World 'can't allow Ukraine to be carved up,' Biden tells UN: Live updates

Moscow believes the world will grow weary of the war in Ukraine and allow Russian forces to "brutalize Ukraine without consequence," President Joe Biden said Tuesday in an address to the U.N. General Assembly aimed a rallying support for Kyiv.

"If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?" Biden asked. "I'd respectfully suggest the answer is no."

Biden said the U.S. and Ukraine's allies around the world must support the "brave people of Ukraine as they continue to defend their sovereignty and their territorial integrity and their freedom."

Biden spoke hours before Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was scheduled to address the General Assembly Earlier, Zelenskyy said he doesn't believe Russia should remain a member of the global body given its audacious and bloody invasion of his country.

Zelenskyy arrived in the U.S. on Monday and spent time visiting wounded Ukrainian troops at a New York hospital. He plans discussions with Biden and some members of Congress as he lobbies in support of Biden's aid package proposals for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy to meet Biden:Ukraine leader will address Congress and UN: Updates

Developments:

∎ A Russian guided aerial bomb slammed into the Kharkiv region city of Kupiansk, killing three civilians, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.

∎ Denmark will send 45 tanks purchased in cooperation with other countries to Ukraine, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Tuesday

Ukraine denies NYT claim that deadly strike on city was friendly fire

Ukraine officials on Tuesday vehemently denied a New York Times report saying the Sept. 6 missile strike on Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine that killed at least 15 civilians apparently was an errant Ukraine missile. The Ukraine Security Service said its investigation determined that a Russian S-300 missile was to blame. The agency cited rocket fragments seized at the scene.

Zelenskyy blamed Russian “terrorists” for the attack, which drew international outrage. But the New York Times says security camera footage indicates the "tragic mishap" was the result of a missile fired from Ukraine-held territory. Missile fragments, satellite imagery and witness accounts "strongly suggest" the missile was an errant Ukrainian air defense rocket fired by an old-school, Russian-made Buk launch system, the Times said.

Ukraine to get US Abrams tanks 'soon'

The 31 high-tech, M1 Abrams tanks the United States committed to Ukraine will begin arriving in the embattled nation soon, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin said Tuesday. Austin, speaking at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany that drew representatives from more than 50 countries, said the U.S. and Ukraine’s other allies have committed more than $76 billion in aide for Ukraine’s defense. Kyiv's counteroffensive aimed at reclaiming territory seized by Russia "continues to make steady forward progress," Austin said.

"The more Russia prolongs its war, the more glaring its cruelty becomes," Austin said. "Russia’s assaults have increased far beyond the battlefield and inflicted untold human suffering."

Ukraine to get 45 top battle tanksfrom US, Germany. How they will aid in war with Russia