Kyiv denies Russian claims of capturing half of Kupiansk
Ukraine’s military has denied Russian claims of advancing in the country’s northeastern Kharkiv region’s Kupiansk city.
Russia’s defence ministry said that its troops had captured “about half” of the city of Kupiansk in a military update yesterday.
The Russian defence ministry released a drone video showing a soldier holding a Russian flag while standing on a road in the town. Much of the city has been destroyed as Moscow tries to seize it back as part of a slow advance westward along parts of the 1,000-km (620-mile) long frontline.
Ukraine’s 10th army corps, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, described the Russian report as staged propaganda.
“All such attempts are pointless,” it said alongside a video of its own, which it said showed a Russian unit being destroyed. “All such attempts by the Russian occupiers to use localities as a decoration for propaganda videos are doomed to fail.”
Ukraine’s official Centre Against Disinformation said any notion that Russian forces had advanced into Kupiansk was untrue and a propaganda exercise.
Kupiansk has been the focus of months of increased Russian military activity and heavy fighting. Russian troops captured the city in the early weeks of their February 2022 invasion and Ukrainian forces took it back later that same year.
Arpan Rai4 September 2025 05:26
German foreign minister seeks India’s help to bring ally Russia into Ukraine peace talks
German foreign minister Johann Wadephul urged India to press its close ally Russia to return to peace talks over the war in Ukraine, days after Indian prime minister Narendra Modi met Russian president Vladimir Putin at a regional summit in China.
Wadephul told a news conference yesterday that despite enormous efforts by Europe and the United States, Russia hasn’t been willing to enter negotiations, a challenge New Delhi could possibly address.
“The only demand is that weapons fall silent,” the German minister said during his two-day visit to India, adding that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has shown an intention to make peace.
Arpan Rai4 September 2025 05:07
‘Coalition of the willing’ and other Ukrainian allies meet today to discuss security guarantees
Some 30 leaders will hold talks today with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky over future security guarantees to Kyiv if there is a ceasefire with Russia, hoping they have done enough to persuade the United States to back their efforts.
The summit, both in person and virtually, of the “coalition of the willing” brings together leaders mostly from Europe, but also Turkey, Australia and Canada.
The countries have talked for months at various levels to define their military contributions to Ukraine to help deter Russia from attacking it again once there is a final truce.
But those efforts have stalled recently as governments have said any European military role would need its own US security guarantees as a backstop. President Donald Trump has made no explicit commitment to provide those.
French president Emmanuel Macron said alongside Zelensky in Paris on Wednesday that the coalition leaders would endorse plans today for security guarantees completed by their militaries.
Arpan Rai4 September 2025 04:56
Russia says potential military troops deployment in Ukraine unacceptable
Russia has no plans to discuss any potential foreign military deployment in Ukraine in any format, calling it “unacceptable”, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters today.
She was commenting on remarks by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on plans to send European troops to Ukraine, a move, which was also rejected by Germany.
In an interview to the Financial Times on Sunday, von der Leyen said Europe was drawing up “pretty precise plans” for a multinational troop deployment to Ukraine as part of post-conflict security guarantees that will have the backing of US capabilities.
“Russia is not going to discuss a foreign intervention in Ukraine in any form or format that is fundamentally unacceptable and undermines any security,” Zakharova told a weekly briefing with reporters.
Germany’s defence minister on Monday also harshly dismissed as premature remarks by von der Leyen.
A soldier fires a mortar towards positions of Russian troops near Kostyantynivka in Donetsk region (AP)
Arpan Rai4 September 2025 04:35
Trump issues fresh warning to Putin
Donald Trump warned “you’ll see things happen” if the US is unhappy with Vladimir Putin’s decisions over the war in Ukraine.
Speaking alongside Polish president Karol Nawrocki on Wednesday, the US president said he was awaiting a decision from Putin, as he spoke of the ongoing loss of lives in the region due to the conflict.
Putin had earlier said he would be prepared to meet Volodymyr Zelensky in Moscow following weeks of apparent stalling on peace talks since the summit in Alaska.
“I have no message to President Putin,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“He knows where I stand and he’ll make a decision one way or another. Whatever his decision is, we’ll either be happy about it or unhappy about it and if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen,” he said.
Putin said on Wednesday he believed “that if common sense prevails, it is possible to agree on an acceptable option for ending the conflict,” adding that Mr Trump has “a sincere desire” to find a settlement.
“It seems to me that there is a certain light at the end of the tunnel,” Putin said at a news conference in Beijing, wrapping up a four-day visit to China. “Let’s see how the situation develops. If not, then we will have to achieve our goal by military means.”
Arpan Rai4 September 2025 04:19
Recap: Trump promises to keep backing Poland with troops
Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US could increase its troop presence in Poland and pledged to secure the country’s defences during a White House meeting with its conservative nationalist president, Karol Nawrocki.
Mr Trump said the US had a “tremendous relationship” with Poland. Asked whether he planned to keep American troops in Poland, Trump said yes. “We’ll put more there if they want,” he said.
The US military presence on Nato’s eastern flank, including Poland, remains one of the central issues for Warsaw, which is seeking assurances of continued support in the midst of Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Jane Dalton4 September 2025 04:02
Ukraine to roll out sweeteners for soldiers over 24
Ukraine may roll out benefits previously offered only to new recruits aged 18-24 to older age groups, President Zelensky’s Deputy Chief of Staff Pavlo Palisa said, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine introduced updated military contracts, also known as the “18-24” contracts, in early 2025. These contracts target volunteers aged 18 to 24 who are not yet subject to conscription.
They offered those who commit to a one-year service contract a one-million-hryvnia (£18,000) bonus, paid in three instalments.
Jane Dalton4 September 2025 03:01
Analysis: Putin rehabilitation is almost complete
What the Kremlin leader cares about is “Making Russia Great Again”, writes Owen Matthews:
Jane Dalton4 September 2025 02:02
We’ll get strong security guarantees thanks to France, Zelensky says
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says he believes his efforts with France will deliver strong security guarantees.
Mr Zelensky and French leader Emmanuel Macron gave each other warm hugs when they met for talks in Paris.
Jane Dalton4 September 2025 01:01
China summit with Putin may signal geopolitical shift
Jane Dalton3 September 2025 23:59