Polish and Nato aircraft were scrambled on Sunday morning as Russia launched a new wave of aerial attacks against Ukraine.
Ukraine's air force said the entire country was under air raid alerts and the mayor of Lviv, a western city just 70km from the border with Poland, warned of incoming missiles.
On Saturday, a Russian drone strike against a railway station hit a passenger train, killing one and wounding 30, as Moscow stepped up strikes on Ukraine's rail and power networks.
Meanwhile, German media reported that drones had been spotted at airports and military installations across Germany over the past two days, suggesting sightings this week at Munich Airport were the tip of the iceberg.
Dozens of flights were diverted or cancelled at Munich Airport on Friday after both runways were closed following the second drone sighting in two days.
There is mounting concern that Russia could be behind a growing number of recent drone incursions in the airspace of Ukraine's European allies.
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Key Points
- Poland scrambles aircraft after Russia launches strikes on Ukraine
- Russia rains drones and missiles on western Ukraine
- Russian strike hits passenger train in Ukraine, causing casualties
- At least 30 injured in ‘savage’ Russian strike on passenger train, says Zelensky
- Russian drones and missiles pound Ukraine’s power grid
China accused of giving Russia satellite intelligence to aid missile strikes in Ukraine
06:41
,
Namita Singh
China is supplying intelligence to Russia to help it carry out missile attacks inside Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian intelligence official has claimed.
Oleh Alexandrov, an official with Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Agency, told the state-run news outlet Ukrinform that Beijing had been sharing satellite data with Moscow to support its military operations.
“There is evidence of a high level of cooperation between Russia and China in conducting satellite reconnaissance of the territory of Ukraine in order to identify and further explore strategic objects for targeting,” Alexandrov said.
He added that some of the sites targeted “may belong to foreign investors”, suggesting that the intelligence exchange could put infrastructure backed by international funding at risk.
China has maintained what it calls a neutral stance on the war, refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion and deepening economic and political ties with Moscow.
Russian air defence units destroy 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, RIA reports
06:02
,
Namita Singh
Russian air defence units destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight, RIA news agency reported on Sunday, citing data from Russia's defence ministry.
At least 1 dead and dozens injured as Russian drones strike a Ukrainian railway station
05:45
,
Namita Singh
Russian drones struck a Ukrainian railway station on Saturday, killing one and wounding dozens, as Moscow stepped up strikes on Ukraine's rail and power grids before the fourth winter since its all-out invasion.
At least 30 people were wounded in the "savage" attack, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said following the attack on Shostka, a city in the Sumy region northeast of Kyiv that lies about 70km from the Russian border. Hours later, local prosecutors said that a 71-year-old man was found dead in one of the wrecked carriages.
Russia struck two passenger trains in quick succession, first targeting a local commuter service and then one bound for Kyiv, said Oleksiy Kuleba, Ukraine's deputy prime minister and reconstruction minister. He said that the second drone hit while an evacuation was underway.
The head of Ukraine's national rail operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, Oleksandr Pertsovsky, called the strike "a vile attack aimed at stopping communication with our front-line communities."
"This is one of the most brutal Russian tactics – the so-called 'double tap,' when the second strike hits rescuers and people who are evacuating," said Ukraine's top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha, according to a Telegram post by the foreign ministry.
Both Zelensky and local governor Oleh Hryhorov posted what they said were photos from the scene showing a passenger carriage on fire. The drone strikes also knocked out the power supply in Shostka, home to more than 70,000 people before the war, and surrounding areas, according to Hryhorov.
Russia rains drones and missiles on western Ukraine
05:30
,
Namita Singh
At 3am GMT, Ukraine's Air Force said all of the country was under the threat of fresh Russian missile attacks, following hours of air raid alerts and warnings of drone and missile attacks.
Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv – a western Ukrainian city about 70km from the border with Poland, said missiles were approaching the city after air defence systems were already engaged heavily in repelling a Russian drone attack.
Reuters witnesses said the pounding of what sounded like air defence systems in operation came from all directions.
There were no immediate reports of potential damage and there was no comment from Russia.
