The Russian invasion of Ukraine

[BouncerGuy]

Nato strengthens defences after Russian drones shot down over Poland

Several Nato members are sending troops, artillery, and air defence systems to secure its eastern flank after what Poland called an unprecedented Russian drone incursion into its airspace.

In the early hours of Wednesday, three Russian drones were shot down after crossing into Polish airspace.

Other drones crashed to the ground and were later found across eastern Poland.

Poland has requested a UN Security Council session about the incident, which will take place on Friday at 19:00 GMT.

In response to the drone incursion, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic said they would send defences to Poland, while Lithuania would receive a German brigade and greater warning of Russian attacks on Ukraine that could cross over.

Germany also said it would "intensify its engagement along Nato's eastern border" and extend and expand air policing over Poland.

Later France's Emmanuel Macron announced the country would send three Rafale fighter jets to help protect Poland's airspace.

"We will not yield to Russia's growing intimidation," Macron said.

US President Donald Trump, who has been trying unsuccessfully to broker a halt to the war in Ukraine, told reporters on Thursday that the alleged incursion might have happened by "mistake".

"I'm not happy about anything to do with the whole situation, but hopefully that's going to come to an end," Trump said.

Addressing parliament on Thursday, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz listed the offers of support from Poland's partners, saying the Dutch were going to deploy air defence systems, artillery and 300 troops, while the Czech would send helicopters and 100 soldiers.

He also said the French and the British could deploy aircraft to secure Nato's eastern flank.

"Poland has repeatedly heard words of solidarity and empty gestures throughout its history," Kosiniak-Kamysz said. "Today, we have concrete declarations."

Although Russian drones and missiles have trespassed into some Nato member countries before, this was the most serious incident of its kind since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Kremlin said it had no further comment to make on claims that Russia had deliberately sought to stoke tensions in Poland.

Yet many Polish and European leaders believe the incursion was deliberate.

"This Russian provocation...is nothing more than an attempt to test our capabilities," Poland's President Karol Nawrocki said, echoing comments by his German and French counterparts.

However, experts' opinions are split on whether Moscow intended to launch the drones into Poland.

On Thursday, Nato's top military commander Alexus Grynkewich acknowledged it was not yet known whether the act had been intentional and said even the precise number of drones which had crossed into Polish airspace was still to be determined.

But in the face of growing nervousness from the countries bordering Russia, neither Nato nor Poland are taking any chances.

Warsaw will set restrictions for drones and small air traffic along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine, and Latvia has announced its eastern airspace would be closed for a week.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to provide guidance and training to Western military representatives on how to fend off Russian aerial attacks as Ukrainian defence forces do on a near-nightly basis.

Zelensky also called for a joint air defence system to act as an air shield over Europe as a response for Russia's "insolent" behaviour.

Adding to the anxiety felt in some quarters of eastern Europe are major joint military exercises between Belarus and Russia, dubbed Zapad 2025, due to start on Friday.

Poland is due to close its border on Thursday at 00:00 local time (22:00 BST) "for national security reasons... in connection with the Zapad manoeuvres," which it called "very aggressive".

Russia has urged Polish authorities to re-open its border with Belarus, warning its closure "will cause serious damage" to businesses and freedom of movement.

"We call on Warsaw to think about the consequences of such destructive steps and reconsider the decision as soon as possible", Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The previous Zapad drills were staged several months before the start of the war in Ukraine and involved about 200,000 troops in total.

This year's exercise will be smaller in scale, according to Lithuanian military intelligence chief Mindaugas Mazonas, and involve up to 30,000 troops in total.

The response by US President Donald Trump to the drone incursion has so far been muted. "What's with Russia violating Poland's airspace with drones? Here we go!", he wrote on social media on Wednesday without elaborating further.

Polish President Nawrocki said he and his US counterpart had spoken as "part of a series of consultations" with allies and said the talks "reaffirmed our unity".

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Ukraine launches 221 drones on Russia, Moscow says

Russia says it downed 221 Ukrainian drones launched on its territory overnight, in one of the largest aerial assaults since May.

More than half of the drones were intercepted over the Bryansk and Smolensk regions, south-west of Moscow, where Lukoil facilities were reportedly targeted, the defence ministry said.

Authorities in the Leningrad region said 28 drones were brought down and that a fire had broken out on a vessel in the Baltic port of Primorsk, Russia's largest oil terminal. They added that the blaze was extinguished without casualties or leaks.

Meanwhile, officials said two civilians were killed in Ukraine's Sumy region when a Russian glide bomb struck a village near the border.

Interceptions were reported across at least nine other regions of Russia, including Kaluga, Novgorod and the Moscow area, where nine drones were said to have been destroyed. Debris was recorded across several areas, though Russian officials insisted there had been no casualties.

Seven people, including five civilians and two military personnel, were injured when a drone struck a bus in Bryansk, the region's Governor Alexander Bogomaz said.

Moscow's figures, which the BBC has been unable to independently verify, suggest Thursday night's attack constituted one of the largest Ukrainian aerial bombardments in over four months.

Russia said it destroyed a record 524 drones on 7 May. By comparison, Ukrainian officials said Russia had deployed 818 drones against their territory in recent weeks.

The aerial assault is being described as one of the most significant for the Leningrad region since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine three-and-a-half years ago. The attack saw operations at St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport temporarily suspended.

Cross-border drone raids have become an increasingly prominent feature of the war. In July, a sustained Ukrainian drone attack forced the temporary closure of all of Moscow's airports.

In recent months Ukrainian strikes have reached deeper into Russian territory, hitting refineries, fuel depots and logistics hubs hundreds of miles from the frontlines.

Moscow has intensified its missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy facilities over the summer as US-led efforts to reach a peace agreement stalled.

The attacks came ahead of the start of a major joint military exercise between Russia and ally Belarus on Friday, which is staged every four years.

But this time it is taking place just days after a number of Russian drones were shot down or fell on Poland, in what Warsaw called an unprecedented incursion into its airspace.

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Kyiv can win all of Ukraine back from Russia, Trump says

US President Donald Trump has said Kyiv can "win all of Ukraine back in its original form", marking a major shift in his position on the war with Russia.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said Ukraine could get back "the original borders from where this war started" with the support of Europe and Nato, due to pressures on Russia's economy.

His comments came after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, held after Trump had addressed the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to end the war, but has previously warned that process would likely involve Ukraine giving up some territory, an outcome Zelensky has consistently rejected.

In his post, Trump added Ukraine could "maybe even go further than that", but did not specify what he was referring to.

He also made no reference to Crimea, which was invaded and annexed by Russia in 2014. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Trump said his position had changed "after getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia military and economic situation".

"Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act," he added, labelling Russia as a "paper tiger".

Zelensky hailed the "big shift" in Trump's position, and speaking to reporters in the UN building, said he understood the US was willing to give Ukraine security guarantees "after the war is finished".

