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

Humanitarian Research Lab researchers found evidence of the militarization of Ukrainian children at nearly one in five of the sites included in the report.

Researchers at the University of Yale published evidence on Tuesday that Russia has trafficked Ukrainian children to at least 210 facilities across Russia and Ukraine’s occupied territories since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) has been tracking the location of 35,000 or more Ukrainian children abducted by Russia since the full-scale war began. 

Defense tech companies are united under one roof in five key segments – the firm is forecasted to employ more than 1,000 employees and earn $200 million in 2026.

Ukrainian-American investment group MITS Capital announced a new defense technology company, named MITS Industries, that will unite major Ukrainian drone-warfare components producers to boost effectiveness and revenues. 

MITS Industries was established in Denmark to become a platform investment for the Ukrainian defense tech market and strengthen European security, MITS Capital wrote in a press release sent to Kyiv Post. 

Protestors raise doubts about how welcome Trump is in Britain on his state visit.

Armed with signs and shouting slogans, thousands of anti-Donald Trump protesters descended Wednesday on central London to decry the US president’s unprecedented second state visit to the UK.

London’s Metropolitan Police estimated that there were around 5,000 people at the protest.

At an ambassadorial roundtable on Wednesday to discuss possible resolutions to “The Ukrainian Crisis,” Moscow’s Foreign Minister trotted out more accusations of a western conspiracy against Russia

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a high-level diplomatic event in Moscow on Sept. 17, to which ambassadors from over 100 countries were invited to discuss the war in Ukraine within the framework of the United Nations Charter.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who preferred to call the war “the Ukrainian Crisis” throughout, spent the better part of an hour underlining Moscow’s view that the West had usurped the charter to the detriment of Russia.

Ukraine’s 2026 budget prioritizes defense, funding weapons, military salaries, and family support, while maintaining public investments.

Ukraine’s government, the Cabinet of Ministers, approved the draft State Budget for 2026, marking the end of the first stage of the 2026 budget review. 

The draft will now go to Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, for approval.

As US President Donald Trump arrived at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, an unnamed senior defense official reportedly told Politico that Ukraine has an ally in the British monarch.

An anonymous senior defense official reportedly told Politico on Wednesday that Britain’s King Charles III is “very close” to negotiations for a potential ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, as well as to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

King Charles welcomed US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump to Windsor Castle on Wednesday with full pomp and circumstance – on the first full day of Trump’s “unprecedented” second state visit to the UK.

Putin made a surprise televised visit to joint military drills with Belarus in the Nizhny Novgorod region on Tuesday, where his Chief of the General Staff was noticeable by his absence.

Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, was absent from the final stages of the “Zapad-2025” military exercises visited by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday because he was busy managing the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin spokesman said.

Putin made a surprise trip to the Nizhny Novgorod region to visit the joint military drills, held with Belarus on Tuesday, Russian state television reported.

On Monday, an unidentified drone was spotted flying over a government complex that hosts one of Warsaw’s presidential residences as well as offices used by the prime minister and defence minister.

Poland is to deport a young Ukrainian back to his homeland after he triggered a security scare by flying a drone over government buildings in Warsaw, police said Wednesday.

Air defences are on high alert after an incursion into Polish air space last week by around 20 military drones, in what Warsaw alleged was a deliberate Russian provocation.

Rada passes law creating Ukraine’s first Military Ombudsman to protect servicemen’s rights, with inspections and oversight of the armed forces.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted draft law No. 13266 on the military ombudsman, approving it in the second reading and as a whole on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

According to the parliament’s press service, 283 deputies voted in favor.

Yulia Navalnaya said two labs from different countries confirmed Alexei Navalny was poisoned in prison, but the results are being withheld for political reasons.

The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February last year, said two laboratories in different countries have confirmed that her husband was poisoned for a second time while in custody.

In a statement on Telegram, Navalnaya said her team managed to obtain Navalny’s biological samples in February 2024 and smuggle them abroad.

A modest Ukrainian victory in the north followed a bigger win in the east. Overall Kremlin forces still are advancing slowly, while Kyiv stands on the defensive and counterattacks on opportunity.

A Ukrainian counterattack in the northern Sumy sector captured a defensive line held by elite Russian “marines” capturing prisoners and putting survivors to flight, a Kyiv Post review of battle reports, geo-located content and official statements covering the weekend action found.

Elements of Ukraine’s 225th Assault Regiment attacking north from the villages of Kindrativka and Andriivka used artillery, mortars, drone strikes and armored infantry assaults to break positions held by Russia’s 810th Naval Infantry Brigade, video published by that unit and Ukraine’s General Staff showed.

Swarmer, Ukraine’s Leading Drone Autonomy and Swarming Company, arranged $15m Series A financing from US Investors – the largest publicly announced investment in Ukrainian defense tech to date.

Swarmer, known for developing advanced battlefield AI products, has announced a $15m Series A round of financing – the single-largest investment in a Ukrainian defense tech company since the start of the war. 

