Q: Where is Russia going?

President of Finland, Stubb: It's not looking good. With the current regime and President Putin, I don't see a big change.

Nations that don't have a capacity to deal with their past have a very difficult time looking into the future. 1/ Stubb: This's imperialist DNA and an undertone in Russia that doesn't seem to go away.

Russia is built on empire. That's why Putin talks about the “Russkiy Mir,” the great Russia borders of the 18th cent, with one language, religion, and leader. 2/

Bosacki: Drones are instruments of terror that shattered homes in Ukraine.

2 days ago they tried to hit Polish homes, one in Wyryki, eastern Poland.

Russian representative claimed they were not Russian drones, but evidence shows parts with signs in Russian. 1/ Bosacki: Every Russian accusation turns into confession. For 1st time in history, UN Security Council met on Polish request.

On night of Sep 9-10, 19 Russian military drones from Ukraine and Belarus breached Polish airspace, violating borders of Poland, NATO, and EU. 2/

Rutte: Ukraine has a well-established defence industry and experience with drone interceptors.

At Joint Analysis Training and Education Centre in Poland, NATO and Ukraine work together, taking lessons. We make sure we apply latest insights and technologies to build posture. 1/ Rutte: General Grynkewich and I announce NATO is launching Eastern Sentry to bolster posture on the eastern flank.

It starts in coming days with assets from Allies including Denmark, France, UK, Germany. It adds strength, addresses drones, and shows NATO is ready to defend. 2/

Lindsey Graham: Russia kidnapped 19,546 Ukrainian children. They took them from families, moved them to Russia. Teenagers get trained to fight against Ukraine. In 2025, this crime continues — Senator Klobuchar raised it first, and she was right.

1/ Lindsey Graham: In the 1990s, Ukraine gave up 1,700 nuclear weapons for security guarantees from Russia, the UK, and the US. Then Putin invaded in 2014 and 2022. Over a million killed or injured, millions displaced. 24 years later, we let our guard down.

2/

A 6-person elite Ukrainian unit blew up Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in September 2022, causing £20B damage and releasing 350,000 tons of methane, — The Telegraph.

They were led by a retired sea captain and ex-secret service officer, identified only as “Serhii K.” 1/ The operation, nicknamed “Diameter” used a few high-grade explosives, planted 80 meters underwater by 4 expert divers.

The team hired a German yacht, Andromeda, from Rostock and posed as tourists. Bombs were planted at 4 sites near the Danish island of Bornholm. 2/

Bolton: Putin is testing us, seeing if he can claim it was an accident, fog of war, to test our resolve. It doesn’t mean war follows now.
We’ve been misled 3.5 years by fear of wider war. If Russia had better assets, why not use them in Ukraine instead of endless casualties? 1/ Bolton: It's hard to believe this was an accident. The drones launched from Belarus hit Poland, not Ukraine. This looks like a NATO test.

What happens in Ukraine affects U.S. and NATO security, so support for Ukraine is justified and must continue. 2/

Ukraine restructured its army, establishing a 3rd Army Corps in March 2025. It's planned to reach 40,000 troops with the 3rd Assault Brigade as its core - New Lines.

The corps puts brigades under one command, retrains them near front and uses NATO-style veteran-led training. 1/ The 3rd Assault Brigade, founded by Azov veterans, built its reputation in Bakhmut and Avdiivka. It is considered one of Ukraine’s most professional units and now anchors the new corps. 2/

Putin gave orders from a fortified underground bunker, using encrypted “special comms”.

From there, in March 2023, he approved to arrest Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and later trade him for Vadim Krasikov, an FSB assassin jailed in Germany - The Times. 1/ Krasikov is an FSB officer who shot dead a Chechen commander in Berlin near a café called All You Need Is Love. A German court gave him life sentence.

Putin calls him a “patriot” and and once even fired weapons with him at a shooting range. 2/

After Poland closed its border with Belarus, Russia launched 19 drones — the largest breach of NATO airspace since 1949. One crashed 300 km deep into Poland. – The Economist.

PM Tusk: “closest to open conflict since WWII.”

1/ Polish and Dutch F-35s shot down several drones overnight Sept 9–10. Airports shut down.

President Karol Nawrocki: “an unprecedented moment in NATO and Poland’s history.” Article 4 was invoked for immediate consultations.

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Q: Western troops in Ukraine — we ignore Putin’s red line?

Rutte: Putin started the war unprovoked. Trump is trying to break the deadlock, and NATO’s 5% spending with U.S. weapons and sanctions show seriousness. 1/ Q: Putin said West provoked war, Russia can try peacefully or militarily.

Rutte: Russia’s economy is failing, and Putin’s quick-victory plan collapsed.

Ukrainians resist, and Zelenskyy is ready to negotiate with security guarantees if Putin shows up. 2/

Von der Leyen: Ukrainians fight for freedom every day.

People like 11-year-old Sasha, who went out for food in Mariupol when Russian bombs fell. His face burned, shrapnel lodged beneath his eyes.

They took Sasha to a filtration camp and told him he didn't need his mom. 1/ Von der Leyen: They sent him to occupied Donetsk. But Sasha did not give up. On a stop on the way, he asked to borrow a stranger's phone.

