Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that 26 countries have agreed to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine, providing protection across land, air, sea, and cyberspace, along with military funding. He did not specify the countries involved.

Speaking in his evening address, Zelenskyy outlined what the guarantees actually mean: “substantive things on land, in the sky, at sea, also in cyberspace, also this is funding for our army.”

The Ukrainian president emphasized that the foundation remains “a sufficiently strong Ukrainian army to guarantee our independence and Ukraine’s sovereignty.” He emphasized that this includes weapons for the army and long-term financing, noting that many components have been agreed upon with partners as a foundation.

Zelenskyy highlighted ongoing work to expand the PURL program, through which Ukraine purchases American weapons. More than $2 billion has already flowed through this channel, with plans to increase funding further. The priority list includes greater sky protection against Russian drones and missiles—reflecting Ukraine’s daily reality of aerial bombardment.

US won’t send troops to Ukraine

Regarding US participation, Trump has ruled out American ground troops but offered alternative support. “We’re willing to help them with things, especially — probably you could talk about by air, because there’s nobody that has the kind of stuff we have,” Trump told Fox News.

The US role would focus on logistics, air support, intelligence sharing, border surveillance, and weapons provision through European partners.

Peacekeepers won’t be in combat zones

The European plan involves a two-stage approach. Initially, European troops would be stationed away from combat zones, focusing on training Ukrainian forces and providing reinforcements. The second stage would incorporate American intelligence sharing, border surveillance, weapons, and potentially air defense systems.

Russia considers peacekeepers legitimate targets

Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded with direct threats to the peacekeeping proposals. Putin declared that if any troops appear in Ukraine, “we proceed from the assumption that they will be legitimate targets for strikes.” This statement indicates that any potential mission would require significant protection from Russian attacks.

According to Zelenskyy, the Coalition shares the assessment that Russia is “doing everything possible to drag out the negotiation process and continue the war.”

European officials privately express skepticism about whether security guarantees will deter Putin or produce lasting peace. Many expect the peace talks to fail—exposing whether Russia genuinely wants to end the war or simply buy time to regroup.

Seven Iranian-designed Russian Shahed drones struck the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on 6 September evening, leaving fifteen people wounded and reducing a kindergarten to rubble.

The attack unfolded around 9 p.m. as residents heard the familiar buzz of approaching drones. Viktor watched from his second-floor window as one headed straight for his neighborhood.

“I saw the drone flying, I thought it would fly straight into the roof,” he told Suspilne Zaporizhzhia.

The blast wave threw his wife from their home. Viktor found her unconscious under the door and dragged her to safety before their children rushed her to the hospital. Windows and doors throughout his house were blown out, his barn burned down, and a massive crater now marks his garden.

“The blast wave threw her out of the house. I found her under the door and dragged her to the garage, and the children took her to the hospital,” he shared.

Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, reported that four people required hospitalization: three women and one man injured, all in moderate condition. But the kindergarten bore the worst damage—80% of the building destroyed.

Ukrainian air defenses managed to intercept some drones before they reached their targets. The ones that got through also damaged six apartment buildings, four private houses, and critical infrastructure.

The Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal investigation, confirming the weapons as Shahed-type strike drones—the same Iranian-designed aircraft Russia has used in hundreds of attacks across Ukraine.

Earlier on 5 September, Russian forces killed a 56-year-old woman with an FPV drone in the same region. Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces launched 476 strikes across 15 settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, damaging homes and farm buildings.

Emergency services are preparing repair work including window boarding and roof restoration once the air raid alert is lifted.

Four Ukrainian soldiers walked free this week after hiding in a hospital on Russian-controlled territory for over three years.

The rescue by naval special forces unit “Angels” marks one of the longest documented cases of military personnel surviving in enemy territory.

The operation began when Presidential Commissioner for Military Personnel Rights Olha Reshetylova learned about a Marine Corps serviceman’s twin brother. The marine had been severely wounded during 2022 fighting in eastern Ukraine and ended up in a hospital, where doctors concealed him from Russian security forces.

But he wasn’t alone. Three National Guard soldiers had also been sheltering in the same facility since 2022, according to Naval Forces Commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa.

The multi-phase operation required careful planning due to several complicating factors.

• All personnel were in illegal status on occupied territory (didn’t accept Russian documents)
• active combat operations continued in the area
• Russian special services had intensified filtration procedures (systematic identity checks, interrogations, and searches used to identify people with pro-Ukrainian loyalties).

Neizhpapa said the primary goal was eliminating immediate threats to the servicemen’s lives. The hospital had provided cover for three years, but the situation couldn’t continue indefinitely.

The successful mission extracted the marine, three National Guard fighters, and one hospital medical worker who had assisted in concealing the military personnel. 

Neizhpapa did not provide any other specifics of how the operation was conducted to return these fighters home.

A former member of parliament from a party banned for Russian ties has been arrested and remanded in custody on charges of high treason, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor General’s Office.

While the agencies did not identify the suspect by name, Hromadske news agency confirmed through law enforcement sources that the individual is Fedor Khrystenko.

According to ZN.UA, Khrystenko was not extradited but was handed over to the SBU from the United Arab Emirates through what the outlet describes as a rare occurrence made possible by intervention at the highest political level.

ZN.UA reports that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov worked on Khrystenko’s return on orders from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with SBU Deputy Chief and Counterintelligence Department Head Oleksandr Poklad traveling to retrieve him, after which Khrystenko “voluntarily” decided to return to Ukraine.

Suspect began working for Russian before full-scale invasion

Khrystenko was a member of the “Opposition Platform — For Life” party, which Ukraine banned in 2022 for its pro-Russian stance and alleged ties to Moscow.

The party was formed by politicians associated with Yanukovych, who fled to Russia after the 2014 Euromaidan protests that toppled his government following his decision to abandon European integration in favor of closer ties with Moscow.

According to the investigation, Russian intelligence service FSB recruited Khrystenko well before Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The SBU alleges he “actively carried out tasks for the Russian intelligence service” during this period.

The charges stem from what investigators describe as an extensive network of connections to Russian operatives and Ukrainian collaborators. The SBU previously linked Khrystenko to Yuriy Ivanushchenko, known as Yura Yenakievsky, whom they identify as an FSB resident and overseer for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.

Investigators also describe Khrystenko as a liaison for Armen Sarkisyan, known as Armen Horlivsky, a collaborator who was assassinated in an explosion at a Moscow residential complex in early 2025.

According to the SBU, Sarkisyan was part of fugitive ex-president Viktor Yanukovych’s inner circle and founded the Russian military battalion “Arbat” after the full-scale invasion began that fought against Ukrainian troops in Donetsk Oblast and later in Russia’s Kursk. 

Russian spy had ties in Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency

The case materials reveal what prosecutors call “an effective mechanism for influencing the leadership” of Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).

Established in 2014, NABU is empowered to investigate corruption cases involving Ukraine’s highest government officials, including the president, prime minister, and cabinet ministers, making Russian influence over the agency strategically significant for Moscow’s intelligence operations.

The SBU alleges Khrystenko maintained close relationships with several NABU officials, including previously detained Ruslan Magamedrasulov and detective unit head Oleksandr Skomarov.

As evidence of Khrystenko’s NABU connections, the SBU cites a 2022 incident when Skomarov’s wife allegedly traveled abroad using a vehicle belonging to Khrystenko’s wife.

Magamedrasulov was among the NABU investigators targeted during a controversial July 2025 security operation that led to dramatic claims of Russian infiltration within Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies. The operation resulted in parliament temporarily placing NABU under prosecutorial control before mass protests forced a reversal.

In July 2025, prosecutors filed charges against Khrystenko under two sections of Ukraine’s Criminal Code: high treason committed by a group under martial law, and abuse of influence. Following his detention, a court ordered Khrystenko held in custody until 21 October.

A ceremony to re-bury the remains of 42 people discovered during exhumation work in the former village of Puzhnyky has commenced in Ternopil Oblast, with Ukrainian and Polish officials and approximately 40 descendants of former village residents participating, reports Ukrinform correspondent from the scene.

The Ukrainian delegation includes acting Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications Tetyana Berezhna, Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratiuk, Deputy Foreign Minister Oleksandr Mishchenko, and Ukrainian Institute of National Memory head Oleksandr Alfyorov.

Poland’s delegation is led by Senate Marshal Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska and includes Culture and National Heritage Minister Marta Cenkowska, Acting Charge d’Affaires Piotr Lukasevich, and Consul General in Lutsk Anna Nowakowska.

“Today we are not talking about history, not about politics – today we are talking about humanity and that we are taking a step towards each other in an extremely complex historical topic. Ukraine ensures dignified commemoration of all war victims – regardless of nationality or the antiquity of the tragedy,”  UINM head Oleksandr Alfyorov said.

The ceremony included a Roman Catholic holy mass. Memorial markers will remain unnamed for now as DNA research continues, according to Professor Andrzej Ossowski, a geneticist from the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin who leads the Polish scientific team.

“We should receive the first identification results by the end of this year. We have DNA profiles of all remains, we are still examining individual ones, and we also have DNA from their family members living in Poland. Given that there are close relatives among the victims, personal identification of remains requires very complex mathematical calculations,” Ossowski explained.

The geneticist noted that while they know they have remains from specific families, personal identification requires time.

“Further identification results will depend on whether we find their relatives (meaning living ones), because without them there will be no way to identify everyone. We don’t have relatives of all victims and are currently searching for their families,” he added.

The discovered remains will be re-buried at the original burial site where exhumation work was conducted – at the old cemetery in the former village of Puzhnyky.

Exhumation operations in the territory of former Puzhnyky village lasted from 23 April to 5 May 2025. The joint Ukrainian-Polish expedition worked under professional and security supervision of the Ukrainian side. DNA research on the remains was conducted in Poland.

Negotiations between Ukraine and Poland regarding the exhumation work continued from the previous year. In late November 2024, during a joint press conference by Polish and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers Radoslaw Sikorski and Andrii Sybiha, the lifting of the moratorium on searching for and exhuming remains of Polish citizens buried on Ukrainian territory was announced. The moratorium had been in effect since 2017.

In January 2025, Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications granted permission for the Puzhnyky exhumation.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has once again declared that Budapest will not support Ukraine’s EU membership, emphasizing that the state is not interested in Moscow’s opinion on this matter. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called for dialogue.

Szijjarto outlined Hungary’s position following a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Council President António Costa on 5 September.

The politicians’ meeting included discussions about EU accession. During a briefing, Zelenskyy said: “If even Putin does not object [to Ukraine’s EU membership], then the positions of some countries, especially Hungary, really look strange.”

According to the Hungarian diplomat, the Ukrainian president was presenting his own reasoning. “Unlike him, our position is not determined from abroad. We are not interested in what they think in Moscow about Ukraine’s EU membership,” he declared.

The minister added that Budapest is interested in what Hungarians think. Szijjarto referenced a referendum by the Hungarian government, in which the country’s citizens allegedly opposed Ukraine’s membership in the bloc due to supposed threats to farmers, the labor market, and security.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha responded to this statement. He emphasized that Ukraine’s EU accession poses no threat to Hungary.

According to him, the Hungarian farmers mentioned by Szijjarto have never blocked the Ukrainian-Hungarian border, and this year they are actively purchasing Ukrainian corn.

EU accession also does not threaten the Hungarian labor market, since before the full-scale invasion by Russia, Hungary’s government actively invited Ukrainians to work to compensate for the shortage of skilled labor.

Furthermore, the Hungarian community of Zakarpattia also supports joining the bloc.

“Instead of quarrels on Twitter, let’s meet and have a meaningful discussion. I am confident that we can reach pragmatic solutions in good faith — for the sake of our peoples’ common interests of peace and security in a united Europe,” Sybiha emphasized.

Ukraine’s EU accession

All 27 EU member states have already given the “green light” to begin negotiations with Ukraine on joining the bloc, however, Hungary is blocking them.

Last year, Budapest presented Ukraine with a list of 11 demands to unblock the path to the European Union. All of them are aimed at strengthening protection of national minority rights in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian side traveled to Budapest with additional proposals for resolving the entire complex of issues. Ukraine and Hungary then agreed from 12 May to organize regular consultations to work on the stated demands. However, Budapest postponed such consultations due to the detention of Hungarian spies by Ukraine’s Security Service in early May.

Hungarian authorities conducted a so-called consultative referendum in their country regarding Ukraine’s EU membership, following which they announced that 95% of votes were against. Orbán himself claimed that Ukraine’s EU membership would cause “the destruction of the European Union” and war with Russia on EU territory.

Lithuania proposed starting negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on the first chapter of EU membership without Hungary’s consent. It is proposed that after approval by 26 member states, negotiations would take place at a technical level, de facto, and later an official agreement would be reached legally when all 27 EU states approve it, if Viktor Orbán’s position or that of the entire Hungarian government changes.

Polish protesters have ended their blockade of truck traffic at the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing, according to State Border Guard Service spokesman Colonel Andriy Demchenko.

“The Polish side reported the cessation of truck traffic blockade by protesters and the resumption of truck processing at their checkpoint at 15:30,” Demchenko told Ukrainska Pravda.

The blockade began Saturday at 12:50 Kyiv time when Polish demonstrators launched an action blocking traffic before the Medyka checkpoint, opposite Ukraine’s Shehyni crossing point.

Restrictions will reportedly last at least 6 hours with possible extension.

The protest site was located approximately one kilometer from the Polish Medyka checkpoint. Movement restrictions applied only to freight vehicles – passenger cars and buses continued crossing in normal mode.

At the time of the blockade, 681 freight vehicles were registered in the electronic queue for departure from Ukraine. Around 100 trucks waiting to enter Ukraine were already stationed at a specially equipped parking area, with their processing unaffected by the protest.

Border guards promised to provide additional updates on any changes or complications to traffic flow. The blockade lasted approximately 2.5 hours before Polish authorities announced its termination.

British intelligence has analyzed Russia’s systematic propaganda campaign targeting Ukrainian youth in temporarily occupied territories, according to a September 6 analysis reported by European Truth.

“The forcible political education of Ukrainian youth by the Russian authorities in the illegally occupied territories of Ukraine continues,” the intelligence assessment states. “The Russian Ministry of Defence youth organisation Yunarmiya and the Kremlin youth organisation Movement of the Firsts are amongst those organisations teaching Ukrainian children military skills, and indoctrinating them with pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian propaganda.”

The British intelligence noted that Russian education authorities aim at countering purported extremism, a term defined broadly by Russian authorities. “A 2022 Russian Ministry of Education manual titled ‘Preventing conflicts, manifestations of extremism and terrorism in a poly-cultural educational environment’ claimed the expression ‘Slava Ukraine’ (Glory to Ukraine) to be an indicator of extremism,” according to the analysis.