Series A funding is the first major round of institutional investment that enables a startup to scale its operations, expand its market reach, and strengthen its product after initial seed funding, previous funds used to develop and test the idea. 

Atesh partisans report two railway sabotage strikes in 4 days – halting Russian supplies near Yekaterinburg and in the North Caucasus.

The Atesh guerrilla movement has claimed responsibility for sabotaging a railway junction near Yekaterinburg, warning that as a result “all military logistics of Russia are under threat.”

“Our agent carried out sabotage on the railway near Yekaterinburg, damaging relay equipment. This disrupted the movement of trains in all strategic directions,” the group said in a statement, accompanied by photos and videos that Kyiv Post could not independently verify.

During a long stay in the US, I saw how Trump exploits deep-seated structural weaknesses. The November 2026 midterm elections are now crucial.

I return to Europe from the US with a clear conclusion: American democrats (lowercase d) have 400 days to start saving US democracy. If next autumn’s midterm elections produce a Congress that begins to constrain Donald Trump there will then be a further 700 days to prepare the peaceful transfer of executive power that alone will secure the future of this republic. Operation Save US Democracy, stages 1 and 2.

Hysterical hyperbole? I would love to think so. But during seven weeks in the US this summer, I was shaken every day by the speed and executive brutality of President Trump’s assault on what had seemed settled norms of US democracy and by the desperate weakness of resistance to that assault. There’s a growing body of international evidence to suggest that once a liberal democracy has been eroded, it’s very difficult to restore it. Destruction is so much easier than construction.

Under the deal, the UK has committed to providing Ukraine with at least £3 billion ($3.7 billion) in military aid each year up until 2030-31, with a promise of additional support as needed.

Ukraine’s parliament has approved a 100-year partnership agreement with the United Kingdom. The vote on Wednesday passed with 295 lawmakers in favor.

The deal, signed on Jan. 16, expands cooperation between the two countries from a 10-year framework to a century-long partnership. It covers security, defense, the economy, science, technology, and culture.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• The logistics hub of Pokrovsk remains the focal point for Russian offensive operations. Pokrovsk is an important defensive lynchpin, constraining Russian advances in the wider Donetsk oblast and towards the Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, both of which are also Russian objectives.
• Major elements of Russia’s Naval Infantry have been transferred from Russia’s Kursk region and Ukraine’s Sum region to the Pokrovsk-Dobropillia axis, where they have started to conduct offensive activity in small groups.
• The Ukrainian logistics hub of Lyman, also in Donetsk, remains a Russian objective, having previously been retaken by Ukrainian forces in a September 2022 counterattack. Russian forces have taken the majority of the Serebriansk forest to the south east of Lyman, and are consolidating territory along the Siverskyi Donets river.
• Russian forces have consolidated control over sectors of the areas bordering Dnipropetrovsk oblast and Donetsk oblast. Most of these border areas are likely still contested by Ukrainian forces. However in the vicinity of the village Sosnivka, Russian forces have advanced approximately 10 km further into Dnipropetrovsk on a narrow front.

Sweden announced on Monday that it will increase defense spending in 2026 in order to address the “multi-dimensional” threat that Russia poses to its and Europe’s security.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Swedish Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced

That its 2026 defense budget will be increased by SEK 26.6 billion ($2.87 billion), an equivalent of 2.8% of GDP and an 18% increase over that of 2025. It said that spending will be further increased to 3.1% of GDP by 2028 as it moves towards the NATO mandated 3.5% by 2030.

A Polish news outlet says its prosecutors office is withholding information about what hit the house during last week’s cross border incident is because it was an “own goal.”

The Polish news outlet Rzeczpospolita said in an editorial on Tuesday that it was more likely that a house badly damaged in the town of Wyryki Wola in Poland’s Lublin Voivodeship was hit by an air-to-air missile fired by one of its own fighters than a Russian drone. Both Polish F-16 and Dutch F-35 fighters are said to have engaged the incoming drones.

The extraordinary violation of Polish airspace by as many as 19 Russian drones on the night of Sept. 9-10 was called a “large scale [Russian] provocation” by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. In response Polish authorities said that NATO aircraft had shot down at least four drones with the rest apparently crashing without causing any damage – except for the strike on the Wyryki Wola house.

For the first time, AR5 long-range drones will be built in Britain, while production of the smaller AR3 will expand. Both models are already in service with Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

Britain will open a £400 million ($550 million) drone factory in Swindon, the UK government announced in a press release, bringing production of the Tekever AR5 long-range drone to the country for the first time and expanding work on the RAF’s AR3 drones.

The project is closely linked to support for Ukraine as it continues to fight Russia’s invasion.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola arrived in Kyiv to address the Verkhovna Rada and announce the opening of the Parliament’s official representation in Ukraine.

President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday morning to reaffirm Europe’s “continued and unwavering support” for Ukraine, her team told Kyiv Post.

