Germany will give its federal police the power to shoot down drones, following the disruption caused by recent unknown drone sightings at Munich Airport.
On Wednesday, the cabinet approved the new reform, which now awaits approval in parliament.
The move comes after suspicious drone incursions at Munich Airport led to air traffic being suspended for several hours last week, with thousands of passengers directly affected.
Other European countries, including Denmark and Lithuania, have also spotted rogue drones in recent weeks.
In response, EU leaders such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have attributed the incidents to Russian hybrid warfare, something Moscow denies.
Days after the drone sightings in Munich, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said federal police reform is intended to reorganise responsibilities and make it easier to defend against drones.
Russia seriously damaged one of Ukraine’s thermal power plants in an overnight attack, authorities said on Wednesday, as Moscow continues to pursue its annual campaign to cut Ukrainians off from heat, light and running water as winter approaches.
Two workers were injured in the attack, according to Ukraine’s biggest electricity operator, DTEK. The company provided no further information, such as the location of the plant that was hit.
Ukrainian authorities generally release few details about routine Russian strikes on its power grid in order not to give away intelligence to the enemy.
Russia also struck energy infrastructure in the northern Chernihiv, southern Kherson and southeastern Dnipropetrovsk regions, authorities said.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted or jammed 154 out of 183 Russian strike and decoy drones fired at the country.
The energy sector has been a key battleground since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.
Ukraine says it has struck oil terminal in Crimea and key Russian explosives factory | World News– news.sky.com Source Link Excerpt:
Ukraine’s military says it has struck one of Russia’s main explosives factory as well as an oil terminal in Russian-occupied Crimea.
“Numerous explosions” were reported after the strike at the Y M Sverdlov plant in Dzerzhinsk, which makes explosives for ammunition for Russia’s armed forces, the Ukrainian general staff said in a statement.
The attacks were carried out as part of a strategy to reduce Russia‘s “offensive potential, as well as its missile and bomb capabilities”, the general staff said.
It added that the plant was one of Moscow’s largest producers of explosives, which are used in a wide variety of ammunition for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces, including aviation and artillery shells, fighter jet bombs, anti-tank guided missiles and warheads for air defence missile systems.
Regional governor Gleb Nikitin said air defence forces had repelled an overnight attack by 20 drones near Dzerzhinsk. He said one person was injured by falling debris.
Mr Nikitin said there was fire damage to residential homes but “no damage was caused to industrial facilities”.
Opposition Politician Shlosberg Released From House Arrest Pending ‘Discreditation’ Trial– www.themoscowtimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
A court in the northwestern Pskov region released opposition politician Lev Shlosberg from house arrest pending trial for his criticism of the invasion of Ukraine, the Yabloko party’s press service said Tuesday.
Shlosberg, a senior Yabloko member who has remained in Russia despite his opposition to the war, faces up to five years in prison if found guilty of repeatedly “discrediting” the military. The 62-year-old politician was already fined twice on administrative charges for the same offense.
The Pskov City Court ruled to impose a ban on certain activities instead of continuing Shlosberg’s house arrest, which he has been under since June. Yabloko said Shlosberg was barred from using the internet, a phone and communicating with anyone outside his household for four months.
Local media reported that the Pskov court system’s Telegram channel preemptively published — and then deleted — a post wrongly claiming that the court had extended Shlosberg’s house arrest by another two months.
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Ukraine is working to influence Hungary’s elections, warns Hungarian foreign minister– rmx.news Source Link Excerpt:
Ukraine is interested in influencing Hungarian national elections in April, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in a new video posted to his Facebook page.
He points to work done by Ukrainians in creating an app for the rival Tisza Party, which is the main opposition facing Orbán during April national elections.
“It is clear what Ukraine’s interest is in the Hungarian parliamentary election, and it is clear who and through what they want to act in line with this interest,” said Szijjártó.
He added that “if anyone had any doubts about whether the Ukrainians would interfere in next year’s Hungarian parliamentary election, they could be sure that the Ukrainians are strongly interested in influencing the outcome of the Hungarian parliamentary election.”
The foreign minister is referencing a data leak that showed that individuals connected to Ukraine were behind the creation of an app for the Tisza party. The leak affected approximately 18,000 users of the party’s mobile app. Among the data leaked was that of one of its admins, a Ukrainian developer, Myroslav Tokar, who works for app development company PettersonApps.