Since 2022, Russian authorities have implemented what they call “University Sessions” programme, transporting children from occupied Ukrainian regions to Russian universities for so-called patriotic education. “This aims to inculcate the children with an anti-Ukrainian outlook, as well as glorifying Russian military exploits. Since 2022, around 50,000 Ukrainian children have attended these sessions at 116 Russian universities,” the intelligence report reveals.

British intelligence recently reported that Russia conscripts young Ukrainians into the Russian army upon reaching age 18, with many having been abducted from occupied Ukrainian territories during childhood.

In related developments, the British government imposed sanctions on September 3 against individuals involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia.

Russia has reached monthly production capacity of 2,700 Shahed-type drones, according to Andriy Yusov, representative of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, in an interview with Novyny.LIVE.

The intelligence official specified that Russia manufactures “Geran-2” drones, which are modified versions of standard Shaheds equipped with warheads. Most production takes place at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Yelabuga, Republic of Tatarstan, Yusov reported.

Despite this production volume, Russia cannot deploy thousands of drones daily. “They cannot physically launch such quantities toward the country every day. But we see these hundreds of Shaheds and combined missile-drone strikes they carry out – these are truly massive attacks. This is a serious challenge for our air defense and anti-missile defense forces,” Yusov said.

The intelligence representative addressed claims by military radio technology specialist Serhiy Flesh that Russian forces launch Shaheds equipped with cameras and radio control systems. According to Yusov, such modifications remain experimental.

“They can modify something, but going from such limited quantities to mass production is also a certain path. Therefore, they try different means. How much they will be able to put them into full mass production depends, among other things, on access to foreign components and many other factors,” he explained.

Previous intelligence reports indicate Russia’s broader drone ambitions. In September, Ukrainian intelligence disclosed Russia’s current stockpile of “Grom-1” hybrid missiles and annual production plans. On 21 August, LIGA.net reported that Russia plans to manufacture 4,000 turbojet drones by the end of 2025, according to intelligence sources.

Russian forces scattered leaflets disguised as 100-hryvnia banknotes ($2.42) across a Chernihiv district on the morning of 6 September, urging residents to share coordinates and assist in directing artillery fire at Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in exchange for money, according to Chernihiv region police.

“These leaflets were dropped by Russians using a drone,” police reported. The fake currency contained calls for locals to collaborate with Russian forces by providing intelligence on Ukrainian military movements and positions.

Law enforcement dispatched an investigative team to the scene immediately after discovering the propaganda materials. Police have registered the incident and are determining appropriate legal charges for the case.

The Chernihiv police issued warnings about criminal liability for collaborating with Russian forces, specifically highlighting penalties for “spreading information about the location and movement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” Authorities instructed residents to destroy any Russian leaflets they encounter.

The incident represents another attempt by Russian forces to recruit local informants through monetary incentives, using deceptive materials designed to resemble legitimate Ukrainian currency. Police emphasized that cooperation with occupying forces carries severe legal consequences under Ukrainian law.

US President Donald Trump clashed with Polish journalist Marek Wałkuski during a press conference, suggesting he “find a new job” after the reporter questioned why no concrete actions had been taken to end the war in Ukraine despite repeated promises, reports Polsat News.

Wałkuski asked why Trump had repeatedly said he would quickly end the war in Ukraine but had not taken measures to do so. Trump responded by citing sanctions against India, “the largest buyer [of Russian products] after China,” which he said cost Moscow “hundreds of billions of dollars.”

“Is this a lack of action? We have not yet moved to the second and third phases, but if you say there are no actions, then you should probably find a new job,” Trump said.

The journalist told The Hill he appreciated the president’s advice, but Trump’s reaction justified his career choice. “I got an answer from the US president to my question that is worthy of media attention, and that’s my job as a journalist. But I’m grateful for his advice,” Wałkuski said.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski defended the journalist, saying his question to Trump was one “that we all ask ourselves.”

“I would not fire you from your job,” Sikorski added during a press conference in Washington.

Wałkuski is the author of four books about the White House and the United States. He previously served as president of the White House Foreign Press Group from 2024 to 2025 and has been a member of the White House press corps since 2018.

In February, Wałkuski asked a question that provoked a dispute between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump, and US Vice President JD Vance. The journalist asked Trump to comment on being “too closely associated with Putin.” Trump replied that he was not associating with anyone and wanted to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table.

Vance then intervened, praising Trump’s diplomatic efforts. When the Ukrainian leader said that diplomacy with Putin was pointless, the situation escalated into an argument.

Sikorski commented on Karol Nawrocki’s visit to the White House, saying he would have an argument the next day at the Pentagon. “I will tell [Under Secretary of Defense] Colby: Listen, your president has already decided,” the foreign minister said, referring to Trump’s assurance that US troops would remain in Poland.

During Wednesday’s meeting between Nawrocki and Trump, the American leader assured that the United States would not withdraw troops from Poland and was ready to increase its presence if Poland expressed such a desire.

On 30 August, a Ukrainian politician Andriy Parubiy was shot eight times in the back while walking in Lviv in broad daylight. He died from his injuries.

The detained suspect claims he acted out of “revenge against Ukrainian authorities” after his son went missing in action near Bakhmut. But investigators haven’t ruled out Russian involvement.

Parubiy was hardly welcome in Moscow. The 52-year-old former parliament speaker had spent decades promoting Ukraine’s break from Russian dominance and participating in the key democratic revolutions that threatened Kremlin’s influence.

Ukraine’s parliament responded swiftly to his death. On 4 September, 296 lawmakers voted to appeal to European parliaments, condemning Parubiy’s murder as “an act of political terror by Russia.” They demanded international investigations and stronger sanctions.

Reshat Ametov: First victim of Crimean occupation

Crimean Tatar activist

Reshat Ametov, a 39-year-old Crimean Tatar and father of three, became a symbol of resistance to Russian occupation back in 2014.

He worked as a welder in Simferopol and maintained active political views. On social media, he frequently criticized Russian policies in Chechnya, Tatarstan, and Bashkortostan, and strongly supported the pro-democracy Euromaidan protests in Kyiv.

The year 2014 marked a turning point in Ukraine’s modern history. Following months of the Euromaidan protests that demanded closer ties with the EU and democratic reforms, pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych ordered security forces to open fire on demonstrators in February, killing over 100 protesters. Faced with massive public outrage as even more people flooded the streets demanding changes, Yanukovych fled the country. 

Russia exploited this chaotic political situation in Ukraine and sent troops to Crimea, while simultaneously supporting separatist movements in eastern Ukraine. This Russian intervention would eventually escalate into the full-scale war that began in 2022.

One man against the Russian oppressive machine

On 28 February 2014, Ametov announced his intention to protest Russia’s seizure of Crimean government buildings.

“Approximately on Monday I’ll go to the Council of Ministers. Standing protest. Do you also dare?” he wrote on Facebook.

Three days later, Ametov stood alone outside the seized building holding a Ukrainian flag. Surveillance cameras captured what happened next: three men in camouflage uniforms from the illegal “Crimean Self-Defense” formation forced him into a car at gunpoint. That was the last time he was seen alive.

This occurred in broad daylight as Russian forces consolidated control over the peninsula.

Tortured and killed for resisting Russian occupation in Ukraine

March 16, 2014 was supposed to be Russia’s moment of triumph—the day Crimeans would vote in a sham referendum to “legitimize” the peninsula’s annexation. The official results showed overwhelming support for joining Russia, but the referendum was conducted under military presence and is regarded illegal by the majority of international community.

However, the day before the staged vote, farmers made a horrific discovery in Zemlyanichnoye village, 60 kilometers from Simferopol.

A body lay partially buried in the earth, bearing signs of torture. The victim’s head was wrapped in tape, stab wounds marked the left eye socket, and hands remained cuffed. When authorities identified the corpse, the timing became clear: this was Reshat Ametov, the lone protester who had disappeared twelve days earlier.

Russian occupation authorities opened a criminal case in April 2014 but closed it after one year, claiming they could not identify the perpetrators. Ukrainian investigators later identified two “Crimean Self-Defense” members and a former Russian Armed Forces serviceman as suspects in 2019, while the case went to court in November 2023.

In May 2017, President Petro Poroshenko posthumously awarded Ametov the title Hero of Ukraine.

Ametov became Crimea’s first occupation victim, but not the last, according to Yevhenyi Yaroshenko of the KrimSOS organization. Human rights groups documented 59 enforced disappearances during the first decade of Russian rule. Seventeen people remain missing.

Amina Okuyeva: The Ukrainian-Chechen with two homelands, but one enemy

Studying medicine in Ukraine

Three years later and hundreds of kilometers away, another story of resistance was taking shape. Amina Okuyeva would become the woman who carried two nations’ struggles against the same Russian enemy, fighting with both medical skills and military weapons until assassins silenced her forever.

Born in Odesa, Okuyeva carried both Ukrainian and Chechen heritage. She lived in Moscow and Grozny before returning to Ukraine in 2003 due to the Chechen war.

During the Second Chechen War (started in 1999), she actively supported the resistance, but Chechen fighters convinced her to return to Ukraine and study medicine—they desperately needed trained medics as too many fighters were dying from treatable wounds.

After completing medical education in Odesa, she worked as a surgeon while maintaining connections to Chechen resistance movements.

In 2009, she met Adam Osmayev, a Chechen exile accused by Russia of plotting to kill Ramzan Kadyrov, Putin’s puppet in Chechnya, and Vladimir Putin himself. Though they never legally married, they became life partners united by their shared opposition to Russian oppression.

Medic-turned-sniper in fighting Russia since 2014

When Russia launched its aggression in eastern Ukraine in 2014, just months after seizing Crimea, Okuyeva saw her chance to fight the same enemy that had devastated Chechnya.

She joined the Kyiv-2 volunteer battalion as a paramedic. Despite her official medical role, she participated in combat operations in Debaltsevo and Chornukhivo and served as a sniper in her final months of military service.

Okuyeva later became spokesperson for the Chechen Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion, comprised mainly of Chechens opposing Kadyrov’s regime.

In 2015, Ukraine awarded her the “People’s Hero of Ukraine” order for defending the country.

Okuyeva frequently criticized Kadyrov as a “national traitor” and Russian collaborator. His family had switched from fighting Russia in the First Chechen War to serving as Moscow’s puppet rulers after 1999.

Chechen exiles widely despise him for his brutal suppression of independence movements and human rights abuses.

“Kadyrovites are national traitors. There is no worse form of betrayal than national betrayal and collaboration with occupiers,” Okuyeva stated.

For Moscow, Chechens fighting alongside Ukrainian forces represented a double threat: not only were they effective fighters, but their presence contradicted Russian propaganda about protecting ethnic minorities from Ukrainian “fascists.”

Okuyeva’s vocal criticism of Kadyrov while serving in Ukrainian ranks made her elimination a priority for both Russian intelligence and Chechen loyalists.

Previous assassination attempts

Russian bloggers called her a “Chechen terrorist.” Kadyrov supporters sent death messages through social media. On 1 June 2017, a fake French journalist shot her husband Adam Osmayev during a staged interview. The assassin, Arthur Denisultanov-Kurmakaev, was captured, but the couple knew more attempts would follow.

Okuyeva killed in car near Kyiv

Four months later, driving near Kyiv on 30 October, automatic gunfire erupted from roadside bushes. Her partner Osmayev hit the accelerator.

“The shooting came from the right side,” he recalled. “It lasted literally a few seconds until I got out of the shooting zone. But in those few seconds, unfortunately, she was hit.”

Okuyeva died instantly from head wounds. She was 34. Osmayev survived with a leg injury.

In January 2020, authorities arrested Igor Redkin, a 56-year-old from Dagestan, after his DNA was found on an abandoned Czech automatic rifle near the crime scene. Investigators identified seven members of the criminal group responsible for Okuyeva’s murder and connected them to other contract killings.

The prosecution alleged the assassination was ordered from Chechnya as revenge against Osmayev’s anti-Kadyrov activities.

Mamikhan Umarov, a Chechen political emigrant who had warned Ukrainian intelligence about the assassination contract, was himself killed near Vienna in July 2020, eliminating a key witness in the case.

Iryna Farion: Fighter for Ukrainian language

Academic and political career

As Ukraine’s resistance proved stronger than Moscow expected and Western support solidified after the full-scale invasion in 2022, assassinations on Ukrainian soil became more frequent and brazen as the next cases will demonstrate.

Iryna Farion built her career defending Ukrainian language and identity. After working as a librarian, she obtained philological education and became a professor at Lviv Polytechnic National University. In 2005, she joined the Svoboda party and was elected to parliament in 2012, where she headed a higher education subcommittee.

Following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and launch of war in eastern Ukraine, questions of language and identity became increasingly urgent for many Ukrainians, especially as Moscow consistently used “protection of Russian speakers” as justification for military intervention.

Farion turned language defense into political warfare, targeting anyone who dared speak Russian in official settings.

Controversial statements about soldiers

Farion’s advocacy for Ukrainian language often generated controversy due to her uncompromising positions.

She publicly challenged officials who spoke Russian, including then-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, asking whether his poor Ukrainian reflected political bias or mental limitations.

In 2018, she described Russian-speaking citizens as “mentally backward traitors and Ukraine’s biggest problem.”

The rhetoric intensified after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. Farion criticized Russian-speaking Ukrainian soldiers, arguing they should call themselves “Russians” rather than Ukrainians.

“Russian-speaking warriors disgrace Ukraine’s Armed Forces,” she stated, adding that fighting internal “Moscow-speaking savages” was more important than battles on the frontline.

Her November 2023 comments triggered a firestorm. She described Russian-speaking “Azov” fighters as “crazed” and suggested Ukrainian soldiers speaking Russian had no right to be considered Ukrainian.

Security services (SBU) opened criminal investigations against her. Students demanded her dismissal from Lviv Polytechnic. Death threats flooded her social media.

At the moment of her assassination, the SBU investigation into her inflammatory statements about Russian-speaking soldiers remained active, with prosecutors considering charges for insulting military honor and dignity.

Assassin allegedly killed her due to personal hatred

On 19 July 2024, an unknown gunman approached Farion near her Lviv apartment building and shot her in the head. She died in the hospital that evening.

For weeks, surveillance cameras had captured the same figure watching her building, studying her routines, learning her patterns.

Six days later, police tracked down her killer 300 kilometers away in Dnipro. Vyacheslav Zinchenko was just 19 years old when they arrested him. Investigators later discovered his digital footprint told a story of radicalization: he had joined neo-Nazi Telegram groups in 2022, that promoted violence and national intolerance.

