As a peace deal remains elusive, Kyiv’s allies meet in Paris to discuss security guarantees, with Donald Trump to dial in this afternoon. Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev warns Russia could seize British assets in retaliation for the UK’s support of Ukraine. Listen to The World as you scroll.
Thursday 4 September 2025 12:28, UK
After Russian strikes in Kramatorsk yesterday and overnight, the local administration has said 11 people have been killed.
The attacks took place in the Donetsk region, close to the frontlines.
Of the deaths, nine people were killed in Kostyantynivka yesterday, with two additional deaths taking place overnight.
The Donetsk regional state administration added that it had evacuated 314 people.
Ukraine has been targeting Russia’s oil refining capacity, with the most recent strikes coming this weekend.
In our weekly Ukraine Q&A yesterday, our military analyst Michael Clarke was asked if this was an effective strategy.
Clarke said: “It’s good in the sense that it is working.”
He said approximately 11% of Russia’s refining capacity has been affected.
Petrol seems to be running short in Russia, with wholesale prices rising 55%, forcing the Russian government to intervene to protect consumers, Clarke added.
“The reason the Ukrainians are going for the refining capacity is because if they went for the oil export capacity, which they could, it would affect the price of oil, global markets would react to that, and that would be something the United States would not approve of.”
Watch: Ukrainian drone strike the Unecha oil pumping station last month
Clarke continued: “The bottom line is that this is a successful campaign that the Ukrainians are conducting that is affecting the domestic economy.
“Will that directly affect the war? Probably not. Because the Russian military runs on diesel.”
But Clarke explained: “It filters through to the war in the sense that it inconveniences and bothers the Russians and reminds the Russian population that this war has a cost to them as well.”
Watch the full Q&A here…
Here are some of the latest pictures from Paris and Vladivostok.
In the French capital, Ukraine and its European allies have been meeting to further discuss security guarantees for Kyiv, with a senior US official speaking too (see our 11.12 post for more).
Meanwhile, in the far eastern Russian city, Vladimir Putin was pictured hugging two cadets from a military sports training and patriotic upbringing centre.
Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has spoken to the coalition of the willing during their meeting in Paris.
A French government official told our Europe producer Simone Baglivo: “Mr Witkoff participated in part of the work of the Coalition of the Willing and addressed all the heads of state and government present.”
They added Witkoff had to leave the meeting at the Elysee presidential palace “as planned” for another engagement, but would return when leaders called Trump later.
Witkoff will also meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy today.
The Ukrainian president’s adviser, Andriy Yermak, said he had met Witkoff with UK national security adviser Jonathan Powell.
“Our main task is the practical implementation of the agreements reached by our leaders regarding security guarantees for Ukraine,” Yermak said.
Witkoff has run point for Washington on both the wars in Ukraine and Gaza – but some have called into question his diplomatic experience.
Dmitry Medvedev has warned British assets may be seized in revenge for the UK using frozen Russian assets to fund military support for Ukraine.
The British government announced a package of more than £1bn for Ukraine yesterday – paid for by frozen Russian assets.
Medvedev, a key Putin ally and former Russian president, who is deputy chairman of the country’s security council, shared a strongly worded message on his Telegram.
In it, he warned of retaliatory action and called David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, “the English idiot”.
Medvedev said Russia would respond to “any illegal seizure of frozen Russian funds or profits” by seizing the “valuables of the British Crown” including British property in Russia.
“Given that the money cannot be recovered in court for obvious reasons, our country has only one way to return the valuables: return it in kind,” Medvedev added.
He also said Russia could seize more Ukrainian land.
China has responded to Donald Trump’s claim that Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un were conspiring against the US at China’s military parade yesterday.
Beijing’s foreign ministry says it “never targets” any third party as it develops diplomatic ties with other nations.
The Kremlin responded to his comments yesterday, saying it hoped Trump was making the comments in irony.
Here’s what he said in the Truth Social post…
One of Russia’s most powerful bankers has warned that the country’s economy is stagnating and could face a recession.
German Gref, the boss of Sberbank, called for a reduction in interest rates to protect the country’s economy.
Despite multiple rounds of sanctions, Russia’s war economy grew at 4.1% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024 – faster than G7 nations.
However, growth is slowing under high interest rates.
In the face of massive military spending, the central bank raised its key interest rate to 21% in October, before cutting it back to 18% by July.
Speaking to reporters today at an economic forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok (which Vladimir Putin is attending – see the 9.12 post for more on that), Gref warned Moscow’s economy looked like it was in “technical stagnation”.
The meeting of the coalition of the willing is now underway, with French President Emmanuel Macron speaking briefly beforehand.
He said: “Thank you everybody, colleagues, for joining. Everybody is now connected, and thank you for joining us both in person and online at such short notice, and thank you Mr President Volodymyr for being here in Paris with us today, alongside all the leaders who made this possible.”
The summit of Ukraine and its allies will discuss security guarantees for Kyiv, as well as the possibility of putting boots on the ground.
US President Donald Trump will then call in later.
Emmanuel Macron has been welcoming leaders of the coalition of the willing in Paris in the past half an hour.
Ukraine’s allies are meeting today to discuss specifics on security guarantees for Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among the guests to receive a warm welcome from Macron.
Finnish leader Alexander Stubbs, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever are all there for the meeting, with other leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, joining virtually.
After arriving, the leaders were seen talking inside.
Spain’s prime minister is attending today’s coalition of the willing summit virtually after a technical problem on his plane meant he was unable to go in person.
Pedro Sanchez was in the air when a problem with his jet forced him to return to Madrid, a spokesperson in his office said.
It comes after EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen’s plane was hit by GPS jamming that was allegedly carried out by Russia – but there’s no suggestion this was linked to today’s issue.
Read more on that from our foreign news reporter Michael Drummond here…
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