BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday that Hungary will continue to source fossil fuels from Russia despite demands from his ally U.S. President Donald Trump, and that he’d informed the president that dropping Russian energy would be a “disaster” for Hungary’s economy.
Hungary remains one of the only countries in Europe to continue purchasing Russian oil and natural gas following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But Trump, an admirer of the long-serving Hungarian leader, earlier this month called on all NATO countries including Hungary to cease purchasing Russian oil, since he believes the Russia-Ukraine war would end if they did so.
In comments to state radio on Friday, Orbán said he recently told Trump that that dropping Russian energy imports would be an economic “disaster” for Hungary.
“I told the U.S. president … that if Hungary is cut off from Russian oil and natural gas, immediately, within a minute, Hungarian economic performance will drop by 4%,” Orbán said. “It means the Hungarian economy would be on its knees.”
Despite three years of efforts by European Union countries to wean off of Russian energy supplies — an effort to deprive President Vladimir Putin of revenue that helps fuel the war in Ukraine — Hungarian officials have insisted that geographical and infrastructural constraints make it nearly impossible to transition to using fossil fuels supplied from the West.
However, other countries in the region, including the similarly landlocked Czech Republic, have managed to fully cease their purchases of Russian oil since Moscow launched its invasion. Slovakia, which neighbors Hungary, has also maintained its Russian energy imports.
Yet despite pressure from the EU and the Trump administration, Orbán, widely considered the EU leader with the closest relationship to the Kremlin, said Friday that when it comes to energy sources, “It is clear what is in Hungary’s interest and we will act accordingly.”
Hungary and the United States, he said, “are sovereign countries. There is no need for either of us to accept the arguments of the other. America has its arguments and interests, and Hungary does too.”
UNITED NATIONS — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told world leaders Wednesday that the world is in “the most destructive arms race in history” and called on the international community to act against Russia now, asserting that Vladimir Putin wants to expand his war in Europe.
“We are now living through the most destructive arms race in history,” Zelenskyy said at the U.N. General Assembly. “Ukraine is only the first and now Russian drones are already flying across Europe, and Russian operations are already spreading across countries, and Putin wants to continue this war by expanding it.”
Zelenskyy’s comments came a day after he met with President Donald Trump, who expressed support for Ukraine’s efforts and criticized Russia.
Trump said Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from the U.S. leader’s repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war.
Watched by the world, President Donald Trump returns to the United Nations on Tuesday to deliver a wide-ranging address on his second-term foreign policy achievements and lament that “globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order,” according to the White House.Watch live video from the United Nations in the video player aboveWorld leaders will be listening closely to his remarks at the U.N. General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish U.S. support for the world body in his first eight months in office. Even in his first term, he was no fan of the flavor of multilateralism that the United Nations espouses.After his latest inauguration, he issued a first-day executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization. That was followed by his move to end U.S. participation in the U.N. Human Rights Council, and ordering up a review of U.S. membership in hundreds of intergovernmental organizations aimed at determining whether they align with the priorities of his “America First” agenda.“There are great hopes for it, but it’s not being well run, to be honest,” Trump said of the U.N. last week.The U.S. president’s speech is typically among the most anticipated moments of the annual assembly. This one comes at one of the most volatile moments in the world body’s 80-year-old history. Global leaders are being tested by intractable wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, uncertainty about the economic and social impact of emerging artificial intelligence technology, and anxiety about Trump’s antipathy for the global body.Trump has also raised new questions about the American use of military force in his return to the White House, after ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June and a trio of strikes this month on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea.The latter strikes, including at least two fatal attacks on boats that originated from Venezuela, has raised speculation in Caracas that Trump is looking to set the stage for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.Some U.S. lawmakers and human rights advocates say that Trump is effectively carrying out extrajudicial killings by using U.S. forces to lethally target alleged drug smugglers instead of interdicting the suspected vessels, seizing any drugs and prosecuting the suspects in U.S. courts.“This is by far the most stressed the U.N. system has ever been in its 80 years,” said Anjali K. Dayal, a professor of international politics at Fordham University in New York.Trump to hold one-on-one talks with world leadersWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would tout “the renewal of American strength around the world” and his efforts to help end several wars.“The president will also touch upon how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, and he will articulate his straightforward and constructive vision for the world,” Leavitt said.Following his speech, Trump will hold one-on-one meetings with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union. He will also hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.He’ll return to Washington after hosting a reception Tuesday night with more than 100 invited world leaders.Gaza and Ukraine cast shadow over Trump speechTrump has struggled to deliver on his 2024 campaign promises to quickly end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His response has been also relatively muted as some longtime American allies are using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that the U.S. and Israel vehemently oppose.France became the latest nation to recognize Palestinian statehood on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict. More nations are expected to follow.Leavitt said Trump sees the push as “just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies.”Trump, for his part, in the lead-up to Tuesday’s address has tried to keep focus on getting agreement on a ceasefire that leads Hamas to releasing its remaining 48 hostages, including 20 still believed be alive.“I’d like to see a diplomatic solution,” Trump told reporters Sunday evening. “There’s a lot of anger and a lot of hatred, you know that, and there has been for a lot of years … but hopefully we’ll get something done.”Leaders in the room will also be eager to hear what Trump has to say about Russia’s war in Ukraine.It’s been more than a month since Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders. Following those meetings, Trump announced that he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But Putin hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine since the Alaska summit.European leaders as well as American lawmakers, including some key Republican allies of Trump, have urged the president to dial up stronger sanctions on Russia. Trump, meanwhile, has pressed Europe to stop buying Russian oil, the engine feeding Putin’s war machine.Trump has Oslo dreamsDespite his struggles to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has made clear that he wants to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, repeatedly making the claim that he’s “ended seven wars” since he returned to office.He points to his administration’s efforts to end conflicts between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.Although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn’t as clear cut as he claims.Still, Trump’s Nobel ambitions could have impact on the tenor of his address, said Mark Montgomery, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.“His speech is going to be driven by how much he really believes he has a chance of getting a Nobel Peace Prize,” Montgomery said. “If he thinks that’s still something he can do, then I think he knows you don’t go into the U.N. and drop a grenade down the tank hatch and shut it, right?”___AP journalists Tracy Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
NEW YORK —
Watched by the world, President Donald Trump returns to the United Nations on Tuesday to deliver a wide-ranging address on his second-term foreign policy achievements and lament that “globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order,” according to the White House.
Watch live video from the United Nations in the video player above
World leaders will be listening closely to his remarks at the U.N. General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish U.S. support for the world body in his first eight months in office. Even in his first term, he was no fan of the flavor of multilateralism that the United Nations espouses.
After his latest inauguration, he issued a first-day executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization. That was followed by his move to end U.S. participation in the U.N. Human Rights Council, and ordering up a review of U.S. membership in hundreds of intergovernmental organizations aimed at determining whether they align with the priorities of his “America First” agenda.
“There are great hopes for it, but it’s not being well run, to be honest,” Trump said of the U.N. last week.
The U.S. president’s speech is typically among the most anticipated moments of the annual assembly. This one comes at one of the most volatile moments in the world body’s 80-year-old history. Global leaders are being tested by intractable wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, uncertainty about the economic and social impact of emerging artificial intelligence technology, and anxiety about Trump’s antipathy for the global body.
Trump has also raised new questions about the American use of military force in his return to the White House, after ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June and a trio of strikes this month on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea.
The latter strikes, including at least two fatal attacks on boats that originated from Venezuela, has raised speculation in Caracas that Trump is looking to set the stage for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Some U.S. lawmakers and human rights advocates say that Trump is effectively carrying out extrajudicial killings by using U.S. forces to lethally target alleged drug smugglers instead of interdicting the suspected vessels, seizing any drugs and prosecuting the suspects in U.S. courts.
