The Ukrainian Military Intelligence (HUR) announced successful strikes on Russian targets in Crimea on September 1, 2025. “The drones hit the Hvardiiske military air base, approximately 13 kilometers from Simferopol, destroying Mi-8 helicopters worth $20-30 million,” the HUR said.
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17:54 Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych made an unusual appearance in the Russian media on Monday, accusing the European Union of"arrogance" in negotiations with Kiev in the days before his ouster as head of state.
17:18 The number of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine in August fell compared to July. This follows an analysis by the AFP agency, according to which Moscow sent 4,132 long-range drones to the neighboring country in night attacks last month, which is 34 percent less than in the previous month.
Despite a decline in attacks amid increased diplomatic efforts to end the war, Russia continues to systematically attack cities and villages across Ukraine with drones, causing numerous civilian casualties. Also last night, Ukrainian air defenses shot down drones in the Kiev region, for example. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia sent 86 drones over Ukraine overnight, and air defenses neutralized 76 of them.
On August 28, Kiev experienced one of the deadliest attacks using drones and missiles, killing 25 people, including several children. The majority of them were residents of a single apartment building.
16:52 Kiev on Monday called on China to work for peace in Ukraine during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the country. TASR reports this according to a report by the AFP agency.
"Given the significant geopolitical role of the People's Republic of China, we would welcome a more active role for Beijing in establishing peace in Ukraine based on respect for the UN Charter," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Beijing is a close ally of Moscow, AFP recalls.
Putin is attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin, where he has already held several bilateral meetings.
14:47 An airstrike alert was in effect in the Kiev region all night today due to the threat of drone attacks. According to the RBK Ukraine server, the head of the regional military administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, reported that damage was reported from the Bilo Tserkva and Fastiv districts southeast of Kiev after the drone attacks. Buildings belonging to an unspecified company and the roof of a warehouse were destroyed.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia sent 86 drones over Ukraine overnight, and air defenses neutralized 76 of them.
In the Sumy region near the border town of Seredyna-buda, a motorcycle driven by a 75-year-old man hit a mine. He and his wife, who is one year older, were injured. According to the regional prosecutor's office, the mine was probably dropped on the road by a Russian drone, writes Ukrainska Pravda.
13:56 German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Monday sharply criticized the statements of European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen about military security guarantees for Ukraine. According to his own words, he considers it fundamentally wrong to talk about such topics before sitting at the negotiating table. The DPA agency reported this, TASR writes.
"Apart from the fact that the European Union has no powers or competences when it comes to deploying soldiers - regardless of who and for what purpose - I would refrain from confirming or commenting on such considerations in any way," Pistorius said during a visit to a munitions factory in the city of Troisdorf.
He stated that there are ongoing discussions about"what would be possible and what would not be" and under what conditions certain steps would be even conceivable."But I consider it completely wrong to discuss this publicly now," said the politician from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
13:41 High-ranking German politician Matthias Miersch from the Social Democrats (SPD) parliamentary group said on Monday that"all options are open" to using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine within the European Union. TASR reports this according to a report by the DPA agency.
Miersch suggested during a visit to Kiev by parliamentary leaders of German coalition parties that the issue of assets could be discussed as part of the preparation of a new sanctions package against Russia. Jens Spahn of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) stressed that"consequences must be drawn" for the Russian invasion.
"In this context, a discussion is needed on whether and how these frozen assets can be used, despite all legal doubts," he said.
The EU has frozen around €210 billion in Russian central bank assets. Most of them are held in the Euroclear securities center in Brussels. Since last year, the EU has been using their interest income to finance arms and ammunition supplies to Ukraine. Several EU members are skeptical about directly seizing the assets because of potential legal problems or retaliation. The move could also lead to a loss of confidence from other countries or investors in Europe.
10:44 The Ukrainian Military Intelligence (HUR) announced successful attacks on Russian targets in Crimea on September 1, 2025. "The drones hit the Hvardiiske military air base, approximately 13 kilometers from Simferopol, destroying Mi-8 helicopters worth $20-30 million," HUR reported.
The report said another target was a Russian military tugboat in the Sevastopol Bay."The military tugboat, likely a BUK-2190, was hit when Ukrainian intelligence guided a warhead directly at the vessel," the statement said.
The Mi-8 helicopter is a Soviet-built helicopter used by Russia for troop transport, cargo transport, casualty evacuation and combat missions. According to HUR, both aircraft were destroyed at the Hvardiisk base.
The hit tugboat, a BUK-2190, was used to support naval operations in ports and bays. According to Ukrainian intelligence, it was used by an elite Russian naval special forces unit that conducts underwater sabotage operations."The damage to the tugboat significantly limits the combat capabilities of the elite Russian unit," HUR said, adding that the vessel met its"unfortunate end."
