Russian strikes have killed at least 37 people in Kyiv, most of them from a care home for the elderly, according to local Ukrainian officials.
It marks the deadliest attack on Ukraine’s capital this year, the Associated Press reports.
The strikes hit an ammunition depot, sparking a fire in the Bucha district overnight that spread to surrounding areas.
Dozens were injured with nearby infrastructure including residential buildings and the care facility for the elderly and people with disabilities suffering “significant damage”.
Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to punish those responsible and said criminal cases had already been opened on charges of official negligence.
He described it as a “terrible situation and terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people”.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry said it had successfully tested a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the US.
The missile, which has a range of more than 6,700km, was fired from the Arkhangelsk region and reached its designated target at the Kura test site in Kamchatka.
Key Points
- Russia hits Kyiv with deadly strike as dozens killed in care home
- Zelensky opens probe over stored explosives
- Kremlin says it sees EU as hostile and sees no hope for improved relations
- Russia tests nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile days after Ratcliffe visit
- Putin thinks Trump is ‘weakened’ by Iran war, says report
Russia continues strikes on Kyiv after dozens killed
07:35 , Harriette Boucher
Russia has continued its strikes on Ukraine’s capital overnight following its deadliest attack on Kyiv this year.
Authorities sent several air-raid alerts as fires were reported across the city, Kyiv Independent reported.
A residential building in Kyiv's Obolonskyi district was reportedly struck by a drone on Saturday night, causing a fire to break out.
Another downed drone was reported in Klitschko, where a fire also broke out.
Two killed, 27 wounded in Russian strikes on Ukraine's Kherson region
06:15 , Stuti Mishra
Russian strikes hit homes and apartment blocks in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson on Saturday, killing two people and wounding 27 others, including a child, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said in a statement.
Mr Prokudin had said earlier in the week that Russia had intensified its attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, about 70 per cent of which is under Russian control.
He urged tens of thousands of residents to move to safer regions, citing the possibility of prolonged power and heating outages this winter.
Russia claims Myla warehouse held drone components
05:45 , Stuti Mishra
Russia's defence ministry said it struck a warehouse in Myla, a village in Ukraine's Bucha district near Kyiv, that was storing components and launch boosters for long-range drones, conflicting with Ukraine's description of the site as holding shells, mines and other ammunition.
The warehouse was hit in a Russian drone strike on Friday night that sparked explosions and fires, killing 37 people, most of them residents of a nearby care home, in the deadliest attack of the war this year.
Ukrainian officials have said the site was a Defence Forces storage facility and have opened criminal proceedings on charges of official negligence over the storage of ammunition near homes.
The ministry also said it had attacked the ports of Mykolaiv and Izmail, along with a logistics centre and warehouse facilities in the Kyiv region that it said stored parts for Ukraine's Flamingo cruise missiles
Myla residents recall panic as drone strike sparked fires that raced through homes
05:15 , Stuti Mishra
Residents of Myla described scenes of panic as a Russian drone strike hit a warehouse in the village on Friday night, sparking massive explosions and fires that swept through dozens of nearby homes and buildings and killed 37 people.
The Friday night attack on the warehouse in Myla, a village in the Bucha district, was the war's deadliest attack this year and came on the second of three days of nearly round-the-clock Russian strikes that have severely disrupted life in and around the Ukrainian capital.
The warehouse strike sparked fires that raced through homes and damaged at least 50 residential buildings, said Tymur Tkachenko, who heads the local regional military administration. He was later cited by local media as saying 34 of the people killed were residents of a care home for elderly and disabled people. More than 370 people were evacuated.
The blasts rocked Myla, causing people to frantically seek cover.
"At about 8pm, the drone hit a warehouse somewhere and then the detonation began," Oleksandr Vodolaz, a village resident, told the Associated Press. "No one knew that weapons were stored there."
Another local, Zhanna Kravchuk, said she had so many questions about what happened.
"Why are weapons like this ... in warehouses and not on the front lines where they would help?" she said.
Ukraine PM says Myla warehouse tragedy repeats 'criminal negligence' seen in July's Vyshneve strike
04:40 , Stuti Mishra
Ukrainian prime minister Serhii Koretskyi said the Myla warehouse strike echoed a July attack on an ammunition depot in the Kyiv suburb of Vyshneve, which killed 22 people and set off similar detonations and fires in nearby homes.