“This is by far the most stressed the U.N. system has ever been in its 80 years,” said Anjali K. Dayal, a professor of international politics at Fordham University in New York.
Trump to hold one-on-one talks with world leaders
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump would tout “the renewal of American strength around the world” and his efforts to help end several wars.
“The president will also touch upon how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, and he will articulate his straightforward and constructive vision for the world,” Leavitt said.
Following his speech, Trump will hold one-on-one meetings with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union. He will also hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
He’ll return to Washington after hosting a reception Tuesday night with more than 100 invited world leaders.
Gaza and Ukraine cast shadow over Trump speech
Trump has struggled to deliver on his 2024 campaign promises to quickly end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His response has been also relatively muted as some longtime American allies are using this year’s General Assembly to spotlight the growing international campaign for recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that the U.S. and Israel vehemently oppose.
France became the latest nation to recognize Palestinian statehood on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the U.N. aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict. More nations are expected to follow.
Leavitt said Trump sees the push as “just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies.”
Trump, for his part, in the lead-up to Tuesday’s address has tried to keep focus on getting agreement on a ceasefire that leads Hamas to releasing its remaining 48 hostages, including 20 still believed be alive.
“I’d like to see a diplomatic solution,” Trump told reporters Sunday evening. “There’s a lot of anger and a lot of hatred, you know that, and there has been for a lot of years … but hopefully we’ll get something done.”
Leaders in the room will also be eager to hear what Trump has to say about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It’s been more than a month since Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders. Following those meetings, Trump announced that he was arranging for direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy. But Putin hasn’t shown any interest in meeting with Zelenskyy and Moscow has only intensified its bombardment of Ukraine since the Alaska summit.
European leaders as well as American lawmakers, including some key Republican allies of Trump, have urged the president to dial up stronger sanctions on Russia. Trump, meanwhile, has pressed Europe to stop buying Russian oil, the engine feeding Putin’s war machine.
Trump has Oslo dreams
Despite his struggles to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has made clear that he wants to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, repeatedly making the claim that he’s “ended seven wars” since he returned to office.
He points to his administration’s efforts to end conflicts between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.
Although Trump helped mediate relations among many of these nations, experts say his impact isn’t as clear cut as he claims.
Still, Trump’s Nobel ambitions could have impact on the tenor of his address, said Mark Montgomery, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.
“His speech is going to be driven by how much he really believes he has a chance of getting a Nobel Peace Prize,” Montgomery said. “If he thinks that’s still something he can do, then I think he knows you don’t go into the U.N. and drop a grenade down the tank hatch and shut it, right?”
___
AP journalists Tracy Brown and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
ROSTOCK, Germany — Germany has committed billions to beefing up its military’s equipment after years of neglect. Now it’s trying to persuade more people to join up and serve.
More than 3½ years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine kick-started efforts to revitalize the Bundeswehr, the challenge of strengthening the German military has grown along with fears of the threat from Moscow.
Alongside the higher military spending that Germany and NATO allies agreed on this year, the alliance is encouraging members to increase personnel numbers. Berlin wants to add tens of thousands of service members.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz says that “because of its size and its economic strength, Germany is the country that must have the strongest conventional army in NATO on the European side.” He hasn’t defined that goal in detail, but the tone underscores a shift in a country that emerged only gradually from its post-World War II military reticence after reunification in 1990.
Earlier this month, the military’s top brass watched as a ferry packed with armored vehicles was escorted out of the Baltic port of Rostock, drones were intercepted in the air and on the water and fighter jets circled above. That was part of an exercise focused on moving troops and equipment to Lithuania — an ally on NATO’s eastern flank where modern Germany is stationing a brigade abroad on a long-term basis for the first time.
“Credible deterrence requires operational readiness,” said the Bundeswehr’s chief of staff, Gen. Carsten Breuer. “And operational readiness requires matériel, personnel, training and … exercising, exercising, exercising.”
There’s plenty to do on both matériel and personnel, in a country where the military was often viewed with indifference or suspicion given the legacy of the Nazi past.
Germany suspended conscription for men in 2011 and subsequently struggled to attract large numbers of short-term volunteers. In recent years, the number of military personnel has hovered just above 180,000 — compared with 300,000, more than a third conscripts, in 2001. Now the government wants to raise it to 260,000 over the next decade, and says it will also need around 200,000 reservists, more than double the current figure.
Better pay is one way to make the Bundeswehr more attractive, said Thomas Wiegold, a defense policy expert who runs the Augen geradeaus! military blog. But a key issue is fixing the military’s longstanding equipment problems, “because a force that doesn’t have enough tanks, that doesn’t have enough ships, that also doesn’t have enough barracks, is not particularly attractive for applicants.”
F-35 fighter jets, Chinook transport helicopters, Leopard 2 tanks, frigates and other hardware are on order after a 100 billion-euro ($117 billion) special fund was set up in 2022 to modernize the Bundeswehr, but they will take time to arrive. This year, Merz’s new coalition enabled higher spending by loosening strict rules on incurring debt, a big step for a historically debt-averse nation.
After conscription was suspended, the Bundeswehr gave up 48 barracks. A report by the parliamentary commissioner for the military earlier this year said that some remaining barracks and other facilities are still in a “disastrous” state after years of penny-pinching. A program to build new military accommodation now aims to build 76 new buildings by 2031.
The Cabinet last month approved plans for a new military service system meant to tackle the personnel challenge. It foresees more attractive pay and conditions for people who join up on a short-term basis, better training and more flexibility on how long people can serve.
The aim is to draw sufficient recruits without reviving conscription, an idea unpopular with the center-left junior partner in Merz’s coalition, but the plan leaves the door open to do so if not enough people volunteer.
In a first step beginning next year, the government plans to send questionnaires to young men and women turning 18 about their willingness and ability to serve, which men will be required to answer. Starting in mid-2027, young men will be required to undergo medical examinations, though not to sign up for the military.
“I think what is happening now is above all preparation for compulsory service that is possible later, because not only was compulsory service suspended in Germany 14 years ago, but also the whole apparatus to administer compulsory service was scrapped,” Wiegold said. “It is now gradually being built up again.”
There’s widespread skepticism in Merz’s conservative bloc that some kind of conscription can be avoided. It’s shared by the head of the BundeswehrVerband, essentially a union for service members.
“We must not suggest to people in this country that this growth will certainly happen voluntarily — I strongly doubt that,” its head, Col. André Wüstner, said in an interview on German public television, suggesting that Germany should move “step by step” to compulsory service.
Wiegold noted that the military has had a different status in modern Germany than in countries such as Britain, France and the U.S. because of the country’s history, and consequently there’s no “great enthusiasm” to join up. But the invasion of Ukraine means that “the perception of the Bundeswehr as an important element of Germany has become much greater.”
Authorities have worked to raise esteem for military service. Ads exhorting people to consider joining the military have shown up on pizza boxes, kebab wrappers and elsewhere. The Bundeswehr has sent personalized postcards to 16 and 17 year olds pointing to career opportunities. Its social media efforts include a “Bundeswehr career” channel on TikTok.
In June, Germany marked an annual “veterans’ day” for the first time. Recruits are being honored with swearing-in ceremonies in prominent places — recently, for example, outside the regional parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia, the country’s most populous state.
One of the newly trained recruits in Duesseldorf, a 21-year-old woman who like others was only permitted to give her first name, Lina, said that the state of the world “is getting ever more tense and, if no one goes into this service, who will do it?”
Another, 26-year-old Vincent, said that he wanted to contribute to the defense of Germany and its European allies, “and I can’t say that’s important and not do something for it myself.”
