Christian Wigand
-
NATO to hold annual Steadfast Noon nuclear drills in Italy with 17 members
NATO announced that 17 member states will take part in the annual Steadfast Noon nuclear exercises in Italy from 13 to 23 October. The alliance is simultaneously seeking to reassure Russia that the drills are routine, predictable and not a cause for concern, against a backdrop of recent Russian nuclear warnings, including over Kaliningrad, and European accusations of Russian sabotage and hybrid operations.
-
Russian strike on passenger buses in Kramatorsk kills dozens
Russian forces struck two passenger buses in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, on the morning of 8 October, killing at least 12 people in initial reports and as many as 33 in later updates. Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin reported a revised toll of 30 dead and 18 wounded during the day, with figures still subject to clarification. The attack triggered a suspension of public transport in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, evacuation appeals, an official war-crime investigation, and condemnation from the European Commission and Switzerland.
-
EU extends Ukraine sanctions for three years but drops Usmanov and Fridman, prompting Ukrainian criticism
On 22 September, the EU Council extended Ukraine-related sanctions for 36 months until 22 September 2029, the first time the regime has been renewed for three years instead of the usual six-month cycle. In the same decision, the EU removed Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the list. Ukraine called the delisting "shameful" and unjustified, and the Baltic states announced national sanctions in response. A day later, on 23 September, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned French citizen Martin Ryan, who had been sentenced to ten years in prison on espionage charges that France rejects.
-
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.
-
European Commission says it has received no US compensation request over Ukraine aid
The European Commission said on September 4 that it had not received any official US demand that Europe pay for American military assistance to Ukraine provided during Joe Biden's presidency. The statement came a day after President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would make such a demand. Commission spokespeople stressed that the EU and its member states are the leading donors of aid to Ukraine, totaling more than 220 billion euros.