EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday told a joint press briefing with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that he had proposed a new €5 billion bilateral envelope to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the meeting of all 27 EU foreign ministers in Kyiv that victory 'directly depends on our cooperation'. This live blog is no longer being updated. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
This live blog is no longer being updated. For more of our coverage on the war in Ukraine, please click here.
03:44am: US aid cuts would be 'devastating' for Ukraine soldiers, say experts
Ukraine's troops would soon run short of essential ammunition and equipment if Republican hardliners succeed in stopping US military aid, undermining operations on the ground and reducing their ability to defend against Russian strikes, experts say.
Top American officials have repeatedly insisted the United States would back Kyiv for "as long as it takes," and Washington has committed more than $43 billion in security aid since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 -- over half the total from all Western donors.
But Republican opposition led Congress to remove new funding for Ukraine from a recent compromise bill to avoid a US government shutdown, highlighting that continued American support is not guaranteed.
"It would be devastating for the Ukrainians" if US aid is halted, said Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
01:50am: Ukraine to build first underground school in Kharkiv, says official
Ukraine's eastern metropolis of Kharkiv will build the country's first fully underground school to shield pupils from Russia's frequent bomb and missile attacks, the city's mayor said.
"Such a shelter will enable thousands of Kharkiv children to continue their safe face-to-face education even during missile threats," Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
While many schools in the frontline regions have been forced to teach online throughout the war, Kharkiv has organised some 60 separate classrooms throughout its metro stations before the school year that started Sept. 1, creating space for more than 1,000 children to study there.
9:08pm: Kyiv official urges more cost effective weapons for countering Russian drones
A senior Ukrainian official called on Monday for a reassessment of Western anti-aircraft systems being supplied to Ukraine, saying simpler and cheaper weapons could be more cost-efficient in countering Russia's Iranian-made Shahed drones.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the issue was not just one of securing more anti-aircraft systems "but primarily solving a mathematical problem lying in the economics of war".
While Western systems, like NASAMS and Iris-T, were used to down missiles, he said, using them to intercept Shaheds may not be cost-effective, Podolyak wrote in English on the X platform, formerly Twitter.
"Thus, it leads to depletion of allied stockpiles and long-term weakening," Podolyak wrote. "The solution is obvious: in addition to mobile large-caliber machine guns, there are plenty of simpler and cheaper anti-aircraft systems available today that have proven themselves to be effective against Shaheds."
7:25pm: Kyiv slams Elon Musk for mocking EU aid to Ukraine
Ukraine on Monday reacted angrily to a social media post by billionaire Elon Musk that made fun of President Volodymyr Zelensky's repeated calls for Western military and financial aid to fight Russian forces.
Musk has provided Ukraine with Starlink satellite services that have been vital to the Ukrainian army, but some have criticised his statements on the war with Russia.
Musk owns the social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – where he posted a meme of Zelensky earlier Monday.
The caption read: "When it's been five minutes and you haven't asked for a billion dollars in aid."
"Any silence or irony towards Ukraine today is a direct encouragement of Russian propaganda that justifies mass violence and destruction," presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak answered on X.
7:00pm: White House says Putin 'wrong' if he thinks he can outlast West on Ukraine
The White House on Monday rejected claims by the Kremlin that Western fatigue on aid for Ukraine would grow after a deal to avoid a US government shutdown left out funds for Kyiv.
"If Putin thinks he can outlast us he's wrong," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, adding that there was a large Western coalition supporting Ukraine against Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion.
5:32pm: Russia allocating 'huge resources' to divide Kyiv's allies, Ukrainian FM says
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Monday that the Kremlin was funnelling resources towards creating divisions among Kyiv's allies and urged them to unite in the face of pressure from Russia.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin's greatest expectation is precisely that the West and the world will tire of standing on the side of Ukraine in this war. Russia is directing huge resources to this. But we should not play along with them," Kuleba said during a press conference with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
5:19pm: Zelensky discusses alternative grain export corridors with EU's von der Leyen
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday discussed possible alternative "corridors" for exporting grain from Ukraine, Zelensky's office said.
