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

After meeting with the Russian president for more than five hours, the Belarusian leader warned that Ukraine will lose everything if it does not accept Putin’s terms.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told Russian state media on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is to announce a proposal for ending Russia’s war in Ukraine – warning of dire consequences for Ukraine if it does not accept.

Lukashenko’s comments followed a meeting with Putin in Moscow that lasted over five hours, as per Reuters.

President Nawrocki’s office said that the changes would end “tourism from Ukraine at the expense of Polish taxpayers.”

Polish President Karol Nawrocki signed a bill providing humanitarian support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland into law on Friday, having forced Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government to make key changes.

Among the changes are provisions that limit Polish state benefits – including medical rehabilitation, health programs, prescription drug coverage, and medical and dental services – for Ukrainian refugees, particularly those who are not working in the country.

Relations between Ukraine and Hungary reached what may be a new low on Friday after Hungary’s FM accused President Volodymyr Zelensky of “losing his mind” over drone violations.

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó denied Hungary’s involvement in the violation of Ukrainian airspace by reconnaissance drones on Friday – accusing President Volodymyr Zelensky of “losing his mind.”

Writing on Telegram at around 2 p.m., Zelensky said that Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky had briefed him about drone violations on Ukraine’s Hungarian border – adding that Hungary is “likely” responsible.

Russia shows no sign of letting up, with wave after wave of aerial assaults on Ukraine’s second city.

A Russian drone attack on a furniture store in Kharkiv injured at least four people in the city’s Kyivskyi district on Friday.

Oleh Syniehubov, head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, confirmed the attack on Telegram just before 4 p.m. on Sept. 26 – although at that time emergency services had only identified two victims.

The State Statistics Service’s estimate of Ukraine’s real GDP growth turned out to be lower than both the IER and Ukraine’s central bank had previously estimated.

Ukraine’s real GDP rose by 0.8% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period the previous year, the State Statistics Service reported.

The service published the flash estimate of GDP for Q2, which will likely be subject to further clarification in the coming months. 

On Monday, Moldovan authorities detained 74 people linked to a protester training program in Serbia.

Serbian police arrested two people on Friday, accused of running “combat-tactical training” for dozens of protesters ahead of tense Moldovan parliamentary elections this weekend.

The arrests come after Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, accused Russia of paying “hundreds of people” to destabilize the country ahead of Sunday’s vote.

In this episode of Off the Record, Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Natalka Cmoc speaks with Gaël Veyssière, the Ambassador of France to Ukraine.

The record shows the Russian military was and is aggressive. A recent US diplomatic offensive to change that has failed pretty epically, the record also shows.

NATO states placed big hopes on a long-scheduled Sept. 21 telephone call between authoritarian Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart President Donald J. Trump, as a make-or-break moment for peace in Ukraine and security and stability in Europe.

On Sept. 2 Trump let pass without action a 50-day deadline giving Russia the choice of agreeing to a Ukraine ceasefire or facing US sanctions. Following that reprieve, on Sept. 8 the US leader threatened “tougher sanctions” on Russia.

Naftogaz has pitched 10 new energy projects, including shale and energy efficiency initiatives in western Ukraine, under the US-Ukraine mineral deal.

Ukraine’s state-owned gas giant Naftogaz Group has proposed 10 projects focused on energy extraction and efficiency under the US-Ukraine mineral deal.

The mineral deal, which allows US investors access to Ukraine’s energy and mineral wealth, was signed in May 2025.

Zelensky said the drones may have been gathering intelligence on industrial sites in border regions and ordered the military to review all available data and report on each incident immediately.

Ukraine said Friday that several reconnaissance drones crossed into its airspace along the border with Hungary and were “likely” Hungarian.

“Ukrainian forces recorded violations of our airspace by reconnaissance drones, which are likely Hungarian,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on social media.

Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Russia is facing a “fuel crisis” after Kyiv struck the Afipsky oil refinery again amid escalating attacks on Russia’s fuel infrastructure.

Ukrainian drones have struck the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region overnight on Friday, once again targeting one of Moscow’s key fuel suppliers.

“As part of reducing the enemy’s offensive potential and complicating the supply of fuel and ammunition to the military units of the occupiers, on the night of Sept. 26, units of the Unmanned Systems Forces, in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces, struck the facilities of the Afipsky oil refinery,” Ukraine’s General Staff wrote in its Friday Telegram update.

Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Russia had switched its frontline tactics and was now deploying small groups of four-to-six soldiers tasked with infiltrating Ukraine’s defences.

Russian forces have changed their front line tactics over the summer, deploying smaller sabotage groups in a bid to pierce deep through the front, Ukraine’s top commander has said.

Moscow controls around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, but has captured just one percent of the country over the past year, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute of the Study of War, which works with the Critical Threats Project.