The prosecution alleged that Zinchenko developed strong personal hatred for Farion due to her Ukrainian language activism.

In August 2024, Zinchenko reportedly confessed to a cellmate that he killed Farion out of personal animosity, though he later claimed this confession was made under pressure. He faces life imprisonment on charges of premeditated murder motivated by national intolerance.

Some hated her, some were inspired

Despite the controversy surrounding her radical positions, Farion retained support among some Ukrainians who viewed her uncompromising stance as necessary resistance to Russian cultural influence.

Critics argued she promoted “ethnonarcissism” that prevented coexistence with different identities. But supporters countered that her provocative language was strategically necessary—dry academic discourse would never have reached millions or conveyed the urgency of her message.

The polarization became evident after her death.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion made the Russian imperial threat undeniable, many who had previously criticized her positions began seeing her as prophetic rather than extreme.

Social media tributes after her death wrote that “no one defended the Ukrainian language as selflessly and passionately as she did.”

Demian Hanul: Ukrainian activist declared terrorist in Russia

Ukrainian activism in a city with large pro-Russian sentiment

Demian Hanul was a Ukrainian patriot in a city where such views made him a target. Odesa, with its historically large Russian-speaking population and pro-Russian sentiment, was hardly friendly territory for activists pushing Ukrainian identity. But Hanul didn’t back down.

Both he and his father Vadym participated in the 2013-2014 Revolution of Dignity that ousted Yanukovych, continuing a family tradition of resistance.

When Russia responded by seizing Crimea and backing separatists in eastern Ukraine, Hanul took part in the traumatic confrontations at Odesa’s Trade Unions House on 2 May 2014, where 48 people died in fires during clashes between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces. Russian media branded him a co-organizer of the tragedy and declared him a terrorist.

His activism also focused on removing Soviet monuments in Odesa, viewing each Lenin statue and Chekist memorial as a Russian imperial foothold in Ukrainian territory.

Moscow frequently invoked protection of these Soviet monuments to justify intervention since 2014, treating shared historical experiences as evidence that Ukraine belonged within Russia’s control rather than as an independent state free to determine its own commemorative landscape.

Hanul’s consistent opposition to Russian influence and imperialism made him a marked man. His activities challenging Moscow’s historical narrative and symbols led Russia to issue an arrest warrant against him in April 2024, accusing him of damaging military memorials.

Despite having a disability (he was wearing a prosthetic eye) Hanul repeatedly tried to enlist for military service but was refused. Instead, he channeled his patriotism into volunteer work, traveling to deoccupied territories in southern Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts to provide aid and support reconstruction efforts.

Escalating attacks and Russian bounties for his death

Hanul faced multiple attacks before his eventual killing. In 2020, unknown persons set fire to his BMW X5 and later shot at his vehicle near Vizyrka village. His car was also damaged with bats. In May 2023, a group in military uniforms physically attacked him in Odesa, leading to criminal proceedings.

In July 2024, Hanul reported threats on his Telegram channel:

“A whole psychological attack on my family has begun. Various Russian information resources announced a reward for attacking me of $5,000-$10,000.”

He requested protection from the SBU and police, who opened a criminal case for death threats. However, they did not manage to protect him.

Activist killed in broad daylight in Odesa

On 14 March 2025, a gunman shot Hanul at 10:30 a.m. in central Odesa and fled. Police detained the suspect within hours—46-year-old Serhiy Shalaev, a military serviceman and former mechanized platoon commander who had deserted from the army.

In court, Shalaev confessed to the killing. Investigators charged him with premeditated contract murder and illegal weapons possession.

Police are examining several motives: a contract killing related to Hanul’s pro-Ukrainian activism, personal animosity, or Russian involvement due to his public positions.

Ivan Voronych: Spymaster who hunted Russian commanders

His unit played key role in Kursk operation

Ivan Voronych spent decades in the shadows, building Ukraine’s most lethal capabilities against Russian targets. He worked for Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and served in the elite Alpha Special Operations Center, running what the New York Times described as “a unit that received technical support from the CIA.”

His operations included high-profile assassinations that shattered Russian proxy morale in occupied territories.

In 2016, his teams eliminated Arsen Pavlov (“Motorola”), a beloved Russian commander in occupied Donetsk, and Mikhaylo Tolstikh (“Givi”), another famous separatist leader. These targeted killings demonstrated Ukraine’s ability to reach enemy commanders deep in occupied areas, earning Voronych respected status within Ukrainian intelligence.

The colonel’s final mission involved Ukraine’s August 2024 offensive into Russia’s Kursk Oblast. His unit played a key role in the cross-border operation that seized Russian territory and held it for eight months, exposing Putin’s vulnerabilities and destroying a myth of Russian border’s inviolability.

Voronych’s high-profile successes made him a prime target for retaliation by Russian security services (FSB).

Russia wanted him dead as revenge

On 10 July 2025, Voronych left his apartment in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district around 8 a.m. A gunman approached in the parking lot and fired five shots from a silenced pistol. Voronych died instantly from multiple wounds. The killer fled in an SUV.

The targeting appeared to involve significant intelligence penetration, as the assassins knew Voronych’s exact address and daily routine. Former SBU officer Ivan Stupak assessed the killing as 99% likely to be a Russian special services operation, citing the professional nature of the attack.

Russians foreign recruits come to Ukraine to kill

Three days later, SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk announced the elimination of the Russia’s security service (FSB) hit team responsible for Voronych’s murder.

According to the investigation, the FSB had sent two foreign nationals – identified as Azerbaijani passport holders Gulalizade Khagani and Narmin Guliyeva – to Ukraine specifically to kill Voronych.

The handlers instructed the duo to surveil Voronych’s movements and provided coordinates for a weapons cache containing a pistol with suppressor.

When law enforcement attempted to arrest them in Kyiv Oblast, the suspects resisted and were killed in the firefight. The FSB had used them as disposable assets, with no intention of extraction or exchange.

Ukrainian officials revealed that the vulnerability was that Voronych had been living at his registered address, which was listed in publicly accessible databases, allowing the assassins to establish surveillance and plan the killing.

Andriy Parubiy: Lawmaker who called for destruction of “Russian empire”

Now back to the assassination of Andriy Parubiy, whose suspected killer was detained and the investigation continues currently. Why was he targeted? What did the suspect mean by “revenge on Ukrainian authorities”? What kind of politician was Parubiy?

Parubiy’s party declared Russia “the cause of all troubles in Ukraine”

In 1991, the 25-year-old co-founded the Social-National Party, declaring Russia “the cause of all troubles in Ukraine”—a statement so radical that Ukraine’s Justice Ministry delayed registration for four years. However, history proved him right.

He played central roles in both the 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2013-2014 Revolution of Dignity, serving as commandant of key protest sites.

“From that megaphone I started the rally,” he recalled of Euromaidan’s first hours. “In the first minutes there were 70-80 of us, there were more police around us than us.”

Over three months, he transformed those initial 80 protesters into a sustained movement. He organized tent cities, built barricades, and created “Maidan Self-Defense”—a structured civilian militia that grew to 12,000 trained members by February 2014 and eventually toppled Viktor Yanukovych’s pro-Russian government.

Government service

After the Revolution of Dignity, Parubiy served as Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, helping establish Ukraine’s National Guard by incorporating Maidan self-defense forces.

As Russia’s hybrid war intensified through 2014-2016 with cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns, and continued fighting in the east, Parubiy’s anti-Russian stance proved increasingly justified.

He served as Ukraine’s Parliament Speaker from 2016 to 2019, working to counter what he described as Russian attacks on Ukrainian language and culture.

Parubiy joined territorial defense in 2022

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, the 58-year-old Parubiy joined territorial defense forces and served at checkpoints around Kyiv. He consistently advocated for complete destruction of what he termed the “Russian empire,” arguing that Russia would remain a perpetual threat if not decisively defeated.

“This is today a chance for the Ukrainian army and people to destroy this empire. If it doesn’t die today, it will continue to remain a threat to us, to our children,” he declared.

Personal grief or Russian manipulation?

The suspect Mikhaylo Stselnnikov, a 52-year-old from Lviv, had lost his son Mikhaylo-Viktor “Lemberg” during fighting in Bakhmut in May 2023. The young soldier, fighting with the elite 93rd Mechanized Brigade, went missing and was never recovered.

Stselnnikov’s former wife revealed they hadn’t spoken in 27 years. Neither she nor their deceased son maintained contact with the accused. Yet somehow grief transformed into political violence.

The suspect disguised himself as a delivery courier and approached Parubiy from behind on 30 August 2025. He fired at least eight shots to the Parubiy’s back and fled.

In court, Stselnnikov called his actions “revenge on Ukrainian authorities” and rejected suggestions of Russian manipulation. He claimed he wanted quick sentencing so he can be exchanged for prisoners of war to get to Russia and recover his son’s body as the Russians had promised him.

However, investigative sources suggest the killing followed a pattern of Russian intelligence exploiting personal tragedies to recruit assassins. This method allows Russia to eliminate targets while maintaining plausible deniability—the perpetrator genuinely believes they’re acting from personal grief rather than foreign manipulation.

Whether Stselnnikov was directly recruited or simply influenced by Russian information campaigns promising body recovery remains under investigation.

The price of fighting for Ukrainian identity and independence

Across eleven years, six figures who exposed Russian lies, defended Ukrainian identity, and resisted Kremlin control were murdered in Ukraine. This pattern reveals a systematic campaign to eliminate the voices that challenge Russian narratives.

While fierce battles continue on the front line, Russia also targets the voices that expose imperial lies and strengthen national sovereignty. The aim is to create fear, silence opposition, and fracture the national unity that sustains resistance.

Direct FSB involvement appears evident in cases like SBU colonel’s assassination, but other killings show how Russian intelligence can exploit personal tragedies and ideological divisions to achieve similar results.

The continued targeting of pro-Ukrainian figures in Ukraine indicates that the struggle for independence encompasses not only territorial liberation of occupied territories but also protection of those who defend Ukraine’s sovereignty against Russian attempts at control in Ukraine that have persisted for centuries.

Ukraine’s new Flamingo cruise missile appears to include older, cheaper and easy-to-acquire components. Leftover Soviet-made free-fall bombs as warheads. And, for propulsion, a simple jet engine borrowed from a military training plane.

The inclusion of off-the-shelf components that are readily available from manufacturers in Ukraine or allied countries is good news as the Flamingo’s builder, Fire Point, aims to ramp up production to as many as seven missiles a day by next month.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the Flamingo, including its cost. Fire Point is under official investigation in Kyiv for possibly inflating the missile’s capability and price.

Regardless of the outcome of that probe, photos and videos of the massive, seven-ton missile hint at a reliable and affordable design. A close look at the fiberglass missile’s nose seems to indicate the warhead is actually two warheads: a pair of repurposed gravity bombs packed end to end.

The Flamingo seems to be based on the FP-5 missile design from U.K. firm Milanion. The firm claims the FP-5 ranges 3,000 km with a 1,000-kg payload. There isn’t a 1,000-kg Soviet-style gravity bomb in widespread use, according to missile expert Fabian Hoffmann. So “the payload could consist of two stacked FAB-500 unguided bombs,” each weighing 500 kg, Hoffmann wrote.

The evidence points to the FAB-500 M62, one of the most ubiquitous Soviet-era unguided dumb bombs. The Soviet air force left behind potentially thousands of the bombs when it left Ukraine in 1991. Many munitions companies continue to build new FAB-500s, including Bulcomers KS in Bulgaria.

Seems Flamingo's warhead is a modified FAB-1000 general purpose bomb. Ukraine likely has 10,000s leftover from Soviet aviation depots

The airframe appears to be carbon composite. A somewhat crude missile but it should be very impactful if manufactured at the claimed scale. https://t.co/HdTlUoG2sR pic.twitter.com/qoFbDy1r8x

— John Ridge (@John_A_Ridge) August 21, 2025

Abundant bombs

It’s not for no reason that, when the Ukrainian air force recently developed a simple precision glide-bomb similar to the Russian UMPK, it used old FAB-500 M62s as the basis—and added pop-out wings and satellite guidance.

With end-to-end FAB-500s, a Flamingo should be able to strike with the equivalent of 550 kg of TNT, Hoffmann estimated. That “is substantially more than the long-range drones and mini-cruise missiles Ukraine currently employs.”

Satellite imagery from the aftermath of the first confirmed Flamingo raid, targeting a Russian intelligence and hovercraft base in occupied Crimea on Aug. 30, depicts a large crater and other damage that may confirm Hoffmann’s assessment.

The ramp-launched Flamingo depends on a simple rocket booster to get it off the ground—and, it seems, an Ivchenko AI-25TL turbofan engine to propel the giant missile as fast as 950 km/hr. The AI-25TL, which powers Aero L-39 jet trainers and other aircraft, produces 1,850 kg of thrust.

An L-39 weighs five tons, which is two tons less than a Flamingo weighs. But the L-39 must be maneuverable, where the Flamingo is expected to fly a simple course at steady speed under inertial and satellite guidance. The AI-25TL is more than adequate—and, more importantly, it’s in production in Ukraine with firm Motor Sich. It’s priced to move at around $40,000 per engine.

With a low-cost warhead and equally affordable engine, a Flamingo might cost less than $1 million. That’s quite low for a long-range heavy cruise missile. A Russian Kh-101 or American Tomahawk both cost several times as much.

The Flamingo could change the deep-strike math for Ukraine. The new missile “has so much range and such a big warhead that that’s one of the important ones that could really make a difference,” Finnish analyst Joni Askola said.

And if the missile really is as cheap as it appears to be, Fire Point may actually be able to ramp up production to seven missiles a day.

President Donald Trump stated that European countries should take the lead in providing security guarantees for Ukraine while confirming Washington’s willingness to assist, according to his remarks to journalists at the White House.

The US president emphasized that America will not abandon Ukraine but stressed the primary role of European partners in the process. “We’ll help them. But we want to save a lot of lives, so we’ll do something with that. I think people expect that. We’ll help them,” Trump said.

However, he underscored that Europe should be first in providing guarantees. “Europe will be first in, by far. And they want to be first in. They want to see it end. Europe wants to see it end,” the American president declared.

Trump’s comments follow recent developments in European security discussions. On 4 September, French President Emmanuel Macron announced after a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” that 35 leaders were ready to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, with 26 countries expressing willingness to either send troops or provide certain means to support guarantee forces.

Macron indicated that the US contribution would be finalized in the coming weeks. The following day, NBC News reported, citing several sources, that the United States might take a leading role in controlling a large buffer zone created to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression in case of a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin currently has no grounds for ending the war or concluding a peace agreement with Ukraine.

