TOP HEADLINES

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to go face to face with Russian officials for the first time since the start of the conflict, as the UN Security Council meets for a potentially dramatic session. Zelenskyy urged the world to stand firm against Russia's "genocide," as he tried to convince skeptical developing nations they share a stake in Kyiv's victory. READ MORE BELOW

• Ukraine's first lady urged world leaders to help return Ukrainian children in Russia, where she said they are being indoctrinated and deprived of their national identity. Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Olena Zelenska said that more than 19,000 Ukrainian children have been transferred by force or deported to Russia or occupied territories. So far, only 386 have been brought back.

• Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto spoke to CGTN on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and urged the body to "play an important role in bringing the war to its end now." He also highlighted that instead of using this General Assembly as a platform for dialogue, "they [NATO and the EU] tried to encourage us not to meet representatives of Russia, Belarus," which he says will hinder peace. 

• Ukraine's armed forces said they had destroyed 17 out of 24 Russian drones launched overnight, while an oil refinery was hit, according to a regional governor. 

• Russia said it had destroyed four Ukrainian drones overnight in two western regions. The drones were destroyed over the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine and over the Oryol region, further towards Moscow, the defense ministry said in three updates during the night. Russia also downed several drones near the city of Sevastopol in Crimea, state news agency RIA reported.

• Kyiv authorities rejected a New York Times report that a deadly strike in Kostiantynivka was the result of an "errant" Ukrainian air defense missile. A strike by "Russian terrorists" on a market in the town of Kostiantynivka in the eastern region of Donetsk on September 6 killed 16 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the time.

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed at the United Nations to increase his diplomatic efforts to seek an end to the conflict in Ukraine. "We have been endeavoring to keep both our Russian and Ukrainian friends around the table with a thesis that war will have no winners and peace will have no losers," Erdogan said in a speech to the General Assembly.

• U.S. President Joe Biden appealed to the United Nations to stop Russia's "naked aggression" in Ukraine, warning other states would be at risk if the world appeases Moscow. 

• The European Union's executive arm proposed extending the right of refugees from Ukraine to stay in the bloc by a year to March 2025. The EU triggered its temporary protection directive days after Russia's February 2022 offensive in Ukraine to allow the millions of people fleeing to remain.

• Poland could slap import bans on more Ukrainian food products, the prime minister said, as he warned Kyiv against escalating a row over grain imports.

IN DETAIL

Zelenskyy's plea for solidarity at UN General Assembly

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was carrying out "genocide" by abducting children, in a plea for solidarity to the United Nations General Assembly. "Those children in Russia are taught to hate Ukraine and all ties with their families are broken. And this is clearly a genocide," Zelenskyy said.

In a speech wearing his trademark military fatigues, Zelenskyy also renewed his call for a summit of like-minded nations. "We are preparing a Global Peace Summit. I invite all of you - all of you who do not tolerate any aggression - to jointly prepare the summit," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy also said that Russia - a permanent member of the Security Council - could not be trusted with nuclear weapons.

"Terrorists have no right to hold (a) nuclear weapon," he said. He accused Russia of using both energy and food as a way to pressure the world.

"The aggressor is weaponizing many other things, and those things are used not only against our country but against all of yours as well."

EU proposes to extend right for Ukrainian refugees to stay 

The European Union's executive arm proposed extending the right of refugees from Ukraine to stay in the bloc by a year to March 2025. The EU triggered its temporary protection directive days after Russia's February 2022 offensive in Ukraine to allow the millions of people fleeing to remain.

"This will provide certainty and support for more than four million persons enjoying protection across the EU," the European Commission said in a statement. The initial measure was set to run until March 2024. 

The commission said it should "be prolonged as a necessary and appropriate response to the current, volatile situation, which is not yet conducive to the safe and durable return" of refugees. 

The measure gives Ukrainians in the EU access to the job market, medical care and education. The proposal will now need to be approved by all 27 EU countries, there is not expected to be any major opposition. 

The sudden displacement of millions of Ukrainians last year represented the fastest-growing refugee crisis faced by Europe since World War II. 

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