Nikolai Patrushev
Nikolai Patrushev is a Russian security official and former KGB/FSB officer. He served as Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation from 2008 to 2024. Earlier he headed the Federal Security Service (FSB) from 1999 to 2008 and was part of Vladimir Putin's inner circle. He is widely regarded as an architect of the Kremlin's hardline stance toward the West and Ukraine.
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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.
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NATO's top general says Alliance ready for possible Russian escalation on eastern flank
Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, said on 19 September in Copenhagen that NATO is prepared to respond to a possible Russian escalation on the Alliance's eastern flank. His remarks came at a meeting of NATO's 32 top military chiefs, against a backdrop of warnings from several European countries about Russian hybrid threats and a recent spike in airspace violations and sabotage attempts.