Ukrainian President Zelensky told the UN that "Putin is patient zero, he must be stopped." Meanwhile, raids continue on Kiev, while in Kharkiv a Russian drone attack hit a farm causing at least 7 deaths and 10 injuries.
Moscow is reportedly preparing for new drone attacks in Italy and Europe, but this time it will target Mediterranean countries, including ours but also France and Spain. The Spanish newspaper El Mundo writes this, according to which the US secret services have collected information on the Kremlin's escalation plans and shared it with several European governments. However, there is no confirmation from Italy itself. "The alarm launched this morning by a Spanish newspaper which hypothesizes possible attacks on Italy, Spain and France by Russian ships and drones is of no use to anyone and has no confirmation. We already live in difficult and "nervous" times and no one needs further fuel on the fire." Defense Minister Guido Crosetto writes this on X.
For the Commission, news like that revealed by El Mundo "is not a surprise", although the EU is not "aware of the specific alert".
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said today that he has urged SpaceX owner Elon Musk to expand Starlink satellite internet coverage for Ukraine, thus allowing it to strike Russian ballistic missile launchers located inside Russian territory. Reuters writes this on its website. As winter approaches, Ukraine suffers from a critical shortage of air defense systems to repel Russian ballistic missiles; Kiev officials believe that activating Starlink on Russian territory would help locate and target the launchers responsible for firing the missiles. “That's why... I ask Elon Musk to give the Ukrainians the ability to use Starlink in areas where ballistic missile launchers are located - both in the occupied Ukrainian territories and in Russia - for strategic purposes, as this would save lives,” Stubb said. The Finnish leader, a staunch ally of Ukraine and also on good terms with US President Donald Trump, made these statements in an interview with Reuters in New York, where world leaders gathered for the annual United Nations assembly.
The Willing have decided to accelerate their support for Kiev, driven above all by London with Andy Burnham and France with Emmanuel Macron. In the Coalition meeting scheduled in the last few hours and in conjunction with the anniversary of Ukrainian independence, the British Prime Minister himself authorized the provision of the confidential projects of the Storm Shadow long-range missile to allow the French and Ukrainians to accelerate the production of the long-range weapon in Ukraine. The French president, for his part, announced that the exercises of the "multinational force for Ukraine" will be conducted in the months of October and November, but sources from Palazzo Chigi have clarified that Italy "will not participate". Present at the meeting via video link, among other things, Prime Minister Meloni confirmed the humanitarian support with the sending of new generators.
The Ukrainian president's plane "was almost hit by a drone as it was about to take off from Moldova. This is the reality he is experiencing", declared Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on the evening of September 9. Zelensky had traveled to Oslo together with other leaders from around the world to attend the state funeral of King Harald V of Norway. And, precisely on that occasion, he would have told Støre what happened.
The Norwegian Finance Minister and former NATO secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, also became aware of the episode and declared to the broadcaster Nrk: on 8 September "the flight was delayed and there were threats against the plane. However, I do not know enough details to provide further explanations".
Operation Vivaldi is the code name chosen by the Ukrainian army for the counteroffensive launched in the north of the Donetsk region, in the Lyman area. An operation kept under strict confidentiality for a long time and made public by Kiev only in the last few days, after months of activities on the ground.
The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, interviewed by TF1 and France2, believes it is possible that France is targeted by a Russian attack attempt like the one that occurred at Leipzig airport.
A decree signed by the Russian president places the assets of several international companies under temporary controlled management. The temporary administration goes to the Russian joint-stock company LEV Management.
Russian drone threat in southern France? "We can deny this information. The Italian Defense Minister did the same thing. But yes, there is a disturbing situation (...) Because hostile acts almost everywhere in Europe have multiplied": said the French president, Emmanuel Macron, interviewed live on the TF1 and France 2 news.
In New York it is the day of the speech by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, before the UN General Assembly. The Ukrainian leader has launched an appeal: Vladimir Putin must be stopped. "I thank all the countries that stand by us and help my country. The sanctions strengthen us, and this prolongs the war", he added.
"I spoke this morning with Minister Crosetto, these reports have no basis." Antonio Tajani said this in response to a question about the threat of Russian drones against Europe. "We have never had reports in this sense. It is another matter to say that the Russian side is attacking itself through a hybrid war, through cyber security, through attempts to influence the elections of European countries", explained the Foreign Minister. "Not creating that Russia wants to attack Europe and NATO would be a grave mistake on their part, and they would be doomed to defeat," he added.