Both sides have been launching air attacks throughout the war aimed at destroying infrastructure deemed crucial to the overall war efforts, including energy and transport facilities
German minister to equip police with drone defence unit
05:15
,
Namita Singh
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, hosting a migration-focussed summit of European interior ministers in Munich on Saturday, told reporters he would equip police with a drone defence unit amid suspicious drone sightings that led to the closure of Munich airport.
"We are in an arms race," he said.
"We want to rise to that challenge." European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and air incursions.
Dobrindt has promised legislation making it easier for the police to ask the military to shoot drones down.
Multiple drone sightings reported in Germany in past three days, Bild says
05:01
,
Namita Singh
Drones have been spotted at airports and military installations across Germany over the past two days, Bild newspaper quoted a confidential police report as saying, suggesting sightings this week at Munich Airport were the tip of the iceberg.
Dozens of flights were diverted or cancelled at Munich Airport on Friday after both runways were closed following the second drone sighting in two days. Operations resumed, with delays, on Saturday morning.
There is mounting concern that Russia could be behind a growing number of recent drone incursions in the airspace of Ukraine's European allies. Russia, which is fighting a war in Ukraine, has denied any involvement.
Quoting the confidential police report which it said it had seen, Bild said on its website the drones spotted at Munich Airport were "used militarily", without giving further details or saying where they had come from.
Other sightings in the past three days, it said, included a drone seen on Friday morning flying about 700m from Frankfurt Airport, Germany's largest hub, and a small aircraft reported flying over an ammunition depot in northern Germany on Friday afternoon.
Three drones were also seen the day before, seemingly flying in formation, above a base of the Federal Police's airborne unit near the northern town of Gifhorn, it said.
Lithuania's Vilnius Airport suspends traffic over possible balloons in airspace
04:45
,
Namita Singh
Lithuania suspended air traffic at Vilnius Airport due to balloons possibly flying in its airspace, and flights have been diverted to neighbouring countries, the airport's operator said late on Saturday.
European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen and Munich.
"The decision was made due to a possible series of balloons heading toward Vilnius Airport," the operator said in a statement on its Facebook page.
"As a result of this incident, flights have been affected."
Georgian police clash, detain protesters as ruling party says it won local elections
04:30
,
Namita Singh
Georgian riot police used pepper spray and water cannons to drive demonstrators away from the presidential palace and detained five activists on Saturday, as the opposition staged a large demonstration on a day of local elections.
The governing Georgian Dream party said it had clinched victory in every municipality across the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people in an election boycotted by the two largest opposition blocs.
Shortly before polls closed, a group of demonstrators attempted to force entry to the presidential palace in the capital Tbilisi, a Reuters witness said, after opposition figures called for a "peaceful revolution" against GD, which they accuse of being pro-Russian and authoritarian.
Watch: Putin warns supplies of US long-range missiles to Ukraine will badly hurt ties
04:15
,
Rebecca Whittaker
Poland scrambles aircraft after Russia launches strikes on Ukraine
03:59
,
Namita Singh
Polish and allied aircraft were deployed early on Sunday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched airstrikes on Ukraine, including regions near its border with Poland, armed forces of the Nato-member country said.
"Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, while ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems have been brought to the highest state of readiness," Poland's operational command said in a post on X.
At 3.10am UK time, all of Ukraine was under air raid alerts following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks.
French photojournalist killed in Russian drone strike
03:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
A Russian drone strike killed a French photojournalist late Friday as he was reporting from the front lines in eastern Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian military.
Antoni Lallican, 37, died near the town of Druzhkivka, in the Donetsk region, according to a Facebook post by the 4th Separate Mechanized Brigade.
The strike also wounded Hryhory Ivanchenko, a Ukrainian photographer who accompanied him, the military unit said.
Lallican's work had been featured by numerous French and international media outlets, including Le Monde, Le Figaro, Der Spiegel and Die Zeit.
He was nominated for the RSF press photography award in 2024.
He is the 14th reporter and fourth French national to be killed while covering Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.
