Ukraine Invasion - Part 62

[MagicFox]

Thanks as always to everybody consistently posting and keeping us all up to date 🇺🇦

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You mean those aren't Russian stooges?

Witkoff and Kushner are in Russia again.

Yes, the BBC story got updated to say that chants of "stop the boats" had been heard.

Kyiv Independent Telegram Highlights

⚡️US envoys Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Moscow for talks on ending (https://kyivindependent.com/us-envoys-witkoff-kushner-arrive-in-moscow-for-talks-on-ending-russias-war/) Russia’s war
The two are expected to travel to Kyiv after their meetings in Moscow. President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that Witkoff and Kushner are expected in Kyiv on Sept. 6.

⚡️BREAKING: Putin orders 3-day halt to strikes (https://kyivindependent.com/breaking-putin-orders-3-day-halt-to-strikes-on-kyiv-during-u-s-envoys-visit-kremlin-says/) on Kyiv during US envoys' visit, Kremlin says
The announcement came hours after U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner landed in Moscow for talks with Putin.

⚡️Update: Trump envoys to make their Kyiv visit (https://kyivindependent.com/trump-envoys-witkoff-kushner-to-visit-kyiv-moscow-sept-5-6-source-says/) on Sept. 6, Zelensky confirms.
Zelensky pledged that, for the safety of the U.S. negotiators, Ukraine would refrain from conducting aerial strikes against Russia during their visit and urged Moscow to do the same.

⚡️Russia 'deliberately' (https://kyivindependent.com/russia-deliberately-targeted-kyiv-boryspil-airports-ahead-of-u-s-envoys-visit-zelensky-says/) targeted Kyiv, Boryspil airports ahead of US envoys' visit, Zelensky says.

⚡️Units of Ukraine's army reportedly ordered to halt fighting (https://kyivindependent.com/units-of-ukraines-army-ordered-to-halt-fighting-as-us-envoys-set-to-visit-ukraine-russia/) as Trump confirms US envoys set to travel for peace talks.

Ukraine's army chief Drapatyi on his vision for Ukraine's military (https://kyivindependent.com/ukraines-army-chief-drapatyi-on-his-vision-for-ukraines-military/)

⚡️Russia 'increasingly obstructing' return (https://kyivindependent.com/russia-increasingly-obstructing-return-of-ukrainian-children-from-occupied-territories/) of Ukrainian children from occupied territories.
According to the Head of Policy of Bring Kids Back UA, Oleksandra Dvoretska, the number of children Ukraine is managing to bring back from Russian-occupied territories has recently increased compared with previous periods.

⚡️2 Russian oil refineries cease operations (https://kyivindependent.com/2-russian-oil-refineries-cease-operations-after-ukrainian-strikes-general-staff-says/) after Ukrainian strikes, General Staff says.
Both facilities targeted in Ukrainian attacks are located more than 800 kilometers (nearly 500 miles) from the Ukrainian border, the General Staff said.

⚡️Global food prices (https://kyivindependent.com/global-food-prices-climb-to-highest-level-since-2022-amid-black-sea-strikes-un-reports/) climb to highest level since 2022 amid Black Sea strikes, UN reports.
Grain prices spiked 2.5 points in August from the previous month, partly due to "continued uncertainty surrounding Black Sea export flows," the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization reported.

⚡️Bulgaria's prime minister suggests Western support for Ukraine provoked (https://kyivindependent.com/bulgaria-prime-minister-blames-wests-support-for-ukraine-as-provoking-russia-to-attack-leipzig-airport/) Russia's Leipzig Airport attack.
"What can we expect when we attack... another country with our long-range weapons? Will (the country) stand by or will it respond," Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rumen Radev asked in the Bulgarian parliamentary chamber.
While claiming to "stand firmly by Germany, by our biggest, closest ally," Radev has a track record of sympathizing with Russia.

⚡️Ukraine's anti-corruption agency uncovers criminal group protecting scam call centers, allegedly led by a top prosecutor (https://kyivindependent.com/ukraines-anti-corruption-agency-uncovers-criminal-group-protecting-scam-call-centers-allegedly-led-by-a-top-prosecutor/)
The group allegedly received systematic bribes in exchange for allowing fraudulent call centers to operate without interference. The call centers targeted both Ukrainian citizens and foreigners, investigators said.

⚡️Update: Anti-corruption agency detains top prosecutor (https://kyivindependent.com/anti-corruption-agency-conducts-operation-targeting-prosecutor-generals-office/) amid probe into scam call centers.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) on Sept. 4 detained Serhiy Kropyva, a deputy head of the international cooperation department at the Prosecutor General's Office, a law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent.

⚡️Update: Prosecutor general's spokesperson denies report on searches (https://kyivindependent.com/anti-corruption-agency-conducts-operation-targeting-prosecutor-generals-office/) at his office amid major graft case.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) on Sept. 4 searched the offices of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his deputy Maria Vdovychenko and Oleh Kiper, governor of Odesa Oblast, the media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing its sources.

⚡️Ukrainian agri-oligarch gives Ferrexpo $50 million lifeline, (https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-agri-oligarch-gives-ferrexpo-50-million-lifeline-company-to-resume-london-trading/) company to resume London trading.
Ferrexpo's board welcomed the investment, with Lucio Genovese, the board’s non-executive chair, writing in a statement that the company will be able to resume exports to international customers, resume spending it had previously postponed and increase production when conditions in Ukraine improve

Explainer: What's behind the standoff between Ukraine's two intelligence agencies? (https://kyivindependent.com/explainer-whats-behind-the-standoff-between-two-ukrainian-intelligence-agencies/)
The violent standoff between Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and the military intelligence agency (HUR) on Sept. 2 exposed two dysfunctions of Ukraine's law enforcement and security system.
One is the long-running conflict between the two intelligence agencies. Another underlying problem is the lawless methods allegedly employed by Ukraine's intelligence and law enforcement bodies.

⚡️Anti-corruption agency conducts operation (https://kyivindependent.com/anti-corruption-agency-conducts-operation-targeting-prosecutor-generals-office/) targeting Prosecutor General's Office.
The criminal organization is "involved in protecting a network of fraudulent call centers and laundering illicit assets," the NABU said.

