G7
The G7 is an intergovernmental forum of seven major advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was established in 1975 to provide a platform for coordinating policy on global economic, political and security issues. Meetings of G7 foreign ministers complement the leaders' summits.
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European leaders brace for Trump siding with Moscow as energy sanctions are rolled back
European leaders gathering at an EU summit in Brussels this week are bracing for a scenario in which US President Donald Trump effectively sides with Moscow after a week of steps that rolled back years of US energy sanctions on Russia, pressured Kyiv to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries, and publicly questioned the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters in Brussels that "the Western alliance is now in a weaker position than it was a few days ago," and several EU leaders privately said Trump is inclined to attack Kyiv and back Moscow, and is unlikely to change. Zelenskyy has said he feels betrayed and publicly criticised Trump. Despite the friction, the US continues to sell weapons and share intelligence with Ukraine.
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EU seeks additional partners to close Ukraine's 2027 financing gap
At IMF and G7 meetings in Bangkok, EU officials are recruiting additional partners to help cover Ukraine's 2027 financing shortfall. EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the EU's €45 billion pledge for 2027 will not be enough and that Brussels is approaching Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom to contribute the rest. German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil also stressed Germany's continued support, while Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky put the 2027 budget financing gap above $32.6 billion.
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US proposed handing frozen Russian assets to Washington-controlled vehicle; Europeans reject plan
The United States proposed to European allies that part of roughly €260 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets be unfrozen and transferred to a financial structure under US control, to revive peace talks on Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on 15 October. European delegates rejected the idea, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly insisted the assets remain frozen in Europe with Europeans deciding their fate. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had no information about the proposal.
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Ukraine's finance minister tells Rada country is in liquidity crisis, blames $29.5bn shortfall in partner aid
Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko told the Verkhovna Rada on 12 October that Ukraine's state budget has fallen roughly 50 billion hryvnia short of planned revenues over nine months of 2026, with 39 billion hryvnia in payments deferred to year's end and capital expenditures blocked. He attributed the squeeze to a $29.5 billion shortfall in expected partner support tied to delayed reforms under IMF, EU and World Bank programs. Marchenko said military pay and social programs remain fully funded, but the Rada must now pass dozens of reform-related bills to unlock the rest.
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Ukraine and Germany advance war risk insurance and 'Industrial Ramstein' cooperation in Kyiv talks
Ukrainian Economy Minister Oleksandr Kravchenko met German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche in Kyiv on 4 October 2026. The two ministers focused on an updated war risk insurance mechanism with payouts of up to $10 million and the joint 'Industrial Ramstein' industrial initiative, for which Germany is providing €30 million in start-up financing. Separately, Reiche said she pressed President Volodymyr Zelensky on anti-corruption reforms and the need for measurable results.
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Ukraine asks EU to use frozen Russian assets to cover $78 billion 2027 financing gap
Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko told a donor meeting in Brussels on 29 September that Ukraine needs roughly $78 billion (about €69 billion) in additional financing for 2027 and called on the European Union to use frozen Russian sovereign assets to cover the gap. EU officials and several member states received the request skeptically, with Belgium opposed to any new use of the assets and the European Commission insisting that the priority is disbursing the already agreed €90 billion loan, whose budget tranche is held up pending Ukrainian reforms.
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Zelenskyy: Russia launched over 2,200 strike drones at Ukraine in one week, calls de-escalation signals "fake"
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported on September 27 that Russia launched more than 2,200 strike drones, approximately 1,650 aerial bombs, and 38 missiles — many ballistic — at Ukraine over the past week. In a single recent day Russia used 277 strike drones, 155 of them jet-powered. Zelenskyy called Russia's diplomatic signals about de-escalation fake, said the strikes on kindergartens and schools amount to terrorism, and announced that new sanctions packages and the U.S. Lindsay Graham law are being prepared for October.
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Macron proposes "double moratorium" linking halt on Russian refinery strikes and Black Sea hostilities
French President Emmanuel Macron said he intends to propose a "double moratorium" as part of diplomatic efforts to ease energy-market strain, coupling a halt to strikes on Russian oil refineries with a halt to hostilities in the Black Sea. He also outlined broader measures: working to restore shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and urging G7 countries to reuse strategic oil reserves.
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Zelensky and Trump meet in New York: energy ceasefire, Patriot production and a push to end the war before winter
On September 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York. Zelensky proposed a mutual energy ceasefire, raised licensing of Patriot interceptor missile production in Ukraine, and said he is ready to meet Vladimir Putin with Trump's help. Trump said the war will end "sooner than people realize" and warned he is ready to use the newly-signed "Graham law" sanctions against Russia.
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Trump signs Graham Act, codifying US sanctions for forced deportation of Ukrainian children
US President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act (H.R. 5334) on 18 September, putting into statute for the first time sanctions grounds for the forced deportation of Ukrainian children. The law also authorizes sweeping tariffs on Russian energy buyers and direct Russian imports, and bans new US investments in Russia.
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Japanese House Speaker Eisuke Mori makes first visit to Ukraine, greeted by Verkhovna Rada chairman
Eisuke Mori, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Japanese Parliament, arrived in Ukraine on September 14 on his first visit to the country. He was met at a Kyiv railway station by Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament. The two had met the previous day on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Paris.
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Ukraine risks losing part of $29.5 billion in foreign financing without parliamentary votes, PM Koretsky warns
Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky warned that Ukraine risks losing a significant portion of an anticipated $29.5 billion in international financing if the Verkhovna Rada delays the required legislation, and said the government will send parliament a schedule with clear deadlines for each vote. He described the country's state finances as close to critical and said the government plans to complete its own share of 42 commitments by October 15, having accelerated the timeline from the previously announced November 1 deadline.
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Ukraine's Prosecutor General Kravchenko resigns after NABU searches expose alleged call-centre protection scheme
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation on the evening of 7 September after anti-corruption investigators searched the Office of the Prosecutor General and exposed an alleged scheme to protect fraudulent call centres. The 'Carthage' operation by NABU and SAPO has led to the detention of several suspects, including Serhiy Kropyva, a deputy head of an OGP department, with bail set at 120 million hryvnia. President Zelensky said the resignation would be sent to the Verkhovna Rada.
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US envoys visit Kyiv for first time, signal return to trilateral talks but report no breakthrough
US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled to Kyiv on 6 September 2026 for their first visit to Ukraine since Donald Trump's second presidential term began, after meeting Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 5 September. They held three rounds of talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, joined in the second round by national security advisers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, and announced a planned return to the US–Ukraine–Russia trilateral format and US support for a 'winter package' of assistance for Ukraine. Zelensky reported receiving a message that 'the Russians are ready to negotiate' but remained sceptical, while the Kremlin, Bloomberg sources and the Institute for the Study of War said the Moscow talks produced no substantive concessions.