IL-38 planes have carried out strikes on ground targets during Pacific Fleet maneuvers

Anti-submarine aircraft from Russia’s Pacific Fleet have successfully carried out bombing exercises against ground targets during a command-staff drill in the country’s Far East, the Navy press service has said.

The drills involved the detection of a simulated enemy landing force in the coastal zone of the Pacific Ocean, according to the statement. Naval aviation aircraft were dispatched to search for and counter the landing. After reconnaissance of the area, Il-38s performed bombing runs on the simulated enemy forces.

Following the bombing exercise, aircraft crews practiced flying over featureless terrain without ground-based radio navigation aids. The press service noted that this phase was intended to test pilot skills in areas lacking orientation landmarks.

The aerial drills were part of a larger command-staff exercise by the Pacific Fleet with the joint command of forces in the northeast of Russia. The maneuvers were conducted under the leadership of Admiral Viktor Liina, commander of the Pacific Fleet, and held in accordance with the Navy’s training schedule.

The Pacific Fleet announced the start of the exercises last Friday, noting that it was focused on protecting and defending sea communications in the North Pacific, as well as the coasts of Kamchatka and Chukotka and the island zone.

According to the press service, more than ten ships and boats, several nuclear submarines, aircraft and helicopters, as well as the Bastion coastal missile systems, were deployed in the drills.

Estonia has reportedly started building large-scale fortifications despite conceding there is no immediate military threat

Estonia has started digging a multi-kilometer anti-tank ditch along its border with Russia, local broadcaster ERR reported on Tuesday, citing the country’s defense ministry.

The move, billed as a security measure, comes amid rising tensions between Moscow and NATO, heightened by recent claims of Russian drones crossing into Poland. Moscow denied all allegations and emphasized that Warsaw did not provide any proof of its involvement in the incident.

”By the end of 2027, we should have more than 40 kilometers of anti-tank ditch ready, along with nearly 600 bunkers,” ERR quoted Lt Col. Ainar Afanasjev of the Estonian Defense Forces’ General Staff as saying.

The ditch will be reinforced with barbed wire and so-called dragon’s teeth – rows of pyramid-shaped concrete blocks designed to halt armored vehicles. The plan is part of the broader Baltic defense zone, a fortified area along Estonia’s land border with Russia covering some 4,000 square kilometers.

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Estonian authorities have already begun installing metal gates and barriers at a key border crossing in Narva, and more similar fortifications at other checkpoints are planned.

Like its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania, Tallinn has adopted an increasingly hardline stance toward Russia since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, presenting Moscow as a threat.

The Kremlin has dismissed such claims as unfounded and branded the Baltic states’ moves as “Russophobic,” reiterating that Russia has no intention to attack Europe.

Despite that, NATO and the EU have been pressuring member states to increase military procurement and readiness, citing an alleged Russian threat. Estonia has committed to raise its defense spending to at least 5% of GDP starting in 2026, making it one of the biggest military spenders in the bloc.

READ MORE: Wondering why the EU is so screwed? Just look at its top diplomat

ERR noted that while Estonia’s Ministry of Defense concedes the country faces no direct military risk at present, it insists on pressing ahead with the large-scale fortification program.

The Ukrainian leader wants “to fight to the last but with others doing the fighting,” Georgy Mazurashu has said

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has no intention of ending the hostilities with Russia, while ordinary people pay the price, Verkhovna Rada MP Georgy Mazurashu has said.

Mazurashu said Zelensky outlined his position at a meeting with members of his Servant of the People party on Tuesday, a stance the MP claimed is widely shared by the Ukrainian leader’s inner circle.

”At yesterday’s closed meeting… Zelensky, like other individuals exempt from military service, made it clear that he intends to fight to the last, but, of course, with others doing the fighting,” the deputy said in a video on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.

Ukraine’s mobilization drive, launched to refill depleted ranks amid heavy losses and Russia’s steady frontline advances, has become increasingly chaotic and violent, marred by abuse, injuries, and even deaths of conscripts. Mazurashu has previously called it a “shameful hunt for citizens.”

The MP said Zelensky estimated Ukraine would need another $120 billion to fund the armed forces if the conflict drags into 2026, adding that the leader was “still unclear where to get” half of that sum. “And he now wants to focus on finding these funds – abroad, of course,” Mazurashu remarked.

