Russia resumes attacks on Kiev, peace talks and UK aid

Russia resumes attacks on Kiev after a three-day truce, during meetings between US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Moscow, with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and in Kiev with the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky. An air alert was raised in the Ukrainian capital. Buildings hit on the outskirts of the capital. Overwhelmed by accusations of corruption, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko, resigns. Meanwhile, Trump receives a report from the envoys that reveals glimmers of hope: "Substantial progress has been made, including progress in planning further trilateral talks," Witkoff announced. Trump would be ready to call Zelensky and Putin directly. The Kremlin speaks of a "small step towards peace" and Ukraine does not close.

The British government will provide £100 million (€116.5 million) to provide Ukraine with air defense capabilities, including Patriot missiles, 'before winter', the Ministry of Defense announces. Mobilized as part of a contribution to a NATO program dedicated to supporting Kiev, these assets, including interceptors, large-caliber munitions and drones, 'will help Ukraine defend itself from barbaric Russian attacks this winter,' the ministry said in a statement. The American envoys Witkoff and Kushner reiterated President Trump's position in Moscow which excludes Ukraine's entry into NATO and recognizes the reality on the ground, and this elicits a positive response from Moscow, which wants to continue the dialogue. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said this as quoted by Tass.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has once again said he is willing to reach an agreement with Russia to mutually stop attacks on energy infrastructure and those linked to agricultural exports. 'Grain and energy are sensitive issues for Ukraine and Russia. And these are sensitive issues for the whole world. For India right now, for the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Asia and many other countries. We are ready to find a compromise on this,' Zelensky said in response to journalists' questions. Ukraine is particularly vulnerable at this stage to Russian attacks conducted with jet drones and ballistic missiles, due to the lack of systems capable of intercepting them. Kiev also fears a new large-scale bombing campaign against the energy system ahead of winter. In recent weeks, activity at Ukrainian seaports, through which most of the country's agricultural exports pass, has fallen to almost zero due to Russian attacks on ships and port infrastructure. Zelensky raised the possibility of a partial truce after receiving American mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Kiev on Sunday, who had met Russian President Vladimir Putin the previous day in Moscow. Moscow had previously rejected proposals of this type. The new round of contacts has so far produced no concrete results, but Zelensky thanked the US envoys for reactivating the negotiation process after more than six months without in-person talks at the highest level. The Ukrainian president added that a next direct meeting between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, with the mediation of the United States, could be held, if agreed, in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey or Switzerland. Zelensky finally said he expected a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the latter part of September.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is aiming for trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States as early as September, after visits to Moscow and Kiev by Donald Trump's envoys to relaunch diplomatic negotiations suspended for months. 'We will all work to prepare and facilitate the holding of a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States. If all parties agree, we would like it to be held this autumn, perhaps as early as September. The sooner the better,'' Zelensky told reporters.

The death toll in the latest attacks attributed to Russia on Kiev has risen to three: the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitschko, announced this on Telegram.

'Today Russia hit the media and journalists. An attack drone hit the building of the We Are Ukraine television station, which is part of the United News telethon. It happened in broad daylight, while journalists were live. The building was partially destroyed': Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky reported it on X, adding that the raid, which took place in Kiev, left at least five injured. 'Unfortunately the number could still increase', added the Ukrainian leader, according to whom the launch of 'shaded' drones against the media marks a new chapter in the degradation of Russia', to which 'Europe and the world must certainly respond'.

The response to the 'Russophobic lobby' in Budapest will be 'harsh and painful', Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Tass agency, commenting on the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats from Hungary.

The conflict in Ukraine could have ended long ago, but Ukrainians 'are being significantly provoked by some European countries' to continue the conflict. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this during a briefing with Indian media ahead of the BRICS summit in New Delhi. 'I wouldn't say that Kiev is showing much flexibility, and I wouldn't even say that it really wants to end this war,' Peskov said, quoted by Russian news agencies. 'We hope for the resumption of negotiations between the three parties: Russia, Ukraine and the United States,' the Kremlin spokesperson also declared.

A meeting between Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators could take place as early as this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after US envoys held separate talks in Moscow and Kiev over the weekend. 'If all parties agree, we want to hold it in the autumn too. If September goes well, that would be great. The sooner it happens, the better,' Zelensky told reporters.