Russia in July quit a UN–backed deal which had enabled exports from Ukraine to sail from three approved Black Sea ports. Since then, Kyiv has launched what it calls a temporary humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea for exporting grain.
Zelensky's office said that he and von der Leyen had also agreed to maintain "constructive dialogue" on efforts to lift grain export restrictions imposed by some of Ukraine's neighbouring states.
4:25pm: Ukraine seeks acceleration of legal work to transfer Russian assets to Kyiv
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday legal work should be accelerated on the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Kyiv.
After a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Kyiv, Kuleba said more clarity on the judicial aspects of how to transfer Russian assets would benefit both the EU and Ukraine. These assets, he said, could help fund Ukraine's reconstruction efforts following Russia's invasion.
4:11pm: EU's Borrell proposes a new €5 billion bilateral envelope to Ukraine
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that he proposed to Ukraine a new bilateral multi-annual envelope of the European peace facility of up to €5 billion for the next year.
"I hope we can reach an agreement before the end of the year," he also said at a joint press briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
4:07pm: 'Surprise show of support' as 27 EU foreign ministers gather in Kyiv
All 27 EU foreign ministers gathered in Kyiv on Monday in a show of support for the embattled country. The unannounced meeting marks the first time for all of the top EU diplomats to meet outside of the bloc.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Russia’s invasion remains an existential threat to Europeans.
3:04pm: Zelensky tells EU ministers victory 'depends on our cooperation'
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday told a gathering of European Union foreign ministers in Kyiv that the length of the war in Ukraine would depend on support it receives from allies.
"Our victory directly depends on our cooperation: the more strong and principled steps we take together, the sooner this war will end," Zelensky was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office.
1:43pm: German military exports to Ukraine surge fourfold in 2023
German exports of military equipment to Ukraine grew more than fourfold so far this year, making Kyiv the main recipient of German arms, the economy ministry said on Monday.
Ukraine accounted for €3.3 billion out of Germany’s total value of authorised military exports of €8.76 billion in the first nine months of the year.
By contrast, for the same period last year, €775 million worth of equipment had been approved for Ukraine.
Germany has repeatedly promised to support Ukraine for as long as necessary following the Russian invasion in February 2022, which prompted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to speak of a turning point in Germany’s attitude towards defence.
1:27pm: German FM Baerbock urges ‘winter projection plan’ for Ukraine
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday called for the creation of a strategy to insulate Ukraine from the fallout of a campaign of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid this winter.
“Ukraine needs a winter protection plan of air defence, generators and a strengthening of the energy supply. We saw last winter the brutal way in which the Russian president wages this war, with targeted attacks on critical infrastructure such as power plants,” she told reporters in Kyiv.
12:31pm: Russia says fatigue over Ukraine war will grow
The Kremlin said on Monday it believed that fatigue with the Ukraine war would grow in the United States and Europe, but that Washington would continue to be directly involved in the conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was commenting on a US Congress decision to pass a stopgap funding bill that omitted aid for Kyiv.
Peskov said Russia forecast that war fatigue in the West would lead to what he called a fragmentation of opinion on the Ukraine conflict.
12:22pm: Ukraine grain exports have dropped 25.8% so far in 2023/24, ministry says
Ukrainian grain exports have fallen to 6.68 million metric tons so far in the 2023/24 July-June season from 8.99 million tons in the same period of 2022/23, agriculture ministry data showed on Monday.
Only 7,000 tons of grain were exported on the first day of October 2023 compared with 297,000 tons a year ago. The ministry gave no explanation for the fall.
Traders and agricultural unions have said that Ukrainian Black Sea ports being blocked and Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Danube River are the main reasons for lower exports.
