A useful primer:
We are now closing the live blog for today, but we'll be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the latest developments. Until then, you can keep up with all our other Ukraine coverage here.
Another update, this time from our news desk in Washington:
Trump To Meet Zelenskiy Next Week Amid House Probe
WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart for the first time next week amid a House investigation over their July 25 phone call.
Trump will hold talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on September 25 during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a senior White House administration official said on September 20. Zelenskiy's office confirmed the two will meet on the sidelines of the UN event.
The U.S. president will hold about a dozen bilateral meetings with world leaders, including Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Polish President Andrzej Duda, during his visit to the UN from September 23 to September 25, the senior administration official said.
However, Trump's meeting with Zelenskiy will be among the most closely watched amid reports that the U.S. president has been pressuring the Ukrainian leader.
The two will discuss energy cooperation, trade, as well as U.S. concerns over Chinese attempts to "loot Ukraine's intellectual property" the senior administration official said without giving any detail.
In August, then-U.S. national-security adviser John Bolton raised Washington’s concerns about Chinese firms offering to purchase Motor Sich, one of Ukraine’s largest defense companies.
Earlier this month, Washington signed a memorandum of cooperation with Kyiv and Warsaw that foresees Ukraine receiving U.S. liquefied natural gas via Poland and the development of energy pipelines between the two countries.
Trump and Zelenskiy will also discuss ending the war in eastern Ukraine, where fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 13,000 people since April 2014.
The U.S. president will call on "all parties to adhere" to their obligations under the Minsk accords, the senior administration official said.
Zelenskiy, who won Ukraine's presidential election in April, will deliver a speech to the UN General Assembly during his visit to New York from September 23 to September 26.
He is also due to participate in the September 24-25 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) summit at the UN, as well as meet with leaders of the Ukrainian community in the United States, leaders of Jewish organizations, and representatives of the U.S. business community.
The Trump-Zelenskiy meeting comes amid House investigations into whether Trump threatened to withhold U.S. military support to Ukraine unless Zelenskiy’s administration looked into the actions of then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has accused Biden of ordering Ukraine to fire its prosecutor-general to halt an investigation into gas producer Burisma Holdings.
Biden's son Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma at the time. Biden is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination to compete against Trump in 2020.
Following the launch of the investigation, the White House announced last week it would release $250 million in military aid to Ukraine.
The aid is largely meant to train and equip Ukrainian forces as they fight against Russia-backed separatists in a war that has lasted more than five years, killed more than 13,000 people, and torn apart a large swath of eastern Ukraine.
Washington has given Ukraine more than $3 billion in aid, including $1.5 billion in lethal and nonlethal military goods over the past five years, and is advising the country on the reform of its armed forces.
Good morning. We'll get the live blog started today with this item, which was filed overnight by our desk in Washington:
Biden Demands Trump Release Transcript Of Zelenskiy Phone Call
WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has demanded that President Donald Trump release the transcript of a call in which Trump reportedly pressured Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Biden and his son, who did business in Ukraine.
In a statement released on September 20, Biden said Trump "should immediately release the transcript of the call in question, so that the American people can judge for themselves."
Biden, who is campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination to face Trump in 2020, also said the director of national intelligence should "stop stonewalling" and release to Congress a secret complaint about the call filed by a whistle-blower.
The U.S. House of Representatives is investigating media reports alleging that Trump threatened during a phone call to withhold U.S. military support to Ukraine unless Zelenskiy’s administration looked into the actions of then-U.S. Vice President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has accused Biden of ordering Ukraine to fire its prosecutor-general to halt an investigation into gas producer Burisma Holdings.
Biden's son Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma at the time.
Democrats have claimed that, if true, a threat by Trump to withhold aid unless a foreign leader investigates a U.S. political rival would be a serious abuse of power, with many saying it would be an impeachable offense.
"Any effort by Trump to pressure a foreign government to dig up dirt on his political opponent, while holding up vital military aid to that country, is both corrupt and a grave threat to American interests," Adam Schiff, Democrat chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a tweet.
Following the launch of the House investigation into the Trump-Zelenskiy phone call, the White House announced last week it would release $250 million in military aid to Ukraine that had previously been held up.
The aid is largely meant to train and equip Ukrainian forces as they fight against Russia-backed separatists in a war that has lasted more than five years, killed more than 13,000 people, and torn apart a large swath of eastern Ukraine.
With reporting by AFP and AP