Trump announces energy truce between Ukraine and Russia, but Putin is reluctant according to the Financial Times

Trump: "Stop attacks on energy facilities from Kiev and Moscow". Putin "reluctant"

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The Financial Times slows down on the US president's statements: "Truce under discussion, but there is no approval from Russia". Italian fighter plane shoots down drone spotted in Lithuanian airspace

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Trump announced an energy truce between Moscow and Kiev. "Ukraine has agreed not to strike Russian energy targets, Russia has agreed to do the same! The increase in the price of gasoline worldwide is mainly caused by this war, not by Iran", said the US leader worried by the oil flare-up on the eve of the midterm elections. Zelensky was more cautious: "We are ready but first the guarantees, I don't think Putin wants to respect any agreement." And according to the Financial Times, the Russian president is "reluctant".

In Lithuania an Italian fighter shot down a drone that took off from Belarus.

Meanwhile, in the EU, alarm is growing after the attack on the train on the border between Ukraine and Poland. “The attack on a passenger train in Ukraine shows how desperate Putin has become,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

For further information:

What does the US-Russia peace plan include?

What we know about NATO's "Sentilla dell'Est" operation

Tomahawk, how the missiles that could change the war in Ukraine work

From Bucha to Kramatorsk, up to the pediatric hospital in Kiev: the worst massacres of civilians

Tactical nuclear weapons: what they are, the differences with strategic ones, the effects

Contributions from our correspondent in Ukraine

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NATO shoots down drone in Lithuanian airspace

A NATO fighter shot down the drone spotted in Lithuania.

Air alert for sighting of a drone in Lithuania

The Lithuanian National Center for Crisis Management issued an air alert for the sighting of a drone in the national territory shortly after midnight local time (11pm in Italy).

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The Sky TG24 Whatsapp channel (click here)

Audio news with news headlines (click here)

War in Ukraine and the economic crisis, here's how they affect the lives of Russian citizens

Four and a half years of conflict and the continuous Ukrainian raids on logistics and energy infrastructures are having concrete repercussions on the everyday lives of Russian citizens. Starting from rationed fuels that cause long queues at distributors, up to small and medium-sized companies that owe a large part of their turnover to the Russian e-commerce giants whose hubs were heavily damaged by the Kiev attacks.

Ukrainian war and economic crisis: how they affect the lives of Russians

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Storm Shadow or Scalp, the missile that can strike in the heart of Russia (and scares Putin)

Kiev will be able to produce the Storm Shadow at home, the long-range cruise missile which in Paris is called Scalp. The green light came from London and Paris, while Donald Trump's authorization for the Ukrainian production of the Patriot remains pending. Launched from an aircraft in flight, capable of traveling at very low altitude to evade enemy defenses, it is the weapon with which Ukraine has already struck Russian strategic targets. Here's how it works, who makes it and how it differs from other long-range carriers supplied or requested by Kiev.

Storm Shadow or Scalp, the Franco-UK missile that scares Putin

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In Ukraine, the possibility of legalizing porn to finance the war is emerging

Parliament is considering transforming an already very profitable market into a legal and taxable sector: according to the promoters, it could bring up to 25 million dollars a year to the state coffers. Not enough to turn the course of the conflict, but enough to finance the purchase of 30 thousand drones annually.

In Ukraine the hypothesis of legalizing porn to finance the war

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Zelensky: "De-escalation if Russia does it too"

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to take "de-escalation measures" if Russia did the same, without confirming Donald Trump's claims that Moscow and Kiev had agreed not to strike energy infrastructure. “If our American partners can get a real will from Russia to end this life-destroying war – and to do so in a sincere and lasting way – Ukraine will take its own de-escalation measures,” Zelensky said in his daily speech broadcast on social media.

Ukraine, what we know about the Russian attack on the Kiev-Warsaw train

Russia's "escalation" near European borders after the Russian attack on the locomotive of the train heading from Kiev to Warsaw is worrying. The drone raid, which took place in Yahodyn in western Ukraine less than 2 kilometers from the border with Poland, hit a convoy carrying 206 passengers. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, it was a "deliberate" attack, in which the Russians "set fire to the locomotive and damaged a petrol station". Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also spoke on the matter, speaking of "provocations" against the West and reiterating that "we are not intimidated".

Ukraine, what we know about the Russian attack on the Kiev-Warsaw train

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Zelensky sanctions former spokesman Mendel: "Russian disinformation and propaganda"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has imposed ten-year sanctions on his former spokeswoman Iuliia Mendel, who in recent months has publicly criticized him and accused him, without providing evidence, of having a drug addiction. Mendel, who now lives in the United States, served as Zelensky's spokeswoman from June 2019 to July 2021. The presidential decree, signed Sunday, accuses Mendel of spreading "Russian disinformation and propaganda" and supporting "Russia's aggressive policy against Ukraine." The measures include the revocation of state honors, the freezing of assets and a ban on transferring capital out of Ukraine. The measure also concerns nine other Russian and Ukrainian citizens. Mendel reacted by calling the sanctions "unconstitutional", claiming that they are "like many of Zelensky's other decisions". The former speaker also accused the Ukrainian president of using sanctions "against anyone who supports peace in Ukraine."

Russia-Ukraine: diplomacy restarts, but have the balance changed?

On Saturday 5 September, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner resumed traveling between Moscow and Kiev, for the first time on Ukrainian territory. The intention is to revive the diplomatic stalemate in the peace negotiations.

Russia-Ukraine: diplomacy restarts, but have the balance changed?

