Russia unaware of possibility US might want to sign deals before Ukraine war ends, RIA reports
Russia is not aware of the possibility that Washington may want to sign deals with Moscow before the Ukraine conflict is over, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA state news agency on Saturday.
The New York Times reported this week, citing two people close to the peace talks, that the White House is now considering signing business deals with Russia before it stops fighting in Ukraine.
“I don’t know anything about such signals, and it would be strange to receive them, because we still hear exactly the opposite stance, namely, ‘Let’s agree on Ukraine and move forward, and everything else later,'” Ryabkov told RIA.
“Everything else, as they say, will be attached. This also applies to economic aspects, economic projects, too.”
Alex Croft19 September 2026 21:01
German general promoted to chief of Nato’s military committee
General Carsten Breuer, Germany’s chief of defence, was chosen on Saturday as the next head of NATO’s military committee, the alliance’s top military authority and a key advisory body for its political leaders.
Military chiefs from the 32-nation alliance elected Breuer at a meeting in Copenhagen, current chair Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone said in a post on X. Breuer will take up the role next summer, succeeding Dragone.
“Your operational judgement, your deep familiarity with this Alliance and your leadership of the German Armed Forces will serve NATO well,” Dragone wrote, congratulating Breuer.
“The Chiefs of Defence have placed their trust in you at a demanding moment for Euro-Atlantic security,” he added.
The committee is NATO’s senior military authority and its chair serves as the main military adviser to its political chief, Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Alex Croft19 September 2026 20:00
Turkey sends offer to Ukraine and Russia to end Black Sea fighting
Turkey has sent an offer to Ukraine and Russia to end their fighting in the Black Sea and is awaiting their responses, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday.
He added that the priority was getting grain out from the region.
Speaking to broadcaster NTV, Fidan also said there were initiatives to end the war altogether, but that it seemed difficult to generate a lasting solution to the conflict at this stage.
Alex Croft19 September 2026 19:00
Watch: Night strike on Odesa damages apartments in 19-storey residential building
Night strike on Odesa damages apartments in 19-storey residential building
Alex Croft19 September 2026 18:01
Activists describe coercion to vote in Russian elections
Violeta Artemchuk, coordinator of the Donbas SOS human rights group who was among those who signed the statement, said members of local election commissions were going house to house, escorted by Russian troops and security agents, to force people to vote.
Moscow-appointed authorities exert pressure on residents, threatening those who work in the public sector with dismissal if they fail to vote and making pensions and other social payments conditional on participating, Artemchuk said.
“For instance, if a person with a disability or a pensioner relies on social assistance and does not take part in the ‘voting,’ they could be added to a list of individuals deemed ‘disloyal’ to the so-called authorities and subsequently deprived of their benefits or humanitarian assistance,” she said.
Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst with the Kyiv-based Penta Center, emphasised that “elections held at gunpoint are a farce”.
“The very fact that voting takes place amid endless shelling and bombing reflects the Kremlin’s attitude toward the people and the electoral process in the occupied territories,” Fesenko told The Associated Press.
“It’s nothing short of a mockery. Any electoral procedures conducted by the Russian occupation authorities have nothing to do with democracy,” he said.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 September 2026 17:01
Kyiv downs Russian jet-powered Shahed drones with new interceptor drone
Kyiv has attacked one of Russia’s jet-powered Shahed drones with a new interceptor drone, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president shared footage of the drone tracking down a Russian Shahed before exploding on impact, in what he said was a successful interception.
“There is a good result from the Security Service’s military counterintelligence in defending against jet-powered ‘shaheds’,” Mr Zelensky said.
“A new interceptor drone has been developed and has already been successfully deployed. Step by step, we are moving forward to give Ukraine greater protection,” he added.
Kyiv has previously raised the alarm about the use of Moscow’s new jet-powered drones which can travel up to 600 kilometres per hour — triple the speed of the piston-powered Shaheds deployed in earlier stages of the conflict.
Alex Croft19 September 2026 16:15
Ukraine urges other countries not to recognise the vote
Authorities in Kyiv have called the voting in those territories illegal and urged foreign governments and international organisations not to recognize the election.
They warned Ukrainians that taking part in organising the vote could carry criminal liability.
A coalition of nine Ukrainian human rights groups called on residents of the Russia-held territories to stay away from the polls.
“We urge residents of the temporarily occupied territories, above all, to protect their lives and health and to look after their own safety,” the coalition said in a statement.
“Holding Russian elections in the temporarily occupied territories is an attempt to use the electoral process to legitimize the Russian occupation and the attempted annexation of Ukrainian territories.”
European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said the voting in Russian-held regions represented “another blatant violation of international law.
The European Union does not, and will never recognize either the holding of these, so-called elections, sham elections, in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or their results.”
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 September 2026 15:45
In pictures: Russia’s parliamentary election
Pictures show people casting their ballot for Russia’s parliamentary election.
(AFP/Getty)(AFP/Getty)(AFP/Getty)
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 September 2026 15:15
Putin’s war economy is under strain. One thing is keeping it afloat
Mounting defence expenditure is widening Russia’s budget deficit and increasing strain across its wartime economy, as business and consumer sentiment weakens and economic growth slows.
Economists note, however, that these difficulties do not point to an immediate financial meltdown or economic collapse. High global oil prices linked to the Iran war continue to shore up essential export revenues, allowing the state to fund its four-and-a-half-year-old invasion of Ukraine – for now.
In addition, low unemployment rates and generous government spending in poorer regions are helping to suppress domestic discontent.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 September 2026 14:45
Russia unaware of possibility US might want to sign deals before Ukraine war ends, RIA reports
Russia is not aware of the possibility that Washington may want to sign deals with Moscow before the Ukraine conflict is over, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA state news agency on Saturday.
The New York Times reported this week, citing two people close to the peace talks, that the White House is now considering signing business deals with Russia before it stops fighting in Ukraine.
“I don’t know anything about such signals, and it would be strange to receive them, because we still hear exactly the opposite stance, namely, ‘Let’s agree on Ukraine and move forward, and everything else later,'” Ryabkov told RIA.
“Everything else, as they say, will be attached. This also applies to economic aspects, economic projects, too.”
Maryam Zakir-Hussain19 September 2026 14:15
