Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is preparing a new major attack on Ukraine, based on Ukrainian intelligence, and that Kyiv is working with allies to strengthen its air defences.
“There’s intelligence right now that Russia is preparing a new massive attack against Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
It comes as a senior Nato commander has warned that Putin is becoming “increasingly cavalier, dangerous and risk-accepting”, as the war in Ukraine continues.
Soon after Zelensky met with US president Donald Trump, he said Ukraine has not received a “concrete answer” from the US on whether it will receive more Patriot missile interceptors, which are vital for defending against Russia’s now daily aerial attacks.
The Ukrainian president was speaking to reporters after a much-anticipated meeting with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Asked about whether the US would take steps to ease Ukraine’s shortage of Patriot missiles, he said: “They are positive to help us, but I didn’t get the very concrete answer.”
Zelensky also said he hoped Russia’s war with his country would end “before winter”.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned a French national imprisoned for espionage on Wednesday, a day after the EU lifted sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov following what diplomats said was pressure from Baku.
The Frenchman, Martin Ryan, had been serving a ten-year prison sentence in Baku following a conviction in March.
Three European diplomats told Reuters that Paris had indicated in private that Baku was using Usmanov to pressure it over the case of two French citizens held in Azerbaijan, an assertion rejected by Baku.
Latvia initially blocked an EU deal to remove Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the bloc’s sanctions list, arguing that delisting individuals in exchange for political or prisoner-release deals could set a dangerous precedent.
Latvian PM Andris Kulbergs told Euronews: “Either it is sports, what we’ve seen, either culture, and now one by one cherry-picking out of sanctions, that is not the way to go.
“That is normalising Russia.”
“I’m worried about the playbook which it leaves,” he said.
“I don’t think this is a very good example, because that gives a message. ‘Oh, we arrest some politicians somewhere, and then we can ask for a sanctions package.’ This is not a good playbook, and that’s exactly why we froze it for 36 months. That’s it. No discussion.”
Latvia initially opposed the move but agreed to abstain after securing concessions from France, including talks on French nuclear deterrence cooperation and a stronger French military presence in Latvia.
“It's important for the eastern flank, for us, to have the coverage of their security,” he said.
Russia has coerced thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) into appearing in propaganda videos, often making them criticise Ukraine or say they do not want to return home, an investigation by NBC has found.
Former POWs told the American broadcaster they were beaten, tortured or threatened, while some cooperated simply to prove they were alive.
The investigation focuses on Ukrainian soldier Volodymyr Srebrodolskyy, whose 2024 propaganda video led people in his home village to believe he had betrayed Ukraine.
He later died in Russian captivity, and some villagers opposed burying him locally. His cousin said: “At least they could have buried him near his mother.”
Former POW Yevhen Shybalov described the propaganda operation as an organised system. “Russian propaganda – it’s an industry.”
The UN, which interviewed more than 850 Ukrainian POWs, found 96 per cent reported torture or mistreatment, including beatings, electric shocks, sleep deprivation and mock executions.
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv is ready for an “energy ceasefire” with Russia, under which both sides would stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure.
He raised the proposal with US president Donald Trump at the UN in New York and said he was also willing to meet Vladimir Putin in a trilateral meeting with Trump.
“We are ready for any kind of format of energy ceasefire” if Russia agrees to “not attack our energy system,” Zelensky told reporters.
He said the “American side will find a way … to bring them to any kind of negotiations”.
Trump said he believed the war could end sooner than expected, although there is little indication so far that Putin is ready for a settlement.
Zelensky is also urging India, China and Turkey to stop buying Russian oil, arguing that the revenues help fund Moscow’s war effort.
All but five of Russia’s 32 major oil refineries have been hit by Ukrainian drone attacks, costing the country an estimated $20bn. Experts tell Maira Butt that Zelensky has brought the reality of Putin’s invasion to the doorstep.
Donald Trump has said he is working with both Russia and Ukraine to end the war, despite little indication that the Russian president was willing to agree to a settlement.
“It’s going to happen, I think, more quickly than people understand,” Trump said in his UN speech.
Trump said of Putin: “He’ll meet. He’s willing to meet. He wants to see the war end.” Putin and Zelensky haven’t met face-to-face in seven years.
Zelensky, meanwhile, said he wanted the war to be over before winter. “I hope we will end this war, and President Trump will help us end this war.
“I think we need to do this as quick as possible – before winter,” he added.
Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia says Russia is preparing another major attack on Ukraine, based on Ukrainian intelligence, and Kyiv is working with allies to strengthen its air defences.
He argued that this makes any discussion about easing sanctions on Russia inappropriate while Ukraine remains under daily missile and drone threats.
“There’s intelligence right now that Russia is preparing a new massive attack against Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Reuters reported that Russia has recently changed its tactics, including using jet-powered drones that fly higher and are harder for Ukrainian air defences to intercept.
Zelensky also said Russia is making slow advances in eastern Donetsk, while Ukraine has been striking Russian targets, particularly oil facilities, deep inside Russia.
During meetings in New York, Zelensky discussed ending the war with Trump, including an “energy ceasefire” with Moscow.
The EU is set to remove sanctions imposed on two Russian oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, who were targeted after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
France pushed for Usmanov’s removal, citing “national security” concerns, while Luxembourg backed removing Fridman, who is challenging the freezing of his assets.
Ukraine has condemned the decision as “unacceptable”.
“Moscow is celebrating because it got what it wanted: a sense of impunity, the humiliation of the EU, and division among Europeans,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Andriy Sybiha said on X.
The EU agreed to extend sanctions on about 2,600 other individuals and entities for three years, rather than renewing them every six months.
A senior Nato commander has warned that Vladimir Putin is becoming “increasingly cavalier, dangerous and risk accepting”, as the Ukraine war continues and Russia seeks to weaken Western unity.
Air Chief Marshal Sir John Stringer, who serves as Nato’s deputy commander in Europe, said Moscow could try to test Nato through more aggressive actions, including sabotage and espionage.
He warned Nato members to be cautious in their response because, in his assessment, Russia could be trying to provoke the alliance into an “overreaction”.
He said that Nato members needed to be aware of the “febrile environment”.