"I know Putin, I've met him, and I think he's on the verge of panicking a bit, because things aren't going in the right direction for him, so my message is: let's stay calm." NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said this while speaking at the September 11 memorial in New York. "The impact on his economy, on Russia, is huge right now, following the mistake of invading Ukraine. So let's keep calm, because he knows we are stronger. And I agree with what Danish intelligence says: an attack on NATO is highly unlikely. But we must not be naive."
"It's true that Russia is increasingly intensifying its activity in the cyber sector and so on. But NATO is ready to deal with this situation. We plan and prepare. We have all the response options. The only problem is that they are not always in the public domain, so we can't always talk about them. They are not always symmetrical, it is not always a proportionate response. But I can assure you that the Russians know this." NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said this while speaking at the September 11 memorial in New York.
In light of the war in Ukraine, for the German government, there is no normality in relations with Russia". German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said this to Dpa, regarding the invitation to the G20 received by Vladimir Putin from the USA. Friedrich Merz's government will consult with partners on this, he added. The preparations for the current summit also concern this issue, he underlined. "We note that so far President Putin has not decided whether to accept the invitation", he concluded.
"We have actually looked at the reports and it doesn't surprise us." This was stated by the spokesperson of the European Defense Commission, Thomas Regnier, responding in the daily press briefing to a question on the existence, by Russia, of plans to carry out new drone attacks in European countries, reported this morning by the Spanish newspaper "El Mundo". "We are aware of the reports, not of the alarm as such," Regnier clarified. “We know that our airspace is the subject of intrusion attempts and has been violated several times. We know that several hybrid attacks are underway affecting many of our Member States. This is precisely why we have proposed flagship initiatives such as the defense against drones, the air shield and the space shield: to strengthen the resilience of our Member States,” continued the European spokesperson. "This is a matter for national authorities, but of course we have long experience in providing support to Member States when needed," he concluded.
"Russia has the right to participate in the G20, it is a member of it: the G20 is a crucial forum for discussing common challenges, some of which are posed by Russia's war in Ukraine." A spokesperson for the European Commission said this regarding Vladimir Putin's possible participation in Miami. "Right now Russia is escalating its bombing of civilians. Since 2022 the EU has used the forum to condemn the invasion and called for the war to end and this approach will continue at every G20, even if Moscow participates."
"It is unlikely that Russia will launch a full-scale invasion of a NATO country, but this cannot be ruled out": this was stated by the Danish Defense Minister, Jeppe Bruus, speaking to the press to present a new assessment of the Russian threat made by the Danish military intelligence services: "Further serious hybrid attacks are on the way and already now Russia is launching attacks that we would never have imagined six months ago" he added, reported by the Danish public service broadcaster DR. The threat, he stresses, must be taken seriously by both government agencies and citizens in Denmark: "This is the most serious situation since the end of the Cold War," he emphasised. "It's not a theory, it's something we are living" denounced Thomas Ahrenkiel, head of Danish military intelligence: "In recent months Russia has intensified its hybrid attacks against us with missiles, drones and attacks in general against targets in Europe" he underlined. The most imminent threat hypothesis is therefore hybrid attacks of limited military scope: "It could be false-flag operations, in which they use Ukrainian-produced drones to attack a NATO country" declared Ahrenkiel. The assessment is that a military invasion of a conventional attack by Russia on a NATO country would be "unlikely, but it cannot be ruled out", added Minister Bruus.
Moscow's Defense Ministry said Russian troops had taken control of two population centers in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, one in Donetsk and one in Zaporizhzhia oblast. "The units of the Northern grouping of forces in the Kharkiv region continue to tighten the encirclement and expand the external control zone. The settlements of Buzovo and Khizhnyakovo have been taken under control within the encirclement," we read on the Telegram channel of the Russian ministry. The Defense Ministry also reported that in Donetsk "units of the 51st Army, as a result of offensive actions, expanded the external encirclement and liberated the village of Dobropolye Maloe." "Units of the East military group liberated the village of Svetlaya Dolina in the Zaporizhzhia region," the Moscow Defense Ministry finally reported.