___
Kerstin Sopke in Berlin, Daniel Niemann in Duesseldorf and Pietro De Cristofaro in Rostock, contributed to this report.
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — On a battlefield swarming with deadly Russian drones, Ukrainian soldiers are increasingly turning to nimble, remote-controlled armored vehicles that can perform an array of tasks and spare troops from potentially life-threatening missions.
The Ukrainian army is especially eager to deploy what soldiers refer to as “robots on wheels” as it faces a shortage of soldiers in a war that has dragged on for more than 3 ½ years. The vehicles look like miniature tanks and can ferry supplies, clear mines and evacuate the wounded or dead.
“It cannot fully replace people,” said the commander of a platoon of the 20th Lyubart Brigade who goes by the call sign Miami and spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military rules. “I would put it this way: A person can go in there, but for a human it’s (sometimes) far too dangerous.”
The robotic vehicles are mostly made by Ukrainian companies and range in cost from about $1,000 to as much as $64,000, depending on their size and capabilities.
While they have become vital to Ukrainian troops along the 1,000 kilometer (620 mile) front line, such vehicles are not new to warfare.
The German army used a remote-controlled miniature tank – tethered by a wire — called the Goliath in World War II. In recent decades, the U.S., Israel, Britain and China have developed modern versions used for combat engineering and other battlefield roles, according to Ben Barry, a fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. But Ukraine’s extensive deployment of these vehicles is noteworthy and could lead to advances, Barry said.
The Russian army also uses remote-controlled vehicles.
Miami joined the army on the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. He served as an infantryman and later a drone operator before his latest assignment. His path reflects how the war itself has evolved.
“I couldn’t even imagine that I would become a (drone) pilot,” he said. “But war is progress, and we cannot stand aside.”
The robotic vehicles his team deploys are armored and mounted on either wheels or tracks. Painted in military colors, they crawl slowly over rubble or dirt roads, easily navigating terrain that would be difficult – or too dangerous — for soldiers.
“They arrive in one condition, and we improve them,” Miami said. “We adapt the controls to work better (in the face of Russia’s) electronic warfare so the connection doesn’t cut off.”
Miami’s 10-man team is just starting to incorporate the machines into their missions, mostly using them to deliver food and ammunition to soldiers near the front.
Just like remote-controlled, or first-person view, drones, the use of these vehicles will only grow, said a soldier in Miami’s unit who goes by the call sign Akim and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“When FPV drones first appeared, they weren’t popular, but those who pioneered them, (now) show (the best) results,” said Akim.
Before sending a remote-controlled vehicle forward, Akim flies a drone along the planned route to check for obstacles or mines.
Operating from a cramped basement near Kostiantynivka, less than 10 kilometers from the front, Akim can hear the muffled thuds of aerial bombs, the sharp cracks of artillery and the buzzing of drones.
Kostiantynivka, once home to 67,000 people, is a largely deserted city on a shrinking patch of Ukrainian-held territory just west of Bakhmut. It is nearly encircled on three sides by Russian forces. Apartment blocks are scarred by strikes, smoke still rises from recent bombings, and the roads leading toward nearby Pokrovsk are littered with burned-out cars.
The aerial drone allows Akim to scout the city and routes without risking his life.
“Every time a drone or a robot does something, it means one of our fighters doesn’t have to,” Akim said. On top of that, “the machine doesn’t get tired. It can carry as much as needed.”
Akim works in tandem with another soldier operating the robotic vehicle with a joystick. The vehicle has no camera; instead, Akim’s drone feed provides its “eyes.”
On one recent mission, the team loaded it with 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of supplies — ammunition, fuel, water and food — and sent it several kilometers to drone operators closer to the front. The machine moved forward at about six kilometers per hour, delivered its cargo into a well-hidden position in the forest, and returned to base.
Because robotic vehicles move more slowly than cars or trucks, and usually across open ground, they are an easy target — and this is one factor slowing their adoption.
“That’s why we haven’t evacuated many wounded (on these vehicles),” said Miami. “Some refuse to leave because it’s dangerous.”
There are also cost considerations, with the vehicles his platoon uses averaging roughly 400,000 hryvnias ($9,700). “That’s not too expensive, but when three or four get destroyed in a week, the total adds up,” Miami said.
To make them less vulnerable, Miami and his soldiers have tried welding grill-like cages onto the machines or attaching metallic rollers in front to detect mines. The war provides real-time feedback that is incorporated into newer models being built.
___
Vasilisa Stepanenko and Yehor Konovalov contributed to this report.
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack targeting regions across Ukraine early Saturday, killing at least three people and wounding dozens more, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said attacks took place across nine regions, including Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Kyiv, Odesa, Sumy and Kharkiv.
“The enemy’s target was our infrastructure, residential areas and civilian enterprises,” he said, adding that a missile equipped with cluster munitions struck a multi-story building in the city of Dnipro.
“Each such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to intimidate civilians and destroy our infrastructure,” he said in a statement on his official Telegram.
Zelenskyy said he expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week. He also said the first ladies of Ukraine and the United States would likely hold separate talks focused on humanitarian issues involving children.
His comments, which he made on Friday, were embargoed until Saturday morning.
At least 30 people were wounded in the attack in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, local governor Serhii Lysak said. Several high-rise buildings and homes were damaged in the eastern city of Dnipro.
In the Kyiv region, local authorities said there were strikes in the areas of Bucha, Boryspil and Obukhiv. A home and cars were damaged. In the western region of Lviv, Gov. Maxim Kozytsky said two cruise missiles were shot down.
Russia launched 619 drones and missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said in a statement. In total, 579 drones, eight ballistic missiles and 32 cruise missiles were detected. Ukrainian forces shot down and neutralized 552 drones, two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles.
“During the air strike, tactical aviation, in particular F-16 fighters, effectively worked on the enemy’s cruise missiles. Western weapons once again prove their effectiveness on the battlefield,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Russia denies violating Estonia’s airspace
Russia’s Defense Ministry denied its aircraft violated Estonia’s airspace, after Tallinn reported three fighter jets crossed into its territory on Friday without permission and remained there for 12 minutes.
The incident, described by Estonia’s top diplomat as an “unprecedentedly brazen” incursion, happened just over a week after NATO planes downed Russian drones over Poland, heightening fears that Moscow’s war on Ukraine could spill over.
In an online statement published early Saturday, Moscow stressed its fighter jets had kept to neutral Baltic Sea waters more than 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Estonia’s Vaindloo Island in the Gulf of Finland.
“On September 19, three MiG-31 fighter jets completed a scheduled flight from Karelia to an airfield in the Kaliningrad region,” it said, referencing the Russian enclave sandwiched between Polish and Lithuanian territory.
“The flight was conducted in strict compliance with international airspace regulations and did not violate the borders of other states, as confirmed through objective monitoring,” the statement said without providing details about the monitoring operation.
On Friday, Estonian officials said Tallinn had summoned a Russian diplomat to protest, and also moved “to start consultations among the allies” under NATO’s Article 4, which states that parties would confer whenever the territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.
Zelenskyy hopes to finalize security guarantees in New York meetings
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine and its partners have laid the groundwork for long-term security guarantees and that he hopes to gauge how close they are to finalizing such commitments during next week’s meetings in New York.
He said European nations are prepared to move forward with a framework if the United States remains closely engaged. He noted that discussions have taken place at multiple levels, including among military leadership and general staffs from both Europe and the U.S.
“I would like to receive signals for myself on how close we are to understanding that the security guarantees from all partners will be the kind we need,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy said sanctions against Russia must remain on the table if peace efforts stall, and that he plans to press the issue in talks with Trump.
