“I want to say to our allies, the American people and the Ukrainian people, that you can count on our support,” the American president said on Sunday, October 1, a day after the American Congress voted to enforce an agreement I support the end of the “shutdown”, but excludes additional help for Kiev. “There is a sense of urgency” to approve a new funding measure for Ukraine in the coming days and weeks, Joe Biden said. “We will not abandon Ukraine,” he emphasized. Follow our live stream.
Kiev is “collaborating” with Washington to make the American budget favorable. “The Ukrainian government is actively working with its American partners to ensure that the new decision on the American budget (…) includes new financial resources to support Ukraine,” said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko.
Three people are injured in drone and grenade attacks in Russia. Several Russian regions (Belgorod, Bryansk and Smolensk) suffered attacks from Ukrainian drones and shells on Sunday, injuring three people and forcing an airport to divert its flights, the respective officials announced. Since Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in early June, Moscow has accused the Ukrainian armed forces of attacking civilian targets with drones or grenades almost every day.
In Slovakia, a pro-Putin wins the parliamentary elections. The populist Smer-SD party won the parliamentary election in Slovakia this weekend. These elections in this country of 5.4 million, a member of the EU and NATO, are seen as crucial to whether Slovakia can maintain its pro-Western course or turn more towards Russia.