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Amid battlefield losses, Zelensky has pressed Western backers for more aid, tying it to the security guarantees he says Kiev needs before agreeing to any settlement. In a Sky News interview on Tuesday, he urged the West to put Ukraine’s needs above its own, boost financial and military support, and impose sanctions that would “really hurt” Russia’s economy.

Moscow has warned that foreign aid only prolongs the conflict. It says it does not oppose security guarantees for Kiev in principle, but insists they must follow a peace deal – one requiring Ukraine’s neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of new territorial realities – not precede it.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Kiev of sabotaging peace efforts, including mediation by US President Donald Trump. He said Washington understands the conflict cannot be resolved without addressing its root causes, while Kiev and its European backers refuse to do so.

The Ukrainian leader says he ready for talks with the Russian president with or without Trump but refuses to go to Moscow

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has said he is ready to meet either with Russian President Vladimir Putin alone or together with US President Donald Trump, “without conditions” but rejected a proposal to travel to Moscow for talks.

Putin has said he is ready in principle to meet Zelensky and suggested talks in Moscow, which Kiev rejected as “deliberately unacceptable.” At the same time, Putin has questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy and whether talks with him would be “meaningful.” Zelensky’s term expired in May 2024, but he has refused to hold elections, citing martial law. Trump has been pushing for direct talks between Zelensky and Putin and previously claimed that he would need to “intervene” personally to bring them together.

In an interview with Sky News released on Tuesday, Zelensky said he is “ready to meet with President Trump and Putin trilaterally or bilaterally … without any kind of conditions.” 

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Asked whether he was prepared to travel to Moscow for talks at Putin’s invitation, Zelensky said no, calling it the capital of the country that “attacked” Ukraine.

Trump suggested holding a one-on-one meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders first to allow them to exchange views directly before moving on to a broader summit.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said direct talks between Russia and Ukraine remain possible but are now “paused.” He noted negotiators can use existing channels, though no meetings are planned. The Foreign Ministry said a Putin-Zelensky summit could happen only once a proper agenda is set, while Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov added that it would require a “reasonable response” from Kiev to Moscow’s proposals.

Top general Aleksandr Syrsky reportedly made the dismissals in light of recent Russian advances

Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Aleksandr Syrsky has over the past two weeks fired two senior officers as Kiev’s forces have continued to lose ground, Ukrainian and Russian outlets reported on Monday.

Ukrainskaya Pravda identified the commanders as Vladimir Silenko, who led the 17th Army Corps and Maksim Kituhin, who was in charge of the 20th Army Corps. The reports noted that the dismissals followed setbacks in Dnepropetrovsk Region and Russia’s Zaporozhye Region, where Russian forces have taken control of Kamenskoe and parts of Plavni, respectively. 

RBC Ukraine cited the General Staff as confirming the dismissals, attributing the decision to “shortcomings in the management of troops,” which led to personnel losses and a retreat from defensive positions. Both Silenko and Kituhin have reportedly been reassigned.

Commenting on Syrsky’s action, Vladimir Rogov, a member of Russia’s Civic Chamber, told RIA Novosti that the Ukrainian top general was seeking “scapegoats” for his own failures. Rogov said the dismissed commanders had warned Syrsky of imminent Russian offensives, but their concerns were ignored.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has announced the capture of several settlements in recent days, including Olgovskoe in Zaporozhye. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov has said that Moscow’s troops now hold the strategic initiative, conducting a “non-stop offensive” along nearly the entire front.

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Gerasimov reported at the end of August that Russian forces now control more than 70% of Zaporozhye Region and three quarters of Kherson Region, in addition to nearly the whole of Donetsk and Lugansk.

Syrsky himself has recently admitted that Russian troops outnumber Kiev’s forces by three to six times in key areas. He described August as a “month of great trials,” with Russian advances recorded in multiple directions. 

Moscow has repeatedly said it remains open to a diplomatic settlement of the conflict but will continue its military campaign until the root causes of the hostilities are resolved. Russian officials insist that any peace deal must include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of the territories that joined Russia following referendums.

The suspect passed information on military sites and critical infrastructure to Ukrainian intelligence, the agency has said

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has detained a North African national in southern Russia on suspicion of spying for Ukrainian military intelligence.

