Topic: Diplomacy
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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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Russian drone strikes passenger train near Ukrainian-Polish border; diplomatic train with European officials had just left
On the morning of 13 September 2026, a Russian jet-powered mesh drone struck the locomotive of a Kyiv-to-Warsaw passenger train at the Yahodyn station, about two kilometres from the Polish border in Volyn Oblast. A diplomatic train carrying former European leaders and current security advisors, returning from the YES conference in Kyiv, had departed the station shortly before the strike. No one was injured. Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) suggested the diplomatic train may have been the intended target; the Institute for the Study of War assessed the strike was meant to wound or kill European officials leaving Ukraine.
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Poland will not block opening of EU accession clusters for Ukraine, Sikorski says
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said at a joint briefing in Kyiv with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha that Poland will not block the opening of new EU accession negotiation clusters for Ukraine. He framed Ukraine's path as analogous to Poland's own accession experience and linked Ukrainian security to Poland's, warning that "Russian terrorism has already entered Europe."
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Ukraine's Sybiha urges strike-by-strike sanctions on Russia at Kyiv briefing with Poland's Sikorski
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, speaking at a joint briefing in Kyiv with Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, called on Western partners to impose new sanctions on Russia after every massive strike on Ukraine rather than waiting for large packages. He proposed an "Anti-Ballistic Package" targeting Russian missile and drone production, said Western-made components continue to end up in Russian weapons, and framed Russian attacks as a threat to the EU and NATO and to Black Sea shipping.
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Trump urges Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian diesel infrastructure, blames them for global shortage
On 13 September 2026, visiting his Doonbeg golf club during the Irish Open in County Clare, Ireland, US President Donald Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop striking Russian diesel fuel infrastructure, saying those attacks are causing a global diesel shortage. Trump said the deficit stems from the Russia–Ukraine war and not from US actions in the Middle East, and noted he had already discussed the issue with Zelensky. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski publicly disagreed, and a senior European official briefed on US-mediated talks called the reasoning "absurd."
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Russian drones strike Kyiv-Warsaw train and infrastructure near Polish border, prompting Polish emergency meeting
On the morning of September 13, 2026, Russian drones struck infrastructure near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk international border crossing on the Ukraine-Poland border in Volyn Oblast, damaging a gas station, hitting a truck on the Polish side, and striking the locomotive of a Kyiv-Warsaw passenger train about two kilometers from the Polish border. Poland scrambled fighter jets, issued air alerts in Lublin and Podkarpackie voivodeships, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency meeting at the Government Centre for Security, warning that Russian escalation could reach Polish territory in the coming weeks. No passengers or railway workers were injured in the locomotive strike after a Ukrzaliznytsia monitoring group warned the crew in advance and gave an evacuation signal roughly 15 minutes before impact.
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Kushner says most of Ukraine–Russia peace deal is ready, with territorial question the last obstacle
US special envoy Jared Kushner told the Yalta European Strategy forum in Kyiv on September 12 that most of a Ukraine–Russia peace agreement has been prepared, and that the territorial question — Ukraine's refusal to withdraw to the line Russia is demanding — is the remaining obstacle. He said he hopes to announce "next steps" in the talks within the next two weeks and expressed support for returning to a trilateral format. Kyiv has previously rejected Putin's demands that Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
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Zelensky calls on EU to strengthen sanctions on Russian business, names Fridman and Usmanov
President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the European Union to increase sanctions pressure on Russian business and oligarchs, singling out Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov. His appeal came as Russia has launched nearly 500 strike drones at Ukraine since the morning of September 12, and as EU ambassadors have again failed to agree on extending personal sanctions ahead of a September 15 deadline.
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Budanov: new round of Ukraine–US–Russia peace talks being prepared for October
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov said on September 12 that a new round of trilateral Ukraine–US–Russia peace talks is being prepared for October. He confirmed the trilateral format but did not disclose a possible venue, and said Ukraine is preparing for an October meeting. The statement came on the sidelines of the YES conference in Kyiv.
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Ukraine's defence minister meets US senators, hands over list of military needs focused on air defence
Ukraine's Defence Minister Yevheniy Khmara met with US senators Tom Tillis, John Curtis and Alan Armstrong and presented a concrete list of Ukrainian needs to counter Russian aggression, with air defence as a priority. The talks covered the battlefield situation, Russian threats, Ukraine's air defence requirements and further support for the Defence Forces, including through the PURL and JUMPSTART weapons-supply mechanisms.
