Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, September 22, 2025

Monday’s Coverage: UN Security Council to Meet Over Russia’s Violations of Airspace

UPDATE 1928 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has said of his sitdown with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, “Today’s meeting was very good. It’s too early to talk about any specific elements of the meeting, a little later.”

He declared that the conversation was “definitely the most substantive one”.

Asked by reporters whether NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace, Trump said, “Yes, I do.”

He said support for NATO allies would depend on the circumstance, but praised them for buying arms from the US and transferring them to Ukraine.

NATO stepped up, you know, when they went from 2% to 5% [defense spending as percentage of GDP]. That was great unity.

It’s a lot of weapons they’re buying, and they’re buying them from us. They’re buying them from the US.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she discussed with Trump the issue of “the Kremlin’s provocations, including regular incursions into European airspace”.

UPDATE 1629 GMT:

Lithuania has followed Poland and Sweden in saying that it will shoot down any drone violating its airspace.

The Lithuanian Parliament granted the powers to the army. The change in orders was backed by 117 of 141 legislators.

The new law authorises Lithuania’s military to close down parts of airspace and to shoot down any drone “which violates rules set out by the chief of defense“.

UPDATE 1606 GMT:

The Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, US Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, told NATO’s North Atlantic Council that the Russian violation of Estonia’s airspace last Friday was probably accidental.

Grynkewich and NATO intelligence officials said Russian pilots are typically inexperienced and insufficiently trained. Cloud coverage likely impeded their ability to see the ground.

The Council said after its meeting, “Russia bears full responsibility for these actions, which are escalatory, risk miscalculation and endanger lives. They must stop” (see 1117 GMT).

UPDATE 1406 GMT:

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented 508 cases of torture of Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces in less than 28 months.

Those tortured on Russian-occupied territory include 392 men, 103 women, three girls, and nine boys. The victims ranged in age from adolescents to the elderly, with 15 persons with disabilities among them.

One civilian described the Russian threats, “We will leave you to rot. No one will find you. No one needs you. You don’t exist. We’ll bury you right here; only hungry dogs will find you.”

Former detainees reported severe beatings with objects such as batons and sticks; electric shocks; mock executions; kickings; threats of death; and stress positions such as “bent walking” and prolonged kneeling on concrete surfaces.

One said captors beat him “heavily with a baseball bat, targeting legs, a knee, and head”:

They damaged my elbow, displaced my kneecap, and injured my feet. I told one of them to be a human being and shoot me dead. He replied that he would not waste ammo to kill me.

UPDATE 1346 GMT:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has spoken with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen about the drone overflights disrupting Copenhagen Airport on Tuesday night.

Frederiksen’s office posted after the conversations with Von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and the Swedish and Norwegian Prime Ministers:

UPDATE 1117 GMT:

NATO’s North Atlantic Council, which brings together all the allies has “strongly” condemned Russia’s “dangerous” violation of Estonian airspace last Friday with three MiG-31 fighter jets.

The Council said the incident was “part of a wider pattern of increasingly irresponsible Russian behavior”:

Russia bears full responsibility for these actions, which are escalatory, risk miscalculation and endanger lives. They must stop….

Russia should be in no doubt: NATO and Allies will employ, in accordance with international law, all necessary military and non-military tools to defend ourselves and deter all threats from all directions. We will continue to respond in the manner, timing, and domain of our choosing. Our commitment to Article 5 is ironclad.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized:

Our shared commitment to collective defence is unshakable….We do not want to see a continuation of this dangerous pattern by Russia, intentional or not, but we stand ready and willing to continue to defend every inch of allied territory.

UPDATE 1110 GMT:

Amid the drone disruption at Copenhagen Airport, Denmark is joining frontline countries discussing a “drone wall” with European Union Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius this Friday.

Other countries involved are Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.

EU foreign policy spokesperson Anitta Hipper said that the shutdowns of the Copenhagen and Oslo airports fit a pattern:

What we have seen throughout the last weeks points out to Russia in terms of their reckless actions in at least three member states – first Poland, then Romania and most recently, Estonia.

What we have seen in terms of Russia is that they have not “accidentally” violated the airspaces of EU member states, but this was an intentional violation of the European airspace and here we see a clear pattern.

Russia is testing the European borders also probing, our resolve and undermining our security.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted, “We hear unfounded accusations from [Denmark] every time. Perhaps a party that takes a serious, responsible position shouldn’t make such unfounded accusations time and again.”

UPDATE 1000 GMT:

At least seven civilians have been murdered and at least 27 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day (see 0731 GMT).

Air defenses downed 103 of 115 drones. The other 12 drones struck six different locations.

Russia also launched three Iskander-M or KN-23 ballistic missiles.

UPDATE 0954 GMT:

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says she cannot exclude Russian involvement in drone overflights that disrupted operations at Copenhagen Airport on Monday night.