How education in Ukraine treads the line between preparedness and militarization (https://kyivindependent.com/how-education-in-ukraine-treads-the-line-between-preparedness-and-militarization/)
In a country fighting Russia's invasion and struggling to replenish its armed forces, a course that teaches teenagers to handle weapons and introduces them to military careers raises the question of where preparing children to survive a war ends and preparing them to fight one begins.
The course is meant to give students "practical skills needed to protect themselves," according to the Education Ministry.
"I understand that I could end up in a situation where I would need to use what we learned. Now I feel more protected and composed," said Yehor Kovalenko, 17, a student who took the course.

Fact check: False 'mass exodus' claims spread as Russia bombards Kyiv (https://kyivindependent.com/fact-check-false-mass-exodus-claims-spread-as-russia-bombards-kyiv/)
As Russia continues its aerial onslaught against Kyiv, disinformation online alleges that citizens are fleeing in droves, painting a picture of collapse and panic. Hand in hand with the strikes, social media accounts have shared photos and videos purportedly showing traffic jams and crowds of Kyiv residents attempting to escape the capital.
These included out-of-context videos of Kyiv city traffic or photos not taken in Ukraine at all, all accompanied by manipulative or false text.

⚡️Russia rejects truce, kills 4 (https://kyivindependent.com/russia-rejects-truce-kills-4-in-attack-on-dnipropetrovsk-oblast/) in attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Russia attacked the city of Kamianske in the early hours of Sept. 5, killing four people and injuring five others, regional Governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported. Three of the victims have been hospitalized, with one in intensive care.

⚡️Update: Russian drone strikes SBU headquarters in central Kyiv, injuring (https://kyivindependent.com/breaking-russian-drone-hits-kyivs-center/) at least 9.

⚡️Russian attacks kill 6, injure 51 (https://kyivindependent.com/russian-attacks-kill-6-injure-51-over-past-day-across-ukraine-as-moscow-rejects-ceasefire/) over past day across Ukraine as Moscow rejects ceasefire
Some of the attacks came after Ukraine reportedly ordered its troops to pause hostilities for four days as U.S. envoys prepared to visit Kyiv and Moscow for talks aimed at ending the war.

Ragnar Bjartur Gudmundsson 🇺🇦
@ragnarbjartur.bsky.social
· 2h
⚡️ RUSSIA'S WAR AGAINST UKRAINE — SEP 5, 2026
■ Increased engagements, but fewer casualties and equipment losses
■ Overnight attacks included missiles; 77% drone interception rate; 24 locations hit or affected by debris
■ All 🇷🇺 air strike indicators below average; 18 🇺🇦 strikes reported — strike drone overview missing
Highlighted 🇺🇦 strikes: radar station, electronic warfare system and MESH network repeater

UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet with Putin soon.

Putin responded to CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow by escalating the war against Ukraine, according to The Washington Post.
Ratcliffe tried to convince Moscow that Russia’s position was deteriorating and would become even worse in six to 12 months, and that its demand to hand over all of Donbas was unacceptable. However, the Kremlin may have interpreted his visit as a sign of U.S. weakness.
According to the publication’s sources, the subsequent intensification of Russian strikes on Ukraine was Moscow’s response and a signal to Washington that Putin believes he can continue the war and sees no reason to make concessions.
The Kremlin also hopes that attacks on energy and water supplies in Kyiv and the surrounding region will fuel public discontent and pressure Ukraine’s leadership to end the war.

⚡️ Local truce introduced to repair power transmission line at Zaporizhzhia NPP — IAEA
Ukrainian specialists will begin repairs today on the 330-kilovolt Ferosplavna-1 power line supplying electricity to the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The line was damaged during hostilities on August 20. Since then, the plant’s reactors have been cooled using emergency generators.
The IAEA said this is the seventh local truce in the ZNPP area since the start of the full-scale war, introduced to allow repairs and prevent a nuclear accident.

Ukraine has finally shown Rheinmetall’s cutting-edge Skyranger 35 in action—but the biggest surprise is not that the system has arrived. Footage released by the Ukrainian military suggests the powerful 35mm drone killer may have been quietly defending Ukrainian skies for months before its existence was publicly acknowledged.
Read more: https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/ukraine-reveals-secretly-delivered-skyranger-35-and-the-footage-suggests-theres-more-than-one-22230

💥 Defense forces strike several Russian facilities in Sochi with FP-1 drones — Fire Point
Ukrainian forces struck:
▪️ The Lukoil oil depot, where 12 tanks were located;
▪️ The Adler airport oil depot, a key facility supplying fuel to aircraft at Sochi airport;
▪️ A position of the Russian S-400 air defense system.

⚡️ At negotiations in Abu Dhabi, Budanov advised Zelenskyy not to compromise on Donbas — NYT
Budanov told The New York Times that he agreed to become head of the Office of the President of Ukraine in January 2026 precisely because of the opportunity to negotiate with Russia.
He sought to set a new tone for negotiations in Abu Dhabi in January and February 2026, when the draft peace agreement had been narrowed down to two issues: control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and part of Donbas.
Budanov advised Zelenskyy not to compromise on Donbas, arguing that this would give Moscow “a prize that its military could not take.”
The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine suggested that negotiations could resume in September, but said conditions for a ceasefire were unlikely to emerge before spring 2027. Russia is expected to try to break through Ukraine’s defenses during the next winter campaign.
“Sooner or later, negotiations will lead to something. You can’t fight all your life,” he stressed.

China has begun luring Russian businesses to relocate to its territory.
Companies operating in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District have started registering in China because of high taxes and expensive credit.
Alexander Kalinin, head of the Opora Rossii business organization, said Chinese partners are luring Russian businesses to their industrial and technology parks by offering loans at 3% interest, grants and lower taxes.
Business Solutions and Technologies, formerly Deloitte’s Russian business, confirmed that companies are showing interest in relocating to China.
About 3,800 entities with Russian participation are already operating in China, ranging from importers to manufacturers of electronics, equipment, consumer goods and light-industry products.
However, China’s currency controls, Russian legislation and the risk of secondary sanctions remain obstacles to relocation.

