Ukraine War News Today - Top Stories and Breaking Updates from Kyiv Post

Condemnation from Kyiv to Bucharest is swift, as leaders stress the importance of a unified response and warn that Russia’s ‘reckless behavior’ threatens regional stability.

WASHINGTON DC – A Russian drone violated NATO airspace on Saturday, prompting Romania to scramble F-16 fighter jets to track the unmanned aircraft for nearly an hour.

This latest incursion, which occurred as Russia launched a renewed barrage on Ukrainian ports, has intensified fears of a direct spillover of the war and has drawn strong condemnation from allied nations.

Ukrainian drones strike another major oil refinery deep inside Russia.

A Ukrainian drone crashed into one of Russia’s largest oil refining complexes on Saturday, sparking a fire and causing minor damage, a Russian official said.

The complex, which belongs to Russian oil company Bashneft, lies on the outskirts of the central Russian city of Ufa around 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) from the front line in Ukraine.

It’s no secret what Russia is trying to do in Ukraine: terrorize the population so they are too scared to resist. Unfortunately for Moscow, Ukrainians are showing the world how to be fearless.

On the evening of the lunar eclipse, we gathered in a friend’s garden to have dinner and watch the moon turn red. First, though, we had to watch Russian drones flying over our heads. One of them was shot down by a Ukrainian F-16 before our very eyes.

The drone fell into the forest nearby, apparently causing no significant damage. Otherwise, we would have heard about it. Soon afterwards, we were able to focus on the lunar eclipse – relieved to have something to talk about other than the war.

A recap of some of the week’s top headlines.

Contrary to popular belief among Americans, Ukraine, is a thriving, innovative tech nation. It doesn’t just need financial support – it needs visibility, credibility, and ties to global markets.

In 2022, I came to Ukraine with a shipment of medical aid. What I found wasn’t only a nation under siege – I saw resilience, vision, and a hunger to move forward.

Since then, I’ve returned again and again. We were able to provide $5 million in medical supplies and $1.5 million in humanitarian aid to communities on the frontline in Ukraine. But this summer, I came with a different mission: to build bridges between businesses – specifically Ukrainian innovators and American companies, and particularly in the tech sector. What Ukraine needs now is not charity, but opportunity.

Trump said he will impose major sanctions on Russia only if all NATO allies first stop buying Russian oil and adopt their own measures.

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was ready to sanction Russia, but on the condition that all NATO allies agree to completely halt purchases of Russian oil and implement their own sanctions.

“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Survey shows 57% of Poles would not volunteer to defend their country in case of war, while only 26% say they would join or support the army.

Most Poles would not be prepared to sign up to defend their country in the event of war, according to a new survey.

Asked whether they would volunteer for military service or “actively support” the army if war broke out, 57% said they would not.  

Appeasing Russia has not worked. And it has put the US in a worse position with respect to China. There is, however, one way to neuter China’s leverage.

The White House has a China problem, and the Asia-Pacific should be the least of its worries – for now. Russian President Vladimir Putin may have a China problem as well. His current predicament in Ukraine has clouded his ability to read Chinese President Xi Jinping’s intent.

Necessity has a way of doing that.

What European media have said about Russia’s serious provocation against Poland and NATO.

At least 19 Russian drones penetrated hundreds of kilometers into EU and Nato member Poland’s airspace early on Wednesday. Most of them were shot down. Warsaw and other NATO member has condemned the incursion as a deliberate provocation aimed at the entire Western military alliance. US President Donald Trump reacted cautiously and mentioned the possibility of a mistake. Europe’s press assesses the reactions.

Warsaw as a role model

Assertions that Ukraine is banning Christianity are absurd. Ukrainian authorities are not banning anything. Rather, they are trying to curb Russian influence within a Kremlin-linked institution.

The Ukrainian government is taking action against one of the religious organizations connected with Russia and its ongoing war against Ukraine – many even aiding and abetting the Russian military. As a result, there has been an aggressive reaction among pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian figures in the West.

In the United States, headlines to the effect that Ukraine is allegedly banning Christianity or the Orthodox Church are being spread by many MAGA supporters. Congressmember Anna Paulina Luna, said two months ago that the Orthodox Church had been banned by President Zelensky himself.

Russian drones in Polish airspace and Ukraine’s societal strength show that the war is also fought in the resilience of people, says Ambassador Piotr Łukasiewicz in an interview with Kyiv Post.

Overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, we witnessed an escalation. A large number of drones entered Polish airspace. Can we speak of an attack?

PŁ: The drone incursion was unprecedented. For the first time, NATO forces shot down foreign unmanned aerial vehicles. Violations of third countries’ airspace have happened before, but what made this incident unique was both the scale of the breach and the decisive response – defending Polish airspace and shooting the drones down. Importantly, allied forces also took part in the operation.

Protecting Ukraine’s air space would not only save lives, it would allow for Western investment to start flourishing. That’s why Russia is doing everything it can to prevent it.

On the night of Sept. 9-10, Polish F-16s and NATO’s Quick Reaction Alert aircraft scrambled to intercept Russian drones violating Polish airspace. At least 19 incursions were confirmed, and a minimum of 8 drones were shot down. Five of the downed drones were reportedly headed toward Rzeszów Airport – a key logistics hub for Western military aid to Ukraine.

Although Russia denied involvement, NATO sources suggested the incursion may have been a deliberate test of the alliance’s air defense capabilities and warning systems. This mirrors previous Russian behavior, such as drone incursions into Romanian airspace in 2023-24, which similarly targeted NATO-adjacent infrastructure.