The statements come as international discussions intensify around potential frameworks for Ukrainian security arrangements and the respective roles of transatlantic partners in any future peace process.

Exclusive

7 million tonnes of Putin’s gas sailed from a Glasgow office. Shut it down. Seapeak Maritime ran the fleet carrying $4 billion of Russian gas—revenue now helping to fund Putin’s war.

33 Russian guards, medics, commanders: InformNapalm links POW abuse in Mordovia to named Russian staff. The OSINT publication exposes those allegedly complicit in systematic violence against Ukrainian captives at IK-10 colony.

Military

Russia, Belarus to rehearse attack on Poland and nuclear strike during Zapad-2025 drills. Fall maneuvers include air counter-operations, reservist mobilization, and border provocations near Ukraine.

Putin declares Western troops in Ukraine “legitimate targets,” after Russian missile kills unarmed Danish mission. Even as Europe plans deployment, the Russian dictator insists any peace must protect Moscow, not just Ukraine.

Ukraine confirms strikes on oil refinery in Ryazan and oil depot in Luhansk

. Ukrainian forces confirmed striking one of Russia’s four largest oil refineries and a fuel depot supplying Russian troops, marking the latest in a systematic campaign against energy infrastructure that has intensified throughout 2024

Dnipro enterprise hit as Russia launches 164-projectile barrage on Ukraine. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 121 of 157 Russian drones during a massive overnight attack on 5 Sept., but seven missiles and 35 drones still reached their targets across 10 locations

Intelligence and technology

Russia’s oil fields 96% depleted, while investors flee and Ukraine strikes refineries, intelligence says. Ukrainian intelligence revealed Russia’s finite 25-year oil timeline, as Ukraine simultaneously destroys 17% of refining capacity.

Lithuania introduces drone alert system with sirens and phone warnings. A two-color alert system featuring sirens and mobile notifications will warn Lithuanians when Russian drones cross into their territory, with red alerts for explosive-carrying aircraft and yellow for non-threatening UAVs

Ukraine completes first phase of power grid armor. Milestone reached as country builds physical barriers around critical substations.

From trenches to dugouts, Ukraine’s advanced UGVs execute missions that once required soldiers under fire. Fully autonomous systems carry out assaults, relay communications, and bypass Russian jammers.

Azerbaijani MiG-29s enter Ukrainian service as regional alliance shifts. New images suggest Ukraine has quietly integrated Azerbaijani MiG-29 fighters into combat operations, potentially expanding Kyiv’s air capabilities just as Baku distances itself from Moscow.

Frontline report: Russian drone factories now staffed by teenagers as adult workforce collapses

. Students recruited from technical schools now live in guarded dormitories at the Alabuga complex, working under surveillance with punishments for errors and reports of forced overtime.

International

India defies US, keeps buying Russian oil, while sanctions bite Moscow. New Delhi rejects Trump’s demands, however, forcing Russia to negotiate in rupees and steep discounts.

Putin says Ukraine can join EU while Russia’s ally Hungary blocks membership. The Russian president’s acknowledgment directly contradicts his 2014 annexation of Crimea and Donbas war launch

America plans to draw peace line in Ukraine—but Putin may ignore it entirely. A demilitarized buffer zone monitored by US drones and satellites faces Moscow’s tendency to violate any agreement.

Trump “very unhappy” EU countries still buy Russian energy, Zelenskyy says. Hungary, which accounts for a significant portion of the EU’s remaining 20% of Russian energy purchases, is simultaneously blocking Ukraine’s path to European Union membership

European team heads to Washington for joint work on expanded Russia sanctions. Brussels has initiated work on a new sanctions package against Russia while dispatching a delegation to Washington for coordination with US officials

Russia ready for Ukraine talks but rejects third-country venue, Putin says. Ukraine rejected Putin’s peace negotiation conditions after the Russian leader proposed Moscow talks while threatening foreign troops on Ukrainian soil

Ukraine misses another EU deadline, putting European aid in jeopardy

. Parliament’s failure puts billions in European support at risk while Ukraine battles on multiple fronts.

Fico and Zelenskyy to discuss energy infrastructure in Uzhhorod. Ukraine’s recent attacks on the Druzhba pipeline have prompted Slovak PM to arrange an urgent meeting with Ukrainian President in Uzhhorod on 5 Sept., marking their first face-to-face talks since Fico’s return to power.

Humanitarian and social impact

“A deliberate attack on peace and recovery”: International outrage after Russian missile strike kills 2 humanitarian workers. “First they littered the region with explosives and mines; now they are killing people who risk their lives clearing our land from the consequences of Russia’s invasion.”

New developments

Ukrainian AI-generated video lights up Burning Man’s main pyramid with national symbols. Ukrainian national symbols projected through artificial intelligence technology dominated the main pyramid at this year’s Burning Man festival, as director Olha Navrotska’s video featuring sunflowers, wheat, and the country’s signature blue and yellow colors

Georgia finds 240 million tons of “new lithium” needed by West — but access may be tied to Ukraine’s war. A colossal find could help the West cut reliance on China, but Moscow lurks with leverage.

Read our earlier daily review here.

In 2024 alone, the LNG tanker fleet of the Glasgow-registered Seapeak Maritime lifted 7.56 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Yamal Peninsula—more than a third of all cargoes the giant Arctic plant exported last year.

At prevailing gas market prices, those shipments were worth roughly £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion), generating an estimated £127 million ($163 million) in corporate income tax for the Russian state.

This is enough to buy 2,700 Shahed drones or 45 Iskander missiles for use against Ukrainian cities.

A closer look at Seapeak shows a multinational war profiteering scheme with the involvement of seemingly incompatible partners: Canada, the UK, the US, and China. The governments of the first two constituencies have the killswitch in their hands, and they can close down the scheme if they want to walk the talks on supporting Ukraine and confront the Russo-Chinese dirty energy sprawl in the Arctic.

A loophole big enough for an icebreaker

Seapeak’s seven Arc-7 ice-class carriers, managed from an ordinary office block in Glasgow, Scotland, shuttle Russian LNG from the port of Sabetta through the Barents and Norwegian Seas to EU terminals such as Zeebrugge, Bilbao, and Montoir. Their cargoes are then off-sold under long-term contracts to buyers including France’s Total Energies, Germany’s SEFE, and Spain’s Naturgy, quietly feeding European gas grids even as Brussels vows to wean itself off Kremlin energy and London claims to be “clean on gas”.

The Russian LNG trade lays bare a giant blind spot in Western sanctions.

The UK banned direct imports of Russian LNG from 1 January 2023, yet it still allows British-managed or British-insured vessels to haul Putin’s gas for third parties and continues to buy gas from TotalEnergies, Novatek’s key partner in the LNG export business. Worse, Seapeak’s ships have been linked to the presence of Russian FSB special service operatives on board—an obvious counter-intelligence threat for NATO states whose ports they frequent.

The six Arc-7 icebreaking LNG carriers managed by Seapeak Maritime – Eduard Toll, Rudolf Samoylovich, Vladimir Voronin, Nikolay Urvantsev, Georgiy Ushakov, and Yakov Gakkel – operate year-round and export millions of tons of Russian gas from the Sabbeta port at the Yamal peninsula.

Based on average prices for Russian LNG during 2024, the estimated value of the LNG deliveries carried by these vessels in 2024 was around £2.9bn (€3.44bn / $3.72bn), which represents a significant portion of the Yamal LNG total revenue. The LNG volumes carried by the Seapeak fleet directly generated revenue for the Yamal LNG plant, which is located in and operates in Russia, and is subject to taxation under the Russian tax code.

What is Seapeak — and who owns it?

Until early 2022, the company traded LNG at global markets as Teekay LNG Partners, part of the Canadian-founded Teekay Group headquartered in Vancouver. That January, New York private-equity house Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners bought it for US $6.2 billion and re-branded it Seapeak LLC. The Glasgow subsidiary, Seapeak Maritime Ltd, manages the Yamal LNG fleet and books revenue in Britain’s financial system.

When we look into the ownership of the Arc7 tanker fleet, the vessels themselves, things get even more complicated. Seapeak LLC co‑owns the six Arc‑7 LNG carriers in a joint venture with China LNG Shipping Holdings Limited – TC LNG Shipping LLC, which is a Marshall Islands entity established in April 2014. China LNG Shipping Holdings Limited is a major Chinese LNG shipping company incorporated by a consortium of COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Co., Ltd. and China Merchants Energy Shipping Co. Ltd., which collectively belong to China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. 

In other words, Canadian investors and China’s communist party teamed up to build the LNG fleet driving Russia’s global gas expansion.

Then, in early 2022, US-based investment firm Stonepeak took over the business. 

Stonepeak’s investors include North American pension funds and Canadian public-sector institutions; the parent company itself remains registered in Bermuda offshore. This opaque structure means profits extracted from Yamal transit flow through a thicket of tax havens before re-emerging as dividends for western investors, all while Ukraine picks through the increasingly dense, deadly showers of missile and drone attacks made possible by Russian tax receipts.

National security, not business as usual

If the United Kingdom is serious about enforcing its sanctions regime, leaving Seapeak to continue uninterrupted business with Russians and Chinese is no longer tenable. Westminster already has precedent: it has sanctioned entire fleets of Russian-controlled oil tankers and pledged to lead the fight to dismantle Moscow’s “shadow fleet”. Extending that approach to vessels that facilitate Russian LNG exports is a logical next step — yet action against the management entity itself would be swifter and more comprehensive.

Nationalising Seapeak’s tankers under UK emergency powers would freeze Kremlin revenues and let authorities redeploy, idle, or sell the Arc-7 LNG fleet in line with allied priorities.

Canada, too, has skin in the game. Teekay’s historical ties to Vancouver mean Ottawa retains leverage via the Special Economic Measures Act. By taking control of Seapeak’s Canadian holdings, Canada can ensure its pension funds are not, however indirectly, bankrolling Russian aggression. A joint UK-Canadian move would also close the insurance loophole: once the ships are state-controlled, renewals with London P&I clubs could be halted overnight.

The Kremlin’s Trojan horse

Corporate ownership is only part of the story. Glasgow is today home to a vibrant Ukrainian diasporic community; yet the city’s largest shipping firm remains an unwitting enabler of the Kremlin’s Arctic ambitions. The profits Seapeak generates upstream help Russia’s gas giant Novatek—half-owned by Putin loyalist Leonid Mikhelson—expand LNG mega-projects whose carbon footprint outstrips several EU member states combined. Downstream, those same profits support Russia’s vast propaganda ecosystem and its espionage networks inside Europe’s ports.

Journalist investigations showed that Novatek has been directly implicated in supporting Russia’s military actions in Ukraine by recruiting mercenaries through its private security company, Saturn-1.

Staff from Novatek’s security divisions, including Bastion, were sent to the front lines and paid via the Muzhestvo Foundation—a fund largely financed by Novatek.

Therefore, Russia’s leading LNG exporter’s role in the war of aggression extends beyond finance to direct participation on the battlefield.

A call to act—now

Pulling the killswitch—nationalizing Seapeak’s Arc7 vessels (which has precedent with Germany’s action in 2022 against Gazprom Germany)—would not be a hostile act against free enterprise; it would be a wartime necessity on a par with the seizure of oligarch superyachts and cutting schemes that fund war crimes. It would deprive Russia of hundreds of millions in tax revenue, shut down a strategic export route through the Arctic’s melting ice, prevent further Russo-Chinese expansion in the Arctic, and send an unmistakable signal that allied democracies will choke off every last revenue vein feeding Putin’s war machine.

The alternative—allowing a Canadian-heritage company owned by Wall Street financiers to keep moving Arctic gas for the benefit of Russian warmongers and Chinese crooks, while Ukrainian civilians count the cost—should shame every lawmaker in Westminster and Ottawa.

Britain and Canada helped design today’s sanctions architecture; they must now wield it without fear or favour.

Each cargo Seapeak lifts from Sabetta is another cheque signed over to the Kremlin. The governments of the UK and Canada must investigate Stonepeak’s entanglements with Russia and China. While the EU is taking the course to wean itself from dependency on Russian LNG, it’s about time to nationalise the fleet that is carrying it. This could prove that when Ukraine asks its friends and allies to close a loophole measured in megatonnes of Russian gas and billions of dollars, they will answer with deeds, not declarations.

Editor’s note. The opinions expressed in our Opinion section belong to their authors. Euromaidan Press’ editorial team may or may not share them.

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Russia and Belarus are training for an attack on Poland, and this is more than just military exercises — it’s drills for striking a neighboring country. Prime Minister Donald Tusk warns that Polish forces are ready to respond to any provocations. Diplomacy will continue, but in the event of a threat, serious measures will be taken.

According to Defence24, part of the exercises will also take place near Ukraine’s border, similar to what happened shortly before the 2022 invasion.

Unconventional tactics in focus

This year, exercises will include:

• simulated counter-air operations,
• advances supported by mechanized forces,
• active use of electronic warfare, with emphasis on communications and transport,
• mass involvement of reservists, and mobilization of local authorities.

Russia and Belarus could stage provocations along Ukraine’s border, aiming to “force Kyiv to disperse its forces.”

Poland prepares to deter aggression

Tusk stressed that preparations are underway to counter any aggression.

“We are preparing appropriate responses together with our allies to the aggressive maneuvers that Russia and Belarus are conducting near our borders. They are already aggressive; they simulate an attack, not defense. Let’s not deceive ourselves,” Tusk says.

Poland keeps a close watch

Tusk emphasizes that Poland is working with European partners to convince the US of the real threat. Recently, Polish President Karol Nawrocki has reached an agreement with US President Donald Trump: US support is available, but “nothing comes for free.”

Provocations will not go unanswered

Polish authorities are monitoring airspace violations and other provocations by Belarus and Russia.

“For Poland, there are dangers, as we border Belarus. We will consult and respond to provocations. Those who carry them out will face serious consequences, both diplomatic and kinetic,” Tusk adds.

While the “kinetic consequences” remain undisclosed, the Polish prime minister assures that Poland has “special measures” in place to protect the country.

Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service has reported that Russia has about 13.2 billion tons of economically viable, proven oil reserves, enough for roughly 25 years of production.

At the same time, 96% of the subsoil fund has already been allocated, indicating near-full utilization of available fields.

Investors losing interest

According to the results of 2024 auctions, one-time payments for hydrocarbon extraction rights amounted to only $50 million, with half the revenue from placer gold mining, a sector less significant for the budget.

This signals a sharp decline in investor interest in Russia’s oil and gas industry.