"Unfortunately, we can already see that the terrible tragedy in Vyshneve did not become a lesson," Mr Koretskyi said. "In the fifth year of a full-scale invasion, making the same mistakes is criminal negligence."
"And all those guilty, without exception, must be severely punished so that such situations do not happen again," he said.
The 37 killed in Friday's strike surpassed the 31 who died in a 2 July attack on Kyiv, which had been the deadliest single attack of the war so far this year.
Zelensky opens probe over stored explosives
04:15 , Stuti Mishra
President Volodymyr Zelensky said criminal proceedings had been opened on charges of official negligence, suggesting local officials may have been responsible for storing explosives near homes in the Kyiv region village of Myla.
"There are regulations in place - ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas," Mr Zelensky said in an online post.
"Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions," he said, adding that "all those guilty, without exception, must be severely punished so that such situations do not happen again."
A drone strike on the warehouse, which officials say may have illegally stored munitions, sparked explosions and fires that damaged dozens of nearby homes and buildings in Myla, a village in the Bucha district.
Since yesterday evening and throughout the day today, I have been receiving reports on the situation in the village of Myla, Kyiv region, where detonation began following a Russian strike. A terrible situation and terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives… pic.twitter.com/YyRpBxQ8Kz
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 29, 2026
Watch: Moment Putin launches nuclear-capable missile in warning to West
03:00 , Harriette Boucher
Navy tracks Russian warships in English Channel during ‘intense’ operation
02:00 , Harriette Boucher
Russian warships have been tracked by the Navy through UK waters in an “intense” 72-hour operation.
A task group was shadowed by Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan, Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans and patrol vessel HMS Severn as it made its way from the North Sea through the English Channel.
Russian destroyer Admiral Levchenko was watched escorting sanctioned cargo vessels General Skobelev and Sparta, with a Merlin helicopter extending the UK’s surveillance as the ships approached the Strait of Dover.
In response to the tracking, Russia deployed other military resources including the Neustrashimy frigate to guard the illegal shipment, UK officials said.
First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said there was “no room for complacency” as shadow fleet vessels continue to pose “an unacceptable risk” to maritime security and the environment.
“Alongside our allies, this approach is forcing Moscow to divert Russian warships away from their core purpose. That is because Russia knows we stand ready to act again, should it be required,” he said.
Navy tracks Russian warships in UK waters for three days during ‘intense’ operation
ICYMI: Putin thinks Trump is ‘weakened’ by Iran war, says report
01:00 , Harriette Boucher
Vladimir Putin believes Donald Trump has been “weakened” by the war in Iran and this could allow the Russian president to ramp up aggression in Europe, US intelligence has indicated.
While the details of CIA director John Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow this week remain elusive, The Washington Post has reported that the meeting cautioned Moscow against banking on the US president being distracted by conflict with Tehran to escalate action against Ukraine.
For Putin, the ground war in Ukraine has not proved to be the quick victory he presented to the Russian public, where in 2014, he claimed he could, if he chose to take Kiev, do so “in two weeks.”
Instead, as the war drags into its fifth year, Moscow has faced growing levels of internal division, putting pressure on the Russian president.
Putin thinks Trump is ‘weakened’ by Iran war, says report
Watch: The woman making Ukraine safe from landmines amid a brutal war
Sunday 30 August 2026 00:30 , Harriette Boucher
Russia hits Kyiv with deadly strike as dozens killed in care home
Saturday 29 August 2026 23:57 , Maira Butt
Russian strikes have killed at least 37 people in Kyiv, most of them from a care home for the elderly, according to local Ukrainian officials.
At least 27 of those killed are reported to have been in the facility.
It marks the deadliest attack on Ukraine’s capital this year, the Associated Press reports.
The strikes hit an ammunition depot, sparking a fire in the Bucha district overnight.
Dozens were injured with nearby infrastructure including residential buildings and the care facility for the elderly and people with disabilities suffering “significant damage”.
Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to punish those responsible and said criminal cases had already been opened on charges of official negligence.
He described it as a “terrible situation and terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people”.
Recap: Kremlin says it sees EU as hostile, no prospect of improved relations
Saturday 29 August 2026 23:00 , Harriette Boucher
The Kremlin has lashed out at EU nations for allegedly making statements suggesting that it regards Russia as an “adversary and even an enemy”.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday he saw no prospect of improved relations between Russia and the European Union.
He said that the EU's current politicians are confrontational towards Russia, “not only in words but also in deeds”.
