Washington is prepared to provide intelligence and air support for post-war Ukraine, according to a report.
Wednesday 27 August 2025 07:46, UK
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Two German air force Eurofighter jets were scrambled yesterday to intercept a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea, according to German outlet Deutsche Welle.
NATO’s air command gave the order to intercept the aircraft, which was flying in international airspace with its transponders turned off and without submitting a flight plan.
Moscow is suspected of using such aircraft to gather information about NATO military activity on the Baltic coast, particularly in Poland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
According to Russia’s defence ministry, cited by state news agency RIA, 26 Ukrainian drones were downed during an overnight attack.
It’s not clear where the drones were brought down, but the governor of the Rostov region has claimed one did strike a block of flats.
Yuri Slyusar said a fire broke out on the roof in Rostov-on-Don.
The picture below, shared on social media, appears to show the scene.
Washington is prepared to provide intelligence and air support for post-war Ukraine, according to a report.
The Financial Times cites four officials who say the US would be ready to contribute surveillance and reconnaissance as well as air defence assets.
This would enable any European-led team on the ground, the report added.
Last week, Donald Trump said he hadn’t ruled out putting US troops on the ground in Ukraine, but said they might provide air support as part of a deal to end the war.
“We’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably… by air,” Trump told Fox News, though he didn’t elaborate.
As he sat down for a cabinet meeting at the White House yesterday, Donald Trump made a number of comments on the war in Ukraine.
From claiming Volodymyr Zelenskyy “isn’t innocent” to warning Russia could face “an economic war” if the war doesn’t end, here is a look at what the US president said…
Economic sanctions
Trump didn’t offer any kind of deadline when asked if Vladimir Putin was back on the clock after their Alaska summit.
But he did say: “It’s very serious what I have in mind if I have to do it, but I want to see it end.
“I think in many ways he is there. Sometimes he’ll be there, but Zelenskyy won’t be there. I’ve got to get them both at the same time.”
Trump went on to say he was prepared to impose economic sanctions against Russia if Putin fails to agree to a ceasefire.
“We want to have an end. We have economic sanctions. I’m talking about economic because we’re not going to get into a world war,” he said.
“In my opinion, if I didn’t win this race, Ukraine could have possibly ended up in a world war. Just like India and Pakistan were going to end up in a nuclear war if I didn’t stop them.”
‘Zelenskyy isn’t innocent’
On the number of soldiers who have died in the past few weeks during the war (both Russian and Ukrainian), Trump said: “An economic war is going to be bad and it’s going to be bad for Russia and I don’t want that.
“Zelenskyy is not exactly innocent either. It takes two people to tango, I say it all the time.
“You’ve got to get them together. I get on with Zelenskyy now, but we have a much different relationship because now we are not paying any money to Ukraine.
“We’re paying money to ourselves. NATO’s buying all the equipment and paying in full.”
On his relationship with Putin
“If I can stop it because I have a certain power or certain relationship – I had a very good relationship with President Putin,” Trump said.
“That’s a positive thing.
“Steve Witkoff will tell you I’m the only one that can solve it.
“I have no ego when it comes to this stuff, I just want to see it solved.
“Thousands of young people are dying every week.”
There has been another report of a Russian attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure overnight.
This time, Moscow targeted the Poltava region, according to the local governor.
Volodymyr Kohut said the attack – on an “energy sector enterprise” – briefly cut power for consumers.
It has since been restored.
Russia has often targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the winter months, aimed at damaging morale among the country’s civilian population.
However, strikes on energy targets are now becoming more common during the summer.
Our military analyst Sean Bell has said this marks an apparent shift in tactics at the Kremlin – watch his earlier take in the video below…
We’re back with our coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Yesterday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the pace of talks about Ukraine’s security guarantees must be accelerated.
The Ukrainian president said he met military leaders to discuss the situation on the frontline and received a report on the work being done within the “coalition of the willing”.
Meanwhile, US and Russian government officials discussed several energy deals in the background of Ukraine peace talks, officials familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
These deals were put forward as incentives to encourage the Kremlin to agree to peace in Ukraine and for Washington to ease sanctions on Russia, they said.
Here are the other key lines from the last 24 hours:
We’ll be back tomorrow with more updates from Ukraine.
Today, one person died and several more were injured as a result of overnight Russian air attacks in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine’s air force said 12 Russian drones had managed to reach their targets on the ground overnight, striking nine different locations.
One person was killed in the village of Yampil in the Donetsk region, its governor Vadym Filashkin said.
Here are the other key lines from today:
Over in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian troops have been carrying out drills.
Russia has been trying to gain full control of Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine, but it has not been able to do so.
While Moscow currently occupies parts of the area, the regional capital, Zaporizhzhia, remains under Ukrainian control.
A suspected Ukrainian drone crashed into a farmer’s field in southeastern Estonia after it was veered off-course by Russia, Estonian public broadcaster ERR reports.
The drone, which was armed with explosives, detonated in the field and would have caused extensive damage if it had fallen on a residential building, Margo Palloson, the head of Estonia’s Internal Security Service, said.
No casualties have been reported, but parts were scattered across the field and “a clearly identifiable post-explosion crater was visible”, Palloson said.
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