Russians struck a WHO warehouse in the Kyiv region that was storing humanitarian medical supplies for Ukraine, the organization’s spokesman, Christian Lindmeier, told Reuters.
“Access to the facility remains restricted due to heavy smoke and security concerns. An assessment of possible damage and loss of supplies is ongoing. No WHO staff were injured,” Lindmeier said.
Last month, Russians attacked another WHO warehouse in Dnipro. About half of the medical supplies and equipment intended to help an estimated 225,000 people in frontline and hard-to-reach areas were destroyed.
Another WHO warehouse near Kyiv was damaged in July.
“In 2026 at least 20 attacks were carried out on warehouses where humanitarian goods were stored, 15 of them on warehouses containing medical humanitarian supplies,” the WHO spokesperson added.

A Russian attack damaged the grounds of Saint Sophia Cathedral in central Kyiv.
The blast wave damaged the historic 18th- and 19th-century Consistory building, shattering windows and destroying its glass entrance.
Saint Sophia Cathedral itself was unharmed.

❗️ A Russian ballistic missile strike on the Kametstal plant in Kamianske has completely halted operations, Metinvest said.
The strike occurred overnight on September 5. Five people were killed and four more workers were injured.

🕯 Four people were killed and five others were injured in a Russian attack on Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the regional military administration.
Three of the injured are hospitalized. Medics are providing the wounded with all necessary assistance.

Kyiv Post Telegram Highlights

The Kremlin sees "extremely low" odds for a breakthrough (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83811) during visits by US envoys Witkoff and Kushner.
Moscow is hardening its demands, insisting on the full handover of Donetsk.

President Zelensky announced active diplomatic work to secure Black Sea food export routes amid Russian strikes on ports (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83812), coordinating with Egypt, Turkey, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia to prevent global shortages.

Ukrainians with temporary protection in Poland are increasingly moving to Germany and Czechia (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83814), according to Eurostat data.
The outflow follows a reported ~30% rise in hate crime complaints in Poland.

Norway pledged aid to Russian citizens stranded in Svalbard (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83807) after authorities seized the Russian ship Professor Molchanov for Naftogaz’s $4.22B arbitration award, dismissing Moscow’s claims of “piracy.”

Ukraine has defined target locations for retaliatory strikes following a briefing from SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad, Zelensky said.
The timing will be chosen to maximize operational impact.

Russia invited Ukrainian envoys to Moscow in February (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83786) with a possible Putin meeting, Presidential Office head Budanov revealed.
Talks may resume late September under US mediation.

Ukrainian forces struck Russian military assets on Friday (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83831), including a repeater in the Bryansk region used to coordinate Shahed drone strikes, as well as a radar station, EW complex, and repair base in Luhansk.

A Russian drone targeted SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad's office at headquarters, but he was uninjured, the agency confirmed.
Officials vowed a painful response with expanded special operations.

Germany's closure of Russia's Bonn consulate is tied to its role as a key hub for Russian intelligence and hybrid operations (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83830) targeting NATO and the EU.
Approximately 60 diplomats must exit by Sept. 18.

Around 2,000 Hasidic pilgrims have arrived in Uman (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83781), Ukraine, ahead of Rosh Hashanah celebrations, Jewish community leaders reported.
Regional authorities have introduced special entry regimes and reinforced checkpoints.

A Croatian court delayed the extradition hearing of Ukrainian diver Volodymyr Zhuravlev (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83791) over the 2022 Nord Stream sabotage.
The postponement follows Germany upgrading his arrest warrant to include a "war crime" charge.

Tucked along EU borders, Zakarpattia remains relatively untouched by air strikes (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83767), offering displaced Ukrainians a rare sanctuary without curfews.
Even so, frontline losses and the war's psychological toll deeply weigh on the region.

Donald Trump stated that a "personality problem" and deep mutual hatred between Zelensky and Putin are stalling peace.
He claimed personal animosity between the two leaders is getting in the way.

Ukraine and Poland are discussing a potential joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in the 2040s (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83782), Ukrainian officials announced.
Any official campaign hinges on ending the war and post-war reconstruction.

Russia struck Pavlohrad, setting multiple trucks on fire in the latest attack.

Russian forces repeatedly struck commercial warehouses in the Odesa region overnight, sparking a fire at a food storage facility.
Emergency crews extinguished the blaze with no casualties reported.

Russian drone strikes injured at least 7 civilians (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83848) across Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Kharkiv on Saturday.
Attacks hit a passenger train in Chornobaivka, civilian vehicles, and residential areas.

EDITORIAL: As US envoys arrive in Kyiv via Moscow, Ukraine owes them no false warmth (https://www.kyivpost.com/editorial/83780).
Washington must offer Patriot systems and real sanctions, not treat national survival like a real estate deal.

Live: Ukraine Telegram Highlights

Conditions for a ceasefire are unlikely to take shape before spring, said Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov in an interview with the NYT.
Other points from Budanov:
🔴Negotiations to end the war could resume in late September. A new round may begin after the elections in Russia or after the visit of Donald Trump's representatives to Kyiv and Moscow.
🔴Russia previously invited the Ukrainian delegation to Moscow to meet with Putin. Ukraine declined the trip due to risks, after which the talks stalled.
🔴By attacking each other more actively, Russia and Ukraine are currently trying to improve their positions ahead of potential agreements.
Meanwhile, the NYT, citing sources, adds that there are differing views within the Ukrainian government on negotiations. Some officials advocate seeking agreements to avoid further losses, while others fear that significant concessions could negatively affect Ukraine.

🇦🇱Albania denied entry to the Russian shadow fleet tanker Hanuman at the port of Durrës on August 29.
In January of this year, Ukraine's GUR listed this tanker in the War&Sanctions database as belonging to Russia's shadow fleet.
Since the beginning of 2025 alone, the tanker has exported at least 452,000 tons of Russian fuel from the port of Novorossiysk to Turkey, Senegal, the UAE, and a port near Augusta, Italy.
The logistics of these voyages are managed by Altoprae Marin LLC, which is owned by Putin's close associate and sanctioned individual Gennady Timchenko.

