Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is demanding signs of willingness to negotiate from Russian President Vladimir Putin after his invitation to the G20 summit in the USA. Putin must “prove whether there is a willingness for peace, a willingness to negotiate on the Russian side,” said the CDU politician at a meeting with his Slovak colleague Juraj Blanar in the capital Bratislava. “Of course, the best way to underline this is to take steps in this direction from the outset.”
The invitation to Putin to the G20 summit is a litmus test for Russia, emphasized Wadephul. Moscow can best underline its willingness to negotiate “by taking steps in this direction from the outset” – for example through a ceasefire for the Black Sea, “which made urgently needed grain exports possible.”
This is a big question for grain producers Ukraine and Russia, but an even bigger question for many countries in the global south, Wadephul warned. “There is a threat of famine there, there is a threat of further humanitarian catastrophes and there is a threat of further destabilization of states.” This could lead to refugee movements, displacement and new military conflicts. He therefore urgently appeals to Russia to show understanding here.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk now considers Russian attacks in the Ukrainian border region with his country to be a permanent situation. Polish Air Force fighter jets would take off every night because Russia's attacks in this region had taken on a "permanent character," Tusk told a cabinet meeting in Warsaw. His country faces difficult weeks and months ahead.
According to Polish government information, on Monday there was another drone attack on Ukrainian territory not far from the Dorohusk-Jahodyn border crossing. According to Ukrainian information, during the attack the drone damaged a border control building with its pressure wave.
In the past two weeks, Russian drones have repeatedly attacked targets in Ukraine near the same border crossing. A passenger train from Kyiv to Warsaw was also attacked there. Poland's government accuses Russia of intensifying the war in Ukraine.
According to its Secretary General Mark Rutte, NATO will not let Russia dissuade it from continuing to support Ukraine. “Russia continues its ruthless campaign of hostile actions against NATO,” Rutte told reporters in Brussels.
It seeks to weaken our resolve and stop our support for Ukraine. But that won't work... Our message to Moscow is clear: we will do more for Ukraine, not less.
According to the government in Tallinn, an arson attack on an Estonian defense company in August was ordered by Russian secret services. This was announced by Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, citing information from the domestic secret service KAPO. The affected company, Milrem Robotics, supplies unmanned vehicles to Ukraine.
Estonia did not provide any evidence to support the suspicion, citing the security services' duty of secrecy. However, the government said the incident was consistent with other acts of sabotage carried out on behalf of Russia in Europe. A Russian statement was initially not available. The government in Moscow has repeatedly rejected allegations by Western states of sabotage and other hybrid attacks in Europe.
The Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhenij Khmara is canceling his inaugural visit to his German counterpart Boris Pistorius in Berlin planned for today at short notice. The Defense Ministry said the reason was the current situation in Ukraine. Both sides are therefore trying to find an alternative date as soon as possible. The meeting was supposed to focus on further military support for the country as it prepares for another winter of war with Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, North Korea is preparing to send another 10,000 soldiers to Russia. There are already more than 8,000 soldiers from North Korea on Russian territory, writes Zelenskyj on Platform X. There is currently no Russian or North Korean statement.
Pope Leo XIV has called for new international efforts to talk about ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. “We must call on the heads of state and government of Russia, Ukraine and other countries to meet, to sit down at the table, to talk to each other,” said the head of the Catholic Church on the flight home from his trip to France.
He called his goal “to find solutions to these problems – instead of insisting on wars that no longer make sense.” The Russian war of aggression against its neighboring country has been going on for more than four and a half years. The Vatican's mediation efforts have not yet brought any progress. The pope made the remarks to journalists on the plane that brought him back to Rome after four days in France.
According to a decree, Russian President Vladimir Putin is increasing his country's army to 1.55 million soldiers. The number of active soldiers will increase by 15,500. The measure follows a similar increase in August.
Russia wants to increase its military spending in 2027 to a new high since the start of the war in Ukraine. Spending of 17.1 trillion rubles (around 178 billion euros) is planned, according to government documents available to the Reuters news agency on Monday. This corresponds to an increase of around 27 percent compared to the originally estimated budget of 13.5 trillion rubles.