It is not clear which statements he was referring to.
“They are mobilising Europe's military capabilities and directing them against our country, whilst taking a direct part in hostilities against us,” he added.
Zelensky pays tribute to soldiers killed in war after Kyiv's deadliest strike of the year
Saturday 29 August 2026 22:00 , Harriette Boucher
Watch: Zelensky orders Ukrainian military to hit Russia with ‘1,000 drones a day’
Saturday 29 August 2026 21:00 , Harriette Boucher
Kremlin says it sees EU as hostile, no prospect of improved relations
Saturday 29 August 2026 20:29 , Maira Butt
The Kremlin has accused Europe of being hostile for making statements suggesting it sees Russia as an “adversary and even an enemy”, Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.
He added that Moscow sees no prospect of improved relations between Russia and the European Union.
Peskov did not specific which comments he was referring to but he said that EU politicians had been confrontational towards Russia “not only in words but also in deeds”.
“They are mobilising Europe's military capabilities and directing them against our country, whilst taking a direct part in hostilities against us,” Peskov said.
Gordon Brown warns Ukraine faces ‘worst winter’ of war as he urges Trump to act
Saturday 29 August 2026 20:00 , Harriette Boucher
Ukraine is facing its "worst winter" since the conflict with Russia began, Gordon Brown has warned, urging Britain and allies to press Donald Trump to bolster support for the nation.
The former prime minister said the US president should be urged to let Ukraine produce Patriot interceptor missiles, explaining these could help defend the country from Russian bombardment.
Brown said the war – which began when Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022 – is in a "critical moment", and recalled Trump previously "promised he would give the design for interceptors to Ukraine", but "hasn’t yet done so".
Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Friday, the former Labour leader said: "We’re at a very critical moment in this Ukraine war."
Adding this "could be the worst winter" so far, he said: "Putin has realised he can bomb into populated areas and the infrastructure, put out the electricity, put out the power in Ukraine, by using his missiles and his bombs that cannot be intercepted because America is not providing the interceptors that are necessary."
In focus: ‘Where there were bombs, there are now sunflowers’: The woman ridding Ukraine of Russian mines
Saturday 29 August 2026 19:15 , Harriette Boucher
The Independent’s Maira Butt reports:
Every morning, Antonina Kulhava wakes up to the whirr of Russian drones.
After checking local alerts to ensure her family and friends are safe, she commutes to her job as a humanitarian deminer at one of Ukraine’s many fields littered with bombs. Her team face grave danger as they comb through craters of mud left by missiles, in fields once tilled by farmers.
Ukraine is one of the world’s most heavily mined countries with between 20 to 25 per cent of its surface covered with potentially dangerous weapons. This amounts to more than 139,000 square kilometres of land, a size larger than England and Wales combined.
The existence of these mines is devastating for civilians, contributing to one of the world’s highest rates of civilian casualties. Children are among those at risk if the mines are not safely cleared.
“It’s an interesting and challenging job,” she tells The Independent.
“It’s nothing like I’ve done before. It helps people in Ukraine because the more we clean our lands, the more people will come back to their homes, to their lands, and also just to make Ukraine safer.”
Read more here:
The woman making Ukraine safe from landmines amid a brutal war
Children among those killed in Russian strikes
Saturday 29 August 2026 18:30 , Harriette Boucher
Several children have died in Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine overnight and on Saturday.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said a two year old had been killed after a Russian drone crashed in Obolonskyi.
A 14 year old was also killed in a Russian attack on the Boryspil district.
Further strikes on Saturday have injured dozens of people, including an 18 year old girl in Kyiv.
In pictures: Russia devastates Kyiv in overnight attack
Saturday 29 August 2026 17:45 , Harriette Boucher
Ten Ukrainian regions targeted in overnight attacks
Saturday 29 August 2026 17:00 , Harriette Boucher
Overnight Russian strikes targeted ten regions across Ukraine and more than 260 attack drones were involved, the Ukranian president has said.
Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv, where 37 people were killed, was “under virtually nonstop attack from jet-powered drones”.
There were also strikes in the Odesa, Dnipro, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kherson, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, and Chernihiv regions.
“Ukraine cannot be left alone in finding solutions to defend against such strikes, and I thank everyone who is helping with additional support packages and sanctions steps against Russia,” the president added.
