A 39-year-old man crashed his white SUV through the gates of the Russian consulate in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on the morning of 1 September after police attempted to question him about his unauthorized presence on the property, according to New South Wales Police.

Officers responded to reports of a suspicious vehicle parked in the consulate’s driveway in Woollahra around 8:30 AM. When police tried to speak with the driver, “the man allegedly drove his vehicle into the gates of the property” and continued onto the lawn, police said, according to The Guardian.

Helicopter footage captured the aftermath: the vehicle with doors open and smashed front windows positioned near a large flagpole on the consulate grounds.

An eyewitness described the confrontation to local media: “I came out and I saw a policeman with a gun, his glock, pointing at the man in the car, asking him to get out of the car. He didn’t [get out], rammed through the gates, drove onto the property and stopped again.”

The incident injured a 24-year-old constable who sustained a hand injury and received treatment from NSW Ambulance paramedics, according to police reports.

Pro-Kremlin influencer Simeon Boikov, known online as Aussie Cossack, witnessed the events from inside the consulate where he has been staying for 1,000 days while facing assault charges. “From my side, it looks like a diplomatic asylum attempt,” Boikov told reporters from within the building.

The driver was arrested and taken to Surry Hills police station for questioning. Federal police detectives launched an investigation, with the Australian Federal Police’s Diplomatic Protection Unit also involved. The vehicle was towed from the premises around 10 AM.

Minor damage to the front gate was quickly repaired, and federal police officers maintained security around the area. The Russian consulate has not responded to requests for comment, reports Guardian Australia and ABC News.

Boris Kragen, a 77-year-old Russian national from Moscow, arrived at the consulate for paperwork but found the leafy street cordoned off with police tape and multiple patrol cars blocking access. 

Video footage from witnesses captured police shouting commands at the driver: “Get out of the car immediately” and “Get on the ground,” according to media reports. The damaged driver-side windows suggested police used batons to gain access to the vehicle.

New South Wales Police confirmed the investigation remains ongoing.

Jens Spahn from the CDU/CSU and Matthias Miersch from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) arrived in Kyiv on 1 September, DW reported.

The visit marks the first joint trip to Ukraine by the parliamentary group leaders of the CDU/CSU and SPD. Both Spahn and Miersch are making their inaugural visits to Ukraine.

The German politicians plan to discuss continued German support for Ukraine and diplomatic efforts to end the war during their stay in Kyiv, according to the report.

“Matthias Miersch and I are here to send a clear signal: the government factions CDU/CSS and SPD stand now and in the future on the side of Ukraine, the brave Ukrainians who defend their homeland, their country, and also Europe,” Spahn said.

When asked about possible security guarantees for Ukraine, Spahn emphasized that the best guarantee is a well-equipped Ukrainian army. “The first and most important security guarantee for Ukraine is the Ukrainian army. Above all, we want to equip it as well as possible,” he said.

The visit follows German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil’s trip to Kyiv on 25 August. During that visit, Klingbeil announced Germany’s commitment to provide Ukraine with nine billion euros annually over the coming years.

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Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced on 30 August that Budapest will block the opening of substantive negotiations on Ukraine’s EU membership, citing concerns over agriculture, security, and energy costs.

Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, has been actively vetoing Ukraine’s accession process to the European Union. Viktor Orbán is widely regarded as a close ally of Vladimir Putin, positioning Hungary as a key supporter of Russian interests within the EU. 

Speaking after an informal EU foreign ministers meeting in Copenhagen, Szijjarto said Hungary “will not allow the substantive part of the accession negotiations, i.e., the specific rounds of the negotiations, to be opened,” according to Hungarian media reports.

The minister justified the position by claiming Ukraine’s EU membership “would destroy Hungarian farmers, Hungary’s food security, and allow the Ukrainian mafia to enter Hungary.”

Szijjarto accused Brussels and most EU member states of prioritizing war continuation over peace negotiations.

“Brussels and most European Union member states are preparing for the long-term continuation of the Ukrainian war, are not interested in the success of peace negotiations, and are ready to send many more thousands of billions of forints to Ukraine,” he said.

