U.S. President Donald Trump today sent a letter to NATO countries urging them to stop buying Russian oil and impose significant sanctions on Russia to end its war in Ukraine.
"I am ready to impose significant sanctions on Russia when all NATO countries have agreed and started doing the same, and when all NATO countries stop buying oil from Russia," he said in a social media post.
He also proposes that NATO, as a group, impose tariffs of 50-100% on China, which"will be a great help" in ending the war, and will be withdrawn once the war is over.
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G-7) met Friday to discuss the possibility of imposing sanctions and trade measures, such as tariffs, on countries they believe are"facilitating" war.
Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vassili Nebénzia, has denounced that Ukraine is seeking to expand the Russian-Ukrainian conflict"whatever the cost"by dragging other countries into the war, during his intervention in a session of the organization's Security Councilon the recent drone attack in Polish airspace.
"It is no secret that it has been trying for some time to expand the conflict to new areas, without considering the risks of escalation," the Russian delegation to the UN reported in the transcript of its speech.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that he will launch an operation to"further strengthen" his positions along his eastern flank, near or bordering Russia, in which Spain will participate.
This reinforcement coincides with the active phase of the Západ-2025 strategic maneuvers , which began on Friday and in which the Russian and Belarusian armies are participating.
A Russian drone and missile attack early Friday killed three people in the Sumy region in northern Ukraine, where Moscow has failed to make progress, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Zelenskyy says Russia"must suffer the consequences" for operating in NATO airspace and demands sanctions for "clearly expanding the war."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized the invasion of Romanian airspace by a Russian drone during a new attack against his country.
"Romania deployed its combat aircraft due to the presence of a Russian drone in its airspace. According to current data, the drone penetrated approximately 10 kilometers into Romanian territory and operated in NATO airspace for approximately 50 minutes. Also today, Poland responded militarily to the threat posed by Russian attack drones," he noted.
For this reason, Zelensky has stated that Russia"must suffer the consequences" and has demanded an increase in sanctions against it from the member countries of the Atlantic coalition.
"Sanctions against Russia are needed. Tariffs against Russian trade are needed. Collective defense is needed, and Ukraine has proposed to its partners the creation of such a protection system. Don't wait for dozens of shaheds and ballistic missiles to make final decisions," he warned.
He also accused Putin of"clearly expanding the war," because, in his view,"this is not a coincidence, a mistake, or the initiative of a few low-ranking commanders; this is their way of acting: small steps at first, and over time, great losses."
19:21
A Russian drone violates Romanian airspace during an attack on Ukraine.
Romania has decided to deploy its fighter jets after a Russian drone invaded its airspace during an attack on Ukraine.
In response to the threat, the Romanian government has dispatched two F-16 fighter jets and warned citizens of the southeastern county of Tulcea, near the Danube and its border with Ukraine, to take cover, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. It added that the planes detected a drone in national airspace, which they tracked until it disappeared from radar 20 km southwest of the town of Chilia Veche."The drone did not fly over inhabited areas and did not pose an immediate danger to the population," the statement said.
18:50
Ukraine attacks an industrial zone located in the Urals, 2,000 kilometers from its border with Russia.
The Ukrainian army has carried out a drone attack on an industrial zone in the Perm region, deep in the Ural Mountains.
This is the first attack by an unmanned aircraft reported by Russian authorities in this territory, located more than 2,000 kilometers from the border.
The region's governor, Dmitri Makhonin, confirmed the attack on his Telegram channel."Nothing threatens the safety of residents. We ask you to remain calm (...) The situation is under control," he wrote after confirming that no injuries had been reported.
17:43
Ukraine claims to have regained control of the village of Filiya in Dnipropetrovsk
Ukrainian defense forces have regained control of the village of Filiya in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Oleksi Bielsky, spokesman for the Dnipro strategic operational group of Ukrainian troops, announced Saturday.
"Filiya, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, has been recaptured from the enemy. The occupiers entered the village and raised their flag. Two assault groups from the 425th Skelia Regiment stormed it, threw grenades at the invaders, opened fire, took prisoners, and brought in neighboring units that will now control the settlement," Bielski said in a televised broadcast.
17:19
Russia claims responsibility for taking a town in the Dnipropetrovsk region, while kyiv claims it remains under its control.