Zelensky launches investigation into 'terrible negligence'
Saturday 29 August 2026 16:15 , Harriette Boucher
Ukraine’s president said an investigation into “terrible negligence” has been launched after a warehouse near residents was used to store explosives.
He said the ammunition storage site “definitely shouldn’t have been there” and meant the scale of Russia’s strike, which killed 37 people, was “significant”.
“A terrible situation and terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Another such crime – after what happened in Vyshneve – is absolutely unacceptable. I expect the details to be presented to the public promptly,” he added.
Zelensky said he had spoke to the prosecutor general, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Commander-in-Chief, and they had everything necessary for the investigation.
Navy tracks Russian warships in English Channel during ‘intense’ operation
Saturday 29 August 2026 15:24 , Harriette Boucher
Navy tracks Russian warships in English Channel during ‘intense’ operation
Kremlin says it sees EU as hostile, no prospect of improved relations
Saturday 29 August 2026 14:40 , Harriette Boucher
The Kremlin has lashed out at EU nations for allegedly making statements suggesting that it regards Russia as an “adversary and even an enemy”.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday he saw no prospect of improved relations between Russia and the European Union.
He said that the EU's current politicians are confrontational towards Russia, “not only in words but also in deeds”.
It is not clear which statements he was referring to.
“They are mobilising Europe's military capabilities and directing them against our country, whilst taking a direct part in hostilities against us,” he added.
Two killed and dozens injured in more Russian strikes
Saturday 29 August 2026 14:09 , Harriette Boucher
Russian strikes have killed two people and wounded 27 more in the southern Kherson region on Saturday.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the region’s head of administration, said that attacks had damaged homes and apartment blocks, and that one child was among the injured.
Russia has bombarded Ukraine with near constant air raids for the past three days, with Prokudin saying earlier in the week that Vladimir Putin had intensified attacks on critical infrastructure in his region.
He also urged tens of thousands of residents to move to safer regions because of the possibility of prolonged power and heating outages this winter.
In full: Dozens killed after Russian drone blows up Ukraine warehouse
Saturday 29 August 2026 13:43 , Harriette Boucher
At least 37 people have been killed following a Russian strike close to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in one of the deadliest attacks to hit Ukraine this year, officials have said.
The attack sparked a fire in the Bucha district, west of Kyiv, that swept through homes and damaged at least 50 residential buildings, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local regional military administration, said.
In a statement on the attack, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said a warehouse had been struck in the village of Myla “followed by a detonation.”
He did not give details on the site, but wrote in the same message that Ukrainian law forbade the storage of ammunition close to civilian homes and that criminal proceedings had been opened.
“Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions,” Zelensky said.
Dozens killed after Russian drone blows up Ukrainian warehouse
In pictures: Aftermath of Russian drone strike on a Kyiv-area warehouse
Saturday 29 August 2026 13:20 , Harriette Boucher
Ukraine downs 233 Russian drones overnight
Saturday 29 August 2026 12:45 , Harriette Boucher
Ukraine shot down 233 Russian drones overnight as Moscow continued its wave of attacks,
Its defence force said the drones were struck down across the country.
“Enemy aerial weapons struck 15 locations, while debris from downed drones fell at 4 other sites. Additionally, some enemy munitions failed to reach their targets; information regarding these is currently being verified.
“The attack is ongoing, with several enemy UAVs still in the airspace.”
Death toll in Russian attack on Kyiv rises to 37
Saturday 29 August 2026 12:26 , Harriette Boucher
At least 37 people have been killed following a Russian attack on the Bucha district, close to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, officials said Saturday.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the local regional military administration, said that at least 50 residential buildings had been damaged in the attack, which also sparked a large-scale fire that spread to homes and a restaurant.
Dozens of people have also been injured, officials said.
Volodymyr Zelensky said that a warehouse had been struck in the village of Myla “followed by a detonation.”
He did not give details on the site, but wrote in the same message that criminal proceedings had been opened on charges of official negligence.
“There are regulations in place – ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas.”
The woman making Ukraine safe from landmines amid a brutal war
Saturday 29 August 2026 12:00 , Harriette Boucher
Zelensky vows to punish those responsible for deadly overnight attack
Saturday 29 August 2026 11:15 , Harriette Boucher
Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to punish those responsible for the deadly overnight attack on the Kyiv region, which killed at least 27 people.
He said criminal cases had already been opened on charges of official negligence.
The Ukrainian president wrote on X: “Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions.