At least 30 injured in Russian strike on railway station, Zelensky says– www.bbc.com Source Link Excerpt:
Watch: Video shared by the Ukrainian president shows the aftermath of the strike in Shostka
At least 30 people have been injured following a Russian drone strike on a railway station in north-east Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky has said.
In a post on X, he said that preliminary reports indicated train staff and passengers were at the site of the strike in the city of Shostka, in the Sumy region.
Emergency services are on the scene and have begun helping people, he said, adding that information regarding the injured was still being established.
He also posted a video showing a damaged train carriage on fire.
“The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians. This is terrorism, which the world has no right to ignore,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“Every day Russia takes people’s lives. And only strength can make them stop.”
NATO ally warns of ‘hybrid war’ threat from Russia as drones plague European military bases and airports– fortune.com Source Link Excerpt:
Denmark, a founding member of NATO, has added to growing alarms about the threat of “hybrid war” from Russia as drone sightings spread to more European airports and even military installations.
On Thursday, the airport in Munich, Germany, grounded flights after several drone sightings. And on Friday, Belgium said it was investigating drone sightings above a military base near the German border. That’s after Denmark also reported drones flying above its airports and largest military base.
“I hope that everybody recognizes now that there is a hybrid war, and one day it’s Poland, the other day it’s Denmark and next week, it will probably be somewhere else,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters on Wednesday. “There is only one country…willing to threaten us, and it is Russia, and therefore, we need a very strong answer back.”
Denmark hasn’t directly attributed the recent drone incidents to Russia. But the remarks follow Russian drone incursions into Poland as well as Russian fighter jets violating Estonian airspace, forcing NATO to intercept them.
Poland accuses Russia of attack plot involving explosives smuggled in corn tins– www.euronews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Prosecutors in Poland are investigating an alleged Russia plot that involved smuggling food cans labelled as corn packed with explosives into the country, according to Polish media.
An article published in Gazeta Wyborcza on Thursday cited sources at the Polish National Prosecutor’s Office and the Internal Security Agency (ABW) confirming the development.
A Ukrainian suspect linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU), who has only been identified as Władysław D, allegedly transported the cans to Poland after digging them up at a cemetery in neighbouring Lithuania.
The young man left them near the city of Łódź in central Poland, according to Gazeta Wyborcza.
A military expert told the Polish paper that the quantities of explosives believed to have been involved could have caused severe damage to a car and life-threatening injuries to people nearby.
Russia targets Ukraine’s gas facilities in biggest attack of the war, officials say– www.euronews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Russia aimed 35 missiles, many of them ballistic, and 60 drones at Naftogaz’s gas extraction and processing facilities in the northeastern Kharkiv and central Poltava regions.
Situation ‘Critical’ As Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant Runs On Emergency Generators– www.rferl.org Source Link Excerpt:
Power lines supplying the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant in a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine have been cut off for over a week. That means that the plant, which is not currently generating its own power, is relying on diesel generators to keep its nuclear reactors cool. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that the plant was not designed to operate in emergency mode, while Russian officials say they are doing everything necessary to ensure the plant’s safety.
France detains Russian ‘shadow’ tanker to disrupt war in Ukraine | Russia-Ukraine war News– www.aljazeera.com Source Link Excerpt:
France has said it is increasing pressure on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine by detaining an oil tanker suspected of operating as part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” and putting its captain on trial.
France’s detention of the tanker is part of a new European strategy to block revenue funding Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said at an EU event in Copenhagen on Thursday.
Ukraine Battles To Restore Power As Russian Strikes Batter Grid Sites– www.rferl.org Source Link Excerpt:
Ukrainian emergency crews were battling to restore power to northern parts of the country as Russian forces continued to attack crucial civilian infrastructure with drone and rocket attacks, while Ukraine’s strategic Pokrovsk region remained under pressure.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in Sochi amid drone alerts in that Black Sea resort city, warned the United States against sending long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying it would bring an entire new “level of escalation.”
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on Telegram late on October 2 that power was back on line in the Sumy region near the Russian border following overnight attacks.
Russia economy meltdown as bank profits ‘collapse’ amid market chaos | World | News– www.express.co.uk Source Link Excerpt:
Russia’s financial sector is grappling with significant challenges as bank profits plummeted in August, signalling potential economic instability. According to data highlighted by Kyrylo Shevchenko, a prominent Ukrainian banker, Russian banks’ collective profits fell to $2.4 billion (£1.79 billion) in August, down from $4.7 billion (£1.71 billion) in July, a staggering 49% decline.