Pressed on what this would look like, he added: "I don't want to lie, we don't have specific details," but broached the possibility of more weapons, air defences and drones.

Speaking later on Fox News, Zelensky said that Trump's Truth Social post about Ukraine's positioning surprised him but he took it as a "positive signal" that Trump and the US "will be with us to the end of the war".

"I think the fact that Putin was lying to President Trump so many times also made a difference between us," he told Fox host Bret Baier.

Earlier on Tuesday, following his speech to the UN, Trump also said Nato nations should shoot down Russian planes breaching their airspace, following a series of recent incursions by Russian fighter jets and drones.

Last week, Estonia and Poland requested a consultation with other Nato members after Russia violated its airspace in separate incidents. Romania, another Nato member, also said Russian drones breached its airspace.

After meeting on Tuesday, Nato issued a statement condemning Russia's actions and warned that it would use "all necessary military and non-military tools" to defend itself.

"Russia bears full responsibility for these actions, which are escalatory, risk miscalculation and endanger lives. They must stop," it said.

The alliance added that Moscow's actions were part of a "pattern of increasingly irresponsible" behaviour.

Nato's secretary general Mark Rutte said: "We are a defensive alliance, yes, but we are not naive, so we see what is happening."

Speaking at the UN, Poland's president Karol Nawrocki echoed those comments, saying his country was prepared to "defend its territory" and "react adequately".

"Polish people, as well as countries of Central and Eastern Europe, will not be scared of Russian drones," he said.

Russia denied violating Estonia's airspace, while it insisted the Polish incursion was not deliberate and did not comment on the Romania incident.

Asked if the US would support its Nato allies if they shot down Russian aircraft, Trump said it "depends on the circumstance" and praised the military alliance for increasing defence spending.

"Nato has stepped up," he said, referring to an agreement by leaders to ramp up defence spending to 5% of their countries' economic output by 2035.

In his speech hours earlier, Trump criticised some Nato members for not ceasing the purchase of Russian energy, saying they were "funding a war against themselves".

Tuesday's Truth Social post represents an about-face after Trump spent most of the year insisting that Ukraine's situation was dire.

In February, Trump told Zelensky during their fiery Oval Office exchange that he did "not have the cards right now" to prevail against a larger, more populous nation in a war of attrition.

Before talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August, Trump said he would try to get some territory back for Ukraine but warned there would be "some swapping, changes in land".

There were reports he was planning to press Zelensky to surrender the entirety of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in return for Russia freezing the rest of the front line - a proposal put forward by Putin in Alaska.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to impose tougher measures on Russia, but has so far failed to take any action when the Kremlin ignored his deadlines and threats of sanctions.

Unpredictability has long been one of the US president's foreign policy trademarks, and perhaps this latest move is an attempt to shake up peace negotiations that have been stagnant for more than a month after Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska.

The most notable portion of Trump's post may be the way it ended - with an assurance the US would continue to sell arms to Nato that it could then pass along to Ukraine.

It is not the seemingly near open-ended commitment to the war effort that the Biden administration provided, but it is more than Trump seemed interested in offering at times this year.

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Russia will expand aggression beyond Ukraine if not stopped, Zelensky warns

Vladimir Putin "will keep driving the war forward wider and deeper" if he is not stopped, Ukraine's President Zelensky has warned.

Speaking at the UN's General Assembly in New York, Zelensky said more countries would be met with Russian aggression unless allies displayed a united front and ramped up support.

He said all nations were threatened by a global arms race, as military technology advances, adding that "weapons decide who survives" and calling for global rules on AI.

His comments come after US President Donald Trump shifted his position on the Russia-Ukraine war, saying for the first time that Ukraine could win back all of its land.

Zelensky criticised international institutions, suggesting they are "too weak" to offer Ukraine safety guarantees, adding - in apparent reference to Nato - that being part of a long-standing military alliance "doesn't automatically mean you are safe".

"We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history," he said.

He argued that "stopping Russia now" was cheaper than "wondering who will be the first to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead".

Zelensky called for international rules around AI and its role in weaponry, and said the development of autonomous drones and unmanned planes represented a far greater risk than traditional warfare.

The Ukrainian leader also warned that Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova - which lies between Ukraine and EU-member Romania - to Russian influence. He said the West had missed a chance to save Georgia and Belarus from Putin's orbit.

On Thursday the pro-EU president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, accused the Kremlin of "pouring hundreds of millions of euros" into Moldova in an attempt to instigate violence and spread fear.

Voters in the former Soviet republic go to the polls on Sunday, amid what a BBC investigation found to be a barrage of disinformation spread by a network with ties to Moscow.

Last week, Estonia and Poland requested a consultation with other Nato members after Russia violated its airspace in separate incidents. Romania, another Nato member, also said Russian drones breached its airspace.

Earlier on Tuesday, following his speech to the UN, Trump said Nato nations should shoot down Russian planes breaching their airspace, following the recent incursions by Russian fighter jets and drones.

Zelensky praised Donald Trump and said he had a "good meeting" with the US president.

On Tuesday, he told reporters he understood the US was willing to give Ukraine security guarantees after the war is finished.

Pressed on what this would look like, he said he did not have specific details but broached the possibility of more weapons, air defences and drones.

Trump's suggestion on Tuesday that Kyiv could win, with support from the EU and Nato, marked an apparent U-turn after his previous comments that Ukraine would have to accept "land swaps" as a condition of peace.

The US president also described Russia as a "paper tiger" that had been "fighting aimlessly in Ukraine."

Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov responded: "Russia is in no way a tiger. It's more associated with a bear. And there is no such thing as a paper bear."

Peskov told reporters the US president had made the comments "apparently under the influence of the vision put forward by Zelensky".

"This vision is in absolute contrast with our understanding of the current state of affairs."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, marking the highest-level US encounter with Russia since Trump invited Putin to Alaska last month.

According to a brief statement from the US State Department, Rubio reiterated Trump's "call for the killing to stop and the need for Moscow to take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war".

The Kremlin did not immediately comment on the meeting.

BBC

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Russia will give ‘decisive response’ if provoked by the West, says Lavrov​

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned NATO and the EU that “any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response”.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Saturday, Lavrov insisted that Moscow had no plans to attack the West, but that it was prepared to act if provoked.

His comments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia for recent drone and plane incursions in Europe.

“Russia is testing their ability to defend themselves and trying to influence societies so people begin to ask: ‘If we can’t protect ourselves, why should we keep supporting Ukraine?’. This is intended to reduce assistance to Ukraine, especially ahead of winter,” he wrote on X.

Moscow continues to deny violating Polish airspace with drones and Estonian airspace with fighter jets this month. It also says it played no role in the rogue drones spotted near airports in Denmark this week, which forced several of them to shut temporarily.

