Biden urges US Congress to approve Ukraine aid left out of dealUS president Joe Biden has called on Congress to swiftly approve aid to Ukraine after it was left out of the deal that averted a US government shutdown on Saturday.
Agence France-Presse reports that Biden welcomed the agreement but said in a statement:
We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted.
“I fully expect the speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment,” Biden added, referring to the Republican House leader, Kevin McCarthy.
Lawmakers must now wrangle on a separate bill on $24bn in military assistance to Ukraine that Biden wanted in the budget, with a vote possible early next week, US media reported.
Hard-right Republicans had strongly opposed the inclusion of Ukraine aid in the deal, despite support for it from moderate Republicans including McCarthy.
Key events
Show key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Russian forces launched eight missiles, 99 air strikes and 45 multiple launch rocket system attacks yesterday, and engaged Ukrainian troops in 38 combat engagements, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in their morning briefing.
Air strikes hit Halahanivka in the Chernihiv oblast; Novoselivs’ke, Nevs’ke, Novolyubivka and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk oblast; Terny, Zarichne, Sivers’k, Spirne, Vesele, Kostyantynivka, Klishchiivka, Andriivka, New York, Avdiivka, Mar’inka, Novomykhailivka, Prechystivka, Urozhaine and Staromaiors’ke in the Donetsk oblast; Mala Tokmachka, Novodanylivka, Robotyne and Novoandriivka in the Zaporizhzhia oblast; and Mykolaivka in the Kherson oblast.
More than 120 settlements in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts came under artillery fire.
According to the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces, Russian forces lost 440 personnel yesterday.
Moscow apparently readying for ‘multiple years’ more fighting, UK MoD saysRussian documents indicating a surge in military spending in 2024 suggest Moscow is preparing for “multiple further years of fighting in Ukraine”, the UK Ministry of Defence says.
In its latest intelligence update, the ministry said papers apparently leaked from Russia’s finance ministry suggested the country’s defence spending was set to rise to about 30% of total public expenditure in 2024.
The Russian ministry proposes a defence budget of 10.8tn roubles ($112bn/£92bn), equivalent to about 6% of GDP and a 68% increase over 2023, the UK MoD said in its update, posted on X/Twitter.
It is highly likely that Russia can support this level of defence spending through 2024, but only at the expense of the wider economy.
Full details on Russian defence spending are always classified, but these figures suggests that Russia is preparing for multiple further years of fighting in Ukraine.
This follows public comments by defence minister Sergei Shoigu on [Wednesday] suggesting he was prepared for the conflict to continue into 2025.
Ukrainian industrial infrastructure in the central city of Uman was struck during a Russian attack overnight, the regional governor said.
The Ukrainian air force said air defence systems shot down 16 out of about 30 drones that Russia launched on Ukrainian territory overnight, Reuters reports.
The air force said on Telegram on Sunday that drones were launched from the southern, south-eastern and northern directions.
Authorities said the central Ukrainian region of Cherkasy was under the attack.
Cherkasy’s governor, Ihor Taburets, said on Telegram:
At night, the enemy massively attacked our Cherkasy region with attack drones. Unfortunately, there were hits on industrial infrastructure in [the city of] Uman.
As a result, fires broke out in warehouses. In particular, where grain was stored.
One person was injured, Taburets said.
US senators from both major parties have issued a statement in support of Kyiv saying Washington will continue to provide critical support to Ukraine after aid to the country was left out of the Congress deal averting a US government shutdown.
The joint statement from six senators including Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer, among three from each side, said they welcome the agreement but it left a “number of urgent priorities outstanding”.
Their statement said:
In the coming weeks, we expect the Senate will work to ensure the US government continues to provide critical and sustained security and economic support for Ukraine.
We support Ukraine’s efforts to defend its sovereignty against Putin’s brazen aggression, and we join a strong bipartisan majority of our colleagues in this essential work.
With the eyes of our partners, allies, and adversaries upon us, we keenly understand the importance of American leadership and are committed to strengthening it from Europe to the Indo-Pacific.
Biden urges US Congress to approve Ukraine aid left out of dealUS president Joe Biden has called on Congress to swiftly approve aid to Ukraine after it was left out of the deal that averted a US government shutdown on Saturday.
Agence France-Presse reports that Biden welcomed the agreement but said in a statement:
We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted.
“I fully expect the speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment,” Biden added, referring to the Republican House leader, Kevin McCarthy.
Lawmakers must now wrangle on a separate bill on $24bn in military assistance to Ukraine that Biden wanted in the budget, with a vote possible early next week, US media reported.
Hard-right Republicans had strongly opposed the inclusion of Ukraine aid in the deal, despite support for it from moderate Republicans including McCarthy.
Opening summaryHello and welcome back to our coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now at day 585. I’m Adam Fulton and here’s a look at the latest developments.
US president Joe Biden has called on Congress to swiftly approve aid to Ukraine after it was left out of the deal that averted a US government shutdown on Saturday.
“We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted,” Biden said.
More on that soon. In other news:
A huge fire erupted at an oil pipeline in the western Ukrainian region of Ivano-Frankivsk on Saturday, injuring nine people, five of them critically, authorities said. The blaze near the village of Strymba caused an oil spill spanning 100 sq metres before it was extinguished. Footage shared on social media showed thick clouds of black smoke billowing out over the village. The cause of the rupture was not immediately clear, but local media outlets reported there had been a powerful explosion. The regional governor, Svitlana Onyshchuk, said two children and three adults were in critical condition with numerous burns.
Emergency workers putting out the fire at an oil pipeline in western Ukraine’s Ivano-Frankivsk region. Photograph: Ukrainian Emergency Service/AFP/Getty Images A Ukrainian drone attack on Saturday in the southern Russian region of Bryansk injured one person and damaged windows and the roof of an administrative building, the region’s governor said. Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram the incident occurred in Trubchevsk town. He earlier said a village in the region had been shelled by Ukrainian forces, damaging three homes.
Ukraine signed 20 agreements and memorandums with foreign partners on the manufacture of drones and the repair and production of armoured vehicles and ammunition at the first international Defence Industries Forum, which Kyiv organised with international producers. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he wanted to turn Ukraine’s defence industry into a “large military hub”, also announcing the creation of the Defence Industries Alliance.
The UK’s new defence secretary says he has held talks with army leaders about deploying British troops within Ukraine for the first time for a training program. Grant Shapps, who met Zelenskiy for talks in Kyiv this week, said the proposal being discussed would reduce the reliance on the UK and other Nato members’ bases.
Ukrainian military personal undergo training with British troops at an undisclosed location in England in June. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA Nato member Romania reported possible violations of its airspace during overnight drone attacks by Russia on infrastructure in neighbouring Ukraine. “Following the detection of groups of drones heading towards Ukrainian territory near the Romanian border,” residents in the Tulcea and Galati municipalities were alerted, the defence ministry said in a statement on Saturday. “The radar surveillance system … indicated possible unauthorised entry into national airspace.” The ministry said no objects so far appeared to have fallen on Romanian territory but the search would continue.
Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev marked the anniversary by suggesting Russia may annex more of Ukraine. “Victory will be ours. And there will be more new regions within Russia,” said Medvedev, who is now deputy chair of Russia’s security council.