Sky News reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin is trying to trick US President Donald Trump in order to escape sanctions, while NATO continues to face Russian provocations.

Putin “doing everything to avoid sanctions”

Speaking to Sky News at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the Russian leader is exploiting diplomacy with Trump to buy time in order to “be better prepared.” He argued that Putin’s aim is not peace, but to stop the United States from imposing further penalties. According to him,

“He’s doing everything he can to avoid sanctions, to prevent US and Trump from putting sanctions on him, and if you keep postponing applying sanctions any further, then the Russians will be better prepared.”

Zelenskyy warned that Putin seeks to escape isolation, describing the Alaska summit last month as a tool for the Kremlin to gain international visibility. He said,

“He should have received a setback in this war and stop, but instead, he received de-isolation. He got the photos with President Trump. He received public dialogue, and I think this opens the doors for Putin into some other summits and formats.”

“He understands only the language of force”

The Ukrainian president stressed that Moscow will not be persuaded by arguments or negotiations. Instead, he said Russia’s leader responds only to strength.

“He understands force. That’s his language. That is the language he understands,” Zelenskyy told Sky News, calling on Europe and the United States to act quicker.

He added that while sanctions are in place, they are not enough to stop Russia’s war.

Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of not giving Putin “space,” warning that every delay in sanctions strengthens Moscow’s position. He argued that Western hesitation risks leaving Russia better prepared for further aggression.

Russia conducted another large-scale aerial attack on Ukraine during the night of 8 September, deploying 142 strike drones across multiple regions and damaging civilian infrastructure and energy systems.

The attacks on 8 September involved Shahed-type drones, “Gerbera” drones, and other unmanned aircraft launched from four separate directions. Ukrainian defense forces successfully intercepted 112 of the attacking drones, according to the Air Force Command.

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Russia targets Ukraine’s energy sites

Russian drones specifically targeted Ukraine’s energy sector, with one thermal generation facility in Kyiv Oblast coming under what the Ministry of Energy described as “massive Russian shelling.”

The ministry stated that the attack aimed to “cause even more difficulties for the peaceful population of Ukraine, to leave Ukrainian homes, hospitals, kindergartens and schools without light and heat.”

The Ministry of Energy emphasized that generation facilities, electricity transmission and distribution systems, and gas infrastructure are civilian rather than military targets. 

Damage from Russian strikes in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk areas

In Kyiv Oblast, the attacks resulted in a fire at an industrial enterprise, which rescue teams successfully extinguished without casualties. Blast waves also damaged a shopping center and fitness club in the vicinity.

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine experienced separate attacks on Pokrovska, Mezhivska, and Bohdanivska communities. The strikes ignited fires at a fire protection administrative building, a kitchen and an outbuilding at a private residence, the State Emergency Service reported. No casualties were recorded in these incidents.