Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow threatens direct strike on Germany in escalating tensions with Europe and UK

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has threatened Germany with a “direct strike” on its military production facilities after Berlin accused Moscow of being behind a drone attack on Leipzig Airport last month. Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia’s security council and a routinely outspoken provocateur, wrote on Telegram that Germany’s leadership “deserve a direct strike on all German military equipment production facilities ... and quite possibility on several other locations in Berlin as well”. In an ominous addendum he suggested: “Every terror has sponsors. At the moment, these are the heads of Western countries, primarily European ones. And they often travel to Kyiv by train...” Airport workers last month found a drone laden with explosives and a detonator at the airport, an important civilian freight and Nato logistics hub in eastern Germany that is also a base for several giant Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo planes. Germany has blamed Moscow for the attack, characterising it as part of hybrid warfare meant to intimidate and cause divisions in countries that have supported Ukraine over the Russian invasion. Russia denies involvement and has vowed to respond to what its foreign ministry spokesperson called “anti-Russian action”.Recap: Russian ex-president threatens strike on Germany Russian former president Dmitry Medvedev has threatened Germany with a “direct strike” on its military production facilities after Berlin accused Moscow of being behind a drone attack on Leipzig Airport last month. Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia’s security council and an outspoken provocateur of the West, wrote on Telegram that Germany’s leadership “deserve a direct strike on all German military equipment production facilities ... and quite possibility on several other locations in Berlin as well”. In an ominous addendum he suggested: “Every terror has sponsors. At the moment, these are the heads of Western countries, primarily European ones. And they often travel to Kyiv by train...” Airport workers last month found a drone laden with explosives and a detonator at the airport, a Nato logistics hub that is also a base for several Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo planes. Germany blames Moscow for the attack. Russia denies involvement and has vowed to respond to what its foreign ministry spokesperson called "anti-Russian action". Jane Dalton2 September 2026 17:36Russia claims to hit ships supplying weapons for Ukrainian war effort Russian forces struck two cargo vessels on Wednesday, one in Ukraine's port of Chornomorsk and another in the Black Sea, Russia's Defence Ministry said. The ⁠ministry said ‌the ‌vessels were transporting ‌weapons and ammunition for the ⁠Ukrainian military. Russian drones tore into central Kyiv on Wednesday morning, wounding 11 people and damaging residential and university buildings on the seventh day of nearly round-the-clock attacks that have upended daily life in the city. The attack on a downtown university took place while students were in class, forcing some 160 to seek shelter, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Two people were also killed and eight wounded in Russian strikes on the southeastern city of Dnipro, the regional governor said, where food warehouses and educational buildings were damaged. It came as Ukraine braces for a new season of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, amid a critical shortage of US-designed missile interceptors needed to down Moscow's ballistic missiles. burnt-out trucks near a damaged auto parts warehouse following an air attack in Kyiv (AFP/Getty) Earlier on Wednesday, Russia struck power facilities in the southern Odesa region with missiles and drones, authorities said, knocking out power to more than 350,000 homes. Russian President Vladimir Putin said late on Tuesday he had ordered his forces to prepare the new campaign of "massive" strikes. "Unfortunately, there has been far too little response from the world and its most influential leaders to this latest Russian escalation of strikes," Zelensky wrote on X. James Reynolds2 September 2026 17:00 James Reynolds2 September 2026 16:30Ukraine is finalising drone deal with Germany, Zelenskiy says Ukraine is finalising a drone deal with Germany, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday after a call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The agreement — proposed by Ukraine several months ago — is expected to cover the joint development of various types of drones, missiles and related software. “Our teams are already finalising the text of the drone deal, and this will, among other things, definitely provide both Germany and Ukraine with additional defence capabilities,” Zelensky said on the Telegram app. The deal will build on existing German-Ukrainian defence cooperation, including a multi-million-euro programme to supply to Kyiv some 15,000 Strila interceptor drones designed to counter Shahed-type attack drones. Friedrich Merz and Volodymyr Zelensky (AFP/Getty) James Reynolds2 September 2026 16:00Russia vows to fend off disruption to civil aviation after Ukraine's threats Russia vowed to head off any disruption to civil aviation on Wednesday after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenksy said that Kyiv’s drones had made Russian airspace dangerous to use. Zelensky warned airlines and insurance firms on Tuesday that the presence of Ukrainian drones as it responded to Russian attacks meant “the war started by Russia is closing its own skies”. He said he was not targeting civil aviation. And Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Wednesday the country had also officially notified the International Civil Aviation Organization that Russian airspace was not safe. While European and US carriers do not fly over Russia due to the war that erupted when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the airspace is used by other airlines from countries such as China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states. "We are working in close contact with the Ministry of Defence and the Russian National Guard. And I believe that we will not allow any significant disruption to civil aviation,” said Russian transport minister Andrei Nikitin. On Wednesday, Flightradar24 data showed disruptions at Moscow's main airport, while some airlines cancelled flights though they did not specify the reason for doing so. James Reynolds2 September 2026 15:30Germany identifies Russian suspects behind Leipzig airport drone attack, say reports German authorities have identified two suspects in connection with an attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport but will unlikely be able to detain them, according to reports. The newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung , which collaborated on ‌the report with broadcasters ‌NDR and WDR, said ⁠that investigations into the two men, one Russian-born Latvian national and one Russian national from ‌Belarus, underpinned ​allegations by ‌the German ⁠government that Russia ⁠was behind the ‌incident. James Reynolds2 September 2026 14:57Recap: Zelensky issues warning to airlines over ‘completely unsafe’ Russian airspace The president declared that “the safe days in Russia’s skies are over” in his nightly video address on Tuesday, adding that he did not want innocent lives to be lost. “Although the Russian authorities are not properly informing people about this, Russian airspace will effectively be closing – the war started by Russia is closing its skies. “We want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, and everyone who still uses Russia’s key airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe,” he said. Vladimir Putin said the warning sounded like “state terrorism” and Moscow would find a way to respond. Earlier today, Kyiv revealed its forces have trapped around 2,500 Russian soldiers on a tiny strip of land stretching into the Black Sea. James Reynolds2 September 2026 14:30The latest: Putin issues new threat over Russian attacks on UK sites Vladimir Putin has said it is a "military secret” whether or not Russia is weighing up possible strikes on British military sites, in an ominous new warning over the UK’s support for Ukraine. The UK last month agreed to provide Ukraine with blueprints for the Scalp weapon, a version of the British Storm Shadow missile, which Britain has already provided to Kyiv and can be used to hit more targets within Russia itself. Asked how Russia will respond to the decision – and whether he is weighing up possible strikes on UK military sites on British territory – the Russian president said: “That's a secret, a military secret”. Read the full story: James Reynolds2 September 2026 14:00 James Reynolds2 September 2026 13:30