Prisoner exchange and suggestion to create contact group to end the war: highlights for September 14

Ukraine exchanges prisoners with Russia

Ukraine and Russia have exchanged prisoners of war for the second time in two days. Ukraine managed to return 103 defenders, including soldiers of the Azov Brigade.

In total, 82 privates and sergeants, as well as 21 officers from the Armed Forces, the National Guard of Ukraine, the Border Guard Service and the police were released. The soldiers were defending Kyiv, Donetsk, Mariupol and Azovstal, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions.

Scholz wants to create a contact group to end the war

Rolf Mützenich, leader of the faction of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, to which Chancellor Olaf Scholz belongs, has proposed to create a contact group to resolve the Russo-Ukrainian war.

In his opinion, such a contact group could include China, India, Turkey, and Brazil.

Earlier, Scholz himself said that the time has come to discuss peace in Ukraine.

US, UK and Germany do not authorize strikes deep into Russia

US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed their “unwavering support” for Ukraine. However, they did not publicly announce that they would authorize Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with long-range weapons.

At the same time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Berlin would not allow Ukraine to use German weapons to strike deep into Russia, even if its partners agreed to it.

ISW: Ukrainian Armed Forces seem to have broken through the defense in a new section of Kursk region

The Ukrainian military has apparently launched an offensive against Russia's Kursk region in a new area. Foreign media report that these offensives have been more successful than initially anticipated, according to a report by the US Institute for the Study of War.

Biden asks Congress to extend $6 billion for Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden has asked Congress to extend the term of the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), a funding mechanism under which Ukraine can receive about $6 billion. These funds are set to expire in September.

Driver shoots at police car with assault rifle in Khmelnytsky region

On the night of September 14, law enforcement officers in the Khmelnytskyi region detained a man who shot at two police cars and injured a police officer and a civilian. The police officer is in serious condition.

Draft state budget for 2025 submitted to the Rada

A draft law on the state budget for 2025 has been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. According to it, the minimum wage next year will remain at 8 thousand hryvnias.

Police: None of car arsonists received promised money

None of the criminals who set fire to military vehicles in Kyiv have received all the money promised by Russian special services, said Dmytro Shumeiko, head of the Kyiv police.

In total, as of early September, the National Police has recorded more than 200 cases of arson attacks on military vehicles, about 50 of which were committed by minors.

Other important news of the day

• Occupiers are shelling bridges in Pokrovsk: two overpasses have already been destroyed.
• Russians stormed the positions of the Ukrainian Airborne Forces in the Kursk region. They were defeated with dozens of occupiers being killed.
• The EU is considering three options for extending sanctions on frozen Russian assets, Reuters reports.
• A shooting occurs in Chervonohrad after Nadia Dorofeeva's concert. The singer says her team was not involved.