Kyiv has barred three senior Hungarian military officials from entering Ukraine in a “mirror response” after Budapest imposed similar bans on Ukrainian officers.

Ukraine has barred three senior Hungarian military officials from entering the country in a tit-for-tat move after Budapest imposed entry bans on several Ukrainian officers.

“We’ve imposed an entry ban for three high-ranking Hungarian military officials,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote in an X update on Friday, Sept. 26.

The REPMUS 2025 naval exercise that ended on Friday was designed to evaluate the role that unmanned systems could play, with Ukrainian naval drones playing a pivotal role as the “red team.”

Ukrainian naval drones played a key role in NATO’s REPMUS 2025 maritime exercise, held Sept. 1-26, acting as enemy forces in scenarios modeled on Kyiv’s real-world battlefield experience against Russia.

The Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping using Maritime Uncrewed Systems (REPMUS) exercise, organized by Portugal, saw participation from 24 allied navies aimed at testing the use of and defense against autonomous naval systems, where Ukraine’s unique experience was leaned on heavily.

Ukrainian intelligence released an intercepted call from Donetsk in which a Russian commander threatened to shoot any soldier who tried to retreat, shouting, “Victory or death.”

Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) said it intercepted a call in which a Russian commander in the Donetsk region threatened to shoot any subordinate attempting to retreat, releasing the recording as evidence of coercion within occupying forces.

The recording captures the commander shouting that there was “no possibility to fall back” and that “nobody is leaving their f**king positions.”

Serhii Kolyada’s sharp cartoon takes aim at US President Donald Trump’s recent shift to a more confrontational stance toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Keosayan, a Russian filmmaker and television host, was hospitalized in late December 2024 in the intensive care unit of a Moscow cardiology clinic, where he suffered clinical death.

Tigran Keosayan, husband of Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the pro-Kremlin outlet Russia Today (RT) and the state-owned media group Rossiya Segodnya, died overnight Friday, Sept. 26, after being in a coma for more than nine months.

Simonyan announced the death on her Telegram channel, writing, “Last night, Tigran passed away and went to the Creator. Thank you to everyone who prayed. Please do not call me or the family right now. Thank you all, thank you.”

Hungarian Gripen fighters based in Lithuania intercepted five Russian fighters on Thursday, according to a NATO Allied Air Command statement on Facebook.

Hungarian Air Force Gripen fighters serving with the NATO Air Policing force were scrambled from Lithuania’s Šiauliai air base to intercept a Russian five-aircraft flight over the Baltic Sea west of the Latvian coast, according to a NATO Allied Air Command statement on Facebook on Thursday.

The Russian formation was said to consist of three MiG-31 (NATO: Foxhound) interceptors supported by a Su-30SM (NATO: Flanker-H) and a Su-35 (NATO: Flanker-E) fighters, which the report said were close to NATO airspace and not complying with international flight safety regulations.

Economists and entrepreneurs agree: Refugees from the Russian invasion of Ukraine have proven a huge boost to Poland’s economy – but now their contribution may be at risk.

Warsaw’s central business district is booming alongside Poland’s economy, but those teaching yoga and taking coffee orders in bustling premises under the glass and steel office towers are often Ukrainian.

Economists and entrepreneurs agree: Refugees from the Russian invasion of Ukraine have proven a huge boost to Poland’s economy -- but now their contribution may be at risk.

Russia’s 2026 draft budget shows $538bn spending vs $483bn revenue, implying $55bn of uncovered spending. It could be larger than the Finance Ministry’s 1.6% GDP deficit claim.

Russia’s government presented its draft of the federal budget for 2026–2028, but  the deficit to GDP estimates remained unrevealed and may be higher than 2% of GDP.

During the cabinet meeting on Sept. 24, Russia’s government presented the key figures of revenue, spending, the dynamics of GDP and economic growth, oil price growth, and the three-year budget for Russia’s economy.

The US military has around 800 generals and admirals, with each commander expected to travel with advisers and aides, the gathering could run into the thousands.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered hundreds of the US military’s generals and admirals to assemble next week at a Marine Corps base in Virginia, without explaining why – an unusual move that has raised eyebrows among Pentagon staff.

The order was first reported by The Washington Post, which cited more than a dozen sources who had seen the directive. They said they could not recall another defense secretary demanding such a gathering.

Several of Tbilisi’s top officials have sharply rejected recent remarks by the Ukrainian President who told the UN General Assembly that “Europe has already lost Georgia.”

Several senior Georgian political figures reacted with scorn to comments made by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speech to the 80th UNGA General Debate on Wednesday.

Speaking about ongoing Russian aggression Zelensky told delegates: “The global response is not enough. We have already lost Georgia in Europe. Human Rights and the European nature and the state system are only shrinking there. Georgia depends on Russia, and for many years, Belarus has also been moving towards dependence on Russia. Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova.”