‘Some hopes’ for US-brokered peace
In his UN speech, Lavrov hit out at accusations from the West, blaming it for scaremongering about the possibility of a “Third World War”.

“Russia is being accused of almost planning to attack NATO and EU countries. President Putin has repeatedly debunked these provocations,” he said.

But Lavrov also insisted that his country still has “some hopes” for ceasefire talks with the United States over its war in Ukraine, just days after US President Donald Trump appeared to align himself more closely with Kyiv by saying it could recapture all the territory seized by Moscow.

Trump’s comments, which were made after he met Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UNGA, marked a significant change in tone. Previously, the US president had said Kyiv needed to make concessions, arguing that it would never reclaim occupied territory seized by Russia since 2014.

Despite Trump’s statement on Tuesday, Lavrov still expressed a belief in the role of the US as a potential mediator.

“We have some hopes for the continuation of the Russian-American dialogue, especially after the summit in Alaska,” he told delegates at the UN headquarters on Saturday.

Source: Al Jazeera

 

[BouncerGuy]

Poland says jets scrambled over Russian attack on Ukraine

Poland and Nato scrambled jets early on Sunday as Russia carried out strikes on western Ukraine, the Polish armed forces said.

With the whole of Ukraine under air raid alerts, the airspace near Poland's southeastern cities of Lublin and Rzeszow was closed until at least 0400 GMT due to "unplanned military activity related to ensuring state security", flight tracking site Flightradar24 said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city came under a "massive attack", with a five-storey building partially destroyed due to debris from a drone. At least three people were taken to hospital, he added.

Tensions have escalated after repeated Russian violations of Nato countries' airspace this month.

"In connection with the activity of the Russian Federation's long-range aviation carrying out strikes on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft have begun operating in our airspace," the Polish military said in a post on X.

"Allied" military assets refer to Nato ones, in military terms.

The Polish military further described the actions as preventive and aimed at securing airspace and protecting citizens.

Moscow has denied responsibility after Denmark said drones were flown over its airports. Denmark itself has said the incidents appeared to be the work of a "professional actor" but that there was no evidence of Russian involvement.

Meanwhile, Estonia has accused Russia of violating its airspace with warplanes, while a Nato air defence mission was recently carried out over Poland as part of an allied response to Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace.

Polish and Nato aircraft shot down three Russian drones in Poland's airspace on 10 September.

US President Donald Trump has gone as far as to say that Nato nations should shoot down Russian planes in their airspace, while Nato itself has warned it would use "all necessary military and non-military tools" to defend itself following the recent military incursions.

Trump also shifted his position on the Russia-Ukraine war, saying for the first time last week that Ukraine could win all of its land back from Moscow.

In a speech delivered at the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said his country had no intention of attacking EU or Nato member states but warned of a "decisive response" to any "aggression" directed towards Moscow.

BBC

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Russia says it has taken control of two villages in Ukraine's Donetsk region

Russian forces have taken control of two more frontline settlements in key areas of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday.

Ukrainian officials did not address the Russian announcement concerning the two villages, but President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv's counter-offensive operation near the town of Dobropillia, also in Donetsk region, made progress.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces were now in control of Shandryholove and Zarichne, both northeast of the city of Sloviansk - one of the centres Moscow hopes eventually to capture in its drive westward through Donetsk region.

It then issued a second statement saying Defence Minister Andrei Belousov had congratulated the unit for the "bold and decisive" actions that led to the capture of Zarichne, identified by its Soviet-era name, Kirovsk.

Video released by Russia's Ministry of Defence purports to show Russian troops moving from building to building and holding aloft a Russian flag as they take control of Shandryholove.

Russia says it has taken control of two villages in Ukraine's Donetsk region

Russian forces have taken control of two more frontline settlements in key areas of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday.

www.reuters.com

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Russia advances in Ukraine as Zelenskyy touts ‘mega’ US weapons deal​

As tensions between Russia and Europe continue to grow, Moscow has tried to present its ground war in Ukraine as unstoppable.

The Kremlin claimed last week to be in control of two-thirds of the buildings in Kupiansk, a city in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region.

“Russian troops have blocked a large group of the enemy from the northern and western sides, taking it in a half-ring,” said the Ministry of Defence in Moscow.

Russia has been trying to capture Kupiansk for most of this year, believing it will unlock a northern gateway for its forces to descend to the eastern region of Donetsk, whose complete capture Moscow has prioritised.

“Taking control over Kupiansk will allow the Russian troops to advance towards the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration,” said the Defence Ministry, referring to Ukraine’s best-fortified towns in Donetsk.

People walk next to a damaged building and vehicles in a residential neighbourhood hit during a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2025.

Russian officials have been saying they are on the cusp of seizing Kupiansk since March. Ukrainian military observer Konstantyn Mashovets estimated Russia needed another one to two more divisions to do so.

Russia advances in Ukraine as Zelenskyy touts ‘mega’ US weapons deal

Trump gets closer to Ukraine as top European official warns 'we are no longer at peace' amid airspace rows with Russia.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Ball Blazer]

French photojournalist killed in drone strike in Ukraine​

French photojournalist Antoni Lallican has been killed in a Russian drone strike in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian military has said.

Grigoriy Ivanchenko, a Ukrainian photojournalist working alongside Mr Lallican, was injured in the same attack on the outskirts of Komyshuvakha, a village in the Donetsk region.

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) said this was the first instance of a journalist being killed by a drone in Ukraine.

Mr Lallican, a Paris-based photojournalist, had been documenting the war since March 2022 - a month after Russia launched its full-scale invasion - earning him the prestigious Victor Hugo Prize for photography in 2024.

The two journalists had been embedded with the 4th Mechanised Brigade near Komyshuvakha, around 15km (12 miles) from the frontline, at the time of the attack.

According to a statement from the Hans Lucas photo agency, both journalists were wearing personal protective equipment, and their bulletproof vests had identification marks with the word "PRESS" on them.

A witness told the BBC that the noise of chainsaws - being used to build defensive positions - may have prevented them from hearing the drone overhead.

The brigade's press officer, Anastasia Haletska - who was also wounded in the attack - said she managed to apply tourniquets to Mr Ivanchenko, before both of them were taken to a hospital in nearby Kramatorsk.

Mr Lallican was killed instantly, she said. Mr Ivanchenko is in a stable condition, but had to have his leg amputated.

French President Emmanuel Macron shared a tribute to Mr Lallican and said he had been a victim of a Russian drone attack.

"I express my sincere condolences to his family, loved ones, and all his colleagues who, risking their lives, inform us and bear witness to the reality of war," he wrote on X.

Mr Lallican's work has been published by numerous outlets, including French newspapers Le Monde and Le Figaro.

His work in Ukraine, which traces the "consequences of the war", has taken him across the country, from Odesa, in the south-west, to Kharkiv, in the north-east, according to his website.

