Russia on September 24 launched a fresh series of strikes on Ukraine's second-largest city as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is due to deliver a landmark address at the United Nations, called on Washington to take "decisive" action to bring the end of the war closer.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on September 24 that the Russian strikes on the northeastern city left at least three people injured.
"The enemy is striking one of the most populated areas of the city with antiaircraft guns," Terekhov wrote on Telegram.
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Aftermath Of Russian Strike On Kharkiv Apartment Block
Earlier, regional officials said one man was killed and six were wounded, including two children, by "massive" Russian air strikes on the southern city of Zaporizhzhya late on September 23.
Zelenskiy, who is in the United States for the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), met with a bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers, voicing Kyiv's gratitude for what he called Washington's unwavering support for Kyiv and highlighting the critical U.S. role in defending Ukraine's freedom.
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The United States, Ukraine's main supporter, and Western allies have given Kyiv billions of dollars in military aid and other assistance while also slapping several rounds of sanctions on Russia.
During his meeting with Senators Ben Cardin (Democrat-Maryland), chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Dan Sullivan (Republican-Alaska); Christopher Murphy (Democrat-Connecticut); and Representative Gregory Meeks (Democrat-New York), Zelenskiy said he informed the U.S. lawmakers about the current situation of the conflict and Russia's moves.
"Decisive action now could hasten the just end of Russian aggression against Ukraine next year. Our Victory Plan will help bring Russia to peace in practice," Zelenskiy said on Telegram after the meeting.
"Now, at the end of the year, we have a real opportunity to strengthen cooperation between Ukraine and the United States," he said.
Zelenskiy, who is due to speak at the UNGA on September 25 and then hold talks with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol on September 26, also held bilateral meetings on the sidelines with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
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What Do Ukrainians Expect From Zelenskiy's 'Victory Plan'?
In an interview with ABC News due to be released in full on September 24, Zelenskiy said that only a "strong position" would allow Ukraine to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin "to stop the war."
"I think that we are closer to the peace than we think," Zelenskiy was quoted as saying in excerpts from the interview. "We are closer to the end of the war."
Although Russia occupies some 20 percent of Ukraine's territory and has been advancing toward the strategically important hub of Pokrovsk in the eastern region of Donetsk, Kyiv has taken Moscow by surprise, launching an incursion into Russia's western Kursk region last month and seizing dozens of villages on Russian soil.
The Kursk incursion, Zelenskiy told ABC, exposed Putin's precarious position.
"He's afraid very much," Zelenskiy said. "Why? Because his people saw that he can't defend -- that he can't defend all his territory."
Russia, however, has kept pounding Ukraine with dozens of drones and missiles.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 66 of the 81 drones launched by Russia at eight regions on September 24, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Telegram, adding that Moscow also fired four missiles during the early morning attack.
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Deadly Strike In Ukraine Ahead Of Zelenskiy's UN Speech
The Russian strikes targeted the Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Vinnytsya, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Sumy, and Mykolayiv regions, the air force said. Separately, regional authorities in the eastern region of Poltava said the Russian attack damaged energy infrastructure.
Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its air defenses destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk regions.