Alexander Ermochenko Reuters The head of the United Nations atomic agency said he would not abandon a plan to create a buffer zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant despite Russia’s plans to mobilize new troops and hold a referendum in the region. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of bombing the site of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant that has damaged buildings near its six reactors and threatened a nuclear disaster, including cutting power lines needed for cooling. of fuel to the reactors, even though they are all shut down. below. Ukrainian personnel are operating under the orders of Russian forces at the site. Western nations called on Moscow to withdraw its troops. “Even in the worst circumstances, diplomacy should never stop. We cannot throw up our hands and say look what is being said, go away and hope something happens to solve this situation,” Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. “It’s our responsibility to do that by putting realistic, realistic and natural proposals on the table.” — Reuters
Biden meets UK Prime Minister Liz Truss in first official bilateral meeting since taking office
Elizabeth Truss, Foreign Secretary of Great Britain, participates in a bilateral discussion with her Japanese counterpart during the summit of foreign ministers of the G7 group of leading democratic economic powers at Schlossgut Weissenhaus. The foreign minister of Ukraine is added to the G7 countries, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Japan. Marcus Brand | Picture Alliance | Getty Images President Joe Biden met with UK Prime Minister Liz Truss on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The two leaders were originally scheduled to meet last week in London at No. 10 Downing Street. Biden began the bilateral meeting by expressing his condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Truss thanked Biden and first lady Jill Biden for attending the late monarch’s state funeral. He also thanked Biden for his leadership as a “stalwart ally.” Truss said she enjoyed working with Foreign Secretary Anthony Blinken in her previous role as UK Foreign Secretary. Truss took over as prime minister earlier this month after Boris Johnson resigned. The president did not respond to reporters’ questions. — Amanda Macias
Biden meets UN chief after General Assembly address
US President Joe Biden and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, September 20, 2021. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images President Joe Biden met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after addressing the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York. Biden said he had no additional response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to mobilize about 300,000 additional troops to fight in Ukraine when asked by reporters at the summit. During Biden’s speech, he criticized Moscow’s all-out assault on Ukraine and pledged to continue supporting the war-torn nation with weapons and humanitarian aid. Biden and Guterres are expected to discuss other issues besides the war in Ukraine during their closed-door meeting. — Amanda Macias
Biden calls on UN member states to stand by Ukraine and oppose Russian aggression
US President Joe Biden addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, September 21, 2022. Brendan McDermid | Reuters President Joe Biden called on UN member states to stand by Ukraine and oppose Russian aggression, warning that the Kremlin’s invasion of its smallest neighbor threatened the independence and sovereignty of nations around the world. “This war is about eliminating Ukraine’s right to exist as a state plain and simple, and Ukraine’s right to exist as a people,” Biden told the UN General Assembly. “Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever you believe — this should make your blood run cold.” Biden condemned the Russian invasion as a clear violation of the UN Charter. The US president said the nations of the world have an obligation to put aside their political differences and defend the world body’s founding principles by standing in solidarity with Ukraine. “If nations can pursue their imperial ambitions without consequence, then we jeopardize everything this very institution stands for,” Biden said. The president called on the UN to be “clear, firm and unwavering in our resolve.” “Ukraine has the same rights that belong to any sovereign nation. We will stand in solidarity with Ukraine, we will stand in solidarity against Russia’s aggression – period,” Biden said. — Spencer Kimball
Zelensky prepares for dramatic comments at UN as Russia mobilizes more troops for war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the Kharkiv region for the first time since Russia launched attacks against his country on February 24, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine on May 29, 2022. Ukrainian Presidency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver dramatic remarks to world leaders on Wednesday, just hours after Russia moved to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops for its months-long offensive against its former Soviet neighbor. Zelensky, who has not abandoned his war-weary nation since Russia’s full-throttle offensive in late February, will speak after a stunning Ukrainian counter-offensive that has reclaimed vast swaths of land lost early in the war. While nearly every leader who has stepped behind the famous UN president’s podium has condemned Russia for its continued aggression, Zelensky is expected to urge leaders to publicly define their position on the war. It will call on countries such as China, the world’s second largest economy, to abandon its neutrality. — Amanda Macias
Biden is expected to criticize Russia’s war in Ukraine at the UN address
President Joe Biden speaks during the First Democratic Dinner in Dover, Delaware. Saul Loeb AFP | Getty Images President Joe Biden is expected to criticize Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and rally allies to support Kyiv in its era-defining struggle for dominance. Biden’s address to the 77th United Nations General Assembly comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its 200th day, governments continue to grapple with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and as uncertainties about climate change grow. After his speech before the international forum, Biden will meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and then separately with UK Prime Minister Liz Truss. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Biden’s ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters last week that a US delegation would meet with a Ukrainian delegation on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. He said no such meeting was planned with the Russian delegation. — Amanda Macias
Pope says Ukrainians are subjected to ‘brutality, monstrosity and torture’
Pope Francis delivers his homily in St. Peter’s Square during his weekly general audience on June 15, 2022 at the Vatican, in Vatican City. Franco Origlia | Getty Images The Pope in a weekly address prayed for the tortured corpses left after Russia’s war in Ukraine. “I would like to mention the terrible situation in the tortured Ukraine. Cardinal Krajewski went there for the fourth time. He called me yesterday, he is spending time there, he is helping the Odesa region and bringing closeness,” Pope Francis said, according to a translation by NBC News . “He told me about the pain of these people, the ferocity, the monstrosities, the tortured corpses they find. Let us unite ourselves with these people who are so noble and martyred,” the Pope added. — Amanda Macias
Partial mobilization ‘great tragedy’ for Russian people, says Ukrainian official
A senior Ukrainian official described Russia’s announcement of a partial mobilization of its army as a “great tragedy” for the Russian people. The move, announced by President Putin on Wednesday morning, will see around 300,000 military reservists called up and sent to Ukraine. Serhiy Nykyforov, a spokesman for the Office of the President of Ukraine, told NBC’s Erin McLaughlin that “300,000 people who were conscripts just yesterday will be sent to the places where they are repeat offenders, mercenaries and despise Kadyrov. [Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic] fighters failed. It is clear what will happen to those children there, who, as we saw in the first days of the invasion, the army cannot train and provide properly,” he said. “This is a recognition of the incompetence of the Russian professional army, which has failed in all its tasks. As we can see, the Russian authorities intend to compensate for this with violence and repression against their own people. The sooner it stops, the fewer Russian sons they will go to die at the front,” he added. — Holly Elliott
Qatar Airways will continue to fly to Russia, CEO says
Qatar Airways CEO HE Akbar Al Baker said on Wednesday that airlines will continue to fly to Russia as long as it is operationally safe. “We will continue to fly to Russia, we will continue to serve the people,” he told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Wednesday. “We are not a political institution. We are an industry that serves ordinary people.” The CEO said China’s policies on Covid are “the least of his worries”, especially in contrast to the possibility of an escalation of the Ukraine-Russia war, which he said could fuel…