The Hungarian official criticized the European Commission for acting “practically as a Ukrainian Commission, completely representing Ukraine’s interests, contrary to the interests of member states” during the Copenhagen discussions.

Hungary outlined four specific areas where it will maintain opposition to EU policy on Ukraine. The country will continue supporting US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts, as “only an American-Russian agreement can bring about a settlement,” Szijjarto said.

Ukraine applied for EU membership shortly after Russia’s invasion in 2022 and received candidate status within months. However, Hungary’s veto power as an EU member allows it to block further progress.

The Hungarian position comes amid broader EU discussions about Ukraine’s integration path and continued financial support. Hungary has consistently opposed aid packages to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia throughout the conflict.

On 13 August, Szijjarto condemned a Ukrainian drone strike on a distribution station of the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast. Hungary relies on this pipeline for most of its crude oil imports and remains one of two EU countries, along with Slovakia, still importing Russian oil via Druzhba under EU sanctions exemptions.

Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński announced the deportation of a Ukrainian citizen who posted video threats of arson attacks online.

“A Ukrainian citizen who threatened to commit arson in videos posted on the Internet was forcibly taken and deported to Ukraine by border service officers,” Kierwiński wrote on X.

The minister published footage showing the Ukrainian being handed over to Ukrainian border guards. Polish authorities had detained the individual on 29 August, according to Kierwiński’s earlier statements.

The deportation comes amid broader Polish security measures targeting Ukrainian nationals. On 30 August, Poland expelled 15 Ukrainian citizens who authorities claimed posed threats to public safety.

Border service officials reported that several of the deported Ukrainians had prior criminal convictions. The charges included possession of narcotic and psychotropic substances, theft, robbery, document forgery, drunk driving, and organizing illegal border crossings into Poland.

The cases highlight growing tensions as Polish authorities increase scrutiny of Ukrainian residents amid ongoing security concerns.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately choosing war over peace negotiations as Vladimir Putin traveled to China for a regional security summit. The Ukrainian leader criticized Moscow for ignoring widespread international calls for a ceasefire that have emerged from leaders across multiple continents.

Zelenskyy said in his evening adress that peace talks at the leadership level were proposed in Washington two weeks ago, adding Ukraine remains prepared for such discussions. However, he said Russia has chosen a different path by continuing to invest in military operations rather than diplomacy.

“All signals from Russia indicate only the continuation of aggression,” Zelenskyy said, according to his statement. “During his visit to China, Putin will again seek ways to avoid responsibility – this is his usual tactic.”

The Ukrainian president emphasized the breadth of international opposition to the war, citing calls for peace from major global powers and religious leaders.

“The world unanimously demands a ceasefire: China says this, and India’s Prime Minister, and the leaders of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan. Today an important statement was made by the Pope. The only one who wants war is Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

Putin’s visit to China comes amid what sources describe as a “crunch moment” in peace talks over the Ukraine war, with the Russian leader attending a regional security summit alongside other leaders.

Zelenskyy argued that international pressure on Moscow must intensify, warning that the war’s continuation destabilizes the global situation. Ukraine expects firm positions from the United States, European Union, and G20 nations, he said.

The Ukrainian president also thanked partners who joined the PURL special program, which enables weapons purchases in the United States for Ukrainian defense forces. He announced that the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Belgium, and Latvia joined the initiative in August.

“The total amount in the program has already exceeded $2 billion. Our goal is to add at least one billion monthly. These are funds for purchasing modern weapons – Patriot missiles, HIMARS and other systems that protect our cities,” Zelenskyy said.

The president previously reported that Ukrainian Defense Forces are containing Russian advances in Donetsk Oblast and toward Pokrovsk.

Ukrainian intelligence forces have delivered a powerful strike against the occupiers’ military infrastructure in temporarily occupied Crimea. The special unit Phantoms destroyed several expensive Russian air-defense and radar systems, the agency reports.

