We are now closing the live blog for today, but we'll be back again to follow all the latest developments tomorrow morning. Until then, you can keep up with all our other Ukraine coverage here.
U.S. military chief says recommends providing Ukraine with lethal defensive aid:
By RFE/RL
The top U.S. military commander has said he recommended that the White House provide lethal defensive aid to Ukraine so it can better defend itself against any possible further Russian military advances into the country.
General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on September 26 that his proposal to increase lethal aid to Ukraine was pending at the White House for a decision.
U.S. President Donald Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, provided nonlethal military aid such as radar and goggle equipment to Ukraine, but had refused to provide lethal aid out of concern that it might escalate the war with Russia-armed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
But Dunford said, "In my judgment, from the military perspective, Ukraine needs additional capabilities to protect their sovereignty."
In particular, Dunford said, "we felt [an] ability to stop armored vehicles would be essential for them to protect themselves."
Ukrainian leaders have urged the United States to send weapons and have asked in particular for portable Javelin antitank missiles, which soldiers in the conflict say are needed to fend off attacks from tanks and self-propelled artillery.
Dunford said the Pentagon in reviewing Ukraine's defenses against fighters equipped by Russia detected what he called a "gap" between Ukraine's defensive capabilities and its needs.
"We just looked at it as a military gap that existed, and if that gap was filled, it would increase the probability the Ukrainians could defend themselves," he said.
The White House's new U.S. special envoy for efforts to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Kurt Volker, has also advocated providing lethal aid to Ukraine, saying in an interview in July with RFE/RL it was needed to counter Russia's "large, large military presence" in eastern Ukraine. (w/Reuters)
Artillery warehouses explode, evacuations ordered around Vinnytsya:
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Artillery warehouses on a Ukrainian military installation have exploded overnight in Kalynivka, near the city of Vinnytsya, forcing an evacuation of residents, police and local residents said.
Witnesses said the sound of explosions could be heard as far away as Kyiv, which is 260 kilometers to the northeast. Local media said that in Kalynivka, officials turned off the lights and disconnected gas and electricity supplies and told people to leave their homes.
Shortly after the explosions, the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Viktor Muzhenko, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman arrived in Vinnytsya, authorities said.
The national police said police were evacuating people from Kalynivka and were working to ensure the protection of their property from looters. The deputy head of the national police, Oleksandr Fatsevych, was dispatched to Vinnytsya.
Deputy Minister of Information Policy Dmytro Zolotukhin said the explosion was an apparent accident and the authorities were working to bring the situation under control while evacuating residents.
Zoryan Shkiryar, an adviser to the head of the Interior Ministry, said on Facebook that he was "convinced that this is a hostile Russian sabotage," and said it was the seventh fire at military warehouses in Kalynivka.
He said a state commission of inquiry will be set up to investigate the cause of the explosions.
A volunteer of the Avtoevrozile organization of Vinnytsya, Ihor Rumyantsev, told RFE/RL that he saw about 10 buses arrive to evacuate people. He said he was helping to evacuate residents, giving priority to women and children.
Early on September 27, Rumyantsev said the explosions started to increase, doubling in size, prompting people to hide in their cellars.
Rumyantsev said the railway connection in the area had completely stopped. Ukrzaliznytsya reported a change in railroad routes due to the explosions.
An employee of the Vinnytsya Oblast Council, Iryna Yaroshynska, confirmed the rerouting of trains going through Kalynivka.
Ukraerocenter closed the airspace within a radius of 50 kilometers from the zone of explosions in the military warehouses, Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yuriy Lavrenyuk said on Facebook.
Residents posted video online showing what appeared to be a fire burning, lights flashing, and smoke billowing into the night sky.
WATCH: Drone video of the explosions provided to RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Another video (or the same zoomed in?):
Our correspondent on the streets of Kalynivka (in Ukrainian):