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France backs Slovakia's push to remove Russian oligarch Usmanov from EU sanctions list
France is pushing to remove Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov from the EU personal sanctions list, aligning with a longstanding Slovak demand. The move has caused dissatisfaction among other EU members and comes as ambassadors failed to agree on extending the sanctions regime before a September 15 deadline.
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Germany identifies two suspects in Leipzig airport drone attack, blames Russia
German investigators have named a Belarusian citizen and a Russian linked to Russian military intelligence (GRU) as the main suspects in the 4 August drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport. A drone carrying explosives hidden in a vegetable tin can landed next to a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft but failed to detonate because of a faulty detonator. On 1 September, Germany officially blamed Russia for the incident and announced the closure of the Russian consulate general in Bonn and the termination of the agreement on the "Russian House" in Berlin; Moscow responded by closing the German consulate general in St. Petersburg and Goethe cultural centers.
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Zelensky warns of retaliation if Russia hits Ukraine's energy system, proposes 'energy ceasefire' in talks
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on September 11 that Ukraine will respond "with dignity" if Russia strikes its energy system or causes blackouts this winter, while also outlining a negotiating alternative that includes an "energy ceasefire" and unblocking the Black Sea. He spoke during a conversation with journalist Fareed Zakaria at the Yalta European Strategy 2026 meeting and in a Telegram post, calling for continued prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children held in Russia.
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U.S. House to vote next week on Graham-Blumenthal Russia sanctions bill
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote next week on the Graham-Blumenthal Russia sanctions bill (H.R. 5334), which would authorize sweeping new sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia's energy sector, defense industry and shadow fleet. The vote follows the recent death of the bill's chief Senate sponsor, Senator Lindsey Graham, and faces bipartisan resistance over its tariff provisions.
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Polish foreign minister makes unannounced visit to Kyiv
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski arrived in Kyiv on September 11 for an unannounced official visit, announcing his arrival with a photo from a Kyiv railway station posted on X with the caption "Good day from Kyiv." The Polish Foreign Ministry described the trip as a gesture of support for Ukraine during a period of active Russian attacks, including drone strikes on Kyiv the same day.
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Canada and Ukraine launch migration partnership, begin process to add Ukraine to eTA list
Canada and Ukraine announced a joint statement by Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Volodymyr Zelensky, unveiling a migration and mobility partnership to support Ukraine's recovery and starting the process of adding Ukraine to Canada's electronic travel authorization (eTA) list. The two countries also signed agreements totaling over 2 billion US dollars, including a Declaration on a 100-year partnership covering economic, security and political cooperation.
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Ukraine and Canada advance Drone Deal, first with a country on the American continent
President Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney inspected drones in Alberta that will operate under a Ukraine–Canada Drone Deal, with the full agreement expected to be signed at the end of September during the UN General Assembly in New York. Under the deal, Canada is prepared to order large volumes of drones, with 30% of production transferred to Ukraine.
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EU weighs moving frozen Russian assets to new EU-level custodian to sidestep Belgian objections
European circles are exploring transferring frozen Russian assets from Belgium's Euroclear depository to a new EU-controlled custodian, which would shift legal responsibility from Belgium to the EU as a whole and remove Belgium's objections to using the funds for Ukraine. Ukraine's Foreign and Finance ministries have already submitted concrete proposals to Brussels. The European Commission treats the idea as theoretical, with no draft legislation prepared and several technical questions — legal basis, management structure, loss coverage in case of court rulings in Russia's favor — still open.
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Ukraine's air-defense missile stocks nearly exhausted as Russia scales up drone and ballistic missile output
Russia fired jet-powered Geran drones at Ukraine every day in August, with monthly totals rising from 350 in June to 2,800 in August, according to Ukrainian Air Force data cited by the BBC. Ukraine's stockpiles of PAC-3 interceptors for Patriot systems and AIM missiles for F-16s are nearly exhausted, and Kyiv is turning to European SAMP/T batteries and a joint European-Ukrainian project called Freyja to field cheaper, mass-produced alternatives.
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Trump–Putin call fuels peace hopes as Ukraine reports $27bn shortfall and deep drone strike hits Russia
US President Donald Trump said after a phone call with Vladimir Putin on 8 September that Putin wants a deal to end the war, raising the prospect of bilateral or trilateral leader-level meetings. US, Ukrainian and European officials publicly doubted Putin's seriousness, while Ukraine disclosed it needs an additional $27 billion to get through the year. The diplomatic activity coincided with a Ukrainian drone strike on a facility in Russia's Yamal region, described by Kyiv as its deepest inside Russia since 2022, and Russian attacks on multiple Ukrainian regions that killed at least six people.