The Hungarian government has expelled ten employees of the Russian embassy in Budapest for carrying out activities considered 'unacceptable'. This was announced by Foreign Minister Anita Orban. 'Today the Foreign Ministry informed the Russian ambassador in Budapest that, according to the assessment of the Hungarian authorities, ten members of the staff of the Russian representation carried out activities in Hungary that were unacceptable for a diplomat under the Vienna Convention,' the minister wrote on Facebook.

Russian forces' attacks on Kiev and other regions last night were 'complex and planned to cause as much harm as possible,' Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky wrote in a blog post. Ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles and rocket-propelled drones were used. 'There is significant damage to residential buildings and other infrastructure in Kiev,' where ten people were injured, 13 were rescued by rescuers and two died,' he wrote. In the Kiev region, 'critical infrastructures' were hit, in the Odessa region, 'a market', two people were injured in Kharkiv, where an apartment building was damaged. The locomotive of the train between Kiev and Sumy was attacked at the Sumy station. The regions of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro were also affected. 175 aircraft were shot down 'but unfortunately not all: despite very positive results against cruise missiles, ballistic missiles remain very difficult to intercept', Zelensky added, underlining that today too there will be other talks with representatives of European and US countries and companies for the supply of systems and also for what is needed for the new Ukrainian defense system Freyja.

Moscow's Defense Ministry announced the conquest of two population centers in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. These are the villages of Dolgenkoe and Berezniki, we read on the Telegram channel of the Russian ministry.

Moscow had informed Kiev that if there had been further raids against civilian targets, including refineries, the response 'would have been much more difficult for Ukraine', explained Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. 'And that is exactly what is happening now,' he added, explaining that Moscow 'uses rhetoric to formulate clear and unambiguous warnings', directed towards Ukraine but also against countries such as Great Britain.

Russia must achieve its military objectives in Ukraine, but would prefer to do so through peaceful means. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 'Russia is ready to switch to the path of peace at any time, but this depends on Kiev,' added the Moscow spokesman.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would meet with US President Donald Trump after September 20 to discuss Ukraine's missile defense. The focus of the possible meeting would therefore be on strengthening Kiev's ability to intercept Russian missiles in the winter season.

'The time has come to follow Germany's example and close all 'Russian Homes' in Europe. Russian influence networks cannot be allowed to continue to operate while Russia refuses to end its war of aggression': this was stated by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, in a message on X denouncing the latest attacks launched by Moscow on Kiev and other areas of Ukraine. 'As the US president's peace envoys left the country, Putin launched another massive and terrible attack on Kiev, damaging residential areas and killing at least two people,' the Ukrainian minister added. 'His ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy. Attack after attack on residential buildings does not bring him any closer to victory in this war - it is nothing but senseless terror,' he further said.

The US recognizes the 'fundamental principles' for finding a negotiated solution to the conflict in Ukraine and 'is trying to help in this regard', and this 'deserves support'. The Russian Foreign Minister, Serghei Lavrov, said this in an interview with the American analyst Andrew Napolitano filmed by Tass. 'The fact that the Americans, in all their contacts with us, especially in their contacts with President Putin, base their actions on these realities, certainly evokes a positive response in us and makes us willing to continue talking to them,' Lavrov said.

North Korea presents the new road bridge over the Tumen River, which connects Rason and the Russian city of Khasan, as an infrastructure intended to give new impetus to bilateral relations. As reported by the South Korean agency Yonhap, citing KCNA, the bridge will guarantee the passage of vehicles and people and will contribute to the development of economic cooperation, human exchanges, tourism and the movement of goods. North Korean Prime Minister Pak Thae-song defined it as a 'new symbol' of the friendship between the two countries, capable of giving 'a new dynamism' to bilateral cooperation. Pyongyang also underlined that the bridge, named after the Soviet Yakov Novichenko, reflects the desire to transform good neighborly relations into relations of 'trust and camaraderie'. Until now the only connection between the two countries over the Tumen was a railway bridge.

The British government will provide £100 million (€116.5 million) to provide Ukraine with air defense capabilities, including Patriot missiles, 'before winter', the Ministry of Defense has announced. Mobilized as part of a contribution to a NATO program dedicated to supporting Kiev, these assets, including interceptors, large-caliber munitions and drones, 'will help Ukraine defend itself from barbaric Russian attacks this winter,' the ministry said in a statement.

Russia considers 'totally unacceptable and totally unrealistic' the restoration of the Black Sea grain initiative, which would allow the transit of ships with civilian cargoes from Ukrainian ports. Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov said this in an interview with Russian blogger Yulia Menshova on YouTube.