The drone that struck the SBU building was launched from the Donetsk direction and flew at an altitude of over 7 km. Thus, Presidential Advisor Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov refuted claims that the attack was carried out by a small UAV.
It was also established that the debris and most elements of the drone used to attack the SBU building belong to a Russian Geran-4 UAV. For this strike, the Russians launched two drones — one of which was neutralized.
Earlier, Russian Telegram channels claimed that the attack was part of an internal conflict between the HUR and the SBU and that the drone was allegedly not launched by Russians.

🇸🇰Slovakia's Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador following yesterday's attack on Kyiv, which struck the SBU building.
The reason is that the SBU building is located near the consular section of the Slovak embassy in Kyiv.

US President Donald Trump said he does not consider a Russian attack on NATO territory possible.
"I talk to him. I know him very well. Putin will not attack NATO territory," Trump told journalists. [you don't know him one twentieth as well as he knows you, Trump]

Overnight, the Russians again attacked Ukraine — there are casualties, and the strikes damaged infrastructure. Here is what is known about the aftermath:
🔴Kyiv region. Two people were injured. The attack caused fires at warehouses and buildings.
🔴Dnipropetrovsk region. In Kamianske, four people were killed and five others injured. An enterprise was struck.
🔴Mykolaiv. The Russians struck a shopping center — two people were injured. A fire broke out.

https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-september-4-2026/

Key Takeaways

1. Russian sources falsely and baselessly claimed that Russian forces encircled 2,000 Ukrainian forces northeast of Kharkiv City.
2. Russian forces attempted to assassinate Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) head Oleksandr Poklad with a Geran-type drone strike on September 4.
3. The Russian Geran drone platform adaptations are improving their ability to conduct successful high-precision strikes.
4. The Kremlin’s behavior indicates Russia’s unwillingness to guarantee the safety of the US delegation during their reported upcoming visit to Ukraine.
5. Russian President Vladimir Putin appears committed to his existing expensive and inefficient force generation mechanism through volunteer recruitment.
6. Russia’s expedited efforts to establish its Rassvet satellite constellation as a replacement for Starlink are facing significant challenges which may degrade the constellation’s lifespan.
7. Ukrainian forces continued their long-range strike campaign against Russian military, oil, and defense-industrial infrastructure on September 3 and 4. Russian forces launched one Kh-31P anti-radar missile and 121 drones against Ukraine overnight.
8. Ukrainian forces advanced in the Dobropillya tactical area.

Article in today’s Times about the coercion of foreigners into the russian army:

Last Page:

Oops the 5 screen shots are back to front!

That's ok. Thank hou for posting them

Kyiv Independent Telegram Highlights

[yesterday]
⚡️Update: US envoys Witkoff, Kushner conclude (https://kyivindependent.com/us-envoys-witkoff-kushner-arrive-in-moscow-for-talks-on-ending-russias-war/) over 3-hour talks with Putin on ending Russia’s war.
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner concluded more than three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sept. 5. No immediate details on the outcome of the talks were announced.

⚡️ Update: White House says next steps (https://kyivindependent.com/us-envoys-witkoff-kushner-arrive-in-moscow-for-talks-on-ending-russias-war/) from US-Russia talks to be announced in coming weeks.
"The two sides discussed substantive plans for next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks, and look forward to equally productive meetings tomorrow in Ukraine," a White House official told journalists.

⚡️US envoys Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Ukraine for the first time (https://kyivindependent.com/us-envoys-witkoff-kushner-arrive-in-ukraine/) to discuss peace talks, sources say.
The arrival came only a day after the two envoys held more than three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, a discussion both sides described as "substantive."

⚡️Update: First round (https://kyivindependent.com/us-envoys-witkoff-kushner-arrive-in-ukraine/) of US-Ukraine talks ends.
The U.S. envoys and Ukrainian officials will join another round of talks with European officials after a break.

⚡️Update: Talks with US envoys addressed Ukraine's needs (https://kyivindependent.com/us-envoys-witkoff-kushner-arrive-in-ukraine) for winter, sources say.
The U.S. envoys and Zelensky are soon expected to join another round of discussions with national security advisers from the U.K., France, and Germany, people familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent.

⚡️Ukrainian drones reportedly target Ryazan oil refinery (https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-drones-reportedly-target-ryazan-oil-refinery-cities-across-russia/), cities across Russia.

⚡️Kyiv protests new UN map (https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-protests-new-un-map-over-crimea/) separating Crimea from Ukraine.
"In 2026, the U.N. should not need a reminder: Crimea is Ukraine," said Ukrainian lawmaker Kira Rudik.

⚡️Russia continues arrests (https://kyivindependent.com/russia-continues-arrests-of-banned-pro-peace-yabloko-party-members/) of banned pro-peace Yabloko party members.
Russia has continued arresting members of the Yabloko opposition party, detaining two candidates on Sept. 4 as parliamentary elections approach, the party announced.

⚡️Russian pro-Kremlin fund executive killed (https://kyivindependent.com/russian-pro-kremlin-fund-executive-killed-in-occupied-crimea/) in occupied Crimea.
Anatoly Chernyshov, executive director of the Russian fund "People’s Front. Everything for Victory," was killed in Russian-occupied Crimea following a Ukrainian attack, the organization said on social media on Sept. 5.

⚡️Ukraine's Prosecutor General denies involvement in scam call center protection racket.
"I have no involvement whatsoever in covering up illegal call centers, I have not issued any instructions to facilitate such activities, and I have not used the powers of the Prosecutor General for this purpose," Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said.

⚡️Daughter of ex-Trump envoy Kellogg pushes back on father's call (https://kyivindependent.com/daughter-of-ex-trump-envoy-kellogg-pushes-back-on-fathers-conscription-for-ukrainian-women-idea/) to conscript Ukrainian women.
"If women can fight, why not?... (but) they should volunteer to fight," said Meaghan Mobbs, the daughter of Keith Kellogg and president of an NGO helping foreign soldiers in Ukraine.

