Europe

Latest news on the war in Ukraine. Zakharova: ‘We could strike British targets’; the Kremlin denies this

A number of EU countries, including Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, are urging Brussels to step up efforts to use frozen Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukraine

edited by Enrico Bronzo

27 August 2026aggiornato alle 15:20

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Maria Zakharova (imagoeconomica) e Dmitrij Peskov( Ap) via REUTERS

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Russia could attack any British military facility, “inside or outside Ukraine”, in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory using weapons supplied by London. This was stated by the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, as quoted by Interfax. The threat was subsequently toned down.

Media reports about Russia’s alleged intention to attack NATO “have nothing to do with reality” and are merely “scare tactics”, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as quoted by RIA Novosti. “A lot of these alarmist stories are being published at the moment,” said Peskov. “Of course, they have nothing to do with reality and have nothing to do with the intentions of the Russian Federation.”

“At the same time,” continued President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, “the Russian Federation is facing a very aggressive policy towards it on the part of European countries. And this aggression is coming precisely from European countries.” “If we’re talking about military escalation,” Peskov added in an interview with Bloomberg, “we simply don’t need it, because we’re making progress anyway (in Ukraine).”

Meanwhile, a number of EU countries, including Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, are urging Brussels to step up efforts to use frozen Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukraine, amid fears that Kyiv is once again facing a funding crisis. This is reported by the Financial Times.

Plans to finance Ukraine by using over 200 billion euros of the Russian central bank’s assets held in the EU and subject to sanctions – he points out – fell through last winter, after the Belgium, where most of these assets are held, had blocked the initiative.

A letter from a coalition of Member States to the European Commission will ask the EU executive to resume work on this proposal, according to four people familiar with the document, and to clarify whether any progress has been made on alternative legal and technical frameworks that might make it possible to circumvent Belgium’s veto.

Il dilemma della sicurezza e quello dello scorpione

The profits generated by the assets held in custody at Euroclear, the Brussels-based central securities depository which holds the majority of the assets, are already being used to finance a loan of up to 50 billion euros, agreed in 2024.

With Kyiv struggling to protect its cities from night-time Russian missile strikes, EU capitals now fear that the country may require additional funding on top of the €90 billion loan guaranteed by the EU budget, which was hastily put together last December as an alternative to the proposal to use frozen assets, as reported, amongst others, by the FT.

Mosca: sulla visita del capo Cia notizie allarmistiche, solite bufale

Another rumour in the press: the surprise trip by the CIA chief to Moscow was to warn Russia not to attack NATO countries. This is reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with John Ratcliffe’s first known visit to Moscow. The warning follows new US intelligence assessments, according to which Vladimir Putin could test NATO’s resolve with a limited attack on a member state in the coming years. The news comes just a few hours after reports that Putin himself is preparing for an escalation of attacks against Ukraine after concluding that negotiations for a peace deal have reached an impasse.

Bloomberg reports this, citing three sources close to the Kremlin, according to whom Moscow is considering stepping up attacks with powerful conventional ballistic missiles against Kyiv and infrastructure targets in other Ukrainian cities. The escalating spiral of attacks is leading an increasing number of Russian officials to conclude that Putin could, as a last resort, decide to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

The attacks continue

Meanwhile, Russian forces carried out a massive attack overnight on facilities belonging to Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, as well as metallurgical and oil refineries and logistics centres, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence.

‘Overnight, the Russian armed forces carried out a massive attack using high-precision ground, air and naval weapons, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles, striking facilities belonging to Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, the metallurgical and oil refining industries, and logistics centres in the cities of Kyiv, Boryspil, Zaporizhzhia, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih (Zalensky’s hometown, ed.) and Illichivka”, the statement reads.