“If the war continues and there is no movement toward peace, we expect sanctions,” he said, adding that Trump is looking for strong steps from Europe.
Ukrainian defense forces destroyed a giant radio telescope in Crimea, a powerful planetary transmitter once used to support deep space missions and METI—the attempt to message extraterrestrial civilizations.
Ukraine destroyed Yevpatoria RT-70 in a drone attack to prevent Russia from using it for military communication purposes, Space.com reported. Russian defense forces reportedly carried out recent upgrades to the telescope to support attacks on Ukrainian territory, but the 230-foot (70-meter) antenna dish was built by the Soviet Union to study Venus and Mars and communicate with deep space probes.
The RT-70 was one of the largest radio telescopes in the world. Built in the 1970s, the telescope was capable of delivering and receiving signals for space experiments, including those conducted by SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Evidence).
The telescope was used to send several extraterrestrial messages. Between 1999 and 2003, the RT-70 was used to send two sets of interstellar messages to nearby stars as part of the Cosmic Call experiment. In 2001, a group of Russian teenagers used the telescope to send the Teen Age Message signal, a series of interstellar radio transmissions directed toward six Sun-like stars. In 2008, RT-70 was used to transmit a high-powered message to Gliese 581c, a super-Earth exoplanet. The message, aptly titled “A Message from Earth,” contained 501 images, text, and songs selected by the public through a competition.
Aside from attempting to contact extraterrestrial intelligence, RT-70 was also used to support several Soviet-era space missions like Venera, Vega, and Phobos to explore Venus and Mars. It was also used as part of the European Space Agency’s Mars Express and Rosetta missions.
The radio telescope has been under Russian control since its annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Russia reportedly used the telescope to improve the accuracy of its GLONASS satellite navigation system, which is similar to GPS, according to Space.com.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, resulted in major loss for Ukrainian research facilities, according to a recent report in Nature Astronomy. Astronomical observatories have sustained heavy damage, and much equipment has been destroyed, the report stated. A 2024 UNESCO report estimated that $1.26 billion is needed to restore public research infrastructure in Ukraine.
KYIV, Ukraine — Poland is drawing on Ukraine’s expertise in battle-tested drone warfare, establishing joint military training programs and manufacturing projects, officials from Warsaw and Kyiv announced Thursday, just over a week after Russian drones entered Polish airspace and exposed NATO’s vulnerability to a new generation of uncrewed systems.
Drones used for defense and attack have taken a central battlefield role in the more than three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, transforming how wars are waged, and countries are keen to master the new and quickly developing battlefield technology.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said he and his visiting Polish counterpart Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz signed a memorandum to create a joint working group for uncrewed systems.
The neighbors will jointly test new methods of intercepting drones, exchange military experience in the field of drone warfare, and work to ensure more compatibility between the Ukrainian and Polish armed forces, Shmyhal wrote on Telegram.
Last week’s Russian incursion into Poland, which caused NATO to send fighter jets to shoot down the drones, heightened tensions in Eastern Europe about Moscow’s territorial ambitions. The war between Russia and Ukraine has continued despite months of U.S. efforts to stop it, including a U.S.-Russia summit meeting in Alaska.
NATO announced it was strengthening its defensive posture on its eastern flank bordering Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Moscow, meanwhile, showcased its conventional and nuclear military power in long-planned exercises with Belarus that fueled Western concerns about Russia’s intentions.
The Ukrainian and Polish government ministers also signed in Kyiv an agreement to work together more closely on defense.
“We are taking our security cooperation to a new level in response to Russian terror, which threatens Ukraine and other European countries,” Shmyhal said.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down or jammed 48 out of 75 Russian drones launched at the country overnight, the air force said Thursday.
Rail infrastructure was again hit, part of a recent pattern of strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that strikes on energy and railway infrastructure are meant to disrupt supply lines and create social tension.
Ukraine has been developing long-range drones and missiles that seek to take the battle to Russia instead of just defending itself from the invasion.
Two Ukrainian drones attacked the neftekhim Salavat oil refinery, owned by the state oil company Gazprom, in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, starting a fire, Gov. Radiy Khabirov said Thursday. There were no casualties, he said.
The target was more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine.
An official in Ukraine’s Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that it carried out the refinery attack.
The drones struck the primary oil refining unit at the complex, and a large fire broke out, according to the source who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the operation.
Ukraine has increasingly taken aim at Russia’s refineries. Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter, with revenue from the sector crucial for its war effort. Sustained Ukrainian drone strikes as well as a seasonal rise in demand recently have brought shortages at the pumps.
Ukrainian drones have struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries, sparking a fire, Russian officials and Ukraine’s military said Sunday.
The overnight strike on the Kirishi refinery, in Russia’s northwestern Leningrad region, follows weeks of Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure that Kyiv says fuels Moscow’s war effort.
The facility, operated by Russian company Surgutneftegas, produces close to 17.7 million metric tons per year (355,000 barrels per day) of crude, and is one of Russia’s top three by output.
More than three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, drones continue to be a key weapon for both sides. Multiple Russian drones crossed into Poland on Wednesday, prompting NATO to send fighter jets to shoot them down and underlining long-held concerns that the fighting might spill over beyond Ukraine’s borders.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, explosions and a fire were reported at the Kirishi refinery. It posted a photo appearing to show a blaze and clouds of smoke against a night sky.
Regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said that three drones were downed overnight in the Kirishi area, with falling debris sparking a fire at the facility. He said that no one was injured, and the blaze was put out.
As of Sunday afternoon, Russian officials offered no further comment on the consequences of the strike, and it wasn’t immediately possible to verify these. At least 80 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russia, the annexed Crimean Peninsula and the adjacent Sea of Azov, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Ukrainian drones previously targeted the Kirishi refinery in March, causing minor damage, according to social media posts published at the time by Drozdenko.
Russia remains the world’s second-largest oil exporter, but a seasonal rise in demand and sustained Ukrainian drone strikes have caused gasoline shortages in recent weeks. Gas stations have run dry in some regions of the country, with motorists waiting in long lines and officials resorting to rationing or cutting off sales altogether.
To try to ease the shortage, Russia has paused gasoline exports, with officials on Wednesday declaring a full ban until Sept. 30 and a partial ban affecting traders and intermediaries until Oct. 31.
Also in the Leningrad region, a diesel locomotive was derailed during the night, local Gov. Drozdenko said Sunday. He said the incident occurred near Gatchina south of St. Petersburg. Russia’s No. 2 city, which was known as Leningrad during Soviet times, is surrounded by but not included in the region of the same name.
Drozdenko said the locomotive’s driver was trapped in his cabin, and later died of his injuries while being transported to a hospital. He added an official investigation would check for signs of sabotage.
Separately, a bomb planted along railway lines in Russia’s Oryol region has killed three people, according to reports by local Gov. Andrey Klychkov. He said victims had been inspecting the track, and identified one as a member of Russia’s National Guard.
According to Klychkov’s posts, published late Saturday and Sunday, the incident happened near the town of Maloarkhangelsk, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Russian officials didn’t immediately comment on what caused it.
Elsewhere, as some Russians headed to the polls to elect local governors and deputies on Sunday, the head of the Russia’s main electoral body told reporters that it and Russia’s electronic voting system were facing a large wave of cyberattacks.
Ella Pamfilova, of the Central Election Commission, said that “an unprecedented attack is underway” on its digital systems, but assured the public that it wouldn’t affect the outcome of the votes.
The commission’s website appeared to be down for much of Sunday, when 21 out of Russia’s more than 80 regions were set to elect new governors. Seats in nearly a dozen regional assemblies and various municipal bodies were also up for grabs.