⚡️Russian attacks kill 3 (https://kyivindependent.com/russian-attacks-kill-3-injure-over-20-across-ukraine-as-putin-meets-us-envoys-in-moscow/), injure over 20 across Ukraine as Putin meets US envoys in Moscow.
Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the strike killed nearly an entire family: a 19-year-old woman, an 11-year-old boy, and a 45-year-old man.

⚡️Russian attacks kill 8, injure 69 (https://kyivindependent.com/russian-attacks-kill-8-injure-69-over-past-day/) in Ukraine over past day amid declared pause in strikes against capitals.
Russian attacks sparked fires in the Kyiv region overnight, but officials did not report any hits in the city of Kyiv as U.S envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to arrive to discuss peace talks.

Ragnar Gudmundsson 🇮🇸🇺🇦
⚡️ RUSSIA'S WAR AGAINST UKRAINE — SEP 6, 2026
■ Casualties slightly below average despite increased engagements ■ Equipment losses well below average, except for APVs
■ Visually confirmed equipment losses in August (corrected): 257 🇷🇺 : 239 🇺🇦 (1.1x) ■ Overnight attacks: 81% drone interception rate (including S8000); 18 locations hit or affected by debris
■ All 🇷🇺 air strike indicators below average; 9 🇺🇦 strikes reported — strike drone overview missing

UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights

For the first time in decades, NATO has conducted major exercises focused on tracking Russian nuclear submarines without U.S. participation, Politico reports.
Off the coast of Iceland, naval vessels and aircraft from European countries and Canada practiced tracking Russian submarines capable of carrying nuclear weapons and entering the Atlantic through the “GIUK Gap” — the area between Greenland, Iceland and the UK.
While the U.S. previously played a key role in these annual exercises, no American ships or aircraft participated this time. Most U.S. naval forces are currently concentrated in the Middle East and the Caribbean.
In effect, NATO is testing its ability to defend the North Atlantic without U.S. leadership amid the growing threat from Russia.

⚡️ Negotiations with Trump’s envoys move to a second round — media
European representatives will now join the talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Kyiv.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius discussed preparations for next week’s Ramstein-format meeting during a phone call.
According to Khmara, Ukraine is developing its own defense plan and is already carrying out asymmetric actions that are producing results. At the same time, strengthening defenses against Russian strikes as quickly as possible remains a priority.

🛩 Swedish ASC 890 reconnaissance aircraft is already performing combat missions in Ukraine — Ministry of Defense
According to the ministry, the aircraft’s first combat missions over Ukraine took place in March 2026.
The Ministry of Defense noted that the ASC 890 can detect aerial targets at long distances, coordinate combat aircraft and improve the effectiveness of fighter operations.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is preparing measures to protect the country from Russian sabotage following a drone attack involving explosives at Leipzig Airport, BILD reports.
[...]The plan includes expanding federal police mobile units to counter drones and deploying them in nine key cities, including Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne and Leipzig. They would protect airports, train stations, government buildings and other critical sites.
Critical infrastructure operators could also be allowed to detect and neutralize drones themselves. Authorities also plan to expand the use of AI, facial recognition and video surveillance to identify suspects and potential threats.
Germany also plans to create a national “cyber dome” — a network of digital sensors designed to detect and block cyberattacks targeting government agencies and companies.

🔥 Over 77% of the Ryazan Oil Refinery’s capacity has been knocked out of action
Overnight, Ukrainian drones struck the ELOU-AVT-6 unit, the refinery’s largest primary oil-processing unit. Equipment at the AVT-3 unit, which has a capacity of 3.1 million tons of oil per year, was also hit.
Combined, the affected units account for more than 77% of the Ryazan Oil Refinery’s total primary oil-processing capacity, according to Fire Point.

Russia and Ukraine remain deeply divided over how to end the war. Putin remains intent on capturing more Ukrainian territory. A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters, before reports emerged of Trump’s envoys’ trip, that there was no chance of reaching a deal on the front line until Putin captures the rest of the Donetsk region. According to the source, Putin is confident this will happen by the end of the year, based on reports from his commanders.
Western military analysts consider such a possibility unlikely, given Moscow’s slow pace of advance.
Ukraine refuses to give up territory it has successfully defended at great cost, rejecting such terms as tantamount to surrender.
On Friday, the Kremlin said that the position Putin outlined in a speech two years ago — that Ukraine must cede all the territory of the four regions claimed by Russia and abandon its plan to join NATO — remains “unwavering.”
After the talks in the Kremlin, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner “outlined a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement.” Ushakov did not specify what those ideas were.

❗️ Ukraine succeeds in having Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s “neutral” status revoked
The International Skating Union (ISU) has revoked the “neutral” status of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva.
The ISU granted Valieva neutral status in August, but she never had a chance to use it and did not compete in a single international event.
The decision followed a request from the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation, which cited Valieva’s involvement with the figure skating school of Tatyana Navka, the wife of Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov.
Navka has been under EU sanctions since 2022 over actions deemed to undermine or threaten Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
The Ukrainian federation had called on the ISU to review Valieva’s neutral status, along with those of several other Russian skaters.

❗️ A 74-year-old man was killed and three others were injured in a Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia.

Kyiv Post Telegram Highlights

Acting US Treasury sanctions chief Gene Lange joined envoys Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83862), Axios reported.
The delegation discussed peace proposals ahead of meetings in Kyiv.

Vladimir Putin entered talks with US envoys confident Russia can seize the full Donbas by late 2026 (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83867).
Western analysts doubt the goal, and Kyiv firmly rejects territorial concessions.

National security advisers from the UK, France, and Germany arrived in Kyiv on Sunday (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83889).
Ukraine will hold bilateral talks with US envoys before a multilateral session with European partners.

France warned of consequences for hybrid attacks (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83822) after the Leipzig drone strike.
Foreign Minister Barrot stressed the EU and NATO will act if key infrastructure is targeted.

Kazakhstan will require Russians to obtain a paid electronic travel permit (https://www.kyivpost.com/post/83873) (QazETA) starting Nov. 30.
The new law also mandates digital biometric registration.

