Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv ‘wipes out all of Moscow’s battlefield gains since March’ in blow to Putin

This summer, a 28-year-old digital content marketer packed up his suitcases and duct-taped boxes and fled Russia, leaving behind his family and friends and not knowing when he’ll be able to return.

“It is very sad to leave Russia,” he said in the southern city of Krasnodar before heading for the border with Georgia.

He blamed “the political situation” in Russia and complications over authorities restricting internet access as his reasons for leaving. Otherwise, “I never would have left for more than several months,” he told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company Press Office, a locomotive damaged in a Russian drone attack is seen at Yahodyn railway station near Ukraine’s border with Poland, Ukraine, Sunday, 13 September, 2026

Poland says it would defeat Russia quickly if Moscow attempted an attack on the alliance amid an increasing number of hybrid attacks on Europe.

“If Russia attacked us and we took our gloves off, I think we would defeat Russia quite quickly. We have overwhelming superiority over Russia in air power. General, correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s something like 2,500 aircraft,” he said during a discussion at the Yalta European Strategy meeting in Kyiv on Saturday.

“Even without the US it’s still overwhelming, and I haven’t checked recently how many F-35s and JASSMs and all the deep-strike capabilities we have.”

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German prosecutors have brought charges against a German-Ukrainian woman for spying for Russia, the federal prosecutors’ office said in a statement on Monday.

Ilona W, whose surname was not shared due to German privacy laws, is accused of having maintained contacts with an intelligence service officer in the Russian embassy in Berlin since October 2023 at the latest.

She gathered information on Germany’s defence policy and industry by befriending former defence ministry staff, according to the statement on Monday.

She was arrested in January this year and remains in pre-trial detention, prosecutors said.

One person has been killed and one injured in attacks on Russia’s Belgorod region, local authorities said on Monday.

India hosted the Brics summit at a geopolitically divisive moment in the world.

Two Brics members – Iran and Russia – are embroiled in major wars while several of their allies have faced attacks, instability, and serious disruption as a result of the conflicts.

But the contradictions at the heart of Brics were laid bare in Delhi this weekend.

The strike on a train in Ukraine shows how desperate Russian President Vladimir Putin has become, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday.

“Russia is growing increasingly reckless as it continues its terrible war against Ukraine,” he also said.

European leaders were meeting Monday to discuss growing competition in the Arctic, where global warming is opening new shipping routes, governments are vying for vast natural resources and a Russian military buildup is heightening security concerns.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen were among leaders expected for the European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland, a city perhaps best known for its Santa Claus village.

The two-day gathering that began Sunday comes on the heels of a Norwegian seizure of a Russian vessel earlier this month in the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard at the request of Ukraine, drawing the condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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