Zelensky: ‘Witkoff and Kushner to visit Kyiv and Moscow in the coming days’

The Ministry of Defence in Moscow subsequently reported that Russian troops had taken control of a further four Ukrainian settlements in the last 24 hours. These are the village of Izhevka in the eastern Donetsk region and the villages of Vasilevka, Blagodatnoe and Dolzhanka in the north-eastern Kharkiv oblast.

Ukrainian forces have also struck a Russian vessel in the port of Sochi, on the Black Sea. The Ukrainian Navy announced this, stating that the vessel, named Nefrit, was being used to support Russian activities in the oil and gas sector. According to Kyiv, the Nefrit provided assistance to offshore infrastructure, transported goods and personnel, and carried out underwater engineering work. These activities, the Ukrainian Navy stated, constitute “direct support for the enemy’s war economy”.

In total, overnight Russia attacked Ukraine with 163 drones of various types, including drones carrying S8000 Banderol cruise missiles. Ukrainian air defences destroyed or neutralised 135 enemy drones. On the other side, Russian air defence forces claim to have ‘intercepted and destroyed 416 Ukrainian drones’ over the annexed Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea.

Incendiary devices were thrown last night at a number of buildings housing arms manufacturers in Munich, in southern Germany, and two suspects, Bulgarian nationals, have been arrested. This was reported by the police. “We are working on the assumption that there is a political motive behind this,” a spokesperson emphasised.

The incident comes against a backdrop of an increase in acts of sabotage and hybrid attacks in Germany, Ukraine’s main supporter in its conflict with Russia. On Tuesday, two attacks took place against electricity substations in the west and east of the country. In early August, an explosive-laden drone was discovered at Leipzig Airport; Germany attributed responsibility for this to Moscow this week.

Today, Bavaria’s Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, drew a link between the attack in Munich and previous incidents. “We are now facing a growing risk to our infrastructure, but also, of course, to the arms manufacturers in our country,” he said during a press conference in Nuremberg. According to a spokesperson for the regional police, the authorities were alerted around midnight “to incendiary devices being thrown from a car on Mühldorfstrasse”, in the eastern part of the Bavarian capital. “One incendiary device was immediately extinguished by the police” and “another was defused”, he told AFP.

On the purely diplomatic front, meanwhile, skirmishes continue between Moscow and Berlin, following the latest developments in the investigations in Bavaria and after Germany identified the Russians as the perpetrators of the hybrid attacks against Leipzig Airport in Saxony, of the last summer. The Russian presidential spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Russia would not downgrade diplomatic relations with Germany: “I don’t think we will be the ones to do so,” he told the television channel Vesti.

The Kremlin spokesperson commented on the German government’s decision to close the Russian Consulate-General in Bonn with effect from 18 September. “It all seems inconsistent and absurd. Especially given that no convincing arguments or evidence have been presented to support the allegations made by the German Interior Minister,” said Peskov. “It is unlikely that the decision will strengthen Merz’s position or save his political career,” concluded the presidential spokesperson.

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced the closure in Russia of the German cultural centres run by the Goethe-Institut. In statements reported by the Tass and Interfax news agencies, Lavrov said that the centres in the Russian cities of Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg would be closed. According to the German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, this move further damages relations between the two countries.

Andy Burnham’s British government announced today that it had summoned the Russian chargé d’affaires in London to the Foreign Office in protest against the attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle in early August, which Germany has in recent days attributed to Moscow.

This has been announced by the Foreign Office, against the backdrop of the ongoing escalation of tensions between, amongst others, the United Kingdom and Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine. This meeting follows the one already convened yesterday by other European allies in relation to the events in Leipzig.

And this was formalised whilst a meeting between Prime Minister Burnham and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, was taking place at Downing Street. In London, Russia has not yet replaced Ambassador Andrei Kelin, who was recalled in recent weeks officially due to the “end of his term of office”, and is therefore currently represented by a chargé d’affaires acting in an interim capacity.

“We are continuing our work at EU level to further restrict the issuance of visas to Russian nationals. Member States have adopted the 21st package of sanctions against Russia, which lays the foundations for a comprehensive visa regime targeting combatants and former combatants of the Russian armed forces. And what lies ahead is a further proposal. We are preparing a proposal for targeted restrictive visa measures to address, in particular, the security risks arising from hostile actions by third countries.” This was stated by a spokesperson for the European Commission during the regular press briefing.

An Indian-owned Italian company lies behind the procurement scandal that today led to the resignation of Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur. According to Estonian media reports, in August 2024 the Estonian Defence Investment Centre paid an advance of almost 70 million euros to the Italian company Datasel srl – owned by the Indian firm Neco Defence Munitions – for the supply of ammunition intended for Ukraine. Neither company had ever produced ammunition before then, and the delivery never took place. The dispute is now before the courts. According to the newspaper Eesti Ekspress, Estonia used funds from the EU Fund to make the advance payments. In August 2024, the state agency signed its first sales contract with Datasel and made the first payment of €15 million. In October 2024, it signed a second contract with Datasel and paid a further advance of 10 million euros. The first batch of ammunition purchased was due to reach Ukraine in November, but Datasel reported delays and problems. Despite this, by the end of 2024, two further contracts had been signed and advance payments made, bringing the total to around 70 million euros. The ammunition has not been delivered despite the terms of the contract, and Estonia has now taken the case to the European Court of Arbitration in Strasbourg. However, Estonia may have to repay the funds received from the European Fund.

“Today, 3 September, the Russian occupiers launched a drone attack on the Coca-Cola plant in the Kyiv region.” This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s evening address. According to the Head of State, Russia is using its weapons to terrorise civilians. The enemy is attempting to decimate the civilian population and cripple the economy. “Today, the Russians struck the Coca-Cola plant with a drone. Coca-Cola is such a hostile enemy to them that they are targeting it with Shahed drones. A clear signal from Russia to America”, noted Zelensky.

Envoys sent by US President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, may travel to Ukraine “in the coming days”. This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who added that provisional dates for the visit to Kyiv have already been set and that the Ukrainian side is preparing for the meetings. For the two envoys , this would be their first visit to Ukraine, following several trips to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials. “We expect to see representatives of the US President here in Kyiv. We expect the meeting to take place in the coming days,” Zelenskyy said in a video message. “It is very important. It is important that the United States remains active. We are ready to meet them in Ukraine, at the appropriate level and for substantive discussions.” According to the Ukrainian president, Witkoff and Kushner are also expected to travel to Moscow again.