 

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Technology and resources at the limit

Ukraine’s intelligence notes that over the next 10–15 years, the potential for further exploration of existing fields in Russia will be exhausted. Limited funding and a lack of technology to develop hard-to-reach, geologically complex, and remote regions undermine Russia’s energy and economic security, casting doubt on the long-term stability of its oil and gas sector.

Earlier, Euromaidan Press reported that Ukraine disabled 17% of Russia’s oil refining capacity through a wave of recent drone strikes targeting key infrastructure.

The attacks, carried out over the past month, have disrupted fuel processing, sparked gasoline shortages, and hit the core of Moscow’s war economy as Washington seeks to broker a peace deal.

New Delhi is taking a step in defiance of American demands. Bloomberg reports that India has officially confirmed that it will continue buying Russian oil despite the 50% US tariffs on Indian goods.

In doing so, New Delhi ignored US President Donald Trump’s demand to stop importing Russian oil, prompting renewed public criticism from him. 

“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” Trump wrote in a social media post, adding a photo of the three leaders together at Xi Jinping’s summit in China.

Volumes of Russian oil declining

Meanwhile, Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, has reported that Russian oil shipments to India fell from 1.8 million barrels per day in 2024 to 1.1 million in September 2025.

“Delhi is demanding additional discounts and payments in non-convertible rupees. US tariffs on Indian goods for Russian oil have already reached 50%,” he says. 

He adds that the US and EU sanctions have limited Moscow’s oil trade, and now India and China are dictating the terms.

China increases purchases on its terms

At the same time, Kovalenko reveals that China has increased its purchases of Russian oil, from 50,000 barrels in August to 420,000 barrels in September, but also only under conditions of significant discounts, which are $5–6 below Brent. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Ukraine’s goal of joining the European Union its “legitimate choice” and commented on the events of 2013–2014 in this context, UNIAN reports. 

Putin admits: Ukraine’s accession to the EU is a “legitimate choice”

Putin said it is Ukraine’s lawful right to decide how to build its international relations, how to safeguard its economic interests, and with whom to form alliances.

“The problem for us at that time, when Yanukovych was president, was that Ukraine’s integration into the European system of economic relations created certain economic difficulties for us.

Ukraine was part of a free trade zone, our customs borders were open, and for us, this had certain consequences,” said Putin.

The consent of all current EU members is required for Ukraine to join the European Union. However, Hungary and Slovakia, Russia’s allies in Europe, oppose Ukraine’s accession. Moreover, it remains unclear how realistic Ukraine’s EU entry is during wartime.

Hungary remains the main obstacle

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already responded to Putin’s remarks. He stated that in a situation where even the Russian leader does not oppose Ukraine’s EU membership, the position of “Russia’s friends,” particularly Hungary, on this issue looks strange, according to UkrInform. 

“Finally, we hear a signal from Russia that they already accept Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. It’s a pity that they recognize reality with such a delay.

Since 2013, Russia has been moving toward this simple idea, but now some of Russia’s other great friends in Europe also need to hear it,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that if even Putin does not object, the positions of some countries, especially Hungary, regarding negotiation clusters look really strange.

Ukraine has done its homework for EU accession 

Zelenskyy also said he is ready to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on this matter.

Hungary remains the only EU member state blocking the opening of the first cluster in negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, while the other 26 leaders at the 26 June summit supported the move. Opening these clusters is intended to align Ukraine with European standards.

Ukraine and Moldova have already fulfilled all the requirements to start accession negotiations under the clusters “Fundamentals,” “Internal Market,” and “External Relations.”

This is the first block, “Basics of EU Membership,” the most important cluster concerning Ukraine’s participation in the EU internal market, and the block dealing with foreign and security policy.

Earlier, Putin said that if Western forces appeared on Ukrainian territory, they would have become legitimate targets for Russia. His statement came the day after a Russian ballistic missile deliberately struck an unarmed Danish demining mission, killing two people and wounding eight in Chernihiv Oblast.

Meanwhile, the “Coalition of the Willing” countries have reportedly agreed that ten of the 21 states, which are ready to work on security guarantees for Ukraine, are willing to send their soldiers to Ukrainian territory after the fighting ends.

The US is ready to create a buffer zone in Ukraine to contain Russia, but it is unclear whether Putin will stop the war. If a peace agreement is reached, the US plans to take a leading role in monitoring a large demilitarized buffer zone on Ukrainian territory, NBC News reports. 

It would separate the Russian and Ukrainian areas after the fighting ends. The US drones, satellites, and other intelligence tools would help ensure security compliance, while American troops would not be deployed within the zone.

International oversight and security

Troops from one or more non-NATO countries, such as Saudi Arabia or Bangladesh, could secure the buffer zone.

Meanwhile, Turkiye would be responsible for the safe movement of goods and services in the Black Sea, controlling the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. Previously, Turkiye attempted to ensure the safety of the maritime corridor for exporting Ukrainian grain. However, Russia continued its strikes on Ukraine’s Odesa port anyway. 

Security guarantees and economic protection

Some security guarantees from allies are planned to be based on the plan, which avoids the use of NATO forces and Article V to avoid crossing Russia’s “red line.”

Additionally, bilateral agreements between Ukraine and its allies would provide security and economic support. The US is discussing with Ukraine a deal worth around $100 billion, which would include weapons supplies and the exchange of intellectual property rights for Ukrainian developments as part of security guarantees. 

Still, it is not clear how Kyiv will get back Ukrainian children stolen by Russia and how the issue of war reparations will be solved. 

If Western forces appear on Ukrainian territory, they would become legitimate targets for Russia, declared Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, according to UNIAN.

Putin threatens the West

“If any troops appear in Ukraine, especially now during ongoing hostilities, we proceed from the assumption that they will be legitimate targets for strikes,” said the Russian president.

This means the potential mission should be significantly protected from Russian strikes. 

Coalition of the willing and European guarantees

On 4 September, a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” took place in Paris. It was agreed that out of 21 countries willing to work on security guarantees for Ukraine, ten would agree to send their soldiers to Ukrainian territory after the fighting ends.

Countries prepared to take this step include the United Kingdom, France, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, the Netherlands, and Australia. Preliminary estimates suggest that the European mission in Ukraine could number 25–30 thousand troops. These security guarantees are meant to take effect once peace is established in Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports. 

Meanwhile, Donald Trump, the leader of the US, traditionally considered the major protector of the Western world, has stated that he does not plan to send troops to Ukraine, has not imposed the promised sanctions on Moscow, and is not providing Ukraine with new aid packages. As a result, the situation in Ukraine is at a deadlock.

A deadlock for Ukraine

According to Putin, security guarantees should apply not only to Ukraine but also to Russia.

At the same time, the dictator claimed that Russia “will fully comply with peace agreements regarding Ukraine once they are reached.”

According to Putin, no one has yet discussed such agreements with Russia “at a serious level.”

Putin also stated that he is allegedly willing to engage with Ukraine, but sees “little point” in such talks, claiming it is impossible to reach an agreement.

Earlier, he suggested meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Moscow, despite seven countries offering their cities for such a meeting and the risks it would pose for Zelenskyy.

Zelensky urges the West to implement guarantees without waiting for peace

Amid discussions over security guarantees, the question arises: What is preventing the West from implementing security guarantees now?

According to Rai, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that security guarantees for Ukraine must take effect immediately without waiting for a cessation of hostilities.

“It is important that the security guarantees promised by the countries forming the ‘coalition of the determined’ begin to operate immediately, without waiting for the end of the fighting,” the Ukrainian president said.

Zelenskyy added that this refers not only to military support for Ukraine but also to economic guarantees. According to him, 26 countries have expressed readiness to support Ukraine’s security, and this is “an important step forward.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a September 5 briefing that US President Donald Trump expressed dissatisfaction with European countries continuing to purchase Russian gas and oil, thereby supporting Russia’s military machine. Hungary and Slovakia are among such countries, according to Zelensky.

European Council President António Costa emphasized that the EU has already reduced purchases of Russian energy resources by 80%. A significant portion of the remaining 20% falls on Hungary, which is currently blocking Ukraine’s EU accession.

Hungary explains this position by stating it disagrees with accepting Ukraine into the EU during wartime. But in that case, peace must be accelerated and the war stopped, Costa stressed.

“And for this it is necessary to continue supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, not to block the use of the Ukraine Facility fund. On the other hand, as President [of the US Donald] Trump said — it is very important to stop allowing the Russian Federation to continue waging this war by buying oil and gas,” Costa said.

Costa reported he will visit Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the near future. President Zelensky also assured that contacts exist between Kyiv and Budapest.

Zelensky stated he sees no foundation for Hungary’s accusations but emphasized that Ukraine is ready for dialogue.

“We are ready to meet with Orban. To discuss what else they are dissatisfied with. And how else we can help so that they are finally satisfied. President Trump heard a signal from our side regarding the blockade. America and President Trump said they would work to unblock this process, to help Ukraine with this,” Zelenskyy said.

Costa emphasized that Ukraine must meanwhile continue working on EU accession.

“The negotiation process continues. Ukrainian authorities continue working with the European Commission. We cannot lose this path. We must continue working on reforms, because in any case this must be done. We don’t need to wait for Hungary, or anyone, to continue our work. Because Ukraine’s future is in the EU,” he said.

Costa believes the Russian-Ukrainian war will end before Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations conclude, so “there are no reasons to waste time in this process.”

“If even Putin does not object [to Ukraine’s EU membership], then the positions of some countries, especially Hungary, really look strange,” Zelenskyy said.

EU membership process

All 27 EU member states have given the “green light” to begin negotiations with Ukraine on joining the bloc, however, Hungary is blocking them.

Last year Budapest presented Ukraine with a list of 11 demands to unblock the path to the European Union. All are aimed at strengthening protection of national minority rights in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian side traveled to Budapest with additional proposals for resolving the entire complex of issues. Ukraine and Hungary then agreed from 12 May to organize regular consultations to work on the stated demands. However, Budapest postponed such consultations due to the Security Service of Ukraine’s detention of Hungarian spies in early May.

Hungarian authorities conducted a so-called consultative referendum in their country regarding Ukraine’s EU membership, based on which they announced that 95% of votes were against. Orban himself claimed that Ukraine’s EU membership would mean “destruction of the European Union” and war with Russia on EU territory.

Lithuania proposed starting negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on the first chapter of EU membership without Hungary’s consent. It is proposed that after approval by 26 member states, negotiations would take place at a technical level, de facto, and later an official agreement would be reached legally when all 27 EU states approve it, if Viktor Orban’s position or that of the entire Hungarian government changes.

Ukraine’s state power operator finished building physical barriers around key equipment just as Russia continues targeting energy facilities nationwide.

Supervisory board member Yuriy Boyko announced Thursday that Ukrenergo has completed the first phase of passive protection construction for critical equipment at its substations, with the second phase set to finish by the first quarter of 2026.

The milestone comes as Ukraine races to physically shield its power infrastructure from relentless Russian attacks that have destroyed 70% of the country’s generating capacity since February 2022.

According to Boyko, the company has completed the first phase. It is now actively constructing the second phase, with over 80% of the second phase scheduled for completion by year’s end during a briefing at the Media Center of Ukraine in Kyiv.

Engineering protection for 20-70 hectare sites

The passive protection focuses on the most critical equipment at Ukrenergo’s massive substations spanning 20-70 hectares each. Boyko explained that it’s impossible to cover entire substations, and therefore, resources must concentrate on the most critical elements, particularly autotransformers, which the Russians actively targeted in the war’s first year.

Boyko noted that work progresses more slowly in frontline regions where air raid alerts and military risks create extended pauses.

Three levels of protection against attacks

Ukraine has developed multiple protection levels for its energy system. The first level involves gabions—wire cages filled with rocks or sandbags—and sandbags protecting 90 facilities across 21 regions from debris.

The second level uses concrete structures around Ukrenergo’s primary network, covering 22 substations and 63 autotransformers in 14 regions as of January 2025.

The third level protects against direct missile strikes. In 2023, the United States provided 20,000 tonnes of reinforcing steel through USAID, and by January 2025, third-level protection had begun at 22 sites.

Strategic push for decentralization

The protection construction aligns with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent directive to National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov to coordinate additional short and medium-range air defense procurement while increasing funding for drone manufacturers.

Ukraine’s energy strategy now emphasizes replacing large, vulnerable power plants with hundreds of smaller distributed generators. In 2024, Ukrenergo purchased 600 MW of auxiliary generation services, and almost 500 MW from new facilities will come online by 2026.

The main pyramid at Burning Man festival in Nevada featured Ukrainian symbols including sunflowers, wheat, and blue and yellow colors through an AI-generated video created by director Olha Navrotska, Suspilne Culture reported on 4 September.

The audiovisual animation was conceived by philanthropist and initiator of educational projects “Skarb” and “War Diaries: Unheard Voices of Ukrainian Children” Khrystia Khranovska and displayed on the festival’s central pyramid structure used for projections, performances and light shows.

“My idea was to make Ukraine visible even in the middle of the Nevada desert. With this video, I wanted to show our country as modern, noble, intelligent, authentic, unique and understandable to the world. We must be heard everywhere,” Khranovska said.

Director Olha Navrotska brought the concept to life using artificial intelligence. The video incorporated Ukrainian cultural symbols: blue sky colors, sunflowers as signs of life, wheat ears and horses as images of freedom and fertility, along with figures of Ukrainian women and brave men.

The musical component features an ethno-house track “Skarb” by Fahot, leader of the band TNMK.

“This video is another opportunity to remind the world about ourselves, and to do it at a huge international festival. We chose yellow-blue colors both because it’s our flag and because it’s an incredibly powerful color combination that should immediately be associated with us and create a bright picture in the night,” Navrotska explained.

According to Suspilne Culture, the animation on Burning Man’s main pyramid served as a tribute to the 34th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.

Burning Man, an annual eight-day independent art event in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, runs from 24 August to 1 September under this year’s theme “Tomorrow Today.” Organizers define it as an experiment in creating a community of radical self-expression, culminating in burning a massive wooden human statue on the final day.

Forbes reported that Ukraine was represented by five artworks at the festival: “Black Cloud” by Oleksiy Say, “The Point of Unity” by Mykola Kabluka, “Death Conquered Death” by Volodymyr Semkiv, “Merman” by Merman Team, and “Blue Bull” by “Workshop of Wonders.”

Pragmatika reported that an additional installation called “HeyDay” by Kharkiv artist Volodymyr Ponomarenko – a mirrored flower made of stainless steel.

Say’s original installation was destroyed by a storm on the festival’s first day, leading the artist to transform it into a new work titled “No Fate” – shortened from the phrase “No fate but what we make,” borrowed from Sarah Connor’s line in the “Terminator” franchise.

