October 2, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has moved here.

European Union Foreign Affairs Chief Josep Borrell speaks at a joint news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv on Monday.

The European Union’s support for Ukraine doesn’t depend on one-day battlefield advances, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief said Monday.

He emphasized that EU support for Ukraine “does not depend on how the war is going on in the next days or weeks,” adding that “the Ukrainian soldiers are fighting with a lot of courage in front of impressive Russian defense fortifications.” 

According to Borrell, the satellite images show that in some cases, Russian fortifications are “25 km (15.5 miles) deep,” Ukrinform reported. 

The EU’s top diplomat also said that if the partners want Ukraine to be more successful, they must provide it “with better arms, and quicker,” Ukrinform added. 

Borrell arrived in Ukraine on Saturday, and since then he has visited the city of Odesa, honored the fallen soldiers in Kyiv and held his first personal meeting with Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Ukrinform said. 

Ukraine has received the first batch of refurbished Leopard tanks from Poland, a Polish industrial partner announced Monday.

“While others are making declarations concerning the future, we are consulting with the Ukrainian side in our actions. The first Leopard tanks expressly refurbished at Bumar-Labędy have been received by the Ukrainian side,” the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.

PGZ is “the main industrial partner” of the Polish Armed Forces, conducted by the Ministry of National Defense, according to the group’s website. 

The group also confirmed that they are working on repairing another batch of tanks for Ukraine. 

In April 2023, Germany, Poland and Ukraine signed an agreement to set up a hub in Poland to repair Leopard 2 battle tanks used in Ukraine to fight against Russian forces. 

The hub was supposed to start its operations at the end of May, according to Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

US President Joe Biden said he “fully expects” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a majority of Republicans to approve new funding for Ukraine but declined to say whether he’d received any specific assurances on the matter ahead of this week’s passage of a stopgap government funding measure.

“We cannot under any circumstances allow America’s support for Ukraine to be interrupted. Too many lives are at stake, too many children, too many people,” Biden said Monday afternoon during a meeting of his Cabinet.

Yet when pressed by CNN about the precise nature of that commitment, Biden remained silent.

He wouldn’t answer whether he’d received any new assurances from McCarthy about taking up new Ukraine funding — or even whether he trusted the Republican speaker.

A day earlier, Biden had told reporters “we just made” a deal on Ukraine with McCarthy, without elaborating. On Monday, the White House similarly declined to clarify the remark. 

Multiple Democratic lawmakers serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee told CNN on Monday that they had no reason to believe that McCarthy had made a fresh commitment to the White House over the weekend on Ukraine funding.

And McCarthy himself denied to reporters he had made any side deals on promising to put Ukraine funding on the floor.

Still, Biden on Monday said it was essential Ukraine funding be approved to demonstrate American commitment to the country’s battle against Russia.

The Capitol Building on Monday.

The State Department blasted Congress for not passing funding for “desperately needed” assistance to Ukraine.

“I’d like to echo the president’s disappointment that, despite longstanding and strong bipartisan support for Ukraine as it fights back against Russia’s invasion, that the continuing resolution that passed Congress on Saturday did not include desperately needed support,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press briefing.

Miller added that “while we have the ability to continue to support Ukraine’s ability to defend itself in the immediate term, we have already exhausted much of the existing security assistance funding.”

The US will still be able to send equipment from its own stockpiles under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, but funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and the Foreign Military Sales system will be running out.

Miller stressed the previous bipartisan support in Congress for aid to Ukraine.

Unofficial Telegram channels in Russia say that according to the terms of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s will, his assets and control of his business empire have been bequeathed to his 25-year-old son, Pavel.

One of the channels,”Port,” claims to have obtained a copy of Prigozhin’s will and published an image of it.

Prigozhin was killed in a private jet crash in August. The document, allegedly notarized on March 2, purportedly designates Prigozhin’s 25-year-old son, Pavel, as the sole inheritor of his extensive assets, including those of the “Wagner Group.”

The unofficial publication suggests Pavel Prigozhin filed an application for inheritance on September 8.

Port also claimed that Pavel is set to collect all debts owed to his father, estimating that the Russian Defense Ministry owed Prigozhin’s business empire as much as $800 million. It is impossible to verify this figure. 

Remember: In June, following Prigozhin’s short-lived mutiny, President Vladimir Putin said Prigozhin’s businesses had received 86 billion roubles (or about $850 million) from the defense ministry between May 2022 and May 2023. In addition, Prigozhin’s Concord catering company made 80 billion roubles from state contracts to supply food to the Russian army, Putin said at the time.

Telegram channels associated with Wagner have claimed Pavel Prigozhin is actively negotiating the return of Wagner personnel to the combat zone in Ukraine. The claims cannot be verified, and it’s unclear whether Wagner fighters would be absorbed into different military structures.

