Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump ‘tells Putin he wants swift end to conflict’ as Kyiv secures 1,000 Patriot missiles
Donald Trump has reiterated his plea to Vladimir Putin that he wants a “swift end to the war in Ukraine”, the Kremlin said, as the two spoke for an hour on a phone call yesterday. Ending the war in Ukraine will allow the US to fully restore its ties with Russia, the Kremlin said, adding that the Russian president agreed with the view of his American counterpart. "Donald Trump clearly emphasised the desirability of bringing the conflict to an end as soon as possible, which would immediately open up prospects – impressive and far-reaching ones at that – for the full restoration of relations between the US and Russia," said Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov. Trump wants a “breakthrough achieved during his presidency” on the war in Ukraine, Ushakov said. The call came just two days after Trump’s peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner shuttled between Moscow and Kyiv over the weekend for peace talks, seeking to negotiate an end to the war. This comes as Kyiv’s defence minister announced that Ukraine is on track to procure a supply of around 1,000 missiles for US-designed Patriot air-defence systems with the help of allies and through a European Union loan.Want swift end to war in Ukraine, Trump tells Putin Donald Trump has reiterated his plea to Russian president Vladimir Putin that he wants a “swift end to the war in Ukraine”, the Kremlin said, as the two spoke for an hour on a phone call yesterday. Ending the war in Ukraine will allow the US to fully restore its ties with Russia, the Kremlin said, adding that Putin agreed with Trump’s view. "Donald Trump clearly emphasised the desirability of bringing the conflict to an end as soon as possible, which would immediately open up prospects – impressive and far-reaching ones at that – for the full restoration of relations between the US and Russia," said Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov. Ushakov told reporters that the two leaders had rated the US envoys' weekend diplomacy "with a plus sign" and that Putin had told Trump what he believed the United States could do to help end the conflict and given him an assessment of what the situation on the battlefield was. Trump, Ushakov said, had made it clear he wanted the war quickly finished. Trump wants a “breakthrough achieved during his presidency” on the war in Ukraine, Ushakov said. Arpan Rai9 September 2026 05:58Russia making no strategic gains along war frontline, says Ukraine army chief Russian forces have not made any gains along the war frontline, Ukraine’s defence minister Yevhenii Khmara said. Speaking at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, Khmara said Russia was making no strategic gains along the 1,200-km (750-mile) front line, but Moscow was making up for its battlefield failures with "terror against Ukrainians". Russia resumed its near-constant drone and missile attacks on Kyiv on Tuesday after a brief halt for the visit of US peace negotiators. Officials said five people were killed in the capital along with others in various regions. Arpan Rai9 September 2026 05:40Russian drones kill and injure people at Ukraine-Moldova border crossing An attack of Russian drones has targeted a border crossing point between Ukraine and Moldova overnight, officials said. Ukraine's border guard service confirmed the attack in a Facebook post and said it has caused deaths, injuries and fires at the site of the strike. It did not immediately release a death and casualties toll. Arpan Rai9 September 2026 05:27China and Russia stress strategic ties with North Korea in anniversary messages to Kim Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin used messages marking North Korea's 78th founding anniversary to reaffirm close strategic ties with Pyongyang, North Korean state media KCNA reported this morning. KCNA said Xi told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un he was willing to "continue strengthening strategic guidance" of China-North Korea relations and work with Kim to advance the two countries' development. Xi also said strengthening and developing bilateral ties remained the Chinese ruling party and government's “consistent and unwavering policy”. In a separate message, Putin said he would continue the "closest joint work" with Kim to further strengthen the countries' comprehensive strategic partnership. He said stronger Russia-North Korea ties would contribute to regional security and a "more just, multipolar world order." The messages from Xi and Putin were published on the front page of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun. Arpan Rai9 September 2026 05:17Putin assures Trump he doesn’t have 'aggressive plans' toward Europe Russian president Vladimir Putin assured his US counterpart Donald Trump in a phone call yesterday that Moscow doesn't harbour aggressive intentions toward Europe, a senior Kremlin official said. The assurances from the Kremlin come after European officials blamed Moscow for sabotage campaigns on their soil. Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, told reporters that “in view of the speculation about Russia’s alleged hostile intentions toward European countries, it was underlined that we don’t have any aggressive plans regarding Europe”. His remarks come after the German government last week said it concluded Russia was involved in an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in August using a drone laden with explosives. (AFP/Getty) Arpan Rai9 September 2026 04:34Ukraine to acquire around 1,000 Patriot missiles from allies, defence minister says Ukraine is on track to procure a supply of around 1,000 missiles for US-designed Patriot air-defence systems with the help of allies and through a European Union loan, Kyiv's defence minister said. Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, Yevhenii Khmara said the majority of the missiles would only be shipped in the coming years, and called for more urgent aid. In comments posted later by the defence ministry, Khmara said Ukraine was asking its Western partners to provide more air defence missiles from their stocks in exchange for improvements in missile performance under contracts signed with Kyiv. He said Ukraine was being hindered by a shortfall of $27bn in financing for drone supplies. The ministry's summary of the meeting said Khmara had presented a plan for Ukraine's conduct of the war that was already being implemented along with a list of what Kyiv considered to be the biggest threats posed by Moscow. Arpan Rai9 September 2026 04:30German foreign minister says Kyiv should buy more arms from German companies German foreign minister Johann Wadephul told Bild newspaper that Ukraine should buy more weapons from German companies, saying Berlin's position as Kyiv's biggest donor meant it had the right to expect orders for its defence companies. Wadephul said he had assured Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit last month that Germany would continue to support Ukraine in its defence against Russia. "But I also have to explain this to German taxpayers, and the very least you can do is to ensure that the German defence industry is involved in all procurement activities," the newspaper quoted him as saying. “At the moment, we're not entirely satisfied with the level of orders we're receiving in Germany,” he said. Wadephul's comments came days after Germany accused Russia of being behind an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport in August that authorities said only just missed causing a major disaster. Arpan Rai9 September 2026 04:15Drone debris falls on business grounds in Russia's Novorossiysk Drone debris fell on the premises of a number of businesses and close to an inhabited building in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in the late hours yesterday, mayor Andrei Kravchenko said. There were no casualties, he said, citing preliminary data. Separately, authorities of the Krasnodar region, where the city is located, said on Telegram there were fires after the attack, without elaborating on locations. Novorossiysk, a frequent target of Ukrainian drone strikes, is a major outlet for Russian oil, oil products and grain exports, among other commodities. Arpan Rai9 September 2026 03:59Editorial: Putin has no interest in peace – and Trump is falling into his trap Steve Witkoff is the real estate guy with zero diplomatic experience who Donald Trump appointed in 2024 as his personal “peace emissary”. Jared Kushner is the president’s son-in-law, but did at least play some role in one of President Trump’s few foreign policy achievements – the Abraham Accords process that promised to deliver some stability to the Middle East during the first Trump term. As a team, they have enjoyed little success in securing the “settlement” to the war in Ukraine that Mr Trump so desires. There is little reason to suppose that their latest exercise in shuttle diplomacy will succeed where their previous efforts failed. Indeed, the prospects for an end to the war, let alone one that will prove just and lasting, are as dismal as at any time since Vladimir Putin launched his ill-fated “special military operation” more than four and a half years ago – its duration now longer than the Soviet Union’s four-year “great patriotic war” against Adolf Hitler. Just as in that epoch-defining conflict, it is the civilian population of Ukraine that will face some of the harshest consequences as winter approaches. Before the Witkoff-Kushner double act set out for Moscow and Kyiv, Mr Trump expressed his usual confidence in the pair – he could hardly do otherwise – and declared that “we have an idea for peace”. This idea remains opaque. Yet, for a change, this may be more than the usual self-flattering bluster. After a period when, easily bored, Mr Trump lost interest in the region (the situation in Iran didn’t help), this unexpected flexing of US power comes as a surprise. Alex Croft9 September 2026 03:00Ukraine's prosecutor general resigns citing political conflict Ukraine's prosecutor general on Monday announced that he has offered his resignation citing political reasons, in the latest sign of disunity in the senior ranks of the Ukrainian ruling elite. “This is a political decision, and I have made it consciously. I do not want the position of Prosecutor General to be used as an instrument of political confrontation,” Ruslan Kravchenko said in a statement on Telegram late on Monday, without elaborating. Kravchenko thanked president Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, and asked them to accept his resignation. Ukraine's anti-graft agencies, the NABU and SAPO, said last week they had uncovered a criminal organisation dealing with fraudulent call centres which was allegedly arranged by an official within the Prosecutor General's Office. Kravchenko has denied he was involved in the alleged scheme. “My position regarding the accusations remains unchanged,” he said in his Telegram post. Kravchenko's resignation offer follows other changes among top officials in Ukraine as it continues to battle Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Alex Croft9 September 2026 01:29