Families fleeing in the early days of the invasion, elderly men and women refusing to leave their homes under Russian bombardment, and soldiers fighting and living on the frontline populate his photographs, among many others whose lives have been upended by the war.

According to the EFJ and IFJ, 17 journalists have been killed since the invasion began.

In a joint statement, they said: "We pay tribute to the courage of Antoni Lallican and all the journalists who continue to cover the war. We demand that the perpetrators of his crime be brought to justice.

Sergiy Tomilenko, president of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), accused Russia of "deliberately hunting those trying to document war crimes".

"For journalists, every trip to the frontline zone is a deadly risk. Antoni Lallican took this risk again and again, coming to Ukraine, traveling to Donbas, documenting what many prefer not to see," he said in a statement.

"He built a visual bridge between the world and Ukrainian reality. Now he himself has become part of this tragic story".

The Kremlin has not commented on the attack.

Source: BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Poland scrambles jets as Russia strikes western Ukraine

Russia pounded Ukraine with missile and drone attacks overnight on Saturday and into Sunday morning, focusing on the major western city of Lviv.

Ukraine's neighbour Poland scrambled fighter jets in order to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the Polish military confirmed. Allied Nato aircraft were also deployed.

Lviv's regional head Maksym Kozytskyi said two people were killed in strikes in the region, and two more injured.

Elsewhere, Russia again targeted Ukraine's power plants - and one was struck in an overnight attack on Zaporizhzhia, where the mayor said one person died and more than 73,000 people were without electricity.

The Russian assaults came days after a US official said the US would support Ukraine launching deep strikes inside Russian territory.

"Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness," Poland's operational command said in a post on X.

At 05:10 (02:10 GMT), all of Ukraine was under air raid alerts following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks.

Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Lviv's mayor Andriy Sadovyi said part of the city - 70 km (43 miles) from the border with Poland - had no power, adding that city's air defence systems were engaged heavily in repelling first a drone and then a Russian missile attack.

As of 07:30 (04:30 GMT), parts of the city were left without power and public transport was yet to start running, with Sadovyi stressing on Telegram that it was "dangerous to go out into the streets".

In Zaporizhzhia, Russia's overnight attack left "more than 73,000 consumers... without electricity", according to Ivan Fedorov, the regional governor.

One person was killed, and nine injured, Fedorov said.

A 16-year-old girl was among those receiving medical assistance, he added, posting photos apparently showing a partly destroyed multi-storey block and a burnt-out car from the site of the attack.

Public transport in Ivano-Frankivsk, another western city, would "start running later than usual" on Sunday, its mayor said.

The multiple strikes were part of Russia's threats against the whole of Ukraine overnight.

At around 06:00 (03:00 GMT), Ukraine's Air Force said all of the country was under the threat of fresh Russian missile attacks, following hours of air raid alerts and warnings of drone and missile attacks.

Russian forces have occupied most of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, including Luhansk and Donetsk, since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russia currently controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, its forces have occupied most of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, including Luhansk and Donetsk.

Russia currently controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.

In Russia, air defence units destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, the state-owned RIA news agency reported on Sunday, citing data from Russia's defence ministry.

Last week, US Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on Fox News that the US would support Ukraine launching deep strikes inside Russian territories.

"The answer is yes, use the ability to hit deep, there are no such things as sanctuaries," Kellogg said when asked if it was President Donald Trump's position that Ukraine could conduct long-range strikes.

Meanwhile, another Nato member - Lithuania - had to close its airspace briefly after objects were spotted, following recent incidents in Denmark, Norway and Germany.

Lithuania suspended flights at its largest and busiest Vilnius airport for several hours, before reopening it at 04:50 (01:50 GMT) on Sunday.

The airport's operator said the flight suspensions and diversions were "due to a possible series of balloons heading toward Vilnius Airport".

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Five killed in large Russian missile and drone attack, Zelensky says

Five people have died and tens of thousands have been left without power in Ukraine after intense Russian missile and drone attacks overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Ukraine's neighbour Poland scrambled fighter jets in order to ensure the safety of Polish airspace, the Polish military confirmed. Allied Nato aircraft were also deployed.

Four members of one family, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed by a strike in the village of Lapaivka as attacks focused on the nearby western city of Lviv.

Russia's defence ministry said it had successfully carried out a "massive" strike on Ukrainian military and infrastructure targets.

Another family member was injured, as were two neighbours, in the strike that killed their relatives in Lapaivka.

One person also died in Zaporizhzhia. Zelensky said Russia fired more than 50 missiles and around 500 attack drones.

Lviv endured several hours of strikes, leading to the suspension of public transport services and the cutting of electrical supplies.

The Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, and Kirovohrad regions were also targeted as well as Lviv and Zaporizhzhia, according to Zelensky.

He added: "We need more protection and faster implementation of all defense agreements, especially on air defense, to deprive this aerial terror of any meaning.

"A unilateral ceasefire in the skies is possible - and it is precisely that which could open the way to real diplomacy."

The Russian assaults came days after a US official said the US would support Ukraine launching deep strikes inside Russian territory.

"Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness," Poland's operational command said in a post on X.

At 05:10 (02:10 GMT), all of Ukraine was under air raid alerts following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks.

Russia continues to focus its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure as winter approaches.

Kyiv's energy ministry said overnight attacks caused damage in Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv and Sumy.

In Zaporizhzhia, Russia's overnight attack left "more than 73,000 consumers... without electricity" after a power plant was struck, according to Ivan Fedorov, the regional governor.

A woman was killed and several others injured in the region.

A 16-year-old girl was among those receiving medical assistance, Fedorov added, posting photos apparently showing a partly destroyed multi-storey block and a burnt-out car from the site of the attack.

Emergency outages were implemented in Chernihiv and Sumy, the energy ministry added.

Lviv's mayor Andriy Sadovyi said part of the city - 70 km (43 miles) from the border with Poland - had no power, adding that city's air defence systems were engaged heavily in repelling first a drone and then a Russian missile attack.

Public transport in Ivano-Frankivsk, another western city, would "start running later than usual" on Sunday, its mayor said.

At around 06:00 (03:00 GMT), Ukraine's Air Force said all of the country was under the threat of fresh Russian missile attacks, following hours of air raid alerts and warnings of drone and missile attacks.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, its forces have occupied most of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, including Luhansk and Donetsk.

Russia currently controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.

In Russia, air defence units destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, the state-owned RIA news agency reported on Sunday, citing data from Russia's defence ministry.

Ukraine has also been stepping up strikes on Russian oil refineries, leading to petrol shortages in parts of the country.

Last week, US Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on Fox News that the US would support Ukraine launching deep strikes inside Russian territories.

"The answer is yes, use the ability to hit deep, there are no such things as sanctuaries," Kellogg said when asked if it was US President Donald Trump's position that Ukraine could conduct long-range strikes.

