‘Embarrassing!’: Trump scolds European countries buying Russian oilOn The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchUS president Donald Trump has appeared to reverse his position on territory Ukraine has lost to Russia, saying Kyiv can win it all back. Until now, he has called on Ukraine to make concessions. He wrote on social media: “I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form. “With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.” He wrote it soon after meeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Earlier, the US president targeted Russian leader Vladimir Putin for his “bad leadership” and issued a fresh threat of “powerful tariffs” on Moscow. He said Russia’s war in Ukraine was “making them look bad” because it was “supposed to be a little skirmish”. “It shows you what leadership is, what bad leadership can do to a country,” he said.Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said she “cannot rule out” Russian involvement after Copenhagen Airport was shut down due to drone sightings on Monday evening.Ukrainian rail network surviving amid heavy wave of Russian attacksRussia has unleashed a massive wave of attacks on Ukraine’s railways since the summer using long-range drones, but the rail network is holding up for now, the chief of the state railway company has told Reuters news agency.”Their first aim is to sow panic among passengers, their second aim is to hit the overall economy,” Oleksandr Pertsovskyi said in an interview held in a rail carriage at Kyiv’s central station.There did not appear to be a particular focus on targeting military cargo. “These are all, in essence, strikes on civilian infrastructure,” he said.Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s state-owned railway company, employs 170,000 people and has been the target of Russian attacks since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022 but attacks have intensified, causing regular delays.Mr Pertsovskyi said the railway is recovering from each blow for now.The immediate disruption to trains after an attack usually lasts six to 12 hours and electric locomotives are switched out for diesel while power is restored.”It’s a marathon… They strike us, we recover,” he said. “They strike us, we recover.”(Reuters)Alex Croft23 September 2025 22:00Zelensky says Trump’s latest comments signal ‘big shift’ Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed Donald Trump’s latest comments appearing to back Kyiv’s hopes of reclaiming the entire mainland from Russian occupation as a “big shift”. Speaking to Sky News after a meeting with Trump, Zelensky referred to the US president’s latest post on Truth Social, saying “this post of Trump is a big shift”. He added that though the details of further security guarantees remain unclear, it was “ good that we will work on some types of it and some types of drones and some types of weapons that we need for security guarantees”. Earlier, he told the United Nations Security Council that he and Trump “spoke about how to finally bring peace and we discussed a few good ideas and I hope they will work”. He added: “We expect America to push Russia towards peace. Moscow fears America and always pays attention to it.”Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press briefing on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York (AFP via Getty Images)Tom Watling23 September 2025 21:59Moscow claims control over village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk regionReuters news agency is reporting that Moscow has claimed another village in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that its forces have captured the small settlement of Pereizne, according to the Russia’s RIA news agency.Although The Independent could not independently verify the report, authoritative Ukrainian online battlefield map DeepState shows Russian forces as being very close to seizing the village.Alex Croft23 September 2025 21:02Trump wishes both Russia and Ukraine wellIn a bizarre rant, Donald Trump both slated Vladimir Putin’s regime as a “paper tiger” and at the same time wished both Russia and Ukraine well.The US president wrote: “Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win. This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like “a paper tiger”… “Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act. In any event, I wish both Countries well. We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them. Good luck to all!”(Donald Trump / Truth Social)Jane Dalton23 September 2025 20:59Trump reverses stance on territory, saying Kyiv can win it backDonald Trump has said Ukraine can win back all territory it has lost to Russia – a dramatic shift from the American leader’s previous call on Kyiv to make concessions.Soon after meeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Mr Trump wrote on TruthSocial: “I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form. “With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.”Jane Dalton23 September 2025 20:39What do Russia’s drone incursions mean for airspace safety?Russia has been accused of multiple incursions into foreign airspaces, most notably Estonia and Poland, over the last two weeks.While the incursions were generally not understood to constitute a military threat, they have raised concern across Europe and, in some cases, resulted in disruption to civilian flights.Speaking to The Independent, Matthew Borie, chief intelligence officer and co-founder at Osprey Flight Solutions, said the aviation industry would be watching developments closely.“On 20 plus occasions during 2025, fighter jets have been scrambled to the Ukrainian border by Poland as a precaution,” he said. “So while the instance in Poland on 10 September was unprecedented due to the shootdowns and the fact that the number of drones and potentially cruise missiles was the largest ever, plus the airport disruption hadn’t occurred before, it has been building up towards this gradually over the last several years.“Nato, now that this is the first time they are using kinetic air defences, is going to be tested in civil military deconfliction in a way they haven’t had to deal with before,” he continued.“But if airlines don’t do thorough and robust risk assessments and governments don’t engage in proactive civil military mitigation efforts, that’s when you can have a catastrophic event occur. “So airlines and governments and militaries need to work together to safely operate under these kinds of conditions.”Nicole Wootton-Cane23 September 2025 20:01Trump sits down with Zelensky Donald Trump has sat down with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly for a bilateral talk. Tom Watling23 September 2025 19:08Russia ‘choosing escalation and provocation,’ French representative tells UN security councilThe UN security council is now meeting over Russia’s incursion into Estonian airspace.“This is an intentional violation,” the French representative told the council. “This is the third time in 10 days that Russia has violated the airspace of EU and Nato.“This latest incursion leaves no room for doubt – Russia is choosing escalation and provocation.”Alex Croft23 September 2025 19:00International rules of war being ‘violated’ in Ukraine, top aid chief warnsThe rules of war are being “violated” in conflicts around the world including Ukraine, the boss of a leading humanitarian aid organisation has warned.Speaking ahead of the UN General Assembly, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross said states have a “moral and legal responsibility” to ensure the rules of war are followed.“In the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, thousands of families are without any news of their missing relatives, while drone warfare is killing and injuring civilians hundreds of kilometres from the front lines,” Mirjana Spoljaric said.“The rules of war are one of our most powerful tools in the fight for human life, safety, dignity and ultimately peace. Failure to respect those rules betrays the foundations of humanity they were designed to protect.“By upholding IHL, states protect their own people. Violating or letting others violate them fuels instability.“Every state has a moral and legal responsibility to reverse the erosion of those rules worldwide. The fate of millions living through war today and tomorrow will be defined by the choices leaders make to preserve—or abandon—humanity in war.”Alex Croft23 September 2025 18:29Russia suffering fuel shortages following Ukrainian attacksRussia is seeing shortages of certain fuel grades as Ukrainian drone attacks reduce refinery runs, trade and retailers said according to Reuters news agency.High borrowing costs also mean private filling stations can’t afford to stockpile fuel, they said.Kyiv’s forces have ramped up drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks, striking refineries and export terminals in attempts to reduce Moscow’s export revenues, stir domestic discontent and push the Kremlin to peace talks.The attacks have reduced Russian oil refining by almost a fifth on certain days and cut exports from key ports, pushing Moscow close to reducing its oil production.Russia has a big surplus of diesel but its gasoline production matches domestic demand, meaning the drop in refining runs could lead to shortages.There are no large queues at the pumping stations, but certain grades of gasoline, such as popular Ai 92 and Ai 95, are frequently absent.Alex Croft23 September 2025 17:32
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says Kyiv can ‘fight and win all of Ukraine back’ in major U-turn
