Live blog: US reassures EU of commitment to Ukraine aid

Monday, October 16, 2023

1644 GMT — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said Washington would keep on delivering "robust" aid to Ukraine, following EU concerns over her country's future support for Kiev.

Her promise came after the US Congress dropped new funding for Ukraine from a recent bill to avert a US government shutdown - a move that triggered doubts over Washington's continued commitment to supporting Kiev against Russian forces.

"We will do everything possible to put in place a robust Ukraine package," she said during a press conference with Paschal Donohoe, who leads the group of finance and economy ministers in the single currency area known as the Eurogroup.

"We reaffirm today that our coalition will continue supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes," she said in Luxembourg where she met the EU finance ministers.

The White House has estimated that a further $24 billion is needed to support Ukraine.

But Yellen said, "for Congress to be willing to provide the level of support that we are to Ukraine, it's important to know that we are not alone in this, that we have partners who are as committed as we are".

Donohoe reaffirmed the European Union's commitment, pointing to the bloc's plan to give Ukraine some 50 billion euros ($53 billion) over the next few years.

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1650 GMT — 'Where are they?': angry relatives rally in Kiev over missing soldiers

A group of relatives of soldiers missing in action or taken prisoner protested in Kiev, accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the military leadership of failing to help them.

As the war entered its 600th day with little progress on the counteroffensive, a group of around 200 protesters, almost all women, rallied on Independence Square in central Kiev.

They then marched to a military roadblock near Zelenskyy's office, demanding an audience with the president.

"Zelenskyy! Zelenskyy!" they chanted, several in tears and shouting angry accusations at soldiers and police guarding the checkpoint.

"You are taking our guys away to the slaughter," shouted one woman.

1509 GMT — Russia aims to break through Ukraine defences in northeast - Ukrainian general

Russia is aiming to break through Ukrainian defences in the Kupiansk-Lyman sector of the front line in northeastern Ukraine after a sharp increase in fighting there, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces has said.

Video footage released by the ground forces showed General Oleksandr Syrskyi meeting troops at an undisclosed location in woodland, and quoted him as saying fighting in the northeastern Kupiansk-Lyman sector had "significantly escalated".

"The enemy is preparing, seriously preparing for offensive actions, bringing in staff," Syrskyi said in the footage posted on the Telegram messaging app.

1431 GMT — Russia's assault on a key eastern Ukraine city reported to be weakening

A dayslong attempt by Russian forces to storm a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine appears to be running out of steam, Kiev officials have said.

Ukrainian forces repelled 15 Russian attacks from four directions on Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

That compared with up to 60 attacks a day in the middle of last week, according to Vitalii Barabash, head of the city administration. The slackening suggests the Russian effort to capture Avdiivka has "deflated," Barabash said.

1305 GMT — US seen as 'indispensable' for meeting Ukraine's financial needs: German Finmin

It is indispensable that the US continues to participate in meeting Ukraine's financial needs, has said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner in Luxembourg.

"The transatlantic partnership is of paramount importance for Europe as a whole, not only in economic terms, but especially because of our shared values," Lindner said.

The US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen was meeting EU finance ministers in Luxembourg.

Yellen said that support for Ukraine remained a "top priority" for the United States and Europe, calling it crucial to underpin Ukraine's military battle against Russia's military campaign.

1217 GMT — Ukraine says OSCE faces 'slow death' if Russia remains member

Ukraine has called for Russia to be excluded from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), warning the body faced a "slow death" if Moscow remained a member.

The OSCE was founded to ease tensions between East and West during the Cold War, and helps its members coordinate on issues like human rights and arms control.

"Everything Russia does in the OSCE nowadays is killing this organisation," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at a press conference also attended by OSCE chair Bujar Osmani.

1139 GMT —Qatar strikes deal to return four Ukrainian children taken to Russia

Four Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia after the war in Ukraine are to be reunited with relatives following the mediation of Qatar, officials have said.

Moscow has been accused of bringing thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia from Moscow-controlled territories.

The children, aged between two and 17, have been staying at the Qatari embassy in Moscow while Doha mediated between Russian and Ukrainian authorities, a diplomat briefed on the process said.