Ukraine can export limited volumes through small river ports on the Danube and via its western land border with the European Union.
11:15am: Russia says US position on Ukraine not changing after funding bill
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday said a stopgap funding bill passed by the US Congress that omitted aid to Ukraine would change nothing, describing Washington’s decision as a “show for the public”, the RIA news agency reported.
Ryabkov also said that US-produced missiles previously covered by the now defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty could appear in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
Washington withdrew from the treaty in 2019. Russia has since said it will not deploy such weapons provided that Washington does not.
10:47am: Russia should not count on EU’s Ukraine ‘fatigue’, French FM says
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Monday a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv was a signal to Moscow of the bloc’s determination to support Ukraine over the long term.
“It is a demonstration of our resolute and lasting support for Ukraine, until it can win. It is also a message to Russia that it should not count on our weariness. We will be there for a long time to come,” she told reporters in Kyiv.
10:13am: Ukraine says US support for Kyiv is not weakening
Ukraine’s top diplomat said on Monday Washington’s support for Kyiv was not weakening, and played down the significance of a stopgap funding bill passed by US Congress that omitted aid to Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv was in talks with Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress, and that the drama around the stopgap bill that averted a government shutdown on Saturday was an “incident” rather than something systemic.
“We don’t feel that the US support has been shattered ... because the United States understands that what is at stake in Ukraine is much bigger than just Ukraine,” he said. “It’s about the stability and predictability of the world and therefore I believe we will be able to find necessary solutions.”
“We have a very in-depth discussion with both parts of the Congress – Republicans and Democrats. And against the background of the potential shutdown, the decision was taken as it was. But we are now working with both sides of the Congress to make sure that it does not (get) repeat(ed) again under any circumstances,” he said.
9:41am: Ukraine says respects ‘choice of Slovak people’ after populists win vote
Ukraine said Monday it respected the “choice of the Slovak people”, as populists opposed to military aid for Kyiv won a parliamentary election in the neighbouring EU member country.
“We respect the choice of the Slovak people,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. “But it is too early to say how the election result will affect Slovakia’s position,” he said, adding that Kyiv can “draw the first conclusions” only after a coalition has been formed in Slovakia.
9:06am: EU convenes 'historic meeting' of all foreign ministers in Kyiv, Borrell says
The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday announced that all of the bloc's foreign ministers were for the first time meeting beyond its borders, in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
“We are convening a historic meeting of EU Foreign Ministers here in Ukraine, candidate country and future member of the EU. We are here to express our solidarity and support to the Ukrainian people,” Borrell said in a statement on social media.
00:22am: Biden presses Republicans on Ukraine, says 'brinkmanship has to end'
US President Joe Biden on Sunday pressed congressional Republicans to back a bill to provide more aid to Ukraine, saying he was "sick and tired" of the political brinkmanship that nearly led to a government shutdown.
Biden spoke after Congress passed a stopgap bill on Saturday that extended government funding for more than a month and avoided a shutdown that would have left most of the federal government's more than 4 million employees without a paycheck and cut a wide range of services.
The bill, which passed with broad Democratic and Republican support, sparked hardline Republican Matt Gaetz to pledge to oust the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.
The bill, which lasts through Nov. 17, did not include aid for Kyiv. The United States has been a major supporter of Ukraine after Russia invaded it last year, and Biden has sought to rally the world, as well as his own country, to maintain that support.
Key developments from Sunday, October 1:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Ukraine's troops on the country's Territorial Defence Forces Day for their "courage and strength".
Meanwhile, Ukraine's air defence systems shot down 16 out of around 30 drones that Russia launched on Ukraine's Cherkasy region overnight, Ukrainian Air Forces said on Sunday.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday suggested that British soldiers training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine would be legitimate targets for Russian forces, as would German factories producing Taurus missiles should they supply Kyiv.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday that Ukraine needed more military aid and he promised ongoing EU support.
Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, and Reuters)