Phantoms strike at Russia’s defenses

According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, the elite unit continues systematically dismantling Russia’s air-defense network. The Phantoms are tasked with precision strikes against radar complexes, logistics hubs, and enemy military infrastructure.

What has been destroyed?

Ukrainian forces knocked out unique Russian systems, including:

• radar complex “Utyos-T”;
• the giant radio telescope RT-70;
• GLONASS satellite navigation system (Russia’s equivalent of GPS);
• coastal radar MR-10M1 “Mys” M1;
• 96L6-AP radar from the S-400 air-defense system.

Consequences for the occupiers

The loss of these systems seriously complicates the work of Russian air defense on the peninsula. Without key radars and navigation, the occupiers are left far more vulnerable to strikes by Ukrainian missiles, aircraft, and drones.

“The demilitarization of temporarily occupied Crimea continues!” Ukraine’s military intelligence emphasizes.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that Ukrainian capitulation would lead to Russian aggression against other states, according to his interview with ZDF channel.

Merz said the war between Russia and Ukraine could continue for an extended period. “We are trying to end it as quickly as possible. But certainly not at the price of Ukraine’s capitulation,” he added.

The Chancellor explained that while the war could end tomorrow if Ukraine surrenders and loses its independence, such an outcome would have dangerous consequences. “Only then the day after tomorrow it will be the turn of the next country. And then the day after that it will be our turn. That is not an option,” Merz said.

The German leader emphasized his government’s position on avoiding Ukrainian surrender despite the war’s potential duration. 

Regarding the possibility of a ceasefire next year, Merz expressed cautious optimism: “I don’t give up hope that we can make it happen. But I’m also not deluding myself.”

On the question of ground troops in Ukraine, Merz opposed such deployment at present. “Nobody is talking about ground troops in Ukraine at this time,” he said. 

This interview follows Merz’s earlier statements on Ukraine. On 27 August, the Chancellor argued that Ukrainian capitulation would only give the Russian dictator time to prepare for a new war. Two days later, on 29 August, Merz said Russia’s war against Ukraine could last “many months” as Putin refuses negotiations.

Most Ukrainians favor ending combat operations through negotiated settlement while demanding concrete security assurances from Western allies, according to new polling data from the Rating Sociological Group.

The survey, conducted 21-23 August, found 59% of respondents support “cessation of hostilities and search for compromise,” while 20% back continuing the war until Donbas and Crimea are returned and 13% favor fighting until 23 February 2022 borders are restored.

Security guarantees emerge as the central precondition for any ceasefire agreement. When asked whether Ukraine should agree to stop fighting, 75% said “Yes, but only if Ukraine receives security guarantees from the USA and European countries,” according to the polling firm. Just 19% said Ukraine “should not agree under any conditions,” while 3% supported an unconditional ceasefire.

Ukrainians identified three priority security mechanisms: continued military financing and weapons supplies from partners (52%), allied commitments to enter combat if Russia attacks again (48%), and international air and sea patrols (44%).

The preference for multilateral negotiations over bilateral talks with Moscow was pronounced. The Rating group found 62% view “search for compromise with involvement of other countries” as realistic, compared to 20% who favor “direct negotiations with Russia.” Only 11% support rejecting talks entirely and “fighting until liberation of all territories.”

When asked about current priorities, 58% chose securing Western commitments for future army financing and adequate weapons supplies, while 31% prioritized territorial recovery.

Respondents most commonly said Ukraine fights Russia for “children’s future” (60%) and “freedom” (44%).

The telephone survey interviewed 1,600 adults across all oblasts except occupied Crimea and Donbas territories and areas without Ukrainian mobile coverage. The margin of error is 2.5% with 95% confidence level.

The Russian private military company Wagner is experiencing serious setbacks in Mali: around two thousand fighters failed to improve security or control resources as they did in the Central African Republic. Instead of fighting jihadists, the mercenaries clashed with the Malian army, which only increased violence, reports the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine. 

