German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (R) and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul at a press conference, Berlin, Germany, September 1, 2026
EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Fearing His Removal, Putin Rejects Talks For Ceasefire
EA-Frontline VideoCast: Ukraine — “People Know Putin Is A Cornered Rat”
Tuesday’s Coverage: 12+ Killed In and Near Kyiv in 6th Straight Day of Russian Attacks
UPDATE 0905 GMT:
Vladimir Putin’s international development envoy, Boris Titov, has warned, “This is not an economy at all, it’s a kind of ‘berserk mode’ that can only exist for a very limited time, and the necessity of which should be considered very carefully.”
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said, “Killing a normal economy is equivalent to killing the whole country.”
Last month Andrei Klepach, the chief economist at the state development bank, lost his job after a public speech highlighting the economic challenges of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
UPDATE 0739 GMT:
Ukrainian State security service SBU says it foiled an attack, prepared by Russia’s Federal Security Service, against a Russian opposition leader who arrived in Ukraine for Independence Day last month.
The SBU did not disclose the leader’s identity or provide details about the alleged plot.
UPDATE 0734 GMT:
Ukraine’s air defenses downed 141 of 174 drones launched by Russia overnight.
The Russians also fired four missiles.
Strikes were recorded at 16 locations.
UPDATE 0728 GMT:
Former Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has announced plans to launch a new defense technology firm, with Palantir CEO Alex Karp as its top investor.
Karp and Fedorov met on Monday at Palantir’s office in Washington.
Dismissed by President Volodymyr Zelensky in mid-July, Fedorov said:
Ukraine will be the priority for me. During the full-scale war, our team gained unique experience working with defense technologies in Ukraine and seeing first-hand how technology is transforming modern warfare.
Now we want to use this experience to build technologies that will strengthen Ukraine, help our allies, and ultimately make the world safer.
Karp responded:
We’ve worked together for a half decade. I have been absolutely inspired by what you and the Ukrainians have pulled off, and very and super delighted that we could play a part. And you and your colleagues are launching a company that I think will be defining for the world, bringing your knowledge and acumen about the art of war, as a product to allied countries.
UPDATE 0713 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has cautioned airlines over use of Russian airspace because it will be filled with Ukrainian drones for the duration of Moscow’s invasion.
Today, we want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, and everyone who still uses Russia’s key airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe.
Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such – not a single civilian aircraft. There will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that has to be taken into account.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Germany has taken its most extensive steps against Russia’s hybrid warfare, following a failed drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport on August 4.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul formally blamed Moscow for the “dangerous behavior”. They said it was part of a systematic and concerted effort by the Kremlin to “cause great damage” with hybrid attacks.
A drone loaded with explosives was discovered at Leipzig/Halle by a bus driver, who disabled it by knocking it out of the air. It was next to the wing of a Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane used to transport weapons to Ukraine.
Dobrindt and Wadephul said the Russian State had provided the knowhow and equipment for the planned attack and “low-level agents” were recruited to carry it out.
The Foreign Minister said Russia will face a package of penalties, as Germany responded “to this hybrid attack in Leipzig with proportionate and measured, yet equally resolute, action”.
The Russian Ambassador had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry. The Russian Consulate in Bonn will be closed later this month. Russian House — a cultural and science institute in the center of Berlin, and the alleged launchpad for a number of hybrid attacks — will be evicted from its rented building.
Joining Sweden and Finland, Germany will clamp down on Russia’s shadow fleet. More individuals will be blacklisted, and there will be tighter border controls on Russians entering Germany.
Berlin is also backing the European Commission’s 22nd package of sanctions, covering a further 1,600 companies and organizations with a Russian connection.
