Luke Bay
Russia extends diesel export ban until the end of October
Russia is exacerbating the tense situation on the global energy market by extending its diesel export ban. The government announced in Moscow on Wednesday that the export ban for fuel manufacturers will now apply until the end of October. The measure is likely to further increase pressure on the global energy market, which is already burdened by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and supply bottlenecks.
With the repeated export restrictions on gasoline and diesel, the Russian government wants to curb rising fuel prices in its own country and combat shortages. These were triggered by Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries. At the end of August, Moscow extended the diesel export ban until the end of September. However, deliveries to countries such as former Soviet republics and Mongolia under trade agreements are excluded. Russia is normally the second largest diesel exporter in the world after the United States.
Julius Stockheim
Russia bombards Kyiv with missiles and drones at night
The Ukrainian capital Kiev and its surrounding area were massively attacked by Russia with ballistic missiles and combat drones during the night. The city administration reported at least two dead and five injured in the city this morning. A child was also killed in a suburb. There was damage to several residential buildings, a shop and a warehouse, wrote Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Telegram. There were several fires and smoke hung over Kyiv.
The Unian news agency reported that the attack was directed against the energy supply for the first time in a long time. The Russian military in Moscow spoke of attacks on the Vyshgorod hydroelectric power station north of Kiev, the Tripillya thermal power plant in the south and a substation. The Nasa website Firms, which records fire sources worldwide via satellite, recorded fires in these locations.
Eva Glaser
Russia cuts social spending: record military budget
Russia is planning to cut social spending in view of drastically increasing defense spending. Funding for social policy, which includes pensions, payments to war veterans and maternity benefits, is expected to fall by seven percent in 2027. This emerges from government documents that were available to the Reuters news agency on Tuesday. The budgets for education and health are to be cut by six and 6.8 percent respectively compared to the original plans.
The government in Moscow is planning military spending of 17.1 trillion rubles (around 178 billion euros) for 2027. This is an increase of around 27 percent compared to the original draft and the highest since the war in Ukraine began in 2022.
Eva Glaser
Germany will join the Ukraine Compensation Commission by the end of the year
Germany wants to complete the procedure for joining the international compensation commission for Ukraine by the end of the year. Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul announced this on Tuesday in a speech to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The Council of Europe plays a crucial role in dealing with Russian war crimes and creating the basis for justice and reparation.
We will complete our ratification process for Germany's accession to the Compensation Commission by the end of the year. And we are committed to ensuring that the special tribunal can also be set up as soon as possible. Johann Wadephul, Foreign Minister
Tim Seckel
NATO rejects Russian threat of nuclear weapons
NATO has firmly rejected a Russian warning of a serious military escalation around the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. After a letter from the Russian government, NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart also made it clear that NATO is a defense alliance and that none of the alliance activities or exercises pose a threat to any part of Russia.
She was responding to a letter sent to NATO via the Russian Embassy in Belgium, in which Russia accused NATO of an “unprecedented escalation of the military-political situation around the Russian Kaliningrad region” and extremely provocative public statements by representatives of NATO member states. The text of the letter was available to the German Press Agency.
“This dangerous and reckless course poses a high risk of the outbreak of a direct armed conflict, in which Russian attacks on the decision-making centers in the member states of the Alliance would be possible early in the conflict,” it said.
And further: “Russia will be ready to use the entire arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory should NATO countries make any attempt to isolate the Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country.”
Eva Glaser
Russian Economy Minister attends G20 trade ministers meeting
According to information from Moscow, Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov will take part in the meeting of G20 trade ministers on Wednesday and Thursday in the USA. This is reported by the Interfax news agency, citing the ministry. US President Donald Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the next G20 summit in December in Miami. It is still unclear whether Putin will accept the invitation.
Jeanne Vesper
Apparently Russian special envoy meets with US representatives
According to insiders, Russia's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev met with representatives of the US Treasury and Energy Departments during his visit to Washington. Constructive discussions were held, says a US government official. Not only was there talk about how the war in Ukraine could be ended, but also about possible energy projects after the war ended.
Jeanne Vesper
Zelenskyj: Defended ballistic missiles
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, Ukraine also fended off ballistic missiles during Russian attacks. Zelensky wrote this on social media and thanked his country's American and Norwegian partners for a Nasams-type air defense system. He also thanked Germany and France for their anti-aircraft support. It is important that such packages continue to be delivered, he wrote and accused Russia of escalation.
He accused Russia of terrorism and that lives, people and civilian infrastructure were being attacked day and night. Russia attacked, among other things, data and business centers and residential buildings in Kyiv. An educational institution and a student dormitory were attacked in the Odessa region. Two foreign ships were hit. Nine regions were the target of Russian attacks that night. The result is damage to energy objects, civil companies and residential buildings.
The Defense Ministry in Moscow wrote on Telegram in the morning about attacks on the capital Kiev and its surrounding areas and the Odessa region. Two weapons storage facilities and two data centers were hit in Kiev and the region. In the Odessa region, two ships, a substation and port objects were hit, among other things. The information cannot be independently verified.
Jeanne Vesper
Wadephul wants Putin to show his willingness to negotiate
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, warns Wadephul. “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.
Jeanne Vesper
Tusk warns of constant attacks on the border with Poland
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.
Anna Kipnis
Six dead in Russian long-range bomber crash
At least six crew members were killed when a military plane crashed in the Amur region in eastern Russia. Another person was injured, the Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing the Defense Ministry in Moscow.
The Tu-95 aircraft was on a training flight and crashed in an uninhabited area. There was no ammunition on board. No information was initially given about the possible cause of the incident. The machine is a long-range bomber. Russia also uses aircraft of this type in its war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been ongoing for more than four and a half years.
Jeanne Vesper
NATO chief: Will support Ukraine even more
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. Mark Rutte
Jeanne Vesper
Estonia blames Russia for fire at arms company
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.
Luke Bay
Ukrainian Defense Minister cancels visit to Germany
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.
Angelika Ahrens
Zelensky: North Korea wants to send 10,000 more soldiers to Russia
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.
Angelika Ahrens
Pope calls for talks to end war in Ukraine
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,
call on Ukraine and other countries to meet
to sit down at a table and 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.
Angelika Ahrens
Putin increases Russian army to 1.55 million soldiers
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.
Patricia Hoffhaus
Russia is planning the highest military spending since the start of the war in 2027
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 obtained by the R news agency