Shevchenko noted that the corporate sector, particularly where floating-rate loans dominate, has been hardest hit by weaker margins. He tweeted: “The credit market is cooling, reserves are rising, and the era of easy wartime profits is fading. Despite surviving sanctions and high rates so far, the financial sector cannot remain immune to war and isolation forever.”
Germany: Munich airport shuts down after drone sightings; 17 flights grounded– timesofindia.indiatimes.com Source Link Excerpt:
Munich Airport in Germany was forced to temporarily close early Friday local time following multiple drone sightings, officials confirmed. The disruption grounded 17 flights, affecting nearly 3,000 passengers, the airport said in an official statement.In addition, 15 inbound flights were redirected to other German cities, including Stuttgart, Nuremberg, and Frankfurt, as well as Vienna in Austria, the airport said. Munich Airport, located in Bavaria in southern Germany, handled nearly 20 million passengers in the first half of 2025.
EU ‘Drone Wall’ Plans Will Take Years To Materialize, Leaving Continent Vulnerable in the Meantime – Stratfor: The World’s Leading Geopolitical Intelligence Platform – Stratfor Source Link
Trump’s dizzying corkscrews on Ukraine may wind up back where he began– www.thesun.co.uk Source Link Excerpt:
DONALD Trump doesn’t do U-Turns. He does rollercoaster loop-the-loops.
So with all his dizzying corkscrew turns and sudden policy swerves there is every risk he ends up back where he began – sucking up to tyrant Vladimir Putin and scorning President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Before Ukraine shows any relief at Trump’s sudden, full-throated support they will want to see concrete action.
That means weapons without restrictions for Kyiv and penalties for Moscow. Sanctions must hurt the Kremlin and threaten Putin’s rule.
Zelenskyy tells U.N.: Stop Russia’s war or face dangerous arms race– japantoday.com Source Link Excerpt:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged world powers to help stop Russia’s war in his country in a speech to the United Nations on Wednesday, warning of a dangerous arms race that he said the fighting was unleashing.
He called for global rules to curb the use of artificial intelligence in weapons while describing breakneck innovation in drones used in Ukraine. He also accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of seeking to expand his war beyond Ukraine.
“Stopping Russia now is cheaper than wondering who will be the first to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead,” he told the 193-member United Nations General Assembly.
His comments came a day after he met U.S. President Donald Trump at the United Nations, where Trump appeared to take a much tougher stance toward the Kremlin.
Trump said on Tuesday that Kyiv could retake all its occupied land from Russia in what would be an extraordinary battlefield reversal. He also endorsed the idea of shooting down Russian fighter jets that violate NATO airspace.
Zelenskyy said the advent of artificial intelligence meant the arms race under way was the “most destructive” in human history and voiced disappointment in what he said was the weakness of international law and cooperation.
Estonian President Alar Karis says Russian fighter planes entering his country’s airspace is another sign that Russia is escalating its war on Ukraine. His comments come a day after US President Donald Trump said NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace.
Germany, France Mapping Out Medical Response to Battlefield Casualties in Potential NATO-Russia War– legalinsurrection.com Source Link Excerpt:
Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s feigned interest in a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine war during last month’s summit in Alaska with President Donald Trump, his subsequent actions make clear he has no interest in pursuing a settlement.
Since the meeting, Russian attacks on Ukraine have intensified, and a series of recent Russian jet and drone incursions into the airspace of NATO members Poland, Romania, and Estonia have deepened Western fears over the potential for a wider war — one Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long warned of.
Although Putin denies he is gearing up for a confrontation with NATO, he has repeatedly shown that his word is meaningless.
As dramatic as the prospect of war with Russia may seem, Reuters reports that Germany and France are already making plans for precisely that scenario. According to Reuters:
Germany’s armed forces are planning how to treat a potential 1,000 wounded troops per day should a large-scale conflict between NATO and Russia break out, and amid long-standing warnings by the alliance that Moscow could be capable of launching an attack from 2029.
…
Ukrainian soldiers describe the drone-infested corridor covering about 10 km either side of the frontline as the “kill zone” because remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) deployed by both sides can swiftly spot and neutralise targets.
