Volodymyr Zelensky has deemed Russian airspace to be “completely unsafe” in a warning to airlines ahead of Ukrainian drone attacks.
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.
The troops are stranded on the occupied Kinburn Spit, a long ridge of sand which juts out from Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, Ukrainian commanders told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Crimea.Realities podcast.
Drone strikes have targeted deliveries of ammunition and food, a recconnaisance commander with the call sign ‘Yava’ said on the podcast according to United24.
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Key Points
- Zelensky declares Russian airspace 'completely unsafe' ahead of drone attack
- Ukraine says it has trapped around 2,500 Russian soldiers on tiny Black Sea strip of land
- Mapped: Where is the Kinburn Spit?
- At least 12 people killed Russia's sixth consecutive air attack on Kyiv
- Russia launched more than 2,800 jet-powered drones at Ukraine in August - Kyiv
- Watch: Modi implores visibly-uncomfortable Putin to end Ukraine war
Are there airspace risks to Russian skies as stated by Zelensky?
04:36 , Arpan RaiThe full risk of Ukrainian drones to aviation over Russia, the world's largest country by land mass, is not clear, but there have been deadly incidents of civilian aircraft being mistakenly targeted in the region.
Aviation risk advisory firm Osprey Flight Solutions said in an alert to clients that while the majority of Ukraine's drone and missile strikes were likely to occur within 300km (186 miles) of the border, daily attacks deeper inside Russia were near-certain through 2026, including near Moscow and St Petersburg.
“There is also a realistic possibility that the frequency of Ukrainian strikes will continue to increase in the short term deep inside Russian territory," the alert said.
“It is assessed that miscalculation and/or misidentification is likely in areas related to the Ukraine conflict.”
Osprey said Russian military air defences included conventional surface-to-air missile systems capable at all altitudes.
Last year, Europe's top rights court found Russia responsible for the downing of a Malaysian jetliner in 2014 at cruising altitude over eastern Ukraine where there was fighting.
Putin says Moscow open to talks to end war
04:23 , Arpan RaiRussian president Vladimir Putin said Moscow was open to talks aimed at ending, rather than freezing, the war, and restated its willingness to talk to US president Donald Trump's envoys.
“If someone makes, or can make, a tangible contribution to this process, we are all in favour,” Putin said.
“The only thing we would want to avoid is the process spinning its wheels pointlessly. However, if someone is capable of bringing something positive to these negotiations – which, as we understand it, are currently somewhat frozen - then, generally speaking, we are not opposed.”
Putin specifically acknowledged that Ukrainian drone strikes had caused damage to Russian oil refineries, although without referring to widespread fuel shortages that have resulted from those attacks.
But he said that the level of protection had improved, and "we only have 10 per cent of our refineries left to repair”.
Putin says Russia is winning on battlefield and will not negotiate with 'terrorists'
04:05 , Arpan RaiPresident Vladimir Putin said Russia was winning the war in Ukraine and portrayed the Ukrainian leadership as "terrorists" with whom Moscow could not negotiate.
Putin, in his most detailed comments on the war for many weeks, acknowledged that Ukrainian attacks inside Russia had inflicted real damage and said that drones posed a particular challenge.
The Russian leader said that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's warning to airlines that Ukrainian drones would effectively shut down Russian airspace sounded like "state terrorism" and that Moscow would find a way to respond if it happened.
Speaking at a news conference after a summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said it was not possible to negotiate with "terrorists".
But he said that Russia was advancing on the battlefield and told reporters: “I have no doubt the enemy will crumble.”
He declined to say when that would happen. Rumours that Russia would be forced to order a new military mobilisation were “utter nonsense,” he said.
Russian attacks damage infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa
03:52 , Arpan RaiRussian attacks damaged infrastructure and residential buildings in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa, Serhiy Lysak, the head of the city's military administration, said on Telegram.
The attack took place in the early hours today. Lysak did not share details on casualties.
Russian FPV drone strike sparks high-rise fire as rescuers evacuate residents
03:00 , Harriette BoucherGermany blames Russia for explosive drone attack at Leipzig airport
02:00 , Harriette BoucherGermany has blamed Russia for an attempted explosive drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month after a device was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane.
The explosive-laden drone, which was defused, had prompted a counterterrorism investigation and fears of another hybrid attack on European soil.
German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt announced on Tuesday that the German government “comes to the conclusion that Russia is responsible for the hybrid attack in Leipzig on 4 August.
“Taken together, police investigations, patterns of the offences and intelligence findings establish Russian responsibility for the attempted attack,” he added.
Mr Dobrindt said the event corresponds with a known pattern of “Russian hybrid operations,” adding: “We assume that Germany is the target of further hybrid attacks by Russia.”
Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephu, has ordered a series of retaliatory actions, including the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn along with the Russian House, a cultural centre in Berlin.
Mr Wadephu said he did not believe the event was an isolated incident.
Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would respond in a “mirror-image” fashion to Germany's measures, telling German Press Agency that “Berlin is sponsoring terrorism”.
Germany blames Russia for explosive drone attack at Leipzig airport
Ukrainian PM calls on lawmakers to speed voting on key laws
01:00 , Alex CroftUkraine's prime minister Sergii Koretskyi called on lawmakers on Tuesday to speed up voting on key legislation to help secure necessary financing for Ukraine.
Kyiv is currently facing a $27 billion (£23 billion) deficit for defence, he said.
Koretskyi added that his government would audit the needs of the defence ministry.
Germany preparing to blame Russia for attempted drone attack on Ukrainian cargo plane - Reuters
Wednesday 2 September 2026 00:00 , Alex CroftGermany is set to blame Russia for an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport in August, two sources told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday.
Berlin could prepare new sanctions against Moscow in coordination with allies, the sources said.
Airport workers had 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 had previously stopped short of blaming Russia but called the incident part of a hybrid war being waged on Europe. Relations between Russia and the West collapsed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"There is no overreaction on our part, but there is a response when we are attacked," foreign minister Johann Wadephul said. "Russia must understand that Germany is a stabilizing force in Europe — one that is always ready to negotiate but will not be intimidated in any way."
‘Where there were bombs, there are now sunflowers’: The woman ridding Ukraine of Russian mines
Tuesday 1 September 2026 23:00 , Alex CroftEvery morning, Antonina Kulhava wakes up to the whirr of Russian drones.
After checking local alerts to ensure her family and friends are safe, she commutes to her job as a humanitarian deminer at one of Ukraine’s many fields littered with bombs. Her team face grave danger as they comb through craters of mud left by missiles, in fields once tilled by farmers.
Ukraine is one of the world’s most heavily mined countries with between 20 to 25 per cent of its surface covered with potentially dangerous weapons. This amounts to more than 139,000 square kilometres of land, a size larger than England and Wales combined.
The existence of these mines is devastating for civilians, contributing to one of the world’s highest rates of civilian casualties. Children are among those at risk if the mines are not safely cleared.
“It’s an interesting and challenging job,” she tells The Independent.
Maira Butt reports:
The woman making Ukraine safe from landmines amid a brutal war
Airspace warnings sounds like 'state terrorism' - Putin
Tuesday 1 September 2026 21:53 , Harriette BoucherVladimir Putin has said Volodymyr Zelensky’s warning that Russian airspace will soon be “completely unsafe” sounded like “state terrorism”.
He stated that Moscow would find a way to respond, adding it was not possible to negotiate with “terrorists”.
The Ukrainian leader earlier warned airlines that Russian airspace “will effectively be closing” ahead of drone strikes, saying he did not want innocent lives to be lost.
Zelensky declares Russian airspace 'completely unsafe' ahead of drone attack
Tuesday 1 September 2026 21:30 , Harriette BoucherVolodymyr Zelensky has warned airlines that Russia’s airspace will is “completely unsafe” ahead of Ukrainian drone strikes.
The Ukrainian president issued the warning in his nightly video address, saying he did not want innocent lives to be lost, but “the safe days in Russia’s skies are over.”
“Today, 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.
“Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such – not a single civilian aircraft. There will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that has to be taken into account.
“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.
“It is important that this is heard by the ambassadors of countries represented here in Ukraine, as well as by ambassadors working in Moscow.
“It is important that the airlines currently flying to airports primarily in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other key destinations in Russia hear this as well.”
Watch: Modi implores visibly-uncomfortable Putin to end Ukraine war
Tuesday 1 September 2026 21:00 , Alex CroftMoscow preparing to announce new UK ambassador, says foreign ministry
Tuesday 1 September 2026 20:01 , Alex CroftMoscow is preparing to announce a new ambassador to the UK, just weeks after its previous envoy left as tensions between the countries ramp up.
Andrei Kelin’s departure in July after more than seven years in the post prompted media speculation that Moscow was downgrading diplomatic relations with Britain. This was denied by Moscow.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that the naming of a new ambassador was the prerogative of president Vladimir Putin and the procedure for the appointment was not a public matter.
She said Kelin had served through an extremely difficult period "in the face of British efforts to completely dismantle bilateral relations".
Britain is a leading ally of Ukraine and provides it with weapons including missiles and drones.
Russia warned Britain last month that it would face unspecified "consequences" for supplying drones that were used by Ukraine to attack Russian territory.