Meanwhile, another Nato member - Lithuania - had to close its airspace briefly after objects were spotted, following recent incidents in Denmark, Norway and Germany.

Lithuania suspended flights at its largest and busiest Vilnius airport for several hours, before reopening it at 04:50 (01:50 GMT) on Sunday.

The airport's operator said the flight suspensions and diversions were "due to a possible series of balloons heading toward Vilnius Airport".

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

British parts found in Russian drones, Zelensky says

British microcomputers were among more than 100,000 foreign-made parts contained in Russian missiles and drones used in Sunday's deadly strikes on Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The Ukrainian president called for further "effective" sanctions after saying parts originating in allied countries including Germany, Japan and the US have been identified in Russian weapons.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said it had recently undertaken efforts to crack down on UK firms whose products have continued to make their way into Russia's military supply chain.

"We take reports of goods from UK companies being found in Russian weaponry incredibly seriously," a government spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the government had "banned the export of thousands of goods to Russia including every battlefield item Ukraine has brought to our attention," adding that they have imposed "the most severe package of sanctions".

Any person or firm that does not comply with sanctions could face "large financial penalties or criminal prosecution".

Over £20bn ($26.9bn) of UK trade with Russia is now under sanctions, according to the DBT.

Writing on X, Zelensky said "microcomputers for drone flight control are produced in the United Kingdom".

He added it was "crucial to shut down every scheme that circumvents sanctions", and said countries which support Ukraine "already possess the detailed data on each company and each product" still being used by Russia.

Components originating in China, Taiwan and the Netherlands have also been identified in Russian weapons, he continued.

Four members of one family, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed by a strike in the village of Lapaivka on Sunday, as Russia launched 549 missiles and drones overnight, primarily against the western region of Lviv.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it has become the most-sanctioned nation in the world.

However, it has adapted its economy and manufacturing to avoid collapse, with massively increased military spending resulting in continued growth.

Russia has also found willing buyers in China and India for its energy exports after European nations slashed how much they purchased, continuing an important revenue source for the Kremlin.

However, a number of western experts have recently pointed to what they say are growing signs that the economy is now under an ever increasing strain.

In June, Russia's Minister for Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, warned that the country's economy was teetering "on the brink of recession".

BBC

 

[Cricket Warrior]

British parts found in Russian drones, Zelensky says

British microcomputers were among more than 100,000 foreign-made parts contained in Russian missiles and drones used in Sunday's deadly strikes on Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The Ukrainian president called for further "effective" sanctions after saying parts originating in allied countries including Germany, Japan and the US have been identified in Russian weapons.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said it had recently undertaken efforts to crack down on UK firms whose products have continued to make their way into Russia's military supply chain.

"We take reports of goods from UK companies being found in Russian weaponry incredibly seriously," a government spokesperson said.

British parts found in Russian drones, Zelesnky says

The Ukrainian leader says British-made microcomputers were used in weapons launched at Ukraine this weekend.

www.bbc.com

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Russia says prospects for Ukraine peace deal now faded as its war rages on​

Russia appears resigned to the collapse of peace efforts for the war it instigated, and prosecutes to this day, in Ukraine following President Vladimir Putin’s summit with his United States counterpart Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, in August, saying whatever progress emerged from the historic meeting has all but unravelled.

Speaking to Russia’s federal assembly on Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, “Unfortunately, we must admit that the powerful momentum generated by Anchorage in favour of agreements … has largely been undermined.”

Ryabkov blamed European countries for much of the impasse, accusing them of wanting to wage “a war to the last Ukrainian”, according to Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency.

His comments appeared to dash any faint hopes for a quick end to the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year, whose rapid resolution Trump had made a key campaign promise.

Casting himself as a mediator, the US president made early overtures to Moscow and pressured Ukraine to make painful territorial concessions, once even berating its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House and accusing him of “gambling with World War III”.

Trump’s diplomatic push culminated in the historic Alaska summit, but it failed to produce a truce or meaningful compromises from Moscow.

Russia says prospects for Ukraine peace deal now faded as its war rages on

Senior official Sergey Ryabkov says 'momentum generated' from the Trump-Putin summit has 'largely been undermined'.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Thousands in Kyiv plunged into darkness after mass Russian attack

Large parts of Kyiv were plunged into darkness in the early hours of Friday after Russian drones and missiles struck Ukrainian energy facilities, cutting power and water to homes and halting a key metro link across the Dnipro river.

In the latest mass attack targeting the energy system as winter approaches, electricity was interrupted in nine regions and over a million households and businesses were temporarily without power across the country.

In southeastern Ukraine, a seven-year-old was killed when his home was hit and at least 20 people were injured. In Kyiv, an apartment block in the city centre was damaged by a projectile, while on the left bank of the Dnipro that divides the capital, crowds waited at bus stops with the metro out of action and people filled water bottles at distribution points.

"We didn't sleep at all," said Liuba, a pensioner, as she collected water. "From 2:30 a.m. there was so much noise. By 3:30 we had no electricity, no gas, no water. Nothing."

According to Ukraine's energy ministry, over 800,000 customers temporarily lost power in Kyiv.

Thousands in Kyiv plunged into darkness after mass Russian attack

Large parts of Kyiv were plunged into darkness in the early hours of Friday after Russian drones and missiles struck Ukrainian energy facilities, cutting power and water to homes and halting a key metro link across the Dnipro river.

www.reuters.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Trump says he may send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine

US President Donald Trump is considering sending long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Asked by reporters on Air Force One on Sunday whether he would provide Kyiv with Tomahawks, Trump replied: "We'll see... I may". The missiles would be "a new step of aggression" in Ukraine's war with Russia, he said.

The comments follow a phone call at the weekend between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who pushed for stronger military support to launch counter-attacks against Russia.

Zelensky has said he will meet Trump in Washington on Friday for talks that will include air defence and long-range capabilities.

Trump says Ukraine may get Tomahawk missiles to use against Russia

Ukraine wants long-range missiles to hit back at Russia - and Donald Trump says he may send Tomahawks.

www.bbc.com

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Ukraine imposes blackouts in most regions after Russian power grid attacks

Russian missile and drone attacks have knocked out power in regions across Ukraine
Emergency power outages have been brought in across almost all of Ukraine after a intensive campaign of Russian air strikes on energy infrastructure.

This will be the fourth consecutive winter of blackouts throughout Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The energy ministry said all but two regions were affected. Only the eastern Donetsk region at the forefront of the war is exempt, while the northern Chernihiv region is already facing hourly outages.

As well as targeting the power network, Russia has increasingly targeted Ukraine's railways. Ukraine has meanwhile ramped up attacks on Russian oil refineries, in border regions and beyond.

One oil depot in the Crimean peninsula - which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014 - has been burning for three days following a second Ukrainian drone attack in a week.