A Russian drone attack ignited a massive fire at a logistics company’s warehouses in Dnipro on Sunday.
At least two people were injured, regional authorities reported.

Live: Ukraine Telegram Highlights

⚡️ The Defense Forces have struck the Rostov-on-Don airfield and three Russian air defense targets. The General Staff also confirmed the strike on the Ryazan Oil Refinery.
In the Rostov region, a Podlet radar and two Pantsir-S1 systems were hit. Ukrainian company Fire Point stated that Ukrainian FP-1 drones struck the largest primary oil processing units at the refinery.
These units account for over 77% of the Ryazan Oil Refinery's primary processing capacity.

https://x.com/CaolanReports/status/2096648128250233037 Kushner says solution should be win win

Here's some additional background on the talks

Putin Meets Trump Envoys as U.S. Pushes to Revive Ukraine Peace Talks - Russian leader promises to pause attacks on Kyiv during Witkoff’s and Kushner’s coming visit to Ukraine

And I'm sure I'm not the only one who was a bit surprised by this news

Ukraine Considers Legalizing Porn Industry to Fund Its War Chest - Lawmakers say taxing the country’s thousands of OnlyFans models could collect $25 million a year

Needs must, I guess.

An Op Ed piece from Matthew Syed in The Sunday Times layering bare Europes :underspending on defence and reliance on America :

We Europeans owe our cushy, cosseted lifestyle to US workers

No wonder America mistrusts its Nato allies. It has spent the equivalent of $8 trillion more on defence

On one thing, at least, Trump is right. He has been right for 40 years, ever since he took out ads in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe saying the US was being ripped off by its allies. He’s still right, and no whataboutery relating to his corruption and venality can alter this geopolitical truth. Europe is in serious danger because, even now, our way of life is based on a delusion that few will admit and none in power will explicitly state.
This is not just about the failure to spend on defence, by the way. The mantra trotted out by all politicians hoping to appear wise — “we must take defence more seriously” — has the status of cliché. We’re told “3.5 per cent of GDP by 2035”; “3 per cent by 2030”. It’s like a Dutch auction nobody believes, and our adversaries don’t take seriously, given the sheer amount of “tucking under” (pretending MoD civil service pensions and the like count as defence spending). Besides, the idea that a few extra billion a year will make up for decades of free-riding, measured not just in legitimate American fury but the hollowing-out of nuclear, conventional and pipeline technology capability, is fantasy.
Let’s look at the reality. I’ll be generous here and ignore the period between 1950 and 2010, when American presidents were consistently warning about European delinquency. Let’s instead take the period from 2010 to 2025, when both Russia and China pretty much tripled defence spending in real terms, a stunning period of rearmament. America could see with absolute clarity the risks on the near horizon and desperately sought to persuade European nations to take care of an area they dominated in economic terms, while watching military spending wither away and welfare states continue their inexorable growth. It’s an unprecedented anomaly that our continent is menaced by a nation — Russia — with just 10 per cent of its GDP.
The numbers are nothing less than extraordinary. The accumulated underspend of European Nato members from 2010 to 2025 — in other words, the deficit in relation to American spending as a proportion of GDP in the same period — runs to almost $8 trillion (in 2025 dollars). Not $8 billion, folks — $8 trillion. Let me be crystal clear: when we say that we aim to reach American levels of defence spending in five or perhaps ten years’ time, while patting ourselves on the back, the US political establishment think we are gaslighting them. It’s like allowing the foundations of a house to crumble and offering to give the interior walls a lick of paint.
Yet here’s the thing: we are not gaslighting them. Most of our political class — which ventriloquises for European voters lost in fantasyland — seems to believe its own mythology. Our welfare states have effectively been subsidised by American taxpayers — some of the hardest-working and most productive in the world — for so long that we’ve come to believe we deserve them.
As one Labour backbencher put it: “Welfare is a human right.” I almost hesitate to break it to such people, but there are no human rights without the military power to resist those who would destroy them, a truth absolutely grasped in Washington but not at all in London, Paris, Brussels, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the state bureaucracies and much of the judiciary.
I keep hearing centrist podcasters lauding Europe for our “enlightened economic model”. Behold Sweden, they say, with its capacious welfare state and high GDP per capita — living proof that soft socialism works! I admire Sweden in many ways, but am I the only one puzzled by what this analysis leaves out? Sweden would have no welfare state, indeed no state at all, without the implicit American military umbrella (Sweden only joined Nato in 2024). Between 2010 and 2020 it spent an average of 1.1 per cent of GDP a year on defence. If this “Scandi miracle” had been required to deter aggressors (with or without the historic buffer of Finland, largely unaligned between 1945 and 2023), the spending would have swallowed its welfare budget whole.
And here’s perhaps the most crucial of the hard truths Europe chooses to ignore. Unlike America, China and Russia, whose economies have a modicum of self-sufficiency, Europe is utterly beholden to the global free trade that powered the postwar boom. Without intricate supply chains to furnish it with parts, electronics and chemicals, Sweden (for example) would face economic collapse, turning its generous welfare state into a joke.
Yet global free trade doesn’t happen by magic (or because of the human rights convention); it happens because hard power is employed to patrol shipping lanes, protect freedom of navigation and deter piracy. And who has borne this cost? Pre-eminently America and its huge naval fleet, first deployed by Jefferson in 1801 when the frigates President, Philadelphia and Essex were sent under the command of Commodore Richard Dale to tackle the Barbary corsairs off Tripoli.
I should perhaps say, if only for the avoidance of doubt, that I am not suggesting welfare states are untenable or undesirable. Merely that if you are going to keep expanding them through higher debt, a technique perfected in the UK and France in particular, you’d better make sure your growth rate is sufficient to service the interest payments — which is precisely what has been rendered virtually impossible in the EU and UK by the excessive regulation of private capital and markets. No EU company worth more than €100 billion has been built from scratch in the last 50 years, while six US firms worth more than €1 trillion have been created in the same period, according to the Draghi report. To put it simply, generous welfare states are testaments not to European socialism but to the American capitalism that funded them, without thanks or even acknowledgment.
In many ways Europe today is a Galapagos mammal that has been without predators for so long that its instincts have become aligned to a world that no longer exists, if it ever did. It is commonplace to blame Trump for betraying the western alliance, but the betrayal took place much earlier, masterminded by feckless European politicians who sold the myth of a “peace dividend” to voters who preferred comforting lies to hard truth. Today we face a reality we dare not confront with an economic model that makes no sense and a protector edging away, while dominating the frontier AI models on which we are likely to increasingly depend.
Future columns will seek to map out possible ways forward for Europe, but no route comes without sacrifices that electorates seem unwilling to hear. It is why I am sick of reading commentary blaming America or Trump or Xi for the state of our continent when Europeans need only look at ourselves. We had the finest of inheritances — an era of peace, high living standards and cheap inputs — and responded with spending we couldn’t afford, entitlements we couldn’t sustain and regulation that strangled our dynamism.
When the reckoning comes, it will be more painful than many have yet realised. And those of us who have been issuing warnings for years will take no comfort from that whatsoever.

