The Kremlin has once again ruled out accepting NATO troops in Ukraine to end the war. On the frontline, Ukraine admits Russia has entered a key region but denies that its forces have taken two villages. Follow the latest below.
Wednesday 27 August 2025 12:57, UK
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A powerful explosion near Russia’s western city of Ryazan has reportedly caused damage to an oil pipeline supplying Moscow.
Speaking to the Kyiv Independent, a source in Ukraine’s military intelligence said the pipeline supplies petrol to Moscow and helps supply fuel to Russia’s military.
As a result of the “powerful explosion… the transportation of petroleum products to Moscow (via the pipeline) has been suspended indefinitely,” the intelligence source claimed.
Local media reported a powerful fire near the village of Bozhatkovo on the outskirts of Ryazan last night, with emergency services and repair crews reportedly deployed to contain the blaze and repair damage.
Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted Russian energy infrastructure through sabotage operations and drone strikes throughout the war, aiming to undermine Moscow’s gas and oil revenues.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Russia “is and will remain” the greatest threat to Europe’s security for a long time.
His comments come after Germany’s cabinet today passed a draft bill that would introduce a voluntary military service, which could lead to conscription if recruitment goals are missed.
The bill still needs to gain parliamentary approval.
Germany wants to increase the number of soldiers in service from 180,000 to 260,000 by the early 2030s to meet new NATO force targets and strengthen its defences – part of a planned surge in military spending.
Michael Clarke, our military analyst, is back in a few minutes to answer your questions about the war in Ukraine.
This week, he’ll be tackling topics like:
You can watch it live at the top of this page from 12pm – tap below to follow text updates on the best answers.
In its daily news briefing, the Kremlin has said that US efforts to find peace in Ukraine are “very important” and can help resolve the long-standing conflict.
However, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov added that Moscow took a negative view on European proposals for security guarantees for Ukraine.
He reiterated Russia’s long-standing position that no troops from NATO countries should be deployed to Ukraine.
On conducting high-level peace talks with Ukraine, Peskov said such meetings had to be well prepared for them to be effective.
Following reports that overnight Russian strikes in Ukraine targeted the country’s energy infrastructure, Peskov said that Moscow only strikes military and military-connected targets.
Putin’s ‘unprecedented’ China trip
Elsewhere, Peskov said active preparations are under way for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming trip to China, calling the visit “unprecedented.”
Putin and more than 20 other world leaders will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, to be held in the northern port city of Tianjin from 31 August 31 to 1 September.
Peskov confirmed Putin will then visit Vladivostok, a major Russian port city near the borders with China and North Korea, on 5 September.
Here’s a look at the latest battlefield maps of Ukraine.
Scroll through the maps to view different parts of the battlefield, including the situation in key regions such as Luhansk, Donetsk and Belgorod.
Vladimir Putin reportedly wants control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine – known as the Donbas – as a condition for ending the war.
Russia occupies around 19% of Ukraine, including Crimea and the parts of the Donbas region it seized before the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
More than 100,000 households were left without power in northeast Ukraine today following overnight Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, Volodymyr Zelebskyy says.
Ukraine’s president said power remained out for some households in the Poltava, Sumy and Chernihiv regions, adding that emergency services are working to restore the electricity supply as soon as possible.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said last week that energy facilities had been attacked 2,900 times since March 2025 alone.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it’s time for a leaders’ discussion on the priorities and timelines of security guarantees for Ukraine.
Following a call with Finland President Alexander Stubb, Zelenskyy said teams were “actively preparing the architecture of strong and multilateral security guarantees”.
This, he said, included Europeans, Americans and other partners in the “coalition of the willing”.
But while those talks look to be accelerating, Zelenskyy accused Russia of “sending negative signals regarding meetings and the further development of events”.
“Strikes on our cities and villages continue. New victims every day,” he said.
“Pressure is needed. We count on it. Steps are needed specifically from Russia – steps toward real diplomacy.”
Ukrainians have turned drones into their most effective weapon against Russia, but Moscow too has been rapidly expanding and advancing the technology.
Here, Sky’s military analyst, Professor Michael Clarke, explains how military technology has developed and what the impact of it can be for both Russia and Ukraine.
If you’d like to find out even more about Ukraine’s drone manufacturing process, click here to read an exclusive piece by international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn inside a Ukrainian factory.
And remember, Michael Clarke will be holding his latest Ukraine Q&A session today at 12pm. There’s still time to submit a question to him at the top of this page.
Ukraine has confirmed that Russia’s military has crossed into the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and is trying to establish a foothold there, but denied Moscow has taken control of two villages.
Moscow has repeatedly claimed that it has entered the area during the last three months as its forces try to push deeper into Ukraine from the Donetsk region.
Ukrainian battlefield analysts DeepState assessed yesterday that Russia now occupies two villages just inside the region, Zaporizke and Novohryhorivka.
This marked the first time the battlefield monitor reported Russia taking control of settlements in Dnipropetrovsk.
However, Ukraine’s armed forces general staff has denied that was the case. The military “continue to control” Zaporizke despite Russia’s best efforts, it said in a statement, and “active hostilities” are ongoing in the area around Novohryhorivka.
Russia’s defence ministry released an image claiming to show Russian troops inside Zaporizke.
Moscow has not laid claim to Dnipropetrovsk, unlike Ukraine’s other eastern regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and Crimea, which it illegally annexed in 2014.
Vladimir Putin reportedly wants control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – known collectively as the Donbas – as a condition for ending the war.
Russia’s advances into Dnipropetrovsk will no doubt strengthen the Kremlin’s hand for any future peace settlement.
Ukraine downed 74 of the 95 drones launched by Russia into the country overnight, its air force says.
It added that at least 21 drones managed to strike at nine different locations.
Two people were killed in Kostiantynivka and Bokove in Donetsk, governor Vadym Filashkin said. Twelve more people suffered injuries in the region over the past day.
A mass drone attack on Sumy damaged infrastructure, with authorities reporting disruptions to the electricity and water supply in the city.
We’ve mentioned already the attack on Poltava (see 6.46 post), which officials said damaged an energy facility, an administrative building, vehicles, and equipment.
A 68-year-old woman was injured in an attack in Kharkiv, according to its governor, while two other women were injured in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, governor Ivan Fedorov said.
In Kherson, 11 people were injured as 36 settlements, including the regional centre, came under attack.
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