1103 GMT — OSCE chairman-in-office arrives in Ukraine’s capital on official visit

Bujar Osmani, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) chairman-in-office, has arrived in Ukraine's capital Kiev on an official visit.

“Witnessing the impact on children's & education in a school in Kiev targeted by RF (Russian Federation) attacks,” Osmani, who is also North Macedonia’s foreign minister, said in a statement on X.

Osmani said that his observations are a reminder of the "urgent need for peace," and that the OSCE’s Extra-budgetary Support Program for Ukraine provides psychosocial help to children affected by the conflict.

0758 GMT — Russia doesn't intend to conduct nuclear tests after withdrawal

Russia's planned withdrawal of its ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear tests does not mean that it intends to conduct such a test, a senior foreign ministry official told Russian media.

Russia ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 2000 but the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, is due to vote on Tuesday on a bill to reverse that step.

The Duma is acting on a cue from President Vladimir Putin, who said earlier this month that Russia's position on the treaty should "mirror" that of the United States. Washington has signed but never ratified the treaty.

0715 GMT — Russia's Lavrov to visit North Korea amid weapons supply claims

Russia's foreign minister will visit North Korea this week, the Foreign Ministry has said, days after the United States claimed Pyongyang had delivered munitions and military equipment to Russia for use in the fighting in Ukraine.

Sergey Lavrov will be in North Korea on Wednesday and Thursday, the ministry said in a brief statement that did not specify whom he would meet or the aims of the trip.

The White House said on Friday that more than 1,000 containers of equipment and ammunition have been sent to Russia from North Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un travelled to Russia last month to meet President Vladimir Putin and visit key military sites, triggering speculation about a possible North Korean plan to refill Russia’s munition stores that have been drained by the protracted conflict with Ukraine.

0602 GMT — Russia intensifies missile, drone attacks on Ukraine: Kiev

Russia launched five missiles and 12 kamikaze drones at Ukraine in an overnight attack, Ukraine's air force has said, with officials reporting further artillery and air strikes.

The air force said the missiles, of which it shot down two, targeted northern and eastern regions, while the drones, of which 11 were downed, were launched in several directions with a particular focus on western Ukraine.

"Fortunately, no civilian or critical infrastructure was hit. However, missile fragments damaged several private homes," he wrote on the Telegram messaging service.

0550 GMT — Qatar to repatriate three Ukrainian children from Russia after talks

Three Ukrainian children who had been taken to Russia are to be released to Qatari diplomats in Moscow this week under a mechanism Qatar has set up intending to return many more children from Russia to Ukraine, a Qatari official briefed on the plans has told Reuters news agency.

Qatar on Friday facilitated the return of another Ukrainian child, aged 7, who was reunited with his grandmother and is en route to Ukraine via Estonia, the official said. The other three children are a boy aged 2, a 9-year-old boy, and a girl aged 17.

Kiev has identified 20,000 children as taken to Russia or Russian-held territory without the consent of family or guardians.

0140 GMT - Russia's top diplomat Lavrov in China ahead of Putin's visit

Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov has arrived in Beijing ahead of an expected visit by President Vladimir Putin to China.

This will be Putin's first trip to a major global power since the Ukraine offensive.

Beijing is hosting representatives of 130 countries from Tuesday to Wednesday to mark a decade of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) - a key geopolitical project of President Xi Jinping to extend China's global reach.

0458 GMT — Putin warns of 'completely different' scenario if West joins war

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that if Western countries like the US want to go to war with Russia, it would be "completely different" from what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Putin made assessments about the Russia-Ukraine war and Russia-China relations in an interview with Russian state broadcaster Rossiya.

Speaking about Ukraine's counter-offensive, Putin said it has “completely failed.”

Putin also addressed the claim that Russia and China are forming a new military bloc, noting that the West constantly creates alliances.

"We have said this many times. We do not unite within such military and political alliances. Americans do that. Moreover, they force their allies to worsen their relations with Russia and China,” he said.

For our live updates from Sunday (October 15), click here.