Amen, but I fear this will get ignored by those countries that don't share a physical border with Russia, just as this incredibly direct and pointed speech by the US Secretary of Defense, Bob Gates, was in 2011. He was retiring at the time, so he had no reason to pull his punches.

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/natosource/text-of-speech-by-robert-gates-on-the-future-of-nato/

Now, 15 years later, all that he predicted is coming to pass.

I feel worse for the active-duty members of the European militaries who are constantly expected to do more with less and risk their lives with an intolerably low level of force readiness and equipment. The link I posted a few days ago about the British Army's Third Division having to suspend training for six months due to lack of funds is a perfect example. You can't fight if you haven't trained to fight. That's why Russian soldiers have a life expectancy measured in days once they reach the front.

I've talked about this issue ad nauseam for the three years or so I've been on these threads, so apologies if I'm beating a dead horse.

Syed has a point but he's a bit of an expert on all things...writes well on all sorts of diverse issues but I'm not sure about some of his supposed analysis - still and TBF it does no harm to see the issue raised again but not sure he has the gravitas to change the views of those in power or close to it.

It's much more of a shame Gates wasn't listened to at the time of that speech..

It's much more of a shame Gates wasn't listened to at the time of that speech..

Agreed. I wish there were a way to get his speech more widespread attention today. It would at least make the point that this is not a new issue or unique to Trump.

On a brighter note, here's a very nice analysis (with charts) of the impact of Ukraine's long-range strikes on various sectors of the Russian economy, including commercial aviation.

How Ukrainian Drone Strikes Are Pounding Russia’s Economy - Kyiv seeks to weaken its larger enemy by hitting refineries, shipping terminals and e-commerce warehouses

Such a tone deaf appearance by Witkoff and Kushner in Russia, who seemed to revel in being with Putin. Can’t imagine how Ukrainians felt seeing that. Sincerely hope it leads to something, but feels unlikely.

Live:Ukraine

⚡️ "Kyiv regime": Volodymyr Zelensky presented US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with T-shirts bearing this inscription, BBC journalist Sofia Sereda reported.

Beforehand, as presidential spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov said, Zelensky showed the T-shirt to the Americans on one of the members of the Ukrainian negotiating team — Davyd Arakhamia.

Talks between the sides are ongoing today. According to Zelensky, the next round will be a discussion between the US envoys and Ukrainian representatives with Britain, France, and Germany.

⚡️ A trilateral meeting between the US, Ukraine, and Russia may be announced in the near future, said US representative Steve Witkoff at a press conference in Kyiv.

According to Witkoff, the American side achieved "significant progress" during talks in Moscow and heard new ideas, which they have now brought to Kyiv.

Another US representative, Jared Kushner, stated that President Donald Trump has tasked him and Witkoff with developing a peace package to end the war. In addition to Kushner and Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are also working on this.

Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that next week, Ukraine, the US, and Europe will discuss new ideas for ending the war in the US, Europe, or Kyiv.

Zelensky also stated that Ukraine has discussed all important issues with Trump's envoys, including security guarantees. However, territorial issues should be discussed at the presidential level.

Additionally, Zelensky noted that 67 Ukrainian companies are working on mass production of jet-powered drones. About five of them have already demonstrated results.

⚡️ In temporarily occupied Mariupol, a fire broke out overnight at the Galaktika shopping center following an attack, OSINT channels report.

As of morning, the fire at the former Epicentr building continues. Monitoring sources suggest this may be the last remaining Galaktika shopping center in the Donetsk region.

Local residents also reported explosions during a drone attack in Rostov, Perm, and at the Taganrog airbase.

Additionally, an oil depot in Sochi — which Ukrainian forces had already struck on September 4 — caught fire again. No air raid alert was announced in the city.

🇪🇺The EU risks losing 300,000 industrial jobs due to competition from China, The Guardian reports, citing the European metal federation Eurometal.

The organization warns of the "colonization" of European industry by Chinese component manufacturers.

Today in Brussels, Eurometal will hold a protest with 10 symbolic coffins — for "EU competitiveness," "industrial jobs," and "European factories."

Eurometal President Alexander Julius stated that China seeks to control key production chains. At the same time, European manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to compete due to higher costs — including steel tariffs and emissions taxes.

The EU and China have agreed to three months of negotiations, which are set to end in October, to avoid a trade war.

🇩🇪Germany's far-right AfD party, which opposes aid to Ukraine, won the elections in Saxony-Anhalt, The Guardian reports.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) received 44% of the vote, giving it 39 out of 83 seats in the state parliament — three seats short of a majority. As a result, AfD will not be able to form a government on its own.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) received 17.2% of the vote and 15 seats — nearly half its previous total. Voter turnout was approximately 77%.

▪️AfD advocates for the deportation of migrants and calls for rapprochement with Russia and the lifting of sanctions against the country. Other major German parties maintain a policy of not forming coalitions with it.

⚡️ Overnight, Russia attacked Ukraine with 92 drones. Air defense neutralized 71 UAVs, but the enemy struck 12 locations, with debris falling in one other. Here is what is known about the aftermath:

Zaporizhzhia The enemy struck a shopping center. No casualties were reported.

