brigades. The Ukrainian information could not be independently verified.

According to Syrskyj, the Ukrainian units continued their advance. At the same time, the Colonel General emphasized that the overall situation in the eastern sector of the front remained difficult. With counterattacks the Russians tried to regain lost positions at Andriyivka and Klischchiivka. Nevertheless, according to Syrskyj, the Ukrainians broke through the Russian defense line at that moment.

What will be important on Tuesday

The general debate in the UN General Assembly begins in New York. According to the provisional list of speakers, more than 140 heads of state and government have registered for the world’s largest diplomatic meeting from September 19 to 26 this year. Zelensky will speak at the United Nations headquarters for the first time since the start of the war against his country.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian contact group is meeting again at the US base in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, to discuss further aid to the attacked country. (sda/dpa)