The new installation continues the message “Get Ready!” from “Black Cloud”: invisible threats are real, but the future is not predetermined and remains in human hands, emphasizing the choice to resist threats rather than become accustomed to them.

Ukraine has already redefined modern warfare with Operation Spiderweb. In the course of the mission, Kyiv used drone swarms, surprisingly unleashed from trucks in Russia, to destroy its aircraft. Now, it has gone even further in its technological developments. 

In Donetsk Oblast, at an old Soviet warehouse, Ukrainian engineers are assembling ground-based unmanned systems. They deliver ammunition, food, and medical supplies, evacuate the wounded, and carry out assault operations, Forbes reports. 

Drones resilient to Russian jammers

Teams are upgrading standard drones with digital communication channels, such as Starlink and LTE, which allow them to bypass Russian electronic warfare systems.

“The conditions on the ground dictate their own rules, and we have to convert all drones to digital control,” explains engineer Oleksandr.

Also, fully robotic assaults have already been recorded on the Ukrainian front lines. The battle took place near the village of Lyptsi, north of Kharkiv, in 2024. During the clash, Russian positions were destroyed solely by unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and FPV drones.

A robot under fire instead of a soldier

Ground drones act as communication relays and even as platforms for electronic warfare.

“The drone drives up to a trench or dugout, releases the load, and leaves,” he adds.

Ukraine — a global leader in military robotics

According to Army Technology, up to 80% of Russian losses on the battlefield are now caused by drones. Russia is also developing its own systems, but Ukraine is ahead due to volunteer initiatives and decentralized solutions.

“Ukrainian engineers are creating the future of warfare, not just for Ukraine, but for the world,” emphasizes Liuba Shypovych, CEO of Dignitas Ukraine.

For decades, China held a monopoly on strategic metals. But now a new player, Georgia, has found 240 million tons of manganese ore on its territory, already being called “the new lithium,” The Diary 24 reports. 

A colossal discovery in Chiatura

In the Chiatura region, reserves of manganese ore amounting to 240 million tons have been confirmed. Manganese is increasingly seen as an alternative to lithium for electric vehicle batteries. It allows the creation of cheaper and more reliable cathodes, which could radically change the balance of the global market. 

Georgia between China and the West

At the same time, the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party holds power in Georgia. As is known, China is Russia’s main economic partner, which sponsors its war against Ukraine. In addition, about 20% of Georgia’s territory is currently controlled by Russia, something Moscow can use as leverage for blackmail.

The current government has effectively stalled Georgia’s accession to the European Union. This reduces the country’s chances of democratization and, therefore, hinders alliances with Western nations.

A chance for the West and a challenge for China

The emergence of a competitor like Georgia has become an unexpected challenge for China, which has dominated strategic resources for decades. The US and other Western countries are already considering cooperation with Tbilisi to reduce dependence on Beijing.

Ukraine may have replenished its fleet of MiG-29 fighters with aircraft from Azerbaijan, The War Zone reports. A photo appeared on social media showing a single-seat Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 with a camouflage pattern characteristic of Azerbaijani jets.

“The date and location of the photo are unknown, but the jet appears to be on a combat mission, with a full armament…While it remains possible that the photo has been manipulated, there is presently nothing to indicate that it’s not genuine,” the report says. 

Azerbaijani aircraft in Ukraine

Back in the summer of 2022, another photo appeared on Twitter showing three Azerbaijani MiG-29s undergoing repairs in Lviv. After the start of the all-out war, they remained in Ukraine and likely entered service with the Air Force.

“It seems the aircraft (or at least one of them) survived the March 2022 Russian attack on the Lviv State Aviation Repair Plant, which we reported on at the time,” the report says.

The plant was a key facility for overhauling MiG-29s not only for Ukraine but also for foreign clients, including Azerbaijan.

Traces of Baku’s support

There are also suggestions that Azerbaijan may have provided Ukraine with other “unofficial” assistance — precision bombs, mortars, and fuel. Azerbaijan’s MiG-29 fleet itself originally came from Ukraine: in 2007, the country acquired about 15 aircraft after major overhaul and modernization.

“Between 2015 and 2017, Azerbaijani MiG-29s took part in joint exercises with the Turkish Air Force, representing one of its closest military allies, and, starting in 2017, Fulcrum overhauls were conducted in Lviv,” the journalists recall. 

The coincidence of the evidence emerging now, alongside rising tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia, only adds intrigue. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that he was ready for contact with Ukraine but questioned whether Kyiv has the political will to reach agreements on key issues, according to Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation.

Putin claimed Ukraine had previously excluded direct contacts with Russia but now “asks for them.” He dismissed peace negotiations in a third country as an “excessive request from Kyiv” and suggested Moscow as the preferred meeting location.

“Ukraine wants a meeting, I’m ready, come, we will provide working conditions and security,” Putin said at the forum.

The Russian leader declared that Russia would consider any foreign troops on Ukrainian territory “legitimate targets for destruction.” He added that security guarantees for both Ukraine and Russia had not been seriously discussed with Moscow at a high level.

Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation said Putin’s statements confirmed he rejects peace proposals while using rhetoric about readiness to negotiate as a stalling tactic.

“Putin continues to stall, putting forward deliberately unacceptable demands for negotiations, but almost no longer hides that he does not intend to agree on anything. Sanctions and pressure on Russia must be strengthened,” the Center concluded.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded that Putin pretends he does not need peace or agreements, but global pressure can shape Russia’s interest in ending the war.

Zelenskyy reacted to Putin’s Moscow invitation, saying: “If you want there to be no meeting, invite me to Moscow.”

Recent diplomatic developments include Donald Trump’s 25 August statement that he would observe for two weeks before intervening “very decisively” in potential Zelenskyy-Putin talks. On 4 September, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 countries would provide peacekeepers or assistance as part of security guarantees for Ukraine.

Trump said he plans to speak with Putin soon after his conversation with Zelenskyy, calling Russia’s war against Ukraine “the most difficult of everything” for him.

Day 1289

On 4 September, the biggest news comes from the Russian Federation.

Here, the Russian war effort has reached a breaking point, forcing the state to adopt measures once thought unthinkable to keep its military machine running. With millions of casualties mounting and the labor force collapsing, Russian teenagers are now rapidly being pulled into the war economy to fill the gaps.

In recent weeks, reports have begun to emerge about significant shifts within Russia’s defense sector. What makes the reports especially alarming is that one of the first confirmed cases of underage labor has emerged at the Alabuga complex, where teenagers are now being used to assemble drones. Some are recruited from technical schools, while others are brought in with minimal training. Most live in guarded dormitories and work under surveillance, with punishments for errors and accounts of forced overtime.

The danger is not only the working conditions themselves, but also the fact that Alabuga has always been a high-priority target for Ukraine. Since the Shahed production line supports Russia’s long-range strikes, the entire complex is now a legitimate military target, and the students inside are, in effect, being placed on the frontline.

The situation reflects the broader collapse of Russia’s manpower base, and after more than 1 million wartime losses, including dead, wounded, captured, and discharged, there is no longer enough adult labor to sustain both the military and the economy. Key industries, such as construction, transportation, and manufacturing, are now overstretched, particularly in military zones. The conditions at Alabuga are likely not unique, as similar facilities across the country face pressure to maintain output with a shrinking workforce and rising demand. The same pattern is likely repeating elsewhere: quiet expansions, untrained labor, and no safety net.

Before resorting to underage labor, Moscow attempted to compensate through foreign recruitment, launching large-scale efforts to bring in workers from Central Asia, South Asia, and Africa; however, the results fell short. Most recruits were poorly integrated, lacked relevant training, and faced growing hostility from Russian society.

That pressure has also opened doors for Ukrainian intelligence, as some of Russia’s most destructive drone and airfield losses, including the strike that destroyed a third of its long-range bombers in one day, were made possible by operatives exploiting these weak points from inside the labor system. Several were even redirected to combat support roles. These scandals, combined with public resentment, undermined the entire approach. Today, foreign recruitment still exists but is no longer seen as a sustainable solution.

Russia’s reliance on teenagers is not just a labor problem; it is structural, as Russia’s war machine is burning through manpower faster than it can replace it, but instead of scaling back, it just widens the net: first migrants, then prisoners, now pupils. The goal is always the same: sustain the output, whatever the cost. That is why classrooms are turning into dormitories, teachers are being sidelined for production quotas, and students are being taught to wire warheads instead of learning math.

However, these adaptations come with a price, as civilian infrastructure is repurposed for military use, the dividing line between civilian and combatant becomes blurred. By militarizing industrial sites and filling them with untrained minors, Russia is exposing them to direct retaliation.

If a drone factory becomes a military hub, then civilian workers, including students, are placed in the line of fire. The shift toward mass militarization of society is not strengthening Russia; it is exposing its core, and with every adaptation, that vulnerability grows.

Overall, the use of teenage workers in drone factories is not a temporary fix; it is a warning sign. Russia has run out of spare labor, exhausted its foreign recruitment options, and is now facing a shortage of internal resources. If the war effort now depends on minors to keep production lines moving, it indicates that Russia has exhausted its reserve labor capacity, a sign of accelerating internal depletion. As Russia expands its system to maintain wartime output, the likelihood increases that Ukraine will escalate its deep-strike campaign, targeting not just supply lines, but the very infrastructure and labor model sustaining Russian production.

In our regular frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war

Exclusives

A fearless Ukrainian trooper posed as Russian, got close—and then opened fire. Identities can be unclear along the porous front line in Ukraine. That’s an opportunity for cold-blooded ambushes.

When a building is full of Russians, send in an FPV drone first!. One Ukrainian regiment is attaching explosive drones to its infantry squads—to help clear Russians from buildings.

How Ukraine went from power blackouts to selling electricity to Europe in record numbers. Canadian engineers explore billion-dollar projects as Ukraine transforms from energy victim to electricity supplier.

Latest News

Thu Sep 04 2025

“A deliberate attack on peace and recovery”: International outrage after Russian missile strike kills 2 humanitarian workers. “First they littered the region with explosives and mines; now they are killing people who risk their lives clearing our land from the consequences of Russia’s invasion.”

Ukraine building “layered” defense to counter Russian drone strikes. Ukraine is expanding interceptor crews and radar coverage to strengthen defenses against Russian attack drones.

Russia jails two Ukrainian journalists for 15 and 16 years for covering occupation. Reporters Without Borders warns that the harsh sentences send a chilling signal to other detained journalists in occupied Ukraine.

NATO allies to help Finland build air bases for F-35. With the first F-35 fighters scheduled to arrive in Rovaniemi in late 2026, NATO members are preparing to fund one-fifth of Finland’s fighter base construction across three cities

Two Russian drones breach NATO airspace again — Poland says no action needed as they return to Ukraine

. The violations came the same night Russia launched over 500 drones and missiles on Ukraine.

Czech employment gap narrows to record 9 points as 101,000 Ukrainian women join workforce. Women’s employment in the Czech Republic jumped from 68.2% to 71.2% between July 2023 and June 2025

26 countries commit to peacekeeping force in Ukraine after ceasefire. Coalition of the Willing nations agreed to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, coordinating military support and long-term defense planning in the event of a ceasefire.

Western partners ready to give Ukraine long-ranged missiles. Kyiv will gain additional long-range weaponry to disrupt Russian supply lines and strengthen its operational reach.

Russian missile strikes Danish humanitarian mission in Chernihiv Oblast, killing two – updated. Humanitarian crews face a dual threat in liberated areas, working to clear mines while under the risk of Russian missile strikes.

30 leaders gather in Paris to back Ukraine — but all eyes are on Trump’s missing guarantees. Zelenskyy joined the coalition summit as Europe debated defense pledges without firm US commitments.

Ukraine’s shrinking harvest threatens food security in developing nations

. Ukraine’s grain sector faces its worst year since the war began.

Ukrainian drones hunted down Russia’s prized S-300V — and caught its radar too. The strike near Zaporizhzhia’s Oleksiivka obliterated both the launcher and the 9S36 guidance station.

FT: Europe splits into three camps over postwar Ukraine troop commitments. FT reports that UK is ready to deploy, Italy refuses, and Germany remains undecided before today’s summit.

Ukraine just knocked out two more radars inside Russia—Rostov’s airspace gets blinder. NASA thermal data confirmed fires where the radar sites stood, hinting at precise destruction.

Sweden admits it may sell Gripen E fighters to Ukraine — but only after Russia’s war ends. NATO allies asked Stockholm to delay, worried pilots could be overloaded with too many different jets.

Zelenskyy on Donetsk withdrawal demand from Russia: Putin wants gift of territory he can’t conquer for years while losses mount. The Ukrainian president also emphasized the personal significance of contested territories for displaced Ukrainian families who “would like to return” to homes abandoned due to bombing and occupation.

Read our previous report here.

Ukraine’s parliament failed to pass a critical local government oversight law required for EU funding yesterday, potentially jeopardizing access to billions in European financial support as a key reform deadline expired in March.

The Verkhovna Rada rejected draft law №13150 with only 206 votes in favor of the required 226.

The legislation would have established oversight mechanisms for local government decisions and created a registry of municipal acts—requirements embedded in Ukraine’s €50 billion Ukraine Facility agreement with the European Union.

Another missed EU reform target

Ukraine has already missed its 31 March 2025 deadline for implementing this reform. This is part of a broader pattern of legislative delays that risk the country’s access to Europe’s largest financial support package during wartime.

The Ukraine Facility provides quarterly payments based on Ukraine meeting specific milestones, including democratic governance and rule of law requirements.

These bodies would have the authority to demand corrections to illegal decisions and take violators to court when necessary.

Why local oversight matters during war

The European Union structured the Ukraine Facility around strengthening democratic institutions even as Ukraine fights Russia’s invasion. At least 20% of the program’s €5.27 billion in grants must support sub-national authorities, making local government accountability essential for unlocking EU funds.

The Ukraine Facility regulation specifically mandates “effective democratic mechanisms and institutions, including a multi-party parliamentary system and the rule of law,” as well as systems “to effectively prevent, detect and correct irregularities, corruption and in particular fraud, all forms of corruption, including high-level corruption, or any other illegal activity ”

Stakes beyond one law

Since March 2024, the EU has expended over €12 billion to Ukraine under the facility, funding teacher salaries, healthcare workers, and essential government operations while the country allocates domestic resources to defense.

The failure comes as Ukraine depends on international financing to cover roughly half its $37.5 billion external funding needs for 2024.

Beyond the Ukraine Facility, the country relies on additional EU support through the European Peace Facility and bilateral aid from member states.