The Telegram Channel GreyZone, which frequently reported on Wagner and Yevgeny Prigozhin, asserted that Pavel was negotiating with the Russian Reserve force Rosgvardia on the return of Wagner fighters to the war in Ukraine.

Rosgvardia received much of Wagner’s heavy weaponry after the private military company was disarmed following the mutiny.

CNN cannot independently verify these reports, or the authenticity of the will.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymytro Kuleba says that negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union should begin before the end of the year.

Speaking after meeting with European Foreign Ministers in Kyiv, Kuleba said that “The topic that was a leitmotif in all the speeches was Ukraine’s membership in the EU. We are moving forward, we expect a decision to start negotiations on membership (in the EU) by the end of the year.”

Speaking alongside European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Kuleba said: “The content and ambience of the discussion showed that we speak as a family… we have one goal and today in Kyiv it was powerfully demonstrated.”

Kuleba added: “We have not been offered anything, but Ukraine is a first-class state and we are not satisfied with anything but first-class membership.”

Kuleba said the Ukrainian side’s key message was that “we will accept the seven recommendations that the European Commission made for the opening of membership negotiations,” but expected “no additional requirements will be put forward.”

Some context: Those conditions include action on corruption and money laundering, media freedom and protection of minorities. 

Borrell stressed Monday that European Union membership is the “strongest security commitment” that the bloc can give to Ukraine.

According to Borrell, the foreign ministers engaged in a “long debate” which managed to provide them with “a better idea of the security dimension of this situation” in Ukraine.

“And for sure the strongest security commitment that we can give to Ukraine is European Union membership. This is the strongest security commitment for Ukraine.Now Ukraine is a candidate country, and he is going further on his way.”

Russian forces launched heavy shelling on Kherson early Monday, in the latest assault against the southern Ukrainian city.

Ukrainian officials say eight people were injured in Russian shelling, one of whom later died.

Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of Kherson region military administration, said on Telegram: “8 people have been injured in Kherson today. Among them are two children, sisters aged 12 and 13, and their mom.”

“3 men were injured in another part of the city this morning, one of them is in a grave condition. Two police officers were also injured.”

One of the police officers has since died, Prokudin said.

The city and surrounding settlements came under increased fire by Moscow’s troops over the weekend. On Sunday, at least three people were wounded in bombardments in the region.

Russian forces unleashed 16 guided aerial bombs at the Kherson region in recent days, according to a Ukrainian Southern Operational Command spokeswomen. The Russian military targeted residential and agricultural infrastructure, Nataliya Humenyuk said.

The death toll and number of injured has been updated to reflect the latest information provided by authorities.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks to the media in Kyiv on Monday.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Monday that the “future of Ukraine lies in the European Union” and praised Ukraine for its ongoing reforms. 

Speaking on the sidelines of the EU-Ukraine foreign ministers’ meeting in Kyiv, Baerbock said that the EU would “soon stretch from Lisbon to Luhansk.”

The German foreign minister praised Ukraine for initiating a reform process during the war. Besides changes in the justice sector, Baerbock specifically applauded Ukraine’s attempts to tackle corruption.

Baerbock told reporters that the EU would further support Ukraine “every day” and help it prepare for winter. Ukraine required a winter protection plan consisting of air defense, generators, and a strengthening of its energy supply systems, Baerbock said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has met with European Union foreign ministers visiting Kyiv and said that he is “confident that Ukraine and the entire free world are capable of winning this confrontation [with Russia.]”

“But our victory directly depends on our cooperation: the more strong and principled steps we take together, the sooner this war will end. It will end fairly. It will end with the restoration of our territorial integrity and reliable guarantee of peace for the whole of Europe,” Zelensky said.

He described the ministers’ presence in Kyiv as a “step towards strengthening Europe…We need to constantly take new defense and diplomatic, political and integration, economic and sanctions steps that will make our common positions stronger,” according to the Presidency’s website.

He said that besides further military aid and joint production of weapons, Ukraine’s path to NATO membership and a fresh package of sanctions against Russia were among the important steps to be taken, as well as “the beginning of negotiations this year on Ukraine’s membership in the EU.”

In response, EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said: “You can be sure of our determination to be by Ukraine’s side for as long as it takes.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, left, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell shake hands at the opening of the informal EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 2.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymytro Kuleba has said he believes the suspension of US aid to Ukraine as a result of Congress not including new aid in a last-minute deal to avoid a government shutdown, is an incident rather than anything more systemic.

“The question is whether what happened in the U.S. Congress last weekend is an incident or systematic,” Kuleba said on the margins of a meeting with European Union foreign ministers.