Ukraine attacked a military base in Crimea. HUR: We destroyed Russian helicopters and a tugboat
10:26 Poland continues to create one of the strongest armies within the North Atlantic Alliance. Next year, it will spend up to seventeen times more money on defense compared to the budget of the Slovak Ministry of Defense. Arming on a large scale is made possible by two factors in particular. This is happening regardless of who is in power in Warsaw, and the strengthening of the armed forces is supported by a clear majority of citizens. In short, there is a broad consensus in this direction.
10:24 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will arrive in Paris on Thursday and meet with European leaders. They will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. An unnamed source told AFP on Monday, TASR reports.
"We are planning such a meeting" between Zelensky and "European leaders," the source said, adding that US President Donald Trump is not expected to be present yet.
Western leaders, led by Trump, have been trying to end the war in Ukraine for the past few days. They last met on August 18 at the White House. In addition to Zelensky, the leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Finland, NATO and the EU participated in the talks.
The source said that the main topic of the talks in Paris will be security guarantees for Ukraine and"support for diplomacy", because, according to him, the Russians are"again avoiding" efforts to end the war.
8:43 A married couple lost their lives in a Russian bombing in Ukraine's Zaporozhye region, which is on the front line. The head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, reported this in a telegram.
According to Fedorov, the Russians attacked the village of Omelnyk, which is located about 20 kilometers from the fighting, with KAB guided aerial bombs."Houses are destroyed. A married couple died in one of them," said Fedorov. Both spouses were 64 years old.
An air alert was in place in central, northern and eastern regions of Ukraine overnight due to imminent drone attacks. Air defenses shot down drones in the Kiev region, for example; information on possible damage is not available.
In Krasnodar region, located on the Russian coast of the Azov and Black Seas, drones and fragments of a downed drone fell on a transformer station in the city of Kropotkin, which caught fire. According to local authorities, no one was injured, the Russian-language BBC service reports. However, residents of one of the districts of Kropotkin complained, according to the Astra telegram channel, that even though the fire was extinguished, smoke lingered in the area, making it difficult to breathe.
08:08 The vast majority of Ukrainians want a ceasefire, but only if there are clear security guarantees. This is according to the latest opinion poll by the Ukrainian company Rating Group. The survey also showed how much support current President Volodymyr Zelensky would have if he decided to run for president again.
5:55 Both Kiev and Moscow are reporting hundreds of thousands of dead soldiers since the beginning of the year – not their own, but those of the other side. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russians have lost 290,000 soldiers, while Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov says Ukrainian losses have exceeded 340,000.
Zelensky spoke on the social network about the information provided to him by the chief creditor of the Ukrainian forces, Oleksandr Syrsky."Across the entire front, in the first eight months of this year alone, the Russians have lost more than 290,000 soldiers, dead or seriously wounded. They suffered most of these losses in the Donetsk region, while they failed to achieve any of their strategic goals," Zelensky said. According to him, the Russians have suffered the greatest losses in the Pokrovskoye region. Zelensky also announced that further strikes deep into Russian territory are planned.
In 2025, the Russian Armed Forces increased the pace of liberating territories from Ukrainian armed forces formations, whose losses reached more than 340 thousand people, the TASS agency reported on the words of Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov at a recent board of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Of course, the aggressors have not liberated anything. Russian troops are occupying Ukraine.
"Let's note the increase in the pace of our troops' advance this year. If at the beginning of the year we were liberating 300-400 km² per month, now it is 600-700," Belousov said, according to the TASS agency. The combat potential of the Ukrainian armed forces, he said, has significantly decreased:"This year alone, the Ukrainian armed forces have lost more than 340,000 soldiers and more than 65,000 pieces of various weapons," he claims.
"The military and industrial infrastructure of the Kiev regime has been severely damaged. This year, 35 massive and group strikes were carried out on 146 critical enemy targets. As a result, the infrastructure of 62 % of key enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine was damaged," Belousov stated.
He noted that the supply of unmanned aerial vehicles to Russian troops has significantly increased,"which has had a positive impact on the course of military operations." Russia is currently using motorbikes and quad bikes for rapid movement on the front lines.
"In 2025, the soldiers received 22.7 thousand motorcycles, quad bikes and buggies to increase the speed of movement of tactical groups; by the end of the year, it is planned to transfer another 12,186 pieces of this equipment to the soldiers," Belousov said.
He also discussed the further armament of the Russian Federation. The Russian state armament program until 2036"is compiled in accordance with the expected threats and new methods of conducting military operations based on the experience of special operations."
"The main priorities of the state program are strategic nuclear forces, space assets, air defense, electronic warfare, communications and control, unmanned systems and robotic complexes, as well as artificial intelligence technologies," the Russian Defense Minister said.
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