LIVE UPDATES: Biden Says US Not Looking to Supply Ukraine With Long-Range HIMARS

The United States is reluctant to provide Ukraine with long-range munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) due to the possibility they could be used to strike Russian soil, US President Joe Biden said.

"We’ve not given Ukraine a ‘blank check.’ There’s a lot of things Ukraine wants that we didn’t do," Biden said during a press conference on Wednesday. "HIMARS have two kinds of rockets you can drop in those: one that goes over 600 miles and one that goes about 160 miles. We didn’t give them any ones that go 600 miles because I’m not looking for them to start bombing Russian territory."

US Congressman Kevin McCarthy, a favorite to lead House Republicans with their tentative majority in the lower chamber of Congress after the midterm elections, said Republicans would be unwilling to provide Ukraine a "blank check" for military and other aid.

However, Biden said during his remarks that he expects the US aid for Ukraine will continue uninterrupted despite the likely Republican control of the House of Representatives.

Acting Kherson Governor Vladimir Saldo confirmed on Wednesday that Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the regional administration, had died in a car accident in the region.

"It is very hard for me to tell you that Kirill Stremousov died today. He died on the territory of the Kherson Region, moving in a car that got into an accident," Saldo said on Telegram.

Later in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Stremousov with the Order of Courage posthumously.

Earlier in the day, media reported that Kirill Stremousov had been killed in a road accident. The Kherson Health Ministry later said that It was clarifying his condition, and only confirmed the accident, not the death.

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday a support package for Ukraine in the form of concessional loans of up to 18 billion euros ($18.1 billion) to help it cover short-term financial needs in 2023.

The proposal comes following the European Council meeting on October 20-21. Loans will be disbursed in regular installments, the commission specified.

"This stable, regular and predictable financial assistance – averaging €1.5 billion per month – will help cover a significant part of Ukraine's short-term funding needs for 2023, which the Ukrainian authorities and the International Monetary Fund estimate at €3 to €4 billion per month," the European Commission said in a statement.

The support package would require similar efforts by "other major donors" to cover all of Ukraine’s funding needs, according to the statement.

The commission noted that thanks to this support package, Ukraine will be able to keep on paying wages and pension, as well as maintain public services, including hospitals and schools. In addition, this aid will allow Kiev to restore energy infrastructure, water systems, transport networks, roads and bridges.

On November 3, Ukraine's parliament adopted the budget for 2023 with a record deficit of $38 billion, which Kiev hopes to cover with the help of foreign donors.

The Russian military on Wednesday prevented attempts by Ukrainian troops to attack in the Mykolaiv-Kryvyi Rih area and penetrate Russia's rear positions in the Kherson Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"In the Nikolaev-Krivoy Rog area, the Ukrainian armed formations, using forces of up to three company tactical groups, made unsuccessful attempts to attack positions of Russian troops in the area of the villages of Kachkarevka, Pyatekhatky and Sadok of the Kherson Region," a statement read.

The Ukrainian military suffered significant losses and retreated, the Russian defense ministry added.

Moreover, the Russian armed forces prevented attempts by 12 sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the Ukrainian military to penetrate Russia's rear areas, the statement read.

Air raid warnings have been issued throughout Ukraine, data from the online air raid warning map of the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation showed on Wednesday.

At approximately 14:00 local time (11:00 GMT), all regions of Ukraine on the map were colored red, indicating an air alert.

There are no concrete plans for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Donbass at the moment, however the president will visit the region when the time is right, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

"There are no concrete plans yet, but I have no doubt that there will be a time when Putin will come to Donbass, of course, these are Russian regions," Peskov told a briefing.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has returned from Luhansk, where he delivered a mass media course for the press services and media from the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics (LPR, DPR), the first deputy head of the Russian presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, said on Wednesday.

"Thanks to Dmitry Sergeyevich [Peskov]. He has just returned from Lugansk where he delivered the education course for the journalists and press services of the LPR and DPR," Kiriyenko said during a jury meeting of the Znaniye (Knowledge) educational prize.

The prize was established in 2021 to recognize the achievements of Russian teachers, lecturers, bloggers, companies, media and other individuals and projects from different fields, which carry out educational activities.

Sunak is scheduled to discuss Ukraine, as well as broader security and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area, with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a meeting in London later on Wednesday.

The attack of Ukrainian troops on the city of Snigurovka, located in the northern part of Russia's Kherson Region, has been repulsed, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the regional administration, told Sputnik.

Earlier in the day, Stremousov said that Ukrainian troops launched an attack in the area of Snigurovka, and a serious battle was under way.

"The attack on Snigurovkahas been repulsed. Everything is fine," Stremousov said.

According to the official, Ukrainian troops suffered heavy losses.