But few expected a meaningful challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party and its supporters, following a sweeping crackdown on dissent that came with Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
Almost 100 denial-of-service attacks were recorded on Sunday on online resources linked to the elections, according to Alexander Izhko of Russia’s media and digital watchdog, Roskomnadzor. Izhko spoke at a media briefing Sunday. A denial-of-service attack involves flooding a site with data to overwhelm it and knock it offline.
Russian officials didn’t immediately comment on who they thought might be behind the alleged attacks.
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. — President Donald Trump said Saturday he believes the Russia-Ukraine war would end if all NATO countries stopped buying oil from Russia and placed tariffs on China of 50% to 100% for its purchases of Russian petroleum.
Trump posted on his social media site that NATO’S commitment to winning the war “has been far less than 100%” and the purchase of Russian oil by some members of the alliance is “shocking.” As if speaking with NATO members, he said: “It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia.”
Since 2023, NATO member Turkey has been the third largest buyer of Russian oil, after China and India. according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Other members of the 32-state alliance involved in purchasing Russian oil include Hungary and Slovakia.
Trump’s post arrives after the Wednesday flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland shot down the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incursion and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
While Trump as a candidate promised to end the war quickly, he has yet to hit the pressure points needed to end the violence and has at times been seen as reluctant to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin. Congress is currently trying to get the U.S. president to back a bill toughening sanctions, after Trump last month hosted Putin in Alaska for talks that failed to deliver on progress toward peace.
The U.S. and its allies are seeking to show a firmer degree of resolve against Russia. At an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting Friday, acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea said America “will defend every inch of NATO territory” and that the drones entering Poland “intentionally or otherwise show immense disrespect for good-faith U.S. efforts to bring an end to this conflict.”
Britain on Friday also took steps to penalize the trading of Russian oil, including a ban on 70 vessels allegedly used in its transportation. The United Kingdom also sanctioned 30 individuals and companies, included businesses based in China and Turkey, that have supplied Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.
Trump in his post Saturday said a NATO ban on Russian oil plus tariffs on China would “also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR.”
The president said that NATO members should put the 50% to 100% tariffs on China and withdraw them if the war that launched with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine ends.
“China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia,” he posted, and powerful tariffs “will break that grip.”
The U.S. president has already placed a 25% import tax on goods from India for its buying of Russian energy products.
In his post, Trump said responsibility for the war fell on his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He did not include in that list Putin, who launched the invasion.
Trump’s post builds on a call Friday with finance ministers in the Group of Seven, a forum of industrialized democracies. During the call, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on their counterparts to have a “unified front” to cut off “the revenues funding Putin’s war machine,” according to Greer’s office.
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine (AP) — With the Russian advance deeper into the Donetsk region, the air in Ukraine’s last strongholds is thick with dread and the future for civilians who remain grows ever more uncertain.
In Kostiantynivka, once home to 67,000 people, there is no steady supply of power, water or gas. Shelling intensifies, drones fill the skies and the city has become unbearable, driving out the last remaining civilians.
Kramatorsk, by contrast, still shows signs of life. Just 25 kilometers (15 miles) to the north, the prewar population of 147,000 has thinned, but restaurants and cafes remain open. The streets are mostly intact. Though the city has endured multiple strikes and is now dominated by the military, daily routines persist in ways that are no longer possible in nearby towns.
Once the industrial heart of Ukraine, Donetsk is being steadily reduced to rubble. Many residents fear its cities may never be rebuilt and, if the war drags on, Russia eventually will swallow what is left.
“(Donetsk) region has been trampled, torn apart, turned into dust,” said Natalia Ivanova, a woman in her 70s who fled Kostiantynivka in early September after a missile struck near her home. Russian President Vladimir Putin “will go all the way … I’m sure of it. I have no doubt more cities will be destroyed.”
An armoured vehicle drives on a road near Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Olena Voronkova receives orders in his coffee shop in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Hanna Arhirova)
A man walks past a central square in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Police officers evacuate Maria Hodus, 90, from her house in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
1 of 4
An armoured vehicle drives on a road near Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Kostiantynivka now sits on a shrinking patch of Ukrainian-held territory, wedged just west of Russian-occupied Bakhmut and nearly encircled on three sides by Moscow’s forces.
“They was always shooting,” Ivanova said. “You’d be standing there … and all you’d hear was the whistle of shells.”
She had two apartments. One was destroyed and the other one damaged. For months, she watched buildings disappear in an instant, while swarms of buzzing drones “like beetles” filled the sky, she said.
“I never thought I’d leave,” she added. “I was a stolid soldier, holding on. I’m a pensioner and it (the home) was my comfort zone.”
For years now, Ivanova had watched the region’s cities fall: Bakhmut, then Avdiivka, and others. But the war, she said, still felt far away, even as it closed in on her doorstep.
“I felt for those people,” she said. “But it wasn’t enough to make me leave.”
A blast near her building finally forced her out. The explosion bent her windows so badly she couldn’t shut them before fleeing. Her apartment remained wide open. She left her whole life behind in Kostiantynivka, the city where she was born.
“Please, stop it,” she pleaded, directing her appeal to world leaders as she sat in an evacuation hub shortly after fleeing. “It’s the poorest people who suffer the most. This war is senseless and stupid. We’re dying like animals — by the dozens.”
Living through it together
Olena Voronkova decided to leave Kostiantynivka earlier, in May, when she could no longer run her two businesses: a beauty salon and a cafe.
She and her family relocated to nearby Kramatorsk, which is so close yet, in many ways, far away, as she is no longer able to enter her hometown. It wasn’t the first loss she had suffered since the war began. In 2023, a rocket strike from a multiple-launch system severely damaged their house.
The move to Kramatorsk wasn’t by choice, she added, but “because the circumstances left us no other option.”
First came the mandatory evacuation orders. Then a curfew so strict they could only move around the city for four hours a day. Then came the floods of remote-controlled drones.
“We’re used to life in Donetsk region. We feel good here. Kramatorsk is familiar. A lot of people from our city moved here — even local municipal workers,” Voronkova said.
Not long after arriving in Kramatorsk, she opened a cafe that is nearly identical to the one she left behind. She said the space just happened to look similar. It has high white walls and ornate mirrors she brought from her beauty salon, which is now in the combat zone.
The cafe has since become a refuge for others who also fled Kostiantynivka.
“At first there was hope that maybe some homes would survive — that people might go back,” she said. “Now we see it’s unlikely anyone has anything left. The city is turning into another Bakhmut, Toretsk or Avdiivka. Everything is being destroyed.”
She described the mood as “heavy” because “people are losing hope” and it felt easier in Kramatorsk because everyone shared the same loss, which created a sense of connection and mutual support.
“No one really knows where to go next. Everyone sees that Russia isn’t stopping. And that’s where the hopelessness begins. No one has a direction anymore. The uncertainty is everywhere,” she said.
Seizing the day
War is slowly draining the life out of Kramatorsk, as if warning that it may be the next city to be reduced to rubble.
Daria Horlova still remembers it as a bustling place where, at 9 p.m., life in the central square was just getting started. Now it’s deserted at all hours and 9 p.m. is when a strict curfew begins. The city is regularly bombed thanks to its proximity to the front line about 21 kilometers (13 miles) east.
“It’s still terrifying — when something’s flying overhead or strikes nearby, especially when it hits the city,” the 18-year-old said. “You want to cry, but there are no emotions left. No strength.”
Horlova studies remotely at a local university that relocated to another region and works as a nail artist. One day, she hopes to open her own salon. For now, she and her boyfriend are stuck in limbo, unsure of what to do next.