And called his grandma, Liudmyla, who was living in free Ukraine. “Baba, just take me home.” 2/

Trump: Americans have been forced to put up with Democrat-run cities that set loose criminals to prey on innocent people.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, a 23-year-old woman who came here from Ukraine met her bloody end on a public train. And now she's dead. 1/ Trump: She was slaughtered by a deranged monster who was roaming free after 14 prior arrests.

We cannot allow depraved criminals to continue spreading destruction and death throughout our country. 2/

Ukraine could soon run out of missiles to stop Russian drones.

Pentagon slowed deliveries in June, just as Russia launched record airstrikes.

Іf gaps persist, cities and power grids face blackouts and mass deaths. – FT

1/ After a readiness review of 10 systems, deliveries were paused or curbed: PAC-3 Patriot interceptors, dozens of Stingers, precision 155mm, 100+ Hellfires, and AIM missiles for NASAMS and F-16s. Irregular USAI batch buys leave gaps.

2/

Ukrainian Lt. Ovsianikov (49) lost his eye, nose, arm, and most fingers on his left hand when a Russian mortar hit near Borova, Kharkiv in 2023.

Shrapnel tore his face apart. 41 surgeries rebuilt him with titanium and rib grafts. “I am still a soldier”, he says – The Times. 1/ He lay blind and broken, ready to die. “I thought death would be a relief. Then I thought of my mum.”

Through the ringing he heard his men shout: “The commander is 300!” He realised he was alive. 2/

Q: Putin said he will meet you if you come to Moscow.

Zelenskyy: He can come to Kyiv. I can’t go to Moscow when my country is under daily missile attacks. Putin just plays games to delay meetings. We can’t trust him — he even plays games with the US.

1/ Q: Do you think the possibility for a bilateral meeting is dead?

Zelenskyy: No. I told President Trump I’m ready for any meeting — bilateral or trilateral — but not in Russia. First ceasefire, then talks on security guarantees. I thank the US for joining those guarantees.

2/

Ukrainian photographer Sergey Melnitchenko shows how war changes lives in his project Along the Dnipro.

One of his portraits is Serhii, an Azovstal defender. Russians beat, starved and moved him between prisons. He spent 2 years in captivity and lost 30 kg - Kyiv Independent. 1/ Another portrait is Daria. Russian troops seized her in her village, accused her family of spying and sexually assaulted her.

Now she speaks out in Kyiv, urging other survivors of wartime sexual violence to come forward and seek justice. 2/

Budanov, Ukraine Spy Chief: Ukraine for 2nd time in history disabled a Russian Black Sea Fleet vessel with an FPV drone.

Also, Budanov: Russia preparing for war with Europe by 2030, allocated $1.2T for rearmament, has cases of cannibalism in their army. 1/ Budanov: Ukraine managed to lock the Russian Black Sea Fleet at its permanent base.

Currently, this is Novorossiysk. The combat fleet does not sail farther than the Novorossiysk roadstead — only to launch missiles and quickly return. 2/

Le Monde: Russian diplomacy mimics Soviet tactics: make extreme demands, allow symbolic talks, threaten, and offer minimal concessions.

Past agreements, like Budapest and Minsk, failed due to lack of enforcement, and Russia now frames any negotiation on its terms. 1/ Putin uses a mix of military action and diplomatic gestures to keep Europe anxious.

After meeting with Trump in Alaska in August 2025, Russian attacks in Ukraine resumed, including strikes on western cities and Kyiv, while Moscow claimed interest in negotiations. 2/

Mstyslav Chernov, Ukrainian Oscar-winning director, on film 2,000 Meters to Andriivka:

I want the White House to watch it. I don’t want people to cry. I want anger — the urge to act.

We throw the viewer into the trench and make them walk the 2,000 meters with the soldiers. 1/ Chernov: The film’s language is hyperrealism — it won’t let the viewer go.

When they leave the theater, they’ll say: ‘Oh God, this was reality. Not Apocalypse Now, not 1917, but life. 2/

The Guardian: Ukraine’s frontline is a war of drones. FPVs hit 12–14 km into the rear, forcing supplies to move on foot or land robots.

Da Vinci Wolves jammers down 30–35 Russian drones daily. Operator Shoni: “Last month we closed the sky. Russians said they couldn’t fly.” 1/ Da Vinci Wolves near Pokrovsk fight constant Russian infiltration. Russians try to expose weak spots as troops sneak through one by one.

Survivors regroup into squads of 10 and attack. “In 24 hours we killed 11,” says deputy commander Afer. 2/

The Moscow Times: In the Donbas ‘Fortress,’ Ukraine’s soldiers refuse to yield.

Putin at Aug 15 Alaska summit demanded Ukraine's full withdrawal from 70% Russian-occupied Donetsk region in exchange for halting southern front hostilities. 1/ Zelenskyy rejected Putin's proposal, citing constitutional ban on ceding territory and strategic importance of Donetsk's fortified "Donbas line" protecting routes to Kharkiv and Dnipro. 2/