“There are regulations in place – ammunition cannot be stored near homes or other residential areas. Appropriate conclusions will certainly be drawn.”
Dmytrivka community head killed in deadly strike on Kyiv
Saturday 29 August 2026 10:32 , Harriette Boucher
The head of the Dmytrivka community, which was attacked by Russia overnight, died rescuing people, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Taras Didych is one of the 27 people that have been reported killed.
The Ukrainian president said residential buildings, along with a care home for elderly people and people with disabilities, were damaged.
The woman making Ukraine safe from landmines amid a brutal war
Saturday 29 August 2026 10:30 , Harriette Boucher
Vladimir Putin believes Donald Trump has been “weakened” by the war in Iran and this could allow the Russian president to ramp up aggression in Europe, US intelligence has indicated.
While the details of CIA director John Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow this week remain elusive, The Washington Post has reported that the meeting cautioned Moscow against banking on the US president being distracted by conflict with Tehran to escalate action against Ukraine.
For Putin, the ground war in Ukraine has not proved to be the quick victory he presented to the Russian public, where in 2014, he claimed he could, if he chose to take Kiev, do so “in two weeks.”
Instead, as the war drags into its fifth year, Moscow has faced growing levels of internal division, putting pressure on the Russian president.
The past month has seen this division culminate to form what experts have labelled the Kremlin’s “biggest domestic challenge” so far.
Putin thinks Trump is ‘weakened’ by Iran war, says report
At least 27 killed in Russian strike on Kyiv region, governor says
Saturday 29 August 2026 10:18 , Harriette Boucher
At least 27 people were killed after a Russian drone strike on a Kyiv-area warehouse sparked a detonation.
Another 42 people were injured in the overnight Russian air attack, governor Tymur Tkachenko has said.
He said more than 380 were being evacuated from the strike area in the Bucha district, which damaged at least 50 residential buildings and sparked a large-scale fire that spread to homes and a restaurant.
Almost constant air raids in Kyiv have now reached their third day, choking the economy in the Ukrainian capital and severely disrupting civilian life more than 4½ years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
‘Where there were bombs, there are now sunflowers’: The woman ridding Ukraine of Russian mines
Saturday 29 August 2026 09:45 , Harriette Boucher
Ukraine has been littered with mines since Putin invaded the country in 2022, posing a devastating risk to civilians. Antonina Kulhava, a humanitarian deminer, tells Maira Butt how she is trying to make her country safer:
The woman making Ukraine safe from landmines amid a brutal war
Russian troop losses hit 1,485,200, says Ukraine
Saturday 29 August 2026 09:00 , Harriette Boucher
Russia has lost an estimated 1,485,200 troops since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv’s defence has claimed.
This includes 1,420 people who have died in the past day.
It has also lost 12,310 tanks, 141, 059 fuel tanks, and 25,241 armoured fighting vehicles, according to its daily update.
Separately, the defence force claimed to have downed 233 Russian drones overnight.
Zelensky orders Ukrainian military to hit Russia with ‘1,000 drones a day’
Saturday 29 August 2026 08:58 , Harriette Boucher
Three killed, nine injured in Ukrainian attack on Russia's Belgorod region, authorities say
Saturday 29 August 2026 08:32 , Harriette Boucher
Three people have been killed and nine injured in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Russian Belgorod region, local authorities said on their Telegram channel.
Three of the injured are in a serious condition, the authorities said.
More than 113,000 Russians flee to Georgia amid mobilisation fears
Saturday 29 August 2026 08:22 , Harriette Boucher
More than 113,000 Russians crossed into Georgia last week amid fears that the Kremlin is poised to announce a new mobilisation effort, Politico reported.
Fears have grown as Russia intensifies its recruitment measures, increases its data collection, and expands the National Guard’s remits.
Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that Russia planned to mobilise 600,000 recruits in 2026-27.
Watch: Moment Putin launches nuclear-capable missile in warning to West
Saturday 29 August 2026 07:52 , Harriette Boucher
Russia tests nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile days after Ratcliffe visit
Saturday 29 August 2026 07:23 , Stuti Mishra
Russia's defence ministry said it successfully tested a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile, fired from the Arkhangelsk region in the country's northwest, days after CIA director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced visit to Moscow.
The missile, launched from a mobile platform, reached its designated target at the Kura test site in Russia's far eastern Kamchatka region, with a range of more than 6,700km, the ministry said.