The Marine Oil Terminal in Feodosia is the largest in Crimea and an important logistical link for Russian troops operating in Ukraine.

Telegram channel Supernova+ Smoke and flames billow from an oil terminal in CrimeaTelegram channel Supernova+
Images of the fire at Feodosia were posted on Ukrainian Telegram channels
Kyiv's armed forces general staff said on Wednesday that 16 fuel tanks were damaged and that a large-scale blaze was continuing to burn.

The surge in drone attacks on oil refineries and pipelines has also led to fuel shortages and price rises in some parts of Russia - a development that Ukrainian leaders hope will hit Russia's war effort and help bring the Kremlin to the negotiating table.

The strikes have reduced Russian fuel exports to their lowest level since the start of the war, according to figures from the International Energy Agency.

Ukraine's energy ministry said emergency restrictions were being brought in "because of the complicated situation". Emergency work was taking place in all regions affected by Russian attack, grid operator Ukrenergo said, and it urged consumers who still had power to use it sparingly.

Temperatures in parts of Ukraine were forecast to fall to 3C overnight into Thursday.

The electricity company in Lviv in western Ukraine said that because the outages were under emergency conditions there was no possibility to warn consumers in advance.

Source: BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine's trains in 'battle for the railways'

Propped up in her hospital bed, railway conductor Olha Zolotova speaks slowly and quietly as she talks about the day her train was hit by a Russian drone.

"When the Shahed [drone] hit I was covered in rubble. I was in the second car. People pulled me out," she says.

"My eyes went dark. There was fire everywhere, everything was burning, my hair caught fire a little. I was trapped."

Olha is a victim of Russia's increasingly frequent attacks on the Ukrainian railway system – vital infrastructure that keeps the country moving three and a half years since Moscow's full-scale invasion.

Ukraine's 21,000km-long (13,000-mile) railway system is not merely a mode of transport, it is a central pillar of Ukraine's war effort and a powerful national symbol of resilience.

Olha's injuries were severe, so she was transported more than 300km (185 miles) to a special hospital in the capital, Kyiv, dedicated to railway workers.

She has just had surgery on her hip and a metal plate inserted into her leg.

Her train was hit earlier this month at a station in Shostka in the northern Sumy region.

As rescue workers sought to tend to the injured, a second Russian drone struck the station – a type of hit known as a "double tap".

Ukraine says civilians and rescue teams were directly targeted, which would constitute a possible war crime under international law.

Thirty people in total were hurt. Of those treated in hospital, three were children, and one man was found dead, possibly from a heart attack.

According to national rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ), there were twice as many attacks in September as there were in August - not just on trains but on the infrastructure that supports the rail network.

In fact, half of the attacks on the railways since the beginning of the war have taken place in the past two months, says Oleksiy Balesta, a deputy minister at the department that oversees the rail network.

"Almost every day for the last two months, we have been experiencing targeted attacks on Ukrzaliznytsia infrastructure and on power transmission facilities," he says.

Balesta suggests Russia has been "hunting for locomotives - deliberately targeting both freight and passenger trains".

Behind the deputy minister is a wrecked locomotive, part of Ukraine's intercity fleet that was targeted in eastern Kyiv on one particularly devastating night at the end of August.

The attack also included a strike on a key rail junction in Koziatyn in the central Vinnytsia region, creating delays and forcing significant diversions.

As he speaks, Balesta receives a message from his assistant. There has been another attack on a train between Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the eastern Donetsk region, close to the front line.

Already today there have been three bomb threats on other services, forcing staff to evacuate the trains until explosives experts have given the all clear.

Officials here point to two principal factors which they believe have led to this intensified spate of attacks.

First, Russia's increasing capacity to produce large numbers of relatively cheap Shahed-type drones each day, which are increasingly able to fly greater distances.

Then there is the near stalemate on the front line - and the consequent shift in focus by the Russian army to disrupt supply lines instead.

"It's a very clear battle for the railways," says Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chief executive of UZ.

"The enemy is trying to stop us completely. This is part of a war tactic meant to cause panic among civilians, destroy our economy, and make the country unliveable."

Repairing damage as fast as possible, co-ordinating with the military and training its staff to recognise potential sabotage threats are all key to Ukraine's response, says Pertsovskyi.

"Lastly, we always have Plan B, C and D. The goal is never to cancel a single service or destination. If a train can't run, we combine trains and buses."

On top of the practicalities, there is also a clear eye on the morale of passengers.

"Recently, a train from Kyiv to Sumy had to be rerouted, adding six hours due to safety reasons," says the UZ chief.

"A passenger posted on social media that she'd be spending her birthday on the train instead of with her boyfriend - but said she understood. We sent her a cake and flowers."

The constant threat of missiles and drones means flying people and supplies around the country is nearly impossible.

Much of the grain and iron ore exports that Ukraine's economy depends on is moved by train to the southern Black Sea ports, and westward through Poland.

Visiting political leaders from all around the world also all enter the country by train – "iron diplomacy", as Ukrainians call it. The workers who have been caught up in attacks are called "iron heroes".

In the grandeur of Kyiv's central station, another government minister awards certificates of bravery to the latest group of Iron Heroes - those who fought the fires on the night the intercity depot was attacked.

"It was very scary because there was a lot of fire and damage," says Oleksandr Leonenko, who helped extinguish the flames. He proudly shows me his certificate and says it will mean some extra pay.

The uptick of attacks on the railway has coincided with Russia targeting Ukraine's power infrastructure. One recent set of attacks left hundreds of thousands without electricity.

Ukraine has meanwhile launched a series of attacks on Russian oil refineries and claims to have inflicted petrol shortages in many areas.

As Ukrainians eye their fourth winter since Russia's full-scale invasion began, UZ's Oleksandr Pertsovskyi believes the attacks on their infrastructure could bring about the hardest winter yet.

In a message echoed by many Ukrainian officials, he calls on the country's allies to supply stronger air defences.

"But we're not desperate. We're preparing mentally and practically. Ukrainians remain strong in spirit."

That spirit looks set to be tested to the limit in the coming months.

BBC

 

[The Bald Eagle]

President Donald Trump says "great progress" was made during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, with the pair agreeing to face-to-face talks in Hungary

He said the call, the first with Putin since mid-August, was "very productive", adding that teams from Washington and Moscow will meet next week.

Trump did not confirm a date for his meeting with Putin in Budapest. The Kremlin said work on the summit would begin "immediately" after the "extremely frank and trustful" call.

The talks came a day before Ukraine's President Zelensky was to visit the White House, and with Trump weighing whether to arm Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles capable of striking deep into Russia.

Writing on his Truth Social platform after the call concluded, Trump said he and Putin "spent a great deal of time talking about Trade between Russia and the United States when the War with Ukraine is over".

He said "high level advisors" from both countries would meet at an unspecified location next week, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the American delegation.