Russia ‘using deadly new missile upgrade’ to bypass Ukraine’s Patriot air defence systems
02:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
Watch: Locals rescued from cars and homes as flash floods turn deadly in Odesa
01:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
Populist billionaire Babis seeks comeback in Czech election
Sunday 5 October 2025 00:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
Czechs voted on Saturday in the final day of an election likely to return populist billionaire Andrej Babis to power on pledges to raise wages and lift growth, while reducing aid for Ukraine.
The change from the current centre-right cabinet would boost Europe's populist, anti-immigration camp and could harden opposition to the European Union's climate goals.
Czechs endured surges in inflation after the global pandemic and Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and have only slowly recovered from one of Europe's worst drops in real incomes.
That, as well as several corruption scandals, damaged prime minister Petr Fiala's Spolu coalition and its liberal government allies, who focused on a gradual reduction of the budget deficit.
Babis, whose Ano party held double-digit leads in most opinion polls, is an ally of Hungary's nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban in the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament.
Babis, who was previously prime minister from 2017-21, has taken an ambivalent line on aid to Ukraine - a departure from Fiala's government which has supported Kyiv throughout the war with Russia.
Pictured: Open air exhibition of destroyed Russian military equipment in Kyiv
Saturday 4 October 2025 23:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
Watch: Sam Kiley joins Nato plane fuelling British fighter jets defending Europe's eastern flank
Saturday 4 October 2025 22:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
Putin launches devastating attack on Ukraine’s energy network as Denmark warns of repeated provocations at sea
Saturday 4 October 2025 21:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
One of Russia's largest oil refineries hit in drone strike, says Ukrainian military
Saturday 4 October 2025 20:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
The Ukrainian military said it has hit one of Russia's largest oil refineries.
It claims a drone strike caused blasts and a fire at the Kirishi refinery near St Petersburg, more than 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The refinery, operated by Russian oil major Surgutneftegas, produces close to 17.7 million metric tons per year (355,000 barrels per day) of crude, and is one of Russia's top three by output.
Watch: Putin warns supplies of US long-range missiles to Ukraine will badly hurt ties
Saturday 4 October 2025 19:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
Dozens injured in 'savage' Russian drone strike on Ukrainian railway station
Saturday 4 October 2025 18:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
Pictured: Russian strike on passenger train
Saturday 4 October 2025 17:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
Moscow has stepped up strikes on Ukraine's rail and power grids
Saturday 4 October 2025 16:30
,
Rebecca Whittaker
Moscow stepped up strikes on Ukraine's rail and power grids which is essential for military transport, hitting it almost every day over the past two months.
The head of Ukraine's national rail operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, Oleksandr Pertsovsky, called the recent strike on a passenger train "a vile attack aimed at stopping communication with our front-line communities."
Russia struck two passenger trains in quick succession, first targeting a local service and then a second bound for Kyiv, said Oleksiy Kuleba, Ukraine's deputy prime minister and reconstruction minister.
He said the second drone hit while an evacuation was underway.
"This is one of the most brutal Russian tactics — the so-called 'double strike,' when the second strike hits rescuers and people who are evacuating," Ukraine's top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha said, according to a Telegram post by the foreign ministry.
Man found dead and at least 30 injured following attack on a passenger train
Saturday 4 October 2025 16:00
,
Rebecca Whittaker
A 71-year-old man was found dead in one of the wrecked carriages following the “savage” attack on a passenger train heading to Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at least 30 people have been injured in the attack.
But hours later, local prosecutors said that a 71-year-old man was found dead in one of the wrecked carriages.
Russian strike on passenger train 'terror the world must not ignore', says Zelensky
Saturday 4 October 2025 15:30
,
Rebecca Whittaker
An attack on a passenger train in Ukraine's northern Sumy region has left at least 30 people injured.
Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on X: “The Russians could not have been unaware that they were striking civilians. And this is terror the world must not ignore.”
A savage Russian drone strike on the railway station in Shostka, Sumy region. All emergency services are already on the scene and have begun helping people. All information about the injured is being established. So far, we know of at least 30 victims. Preliminary reports… pic.twitter.com/ZZoWfPmpL5
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 4, 2025
Why Hungary's Orban is refusing to give up Russian oil and gas
Saturday 4 October 2025 15:00
,
Namita Singh
As the European Union pushes to fully sever its reliance on Russian energy and the administration of US president Donald Trump urges Nato members to abandon Russian oil, one country's populist government stands firm.
