Vladimir Putin greets Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner (L) and real estate developer Steve Witkoff (C) in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, September 5, 2026
EA-Frontline VideoCast: Allying with Putin, Trump Betrays Ukraine
Ukraine War, Saturday’s Coverage: Trump Refuses To Implement New Russia Sanctions
UPDATE 0645 GMT:
Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two Geran jet-powered drones flying in Romania’s airspace.
Romanian officials did not identify to which country the drones belonged; however, the Geran is manufactured in Russia and used in attacks on Ukraine.
UPDATE 0639 GMT:
Ukraine has struck an oil terminal, a data center, and a bridge in an overnight attack on St. Petersburg in northwest Russia.
Russian State media confirmed the strikes on the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal and a data center belonging to Russian social media company VKontakte. Eyewitness footage showed drones flying through the air and air defenses in operation with large explosions in the night sky. Videos taken at the scene captured a Ukrainian drone striking an eight-lane bridge.
Ukrainian monitoring channels Exilenova+ and Supernova+ reported that the “massive” drone attack started at 2:50 a.m.
The St. Petersburg terminal, located in the city’s port, is one of Russia’s largest fuel storage and export facilities. It receives and ships petroleum products by river, rail, and motor transit, with a throughput of 12.5 million tons per year.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: In a further sign of its evolving support for the Kremlin, the Trump camp is proposing that Europe renew its purchases of Russia’s gas.
The European Union, whose members have been criticized for years for maintaining imports despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, plans to cut off all purchases of oil and gas in January.
Donald Trump had demanded that Europeans restrict the imports. However, his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner brought up the renewal in talks since September, including with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
The envoys proposed that Ukraine restart pipelines that used to carry Russian natural gas to Europe. European officials in the talks have recoiled at the idea.
Trump Support of Russia
In the past nine days, Donald Trump has agreed to purchases of Russian diesel fuel, undermining US sanctions, and refused to implement the Graham Act for tougher measures against Moscow and the top five countries purchasing its oil and gas.
Early-warning intelligence to Ukraine, affecting both frontline operations and air defenses, was halted for two consecutive nights amid Russian missile and drone attacks. Starshield, the military version of Starlink, was restricted.
The Trump camp are also proposing that Europe transfer to it $1 billion in frozen Russian assets. European leaders have rejected the step.
The developments are all part of a reported Trump effort to offer economic incentives to Russia to re-enter talks to end its invasion. The Kremlin has spurred the effort by offering deals, worth tens of billions of dollars, benefitting allies of Trump, Witkoff, and Kushner.
Vladimir Putin’s financial advisor Kirill Dmitriev, the chief manipulator of Witkoff and Kushner since spring 2025, said at an energy conference on Friday, “I think we will be announcing some important initiatives in the near future. The ice has finally broken, after all.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, harshly criticizing the Trump overtures to the Kremlin, predicted in an interview this week, “The question will be when will the next deal be? Maybe it will be gas. Definitely it will be gas.”
Vladimir Putin has reportedly proposed to Witkoff and Kushner that the US join Moscow in renewal of Nord Stream gas pipelines from Germany to Russia, damaged by attacks in September 2022.
Ukraine stopped transporting Russian gas in January 2025, giving up around $1 billion in annual transit fees. Last year, 13% of the EU’s gas imports came from Russia, compared to 45% in 2021.
Rubio Plays Down Trump Moves
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio played down the Trumpist move towards the Kremlin in comments to journalists on Saturday.
Rubio said of the purchase of Russian diesel, “I think the President wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy.”
Rubio insisted that the Trump camp was not responsible for the restriction on Starshield earlier this week: “No one at the White House ordered anyone to slow down internet or slow down speed so that certain drones couldn’t use it.”
Two US officials and a Western official have said that the order to limit Starshield came from “inside the White House”.