Trump also said he would update Zelensky on his talks with Putin on Friday, adding: "I believe great progress was made with today's telephone conversation."

Trump has taken a much tougher line towards Putin over the Ukraine war since a face-to-face summit in Alaska in August failed to produce a decisive breakthrough in attempts to broker a peace deal.

The pair met on US soil on 15 August for a summit which the US president hoped would help convince the Russian president to enter comprehensive peace talks to end the Ukraine war. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The pair spoke again days later when Trump interrupted a meeting with Zelensky and European leaders to call Putin.

Since then, neither the White House or Kremlin have public confirmed any communications between the two.

During his presidential election campaign, Trump claimed he would be able to end the war in Ukraine within days but has since admitted resolving the conflict has been more challenging than any he has been involved in since returning to power.

Trump had been seen as more sympathetic to Russia than his predecessor Joe Biden, and strained relations with Zelensky came to a head on 28 February when he and Vice-President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office on live television.

But public relations with Zelensky have vastly improved in recent months.

In September, Trump signalled a major shift in his view of the conflict, saying he believed Kyiv could "win all of Ukraine back in its original form", a far cry from his public calls for Kyiv to cede territory occupied by Russia.

During Zelensky's upcoming visit to Washington on Friday, his third since January, the subject of Tomahawk missiles is likely to be high on the agenda.

Zelensky has called on the US to provide Ukraine with the advanced missiles, which have a range of 2,500 km (1,500 miles).

Asked earlier this week if he was considering giving Ukraine the missiles, he said: "We'll see... I may."

Source: BBC

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Donald Trump says he will meet Vladimir Putin in Hungary for more talks on ending the war in Ukraine, following a "very productive" phone call between the pair.

Trump says fresh talks will be held between "high level advisers" next week, led on the US side by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

A Kremlin aide says the talks were "substantive" and took place at Russia's request.

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Zelensky to make missile case in US after Trump-Putin phone call

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday, as Trump weighs whether to arm Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles capable of striking deep into Russia.

Their meeting comes a day after Trump said "great progress" was made during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the pair agreeing to face-to-face talks in Hungary.

Trump said the call, the first with Putin since mid-August, was "very productive", adding that teams from Washington and Moscow will meet next week.

As Zelensky arrived in the US, his third visit since January, he said Moscow was "rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks".

Zelensky has called on the US to provide Ukraine with the advanced missiles, which have a range of 2,500 km (1,500 miles).

Asked earlier this week if Trump was considering giving Ukraine Tomahawks, he said: "We'll see... I may."

But asked about the same prospect after his call with Putin, Trump said "we can't deplete" the US stockpile of Tomahawks, adding "we need them too... so I don't know what we can do about that".

Writing on his Truth Social platform after his call with Putin concluded, Trump said he and the Russian president "spent a great deal of time talking about Trade between Russia and the United States when the War with Ukraine is over".

He said "high level advisors" from both countries would meet at an unspecified location next week, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the American delegation.

Trump also said he would update Zelensky on his talks with Putin on Friday, adding: "I believe great progress was made with today's telephone conversation."

He later told reporters he expected to meet Putin in Hungary "within two weeks".

Hours before the Trump-Putin call, Russia launched one of its largest attacks of the year on Ukraine, including 28 ballistic missiles, and 320 drones, according to Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Olga Stefanishyna.

Stefanishyna said Russia launching overnight strikes on Ukraine before the call "exposes Moscow's real attitude toward peace".

In a statement to the BBC's US partner CBS, she added: "These assaults show that Moscow's strategy is one of terror and exhaustion. The only effective response is pressure - through tougher sanctions, reinforced air defense, and the supply of long-range capabilities."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on X the planned Budapest meeting was "great news for the peace-loving people of the world".

Earlier, he also said: "Peace requires patience, strength, and humility. Europe must shift its stance. Instead of arrogance and fanning the flames of endless war, we need negotiations with Russia. Only dialogue can bring peace to our continent."

Trump has taken a much tougher line towards Putin over the Ukraine war since a face-to-face summit in Alaska in August failed to produce a decisive breakthrough in attempts to broker a peace deal.

The pair met on US soil on 15 August for a summit which the US president hoped would help convince the Russian president to enter comprehensive peace talks to end the Ukraine war. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

They spoke again days later when Trump interrupted a meeting with Zelensky and European leaders to call Putin.

Since then, neither the White House or Kremlin have publicly confirmed any communications between the two.

During his presidential election campaign, Trump claimed he would be able to end the war in Ukraine within days but has since admitted resolving the conflict has been more challenging than any he has been involved in since returning to power.

Trump had been seen as more sympathetic to Russia than his predecessor Joe Biden, and strained relations with Zelensky came to a head on 28 February when he and Vice-President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office on live television.

But public relations with Zelensky have vastly improved in recent months.

In September, Trump signalled a major shift in his view of the conflict, saying he believed Kyiv could "win all of Ukraine back in its original form", a far cry from his public calls for Kyiv to cede territory occupied by Russia.

In late July, Trump set Putin a deadline of less than a fortnight to agree to a ceasefire or face sweeping sanctions, including measures against countries which still trade with Russia.

But he did not follow through the threat after Putin agreed to meet Trump in Alaska, which the US president hailed as a significant diplomatic success at the time, despite it not producing any tangible outcome.

Earlier on Thursday, India's foreign ministry cast doubt on a claim made by Trump a day earlier saying Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil.

An Indian government spokesman said he was "not aware of any conversation between the two leaders" taking place the previous day, after Trump said Modi had assured him purchases would stop "within a short period of time".

The US has pushed for countries - in particular India, China and Nato members - to stop buying Russian energy in an effort to increase economic pressure on the Kremlin. Zelensky has also repeatedly echoed those calls.

BBC

 

[The Bald Eagle]

China welcomes planned US–Russia engagement over Ukraine war​

China on Friday said it was “glad” to see continued engagement between Russia and the US over the war in Ukraine, which has lasted for more than three years.

Beijing “supports all efforts conducive [to the] peaceful settlement of the crisis,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference in Beijing.

Lin was responding to questions about US President Donald Trump’s plans to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Hungary within the next two weeks.

China “is glad to see Russia and the US keep in contact, improve their relations, and advance the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis,” Lin added.

Trump said Thursday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would meet next week to set the time and venue for the presidential meeting.

Both meetings were publicly discussed after Trump and Putin held a bilateral telephone call earlier Thursday.

“Maybe it’s already set up. They’ve already spoken,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to his expected meeting with Putin.

Trump is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, saying he would brief him on his “very good” call with Putin.

“We have a problem. They don’t get along too well, those two, and it’s sometimes tough to have meetings. So, we may do something where we’re separate, but separate but equal,” Trump said.

The US president added that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban would host his meeting with Putin in Budapest.