“The Strategic Missile Forces practised the procedure for redeploying a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile launch battery to a remote area, preparing for and conducting the launch,” the statement on Friday said.
Mr Ratcliffe travelled to Moscow on 25 August for talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Naryshkin, with several US media outlets reporting the visit was intended in part to warn Russia against an attack on a Nato member.
The Kremlin has said he did not meet president Vladimir Putin during the visit.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told TASS news agency that Ratcliffe's visit involved "contacts between security services."
Russia's petrol output falls to 70% of demand after Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries
Saturday 29 August 2026 07:15 , Stuti Mishra
Russia's petrol production fell to about 70 per cent of domestic demand by late August after a wave of Ukrainian drone strikes forced major refineries offline, two industry sources told Reuters.
Current output stands at around 80,000 tons a day against demand of about 115,000 tons, the sources said, after drones struck and halted refineries in Perm, Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl over the past week.
Regional authorities have reimposed restrictions on fuel sales, including limits per customer and schedules based on vehicle registration plates.
The shortage has forced Russia to increase imports, with about 270,000 tons of seaborne petroleum expected from Asia in August alongside supplies from Belarus.
Ukraine strikes Ozon warehouse in Russia's Rostov region
Saturday 29 August 2026 06:46 , Stuti Mishra
Ukrainian forces struck an Ozon warehouse and other sites across the southern Russian region of Rostov Oblast overnight, the Kyiv Independent reported.
A drone hit an Ozon logistics facility in the city of Rostov-on-Don, causing a small fire that was quickly put out, the Russian e-commerce giant said in a statement.
"We have temporarily suspended operations at the facility to allow emergency services to inspect the area and ensure that it is completely safe," Ozon said.
Putin thinks Trump is ‘weakened’ by Iran war, says report
Saturday 29 August 2026 06:00 , Adam Withnall
Vladimir Putin believes Donald Trump has been “weakened” by the war in Iran and this could allow the Russian president to ramp up aggression in Europe, US intelligence has indicated.
While the details of CIA director John Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow this week remain elusive, The Washington Post has reported that the meeting cautioned Moscow against banking on the US president being distracted by conflict with Tehran to escalate action against Ukraine.
Read more here:
Putin thinks Trump is ‘weakened’ by Iran war, says report
Putin wants to avoid direct Nato confrontation, Western officials say
Saturday 29 August 2026 05:30 , Stuti Mishra
Vladimir Putin wants to avoid a direct military confrontation with Nato, despite increasingly hostile rhetoric aimed at the UK and other allies over their support for Ukraine, Western officials have said, according to BBC.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said recent warnings from Moscow, including that UK forces could be targeted or that Russian weapons factories could be hit, were consistent with Russia's long-standing military doctrine of pressuring the West rather than signalling any new threat.
They said Russia was likely to continue "hybrid activity" short of direct military action, including cyber-attacks, sabotage and assassination attempts, aimed at breaking Western resolve over Ukraine.
The officials also said Russia was losing 6,000 more soldiers a month, killed or wounded, than it could recruit, though there was no indication the Kremlin planned mass mobilisation.
Zelensky says US gave Kyiv information about meetings in Moscow
Saturday 29 August 2026 04:52 , Stuti Mishra
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the United States had given Kyiv information about a number of meetings in Moscow over the last few days.
"Today we received information from the American side about the meetings in Moscow that took place these days. There were a number of meetings there," Mr Zelensky said on Telegram, without going into detail on who was at the meetings.
"I thank them for the information and for the necessary tone of the conversation with Russia," he added, again without elaborating. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe had travelled to Moscow to warn Russia off any attack on a Nato member.
The Kremlin dismissed the report, while US president Donald Trump said Russian president Vladimir Putin would not attack a Nato country, playing down media reports on Ratcliffe's trip. Reuters reported that Ratcliffe had raised the possibility of a Russian operation against a Nato member during the meeting, although it was unclear whether that was the primary purpose of the trip. The talks also covered Russia's support for Iran, one source told Reuters
Serbia secures further sanctions waiver for Russian-owned NIS oil firm
Saturday 29 August 2026 04:16 , Stuti Mishra
Serbia has secured a further sanctions waiver from the United States for its Russian-owned NIS oil firm until 30 September, energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic wrote on Instagram on Friday.
The waiver granted by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control will allow NIS, which operates Serbia's only oil refinery, to continue importing crude oil until the sale of a Russian majority stake in the company to Hungarian oil and gas company MOL.
