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. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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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.
9:03pm: Nothing will weaken Kyiv's resolve against Russia, Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech released on Sunday that nothing would weaken his country's fight against Russia, a day after the US Congress passed a stopgap funding bill that omitted aid to Ukraine.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said separately he had received reassurances about further military assistance in a telephone call with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
"Secretary Austin assured me," he wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, using flags in place of country names, that US support to Ukraine "will continue" and that Ukrainian "warriors will continue to have a strong back-up on the battlefield."
A Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson said Kyiv was working with its American partners to ensure a new budget decision would include funds for the country, and that US support was intact.
6:56pm: Biden says there's 'not much time' to keep aid flowing to Ukraine, urges Congress to 'stop the games'
President Joe Biden said Sunday that American aid to Ukraine will keep flowing for now as he sought to reassure allies of continued US financial support for the war effort. But time is running out, the president said in a warning to Congress.
“We cannot under any circumstances allow American for Ukraine to be interrupted," Biden said in remarks from the Roosevelt Room after Congress voted late Saturday to avert a government shutdown by passing a short-term funding package that dropped assistance for Ukraine in the fight against Russia.
"We have time, not much time and there’s an overwhelming sense of urgency,” he said, noting that the funding bill lasts only until mid-November.
Biden urged Congress to negotiate an aid package as soon as possible.
“We’re going to get it done,” he said.
6:24pm: Kyiv hosts first full marathon since start of war
Thousands of runners gathered in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv this weekend as the city held its first full marathon since Russia's invasion.
Last year's marathon and dozens of other events were cancelled due to the war, but some have since returned as residents seek normality amid the frequent air raids.
"You need to try to make your life easier by any means possible," said Vlada, a 32-year-old participant in the long-distance race.
"If sports help you cope with anxiety or other difficult situations in life, then of course you need to do it," she said.
Over 5,000 people are taking part in the race this year, organisers said, with half the proceeds going towards buying equipment for the military.
4:42pm: EU is preparing long-term security pledges, Borrell says on visit to 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.
"Ukraine needs more capabilities & needs them faster," he said in a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He said he had discussed "continuous EU military assistance" during his first in-person meeting with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.
"We are preparing long-term security commitments for Ukraine," Borrell added.
This week the European Defence Agency said in response to questions from Reuters that seven EU countries had ordered ammunition under a procurement scheme to get urgently needed artillery shells to Ukraine and replenish depleted Western stocks.
2:18pm: Ukraine says working with US after Congress drops aid
Ukraine said Sunday it was working with Washington to ensure new wartime aid, after US lawmakers dropped new funding for Kyiv in a last-minute deal to avoid a government shutdown.
"The Ukrainian government is now actively working with its American partners to ensure that the new US budget decision, which will be developed over the next 45 days, includes new funds to help Ukraine," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said.
1:25pm: Zelensky thanks armed forces on Ukraine's Territorial Defence Forces Day
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked Ukraine's troops on the country's Territorial Defence Forces Day for their "courage and strength".
12:50pm: Russian regions hit by Ukrainian drones and shelling, say local officials
Russia was targeted by another wave of Ukrainian drones and shelling on Sunday, wounding three people and forcing an airport to divert flights, officials said.
Since Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in early June, Russian regions have accused Kyiv's armed forces of almost daily drone strikes and shelling on civilian targets.
"On Sunday morning, the armed forces of Ukraine shelled the area of the central market in Shebekino," said Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine.
"According to preliminary information, there are three victims – a woman suffered shrapnel wounds to the neck... Two other men suffered shrapnel wounds to their legs," he said.
The governor of Bryansk region, also on the border, said Ukrainian shelling of a village damaged houses and two administrative buildings but that there were no casualties.
The attacks came as officials said five drones were shot down over the region of Smolensk, west of Moscow, while another was shot down over Krasnodar region on the Black Sea coast.
11:59am: Russians gather in Prigozhin's memory 40 days after his death
Several people gathered at Yevgeny Prigozhin's grave in St Petersburg's Porokhovskoye cemetery, 40 days after his death, in keeping with an Orthodox tradition.
In Moscow, makeshift altars were erected in tribute to Wagner's former boss and the group's commander, Dmitri Outkine, who died alongside Prigozhin in the plane crash on August 23.
11:15am: British training troops in Ukraine could be legitimate targets: Medvedev
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.
Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, and has become an increasingly hawkish and anti-Western figure in Russian politics, said such steps by the West were bringing World War Three closer.
In a post on Telegram, Medvedev first directed his ire towards recently appointed British Defence Minister Grant Shapps, who said in a newspaper interview that London wants to deploy military instructors to Ukraine, in addition to training Ukrainian armed forces in Britain or other Western countries as at present.
10:34am: Five cargo vessels heading for Ukrainian Black Sea ports: MarineTraffic
Five new ships are on their way to Ukrainian sea ports using a new corridor opened to resume predominantly agricultural exports, an alternative arrangement to the Black Sea grain deal blocked by Russia, the MarineTraffic database showed on Sunday.
The MarineTraffic database showed earlier on Sunday that three cargo vessels left Ukrainian Black Sea ports after loading, the latest to sail since Kyiv set up a temporary "humanitarian corridor" after Russia quit a deal allowing safe passage for Ukraine exports.
The database identified the five vessels heading towards the ports as Olga, Ida, Forza Doria, New Legacy and Danny Boy.
9:11am: Slovak populists opposed to Ukraine aid win election
A populist party that wants to stop military aid to Ukraine and is critical of the EU and NATO has won Slovakia's election, results showed on Sunday.
The Smer-SD party led by former prime minister Robert Fico scored 23.3 percent, beating the centrist Progressive Slovakia on 17 percent, with almost all votes counted.
8:15am: Ukraine shoots down 16 of 30 Russian drones
Ukraine's air defence systems shot down 16 out of around 30 drones that Russia launched on Ukraine's territory overnight, according to Ukrainian Air Forces.
It said on Telegram messaging app that drones were launched from the southern, southeastern and northern directions.
Authorities said the central Ukrainian Cherkasy region was under the attack.
"At night, the enemy massively attacked our Cherkasy region with attack drones. Unfortunately, there were hits on industrial infrastructure in (the city of) Uman," Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said on Telegram.
"As a result, fires broke out in warehouses. In particular, where grain was stored," he said, adding that one person was injured.
Key developments from Saturday, September 30:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday opened Kyiv's first International Defence Industries Forum in a bid to attract more manufacturers to build arms in Ukraine.
Zelensky said Kyiv aims to develop defence production in cooperation with global industry leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin marked the anniversary of the annexation of Ukrainian regions. In an address to mark the first anniversary of the annexation, Putin insisted that it was carried out “in full accordance with international norms”. He also claimed that residents of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions had again expressed their desire to be part of Russia in local elections earlier this month.
The West has denounced both the referendum votes carried out last year and the recent ballots as a sham. The votes were held as Russian authorities attempted to tighten their grip on territories Moscow illegally annexed a year ago and still does not fully control.
Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, and Reuters)