Parliament had initially approved the bill for further development in May, but the final version failed to gain sufficient support nearly four months after the EU’s implementation deadline.

Russian forces launched 157 drones and 7 missiles of various types against Ukraine during the night of 5 September, according to the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. All seven missiles reached their targets.

The missile arsenal included six S-300 surface-to-air guided missiles and one X-59 guided aviation missile, the Air Forces reported. Ukrainian aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units, unmanned systems, and mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces repelled the air attack.

By 9:00 AM, Ukrainian military forces had shot down or suppressed 121 Russian Shahed-type UAVs and various decoy drones in the northern and eastern oblasts of the country. However, 7 missiles and 35 strike drones hit 10 locations. One enemy drone remained airborne at the time of the report.

The Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration reported that their region bore the brunt of the massive Russian drone attack. In Dnipro, Russian forces hit an enterprise, causing fires that emergency services have since extinguished. No casualties were reported.

“Defenders of the sky eliminated 15 of them,” the Air Defense Command said regarding the drones targeting Dnipropetrovsk Oblast overnight.

The attack pattern varied across the oblast. In Dnipro, “the aggressor hit an enterprise. Fires broke out there, and rescuers quickly began extinguishing them,” according to regional authorities. Meanwhile, “the enemy struck the Pokrovsk community in Nikopol district with an FPV drone.”

The strikes caused significant property damage beyond the targeted enterprise. Private houses near the drone impact sites in Dnipro were damaged, with windows shattered in apartment buildings. Specialists are now inspecting the homes and documenting the damage while accepting residents’ claims to calculate losses accurately.

Local charities are distributing building materials at the sites, providing OSB boards and film for residents to temporarily cover damaged roofs, doors, and windows. The state assists in rebuilding through the “eRecovery” program, with applications available through the Diia platform.

All relevant emergency services are working at the affected locations alongside local volunteers providing immediate assistance to residents.

On 4 September, InformNapalm, a volunteer intelligence initiative focused on Russian aggression in Ukraine, published the personal data of 33 Russian prison staff reportedly involved in the torture of Ukrainian POWs at Mordovia’s IK-10. The exposé builds on survivor testimony broadcast by RFE/RL’s Skhemy.

According to InformNapalm, IK-10 has become a conveyor of abuse and repression since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The Mordovia-based colony reportedly held about 700 Ukrainian POWs as of April 2025. Just 177 have been released.

“The rest remain in captivity, continuing to fight not only for freedom but for their lives,” InformNapalm wrote.

InformNapalm publishes 33 names of Russian prison staff tied to Ukrainian POW torture

A volunteer intelligence group investigating Russian war crimes has publicly identified 33 staff members of Russia’s notorious penal colony No. 10 (IK-10) in Mordovia. InformNapalm, which since 2014 has gathered open-source intelligence to expose war-related abuses, released names, ranks, addresses, contact information, social media profiles, and roles of individuals allegedly responsible for the torture and inhumane treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The release follows a 17 July 2025 investigation by the Ukrainian news program Skhemy (“Schemes”), a project of Radio Svoboda, which aired testimony from survivors held at IK-10.

Inside a prison built to erase identity

Located in the settlement of Udarnyi, Zubovo-Polyansky district, IK-10 is operated as a special-regime facility. InformNapalm and “Schemes” both describe an atmosphere of total psychological suppression, where prisoners were routinely denied medical care, beaten, forced to stand for hours, and cut off from any knowledge of their whereabouts.

Guards and staff reportedly concealed their identities behind balaclavas and medical masks. Even the place of the facility was hidden from detainees. The goal, according to survivor accounts, was to strip POWs of identity and autonomy, reducing them to a state of helplessness under constant threat.

Reports of abuse at IK-10 go back to 2012–2014, but the colony’s role expanded after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

33 names, ranks, and faces behind the brutality

The list published by InformNapalm identifies a wide range of staff. At the top is Sergei Zabaiykin, who served as head of IK-10 from 2022 until March 2024 and is now deputy head of the FSIN directorate in Mordovia. FSIN is Russia’s federal authority for the prisons and detention of suspects and convicts. Inform Napalm cites a Russian publication describing Zabaikin as “a thieving head of the colony with a ‘beastly’ attitude toward inmates.”

His successor, Aleksandr Gnutov, served as deputy chief, then acting chief, and became official colony head in July 2024.

Other high-ranking figures named include multiple deputy heads: Aleksandr Pavlushkin, Aleksei Anashkin, Yegor Averkin, and Sergei Muymarov. InformNapalm says these individuals oversaw the daily operations during the peak periods of reported violence.

Medical personnel also figure prominently in the report. Field medic Ilya Sorokin—known by the nickname “Doctor Evil”—was named as a central figure. “Schemes” reported that Sorokin left his post at the end of 2024 and joined the Russian Defense Ministry, now operating under the call sign “Doctor” in military supply units. InformNapalm says he remains in contact with his former colleagues and continues to receive medical supplies for use in Russia’s war effort.

Chief physician Galina Mokshanova, her deputy Aleksandr Levin, and multiple other medics and nurses are named as having supported or enabled torture through medical neglect or complicity.

Not just jailers: engineers, psychologists, and guards

InformNapalm’s list includes more than command and medical staff. It also names psychologists, engineers, and guards believed to have played roles in the abuse. Senior psychologist Alesia Avdonina, for example, is described as a captain of internal service and also a part-time nail technician, showing the stark dissonance between professional responsibilities and daily online life.

Others identified include engineer Konstantin Anchin, psychologist Olga Khremkina, and senior inspector Anna Shcherbakova. InformNapalm notes that several individuals had no social media presence, while others shared openly under their real names.

Russia reacts with panic and suppression

Following the initial broadcast of “Schemes” in July, InformNapalm says insider sources reported increased activity from the Russian Investigative Committee and FSB. These agencies allegedly warned IK-10 staff about harsher penalties for information leaks and tried to prevent future exposures.

InformNapalm interprets this response as a sign that Russian authorities fear accountability. The group emphasized that “no mask will protect you” and called the release a first step toward identifying all individuals involved in war crimes inside Russia’s penitentiary system.

“Every new fact strengthens the chain of responsibility”

InformNapalm stresses that the publication of these 33 names is not the conclusion, but the beginning. The group is now encouraging anyone with further knowledge—especially former inmates or staff—to come forward with verified information.

The group seeks specific details: names or nicknames, job roles, periods of employment, specific incidents of abuse, supporting media, and contact information. All information will be carefully verified and sources anonymized when necessary.

InformNapalm warns against directly contacting any of the named individuals and urges caution for those living in temporarily occupied territories. Safe devices, VPNs, and page archiving are strongly recommended when submitting tips.

“This publication is not the final point,” the report concludes. “It’s the foundation for further documentation. Every confirmation is a contribution to truth and justice.”

Ukrainian forces attacked an oil refinery in the Russian city of Ryazan and an oil depot in occupied Luhansk during the night of 5 September, Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said.

The Ryazan Oil Refinery, one of Russia’s four largest refineries, was struck by Ukraine’s 14th Unmanned Systems Regiment together with Special Operations Forces, Main Intelligence Directorate, and other Defense Forces components. The same regiment targeted the Luhansk oil depot.

Russian Telegram channel Astra earlier cited eyewitnesses reporting that the Ryazan refinery was burning following drone strikes. Ryazan region governor Pavel Malkov claimed that eight drones were shot down over the region overnight, with debris falling on an industrial facility.

Russian media and Telegram channels reported a large fire in occupied Luhansk on the evening of 4 September. The strike reportedly hit a key oil depot that supplies fuel to Russian forces.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries have occurred regularly since the beginning of 2024. Some facilities have sustained damage to primary oil processing units requiring repairs.

Ukraine’s General Staff has confirmed most attacks, stating that the Defense Forces “systematically implement measures aimed at reducing the combat potential of Russian occupation forces, as well as forcing the Russian Federation to cease armed aggression against Ukraine.”

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Uzhhorod on 5 September, with energy infrastructure set as the primary agenda item, the Slovak government’s press service reported to the TASR agency.

The meeting in Uzhhorod represents a critical juncture for Slovak-Ukrainian relations, particularly as both countries navigate competing energy security priorities while maintaining their positions on the ongoing war.

The Slovak government press service confirmed that Fico will arrive in Uzhhorod on 5 September. Besides meeting with Zelenskyy, he will also hold talks with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. His delegation includes Economy Minister Denisa Sakova and Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar, with energy infrastructure discussions expected to dominate the talks.

“The Slovak premier and Ukrainian president will inform about the meeting’s conclusions at a joint press conference,” the government added, according to the report.

This marks the first bilateral meeting between Fico and Zelenskyy since the Slovak premier returned to office in 2023. The timing comes amid escalating tensions over energy transit routes that directly affect Slovakia’s oil supplies.

Hungary and Slovakia continue receiving Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, which Ukraine has targeted in recent attacks. Slovak and Hungarian foreign ministers have complained to the European Commission about these attacks, highlighting the regional energy security concerns.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban escalated the diplomatic response by writing to Trump about Ukraine’s attacks on the Druzhba pipeline, with the former president reportedly expressing anger over the situation. However, on 4 September, American President Donald Trump told European leaders that Europe “should stop purchasing Russian oil,” which he said helps Moscow finance the war against Ukraine.

Russian forces struck a humanitarian demining team near Chernihiv on Thursday, killing two Ukrainian workers and injuring five others, local authorities and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) confirmed.

The DRC said in a statement: “At the time of the incident, DRC teams were conducting purely civilian humanitarian activities—working to clear landmines and explosive remnants of war in order to protect communities and enable safe access to essential infrastructure, farmland, and homes.” 

The attack targeted civilians conducting life-saving demining operations in the Kyselivska community of Chernihiv, a border region in northern Ukraine.

The organization described the strike as a “serious violation of International Humanitarian Law” and emphasized that humanitarian workers must never be targeted.

Chernihiv Regional State Administration head Viacheslav Chaus described the strike as “a deadly Russian hit on civilians.” 

“First they littered the region with explosives and mines; now they are killing people who risk their lives clearing our land from the consequences of Russia’s invasion,” he added.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Luke Rasmussen condemned the attack, calling it “yet another proof that Putin has no intention of ending his illegal war of aggression.”

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas added: “The death of aid workers employed by Danish Refugee Council in a missile strike underscores the brutality of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Attacks on humanitarian missions are a grave violation of international law. The EU will keep supporting Ukraine and will hold those responsible accountable.”

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos also spoke out: “Striking a humanitarian demining team near Chernihiv, killing two and injuring five, is yet another brutal attack by Russia against civilian targets in Ukraine. It is a deliberate attack on peace and recovery.”

This strike follows previous attacks on humanitarian teams in Ukraine, highlighting the dual danger from unexploded ordnance and targeted missile strikes in frontline areas.

Humanitarian workers like those with the DRC are critical to recovery in regions affected by Russia’s ongoing aggression. Their work prevents further civilian casualties and restores safe access to farmland, infrastructure, and homes, even amid repeated threats from aerial attacks and mines.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces are expanding capabilities to counter strike drones like the Shahed and Geran, according to Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Russian forces regularly launch attack drones against Ukrainian cities across the country, hitting infrastructure, energy facilities, and civilian areas. Anti-drone defenses are vital to protect civilians and maintain Ukraine’s operational resilience.

The initiative follows a comprehensive meeting on drone defense, during which Syrskyi outlined the creation of a layered system to protect Ukrainian territory.

“Our joint task is to form more interceptor crews, train additional operators, and provide them with more effective strike systems and radar,” he said.

After the meeting, Syrskyi issued a series of tasks to address gaps and strengthen Ukraine’s UAV-interceptor operations. These include selecting and training personnel for new interceptor crews, forming additional regular units, and improving the performance of interceptor systems and radar coverage.

The Commander-in-Chief emphasized that air defense is a top priority, stating that the effectiveness of Ukraine’s “anti-Shahed” system directly affects the security of the rear areas.

Russian authorities have sentenced two Ukrainian media workers seized by Russian forces in occupied Melitopol in August 2023 to long prison terms, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

RSF says the convictions reflect Russia’s broader campaign to silence independent media in occupied territories, where Ukrainian journalists face harsh detention and unfair trials.

Heorhiy Levchenko, administrator of the Telegram channel Ria-Melitopol, was sentenced on 2 September to 16 years in a high-security penal colony, plus a one-year ban on internet use. 

The court accused him of “high treason” and “incitement to extremism.” It claimed the channel was used for “anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian propaganda” and to pass information to Ukrainian intelligence.

Vladyslav Hershon, an administrator of Melitopol tse Ukraina (“Melitopol is Ukraine”), received a 15-year sentence on 3 September from a military court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. 

He was prosecuted for “terrorism.” In letters to his family, Hershon described his detention as “every morning is hell.” 

RSF condemned the sentences as a “travesty of justice” and warned that they signal a chilling precedent for the other journalists still imprisoned in Melitopol. 

Only one of the group of seven journalists arrested in August 2023, Mark Kaliush, has been released to date in a prisoner exchange.

The remaining detained journalists face ongoing legal proceedings. Maksym Rupchov’s next hearing is scheduled for 8 October, Oleksandr Malyshev’s for 15 September, and Yana Suvorova’s for 18 September. Anastasia Hlukhovska has been missing since her arrest, with her location undisclosed by Russian authorities.

RSF emphasizes that these prosecutions are part of a broader pattern of repression targeting journalists in occupied Ukrainian territories. Media professionals are treated as spies, face baseless charges, forced confessions, and denial of fair defense. 

“These are not trials, but political spectacles,” said Jeanne Cavelier, head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Desk. “Russia is weaponising its justice system to criminalise independent journalism in the occupied territories.” 

“We call for the immediate release of Heorhiy Levchenko, Vladyslav Hershon, and all journalists imprisoned for their reporting,” she continued. 

Melitopol, in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia oblast, has been under Russian occupation since February 2022. 

At least 26 Ukrainian journalists remain imprisoned by the Kremlin either in occupied territories or inside Russia. 

Across occupied regions and within Russia, Ukrainian journalists face severe repression. Their detentions are widely considered violations of international law and could amount to war crimes. 

NATO member countries will contribute to the construction of new air bases where F-35 fighters will be stationed, Yle reported on 4 September.

The NATO Investment Committee will decide the size of each country’s contribution. Defence Properties CEO Matias Warsta expressed hope that the funding will reach over 100 million euros ($116 mn)

“I hope that we reach a three-digit figure, over one hundred million euros,” Warsta said, emphasizing this was his personal assessment.

Finland’s Ministry of Defence declined to provide forecasts on the amount other NATO countries might contribute.