Read more here:
Moscow's strikes
Saturday 4 October 2025 14:36
,
Tom Watling
Moscow has recently stepped up airstrikes on Ukraine's railway network, which is essential for military transport, hitting it almost every day over the past two months. As in previous years since the full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Kremlin has also ramped up attacks on Ukraine's power grid, in what Kyiv calls an attempt to weaponize the approaching winter by denying civilians heat, light and running water.
Overnight into Saturday, Russian drones and missiles pounded Ukraine's power grid again, a Ukrainian energy firm said, a day after what officials described as the biggest attack on Ukrainian natural gas facilities since Moscow's all-out invasion more than three and a half years ago.
The strike damaged energy facilities near Chernihiv, a northern city west of Shostka that lies close to the Russian border, and sparked blackouts set to affect some 50,000 households, according to regional operator Chernihivoblenergo.
How Europe aims to support Ukraine using seized Russian assets
Saturday 4 October 2025 14:20
,
Tom Watling
Russia using ‘new missile upgrade to bypass Ukraine’s air defence’
Saturday 4 October 2025 13:20
,
Tom Watling
Putin warns support for Ukraine will ‘damage’ US-Russia relations
Saturday 4 October 2025 12:20
,
Tom Watling
Russian drones and missiles pound Ukraine’s power grid
Saturday 4 October 2025 12:10
,
Namita Singh
Russian drones and missiles pounded Ukraine's power grid overnight into Saturday, a Ukrainian energy firm said, a day after what officials described as the biggest attack on Ukrainian natural gas facilities since Moscow's all-out invasion more than three-and-a-half years ago.
The strike damaged energy facilities near Chernihiv, a northern city close to the Russian border, and sparked blackouts set to affect some 50,000 households, according to regional operator Chernihivoblenergo.
The head of Chernihiv's military administration, Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, confirmed a night time Russian attack on the city caused multiple fires, but did not immediately say what was hit.
The day before, Russia launched its biggest attack of the war against natural gas facilities run by Ukraine's state-owned Naftogaz Group, Ukrainian officials said.
Russia fired a total of 381 drones and 35 missiles at Ukraine on Friday, according to Ukraine's air force, in what officials said was an attempt to wreck the Ukrainian power grid ahead of winter and wear down public support for the three-year-old conflict.
Naftogaz's chief executive, Serhii Koretskyi, said on Friday the attacks had no military purpose, while Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko accused Moscow of "terrorising civilians".
Moscow claimed the strikes targeted facilities that support Kyiv's war effort.
Overnight into Saturday, Russian forces launched a further 109 drones and three ballistic missiles at Ukraine, the Ukrainian military reported.
It said 73 of the drones were shot down or sent off course.
At least 30 injured in ‘savage’ Russian strike on passenger train, says Zelensky
Saturday 4 October 2025 12:09
,
Namita Singh
At least 30 people sustained injuries in a "savage" Russian drone strike on Saturday on a Ukrainian railway station, said Volodymyr Zelensky,
The attack took place in Shostka, a city northeast of Kyiv that lies some 70km from the Russian border.
"All emergency services are already on the scene and have begun helping people. All information about the injured is being established," he said in a post on X.
A savage Russian drone strike on the railway station in Shostka, Sumy region. All emergency services are already on the scene and have begun helping people. All information about the injured is being established. So far, we know of at least 30 victims. Preliminary reports… pic.twitter.com/ZZoWfPmpL5
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 4, 2025
‘Shadow fleet’ vessel leaves court days after French troops raid
Saturday 4 October 2025 12:01
,
Tom Watling
Zelensky condemns Russian 'terrorism' as drone strikes passenger train
Saturday 4 October 2025 11:40
,
Namita Singh
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned Russia's drone strike on a passenger train in Ukraine, sharing video of a wrecked, burning carriage and others with their windows blown out."A brutal Russian drone strike on the railway station in Shostka, Sumy region," he wrote on Telegram.
