News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe

The U.S. Army is backing away from a specialized experimental drone warfare unit less than a year after it was created, as U.S. lawmakers raise concern over the loss of battlefield expertise stemming from Ukraine’s drone innovation.

Ukraine’s military launched several waves of attacks against the Russian city of Sochi on Sept. 3-4, including a naval drone strike on a Russian vessel.

The demand comes amid Trump's growing fury with European and NATO countries for their refusal to join the U.S. war against Iran, which has dragged on for six months.

"(E)veryone agreed that it was necessary to increase pressure on Russia. ... No one said that he definitely would not support this bill. Not a single such opinion," Sanctions Commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk told reporters.

The announcement comes as Ukraine prepares for the upcoming winter, following the harrowing winter months of 2025-2026, when Russia hammered the country's power grid with constant attacks.

The joint venture was established between the German-American defense company Auterion and the Ukrainian drone producer Airlogix in February 2026 at the Munich Security Conference.

Six of the 13 injured victims, including a 12-year-old child, have been hospitalized, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said late in the evening of Russia's eighth consecutive drone strike on the capital.

Competing accounts emerged the day after a shooting incident involving two of Ukraine's security agencies. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sept. 3 that "the deputy heads (of HUR and the SBU) who are responsible for this situation will be dismissed."

U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also plan another trip to Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Russian commander is reportedly Maj. Gen. Nikolay Varpakhovich.