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Zelensky: "It's not time to save Russian oligarchs from sanctions" “It is not the time to lift sanctions, to save Russian oligarchs from sanctions and certainly not the time for Europe to give gifts to Russia.” Volodymyr Zelensky declared this in his evening speech, speaking on the European debate on the renewal of sanctions against Moscow and explicitly citing Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman. "Usmanov, Fridman and other Russian figures like them have not made their anti-war moves so far," said the Ukrainian president, according to whom "Europe must not forget what is happening." Zelensky then called for "new and stronger sanctions", capable of preventing Russia from adapting to restrictive measures, including "sanctions against the production of all Russian ballistic missiles" and measures to limit Moscow's finances. The Ukrainian president's statements come as the EU discusses the renewal of the sanctions lists, with Robert Fico's Slovakia having requested, among other things, the removal of Usmanov from the lists. The proposal was also supported by France, in a compromise attempt to avoid the expiration of the measures. Italy, according to European diplomatic sources, is in favor of a compromise that allows sanctions to be maintained on the almost 3,000 people included in the lists, without supporting delisting of a political nature.

FT: "An agreement on the energy truce is under discussion but Putin is reluctant"

A source close to the Russian position told the Financial Times that Moscow and Kiev have resumed talks on a possible ceasefire in the energy sector. However, sources close to the Kremlin say Russian President Vladimir Putin is reluctant to reach a deal before the winter, when he believes attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure could increase pressure on Kiev to make concessions. Two senior Ukrainian officials said they believed Trump wanted to show the US public, tired of high fuel prices, that he was working to reduce them.

From the Leipzig case to hybrid warfare: three scenarios

The investigation by the German police into the events of last August 4, when an explosive drone was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane stopped at Leipzig airport, traced its presence in Moscow as part of the hybrid war started by Russia against the European Union. But what are the other implications of the story?

From the Leipzig case to hybrid warfare: three scenarios

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Ukraine, Russia attacks petrol stations in Kiev with drones. PHOTO

Two people have been killed and nine others injured following a Russian airstrike that hit a petrol station in the Ukrainian capital. In recent days there have been several attacks against petrol stations. The director of the energy company: "These attacks have no military objective. They are about terrorizing the civilian population."

Ukraine, Russia attacks petrol stations in Kiev with drones. PHOTO

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Zelensky: "Ready to suspend attacks if Russia does the same"

Ukraine is ready to stop its attacks on Russian critical infrastructure if Moscow does the same on Ukrainian ones. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a message on social media, after the head of the White House, Donald Trump, declared that Kiev and Moscow had agreed not to strike the energy targets. “Ukraine has proposed to its partners to secure an agreement with Russia that stops the destruction of critical infrastructure,” Zelensky wrote, specifying that Kiev is “not convinced that Russia is willing to abide by any agreement.” If, however, Ukraine's partners are ready to ensure that Moscow "actually refrains" from targeting the electricity system, other energy infrastructure, critical infrastructure and food supply routes, "we are naturally ready to ensure a corresponding suspension of our attacks." Zelensky called for any agreement to be "reliable, long-term" and to have "a real impact on people's lives", without falling away after the Russian elections or turning into a temporary suspension linked to the easing of pressure on petrol and diesel prices in Russia. "The war must end", concluded Zelensky, indicating a de-escalation on the critical infrastructure front as a possible "first step towards peace". “We expect concrete proposals from our partners,” he added.

Train hit on the border with Poland, EU condemns

The attack launched yesterday by Russia against a train in Ukraine on the border with Poland "shows how desperate Putin is". This was declared by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaking to journalists in Brussels. Russia is becoming "increasingly reckless" in continuing its "terrible war against Ukraine", added Rutte during a joint press conference with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa.

Sanctions on Moscow have been extended but for only 7 days

In order to give Member States more time to thoroughly examine the renewal proposals, Coreper has decided to extend the scheme for a period of 7 days, until midnight on Tuesday 22 September. The legal procedures necessary to implement this decision will now be completed." The Irish presidency made this known in relation to individual sanctions against Russia. The deadline was set for tomorrow, under penalty of removal from the blacklist for almost 3000 people.

Trump: diesel price increase caused by war in Ukraine, not by conflict with Iran

German journalists infiltrated among pro-Russian agents, Kiev applauds

"We are impressed by the audacity of Angelique Geray, the German RTL investigative journalist who went undercover to expose Russia's clandestine recruitment network in Germany." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote this on social media. The Kiev minister refers to the investigation conducted by the reporter together with two other colleagues which brought to light the world of the so-called 'disposable agents', recruited via Telegram to carry out in exchange for paltry sums - 150 euros per 'mission' in bitcoin - some tasks on behalf of Moscow, from the simplest such as taking photos or buying SIM cards, to more complex tasks such as infiltrating the CDU to provide information to the Kremlin. Furthermore, Geray created a TikTok profile under a false name through which he spread content as a pro-Russian influencer. When his cover was blown, he received serious threats. "The RTL investigation - writes Sybiha - is not an isolated case, but is part of a broader framework of Russian sabotage operations throughout Europe. Putin invests huge resources to destabilize Germany and other European nations, especially in view of the elections. He considers himself at war with Europe and aims to win this conflict by weakening European states from within. Russia's objective is to interfere in internal affairs, manipulate public opinion and exploit the most sensitive and divisive issues". "We once again urge European governments to take this threat seriously, to unmask Russia's malevolent influence and to take urgent and decisive measures against any Russian presence in Europe - concluded the minister - Ukraine is ready to share its precious wealth of knowledge at the request of its partners".

Trump: Ukraine and Russia agreed not to strike energy targets

"Ukraine agreed not to strike Russian energy targets. Russia has ac