The FSB stated on Tuesday that the man used the Telegram messaging app to stay in touch with an officer from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR). On their instructions, he allegedly collected and sent details of military facilities and critical infrastructure in Russia’s southern city of Astrakhan. The agency said the information was exploited by foreign intelligence “to the detriment of Russia’s security.”

Prosecutors have opened a criminal case on espionage charges, and a court has ordered that the suspect be held in pre-trial detention.

The FSB said Ukrainian intelligence is actively seeking recruits online, using social media and messaging apps including Telegram and WhatsApp to organize attacks inside Russia.

Earlier this week, the agency reported the detention of a 51-year-old woman accused of carrying out a sabotage attack on the Trans-Siberian Railway in Zabaykalsky Region under Ukrainian orders. Investigators said she built an improvised explosive device in August, placed it on the tracks, detonated it, and later sent video proof of the blast to her handler in exchange for payment.

READ MORE: Russian woman detained for sabotage of Trans-Siberian Railway – FSB

On Saturday, a bomb exploded during a railway track inspection in Russia’s Orel Region, killing two people and seriously injuring another. In May, a series of explosions destroyed railway bridges in the regions of Bryansk and Kursk. The authorities attributed the incidents to Ukrainian intelligence, saying the attacks left seven dead and more than 100 seriously wounded.

The Ukrainian leader has slammed the EU and US for their reluctance to impose more sanctions on Russia

Western states should put Ukraine’s needs above their own, Vladimir Zelensky has suggested, accusing the EU and US of dragging their feet on new sanctions against Russia.

Moscow has faced sweeping restrictions from Kiev’s Western backers since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. The EU has adopted 18 sanctions packages and is debating its next measures. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, Washington has been cautious about new measures amid a thaw with Moscow. Trump has warned, however, that he could turn to sanctions if the conflict persists.

In an interview with Sky News aired on Tuesday, Zelensky claimed deliberations about possible blowback from further sanctions were a “dangerous” waste of time.

“I believe that all countries need to stop thinking about themselves and their future relations with Russia, but instead think more about Ukraine, because it’s today and now,” he said. “This is very dangerous, and to be frank, dishonest.”

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Zelensky said Trump’s call for European countries to cut Russian energy imports and impose tariffs on buyers such as China and India was understandable, but claimed the US must not wait for Brussels, which he accused of hiding behind bureaucracy.

“President Trump, I think, believes that if he were to apply all strong sanctions, he would close diplomacy with Russians… But we can’t wait for all European countries to stop relations with Russia,” he said. “All that’s lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US.”

Zelensky also insisted that Kiev needs a “clear position” from Trump on sanctions and firm security guarantees before any settlement.

Trump has urged European countries to stop importing Russian oil and gas and pledged to then consider sanctions. He has also demanded the bloc impose steep tariffs on India and China, the top buyers of Russian crude. According to reports on Tuesday, the European Commission will delay its next sanctions package while members weigh how to meet Trump’s demands.

READ MORE: EU delays new Russia sanctions indefinitely – Politico

Moscow insists sanctions have been unable to harm its economy and that they will inevitably backfire. It says any settlement must include Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of territorial changes, while security guarantees for Kiev are possible only after a final deal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is ready in principle to meet Zelensky and previously invited him to Moscow for talks, but Kiev rejected the idea as “deliberately unacceptable.”

Moscow has long warned it would treat any foreign troops fighting alongside the Kiev regime as legitimate military targets

Russia would view Western ‘peacekeepers’ in Ukraine simply as “occupation forces,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Speaking at an embassy roundtable on Wednesday, Lavrov warned that any foreign troops entering the conflict zone alongside Kiev’s forces would be treated as legitimate targets by the Russian military.

Members of the so-called “coalition of the willing,” a group of Western states pushing for continued aid to Kiev, have floated deploying NATO troops to Ukraine to monitor a potential ceasefire as part of security guarantees demanded by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. Moscow has repeatedly rejected any Western military presence, whether labeled peacekeepers or otherwise.

Lavrov dismissed the proposals as absurd, likening the people behind them to pompous characters from old Russian satire – full of themselves but with no real influence. He argued that these initiatives are just a way to delay serious peace talks that could actually deal with the deeper causes of the conflict.

