Volodymyr Zelensky will be received on Thursday September 21 at the White House for new discussions with President Joe Biden on support for Kiev against the Russian invasion, a senior American official confirmed Friday September 15. The meeting with the Ukrainian president, the second at the White House since the start of the war, would take place at a “critical moment”, as Ukraine seeks to make progress in its counter-offensive against Russian forces. Follow our live stream.
EU ends import restrictions on Ukrainian grain. The European Commission announced on Friday September 15 that it would end the ban imposed by five EU states (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania) on the import of Ukrainian cereals to protect their farmers from the collapse of local prices, in exchange for a commitment from Kiev to take measures to control the influx of grains into the riparian countries. In the evening, Hungary and Poland, however, decided to extend these restrictions, defying the decision of the European Commission.
Monuments of kyiv and the historic center of Lviv on the list of world heritage “in danger”. Saint Sophia Cathedral and monastic buildings in kyiv have been inscribed to the heritage of humanity “in danger”, just like the historic center of Lviv, UNESCO announced on Friday. The World Heritage Committee organized in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) made this decision due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UN agency said. The historic center of Odessa had already been included on this list in January.
The Ukrainian army claims to have recaptured villages near Bakhmut. The Ukrainian army declared that it had recaptured the village of Andriïvka, south of the devastated town of Bakhmut on the eastern front, the day after an announcement to this effect from the Deputy Minister of Defense which was followed by a quick denial. Ukrainian forces also “inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment”declared the Ukrainian General Staff in its daily report posted on Facebook.
No Russian boycott of the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Russia will not boycott the 2024 Olympics in Paris, assured the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdniakov, assuring that each Russian athlete was free to choose whether they wished to participate under a neutral banner or not.
“No agreements” were signed during Kim Jong-un’s visit. “No agreement” was signed during North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia, which began on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “He was not planned to sign any”, he said. During their meeting on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un offered each other a rifle.