The Russian military has claimed responsibility for capturing a town in the Dnipropetrovsk region of central-eastern Ukraine, which it says it reached in early July.
However, from kyiv, military analysts from the DeepState project, which is close to the Ukrainian army, point out that the city remains under their control.
The municipality in question is Novomikolaivka, located near the neighboring Donetsk region in the east, the epicenter of the clashes between the armed forces.
16:09
An oil refinery in Russia's Bashkiria region has been hit by a drone attack.
An oil refinery in Bashkiria, Russia, has been the target of a drone attack by the Ukrainian military.
For now, as reported by regional governor Radiy Khabirov, the only details known are that a fire broke out, but it caused minimal damage to the production plant.
"The company's security services fired with high-caliber weapons. The unmanned aerial vehicle was hit and fell on the factory grounds. There were no injuries or deaths," the political leader reported via his Telegram channel.
However, authorities have decided to suspend operations at Ufa Airport, near the site of the attack and located nearly 1,400 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
14:56
Slovenia's foreign minister calls on China to use its influence on Russia to curb its attacks on Ukraine.
Slovenian Foreign Minister Tana Fajon has urged the Chinese government, led by Xi Jinping, to use its influence over Russia to stop attacks on Ukraine.
"We are facing unprecedented violations of international law, especially international humanitarian law and human rights law," Fajon said after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, who is visiting the country.
The Slovenian minister also added that we must work together to ensure that multilateralism remains the foundation of the international order and that international law does not remain"only on paper." "Slovenia has demonstrated its principled stance in the UN Security Council, which China also recognizes," she concluded.
13:43
Trump pressures NATO countries to stop buying Russian oil and imposes tariffs on China.
US President Donald Trump sent a letter to NATO countries on Saturday urging them to stop buying Russian oil and impose significant sanctions on Russia to end its war in Ukraine.
"I am prepared to impose significant sanctions on Russia when all NATO countries have agreed and begun to do the same, and when all NATO countries stop buying oil from Russia," he stated in a social media post.
He proposed that NATO, as a group, impose tariffs of 50-100% on China to weaken its economic control over Russia.
This follows Trump's previous threats to impose sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil, such as major buyers China and India, if progress is not made in ending the war in Ukraine.
The president has imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian products, citing their continued imports of Russian oil, but has not taken similar measures against China.
13:39
Trump's public indifference to the drone strike in Poland is causing concern in Europe.
The invasion of nearly 20 drones across Poland's borders this week caused deep concern among NATO members, who, for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine, fired at a Russian target, violating the alliance's airspace.
Equally worrying, European diplomats said, has been US President Donald Trump's refusal so far to publicly blame Moscow for Wednesday's incident, along with the lack of US involvement in quelling it, Reuters reported.
Many members of the alliance are already questioning Trump's commitment to defending themselves in the event of a real Russian attack.
Trump's tepid response was seen by many as another example of his America First policy, which calls on European allies to take more responsibility for their own security and bear the cost of helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia.
But some analysts say Trump may also be wary of alienating Russian President Vladimir Putin, who they say may be testing both NATO's military capabilities and U.S. resolve more than three and a half years after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
13:16
Poland, the Eastern Shield and employment opportunities
Fearing the threat from the east, Poland launched a 640-kilometer (400-mile) fortification called the Eastern Shield last May along its borders with Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, combining long anti-tank barriers known as hedgehogs with advanced surveillance and electronic warfare systems, Reuters reports.
Tusk's government is also moving military units east to take advantage of larger recruiting pools."People will work and serve in places where they will defend their own homes," said Pawel Zalewski, deputy defense minister.
According to authorities, Poland's military restructuring focuses on mobility, armored capabilities, air defense, and logistics operations.
Wawrzynkiewicz, the recruitment officer, said the goal of these measures is to strengthen military readiness and presence near Poland's border, while creating local employment opportunities in a region with historically high unemployment.
According to authorities, receiving military training does not automatically obligate individuals to serve in a war, as the program is designed to be flexible. Volunteers can choose to continue in professional military service, join the Territorial Defense Forces (WOT), or remain in the active or passive reserve.
12:35
Voluntary military training attracted more than 20,000 Poles by August 2025.