“It’s terrifying that most of the Donetsk region is occupied — and that it was Russia who attacked,” she said. “That’s why it feels like everything could change at any moment. Just look at Kostiantynivka — not long ago, life there was normal. And now …”
To distract herself from the anxiety, and the difficult decision she might soon have to make to leave, Horlova tries to focus on what brings her joy in the moment.
She already was evacuated from Kramatorsk once, earlier in the war, and doesn’t want to repeat it.
Instead of dwelling on what the future could hold, she asked her boyfriend, a tattoo artist, to ink a large tattoo of a goat skull on her right leg, something she has dreamed about for years.
“I think you just have to do things — and do them as soon as you can,” she said. “Being here, I know this tattoo will be a memory of Kramatorsk, if I end up leaving.”
Vasilisa Stepanenko and Yehor Konovalov contributed to this report.
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia hit Ukraine’s capital with drone and missiles Sunday in the largest aerial attack since the war began, killing four people across the country and damaging a key government building.
Russia attacked with 810 drones and decoys, Ukraine’s air force said, adding it shot down 747 drones and four missiles.
This page requires Javascript.
Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Home delivery and Digital Access customers of The Daily News get deals for restaurants, hotels, attractions and other businesses, locally and across the country.
Listen to Local Pulse live at 9 a.m. on Saturdays or go back and listen to previous shows.
Videos
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine before a peace agreement has been signed would be considered “legitimate targets” by Moscow’s forces.
“If any troops appear there, especially now while fighting is ongoing, we assume that they will be legitimate targets,” he said during a panel at the Eastern Economic Forum in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.
Putin also dismissed the idea of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after a final peace deal, saying “no one should doubt” that Moscow would comply with a treaty to halt its 3½-year full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
He said that security guarantees would be needed for both Russia and Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later said that Moscow would need “legally binding documents” to outline such agreements. “Of course, you can’t just take anybody’s word for something,” he told Russian news outlet Argumenty i Fakty.
Putin’s comments follow remarks from French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that 26 of Ukraine’s allies have pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for Ukraine once fighting ends.
Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris of the so-called coalition of the willing, a group of 35 countries that support Ukraine. He said that 26 of the countries had committed to deploying troops to Ukraine — or to maintaining a presence on land, at sea or in the air — to help guarantee the country’s security the day after any ceasefire or peace is achieved.
Addressing the participants of the international economic conference the Ambrosetti Forum on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was important that security guarantees “start working now, during the war, and not only after it ends.”
He said he could not disclose more details as they are “sensitive and relate to the military sphere.”
Russian troops attacked Ukraine overnight with 157 strike and decoy drones, as well as seven missiles of various types, Ukraine’s air force reported Friday. Air defenses shot down or jammed 121 of the drones, it said.
One attack damaged multiple residential buildings in Dnipro in central Ukraine, regional administration head Serhii Lysak wrote on social media. The regional administration also said that an unspecified “facility” had been set alight in the strike, but did not give further details.
Lysak shared photos of residential buildings with damaged roofs, glass shards lying on the ground and people carrying wooden boards to cover broken windows. “Private homes were damaged. Windows in apartment buildings were shattered,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region north of Kyiv, Russian drones attacked infrastructure in the Novhorod-Siversk district, leaving at least 15 settlements without electricity, local authorities reported.
Elsewhere, Russian troops destroyed 92 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday. Local social media channels in the city of Ryazan, approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Moscow, reported that the city’s Rosneft oil refinery had been targeted. They shared videos that appeared to show a fire against the night sky.
Local Gov. Pavel Malkov said that drone debris had fallen on an “industrial enterprise” but did not give further details, instead warning residents not to post images of air defences on social media.
Shane Croucher is a Breaking News Editor based in London, UK. He has previously overseen the My Turn, Fact Check and News teams, and was a Senior Reporter before that, mostly covering U.S. news and politics. Shane joined Newsweek in February 2018 from IBT UK where he held various editorial roles covering different beats, including general news, politics, economics, business, and property. He is a graduate of the University of Lincoln, England. Languages: English. You can reach Shane by emailing s.croucher@newsweek.com
🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said troops from NATO allies in Ukraine would be viewed by Moscow as “legitimate targets,” as France, the U.K., and others pledge to put boots on the ground as part of security guarantees for Kyiv when the war ends.
Speaking at an Eastern Economic Forum panel event on Friday, September 5, Putin said one of the “root causes” of the conflict is “drawing Ukraine into NATO”.
“Therefore, if any troops appear there, especially now during the course of hostilities, we proceed from the assumption that they will be legitimate targets for destruction,” Putin said.
Robert Birsel is a Newsweek reporter based in Asia with a focus on political and general news. Robert joined Newsweek in 2025 from Radio Free Asia and had previously worked at Reuters. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics. You can get in touch with Robert by emailing r.birsel@newsweek.com. Languages: English.
Shane Croucher is a Breaking News Editor based in London, UK. He has previously overseen the My Turn, Fact Check and News teams, and was a Senior Reporter before that, mostly covering U.S. news and politics. Shane joined Newsweek in February 2018 from IBT UK where he held various editorial roles covering different beats, including general news, politics, economics, business, and property. He is a graduate of the University of Lincoln, England. Languages: English. You can reach Shane by emailing s.croucher@newsweek.com
🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was the initiative of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to send Pyongyang’s troops to fight against Ukrainian forces in Kursk.
South Korea estimates that some 2,000 North Korean troops died defending Kursk against a cross-border incursion by Ukraine.
Putin and Kim met in Beijing, China, where they are attending celebrations and a military parade to mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
“At your initiative, as is well known, your special units took part in the liberation of the Kursk region, in full accordance with our new treaty,” Putin said, originally in Russian, state news agency TASS reported.
“I want to note that your soldiers fought bravely and heroically.”
Kim told Putin it was North Korea’s “fraternal duty” to Russia to do so.
LONDON — Bulgaria will not investigate suspected Russian electronic interference with a top European official’s plane, officials said Monday — because this kind of GPS jamming is now so common.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was flying to Plovdiv, Bulgaria on Sunday when her plane was hit by GPS jamming. It landed safely but the disruption was the latest in a string of almost 80 incidents tracked by The Associated Press and blamed on Russia by Western officials since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.
This year, Nordic and Baltic nations — including Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia — have repeatedly warned about greater electronic interference from Russia disrupting communications with planes, ships and drones.
While Russian authorities suggest the jamming is defensive — to protect key cities and military infrastructure from Ukrainian drone attacks — Baltic officials say the depth of electronic interference has increased, causing navigation failures far from Russia’s borders.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the interference experienced by von der Leyen’s plane was part of a complex campaign by Russia against Europe which could have “potentially disastrous effects.”
Satellite communications systems — known collectively as the Global Navigation Satellite System or GNSS — receive precise time signals from satellites around 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) away in space. A smartphone, car, marine or aircraft navigation system compares how long it takes to receive signals from several different satellites to calculate an exact location.
But the signals can be interfered with — commonly known as jamming or spoofing.
Jamming means a receiver is overwhelmed by a strong radio signal transmitted in the same range where GNSS and other satellite navigation signals operate, leaving the receiver unable to fix a location or time. Spoofing involves transmitting fake signals which imitate a real GNSS satellite signal — commonly known as GPS — to mislead a phone, ship or aircraft into thinking it is in a different place.
In a military context, jamming could be used to stop an incoming missile or drone attack, whereas the idea behind spoofing is to “create deception,” said Thomas Withington, an expert in electronic warfare at the Royal United Services Institute in London.
It’s possible that Israel used spoofing technology to fly into Iranian airspace in June, when it killed top generals and struck nuclear sites, Withington suggested. Spoofing, he said, could have helped Israel deceive Iranian radar.