"The extended licence allows us to continue supplying (the market), while at the same time working on a long-term solution for NIS," Djedovic Handanovic said.
OFAC imposed sanctions on NIS last October as part of wider measures targeting Russia's energy sector over the war in Ukraine, and demanded divestment of the combined 56 per cent stake held by Gazprom Neft and Gazprom. The waiver is crucial for Serbia as NIS refinery covers around 80 per cent of the country's demand.
Djedovic Handanovic said negotiations between MOL and Gazprom Neft are in their final phase.
"The new licence extension is a signal that there is progress and a willingness to ensure the additional necessary time to complete this complex transaction," she said without elaborating.
OFAC has granted NIS several sanctions waivers allowing it to import crude via Croatia's Janaf pipeline while MOL completes the acquisition after signing a provisional agreement in January.
The Serbian government owns 29.9 per cent of NIS, with the remainder held by small shareholders and employees.
Russian drones batter Ukraine's Kyiv region, hitting apartments and warehouses for a second day
Saturday 29 August 2026 03:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian forces on Friday resumed their drone barrage of Ukraine’s Kyiv region, hitting more than a dozen apartment buildings and storage depots in a second straight day of aerial attacks, officials said.
Prolonged air raids in Kyiv on Thursday essentially locked down the Ukrainian capital for 15 hours, the Foreign Ministry said, choking the economy and severely disrupting civilian life more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Even longer alerts are a daily reality in regions closer to the front line, the ministry said.
Russian drone and missile attacks are also taking aim at the power grid in what Ukrainian officials say is an annual campaign to “weaponize winter.” In Ukraine’s southern Kherson region on the Black Sea, where glide bombs a day earlier forced a combined heat and power plant to shut down, officials predicted a winter of extended outages and told people to move elsewhere if they could.
Russian drones batter Ukraine's Kyiv region, hitting apartments and warehouses for a second day
What head of CIA told Russian counterpart on secretive visit to Moscow
Saturday 29 August 2026 02:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
- CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly met FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov in Russia.
- Ratcliffe presented evidence of heavy Russian losses caused by Ukraine's drone mastery.
- He urged Moscow to begin serious peace negotiations with Ukraine to end the conflict.
- The CIA chief raised concerns over potential Russian actions against Nato and its support for Iran.
- Moscow threatened to target British military assets after the UK granted Ukraine missile technology.
Putin thinks Trump is ‘weakened’ by Iran war, says report
Saturday 29 August 2026 01:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Vladimir Putin believes Donald Trump has been “weakened” by the war in Iran and this could allow the Russian president to ramp up aggression in Europe, US intelligence has indicated.
While the details of CIA director John Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow this week remain elusive, The Washington Post has reported that the meeting cautioned Moscow against banking on the US president being distracted by conflict with Tehran to escalate action against Ukraine.
For Putin, the ground war in Ukraine has not proved to be the quick victory he presented to the Russian public, where in 2014, he claimed he could, if he chose to take Kiev, do so “in two weeks.”
Putin thinks Trump is ‘weakened’ by Iran war, says report
Gordon Brown warns Ukraine faces ‘worst winter’ of war as he urges Trump to act
Saturday 29 August 2026 00:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine is facing its "worst winter" since the conflict with Russia began, Gordon Brown has warned, urging Britain and allies to press Donald Trump to bolster support for the nation.
The former prime minister said the US president should be urged to let Ukraine produce Patriot interceptor missiles, explaining these could help defend the country from Russian bombardment.
Brown said the war – which began when Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022 – is in a "critical moment", and recalled Trump previously "promised he would give the design for interceptors to Ukraine", but "hasn’t yet done so".
Gordon Brown warns Ukraine faces ‘worst winter’ of war as he urges Trump to act
Zelensky orders military to hit Russia with ‘1,000 drones a day’
Friday 28 August 2026 23:19 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that he has ordered his military to increase its long-range drone strikes against Russia to 1,000 per day, up from around 300 currently.
"There needs to be more: there is a concrete goal, and we will fulfil this task," the Ukrainian president said in his evening address.
In pictures: Moment Russian drone strikes Ukrainian town in Kyiv region
Friday 28 August 2026 23:00 , James Reynolds
UN warns humanity is ‘close’ to handing kill decisions to machines
Friday 28 August 2026 22:00 , James Reynolds
The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross intensified a joint appeal on Tuesday for countries to enact bans and restrictions on autonomous weapons systems — often called killer robots — warning that "the risks have intensified."