Odesa region. Following a Russian attack, fires broke out in two districts, and there is damage. Residential buildings and vehicles were damaged.

Kharkiv region. Russia struck one of Balakliia's residential neighborhoods. Houses were damaged and fires broke out.

Kherson region. A Russian drone struck Darivka. An elderly man was injured.

⚡Kyiv is stockpiling food and water in case of prolonged outages and emergencies.

The city has already built up a reserve of essential food items and continues to replenish it. These will be needed at invincibility centers, for assisting the affected, as well as for rescue workers and other personnel.

The capital will also be able to provide hot meals for 25,000 people and plans to purchase an additional 20,000 food kits.

Priority assistance will go to low-income Kyiv residents and those in difficult life circumstances.

⚡️ The Armed Forces of Ukraine struck an oil refinery in Russia's Ryazan region, Zelensky reported.

Ukrainian long-range forces also attacked refineries in Perm Krai and Tatarstan.

In addition, they struck a strike drone base in the Kursk region and a target in the Black Sea.

⚡️ The Armed Forces of Ukraine struck a railway bridge in occupied Crimea, an ammunition depot in the Luhansk region, and Russian command posts.

In the Vladyslavivka area, they hit a bridge over the North Crimean Canal, used by the Russians for military logistics.

In Perekop, they struck the Grenader reconnaissance post, and in the Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions — command posts of Russian units.

⚡️ The Russians struck a tobacco factory in Pryluky.

The company is part of the international corporation British American Tobacco.

United 24 Media:

⚡️ The third round of talks between the Ukrainian and U.S. delegations has begun in Kyiv.

Representatives from Germany, France and the United Kingdom will also participate in the talks.

Before the talks began, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff described the discussion as “meaningful, substantive and important.” Zelenskyy, in turn, said all sides want to end the war with a “just peace.”

🔷 The war will likely continue into the winter, President Zelenskyy says.

The Ukrainian president said the current situation offers no grounds to expect the war to end before winter sets in.

He made the remarks following talks with Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

⚡️ The U.S. wants to return to the trilateral format of negotiations, Trump’s special envoy Jared Kushner said at a press conference following the talks.

The format was already used six months ago.

▪️ Kushner also said Trump had instructed his team to prepare a peace package. He added that a significant part of the U.S. administration, including Vice President and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is working on it with them.

▪️ Kushner said that during Saturday’s conversation with Putin, they discussed “many ideas that have not worked before.”

“Now we are trying to understand what exactly is needed to achieve lasting peace: what Russia will get from this, what Ukraine will get and what the whole world will get.”

▪️ Witkoff and Kushner said they are seeking a breakthrough in efforts to end the war before winter. At the same time, Zelenskyy said at a press conference that the war will likely continue into the winter. In that case, Ukraine is counting on a winter support package from the U.S.

▪️ According to Zelenskyy, the next round of negotiations could take place in the U.S., Europe or Kyiv.

The Moscow talks with Putin lasted more than three hours and produced no announced breakthrough, while the U.S. envoys later traveled to Kyiv for talks with Zelenskyy and European officials.

🔶 “Thank you to U.S. President’s representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for their visit to Kyiv. We had a good conversation — several rounds already — and we will talk again today,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“The main thing is to achieve a decent, reliable and lasting peace for Ukraine. We are directing all our efforts toward this.”

🔷 “Leipzig, the airport… They found a drone there. They said it was a Russian drone, and no one bothered to investigate further. By and large, this essentially marks the beginning of a war. Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, Germany also closed its diplomatic missions. Berlin wants war again; the lessons of history have not been learned,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

“It turns out that the metastases of Nazism are beginning to emerge. This is a dangerous phenomenon. I believe the Russian leadership will draw the appropriate conclusions.”

Germany has accused Russia of being behind the attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in August, based on intelligence and police investigations. Moscow has denied the accusations.

🔶 “My heart goes out to the suffering people of Ukraine, who have been living in anguish and fear for years. I renew my appeal to put an end to the violence, stop the destruction and open hearts to dialogue and peace! I hope that the efforts undertaken in recent days to resume negotiations will bear concrete fruit and create space for diplomacy,” Pope Leo XIV said.

🔷 Russian media had been preparing its audience for the invasion of Ukraine long before it happened. However, the narrative goes beyond just the destruction of Russia’s closest neighbors. For years, Russia has portrayed the West as an enemy, to the extent that threats of nuclear strikes have become routine.
https://t.me/United24media/45835

🔶 At night, Russian forces struck the City Mall shopping and entertainment center in Zaporizhzhia. No one was injured in the attack, according to local authorities.

Before the full-scale war, it was the largest shopping and entertainment center in Zaporizhzhia, with more than 23,400 square meters of retail space. More than 90 Ukrainian and international brands operated there.

🔶 Russia opposed a historical tour of Kyiv for Trump’s special envoys

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were given a short tour of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. The Russian side had opposed such events.

However, the U.S. envoys reportedly liked the format.

🔷 “Our soldiers continue to respond appropriately to Russian strikes on Ukraine. An oil refinery was hit in the Ryazan region. Our long-range forces targeted oil refineries in the Perm region and Tatarstan, as well as a storage and launch site for strike drones in the Kursk region. A target in the Black Sea was also hit. Thank you to each of our units for their accuracy!” — Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

🔷 Ukraine has submitted NATO with a list of urgent air and missile defense needs ahead of the Ramstein meeting, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

An extraordinary meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council was convened at NATO headquarters in Brussels at Ukraine’s request and chaired by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The Ukrainian side presented allies with an assessment of current air threats and called for the rapid delivery of additional air and missile defense systems.

Strengthening Ukraine’s air and missile defenses will be a key focus of the upcoming Ramstein-format meeting on September 8.

🔶 The Volkswagen plant in Osnabrück will become the first car factory in Germany to be converted into a defense production facility.

The state of Lower Saxony and Israeli investor Aurelius will take control of the plant and transform it into a defense technology center over the coming years.

The first project at the plant will involve air defense systems and components for Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the manufacturer of the Iron Dome.