After Tuesday’s meeting with Zelensky, Trump pivoted sharply on his previous position towards Ukraine, calling Putin’s war “very bad for Russia” and backing strikes on Russian infrastructure.

US President Donald Trump sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, saying he is “killing people for no reason” and insisting that Ukraine still has a chance to reclaim its territory.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump voiced disappointment over Russia’s war effort and condemned Moscow’s tactics.

Denmark’s Aalborg Airport was briefly closed Sept. 25 after drones were spotted in the airspace, forcing one flight to return and another to be canceled amid safety concerns.

Denmark’s Aalborg Airport was temporarily closed late Sept. 25 after drones were spotted in the airspace, marking the third such incident in a month.

Airport officials said passenger safety remained their top priority, and flights were diverted or canceled after staff reported the suspicious objects. Flight KL1289 returned to Amsterdam, while SK1225 from Copenhagen was canceled.

Sandu and her party have repeatedly warned that Russia may try to influence the vote. Commentators see the people of Moldova facing a choice between Europe and Russian paternalism.

The Republic of Moldova will hold parliamentary elections on 28 September. The pro-European PAS party led by President Maia Sandu has been at the helm of this country of 2.6 million inhabitants over the past four years. Sandu and her party have warned repeatedly during the election campaign that Russia may try to influence the vote. Commentators see the people of Moldova facing a choice between Europe and Russian paternalism.

Resist the pseudo-Europeans!

The violations also include “torture, ill-treatment, denial of fair trial rights, and unsafe detention and transfer conditions.”

Russia is responsible for “widespread and systematic violations” of international law in the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war including “arbitrary killings”, according to an OSCE report published Thursday.

The violations also include “torture, ill-treatment, denial of fair trial rights, and unsafe detention and transfer conditions,” said the report by the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

UK Deputy Prime Minister called on UN member states to contribute to establishing a just and lasting peace that allows Ukraine to emerge from Russia’s war as a sovereign, and independent nation.

At the United Nations, the United Kingdom reaffirmed its unwavering support for Ukraine in countering threats from Russia, emphasizing that this stance will remain unchanged in the future.

This statement was delivered from the podium of the UN General Assembly by UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

Russia launched 154 drones overnight, damaging civilian residential neighborhoods and infrastructure, and forcing rail disruptions in the Odesa region.

Russia launched an overnight drone barrage, hitting homes in the Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions, damaging infrastructure, and forcing rail disruptions in the Odesa region.

Russian forces attacked a residential area in the city of Sumy early on Sept. 26, damaging civilian homes, according to the head of the City Military Administration, Serhiy Kryvosheyenko.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

Daniel Fried, former US Ambassador, tells Kyiv Post that Moscow is exploiting divisions and only military firmness – backed by the US – will deter further escalation across Europe.

WASHINGTON DC – Veteran US diplomat Daniel Fried, who was instrumental in shaping American policy in Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union, has issued a call for NATO to adopt a more aggressive posture against persistent Russian military violations of Alliance airspace.

Speaking exclusively to Kyiv Post on Thursday, Fried, a former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs and now a fellow at the Atlantic Council, suggested the time for tolerance is over, arguing the alliance should be prepared to “start shooting down Russian airplanes” if they violate NATO territory and fail to comply with orders to leave.

Next week, US sanctions on a Russian-owned refinery take effect, leaving Serbians to fret over the economy, as they walk a fine line between Kremlin relations and EU aspirations.

US sanctions on Serbia’s largest oil producer, a majority-Russian-owned refinery and the only such facility in the Balkans, will begin on Oct 1, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said Thursday.

“The Americans have extended the non-imposition of sanctions for only four more days. So, from October 1, we will have sanctions imposed on the Serbian oil industry,” Vučić said.

The US President links advanced arms sales to Turkey’s compliance, while Hungary and Slovakia dismiss demands to halt Russian oil imports as geographically impossible.

WASHINGTON, DC – US President Donald Trump is leveraging the lure of advanced American weaponry to pressure a key NATO ally to sever its financial ties with Moscow, an approach that has underscored a growing and fundamental fissure within the alliance over Russian energy.

During a bilateral meeting on Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump reportedly tied the potential reversal of a ban on selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey’s willingness to halt its purchase of Russian oil, senior officials confirmed to Kyiv Post.

Plahotniuc was extradited just days ahead of pivotal parliamentary elections in Moldova which analysts say could be swayed by a campaign of Russian disinformation.

A former high-ranking Moldovan politician and fugitive oligarch has been extradited from Greece to stand trial in connection with Moldova’s largest-ever financial scandal.

Vladimir Plahotniuc, 59, is alleged to have orchestrated a 2014 banking fraud that saw $1 billion vanish from Moldovan banks.