The Independent View: Six months on, Donald Trump’s Iranian ‘excursion’ must end
Editorial: Iran was clearly the wrong war for America to intervene in, not just because it was so senseless, but because there were others where US power and prestige could have been more fruitfully deployed.
The most obvious is, of course, Ukraine, where, had Mr Trump continued the policies of his predecessor (and of his own instincts in his first term, when the trouble was brewing), it is quite conceivable that Ukraine might well have prevailed by now, armed as it would have been with all the weaponry and anti-missile defences that have been squandered in and around the Persian Gulf.
James Reynolds28 August 2026 10:45
The latest: Russia strikes Ukraine’s capital with waves of drones
Russia launched waves of drones at Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and surrounding region on Friday, damaging warehouses and homes in a second consecutive day of strikes Ukrainian officials said were an attempt to derail daily life for millions of residents.
At least one person was killed outside Kyiv, said Governor Tymur Tkachenko, adding that 14 warehouse premises, 16 homes and three blocks of apartment buildings had been damaged.
Frequent air-raid sirens blared throughout the city on Friday morning, a day after an hours-long missile and drone attack on Ukraine that targeted major retailers and consumer logistics in Kyiv and elsewhere.
Those strikes continued on Friday, destroying sorting centres belonging to Ukraine’s top private courier Nova Poshta near Kyiv and in the northern city of Sumy, the company said.
In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian drone tore into major home-improvement store Epicenter, wounding at least four people, Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Friday.
Parts of a shot-down kamikaze drone at a site of a Russian strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Vyshneve in Kyiv region, Ukraine, August 28 (Reuters)
Reuters28 August 2026 10:35
Ukraine thanks EU members for push to restart debate around using frozen Russian assets
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday that Kyiv was grateful to four European Union member states for their initiative to reopen the debate on using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine.
“Russia refuses to end the war and escalates terror instead. Ukraine needs to bridge gaps for growing defense expenditures and recovery costs.”
“It is only fair and logical to use Russian assets, rather than only European taxpayers money’, to cover additional costs of defending Ukraine and the rest of Europe from the Russian threat,” he said, adding that he was looking forward to talks with EU colleagues next week to “examine paths forward”.
The four states that proposed reopening the debate are the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden.
James Reynolds28 August 2026 10:15
The latest: Nearly 1,500,000 Russian casualties in Ukraine since 2022, says Kyiv
Ukraine’s general staff claims in its daily update that Russia has lost 1,483,780 troops in Ukraine since 24 February 2022.
That includes an additional 1,630 recorded over the past day, they say.
James Reynolds28 August 2026 09:45
Three suspects accused of plotting arson attack on Ukrainian drone maker
Three suspects allegedly planned an arson attack on a drone factory operated by Skyeton, a Ukrainian-founded company in eastern Slovakia, prosecutors said.
“The attack was supposed to aim at the Skyeton company’s factory,” a spokesperson for the regional prosecutor’s office said.
A 26-year-old Latvian suspect was detained in Hamburg and faces extradition proceedings, while Slovak authorities said a Latvian and a Ukrainian had been detained in Slovakia.
Skyeton makes drones for civilian and military use.
Maroosha Muzaffar28 August 2026 09:15
Six Russian drones cross into Moldova’s airspace
Six Russian drones crossed into the airspace of neighbouring Moldova during the latest wave of attacks on Ukraine, according to local authorities.
One of the drones was later found on Moldovan territory.
Moldovan president Maia Sandu “strongly condemn[ed] this intimidation” as the incident raised fresh concerns about the conflict spilling beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Maroosha Muzaffar28 August 2026 08:45
Ukraine receives small batch of US Patriot interceptors amid Russian attacks
Ukraine has received a small batch of US-made Patriot missile interceptors, president Volodymyr Zelensky said, as Russian forces continue using ballistic missiles against Ukrainian cities.
The systems are among the few air-defence weapons capable of intercepting Russia’s ballistic missiles.
The delivery comes as Ukraine faces another major Russian barrage involving drones, ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons.
Maroosha Muzaffar28 August 2026 08:15
Four EU countries urge bloc to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine
The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden are pushing the EU to reconsider using frozen Russian central bank assets to help fund Ukraine.
In a letter to the European Commission, the four countries said: “We believe now is the time to revert to the issue of how we can make further use of Russia’s immobilised assets for the benefit of Ukraine.”
The EU has struggled to agree on using the roughly €200bn held in frozen Russian assets, with Belgium raising concerns over potential legal liability.
Maroosha Muzaffar28 August 2026 07:45
One killed and two injured in Russian attack on shopping centre in Kharkiv, governor says
A lunchtime Russian strike on a shopping centre in Kharkiv killed one person and injured two others, Ukrainian officials said.
The attacks also hit commercial and industrial infrastructure elsewhere in the country, including a retail distribution centre in the Kyiv region and a shipment hub belonging to a toy company.
Roshen, the chocolate company founded by former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, said one of its warehouses outside Kyiv was destroyed.
Strikes were also reported in Poltava, Odesa and Kryvyi Rih.
Maroosha Muzaffar28 August 2026 07:15
Russian strike knocks out Kherson power plant’s entire generating capacity
A Russian strike on a thermal power plant in Kherson has wiped out all of its generating capacity, according to Ukraine’s state oil and gas company Naftogaz.
“The Russians struck a purely civilian facility that provides heat” to a significant portion of Kherson’s residential buildings, Naftogaz CEO Sergiy Fedorenko said.
Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin urged residents who can to leave, “especially families with children and elderly people”.
He warned: “Kherson may find itself without electricity or heating” for an extended period.
Maroosha Muzaffar28 August 2026 06:45