Building on a proposal first issued three years ago and years of multilateral discussions, the stance stops short of requesting a complete ban.
It highlights that such systems are currently under development, though neither the U.N. nor the Red Cross has confirmed their deployment on the battlefield. Still, protections for civilians are urgently required for when that moment comes...
UN warns humanity is ‘dangerously close’ to handing kill decisions to machines
Watch: The woman making Ukraine safe from landmines amid a brutal war
Friday 28 August 2026 21:00 , James Reynolds
A theater is reimagining Homer’s Odyssey through the agony of Ukraine’s war
Friday 28 August 2026 20:00 , James Reynolds
War’s timeless ache — death, captivity, the agonizing wait and the pull of home — has found a new stage in wartime Kyiv, with Homer’s epic reimagined as a contemporary Ukrainian odyssey.
The play “Odysseus, Maeotis” is ready to open in the Ukrainian capital as the ancient tale enjoys a global moment with Christopher Nolan’s IMAX spectacle and box-office hit “The Odyssey” starring Matt Damon.
In Kyiv, the story is performed by professional actors and active-duty soldiers, including Daniil Mireshkin, a serviceman who plays the warrior king Odysseus...
A theater is reimagining Homer’s Odyssey through the agony of Ukraine’s war
Recap: What head of CIA told Russian counterpart on secretive visit to Moscow
Friday 28 August 2026 19:00 , James Reynolds
The head of the CIA told his Russian counterpart to make a deal with Ukraine as Moscow’s position deteriorates during a secretive visit this week, according to a report.
US officials told the New York Times that CIA director John Ratcliffe presented FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov with evidence of the enormous price Russia has paid for relatively small gains in Ukraine, attributed to Kyiv’s “mastery” of drone technology.
The CIA boss urged that Russia should enter serious negotiations with Ukraine to end the war given their difficulties on the ground and mounting economic woes, the sources claimed in comments to the newspaper.
Mr Ratcliffe flew to Russia on Tuesday to meet briefly with his intelligence counterparts in the first visit by a CIA director since 2021, when William Burns warned Russia against sending troops into Ukraine.
Read the full story:
Ukraine war latest: CIA chief ‘told Russian counterpart to make peace with Kyiv’
Trump must be pressed to hand over interceptor designs to Ukraine, says Gordon Brown
Friday 28 August 2026 18:00 , James Reynolds
Ukraine is facing its “worst winter” since the conflict with Russian began, Gordon Brown has warned, as he called for Britain and other nations to press Donald Trump to do more to help the Eastern European nation.
The former prime minister said the US president should be pushed to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptor missiles – saying these could help the country defend itself from Russian attacks.
Describing the conflict – which began when Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022 – as being at a “critical moment”, Mr Brown recalled how Mr Trump had previously “promised he would give the design for interceptors to Ukraine”, but “hasn’t yet done so”.
Read the full story:
Trump must be pressed to hand over interceptor designs to Ukraine, Brown says
Ukraine says it stockpiled enough gas for winter season
Friday 28 August 2026 17:00 , James Reynolds
Ukraine has stored 14.6 billion cubic metres of gas in underground storage, enough for the upcoming winter season, the country's energy minister said on Friday.
"Ukraine has stockpiled natural gas for the baseline scenario for getting through the winter," Denys Shmyhal said on the Telegram app.
Catch up: Moscow warns UK ‘playing with fire’ over plans to help Kyiv produce missiles
Friday 28 August 2026 16:00 , James Reynolds
Russia has threatened Britain with retaliation after prime minister Andy Burnham vowed to provide Ukraine with access to technology to produce Storm Shadow missiles domestically.
Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said that London was just “one step away” from becoming legally complicit - in their eyes - for what she called “terrorism” against Russian civilians and warned of “inevitable catastrophic consequences” unless Britain changed course.
“We have repeatedly warned that any British military installations and equipment in Ukraine and beyond its borders could be targeted in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory carried out using British weapons,” she said.
Zakharova accused both the UK and France of “playing with fire” after France also agreed to supply long-range missile technology to Ukraine.
After the comments on Thursday, a spokesperson for Britain's ministry of defence said London stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine and was committed to providing the equipment that Kyiv needed “to defend itself against Putin's illegal invasion”.