Long before the invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities deployed spoofing technology around the Kremlin in Moscow, causing chaos for taxi drivers or other motorists using GPS.
Russia “does not mind” if its own infrastructure is affected, as long as enemy activity is deterred, said Withington.
In August, Latvia’s Electronic Communications Office said it had identified at least three hot spots for electronic interference along borders with Russia in the Kaliningrad, Leningrad and Pskov regions. All three regions host important Russian military bases.
In April 2024, Finland’s national carrier Finnair temporarily suspended flights to Tartu, Estonia after it said two of its planes were prevented from landing because of GPS disruptions. At that time, Tartu airport required approaching planes to use GPS to land, although planes have — and use — other forms of navigation.
These include radio navigation and Inertial Navigation Systems, which determine where an aircraft — or submarine — is located by measuring its position in the air or water without relying on GPS.
Jamming and spoofing are common across the world and shouldn’t be a problem for pilots to deal with, said Withington. But they could impair decision-making at a time when other things are going wrong, he suggested.
Azerbaijan said the aircraft was hit by fire from the ground over southern Russia and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.
Russian officials said that at the time the aircraft was preparing to land in Grozny, Ukrainian drones were targeting the area around the airport.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said von der Leyen’s plane was not specifically targeted and called the jamming a “side effect” of the war in Ukraine.
Latvia’s Electronic Communications Office said it recorded 820 cases of interference with satellite signals in 2024, compared to 26 in 2022, and warned that the areas affected have recently “expanded significantly.”
In response, Baltic nations have banned drone flights in some areas near their borders with Russia and warned civilian drone pilots to assess signal stability before flying.
Sweden’s Maritime Administration said it received multiple reports of signal interference with ships in the Baltic Sea this year and in June officially warned sailors to use radar or landmarks for navigation.
In July, Lithuanian media reported that two German tourists accidentally flew a light aircraft into Russia and had to be guided back to Lithuania by experienced pilots.
Several states have complained about the electronic interference to the International Civil Aviation Organization but Russian officials dismissed the complaints and suggested they were politically motivated.
While jamming and spoofing were initially aimed at protecting Russian infrastructure, authorities have realized the tactics have a useful “second order of effect, which is that it creates disruption and disquiet among the nations President (Vladimir) Putin perceives as being his enemy,” said Withington.
While countries along Russia’s border appear to have largely mitigated the impact of Russian jamming in the air, there is potential for a serious incident at sea.
While sailors should rely on radar and charts, as well as GPS, to navigate, “anecdotal evidence” suggests some crews are “lazy,” and just rely on GPS, said Withington.
In that case, he said, if a large cargo ship crashes, “potentially you could have a disaster on your hands.”
VENICE, Italy — VENICE, Italy (AP) — Jude Law transforms into Vladimir Putin for Olivier Assayas’ “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” which has its world premiere Sunday at the Venice Film Festival.
The film is an adaptation of Giuliano da Empoli’s bestselling book of the same name, an account of the Russian President’s rise to power alongside a fictional adviser called Vadim Baranov, who is played by Paul Dano. It’s partially set in the early 1990s amid post-Soviet chaos.
Dano’s character was inspired by the real political strategist Vladislav Sourkov, who was considered the architect of the tightly controlled political system created under Putin. In 2013, he resigned his post of deputy prime minister.
“The Wizard of the Kremlin” is sure to provoke conversations as Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine continues. Efforts to stop the fighting with a ceasefire and end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II through a comprehensive peace settlement have made no progress despite intense diplomatic maneuvering.
The film marks the English language debut for the French filmmaker best known for films like “Clouds of Sils Maria” and “Personal Shopper,” as well as the miniseries “Carlos.” Alicia Vikander, who he directed in “Irma Vep,” also co-stars in “The Wizard of the Kremlin.”
Production took place in Latvia as they couldn’t film in Russia.
Assayas wrote in his director’s statement that it, “is not a film about the rise of one man — nor is it about the force with which power is imposed, or the reinvention of a nation that is both modern and archaic, once again under the yoke of totalitarianism. Rooted in real, contemporary events, it is instead a reflection on modern politics — or rather, the smoke screens behind which it now hides: cynical, deceptive, and toxic.”
He added: “’The Wizard of the Kremlin’ is not so much a political film as it is a film about politics — and the perversity of its methods, which now hold us all hostage.”
The film is playing in the main competition, with titles like “Frankenstein,”“Bugonia,” “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” “La Grazia ” and “No Other Choice” also vying for the top prizes, including acting and directing awards. Winners will be announced on Sept. 6.
The bombardment of drones and missiles was the first major Russian attack on Kyiv in weeks as U.S.-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction. Britain said the attack sabotaged peace efforts, while top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas summoned Russia’s EU envoy to Brussels over the strikes that damaged EU offices.
This page requires Javascript.
Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Home delivery and Digital Access customers of The Daily News get deals for restaurants, hotels, attractions and other businesses, locally and across the country.
Listen to Local Pulse live at 9 a.m. on Saturdays or go back and listen to previous shows.
Videos
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
[ad_2]
By HANNA ARHIROVA and SAMYA KULLAB – Associated Press
When a Ukrainian-made drone attacked an ammunition depot in Russia last September, it showcased Kyiv’s determination to strike deep behind enemy lines and the prowess of its defense industry.
The moment was especially gratifying for the woman in charge of manufacturing the drones that flew more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) to carry out this mission. For months after, Russia no longer had the means to keep up devastating glide bomb attacks like the one that had just targeted her native city of Kharkiv.
“Fighting in the air is our only real asymmetric advantage on the battlefield at the moment. We don’t have as much manpower or money as they have,” said Iryna Terekh, head of production at Fire Point.
Terekh spoke as she surveyed dozens of “deep-strike drones” that had recently come off the assembly line and would soon be used by Ukrainian forces to attack arms depots, oil refineries and other targets vital to the Kremlin’s war machine and economy.
Spurred by its existential fight against Russia — and limited military assistance from Western allies — Ukraine has fast become a global center for defense innovation. The goal is to match, if not outmuscle, Russia’s capabilities — and Fire Point is one of the companies leading the way.
The Associated Press was granted an exclusive look inside one of Fire Point’s dozens of covert factories. In a sprawling warehouse where rock music blared, executives showed off their signature FP-1 exploding drones that can travel up to 1,600 kilometers (994 miles). They also touted publicly for the first time a cruise missile they are developing that is capable of traveling 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles), and which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hopes will be mass-produced by the end of the year.
“We believe our best guarantee is not relying on somebody’s will to protect us, but rather our ability to protect ourselves,” said Arsen Zhumadilov, the head of the country’s arms procurement agency.
Ukraine’s government is now purchasing about $10 billion of weapons annually from domestic manufacturers. The industry has the capacity to sell triple that amount, officials say, and they believe sales to European allies could help it reach such potential in a matter of years.
Like most defense companies in Ukraine, Fire Point grew out of necessity after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Despite pleas from Ukrainian military officials, Western countries were unwilling to allow Kyiv to use their allies’ longer-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.
That’s when a group of close friends, experts from various fields, set out to mass-produce inexpensive drones that could match the potency of Iranian-made Shahed drones that Russia was firing into Ukraine with devastating consequences.
The company’s founders spoke with AP on the condition of anonymity out of concern for their safety and the security of their factories.
By pooling together knowledge from construction, game design and architecture, the company’s founders — who had no background in defense — came up with novel designs for drones that could fly further and strike with greater precision than most products already on the market. Their long-range drones had another benefit: they did not need to take off from an air field.
When Terekh — an architect — was hired in the summer of 2023, she was given a goal of producing 30 drones per month. Now the company makes roughly 100 per day, at a cost of $55,000 apiece.
