Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at a US military base near Anchorage, Alaska, August 15, 2025 (CNN)

Sunday’s Coverage: Havana Denies Up to 5000 Cubans Fighting for Russia

UPDATE 0818 GMT:

European Union foreign policy head Kaja Kallas has arrived in Kyiv for discussions with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior officials.

UPDATE 0556 GMT: Ukrainian drones have struck the largest oil refinery in Russian-occupied Crimea for the second time within a week.

The Russia proxy Governor of Crimea, Sergey Askyonov confirmed,
“An enemy UAV attacked the oil depot in Feodosiia. A fire broke out as a result. According to current information, there are no casualties. All relevant services are already working at the site.”

The Feodosia terminal stores up to 250,000 tons of fuel. Damage to its operations exacerbates the rationing of gasoline in the occupied area, as well as in Russia’s Far East amid shortages across the country.

As of late September, around 50% of stations in Crimea had stopped selling fuel.

Ukraine also reportedly struck the Tavricheskaya Thermal Power Plant near Simferopol, the second-largest city in Crimea.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Donald Trump has sent a message to Vladimir Putin: end the 44 1/2-month full-scale invasion of Ukraine or face the prospect of the US sending long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Israel on Sunday, “I might talk to him. I might say, ‘Look, if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks’.”

Trump spoke after a second call in two days with Ukraine President counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. He said Zelensky again asked for the Tomahawks, with a precision-strike range of 1,600 km (994 miles) and an overall range of 2,500 km (1553 miles), in Saturday’s conversation.

“Tomahawks are a new step of aggression,” he said. “Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so.”

In an interview with Fox TV, Zelensky praised Trump for his role in a ceasefire ending Israel’s mass killing in Gaza and said, “I hope that he will use the same instruments even more to pressure Putin to stop his war in Ukraine.”

Asked about the Tomahawks, he said, “We work on it….And I’m waiting for the President to say yes. Of course we count on such decisions, but we will see. We will see.”

The Ukraine President posted after Sunday’s call:

Ukrainian and American officials confirmed over the weekend that the US has provided intelligence for Ukraine’s strikes inside Russia since a Trump-Zelensky call in July.

The US support includes planning of flight routes and the timing, altitude, and tactics of Ukrainian drones, allowing them to evade Russian air defense systems.

The American military is involved at every stage of operational planning. Ukraine retains control over target selection, with Washington advising on target vulnerabilities. Officials “involved and briefed on the operations” said the US is setting out target priorities, as Washington tries to undermine Russia’s economy and push Putin towards a settlement.

The Kremlin reacted with concern on Sunday. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “The topic of Tomahawks is of extreme concern….Now is really a very dramatic moment in terms of the fact that tensions are escalating from all sides.”

Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Putin, tried to talk down the situation:

I think we need to calm down in this regard. Our friend Donald…sometimes he takes a more forceful approach, and then, his tactic is to let go a little and step back. Therefore, we shouldn’t take this literally, as if it’s going to fly tomorrow.

In his daily address to the nation, Zelensky spoke of Russia’s aerial assaults as Moscow struggles to advance on the frontline:

It is vital that our counteroffensive efforts in diplomacy also succeed. Everyone must deliver results: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all state institutions, and our informal diplomacy alike.