Six kilometers from the Russian border, in northern Poland, administrator Agnieszka Jedruszak is digging a trench inside the Braniewo military training ground for South Korean K-2 tanks, driven by fear of war with Russia. Agnieszka Jedruszak wants to be able to defend her family, including her 13-year-old son.
Thousands of Poles like Jedruszak are signing up for voluntary military training as the Polish military seeks to fill its ranks with professional and volunteer personnel amid growing concerns about military aggression from Russia, Reuters reports."I would do anything to keep my son safe. And I would definitely want to fight to protect him," says Jedruszak, dressed in military fatigues with her face painted in camouflage colors.
For many Poles, who endured decades of Moscow's domination under the Soviet Union, the fear of Russian hostility is very great. Those concerns only increased this week, after Poland shot down Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday, the first known instance of a NATO member firing a weapon during Russia's war in Ukraine.
More than 20,000 Poles signed up for voluntary military training in the first seven months of 2025, in line with record levels last year, according to Colonel Grzegorz.
Around 40,000 volunteers are expected to complete military training by the end of this year, more than double the 16,000 expected in 2022, reflecting an increase in public participation since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
12:18
Russia and Belarus accuse Poland of overreacting
Russian and Belarusian forces launched joint military exercises Zapad-2025 on September 12,"the first since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022," the ISW (Institute for the Study of War) notes in its latest update on the war in Ukraine.
"Russia and Belarus may have backed down on their attempts to use Zapad-2025 to support nuclear intimidation operations against the West, at least temporarily," he added.
"Belarusian and Russian authorities have accused Poland of overreacting to the threat of Russian aggression in response to Poland's decision to close its border with Belarus due to Zapad-2025," the ISW notes among its other key findings on the latest developments in the war.
NATO announced Operation Eastern Sentry on September 12 in response to Russian drones that violated Polish airspace on the night of September 9-10.
11.41
Russia launches a missile and 164 drones overnight, of which Ukraine neutralizes 137
Russia launched a ballistic missile and 164 unmanned aerial vehicles at Ukraine last night, of which Ukrainian defense forces managed to shoot down or neutralize 137, the Ukrainian Air Force reported in a statement Saturday, reporting impacts in nine locations and the fall of fragments from downed drones in three others, according to Efe.
The statement said that Russian forces launched an Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missile and 164 Shahed, Gerbera, and other unmanned attack vehicles from the Russian directions of Kursk, Oryol, Bryansk, Milerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, starting at 8:00 p.m. Friday and continuing into the night.
Of the drones launched by Russia, about 90 were Shahed, he adds.
As of 9:00 a.m. Saturday, air defenses shot down or neutralized 137 enemy Shahed, Gerbera, and other types of unmanned aerial vehicles in the north, south, east, and center of the country, the Air Force reported on its Telegram account.
Missile and 27 drone impacts were recorded at nine locations, in addition to the fall of fragments from downed aircraft at three locations.
The airstrike was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare and unmanned systems, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, it added.
11:40
Russia shoots down 42 Ukrainian drones over seven regions, including the Crimean Peninsula.
Russian air defenses shot down 42 Ukrainian drones last night over seven regions, including the annexed Crimean peninsula.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the other affected regions were Rostov, Kursk, and Belgorod, which border Ukraine, as well as Smolensk, Kaluka, and Volgograd, Efe reports.
A 20-year-old woman was injured in Belgorod by an unmanned aerial vehicle explosion, which caused numerous shrapnel wounds and a concussion.
The fixed-wing drone attacks took place from 11:00 p.m. on Friday to 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, the military statement said.
Last night, Russia shot down 221 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones, nine of which were headed for Moscow.
The Kremlin acknowledged for the first time on Friday that peace negotiations with Ukraine have stalled.
11.36
Russian and Belarusian armies participate in the active phase of the Zapad-2025 exercises
The Russian and Belarusian armies are participating this Saturday in the active phase of the Zapad-2025 strategic maneuvers, which began on Friday and, in addition to the Russian air incursion in Poland, have forced NATO to reinforce the defense of its eastern flank, reports Efe.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the two countries' commanders coordinated their planning of actions to"block and eliminate" potential enemy subversive groups.
