Late September 2024: aid, accusations and nuclear warnings around Ukraine
A look back at the diplomatic exchanges in the days before 30 September 2024, from Washington to Minsk.
What was shaping Ukraine's standing abroad on 30 September 2024? The reports from the preceding days point to a week of pledges, friction with partners and warnings from Minsk.
Aid from Washington
On 26 September 2024, before a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Joe Biden announced a military aid package of more than $8 billion for Ukraine. He also directed the Pentagon to allocate all remaining security funds to Ukraine by the end of his term in January 2025.
Friction in the United States
A day earlier, on 25 September 2024, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson demanded that Zelenskyy dismiss Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States. Johnson's complaint followed Zelenskyy's visit to an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania with several Democratic politicians, which Johnson claimed represented foreign electoral intervention.
Disagreement over peace efforts
On the same day, Zelenskyy accused Brazil and China of using their proposed peace plan for ending the Russo-Ukrainian War to increase their geopolitical power at Ukraine's expense. He said they did so by urging developing nations to agree to it.
A nuclear warning from Belarus
On 27 September 2024, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned that Belarus would use Russian nuclear weapons if the country were attacked by NATO.
Taken together, the reports from 25 to 27 September 2024 show Kyiv's diplomacy on several fronts: new American support, a dispute with a Republican congressional leader, criticism of two other states' peace initiative, and a fresh nuclear warning from a neighbour as 30 September 2024 began.