Trump’s announcement of his meeting with Putin — which would be their second since the two leaders met in Alaska in August — comes as Washington has urged China and India to curb imports of Russian crude.

Beijing has rejected the pressure, warning that it would take countermeasures if its interests were harmed over its ties with Moscow.

Source: Anadolu Agency

 

[BouncerGuy]

Zelensky guarded on Tomahawk missile talks with Trump after White House meeting

President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have come away empty-handed from a White House meeting after US President Donald Trump indicated he was not ready to supply sought-after Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Zelensky said after the cordial bilateral that he and Trump had talked about long-range missiles, but decided not to make statements on the issue "because the United States does not want an escalation".

Following the meeting, Trump took to social media to call for Kyiv and Moscow to "stop where they are" and end the war.

The Trump-Zelensky meeting came a day after Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone, and agreed to meet him in Hungary soon.

Zelensky believes using Tomahawks to strike at Russian oil and energy facilities would severely weaken Putin's war economy.

While Trump did not rule it out, his tone at the White House on Friday was non-committal.

"Hopefully they won't need it, hopefully we'll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks," the US president said, adding that America needed the weapons.

Trump said sending the missiles would be "an escalation, but we'll be talking about it".

Asked by the BBC if the Tomahawks had prompted Putin to meet Trump, the US president said: "The threat of that [the missiles] is good, but the threat of that is always there."

The Ukrainian leader suggested his country could offer drones in exchange for the Tomahawks, prompting smiles and nodding from Trump.

Zelensky also complimented Trump on his role in securing the first phase of a peace deal in the Middle East, suggesting the US leader could build on that momentum to help end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Outside afterwards, Zelensky was asked by a reporter if he thought Putin wanted a deal or was just buying time with the planned meeting with Trump in Budapest.

"I don't know," he said, adding that the prospect of Ukraine having Tomahawks had caused Russia to be "afraid because it is a strong weapon".

Asked if he was leaving Washington more optimistic that Ukraine would get the Tomahawks, he said: "I am realistic."

In a post on X, Zelensky said he had called European leaders to share details of the meeting with Trump, adding that the "main priority now is to protect as many lives as possible, guarantee security for Ukraine, and strengthen all of us in Europe."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the call with European leaders was "productive" and promised that "the UK will continue to send humanitarian aid and military support".

In recent days, Trump had shown an openness to the idea of selling the Tomahawks, although Putin warned that such a move would further strain the US-Russian relationship.

On Thursday, Trump said "great progress" was made during a phone call with Putin, with the pair agreeing to face-to-face talks soon in Hungary.

Asked whether Zelensky would be involved in those talks, Trump said before his meeting sitting alongside the Ukrainian president that there was "bad blood" between Putin and Zelenksy.

"We want to make it comfortable for everybody," he said. "We'll be involved in threes, but it may be separated." He added that the three leaders "have to get together".

Trump said his call, the first with Putin since mid-August, was "very productive", adding that teams from Washington and Moscow would meet next week.

Trump had hoped a face-to-face summit in Alaska in August would help convince Putin to enter into comprehensive peace talks to end the war, but that meeting failed to produce a decisive breakthrough.

They spoke again days later when Trump interrupted a meeting with Zelensky and European leaders to call Putin.

Back in Ukraine, the BBC spoke on Friday to a couple repairing the small store they own in a suburb of Kyiv, after it was obliterated by Russian missiles last month.

When the store-owner, Volodymyr, was asked about Trump's forthcoming summit meeting with Putin, he began to say: "We appreciate all support".

But he stepped away as tears welled up in his eyes. After a long pause, he composed himself and started again.

"Truth and democracy will win, and all the terrorism and evil will disappear," he said. "We just want to live, we don't want to give up, we just want them to leave us alone."

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Ukrainian drones cause fire at major Russian gas processing plant, governor says

Ukrainian drones attacked the Orenburg gas processing plant, the world's largest facility of its kind, and damaged part of it but no employees were hurt in the attack, the region's governor said on Sunday.

The governor, Yevgeny Solntsev, said on his official Telegram channel that the drone strike had caused a fire to break out at a workshop at the plant which emergency services were working to put out.

It is the first time that the plant, part of the Orenburg gas chemical complex, which includes Gazprom's production and processing facilities in the Orenburg region with an annual capacity of 45 billion cubic metres of gas, has been reported to have been hit.

The plant processes gas condensate from the Orenburg oil and gas condensate field, as well as from Kazakhstan's Karachaganak field.

Separately, the governor of Russia's Samara region, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, said on social media that air defences had been in action overnight against Ukrainian drones and that the local airport and mobile internet services had been temporarily suspended.

Ukraine has previously tried to strike an oil refinery in the Samara region.

Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement that its air defence forces had shot down 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 12 over the Samara region, 11 over the Saratov region, and one over the Orenburg region.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine which has stepped up its attacks on Russian refineries and other energy facilities since August to try to disrupt petrol supplies and deprive Moscow of funding.

Ukrainian drones cause fire at major Russian gas processing plant, governor says

Ukrainian drones attacked the Orenburg gas processing plant, the world's largest facility of its kind, and damaged part of it but no employees were hurt in the attack, the region's governor said on Sunday.

www.reuters.com

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Starmer sets out agenda to put 'maximum pressure' on Putin

Sir Keir Starmer tells fellow leaders that they are "united as a group of countries in the coalition of the willing, united with President Trump in our calls to end the bloodshed" in Ukraine, as today's summit starts.

The UK prime minister continues: "We all agree that the fighting must stop, and negotiations must begin from the current line of contact."

He says Trump is "right" to impose sanctions on Russia's oil companies, and the pressure must be maintained until Putin shows that "he's actually serious about peace".

Starmer reiterates that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been saying "for months" that he is ready for a ceasefire and to meet Putin, but the Russian president is "stonewalling and playing for time".

"In the last few days alone, Putin has rejected the opportunity for talks once again," Starmer says, adding that he has "made ludicrous demands for Ukrainian land which he could not take by force", which is "of course a non-starter", and has continued to target Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure.

"So this is the time for pressure, because that's the only way to change Putin's mind, the only way to bring him to the table and stop the killing," Starmer says.

Source: Sky News

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Ukraine allies pledge to take Russian oil and gas off global market

More than 20 nations supporting Ukraine have pledged to "take Russian oil and gas off the global market" as part of efforts to pressure President Vladimir Putin to end the war.

"We're choking off funding for Russia's war machine," said UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, after hosting a summit of the "coalition of the willing" in London.

The UK and US have in recent days sanctioned Russia's two biggest oil companies, while the EU targeted Moscow's liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was also in London, said "pressure" on Russia was the only way to stop the fighting. However, no long-range missile deliveries to Ukraine were announced at the summit.

Ukraine allies pledge to 'take Russian oil and gas off global market'

A "coalition of the willing" meeting in London seeks to increase pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

www.bbc.com