US Patriot missile stocks are ‘beyond critical’ in Europe due to Iran war, report says
The U.S. military is reportedly experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe, largely driven by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.
Citing a U.S. defense official in Europe and a NATO official, The Associated Press reported Thursday that the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack.
The NATO official confirmed the low inventories of Patriots missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles, among American and NATO forces in Europe. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
James Reynolds28 August 2026 13:45
Industrial facility in Russia hit by Ukrainian drone debris
The industrial facility in Russia’s Yaroslavl region was hit by Ukrainian drone debris, the local governor said on Friday.
One person was killed in the attack, and 27 people were injured, Mikhail Evrayev said in a Telegram post.
James Reynolds28 August 2026 13:15
Watch: Kyiv region faces repeated strikes as rescuers continue workKyiv region faces repeated strikes as rescuers continue work
James Reynolds28 August 2026 12:45
Recap: Donald Trump says Putin will not attack Nato
Donald Trump said on Thursday that Russian president Vladimir Putin will not attack a Nato country, playing down reports that the head of the CIA warned Moscow against such an attack this week.
“He’s not going to attack a NATO territory,” Trump said of the Russian leader while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office.
Earlier in the day, Trump told Axios that there would be no such attack, and that CIA director John Ratcliffe, who flew to Russia on Tuesday to meet briefly with intelligence counterparts, had not been dispatched to deliver any particular message.
“Ratcliffe sees his Russian counterpart once every six months or once every year. They have a very good relationship. There was no message and there was nothing unusual,” Trump told the news outlet.
John Ratcliffe (AFP/Getty)
James Reynolds28 August 2026 12:15
‘We do a big shop and stock up on dry goods’: Readers on how they’re preparing for food shortages
The government is preparing to tell Britons to stock up on tinned food and bottled water, as ministers step up planning for extreme weather and potential attacks on the UK’s infrastructure.
The advice comes against a backdrop of heightened tension with Russia over Britain’s support for Ukraine, as well as a summer of heatwaves that has left farmers warning of the worst food security crisis in decades.
For many readers, the advice was nothing new. Dozens described habits many had already adopted – stocking up on tinned goods, running solar-powered freezers, growing their own veg – driven less by the cost of living.
Here’s what you had to say:
James Reynolds28 August 2026 11:45
Top story: Russia threatens to bomb UK military bases over support for Ukraine
Maria Zakharova told the same Moscow news briefing earlier that Britain and France were “playing with fire” by supplying sensitive missile technology to Ukraine.
James Reynolds28 August 2026 11:15
The Independent View: Six months on, Donald Trump’s Iranian ‘excursion’ must end
Editorial: Iran was clearly the wrong war for America to intervene in, not just because it was so senseless, but because there were others where US power and prestige could have been more fruitfully deployed.
The most obvious is, of course, Ukraine, where, had Mr Trump continued the policies of his predecessor (and of his own instincts in his first term, when the trouble was brewing), it is quite conceivable that Ukraine might well have prevailed by now, armed as it would have been with all the weaponry and anti-missile defences that have been squandered in and around the Persian Gulf.
James Reynolds28 August 2026 10:45
The latest: Russia strikes Ukraine’s capital with waves of drones
Russia launched waves of drones at Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and surrounding region on Friday, damaging warehouses and homes in a second consecutive day of strikes Ukrainian officials said were an attempt to derail daily life for millions of residents.
At least one person was killed outside Kyiv, said Governor Tymur Tkachenko, adding that 14 warehouse premises, 16 homes and three blocks of apartment buildings had been damaged.
Frequent air-raid sirens blared throughout the city on Friday morning, a day after an hours-long missile and drone attack on Ukraine that targeted major retailers and consumer logistics in Kyiv and elsewhere.
Those strikes continued on Friday, destroying sorting centres belonging to Ukraine’s top private courier Nova Poshta near Kyiv and in the northern city of Sumy, the company said.
In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian drone tore into major home-improvement store Epicenter, wounding at least four people, Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Friday.
Parts of a shot-down kamikaze drone at a site of a Russian strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Vyshneve in Kyiv region, Ukraine, August 28 (Reuters)
Reuters28 August 2026 10:35
Ukraine thanks EU members for push to restart debate around using frozen Russian assets
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday that Kyiv was grateful to four European Union member states for their initiative to reopen the debate on using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine.
“Russia refuses to end the war and escalates terror instead. Ukraine needs to bridge gaps for growing defense expenditures and recovery costs.”
“It is only fair and logical to use Russian assets, rather than only European taxpayers money’, to cover additional costs of defending Ukraine and the rest of Europe from the Russian threat,” he said, adding that he was looking forward to talks with EU colleagues next week to “examine paths forward”.
The four states that proposed reopening the debate are the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden.
James Reynolds28 August 2026 10:15
The latest: Nearly 1,500,000 Russian casualties in Ukraine since 2022, says Kyiv
Ukraine’s general staff claims in its daily update that Russia has lost 1,483,780 troops in Ukraine since 24 February 2022.
That includes an additional 1,630 recorded over the past day, they say.
James Reynolds28 August 2026 09:45