Donald Trump is giving Ukraine “deeper-strike capabilities” that “could help them offensively”, says the US ambassador to NATO. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian politician has been shot dead in the western city of Lviv. Follow the latest below.
Saturday 30 August 2025 17:17, UK
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Earlier this month, there was a flurry of diplomatic developments around the war in Ukraine that left some asking if its end was drawing closer.
US President Donald Trump met first with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and then European leaders, including Ukraine’s Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Washington.
Trump, at the time, said there would be security guarantees that the US would be a part of in some form.
The news was a noticeable breakthrough, but since then, very little has happened.
Trump claimed there would be a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, then all three leaders, but the Kremlin has spent the weeks since pouring cold water on almost every suggestion – including any potential security guarantees.
Our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett and Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins break down if, in the face of all of this, we’re actually any closer to peace…
The EU’s foreign policy chief has outlined the next steps for sanctions against Russia.
Kaja Kallas also hinted at an absence left by the US in supporting efforts against Moscow.
EU foreign ministers met in Denmark today and speaking afterwards, Kallas said she had asked them to submit proposals for another package of sanctions against Russia by next week.
It has previously been said that the package is expected next month.
Kallas also outlined what the next sanctions could be. Options were said to include:
“The goal is to exert maximum pressure on Russia,” Kallas added.
However, she hinted at an absence of support from the US.
“Of course, new actions would be stronger if matched by our partners, including our transatlantic partners,” Kallas added.
For context: Since the summit in Washington earlier this month, European leaders have sought to capitalise on momentum, and apparent support of Donald Trump, but little has materialised.
There have been concerns during Trump’s second term about his willingness to support the Kremlin and repeat its criticisms of Ukraine.
The shooting of a Ukrainian politician in Lviv was “carefully prepared,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned.
We brought you the news earlier that Andriy Parubiy was shot dead in western Ukraine – see our 14.17 post for the latest.
In a statement shared on Telegram, along with a video message, the Ukrainian leader said police were regularly updating him on the case.
“The crime was, unfortunately, carefully prepared. But everything is being done to solve this crime,” he said.
He added he shared his condolences with Parubiy’s family.
What else has Zelenskyy been saying today…
The Ukrainian leader said he had spoken to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Zelenskyy said that Modi had offered to pass on a message to Vladimir Putin and other leaders at the upcoming summit and military parade in Beijing over the need for a ceasefire ahead of any permanent peace.
He also added: “Almost two weeks have passed, and during this time, when Russia should have been preparing for diplomacy, Moscow has given no positive signal – only carried out cynical strikes on civilian targets and killed dozens of our people.”
Russia’s overnight attack was one of the largest since it began its invasion in February 2022.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 537 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys against Ukraine overnight, eight Iskander-M and North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles and 37 cruise missiles.
This continues a trend in recent months of Moscow upping the size of its overnight strikes on Ukraine.
This month alone has seen three of the largest attacks as Ukraine and its Western allies try to seize on momentum from the summit in Washington with Donald Trump to bring about an end to fighting.
Iranian drones
A key part of Russia’s latest overnight attack were Iranian supplied Shahed drones.
A so-called suicide drone, it earned its name because the drones are flown into targets, exploding on impact.
According to some reports, the drone was first used by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia, before Russia.
The drones reportedly cost between $20,000 and $50,000 – making them a relatively cheap method to attack.
A Russian military chief has said that Moscow’s forces are conducting “non-stop offensives” along the frontline.
Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov made the comments in an address published by Zvezda, the official outlet of the Russian Defence Ministry.
He claimed that Russia now controls 99.7% of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, 79% of the Donetsk region, 74% of the Zaporizhzhia region and 76% of the Kherson region.
Publicly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr has said that Russia occupies around 20% of the country in total.
The map below shows the state of the frontline according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which has mapped the conflict since it began.
Gerasimov also made several claims of military advances across the frontline in the address which Sky News are unable to verify.
It is known that Russia has been making slow progress on the frontline in the east.
However, a recent attempt to penetrate through Ukrainian lines and seize the town of Dobropillya proved unsuccessful.
Kyiv’s forces have since resisted and pushed back the Russian advance, according to the ISW.
More now on the killing of Andriy Parubiy, who was shot dead in the western city of Lviv this afternoon.
A gunman fired several shots at Parubiy, killing him on the spot, the prosecutor general’s office said.
The attacker fled and a manhunt was launched, it said.
“This is a matter of security in a country at war, where, as we can see, there are no completely safe places,” Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said.
Officials gave no immediate indication whether the murder had any direct link to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Who was Andriy Parubiy?
Parubiy, 54, was a member of parliament when he was killed.
The politician was a leader of protests in 2013-14 calling for closer ties with the European Union – protests that brought down pro-Russian former President Viktor Yanukovych.
He become secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council from February to August 2014, a period when fighting began in eastern Ukraine and Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula.
He was parliamentary speaker from April 2016 to August 2019.
Ukraine has destroyed a Russian explosives storage facility 80 miles south of Moscow, according to a report.
The country’s military intelligence agency attacked the underground depot at Alexin Chemical Plant in the Tula region, an agency source told the Kyiv Independent.
Gunpowder and a powder used in the production of small arms, artillery, and rocket engines were stored there, the source said.
Sky News cannot independently verify this battlefield report.
Russian authorities said a drone was intercepted in the region.
Donald Trump is giving Ukraine “deeper-strike capabilities” that “could help them offensively”, says the US ambassador to NATO.
“Most likely the Ukrainians are going to use them, and that obviously is much different than what Joe Biden did,” Matt Whittaker told Fox News.
Washington recently approved the sale of 3,350 Extended-Range Attack Munition (ERAM) missiles for $850m to Ukraine, paid for by Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway.
The conditions on their use are unclear, but the missiles have a range of 150-280 miles.
Asked when Trump’s promised meeting with Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy would take place, Whittaker said Trump will give Putin “as much time as is necessary”.
“Both sides are still talking and that is a good thing,” he said.
North Korean state TV is airing a documentary today purportedly showing its soldiers fighting for Russia in Kursk against Ukraine.
The film revealed for the first time that Kim Jong Un decided to deploy troops last August, two months after he and Putin signed a security treaty.
Kim is due to join Vladimir Putin in China at a military parade next week marking the surrender of Japan in the Second World War.
It will be their third meeting in two years as they dramatically elevate a military alliance.
Kim hosted families of soldiers killed fighting for Russia yesterday and promised them a “beautiful life in the country”, KCNA state news agency reported.
Approximately 600 North Koreans have been killed out of a total deployment of 15,000, according to South Korea’s intelligence agency.
There have been estimates by Western intelligence of more than 6,000 casualties.
The US state department has approved the potential sale of Starlink services worth $150m to Ukraine.
Starlink has been integral to Ukraine’s communications on the battlefield, including its control of drones, the backbone of its military’s strikes on Russian forces.
Despite approval by the State Department, the notifications do not indicate that contracts have been signed or that negotiations have concluded.
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