I cannot rule out that it is Russia. We have seen drones over Poland that should not have been there. We have seen activity in Romania. We have seen violations of Estonian airspace. We have seen hacker attacks on European airports over the weekend.

Now there have been drones in Denmark, and it appears that there have been drones in Oslo and Norway as well.

Therefore, I can only say that, in my view, this is a serious attack on critical Danish infrastructure.

Norway’s Oslo Airport was also shut for hours amid a drone incursion.

UPDATE 0757 GMT:

A Chinese cargo ship has visited the Russian-occupied port of Sevastopol in Crimea.

The use of Sevastopol has been sanctioned by Western countries since 2014, when Russia seized Crimea.

Chinese commercial ships have previously avoided Russian-held ports in Ukraine, but the Panama-flagged Heng Yang 9, owned and operated by the Guangxi Changhai Shipping Company, has docked in Crimea at least three times in the past few months, according to Ukrainian officials.

The Financial Times verified the 140m-long vessel’s trip earlier this month through optical satellite imagery, radar imagery, transponder data, and photographs.

In April, Russian officials opened a new railway into Crimea allowing containers to be delivered from Russia onto ships. Ukrainian officials believe Russia is transporting goods from occupied areas in the Donetsk and Kherson regions.

In August, Russian authorities listed Berdyansk and Mariupol, two other occupied Ukrainian ports, as open to foreign visitors.

The Heng Yang 9 was in Sevastopol from June 19 to June 22 and requested entry to load 101 containers on August 15.

During the two-week voyage in the Black Sea in September, the vessel used its transponder to report false positions and disguise its movements.

UPDATE 0731 GMT:

At least three residents have been murdered and 13 injured by Russian attacks on the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on Monday.

Two people were killed in Bilozerske and one in Kostiantynivka.

In the Kherson region in the south, one civilian was slain and eight injured by Russian shelling. Seventeen private houses, a cell site, a store, a farm building, private garages, and a car were damaged.

In the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, a man was killed amid at least six guided bomb strikes on homes and industrial facilities.

In the Odesa region, a woman was killed and three people wounded when Russian drones set fire to five market stalls. A hotel, a post office, a telecom building, a cultural center, an administrative services hub, and several cars were damaged.

UPDATE 0722 GMT:

Hungary is maintaining its blockade of European Union efforts to end imports of Russian oil.

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in New York:

We can’t ensure the safe supply for our country without Russian oil or gas sources.

For us, energy supplies are a purely physical question. It can be nice to dream about buying oil and gas from somewhere [besides Russia]…but we can only buy from where we have infrastructure.

And if you look at the physical infrastructure, it’s obvious that without the Russian supplies, it is impossible to ensure the safe supply of the country.

Pressing Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, the EU has been seeking unanimous agreement to end imports of Russian oil and gas. Last week it advanced the target date for an end to gas purchases from January 1, 2028 to January 1, 2027.

Donald Trump has said he will only consider toughened sanctions on Russia after the EU cuts all energy imports.

Szijjártó said he “understood” Trump’s approach.

UPDATE 0710 GMT:

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has warned of Russia’s interference to destabilize the country and upset Parliamentary elections on September 28.

Sandu said in a video address, “Today, with all seriousness, I tell you that our sovereignty, independence, integrity, and European future are in danger.”

For years, Russia has tried to topple Sandu and the Moldovan Government through bribery of officials and voters, disinformation, financial support of pro-Kremlin parties, and instigation of protests.

Over the weekend, Moldovan security personnel carried out 250 raids and detained 74 people over a Russia-backed plan to incite “mass riots”.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is in New York for the UN General Assembly, and is already meeting high-level officials about support for Kyiv’s resistance of Russia’s 44-month invasion.

On Tuesday, Zelensky will see Donald Trump, who has swung back and forth over military supplies for Ukraine, security guarantees, and tougher sanctions on Russia.

Just after arrival on Monday, Zelensky posted:

We remember the roots of Russian aggression. We are doing everything to stop the war. We are working to guarantee long-term security for all Ukrainian children. Support from partners is essential. And such new support will undoubtedly be the outcome of this diplomatic week.

The President conferred with the US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, discussing the supply and production of weapons.

Zelensky also met the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva about “the possibilities of using frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine and all potential avenues of cooperation, including a new program aimed at supporting our country’s resilience in the coming years”.

The IMF has persuaded the Zelensky Government to accept an estimate of $65 billion in foreign funding needed through 2027, compared with the Government’s $38 billion projection. Ukraine is spending about 60% of its budget on defense against Russia’s invasion.

The President added:<

We devoted special attention to Russia’s violations of the airspace of NATO member states, including on September 22 in Copenhagen. We exchanged views on the reasons. If there is no resolute response from the allies – both states and institutions – to aggressive provocations, Russia will continue them.

Before setting off for New York, Zelensky spoke with NATO Secretary Mark Rutte about air defenses, and he followed up by phone with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.