Metsola is scheduled to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, and Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, as well as with faction and group leaders of the Ukrainian parliament.

A senior United Nations official said the revised budget number is $3.238 billion, and would result in the elimination of 2,681 jobs.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is proposing a 15-percent cut to the UN’s regular budget in 2026 as it struggles with chronic liquidity problems made more acute by US President Donald Trump’s policies.

A senior United Nations official said the revised budget number is $3.238 billion, and would result in the elimination of 2,681 jobs.

The Polish army has shot down a drone over Warsaw and another drone entered Romania’s airspace on Saturday. Russia has denied responsibility for the incidents.

After the incursion of Russian drones in Polish airspace last Wednesday, further incidents on Nato’s external border are heightening tensions between Moscow and the Western military alliance. The Polish army has shot down a drone over Warsaw and another drone entered Romania’s airspace on Saturday. Russia has denied responsibility for the incidents. European commentators are nevertheless alarmed.

A cynical lack of empathy

Shtengelov, 54, founded food company KDV in Siberia in the 1990s and built it into one of Russia’s largest snack producers, valued at around 500 billion rubles (€5.1 billion).

Russian prosecutors are seeking to seize control of a major snack food company owned by billionaire Denis Shtengelov, accusing him of supporting Ukraine and moving funds abroad.

Shtengelov, 54, founded food company KDV in Siberia in the 1990s and built it into one of Russia’s largest snack producers, valued at around 500 billion rubles (€5.1 billion). The company sells a range of products, including biscuits, chocolate, chewing gum, and wafers. Bloomberg estimates his personal fortune at more than €2.2 billion. 

Following a call with Donald Trump, Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is preparing its 19th sanctions package against Russia, targeting crypto, banks, and energy.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said late on Sept. 16 that she “had a good call” with US President Donald Trump.

“I had a good call with @POTUS on strengthening our joint efforts to increase economic pressure on Russia through additional measures,” von der Leyen wrote on X.

Trump is the first US president to be invited for two state visits, after previously being hosted by Queen Elizabeth II during his last term in office in 2019.

US President Donald Trump arrived in Britain on Tuesday for an unprecedented second state visit, with the UK government rolling out a royal red carpet welcome to win over the mercurial leader.

“A lot of things here warm my heart,” the 79-year-old Republican told reporters after he arrived with First Lady Melania Trump. “It’s a very special place.”

Ukrainians overwhelmingly dismiss Moscow’s “peace plan,” with many fearing it would trigger another invasion.

Seventy-five percent of Ukrainians categorically reject Russia’s so-called “peace plan,” which envisions the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas.

That is according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), Ukrinform reports.

Russian drone strikes hit Ukrzaliznytsia substations, cutting power to Kropyvnytskyi and 44 settlements, disrupting train services and sparking fires in Kirovohrad and Cherkasy regions.

The Russian forces launched fresh strikes against Ukraine early Wednesday, Sept. 17, targeting Ukrzaliznytsia substations and cutting power to the regional center of Kropyvnytskyia and 44 settlements in the Kirovohrad region.

Local authorities reported that both Kropyvnytskyi and 44 settlements in the Oleksandrivka territorial community were partially without electricity. Several private homes in Oleksandrivka were also damaged.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw the final day of the Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 joint military exercises on September 16.
• Ukraine’s ongoing long-range strike campaign targeting critical Russian energy infrastructure continues to degrade Russia’s oil and gasoline markets, likely affecting Russia’s long-term ability to finance its war in Ukraine.
• Ukraine continues to demonstrate its adeptness at innovating and fielding drones with increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) technology while maintaining accessible costs, significantly augmenting Ukrainian drone effectiveness.
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko continues to rhetorically distance himself from Russia’s recent incursion into Polish airspace in an attempt to obfuscate the fact that Belarus is de facto a cobelligerent in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area, and in eastern Zaporizhia Oblast.

In an interview with Kyiv Post, Gen. Philip Breedlove explains why the Mihail Kogălniceanu facility is set to play a pivotal role in confronting Russian aggression and securing peace in Ukraine.

WASHINGTON DC – The logistical key to any future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine lies not on the front lines, but hundreds of miles away in Romania, according to a former top NATO commander.

Retired US Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, the former Supreme Allied Commander, NATO, told Kyiv Post in an interview that Romania’s strategic air bases would be “absolutely critical” for any large-scale international force aimed at stabilizing a post-conflict Ukraine.

The worldwide Orthodox leader’s US trip moves beyond spiritual rites to challenge the Kremlin’s influence, winning praise from lawmakers and the White House.

WASHINGTON, DC – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians worldwide, visited the US capital early this week for a trip largely dominated by discussions on the ongoing war in Ukraine.

As the “first among equals” of Orthodox Christianity, Bartholomew is no stranger to global affairs. His visit, which included a high-profile meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, was a testament to his role not just as a religious figure but as a global statesman.