Russia prepared to deliver 'devastating' response to any hostile action in Baltics
Tuesday 1 September 2026 19:00 , Alex CroftWe’ve heard more from foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who spoke about tensions in the Baltic region in her weekly press briefing on Tuesday.
Moscow is prepared to deliver a devastating response to any hostile action against it in the Baltic region, she said.
"In the event of a further escalation of the military-political situation in the Baltic region, it must be emphasized once again: Russia’s response to the instigators of reckless anti-Russian ventures will be decisive,” Zakharova told reporters.
“And they need to know this - it will be devastating for them," Zakharova she added.
Four killed and 13 injured in attack just outside Kyiv
Tuesday 1 September 2026 18:01 , Alex CroftFour people were killed and a further 13 injured in an attack that hit a residential building and other sites in Boryspil, just outside Kyiv, Governor Tymur Tkachenko has said.
One of the dead, he added, was an Indian citizen.
"There's the crater. My car was parked here, and the blast threw it over there," Yevhen Zavhorodniy, 44, told Reuters new agency, pointing to a large crater in front of a building in Boryspil where residents were cleaning up.
"But we're alive and well, thank God. My wife, my son and our dog," said Mr Zavhorodniy, who moved his family recently from Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine.
With Reuters
In pictures: 12 killed in sixth consecutive day of strikes on Kyiv
Tuesday 1 September 2026 17:00 , Alex Croft
Russia targets port infrastructure in Ukraine, says emergency service
Tuesday 1 September 2026 16:28 , Alex CroftRussian strikes targeted port infrastructure in Ukraine's southern Black Sea region of Odesa, Ukraine's emergency service said on Tuesday.
It described the attack as “massive” in its latest update on Telegram.
“The building of a sewing shop was damaged. In the Odessa district, a residential building caught fire, unfortunately, one person was injured.
“Russia also attacked one of the checkpoints in the region. A fire also broke out there, which rescuers were involved in extinguishing.”
Civilian killed in Ukrainian attack on Belgorod, says acting governor
Tuesday 1 September 2026 16:00 , Alex CroftOne civilian was killed in a Ukrainian attack on Russia's Belgorod region, acting governor Alexander Shuvayev said on Tuesday.
The Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine’s northeastern regions of Kharkiv, Sumy and Luhansk, has repeatedly come under attack by Ukrainian forces.
Tuesday 1 September 2026 15:35 , Alex CroftChina won't allow Russia to use nuclear weapons, says Finland's Stubb
Tuesday 1 September 2026 15:01 , Alex CroftFinland’s president Alexander Stubb said he is aware of private assurances from China that it would not allow Russia to use nuclear weapons.
On being asked whether Russia could resort to using nuclear weapons, Stubb said: “I had the foreign minister of China visiting me this summer, and I raised the issue.
“And he said, we will never allow it to happen. And I think that’s a pretty good deterrence,” he told Paul Ronzheimer of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network.
In Focus | How Ukraine is trying to beat Russia at its own game with massive drone strike campaign
Tuesday 1 September 2026 14:29 , Alex CroftIn 2023, a year into Russia’s unprecedented invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv was producing around 800,000 drones a year. By 2024, that number had more than doubled to two million.
Fast forward to last month – when President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the country was now churning out more than 10 million units annually with plans to double that number to 20 million by this time next year.
The rapid rate and intensity of production is having an impact. Just this week, Russian president Vladimir Putin was forced to acknowledge that attacks on the country’s refineries and energy infrastructure were having an effect.
“There are no critical consequences from such attacks, there have not been and cannot be,” he told a conference of business and economy leaders, trying to downplay their scale.
However, he added: “But they certainly cause us harm, that is obvious, and we understand, see and know this.”
Maira Butt reports:
How Ukraine is trying to beat Russia at its own game with massive drone strikes
Four killed and three wounded in Ukrainian attacks on Luhansk, says governor
Tuesday 1 September 2026 14:00 , Alex CroftFour people were killed and three more wounded by a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks in the Russian-controlled part of Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, the region's Russian-installed governor, Leonid Pasechnik, said on Tuesday.
We’ll bring you more on the alleged attack as it comes in.
Russian strikes destroy millions of school books for Ukrainian children - ICYMI
Tuesday 1 September 2026 13:34 , Alex CroftRussian attacks on Ukraine this year have destroyed about a million textbooks in strikes on publishing houses, officials in Kyiv said.
Classes were due to resume at Ukrainian schools today, but it is not immediately clear whether maybe parents would be willing to send their children in. Schools have air raid shelters, and classes can also be held online.
The destruction of textbooks has potentially delayed deliveries for the start of the school year, Ukraine’s education ministry said.
A plant on the outskirts of Kyiv destroyed this week was in the process of delivering 1.3 million copies of textbooks, almost 10 per cent of the country’s supply, local media reported.
