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5:50 PM

Borrell makes unannounced visit to Odesa.

"Odesa is a beautiful historic city. It should be in the headlines for its vibrant culture (and) spirit," Borrell wrote on Twitter. "Instead, it marks the news as a frequent target of Putin's war."

5:18 PM

Media: Russian soldier working with intelligence defects to Ukrainian forces.

The soldier, Daniil Alfyorov, had been working with Ukrainian intelligence since July and had successfully convinced 11 other Russian soldiers to defect to the Ukrainian side, Andriy Yusov, a HUR spokesman, said.

5:15 PM

Zelensky meets with Slovak defense minister.

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, he and Slovak Defense Minister Martin Sklenar discussed cooperation with Slovakia regarding the Ukrainian military's needs, the situation at the front line, and de-mining.

4:15 PM

Special forces extract two soldiers who were in occupied land since start of invasion.

The Navy's intelligence arm was several weeks ago informed about the two Ukrainians who had been in occupied territory since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

3:03 PM

Kuleba: African countries interested in hosting Ukrainian defense plants on their soil.

Plagued by weapon and ammo shortages, Ukraine is not able to export anything defense-related at this time but is looking to return to being one of the world's leading armorers. The production of Ukrainian weapons on African soil is seen as an alternative to currently-impossible exports, Kuleba said, calling it a "new trend."

2:05 PM

Zaporizhzhia missile strike injures five, damages infrastructure.

Five people were injured on the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia as the result of a Russian missile attack that also damaged five homes and a unit of infrastructure on Sept. 30, according to the regional military administration.

1:17 PM

Bulgaria bans Ukrainian sunflower imports until November.

Bulgaria has banned the import of Ukrainian sunflowers until the end of November after a meeting between both countries' agriculture ministers, Bulgaria's Agriculture Ministry said on Sept. 29.

12:25 PM

Dozens of international firms join Kyiv's new defense industry alliance.

Among other capabilities, the alliance will eventually pave the way for Ukraine to localize production of licensed foreign weapons on Ukrainian soil, said Andriy Yermak, head of the president's office. During his recent visit to Washington, Zelensky and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to have their teams hammer out a roadmap for this kind of localization.

11:21 AM

Romania investigates another possible airspace violation by Russia.

The ministry reported that, as Russia was attacking Ukraine's ports on the Danube river, air alert sirens were activated in the nearby Romanian cities of Tulcea and Galati as radar systems detected an unsanctioned object heading towards the latter in Romania's airspace.

11:07 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 278,130 troops since Feb 24, 2022.

This number includes 470 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

10:09 AM

Military: Ukraine shoots down 30 drones from overnight attack.

Most of the drones targeted Vinnytsia Oblast, where 20 of them were destroyed, the military said. Some are believed to have gotten through, striking infrastructure and causing a fire in Vinnytsia Oblast's Kalynivka community.

7:17 AM

General CQ Brown succeeds Mark Milley as US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

The chairman is the highest-ranking member of the U.S. military. Milley served in the role for four years before retiring on Sept. 29.

6:19 AM

ISW: Russia's FSB supports law expanding digital surveillance.

Amendments to a proposed bill in the Russian State Duma would allow law enforcement agencies direct access to personal data from Russian internet, banking, and telecom companies.

5:25 AM

Ukrainian refugee children in EU face 'perpetual uncertainty'.

Children who fled Ukraine for EU countries following Russia's all-out war struggle with language barriers, disrupted education, and psychological trauma, the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) reported on Sept. 29.

4:20 AM

Bryansk Oblast governor claims Ukrainian attack disrupted local power supply.

Governor Alexander Bogomaz claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked the village of Pogar and disrupted the local power supply in the early hours of Sept. 30.

3:53 AM

Russian forces attack 9 communities in Sumy Oblast.

The communities of Esman, Shalyhyne, Mykolaiv, Putyvl, Velyka Pysarivka, Khotin, Krasnopillia, and Yunakivka came under fire.

3:29 AM

Putin declares holiday commemorating occupation of Ukrainian regions.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree marking Sept. 30 as a "reunification day" commemorating Russia's illegal annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.

2:34 AM

Russian attack damages infrastructure in Vinnytsia Oblast.

On attack on Vinnystia Oblast the night of Sept. 30 damaged an infrastructure facility in the region, Oblast Governor Serhii Borzov reported via Telegram.

2:17 AM

Armenia sues Azerbaijan in International Court of Justice.

The request calls on the court to uphold the rights protected under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

1:32 AM

Front-line photographer Volodymyr Myroniuk killed in action.

Myroniuk, aged 59, was an independent photographer who documented Ukrainian soldiers at the front.

12:37 AM

New round of Russian conscription will include Ukraine's occupied territories.

The fall 2023 conscription will include the illegally annexed areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

10:59 PM

Ukraine removes companies from 'international sponsor of war' list as part of military aid negotiations.

The NACP hopes that this will "lead to Hungary’s unblocking of €500 million of vital EU military aid for the Ukrainian people, and will also eliminate the possibility of Greece blocking the future EU sanctions package aimed at reducing Russia’s ability to continue the war."

9:15 PM

Deputy Economy Minister: Ukraine aims to reach pre-war levels of growth in 4 years.

Ukraine aims for its economy to regain pre-war levels of growth in four years, Deputy Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev said in an interview with Ukrinform on Sept. 29. Sobolev expects further integration with the European Union and joining NATO will be a prerequisite for strong growth in the future.

8:09 PM

Reuters: Romania moves air defense systems to border with Ukraine.

Romania is moving its air defense systems closer to its border with Ukraine, Reuters reported on Sept. 29. Additional measures include the deployment of four U.S. F-16 jets and an expanded no-fly zone.

7:54 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Russia reduces offensive pace on Kupiansk-Kreminna line

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Blinken: US allocates over $1 billion in aid to Ukraine

by Elsa Court and The Kyiv Independent news desk September 6, 2023 11:43 PM 2 min read

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (R) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wait to make a statement to the media ahead of their meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv on Sept. 6, 2023. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

This audio is created with AI assistance

The U.S. government is allocating new assistance to Ukraine worth more than $1 billion, U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv on Sept. 6.

Blinken also said for the first time that the U.S. will fund support for Ukrainian military veterans from "assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs," saying that those who "enabled Putin's war of aggression should pay for it."

The U.S. authorized the transfer of forfeited Russian assets to Ukraine in May 2023.

Blinken said the $1 billion in assistance includes a new package of $665.5 million in military and civilian security assistance.

One hundred million dollars will go toward "foreign military financing to support Ukraine's longer term military needs" and another $300 million is earmarked for supporting Ukrainian law enforcement in liberated areas of the country.

The U.S. is also committing $206 million for humanitarian assistance, "much of which is dedicated to helping the more than six million Ukrainians who are displaced by Russia's war," Blinken.

He also mentioned the assistance includes the $175 million weapons package announced by the Defense Department on Sept. 6.

The Defense Department package includes air defense equipment and depleted uranium rounds for Abrams tanks, which will arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks.

"Those who have enabled Putin's war of aggression should also pay for it," he said.

The U.S. has committed over $43 billion in security assistance since the start of the full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022, Blinken said.

Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Sept. 6 for a two-day trip, which marks the fourth time he has visited Ukraine since Feb. 2022.

Authors: Elsa Courtand The Kyiv Independent news desk

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