Goïta junta and Kremlin plan failures

After the 2021 coup, power in Mali was seized by a junta led by Assimi Goïta, who hoped for effective cooperation with Russian mercenaries. Instead, the JNIM network (Al-Qaeda in the Sahel) continues to strengthen its position in the region, and civilian casualties rose from 736 per year to over 3,000 in 2022–2024. Notably, 80% of deaths were caused not by jihadists but by the local army and Wagner forces.

Internal conflicts: violence, disobedience, and racism

Relations between Russian mercenaries and Malian forces sharply deteriorated: reports show disobedience to orders, equipment theft, and acts of racism. In August, repression targeted dozens of officers who disagreed with Wagner methods. Civilians subjected to terror refuse to cooperate with the mercenaries.

Kremlin fails to control resources

Unlike in Sudan and the CAR, Russia did not gain access to mineral resources, including gold mines. Goïta rejected Moscow’s demands and is seeking alternative partners for security and resource extraction.

For two years, Ukraine’s drone boats have hounded the Russian Black Sea Fleet—delivering explosive payloads to sink ships at sea and in port, firing guns and missiles to take down Russian aircraft and even launching tiny first-person-view drones at coastal air-defense sites.

Now Russia is striking back with its own drone boats. On Thursday morning, a Russian Orion surveillance drone spotted the Ukrainian navy’s Simferopol reconnaissance ship on the Danube River just outside Romanian waters. An explosives-laden Russian unmanned surface vehicle motored up to Simferopol—and struck the 179-foot-ship amidships.

Two of the vessel’s 29 or so crew died, Ukrainian navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said Friday. Several sailors were missing or injured. A search was underway for the missing, Pletenchuk said.

It’s painful loss for the depleted Ukrainian navy, which lost most of its large vessels—including its sole frigate, scuttled by its crew in Odesa—in the first few days of Russia’s wider invasion in February 2022. Since then, the navy has evolved, trading big ships for smaller boats and drones.

But the navy still had Simferopol, a former trawler that Ukraine fitted with a Melchior radio intelligence station and other systems and launched in 2019. Simferopol could detect Russian radio transmissions from hundreds of kilometers away. But the lightly armed ship was vulnerable—and the Ukrainian navy knew it. It’s not for no reason that Simferopol had apparently spent much of the wider war hiding out on the Danube.

Three years hiding

For 42 months, the intel ship succeeded in avoiding missile attack. But then the Russians deployed their very first explosive drone boat—and chased down the once-lucky Simferopol. The USV may be the same type that Russian firm RoboCorp recently tested in Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea.

The exact specifications of the Russian USV are unclear. But if it’s anything like the Ukrainian state security agency’s own Maguara V5 USV, it might measure 18 feet from bow to stern, travel 800 km or so under satellite guidance and pack up to 300 kg of explosives. As the Simferopol strike demonstrated, that’s enough firepower to sink a medium-sized vessel.

Fast and low on the water, USVs are hard to detect and defeat. Russia has put in place a layered defense against Ukraine’s drone boats: patrolling with drones, jets, helicopters and boats and placing armed sentries on likely targets. As Russian USVs proliferate, Ukraine may need to duplicate these defenses—especially around Odesa, Ukraine’s strategic grain port.

And if the Russian USVs evolve the way the Ukrainian USVs have, they may begin striking with guns, rockets and FPV drones. They could even threaten Ukrainian aircraft.

In the spring of 2024, enterprising Ukrainian engineers kluged together a combination of sensors and R-73 and AIM-9X infrared dogfighting missiles borrowed from the Ukrainian air force—and mounted the resulting system on some of the security agency’s Magura V5s.

On 31 December, the air-defense Magura V5s claimed their first victims: two Russian Mil Mi-8 helicopters. six months later on May 2, separate formations of Ukrainian USVs attacked Russian navy anchorages in Crimea and in Novorossiysk, a port in southern Russia.

Russian drones detected the wakes and Russian warplanes sortied to attack the incoming USVs. The drone boats fired back with at least one AIM-9X—and shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter. It was the first-ever shoot-down of a manned warplane by an unmanned warship.

But if Ukraine can do it, Russia can, too—now that it has its own drone boats.

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