‘Isolation Will Not Keep Anyone Safe’ – Ukraine at War Update for Sept. 20

The US is delaying approval of Ukraine’s ability to use donated long-range missiles to strike targets deep into Russia, the AP reported his week, pushing any such announcement until just after the arrival of President Volodymyr Zelensky at the 79th UN General Assembly next week. Biden and Zelensky are scheduled to meet shortly following that at the White House.

Washington said it is seeking more detailed information about how exactly Ukraine would use the weapons as part of a broader strategy to end the war. US President Joe Biden’s administration has asked Kyiv for clarification before next week’s meeting of the two leaders.

Biden’s team has expressed concern that the use of such missiles would have a limited reward weighed against the risk of escalating war footing between Moscow and the West. The Pentagon also has countered with the argument that, while US long-range missiles are limited in number, Kyiv has demonstrated great success in using long-range drones to hit targets well within Russian territory.

An exclamation point on that position came Wednesday, as Ukrainian kamikaze UAVs staged one of the most destructive attacks in the 2.5-year history of this war, leveling the Toropets Northeast Ammunition Depot, in Russia’s Tver region, causing a huge blaze at the facility which lies about 300 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Zelensky’s team has argued that long-range missiles are critical to strike airfields and military bases further from the border. Specifically, Kyiv is asking for restrictions to be lifted on American-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

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The Kyiv City Military Administration confirmed that air defenses activated across the capital, with sounds of explosions reported in multiple areas.

This issue was on the agenda for the meeting late last week between Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as Britain and other NATO allies have voiced their support for a carte-blanch approach instead.

Indeed, a “senior US official” told the AP on condition of anonymity that the subject came up during meetings of NATO defense chiefs in Europe last weekend, including the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and that “most advocated in favor of the change.”

The AP also noted that Biden’s approval could be needed because many Storm Shadow components are made in America.

Starmer said these talks would continue when global leaders convene for next week's UN General Assembly gathering. Biden’s meeting with Zelensky is expected to happen late next week after the US president returns from the UN.

Meanwhile, in his departing speech on Thursday in Brussels as NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg cautioned the United States and Europe against “isolationism,” AFP reported.

“We have heard voices on both sides of the Atlantic calling for America and Europe to part ways,” he said. “Focusing on short-sighted national interests over long-term cooperation will not serve us well. Isolationism will not keep anyone safe.”

Ukraine joins NATO’s anti-drone exercises for the first time

NATO announced on Thursday that, for the first time, Ukrainian soldiers have participated in the Alliance’s drone countermeasure exercises, held this year in the Netherlands.

“More than 60 counter-drone systems and technologies, such as sensors, drone-to-drone targeting systems, jammers, and cyber interceptors, were tested in real-world conditions,” a statement from NATO read.

More than 450 representatives from 19 allied countries and three partner countries participated in the annual training on “technical interoperability of unmanned aerial vehicle countermeasures” (C-UAS TIE).

“For the first time, Ukraine participated alongside representatives of the private sector and the scientific community,” the press release stated.

Ukraine’s participation marks one more step toward membership in the bloc, per the NATO-Ukraine Roadmap for Innovative Cooperation, approved at NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington, DC this summer.

Armenia says the Moscow-led CSTO alliance “creates threats” for the Caucasus nation

At an event Wednesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Moscow’s answer to NATO to which Armenia belongs, “doesn’t ensure its security obligations towards Armenia,” according to its state media outlet, Armenpress.

The CSTO, Pashinyan said, “creates threats for Armenia’s security and Armenia’s future existence, sovereignty, and statehood.”

The CTSO currently comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. At its inception in 1992, the founding members were Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, but the following year, Belarus, Azerbaijan, and Georgia also signed on. Later, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan left the alliance, reducing its membership to just six former Soviet socialist republics.

Yerevan has made overtures toward leaving the Organization ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In February 2023, Pashinyan insisted that “We are not Russia’s ally” in the war, and in July, the Prime Minister confirmed that Armenia planned to withdraw from the treaty.

So, Armenia has officially frozen its membership in the Organization as it reportedly seeks out other security partners.

On July 31, Russian border guards completed their withdrawal from the capital’s Zvartnots International Airport, where they had been stationed since Armenia gained independence in 1991.