The FP-1 looks more like a hastily made science project than something that would roll off the production lines of the world’s biggest defense contractors. “We removed unneeded, flashy glittery stuff,” she said.
But the FP-1 has been extremely effective on the battlefield.
With a payload of explosives weighing 60 kilograms (132 pounds), it is responsible for 60% of strikes deep inside Russian territory, including hits on oil refineries and weapons depots, according to Terekh. These strikes have helped to slow Russia’s advance along the 1,000 kilometer-long (620 mile-long) front line in eastern Ukraine, where army units have reported a sharp decline in artillery fire.
“I think the best drones, or among the best, are Ukrainian drones,” said Claude Chenuil, a former French military official who now works for a trade group that focuses on defense. “When the war in Ukraine ends, they will flood the market.”
Fire Point’s story is not entirely unique. Soon after Russia’s 2022 invasion, hundreds of defense companies sprouted almost overnight. The Ukrainian government incentivized innovation by relaxing regulations and making it easier for startups to work directly with military brigades.
Patriotic entrepreneurs in metallurgy, construction and information technology built facilities for researching and making weapons and munitions, with an emphasis on drones. The ongoing war allowed them to test out ideas almost immediately on the battlefield, and to quickly adapt to Russia’s changing tactics.
“Ukraine is in this very unique moment now where it is becoming, de facto, the Silicon Valley of defense,” said Ukrainian defense entrepreneur Yaroslav Azhnyuk. “The biggest strategic asset that we have is that we have been at war with Russia for 11 years.”
A case in point: Fire Point had initially sourced navigational equipment for its drones from a major Western firm, but before long Russia was able to disrupt their effectiveness using electronic warfare; so Fire Point developed its own software to outwit the enemy.
Because defense companies are high-value targets for Russia, many operate underground or hidden within civilian centers to evade detection. Although they are guarded by air defenses, the strategy has the disadvantage of putting civilians at risk. Many Ukrainians have died in imprecise Russian attacks that were likely targeting weapons facilities. Entrepreneurs said the alternative is to operate openly and face attacks that would set back the war effort.
On the day AP reporters visited the Fire Point factory, there were dozens of drones awaiting delivery. They would all be gone within 72 hours, shipped to the battlefield in inconspicuous cargo trucks.
The Fire Point team receives regular feedback from army units, and the company has reinvested most profits toward innovating quickly to keep pace with other drone makers. Increasingly, those profits are being directed to develop a new, more potent weapon.
The company completed testing this year for its first cruise missile, the FP-5. Capable of traveling 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) and landing within 14 meters (45 feet) of its target, the FP-5 is one of the largest such missile in the world, delivering a payload of 1,150 kilograms (2,535 pounds), independent experts said. Because initial versions of the missile came out pink after a factory error, they called it the Flamingo — and the name has stuck.
Fire Point is producing roughly one Flamingo per day, and by October they hope to build capacity to make seven per day, Terekh said.
Even as Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials pursue ways to end the war, Terekh said she is skeptical that Russia will accept terms for a real peace. “We are preparing for a bigger, much scarier war.”
___
Associated Press journalist Dmytro Zhyhinas contributed to this report.
By BARRY HATTON and KATIE MARIE DAVIES, Associated Press
The second Oval Office meeting in six months between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went off smoothly Monday, in sharp contrast to their disastrous encounter in February.
“I don’t want to hide the fact that I wasn’t sure it would go this way,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Washington. “But my expectations were not just met, they were exceeded.”
But despite the guarded optimism and friendly banter among the leaders, there was little concrete progress on the main obstacles to ending the war — and that deadlock likely favors Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces continue to make steady, if slow progress on the ground in Ukraine.
“Putin cannot get enough champagne or whatever he’s drinking,” Gabrielius Landsbergis, a former foreign minister of Lithuania, said of Monday’s meeting.
As NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told Fox News: “All the details have to be hammered out.”
Here is a look at the issues that need to be resolved:
Security guarantees for Ukraine
To agree to a peace deal with Russia, Ukraine wants assurances that it can deter any future attacks by the Kremlin’s forces.
President Donald Trump meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
That means, Zelenskyy says, a strong Ukrainian army that is provided with weapons and training by Western partners.
It could potentially also mean offering Ukraine a guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate, which sees an attack on one member of the alliance as an attack on all. How that would work is not clear.
Additionally, Kyiv’s European allies are looking to set up a force that could backstop any peace agreement in Ukraine.
A coalition of 30 countries, including European nations, Japan and Australia, have signed up to support the initiative, although the role that the U.S. might play in such a force is unclear.
European leaders, fearing Moscow’s territorial ambitions won’t stop in Ukraine, are keen to lock America’s military might into the plan.
Trump said he’ll help provide protection but stopped short of committing American troops to the effort, instead promising U.S. “coordination.”
Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of such a force, saying that it will not accept NATO troops in Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired an online meeting Tuesday of the coalition countries.
Once officials have discussed proposals in more detail, Rutte said, a virtual meeting will take place with Trump and European leaders.
Agreeing on a ceasefire
Ukraine and its European supporters have repeatedly called for a ceasefire while peace talks are held.
Putin has balked at that prospect. With his forces inching forward in Ukraine, he has little incentive to freeze their movement.
In this photo provided by Ukraine’s 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits practice military skills on a training ground on a sunflower field in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine’s 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
Ahead of his meeting with the Russian leader last week, Trump threatened Russia with “severe consequences” if it didn’t accept a ceasefire. Afterward, he dropped that demand and said it was best to focus on a comprehensive peace deal — as Putin has pushed for.
Trump said in Monday’s Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy that a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was “unnecessary.” But after his closed-door meeting with European leaders and Zelenskyy, Trump told reporters that “all of us would obviously prefer the immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace.”
Where Trump ultimately falls on that issue is important because it could affect how much Ukrainian land Russia has seized by the time the two sides get around to hammering out how much it could keep.
Occupied Ukrainian territory
Zelenskyy and European leaders said that Putin has demanded that Ukraine give up the Donbas, an industrial region in eastern Ukraine that has seen some of the most intense fighting but that Russian forces have failed to capture completely.
Ukrainian soldiers from air-defence unit of 59th brigade fire at Russian strike drones in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Moscow’s forces also hold Crimea as well as parts of six other regions — all adding up to about one-fifth of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has long noted the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits breaking up his country. He has also suggested the demand for territory would serve as a springboard for future invasion.
Rutte said the possibility of Ukraine ceding occupied territory to Russia in return for peace wasn’t discussed in Monday’s talks. That is an issue for Zelenskyy and Putin to consider together, he said to Fox News.
A Putin-Zelenskyy meeting
Zelenskyy has repeatedly suggested sitting down with Putin, even challenging the Russian leader to meet him as part of direct peace talks between the two sides in Turkey in May. Putin snubbed that offer, saying that significant progress on an agreement would have to be made before the pair met in person.
On Monday, Trump appeared to back Zelenskyy’s plan. “I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,” Trump said in a social media post.
He said he would join the two leaders afterward.
But when discussing a phone call held after the meeting between Trump and the Russian leader, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov gave no indication that either a bilateral or a trilateral meeting with Ukraine had been agreed.
European leaders know that Putin doesn’t want to meet Zelenskyy and that he won’t allow Western troops in Ukraine — but they’re expressing optimism that these things could happen in the hopes of forcing Putin to be the one to say no to Trump, according to Janis Kluge of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
“Europeans hype up expectations to create a reality in which Putin disappoints,” he wrote on X.
___
Associated Press writers Sam McNeil in Brussels and Emma Burrows in London contributed.