“But we are now working with the both sides of the Congress to make sure that it does not repeat again under any circumstances. So we don’t feel that the U.S. support has been shattered. Because the United States understand what is at stake in Ukraine is much bigger than just Ukraine, it’s about stability and predictability of the world,” Kuleba added.

Ukraine's National Security Adviser Oleksiy Danilov is pictured during an interview with CNN.

In a wide-ranging interview with CNN, Ukraine’s National Security Adviser Oleksiy Danilov expressed alarm at the action of the US Congress in excluding aid for Ukraine as part of a deal to keep the federal government at work.

Danilov said: “We need to see whether the United States is responsible for democracy in the world, whether it remains the country that supports democracy, or whether it is the country that will stand by and watch as authoritarian states seize more and more territory. This is quite simple.”

He added: “If the United States is a bastion of democracy in the world, then the answer should be clear to everyone. If the United States believes that it should move away from this, that chaos should reign around the world, that authoritarian states should seize more and more territory, then the United States should give that answer as well.”

Referring to the debate among Republican candidates for President on the extent of aid for Ukraine, Danilov said “We are aware that a political process, an election process, has begun in the United States. We do not interfere in this process in any way, but we would very much like it not to affect the development of democracy in the world.”

Danilov said the world was at a crossroads. “Darkness can quickly engulf many countries … The American people need to choose — either the side of light or prepare for very unexpected events that may occur.”

But Danilov told CNN he was sure that the American people “are on the side of light. Including your members of Congress, they are dealing with this issue.”

“Regarding the end of the US support, we are more than confident that this will not happen,” he added.

As for the situation on the battlefield, Danilov told CNN that the winter months would make no difference to Ukraine’s strategic goals. He said the country still needed more “air defense systems to protect our infrastructure … If we’re talking about protecting critical infrastructure facilities, these are energy facilities, water supply, and the fuel and energy complex.”

As for negotiations to end the conflict, Danilov said the Russians could not be trusted. “These are people who cannot negotiate with anyone. They will agree with you today, but tomorrow they will not fulfil these agreements.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell visit the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 2.

Top European Union officials assembled in Kyiv on Monday to discuss the war, as events in the US and Slovakia threatened unilateral EU and NATO support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.

On Saturday, lawmakers in Congress did not approve a $6 billion aid request for Ukraine in a last-minute bill designed to avoid a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, pro-Kremlin figure Robert Fico, who pledged to halt aid to Ukraine, won Slovakia’s parliamentary elections with his populist SMER party early Sunday.

Here are latest developments:

Lithuania’s foreign minister said the European Union is facing “a critical juncture,” after political shifts in the US and Slovakia threatened unilateral EU and NATO support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.

EU officials from all 27 member states met in Kyiv on Monday to send a “crystal clear message that Europe is with Ukraine,” Gabrielius Lansbergis said.

On Saturday, US lawmakers decided not to include a $6 billion aid request for Ukraine in a stopgap bill, designed to avoid a government shutdown. Meanwhile, former pro-Kremlin Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico’s populist party won the country’s parliamentary elections early Sunday. Fico campaigned to halt aid to Ukraine and block Kyiv’s bid for NATO accession.

The events over the weekend “have the power to instil doubt” over the bloc’s backing for Ukraine, Lansbergis said.

“And I hope that today’s meeting can fix this, and can send a very clear, crystal clear message that Europe is with Ukraine until this victory,” Lansbergis said.

The French, Irish and Romanian foreign ministers also reiterated their support for Kyiv.

France’s foreign minister Catherine Colonna warned Russia not to count on the “fatigue” of European Union member states regarding their support of Ukraine. 

Her Romanian counterpart Luminița Odobescu said the country will support Ukraine in exporting cereals, and highlighted the detrimental impact of the invasion on global food security.

And Irish foreign minister Micheál Martin said he hoped EU officials would find a “sustainable approach to supporting Ukraine in the long term.” 

Republicans opposed to the US funding Ukraine’s lifeline against Russia scored their first major success when House Speaker Kevin McCarthy didn’t include a $6 billion request for aid in a stopgap bill that averted a government shutdown.

The result, which left President Joe Biden demanding swift action to fulfill Kyiv’s needs, made for a good weekend for Russian President Vladimir Putin. But it left Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with plenty more to worry about after shifts elsewhere in global politics played into Moscow’s push to outlast the West in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Biden suggested he had a “deal” with McCarthy on moving assistance for Ukraine in a separate measure, but the Republican speaker’s office declined to confirm any such agreement.

Drama in the US coincided with another development this weekend that will cause concern in Ukraine. In neighboring Slovakia, former pro-Russia Prime Minister Robert Fico’s populist party won parliamentary elections. Fico anchored his campaign on his anti-US rhetoric, vows to stop sending weapons to Ukraine and a pledge to thwart Kyiv’s NATO ambitions.

