Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida is one of the Republican extremists trying to cut all support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion (Francis Chung/Politico)

Saturday’s Coverage: IAEA Calls for Russian Withdrawal from Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1725 GMT:

US President Joe Biden indicated that he has reached a deal with Republicans to ensure support for Ukraine, after GOP extremists and Trumpists in the House tried to end assistance against the Russian invasion.

Biden was asked at a press conference if he could trust Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the face of the extremists. He said, “We just made one about Ukraine, so we’ll find out.”

The President said in his statement before questions from reporters that theere is “not much time” to ensure support so Congress should “stop the games” and “get to work”.

I want to assure our American allies, the American people and the people in Ukraine that you can count on our support. We will not walk away….

We’re going to get it done.

In Kyiv to meet Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the European Union’s foreign policy head Josep Borrell said:

Let’s see what will happen in the US, but from our side, we will continue supporting and increasing our support.

Ukrainians are fighting with all their courage and capacities….We have to provide them with better arms, and bigger.

UPDATE 1226 GMT:

UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has indicated that British troops could soon deploy within Ukraine for training of Kyiv’s forces.

Shapps spoke after he and French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu saw Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in separate meetings in Kyiv last week.

The UK Minister said, after a briefing with Chief of the General Staff Gen. Patrick Sanders and other senior military personnel:

I was talking…about eventually getting the training brought closer and actually into Ukraine as well.

Particularly in the west of the country, I think the opportunity now is to bring more things “in country” – not just training, but also we’re seeing BAE [British Aerospace], for example, move into manufacturing in country.

I’m keen to see other British companies do their bit as well by doing the same thing. So I think there will be a move to get more training and production in the country.

An 11-nation training program has worked with more than 26,500 Ukrainian recruits and is on track to surpass 30,000 soldiers by the end of 2023.

Shapps also spoke with Zelenskiy about how the UK Navy could help with the defense of commercial vessels from Russian attacks in the Black Sea.

As ships have begun running Moscow’s blockade, reimposed by Vladimir Putin on July 17, French military aircraft have been carrying out surveillance.

UPDATE 1134 GMT:

Russian shelling has killed one person in the central square in Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region.

The 63-year-old resident was riding a bike and died on the scene.

UPDATE 1053 GMT:

Russian forces have downed one of their Su-35 fighter jets amid the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military was initially cautious about reporting incident near the Russian-occupied strategic hub of Tokmak late Thursday. A Telegram channel claimed that a Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile site had accidentally downed the Su-35.

But on Saturday, footage of the downed jet circulated on social media.

UPDATE 0804 GMT:

One person has been killed and eight injured in Russian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine.

A 61-year-old resident was slain. Others were wounded in attacks on housing and infrastructure.

Officials reported 127 Russian artillery shells, five airstrikes, and six rocket attacks across the region.

UPDATE 0757 GMT:

Ukraine’s Air Force says air defenses downed 16 of 30 Iran-made attack drone launched by Russia overnight.

Industrial infrastructure in Uman in central Ukraine was struck. The governor of the Cherkasy region, Ihor Taburets, reported fires in grain warehouses. One person was injured.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Hard-right Republicans and Trumpists in the US House of Representatives are threatening US aid to Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, forcing the removal of authority for about $24 billion from a compromise finance bill.

By a vote of 335-91, the House passed the compromise to fund the Government until November 17, overriding the blockade by the extremist legislators. However, the Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy — whose position is being threatened by the bloc — was forced to remove the fudning authority for Kyiv.

Backers of support for Ukraine are planning to introduce a separate bill as early as next week. President Joe Biden 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 can still provide some financial, economic, and military assistance from special funds which are under Executive control; however, they are much smaller than the blanket authority which was sought in the Government finance bill.

A bipartisan statement from six US Senators, including Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged:

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.