These activities are taking place at the Borisovsky military training ground, near the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and less than 500 kilometers from the Polish border, whose airspace was violated this week by Russian drones, in what Warsaw described as an"act of aggression."
The Russian Baltic Fleet is also involved in these activities, with sabotage groups reportedly heading for Russian shores in submarines.
Meanwhile, today, Tu-22M3 bombers and coastal defense missile systems joined the war games, conducting target practice off the Arctic archipelago of Franz Josef.
The maneuvers, which will conclude on the 16th, include the simulation of the use of tactical nuclear weapons and Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missiles.
"I want to recall the words of our President Vladimir Putin: Russia has never threatened anyone, and it doesn't threaten European countries now," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during his daily telephone press conference on Friday.
11:34
Russia says its troops have taken control of another town in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russian troops have taken control of the village of Novomykolaivka, in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Saturday.
Russian troops attacked Ukrainian long-range drone infrastructure and shot down 340 Ukrainian drones over the past day, Russian news agencies reported citing the Defense Ministry.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
10:15
The US calls the airspace violation"alarming" at the UN, while Trump suggested it was"a mistake."
NATO announced plans on Friday to bolster its defenses of Europe's eastern flank, two days after Poland shot down drones that violated its airspace, the first known such action by a member of the Western alliance during Russia's war in Ukraine.
At the United Nations, the United States called the airspace violations"alarming" and pledged to "defend every inch of NATO territory," remarks that appeared aimed at reassuring Washington's NATO allies after President Donald Trump said the Russian drone strike may have been a mistake.
Warsaw has described the drone strikes as an attempt by Russia to test the response capabilities of Poland and NATO.
On Friday, Poland rejected Trump's suggestion that the incursions might have been a mistake, a rare contradiction of the US president from one of Washington's closest European allies.
Its foreign minister told Reuters that Poland hoped Washington would take steps to show solidarity with Warsaw. The United States later joined its Western allies in a statement expressing concern about the drone incursion and accusing Moscow of violating international law and the United Nations Charter.
Russia claimed that its forces had been attacking Ukraine at the time of the drone strikes and that it had no intention of attacking targets in Poland.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that the maximum range of the drones used did not exceed 700 km,"which makes it physically impossible for them to have reached Polish territory."
10:04
Bessent advocates imposing tariffs on countries that buy oil from Russia.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a meeting of Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers on Friday that if they are committed to ending the war in Ukraine, they should join the United States in imposing tariffs on countries that buy oil from Russia, Reuters reports.
Bessent will travel to Spain on September 18th as part of a visit to Europe that also includes a stop in the United Kingdom.
During his visit to Madrid, Bessent will meet with his government counterparts to discuss the current state of relations between the two countries, which have recently been marred by the Moncloa government's reluctance to invest 5% of GDP in defense, as agreed upon by NATO, and by Spain's position on the war in Gaza.
10:02
North Korea to combine nuclear and conventional weapons in new military policy
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced that the next Workers' Party congress will present a policy that will combine the development of nuclear forces with the modernization of conventional weapons, state media reported Saturday, according to Efe.
Kim made the remarks during a visit Thursday and Friday to the Academy of Defense Sciences' armored and electronic weapons institutes, where he oversaw tests of new armored vehicles, active protection systems, and electronic weapons, according to state news agency KCNA.
The leader stressed the need to continue"modernizing" conventional forces to build a powerful military, while reiterating that the ninth party congress will establish a strategy to simultaneously boost nuclear and conventional capabilities.
The North Korean leader has emphasized in recent months the priority of replacing tanks and armored vehicles with advanced models and intensifying military training. This emphasis comes after the regime sent some 15,000 troops to support Russia's war in Ukraine.
09.29
Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to involve other countries in the conflict"at any cost."
Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vassili Nebénzia, denounced this Friday that Ukraine is seeking to expand the Russian-Ukrainian conflict"whatever the cost" by dragging other countries into the war, during his intervention in a session of the Security Council of the organization on the recent drone attack in Polish airspace, reports Europa Press.
"kyiv is trying by every means to expand the participation of other states in its confrontation with Moscow. It is no secret that it has been trying for some time to expand the conflict to new areas, without considering the risks of an escalation," the diplomat warned, and this was reflected in the transcript of the Russian delegation to the UN's speech.