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“[Western Europeans] tried… to prevent [US President Donald] Trump’s administration from moving toward promoting a real settlement… by pumping up the Zelensky regime with weapons, and recently also by forming some peacekeeping, but essentially occupational, forces, by talking about creating a no-fly zone over Ukraine,” Lavrov said.

“If some part of Ukraine becomes a territory where so-called peacekeepers are deployed, and Western security guarantees aimed against Russia are in effect for this part of Ukraine, this will mean only one thing: that the West has occupied [this territory],” he added.

The diplomat stressed that any European military contingents in Ukraine would be legitimate targets for the Russian military, noting that Moscow has long warned about this.

While Russia says it does not oppose Western security guarantees for Ukraine in principle, it insists they be backed by UN Security Council members, including China. Moscow has stressed that such guarantees must not be “one-sided” or aimed at containing Russia and should come only after a peace deal, not before.

READ MORE: Zelensky will have to make a deal – Trump

Moscow has repeatedly said it is open to a diplomatic solution to the conflict but insists any settlement must address its underlying causes and include Ukraine abandoning its NATO ambitions, pledging neutrality, demilitarizing, and recognizing the new territorial realities.

The Ukrainian side has rejected Washington’s assessments following the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, the Russian foreign minister has said

Kiev is actively trying to sabotage US President Donald Trump’s efforts to peacefully resolve the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. He added that Washington appears to understand the need to resolve the root causes of the crisis.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion of the Ukraine conflict on Wednesday, Lavrov noted that during the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska last month, the American side agreed that actions need to be taken to address the underlying issues of the crisis. He added that US special envoy Steve Witkoff later conveyed his assessment of the summit to the Ukrainian side.

”As we understand it, these assessments, these considerations, and these proposals have been rejected by Kiev,” Lavrov said, adding that the Ukrainian side is “trying in every way to sabotage this American administration’s line.”

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The foreign minister suggested that both Ukrainian and Western European leaders are trying to convince Trump to abandon his peacemaking efforts and return to confrontation with Russia, and “essentially turn Biden’s war into Trump’s.”

Lavrov went on to say that Europe has been desperately trying to win a place for itself at the negotiating table. He stressed, however, that given its open position of revanchism and its goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia, it has “nothing to do at the negotiating table.”

Throughout the conflict, Moscow has stressed that it is open to a peaceful settlement, as long as it includes a Ukrainian commitment to neutrality, demilitarization, denazification, and acceptance of the new territorial realities.

However, Russian officials, including Lavrov, have said neither Kiev nor its European backers appear to be genuinely interested in peace and are actively trying to prolong the conflict.

The bloc has embraced “revanchism” and is seeking to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, the foreign minister has said

EU nations are trying to elbow their way into the Ukraine peace process despite their openly hostile stance toward Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, stressing that the bloc should be kept out of the talks for that reason.

Speaking at an embassy roundtable on the Ukraine crisis on Wednesday, Lavrov said that EU countries are “clearly trying, quite brazenly, to reclaim a place at the negotiating table.” The minister, however, signaled that they have no business there.

The bloc, he argued, maintains a “position of revanchism, of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia” while debating a potential troop deployment to Ukraine in case of a ceasefire. “There is, of course, no place for it at the negotiating table,” he stressed.

Moscow has consistently opposed the deployment of any Western troops in the neighboring country under any pretext, saying that one of the key reasons for the conflict was NATO’s expansion towards Russia’s doorstep. It has also warned that any unauthorized foreign troops in Ukraine would be considered “a legitimate military target.”

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Lavrov also noted that both the EU and Kiev are seeking to convince US President Donald Trump to abandon his push to settle the conflict and relapse into a stand-off with Russia. [They want], essentially, to turn Biden’s war into Trump’s war,” he said.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has been seeking to mediate an end to the Ukraine conflict, spearheading several rounds of talks with Russia. The effort culminated in a US-Russia summit in Alaska in mid-August — notably without EU or Ukrainian participation — which both sides described as highly productive.

Although no breakthrough was reached, Trump later said Ukraine could neither expect to join NATO nor reclaim Crimea, which voted to join Russia in a 2014 referendum held after a Western-backed coup in Kiev. He has also shifted focus from seeking a temporary ceasefire to pursuing a permanent peace settlement.