Kiev is paying the price for American domestic politics. The United States was able to avoid the last-minute paralysis of its federal administration thanks to an emergency measure passed by Congress on the night of Saturday, September 30th to Sunday, October 1st. But this measure, which postpones the impending “shutdown” by 45 days, excludes aid to Ukraine as demanded by the White House. Joe Biden immediately called on Congress to approve this aid. Follow our live stream.
In Slovakia, a pro-Putin wins the parliamentary elections. The populist Smer-SD party won the parliamentary election in Slovakia on Saturday after almost all votes were counted. The vote in the country of 5.4 million inhabitants, which is a member of the EU and NATO, is seen as crucial to whether Slovakia can maintain its pro-Western course or turn more towards Russia. During the election campaign, the Smer-SD promised to stop aid to Ukraine.
Nine Ukrainians injured in oil pipeline fire. A major fire broke out on Saturday after an oil pipeline burst near the village of Strymba in Nadvirna district of western Ukraine. According to authorities, nine people were injured, five of them seriously. The incident caused an oil leak over an area of 100 m2 before the fire was brought under control.
Romania complains about a possible violation of its airspace. Bucharest said on Saturday it had detected drones in the sky during nighttime attacks by Russia on infrastructure in the Danube region of neighboring Ukraine. “After groups of drones were detected heading towards Ukrainian territory near the Romanian border,” residents of the towns of Tulcea and Galati were alerted, the Romanian Defense Ministry said. He added that so far no objects appear to have fallen into Romanian territory.