Has Trump woken up to Putin’s Ukraine game?– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
President Donald Trump, on his Truth Social platform, stated on Tuesday that Ukraine, with the support of NATO and the European Union, could “fight and win all of Ukraine back in its original form.” He described Russia as a “paper tiger” and said Ukraine “is only getting better.”
It is too early to call this a new policy. Trump has changed his position on Ukraine many times. He has alternated between sympathetic remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin and critical statements about Ukraine, while also moving from skepticism toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to support for the Ukrainian leader. Still, if Trump follows through on his recent statement, the prospect of real peace becomes more plausible.
That’s because Moscow is unlikely to reconsider its maximalist position on Ukraine unless it faces the real prospect of a Ukrainian victory or heavy pushback by the United States. Providing Ukraine with new weapons, imposing secondary sanctions on Moscow, and the targeting of Russian oil revenues could convince the Kremlin that continued war is unwinnable. In turn, Putin might come to a more serious negotiation position.
Until now, however, Moscow’s version of peace has always meant Kyiv’s capitulation. The Kremlin’s goal is not simply to seize land but to erase Ukraine’s sovereignty, collapse its statehood, and diminish Western international power. On the battlefield, Russia has been unable to secure a decisive victory for three and a half years. If it also comes to understand that it cannot force concessions at the negotiating table, that may be the point at which it is prepared for a more practical conversation.
Danish authorities will acquire ‘enhanced capabilities’ after drones shut down Aalborg airport – Europe live | Denmark– www.theguardian.com Source Link Excerpt:
The officials are getting quite a lot of pushback over their decision not to shoot the drones down, particularly over the Skrydstrup airbase, which hosts Denmark’s fighter jets.
They say it was part of “an overall assessment” of the situation, stressing risks of taking drones down in busy areas.
Gen Syrskyi claimed Russian forces had suffered eye-watering losses including 1500 killed in action, another thousand wounded and at least 12 main battle tanks destroyed.
In a statement on Monday Gen Syrskyi said: “Control has been restored in seven settlements and nine more have been cleared of enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups.
“As of 12pm on 22 September 2025, a total of 164.0 km² have been liberated and another 180.3 km² cleared of enemy sabotage groups.”
Fears grow Putin ‘planning armed revolt’ in Europe | World | News– www.express.co.uk Source Link Excerpt:
Russia is shipping weapons and ammunition to Italy using mafia networks, according to a new investigative report. Officials in Rome are reportedly worried that Vladimir Putin is trying to destabilise Europe through the illicit shipments.
They suspect the Kremlin tyrant may be trying to provoke armed conflict either inside Italy or elsewhere in Europe. The consignments consist of unmarked Kalashnikovs, newer assault and sniper systems, and ammunition manufactured between 2010 and 2020. The illicit cargo enters Italy through Sicilian ports – including in Catania – and via border crossings in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
The investigation into the Russian arms smuggling was carried out by the Italian online newspaper Linkiesta. Russia‘s so-called shadow fleet has helped to transport the munitions to Italian ports.
The weapons are broken down and hidden in barrels of oil, fuel or lubricants to avoid inspections and preserve the arms from corrosion. Their onward distribution mirrors established narcotic routes.
Catania appears to have become one of the main centres of the trade.
Weapons caches tied to the Santapaola-Ercolano clan’s Nizza group were seized by police in March 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Macron Says Europe’s Russian Energy Imports Are ‘Marginal’ Issue– financialpost.com Source Link Excerpt:
(Bloomberg) — French President Emmanuel Macron called the European Union’s remaining energy imports from Russia “very marginal,” challenging Donald Trump’s calls for the bloc to reduce its dependence if it wants the US to step up pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
Russian jets violating Estonia airspace ignored NATO warning, officials say – National– globalnews.ca Source Link Excerpt:
Russian pilots ignored signals from Italian jets responding from NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission when they violated Estonian airspace, a senior Estonian military official said Saturday.
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Saturday denied its aircraft flew into Estonia’s airspace, after Tallinn reported three fighter jets crossed into its territory on Friday without permission.
Estonian officials dismissed the denial, saying the violation was confirmed by radar and visual contact and suggested it could be a tactic to draw Western resources away from Ukraine.
The Russian MIG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace between 9:58 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. local time Friday in the area of Vaindloo, a small island located in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, the Estonian military said. A ministry statement said it was the fourth airspace violation by Russia this year.