Nebénzia also emphasized that such actions are driven by political interests, particularly those of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose mandate he called"illegitimate" after it expires in May 2024.
"Artificially inflating the alarm only benefits Zelensky and the European sectors that are betting on avoiding, at all costs, a negotiated solution between Russia and the United States (...). It is evident that Zelensky is now the main opponent of a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis, which would expose his illegitimacy," he indicated to the "good" Ukrainian "clinging to power" without taking into account constitutional procedures.
09:12
The"Russian Disinformer," the Spanish professor linked to the Kremlin, is among the most wanted fugitives.
His name has gone directly to Europol's most wanted list. After months of work, the Spanish police have accused Spanish citizen Enrique Arias Gil of collaborating with a hacker organization that acts in favor of Vladimir Putin's regime. Since Friday, Arias Gil has been wanted by Europol, which believes he has been hiding in Russia (the country he arrived in with a Casa Rusia scholarship to learn Russian) since 2024. National Court judge Francisco de Jorge has issued the international warrant for the accused of"sabotage for terrorist purposes," thus beginning Xavier Colás and Alberto Rojas' extraordinary report on Enrique Arias Gil.
08:27
The G-7 discusses possible sanctions and tariffs on Russian war supporters.
Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers, at a meeting on Friday, discussed the possibility of imposing sanctions and trade measures, such as tariffs, on countries they believe are"facilitating" Russia's war in Ukraine, according to a statement released by the Canadian Finance Ministry, reported by Reuters.
G-7 finance ministers held the meeting to discuss new measures aimed at increasing pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine, according to a statement from Canada, which holds the group's rotating presidency.
"They discussed a wide range of possible economic measures to increase pressure on Russia, including new sanctions and trade measures, such as tariffs, against those facilitating Russia's war effort."
08:20
Prince Harry of the United Kingdom visits Ukraine with a charity
Britain's Prince Harry visited Ukraine on Friday and arrived in kyiv with a team from his Invictus Games foundation to unveil his charity's plans to help rehabilitate wounded soldiers, his office said in a statement, reported by Reuters.
Harry, the youngest son of Britain's King Charles, also visited the site of one of Russia's numerous attacks on the capital, according to Kyiv military chief Tymur Tkachenko.
"Completely destroyed houses speak a universal language. Our pain also needs no translation," Tkachenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
"We thank Prince Harry for his attention to our grief and his sincere sympathy." This is Harry's second visit to Ukraine this year, following a visit to a center for wounded service members in Lviv in April.
"We can't stop the war, but we can do everything we can to help the recovery process," Harry told The Guardian on an overnight train to kyiv, adding that he had received permission from the British government and his wife before travelling.
07:50
Russia says it has captured the village of Ternove in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had captured a new village, Ternove, in the Dnipropetrovsk region of central Ukraine, Reuters reports.
It was the second consecutive day that Russia reported the capture of a village in that region, adding to the list of several similar locations in recent weeks.
Ukraine has publicly emphasized its efforts to prevent Russians from gaining ground there.
The popular Ukrainian war blog DeepState, which uses open-source reports to track military positions, reported Russian advances near Ternove and at least one other village in the area. However, another military blogger reported that Ukrainian forces had recaptured a village in the region from Russian troops.
07:42
Zelensky says Russian offensive in Sumy has failed
A Russian attack early Friday killed three people in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, a regional official said, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow's attempts to advance in the area had failed, resulting in heavy losses, Reuters reports.
Russian forces are engaged in a long and grueling campaign along a 1,000-km front across eastern Ukraine, but in recent months they have also sought to gain a foothold in areas such as Sumy, a border region adjacent to Russia's Kursk region.
They have captured a number of villages near the border and are frequently bombarding larger towns, such as Sumy. Sumy Regional Governor Oleh Hryhory said a drone and missile attack at 6 a.m. (03:00 GMT) killed three residents in or around Sumy and wounded five.
But Zelensky, citing Ukraine's supreme military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said the Russian operation in the region"has been completely thwarted by our forces."
"Fighting continues in the border areas of the Sumy region, but the Russian group in the Sumy direction has lost its offensive capability as a result of the losses it has suffered," he wrote on Telegram. Zelenskiy has reported successes in other operations in Sumy in recent weeks.
