European Union High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borelj met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in Kiev on October 1, saying afterwards that Ukraine needs more military aid and promising continued support from Brussels.
"Ukraine needs additional funds and quickly," said Borelj on the Ix network. He pointed out that he discussed "continuous EU military assistance" during his first meeting with Minister Umerov.
"We are preparing long-term security obligations for Ukraine," Borelj said.
The aggression against Ukraine "is accompanied by massive hybrid attacks, with propaganda, malicious information manipulation and cyber attacks," he added, saying the EU continues to support Ukraine in defending against Russian President Vladimir Putin's disinformation.
Umerov, who took over as defense minister in September, said on the X network that he was grateful for the EU's "continuous support" and that the meeting was "a starting point for excellent cooperation."
He said they also discussed artillery, ammunition, air defense, electronic warfare and long-term assistance programs, training and localization of the defense industry in Ukraine.
Umerov also thanked US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, saying he had a telephone conversation with him on October 1 in which they discussed further US military assistance.
"Secretary Austin has assured me that US support for Ukraine will continue and that Ukrainian fighters will continue to have strong support on the battlefield," Umerov said.
The call came a day after US President Joe Biden signed a draft of the Temporary Funding Act before midnight on Saturday, September 30, thereby avoiding a financial shutdown of the federal administration. This legal solution does not cover aid to Ukraine.
There is broad bipartisan support for continued funding for Ukraine, but a growing number of House Republicans oppose such efforts, and the issue of the White House's new request for $24 billion is a key point of Republican opposition in government funding negotiations.
Since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, the US Congress has approved approximately $113 billion in arms, equipment, humanitarian aid and economic aid to Ukraine.
In a statement accompanying his signing of the bill, Biden said he "expects" House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to "maintain his commitment to the people of Ukraine and ensure the passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical time."
In an interview with the American television company CBS, McCarthy said that he will "make sure that the weapons are delivered to Ukraine", but this will only be in accordance with the legislation that deals with the southern border of the United States.
Senate Democratic and Republican leaders have also signaled that the issue of a new aid package for Ukraine will be revisited in the coming weeks.
"We support Ukraine's efforts to defend its sovereignty against Putin's aggression and join the strong bipartisan majority of our colleagues in this important work," they said in a statement.
(Radio Free Europe)
Russia says its air defenses shot down six Ukrainian drones over its western and southern regions, the latest in a series of drone and missile attacks on Russia.
The Defense Ministry said one drone was shot down in the southern Krasnodar region around dawn on October 1, and five more were shot down over the western Smolensk region in the following hours.
There are no reports of casualties and it is unclear if there is any damage.
Ukraine, which has rarely claimed official responsibility for drone or missile attacks on Russian targets, has not commented on the allegations.
Meanwhile, Russia launched more than 30 drones across Ukraine overnight, while the Ukrainian military says more than half of them were shot down by air defenses.
At least five people were injured in the attacks, mostly in Kherson, a southern region that Ukrainian troops partially retook from Russia in 2022.
One person was also injured in the Cherkasy region, regional governor Ihor Taburec said.
"During the night, the enemy attacked our Cherkasy region with attack drones. Unfortunately, there was an attack on the industrial infrastructure in Uman," Taburec said in a post on Telegram.
"As a result, fires broke out in warehouses, especially where grain was stored," he pointed out.
The city of Kriviy Rih was also the target of the attack. According to local authorities, electric and gas lines were damaged.
(RSE)
The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian air defense intercepted five US-made HIMARS shells, an aerial JDAM bomb and 37 Ukrainian drones over Ukrainian territory in the last 24 hours.
The ministry said the intercepts took place in territory where Russia is fighting what it calls a "special military operation".
Earlier, the ministry said that air defense shot down six Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and two Ukrainian missiles over Crimea.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested today that British soldiers training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine could be legitimate targets for Russian forces, as well as German factories that make Taurus missiles if they supply Kiev.
Medvedev, who is the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said that such steps by the West "bring World War III closer."
In a Telegram post, Medvedev first directed his anger at recently appointed British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, who said in a newspaper interview that London wanted to deploy military instructors to Ukraine, in addition to training Ukrainian armed forces in Britain or other Western countries as now .
"(This will) turn their instructors into a legal target for our armed forces," Medvedev wrote on Telegram, Reuters reports.
"Fully understanding that they will be mercilessly destroyed. And not as mercenaries, but as British NATO specialists".
Medvedev then turned his attention to Germany, vilifying those who want Berlin to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles that could hit Russian territory and try to limit Moscow's supply of its military.
"They say that it is in accordance with international law. Well, in that case, the strikes on the German factories where these missiles are produced would be fully in accordance with international law," said Medvedev.
"These morons are actively pushing us towards the Third World War," Medvedev added.
Russia said its air defenses shot down Ukrainian drones over the western Smolensk region and southern Krasnodar region.
"The anti-aircraft defense shot down a drone in the Krasnodar region around five o'clock, and at six o'clock it shot down three drones over the Smolensk region," said the Russian Ministry of Defense, reports Reuters.
Ukrainian air defense systems shot down 16 out of about 30 drones launched by Russia on the territory of Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force announced.
The messaging app Telegram said the drones were launched from the south, southeast and north, Reuters reports.
The authorities announced that the central Ukrainian region of Cherkassy was attacked.
"At night, the enemy massively attacked our Cherkasy region with the help of drones. Unfortunately, there was an attack on the industrial infrastructure in (the city of) Uman," said Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburec.
"As a result, fires broke out in warehouses. Especially in places where grain was stored," he said, adding that one person was injured.
Reuters could not independently verify the allegations.
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