Overall, defense spending is expected to amount to 50 trillion rubles in the next three years. 12.1 trillion rubles were originally earmarked for defense in 2026, but the actual amount is classified. In addition, parts of military spending can be recorded in other areas of the budget.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has already begun additional mobilization. “They (the Russians) are also planning to increasingly involve foreigners,” Zelensky said in his evening video address, citing findings from Ukrainian secret services. For months there has been speculation about a new mobilization in Russia to compensate for the recent heavy losses on the front lines in Ukraine. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has so far categorically rejected such fears.
There is also new information about the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia. “There are currently more than 8,000 North Korean soldiers on Russian territory,” Zelensky said. “In addition, the deployment of a contingent of another 10,000 soldiers is being prepared - these will be selected to undergo training and then be deployed to Russia.”
According to the government in Warsaw, there was another drone attack not far from a border crossing in the Ukrainian border region with Poland. "Another attack by Russia on western Ukraine. A jet-powered drone hit the Ukrainian side about two kilometers from the border crossing with Poland in Dorohusk," wrote Poland's Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz on Platform X. The airspace over Poland was therefore not violated.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul believes that further meetings with Russia only make sense under certain conditions after the conversation with his Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov. “Follow-up meetings only make sense if Russia is seriously prepared to negotiate,” said the CDU politician at a meeting with his Dutch colleague Tom Berendsen in The Hague when asked whether there should be further talks, for example between Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The reaction that I have now heard publicly from Mr. Lavrov does not show any serious willingness to talk at this point in time.
All those who had repeatedly called for direct talks to finally be held with Russia now see that “direct talks are of no use if the interlocutor insists on a fundamental position for further warfare.” He added: "As long as that is the case, I don't think we need to continue the conversation." But the Federal Foreign Minister also emphasized: “If Russia is ready for sensible talks, then they must be held.” It is clear that Europe must then be there.
Poland has briefly called on residents of the eastern Lublin region to go to safe places. In view of the Russian attacks on neighboring Ukraine, this region of Poland is also at risk of an air attack, says the Polish Government Center for Security. It had previously announced that Polish fighter jets were operating in Polish airspace due to Russian attacks on Ukraine. Shortly afterwards it lifted the warning again.
A court in Estonia has sentenced a pro-Kremlin activist to prison for non-violent actions by a foreigner against the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the EU and NATO country that borders Russia. The man was also found guilty of repeated violations of international sanctions and was sentenced to a total of seven years in prison.
According to the statement, the judges' verdict in Tallinn came about after a so-called agreement between the court and the defendant, who was arrested in November 2025. It is not yet legally binding.
According to the indictment, the 52-year-old man is said to have participated in disinformation campaigns against Estonia since May 2022, which were carried out for the benefit and in the interests of Russia. To this end, he was in contact with various Russian institutions and people who were involved in influence activities. This included the creation and dissemination of narratives justifying Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, false claims and fear-mongering - particularly via a YouTube channel.
According to official information, a clinic was hit in a series of Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev. “The rescue workers are currently trying to put out the fire as quickly as possible,” wrote President Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram. No information was provided about possible victims of this attack.
The private clinic chain Dobrobut initially confirmed an impact in a facility to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The company later specified the branch. Before the clinic moved in, the building housed a branch of the telecommunications company Ukrtelecom.
According to the Federal Government and the EU, the first direct talks between Germany and Russia since the attack on Ukraine began four and a half years ago have shown that Russia has no interest in peace negotiations.
The positions were “miles” apart, a spokesman for the Foreign Office in Berlin said on Monday. The meeting confirmed the federal government's assessment that Moscow was still not ready for serious negotiations about a ceasefire or an end to the war.
According to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's reaction to his conversation with Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul shows that Russia is not interested in peace. Lavrov and Wadephul met on Saturday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The Russian Foreign Minister then made negative comments about the meeting. He said at a press conference that he had not learned anything new and that Wadephul might as well have called him.
In the dispute over the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war, the South Korean Foreign Ministry has summoned the charge d'affaires of the Ukrainian embassy in Seoul. South Korea accuses Ukraine of violating an agreement on the confidentiality of the transfer.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj publicly announced for the first time last Wednesday in his speech at the UN general debate in New York that Ukraine had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea.
The Ukrainian military has continued its attacks on Russian territory, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. The targets were oil facilities in the Krasnodar region and two arms factories in the Tula and Voronezh regions. The acting governor of Bryansk also announced that railway infrastructure in the Russian border region had been attacked with Ukrainian drones. A railway bridge partially collapsed. Almost 30 wagons derailed. Nobody was injured.