According to Yle’s calculations, the potential 100 million euros ($116 mn) would represent one-fifth of the construction program worth approximately half a billion euros. The plan includes building shelters, maintenance facilities, and storage for new F-35 fighters in Rovaniemi, Siilinjärvi, and Tikkakoski.

NATO approved almost the entire Finnish F-35 infrastructure construction program as eligible for funding earlier this spring. The first F-35 fighters are expected to arrive at the Rovaniemi air base in late 2026, where construction work has already begun.

Finland has ordered 64 new F-35s from Lockheed Martin to replace aging F/A-18 Hornets.

Finland receives NATO co-financing for the first time

NATO provides funding through its investment program when a project is deemed to generate capabilities for the entire defense alliance and exceed national needs. According to Warsta, access to NATO co-financing was not guaranteed when construction began.

“This is an educated expert assessment. But the sum could be larger or smaller,” Warsta said.

Special adviser Arjo Kaarre from the Ministry of Defence noted that determining which aspects of fighter base equipment exceed Finland’s needs is not straightforward.

“It’s a matter of negotiation and partly interpretative,” Kaarre said.

Each NATO country’s payment share is determined in the same proportion as membership fees. Kaarre indicated the first funding decisions will likely be made next year.

Finland has not previously received NATO co-financing for its construction projects.

Manufacturer sets new requirements mid-construction

The first F-35 fighters will arrive at the Lapland Squadron in Rovaniemi in late 2026. Construction work continues at the site.

Cost estimates for the Rovaniemi base have increased from 150 million to 200 million euros (from $174 mn to $232 mn), though Warsta said they remain within agreed frameworks.

“In addition to rising construction costs, the equipment manufacturer (Lockheed Martin) has also set additional requirements for the work,” Warsta explained.

Both Lockheed Martin and the US administration have imposed strict security requirements and regularly inspect compliance.

Construction at Rovaniemi includes underground spaces for fighters and information systems, a 3,000 square meter storage facility for spare parts, maintenance facilities, and training facilities with simulators.

The airfield will see increased use as training activities with NATO allies intensify. In real situations, allied fighters could also rely on Finnish bases.

Warsaw acknowledged that two drones entered Polish airspace overnight on 2–3 September but were not intercepted or shot down, Reuters reported on 4 September. Polish military officials say the aerial objects posed no threat and exited the country without causing damage, even as Russia launched a major drone and missile assault across Ukraine the same night.

This occurred during Moscow’s daily air attack on Ukraine, as Russia launched more than 500 drones and dozens of missiles on Ukraine overnight. According to the reports, 14 locations across the country were hit, including critical energy and transport infrastructure. Four Ukrainian railway workers were injured in the attacks.

Poland confirms airspace violations but takes no action

According to Reuters, General Maciej Klisz, Operational Commander of the Polish Armed Forces, confirmed at a news conference that “we had two airspace violations.” He claimed that “these two violations were under the full control of national forces and units assigned to the state defense system.”

General Wiesław Kukula, Chief of the General Staff, stated that the drones “left Polish airspace without causing any damage,” which means that Poland once again allowed the Russian drones to use its airspace than safely return to Ukraine to attack residential areas. 

The Polish army did not disclose the drones’ point of entry or flight path, and no effort was made to shoot them down.

The incursion occurred overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday — 2 and 3 September — triggering a National Security Council meeting in Warsaw.

Military stays silent as drones cross NATO border

The lack of any military response highlights Poland’s continued restraint, even after repeated airspace violations. Poland, a NATO member state and a vocal supporter of Ukraine in its defense against Russia, has yet to shoot down any drones entering its territory since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.

The army has remained on high alert since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a village in southern Poland in 2022, killing two people. Yet, despite increased vigilance, no interception measures were taken during this latest event.

In August, a drone crashed into a cornfield in eastern Poland. A prosecutor later said the drone likely entered Polish territory from the direction of Belarus, a close Russian ally. Ukrainian sources noted that the drone remained 2.5 hours in the Polish airspace and was never intercepted.

Airspace monitoring channels reported the incursion during the assault

Warnings about drones heading toward Poland were posted on 3 September by several Ukraine-linked Telegram channels tied to air defense monitoring.

At 3:36 a.m., Ukrainian Telegram channel Nikolaevsky Vanyok, affiliated with air defense forces, wrote:

“1 [Shahed drone is] south of Sambir, course to Poland.”

Almost simultaneously, at 3:35 a.m., the airspace monitoring Telegram channel Zakhid Holovne reported:

“ One more Shahed toward Kolomyia and one drone through Sambir to Poland.”

Four minutes later, at 3:39 a.m., the same channel posted in Polish:

“ 03:39 Air alert in the Republic of Poland.”

 

The employment gap between men and women in the Czech Republic has narrowed to a record low, with experts attributing the shift primarily to Ukrainian refugee women entering the workforce, Novinky reported on 4 September.

Czech Statistical Office data shows that as of June 2025, employment among men stood at 80.2%, while women’s employment reached 71.2% – a difference of nine percentage points.

This marks a dramatic change from July 2023, when women’s employment was 68.2% compared to men’s 81.5%, representing a gap of over 13 percentage points.

“We are seeing things that have never happened historically,” Dalibor Holý, director of the labor market statistics and equal opportunities department at the Czech Statistical Office, told Novinky.

The statistics reveal the scale of Ukrainian women’s integration into the Czech labor market. In June 2025, nearly 166,000 refugees were legally employed in the country, with 101,000 of them women. According to Jakub Augusta, spokesman for the Czech Ministry of Labor, “this is the highest number since the beginning of the war.”

Holý explained that Ukrainian refugee women “have a very high employment rate, which contributes to the growth of women’s employment.”

Beyond refugee integration, experts point to broader economic factors driving the employment shift. The rising cost of living has pushed more women into the workforce, while traditional male-dominated industries have shed jobs. Manufacturing, historically employing more men, has contracted, while the service sector – where women are more represented – has remained stable.

The employment pattern also reflects changes in work arrangements. Experts suggest that support for part-time employment, which women use more frequently than men, has contributed to the narrowing gap.

The Czech Republic has taken other steps toward gender equality in recent months. The country recently allowed women to use the masculine form of their surnames in official documents.

However, Czech intelligence services have warned of potential challenges ahead. They cautioned about a scenario where thousands of Ukrainian war veterans might travel to the Czech Republic to reunite with their families after the war ends, though the implications for the labor market remain unclear.

The employment figures represent a significant shift in Czech demographics and labor patterns, with Ukrainian refugee women emerging as a key factor in reshaping the country’s workforce composition.

Leaders from more than 30 countries gathered on Thursday in a hybrid session of the Coalition of the Willing to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.

Twenty-six countries pledged support for a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine. They also committed to bolstering Ukraine’s long-term security, strengthening its military, and coordinating international efforts to deter further Russian aggression. 

“We have today 26 countries who have formally committed […] to deploy as a ‘reassurance force’ troops in Ukraine, or be present on the ground, in the sea, or in the air,” French president Emmanuel Macron told reporters after the summit.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following the meeting that “a strong Ukrainian army is and will remain the central element of security guarantees.” 

Representatives from Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand took part in the session. 

The talks covered support across land, sea, air, and cyberspace, as well as the mechanisms needed to coordinate these contributions effectively. 

Zelenskyy highlighted the role of financial assistance, weapons supplies, and domestic production as essential components of Ukraine’s defense. 

He confirmed that new sanctions are being planned, including secondary measures and special trade tariffs, to further pressure Russia and its economy.

Zelenskyy said that the Coalition shares the view that Russia is “doing everything possible to drag out the negotiation process and continue the war.”

The Coalition of the Willing, formed in 2023, brings together countries committed to providing Ukraine with security and defense support beyond standard NATO and EU frameworks. 

The group coordinates financial aid, military equipment, training, and strategic planning to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience and capacity to respond to Russian aggression.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Thursday that members of the “Coalition of the Willing” have pledged to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles, as part of efforts to strengthen Kyiv’s defense capabilities.

The delivery of long-range missiles will enable strikes on military targets deeper inside Russian and Russian-held territory supporting both defensive and counteroffensive operations.

Ukraine has long requested additional long-range weaponry, but Western partners have been cautious due to concerns about escalating the conflict. Such weapons allow Ukraine to effectively disrupt supply lines that sustain Moscow’s war effort far from the front lines.

Speaking to a virtual session of the Coalition of the Willing from Glasgow, the Prime Minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not be trusted, citing ongoing attacks on Ukraine and delays in peace talks.

The Prime Minister also thanked military planners and chiefs of defense of Coalition countries for their work to ensure forces could be deployed if a ceasefire is reached. 

He described the coalition’s support for Ukraine as “unbreakable” and that they had US President Trump’s backing. 

He added that they now need “to go even further to apply pressure on Putin to secure a cessation of hostilities.”

Russian forces on Thursday targeted a humanitarian mission from the Danish Refugee Council. The team was clearing mines near Novoselivka in Ukraine’s Chernihiv Oblast.

The strike killed 2 humanitarian workers and injured 5.

“This is yet another cynical crime. Attacking people carrying out humanitarian work means deliberately putting humanitarian efforts at risk,” said Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights.

The missile strike hit the team as they worked near a checkpoint outside the village, as reported by Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, the head of the Chernihiv City Military Administration.

The victims were employees of a Danish demining team carrying out humanitarian work to make the area safe for civilians.

Chernihiv Oblast lies on Ukraine’s northern border with Russia and Belarus, making it a frequent target for cross-border shelling and strikes.

Russian forces have repeatedly attacked humanitarian missions across Ukraine. These strikes target the people trying to restore normal life in liberated regions, where explosive remnants of past Russian occupation remain a major danger to residents.

Ukraine’s allies met in Paris to discuss security guarantees, but doubts grew as US commitments remained unclear. Reuters reports the summit brought together 30 leaders seeking to reassure Kyiv while peace talks with Russia look increasingly remote.

Coalition meets Zelenskyy in Paris

On 4 September 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined about 30 Western leaders in Paris for talks on security guarantees. The “coalition of the willing” includes European states, Canada, Japan, and Australia. Some leaders attended in person, while others joined by video-link.

The summit aimed to define military support for Ukraine in the event of a truce with Russia. But months of discussion have produced no clarity, as governments argue that European commitments need a US backstop.

Trump envoy arrives in Paris

Reuters noted that US President Donald Trump has yet to make any explicit pledge. His envoy Steve Witkoff met senior European officials in Paris hours before the meeting, according to diplomats. French President Emmanuel Macron said on 3 September alongside Zelenskyy that coalition leaders would endorse security plans drawn up by their militaries. Macron said Ukraine’s allies have finalized and are ready to politically approve military security guarantees to support Kyiv once a peace deal is reached, according to dpa.

Two European officials confirmed to Reuters the technical plans were finished, though they gave no details.

British and French army chiefs briefed the leaders during the talks. Macron told reporters, “We are ready, us Europeans, to provide security guarantees to Ukraine for when there is a signed peace,” while stressing that sincerity from Russia remains in question.

Sending signals to Washington

European officials said the goal was to send a political signal to Trump. Leaders hoped to highlight the absence of progress toward peace talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy since Trump hosted Putin in August.

Trump, after hosting Putin, accused him of conspiring with China and North Korea. On 3 September, he denounced the three leaders’ show of unity in Beijing during a commemoration of the end of World War Two.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on 3 September he expected clarity soon from the coalition on what could be delivered, and that this would pave the way for deeper discussions with Washington.

Western officials said the central element of guarantees would be continued support for Ukraine’s armed forces. Proposals also included deploying an international force in Ukraine or nearby countries to reassure Kyiv, despite Russia’s opposition to foreign troops.

European leaders insisted such a force could only happen with US backing. Trump has spoken in broad terms about supporting Ukraine but has not specified what Washington would contribute, Reuters says. The French presidency said some leaders would call Trump after the summit.

Ukrainian farmers watched their southern fields turn to dust this summer. A late and cold spring combined with the worst drought in decades slashed grain production by 11% and threatened the country with $1 billion in lost export revenue.

The harvest crisis reveals how bad weather, combined with destroyed irrigation systems in the central and eastern regions and war raising fertilizer prices, is a recipe for a perfect storm.

When the water stopped flowing

Kherson Oblast tells the story in stark numbers. The region lost its entire 55,000-hectare winter crop—fields that once produced 8-10 tons per hectare now struggle to reach 1-2 tons in the parched earth left behind after Russia blew up the Kakhovka dam in 2023.

“If these regions had irrigation, we could have avoided the losses. They could have produced 3-4 million tons of grain and oilseeds,” Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Vysotskyi said, commenting about the agricultural wasteland that was once Ukraine’s grain powerhouse.

The destruction rippled across southern Ukraine. Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv oblasts watched yields crash 30-50% as irrigation systems dried up and farmers calculated whether it was worth planting crops that might never grow.

The great shift north

The ongoing war is redrawing Ukraine’s farming map in real time.

Northern and western regions stepped up to fill the gap, achieving record yields: Lviv Oblast: 6.64 tons per hectare; Khmelnytskyi Oblast: 6.47 tons per hectare; Chernivtsi Oblast: 6.40 tons per hectare.

But geography can’t replace infrastructure.

Acting First Vice President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences Ihor Hrynyk explained that due to rising resource prices, farmers are forced to reduce the amount of fertilizers applied, not provide adequate plant protection, cut back on agrotechnical measures, and abandon irrigation.

The billion-dollar squeeze

The World Bank predicts global grain prices will fall 11% later in 2025, creating a potential double squeeze that could cost Ukraine $900 million to $1 billion in export revenue.

For now, Deputy Economy Minister Vysotskyi notes prices “for the farmer remain high, really good,” but this may not last as global markets adjust to oversupply elsewhere.

Ukrainian consumers brace for higher food costs

The production drop threatens to increase domestic food prices just as Ukrainian families struggle with wartime inflation. Bread prices typically rise when wheat harvests fall, and an 11% grain reduction could force Ukraine to import more expensive grain or ration domestic supplies to maintain export revenues.

Corn to the rescue—maybe

However, corn’s resilience means the overall grain harvest may shrink by only 3-7% instead of the feared double-digit decline.

Russia profits from Ukraine’s agricultural struggles

Ukraine’s reduced grain exports create opportunities that Russia has quickly exploited.

The timing benefits Russia’s broader strategy of using food as leverage. Russia previously withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal that allowed safe passage for Ukrainian exports, and has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian agricultural infrastructure throughout the war.

For Ukrainian farmers counting their losses, the drought represents not just a natural disaster but another blow to the country’s ability to fund its defense through agricultural exports—revenue Moscow would prefer to capture for itself.