He said dozens of passengers and rail workers were wounded.
Regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said the attack hit a train heading from Shostka to the capital, Kyiv.
Medics and rescuers were working on the scene, he said.
The head of the local district administration, Oksana Tarasiuk, told Ukraine's public broadcaster that about 30 people were injured by the strike.
No fatalities were reported in the immediate aftermath."The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians. This is terrorism, which the world has no right to ignore," Zelensky wrote.
Moscow has stepped up its airstrikes on Ukraine's railway infrastructure, hitting it almost every day over the last two months.
Patrolling Nato’s skies with the RAF: A birds-eye look at Europe’s creeping frontline
Saturday 4 October 2025 11:40
,
Tom Watling
Populist billionaire Babis seeks comeback in Czech election
Saturday 4 October 2025 11:30
,
Namita Singh
Czechs voted on Saturday in the final day of an election likely to return populist billionaire Andrej Babis to power on pledges to raise wages and lift growth, while reducing aid for Ukraine.
The change from the current centre-right cabinet would boost Europe's populist, anti-immigration camp and could harden opposition to the European Union's climate goals.
Czechs endured surges in inflation after the global pandemic and Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and have only slowly recovered from one of Europe's worst drops in real incomes.
That, as well as several corruption scandals, damaged prime minister Petr Fiala's Spolu coalition and its liberal government allies, who focused on a gradual reduction of the budget deficit.
Babis, whose Ano party held double-digit leads in most opinion polls, is an ally of Hungary's nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban in the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament.
Babis, who was previously prime minister from 2017-21, has taken an ambivalent line on aid to Ukraine - a departure from Fiala's government which has supported Kyiv throughout the war with Russia.
Hungary clings to Russian oil and gas as EU and NATO push to cut supplies
Saturday 4 October 2025 11:20
,
Tom Watling
Russian strike hits passenger train in Ukraine, causing casualties
Saturday 4 October 2025 11:01
,
Namita Singh
A Russian strike hit a passenger train in Ukraine's northern Sumy region causing casualties among the passengers, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said on Saturday.
Hryhorov said the Russian attack had targeted a railway station, and that a train heading to Kyiv had been hit.
No figure was given for the number of casualties, but the governor posted a picture of a burning passenger carriage and said medics and rescuers were working on the scene.
Moscow has stepped up its air strike campaign on Ukraine's railway infrastructure, hitting it almost every day over the last two months.
Russia launches devastating attack on Ukrainian energy
Saturday 4 October 2025 11:01
,
Tom Watling
Ukrainian minister warns Europe of ‘serious’ Russian threat
Saturday 4 October 2025 10:40
,
Namita Singh
Europe needs to “get serious” about the threat posed by Russia, said Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister.
“I’m sure [Russian president Vladimir] Putin gets emotional if not physical satisfaction humiliating the West by showing what he perceives as his super-strength,” Sergiy Kyslytsia told the Guardian.
Russia’s next course of action will be dependent on the collective resolve displayed by Europe and the Trump administration, as he predicted Trump would “escalate escalating” and take more measures to paralyse the continent.
Warning about the ruthless and “unscrupulous adversary”, he said: “Many politicians are still keeping in their heads in the patterns and algorithms of the last century, where a war means boots on the ground and tanks moving in.”
“In the 21st century you don’t need tanks to put technologically advanced countries on their knees. Cyberwar is a reality,” Kyslytsia said.
“Howitzers are not necessary to paralyse the banking system. By using drones in a smart way you can achieve your goals better than with a nuclear bomb.”
UN aviation assembly closes with rebuke of Russia over satellite navigation jamming
Saturday 4 October 2025 10:20
,
Namita Singh
The UN aviation agency's assembly concluded on Friday with delegates agreeing to condemn Russia for disturbances to critical satellite navigation systems that they say violate international rules.
Estonia and neighbour Finland have blamed Russia for jamming GPS navigation devices in the region's airspace, charges that Moscow has denied.
The region experienced two recent high-profile instances of GPS disturbances, including one involving a Spanish military jet with the country's defence minister onboard.