Blows to Ukraine in the US and Slovakia came on top of its spat over grain exports with Poland – one of Kyiv’s earliest and most staunch allies – which led Warsaw to warn it could stop arms shipments to its neighbor.

Each of these developments stresses a rising danger for Ukraine – that the arms and aid it needs to sustain its fight against Russia’s onslaught are increasingly getting dragged into the bitter politics of national elections in the West.

Read the full story:

WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 30: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks during for a press conference after the House passed a continuing resolution that would fund the government for 45 days on Saturday, September 30, 2023 on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Related article Republican blockade of Ukraine aid and Slovakia's election play into Putin's hands | CNN Politics

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell speak to the media before the EU-Ukraine foreign ministers meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, October 2.

All 27 EU member states have dispatched officials to a key meeting in Kyiv on Monday, a European Union official told CNN.

However, only 23 countries have sent their foreign ministers. Four countries have sent other government officials instead.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell claimed earlier that foreign ministers from all 27 member states would be present.

The bloc convened in the Ukrainian capital to reaffirm their support for Kyiv amid Russia’s invasion.

The foreign ministers from the following countries are in Kyiv: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

The Latvian and Swedish state secretaries are in the Ukrainian capital. Poland’s deputy minister and Hungary’s deputy state secretary are in Kyiv.

Slovakia's Foreign Minister Miroslav Wlachovsky is pictured attending an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Toledo, Spain, on August 31.

Slovakia’s outgoing foreign minister was in Kyiv on Monday to express European solidarity with Ukraine’s fight against Russia, days after a pro-Kremlin party won his country’s parliamentary elections.

Miroslav Wlachovský said European Union officials endorsed the “sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” on the sidelines of a meeting between EU foreign ministers in the Ukrainian capital.

Wlachovský’s comments came after Robert Fico’s populist SMER party secured 22.9% of the vote in Slovakia early Sunday, in what could threaten unilateral EU and NATO support for Ukraine.

Fico, a two-time prime minister, failed to secure enough votes to govern on his own. He must form a coalition to enter government.

He campaigned to halt military aid to Ukraine and pledged to block Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO, posing a threat to Slovakia’s staunch support for Kyiv amid the war.

CNN’s Ivana Kottasová, Sophie Tanno and Heather Chen contributed reporting.

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speak to the media before a meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 2.

Not all 27 European Union foreign ministers are present in Kyiv, despite an earlier statement by the bloc’s foreign policy chief outlining plans for their “historic” meeting in the Ukrainian capital Monday, CNN understands.

CNN is working to confirm how many foreign ministers have traveled to Kyiv.

Several foreign ministers have already made on-camera addresses on the sidelines of the meeting, including those from Bulgaria, Romania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Italy, Croatia and France.

In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, Borrell said earlier the event in Kyiv would be the “first ever meeting of all 27 Member States outside the EU.”

“We are convening a historic meeting of EU Foreign Ministers here in Ukraine, candidate country and future member of the EU,” Borrell said. “We are here to express our solidarity and support to the Ukrainian people.”

Dmytro Kuleba speaks as he attends a press conference in Kyiv on September 11.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Monday that he “respects the choice” of the Slovakian people and it is “too early to judge” how the election victory of a pro-Kremlin figure in the country would impact Ukraine.

Former Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico is poised to begin coalition talks after his SMER party won parliamentary elections Saturday, in what could pose a challenge to NATO and European Union unity on Ukraine.

Some context: Bratislava has been one of Kyiv’s biggest backers since Russia’s invasion began last year, but its future support has been thrown into doubt after Fico won the chance to regain the leadership.

Speaking after his victory, Fico said he “will do everything” in his power to kickstart Russia-Ukraine peace talks. “More killing is not going to help anyone,” he said. Negotiations are unlikely to be welcomed in Ukraine, as for now they would likely involve proposals in which territory is ceded to Russia — a non-starter for Kyiv.

Dmytro Kuleba attends a meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York on September 20.

Kyiv is working with Washington after Congress did not include new Ukraine aid in a last-minute deal to avoid a government shutdown, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Monday.

Though US President Joe Biden lauded the deal reached by lawmakers, he also acknowledged the lack of new funding for Ukraine, vowing Washington “will not walk away” from Kyiv. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of leaders in the US Senate also promised to vote on more aid for Ukraine.

Kuleba said Monday that Ukraine was “now working with both sides of Congress to make sure that [the decision] does not repeat again, under any circumstances.”

Speaking alongside Kuleba ahead of a European Union foreign ministers’ meeting in Kyiv Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc will continue to support Ukraine and is “discussing with our American allies and friends for them too to continue supporting Ukraine.”