Ukrainian PM Yuliia Svyrydenko met Prince Harry in Kyiv to discuss veteran rehabilitation and thanked him for supporting Ukraine’s servicemen through the Invictus Games.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko discussed the issue of military rehabilitation with Prince Harry during his visit to Kyiv.

The head of the Ukrainian government reported this on Facebook, Ukrinform writes.

Russia says Ukraine peace talks are on hold as NATO boosts defenses after drone incursions.

Russia said Friday that peace talks with Kyiv were on “pause” as President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump meanwhile warned that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace this week.

In August 2025, only 27% of Russians supported continuing the war in Ukraine, while a record 66% backed peace talks, survey shows.

Support among Russians for continuing the war in Ukraine has dropped to its lowest point since the full-scale invasion began, according to a survey published by the independent Levada Center in September.

In August 2025, just 27% of respondents said they want Russia to keep fighting in Ukraine. By contrast, a record 66% said they favor peace negotiations with Kyiv. This is the highest share of support for talks recorded since February 2022.

Zelensky told UK, German, French, and Italian advisors that Ukraine is ready to share its military experience with NATO.

President Volodymyr Zelensky met with advisors to the leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy to discuss Ukraine’s readiness to share its military experience and contribute to NATO’s collective defense.

According to Ukrinform, Zelensky announced this on Telegram.

Europe is loath to make its own taxpayers cover the bill for Ukraine’s defense. So why not let Russia? It’s definitely doable. All we need is a more innovative investment approach.

The penny, or euro cent, finally seems to have dropped – Europe is realizing that the only way to fund Ukraine to survive the war is to fully utilize the $330 billion in immobilized Central Bank of Russia (CBR) assets sitting, largely dormant, in Western bank accounts.

The advent of the Trump presidency, and its pulling of financial support for Ukraine, and the realization that the war in Ukraine will go on long into the future, has allowed the realization to dawn in Europe, that Ukraine is underfunded. The bill is around $100 billion a year just to keep Ukraine in the war, likely nearer to $150 billion for Ukraine to have a chance of winning, or drawing the war to an early end. The US was covering near 40% of this total under Biden, but now Europe plus Japan, Canada et al. is having to stump up the full nine yards, or $100 billion per annum given Trump has moved from giving to taking money to/from Ukraine. Given Europe’s fiscal woes, it’s hard to see national governments stumping up much more money for Ukraine, hence the realization that CBR assets have to be utilized.

Kim Jong Un announced that North Korea will expand its nuclear arsenal and modernize its military, deepening defense cooperation with Russia.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Pyongyang will unveil a policy to advance both its nuclear arsenal and conventional military power at an upcoming key ruling party meeting, state media said Saturday.

Since a failed summit with the United States in 2019, North Korea has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear weapons and declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state.

Polish military will arrive in Kyiv on Sept. 18 to coordinate with Ukraine on countering Russian drone attacks and strengthening joint air defense.

Polish military officers will arrive in Kyiv on Sept. 18 to coordinate efforts with Ukraine on countering drone attacks and strengthening air defense cooperation. The move was announced by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha at a joint press conference with Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

Calling Russia’s recent drone strike on Poland “a new phase of Russian aggression,” Sybiha stressed the importance of aligning Ukraine’s air defense with European systems and deepening bilateral work with Warsaw.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian and Belarusian forces began the joint Zapad-2025 military exercises on September 12 for the first time since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• Russia and Belarus may have walked back efforts to use Zapad-2025 to support nuclear saber-rattling operations against the West, at least temporarily.
• Belarusian and Russian officials blamed Poland for overreacting to the threat of Russian aggression in response to Poland’s decision to close its border with Belarus due to Zapad-2025.
• NATO announced the Eastern Sentry operation on September 12 in response to the Russian drones that violated Polish airspace on the night of September 9 to 10.
• The Russian Central Bank likely prematurely lowered its key interest rate for the third time since June 2025 in an attempt to maintain the facade of domestic economic stability. The lowering of the key interest rate will likely continue to exacerbate Russia’s economic instability.
• Ukraine’s partners continue to sanction Russia.
• Ukraine conducted a series of long-range drone strikes against energy infrastructure in Leningrad and Smolensk oblasts on the night of September 11 to 12.
• US senators Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal, Katie Britt, and Amy Klobuchar introduced a bill to the US Senate on September 11 to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children that Russia deported.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Novopavlivka. Russian forces recently advanced near Lyman and Velykomykhailivka, and in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area.

A new congressional watchdog audit reveals a systemic failure by American agencies to define measurable goals for sanctions and export controls, allowing Moscow to adapt and circumvent the measures

WASHINGTON DC – A new report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO),  a legislative branch entity that helps audit government spending and suggest ways to make it more efficient, has exposed a significant weakness at the core of the American government’s strategy against Russia.

The congressional watchdog’s findings point to a systemic failure by key government agencies to establish measurable targets to gauge the effectiveness of their sanctions and export controls.

Western allies rally around Warsaw at an emergency UN meeting after a ‘deliberate’ incursion. Ukraine’s envoy accuses Moscow of ‘spitting in the face’ of the Security Council

NEW YORK – Tensions soared at the United Nations Security Council on Friday as Western allies rallied behind Poland following a massive and unprecedented incursion of Russian military drones into its sovereign airspace.

The emergency meeting, convened at Warsaw’s request, saw a stark clash of narratives, with Poland and its partners condemning a “deliberate and premeditated act” of aggression, while Russia dismissed the incident as “political clickbait.”