Moment Putin launches nuclear-capable missile in warning to West - ICYMI
Tuesday 1 September 2026 13:10 , Alex CroftGermany preparing to blame Russia for attempted drone attack on Ukrainian cargo plane - Reuters
Tuesday 1 September 2026 12:48 , Alex CroftGermany is set to blame Russia for an attempted drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle airport in August, two sources told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday.
Berlin could prepare new sanctions against Moscow in coordination with allies, the sources said.
Airport workers had 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 had previously stopped short of blaming Russia but called the incident part of a hybrid war being waged on Europe. Relations between Russia and the West collapsed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"There is no overreaction on our part, but there is a response when we are attacked," foreign minister Johann Wadephul said. "Russia must understand that Germany is a stabilizing force in Europe — one that is always ready to negotiate but will not be intimidated in any way."
Drones hit Novokuibyshevsk in Russia's Samara region
Tuesday 1 September 2026 12:25 , Alex CroftDrones hit the town of Novokuibyshevsk in Russia's Samara region, blowing out windows in an apartment building, regional governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said.
Novokuibyshevsk and the surrounding area on the Volga River are home to a number of Russia's major oil refineries run by the state oil company Rosneft.
‘Where there were bombs, there are now sunflowers’: The woman ridding Ukraine of Russian mines
Tuesday 1 September 2026 12:02 , Alex CroftEvery morning, Antonina Kulhava wakes up to the whirr of Russian drones.
After checking local alerts to ensure her family and friends are safe, she commutes to her job as a humanitarian deminer at one of Ukraine’s many fields littered with bombs. Her team face grave danger as they comb through craters of mud left by missiles, in fields once tilled by farmers.
Ukraine is one of the world’s most heavily mined countries with between 20 to 25 per cent of its surface covered with potentially dangerous weapons. This amounts to more than 139,000 square kilometres of land, a size larger than England and Wales combined.
The existence of these mines is devastating for civilians, contributing to one of the world’s highest rates of civilian casualties. Children are among those at risk if the mines are not safely cleared.
“It’s an interesting and challenging job,” she tells The Independent.
Maira Butt reports:
The woman making Ukraine safe from landmines amid a brutal war
Death toll from Russian air attack on Kyiv rises to 12 people, says Ukraine
Tuesday 1 September 2026 11:40 , Alex CroftThe death toll from Russia’s air attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region has risen to 12 people, authorities said.
Several more were injured in what was the sixth consecutive day of strikes on the Ukrainian capital.
More explosions were heard in the capital on Tuesday morning, a witness told the Reuters news agency.
Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Russian drones and ballistic missiles had targeted residential areas and railway infrastructure in the heavy overnight attacks.
Ukrainian PM calls on lawmakers to speed voting on key laws
Tuesday 1 September 2026 11:37 , Alex CroftUkraine's prime minister Sergii Koretskyi called on lawmakers on Tuesday to speed up voting on key legislation to help secure necessary financing for Ukraine.
Kyiv is currently facing a $27 billion (£23 billion) deficit for defence, he said.
Koretskyi added that his government would audit the needs of the defence ministry.
Watch: Modi implores visibly-uncomfortable Putin to end Ukraine war
Tuesday 1 September 2026 11:12 , Alex CroftRussia launched more than 2,800 jet-powered drones at Ukraine in August - Kyiv
Tuesday 1 September 2026 10:51 , Alex CroftRussia launched more than 2,800 jet-powered drones at Ukraine in August, Ukraine's air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat has said.
Their interception rate of the drones, which are harder to shoot down due to their higher speed, was lower compared with other types of drones, at around 60 per cent, Ihnat told Ukrainian television.
Kyiv said earlier on Monday that Moscow had bombarded the capital with jet-powered drones in a sixth consecutive night of strikes on Monday, killing at least nine people and injuring over a dozen.
The 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.
Ukraine says it has trapped around 2,500 Russian soldiers on Black Sea strip of land
Tuesday 1 September 2026 09:05 , Alex CroftKyiv says its forces have trapped around 2,500 Russian soldiers on a tiny strip of land stretching into the Black Sea, according to a report.
The troops are stranded on the occupied Kinburn Spit, a long ridge of sand which juts out from Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, Ukrainian commanders told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Crimea.Realities podcast.
Drone strikes have targeted deliveries of ammunition and food, a recconnaisance commander with the call sign ‘Yava’ said on the podcast according to United24.
Ukrainian drone strikes have also destroyed most of Russia’s artillery and self-propelled guns that were being operated from the spit, Kyiv said.
“They are screaming in intercepted communications that they cannot organize logistics, that they do not want to go there because it means death,” he said, adding: “the spit has become a trap for them.”
