The arson attack took place in Munich on Sept. 3, when several incendiary devices were thrown from a passing car onto a construction site near the headquarters of Rohde & Schwarz and Helsing.

The capital has been under near-continuous Russian attack for a second consecutive day. During the night and morning of Sept. 26 alone, air raid alerts were issued five times, some lasting several hours.

This weekly update from the Kyiv Independent aims to shed light on the situation facing Ukrainians living under Russian occupation and the ever-tightening control of information imposed by the Kremlin. Key news as of Sept. 26: * Council of Europe rights commissioner warns of 'alarming' situation in Oleshky * Russia used parliamentary elections to legitimize occupation of Ukrainian territories * Ukraine strikes Russian radar stations, drone site in occupied territories * Ukraine brought bac

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said the strike on the oil refinery, located approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) from where the Ukrainian drones were launched, was carried out by the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces and the 414th Separate Brigade, known as "Madyar's Birds," along with other Ukrainian military units.

Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight on Sept. 26 with 173 Shahed-type drones, 50 of which were jet-powered, the Air Force said.

The number includes 1,710 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

The invitation was announced on Sept. 23, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Putin had been invited to the summit as part of an effort to give him opportunities to engage with Trump and other world leaders.

The joint September mission follows a serious encounter on June 12, when Sweden was forced to scramble its Gripen jets twice in a single day to intercept Russian Su-24 Fencer and Su-34 Fullback strike aircraft operating aggressively close to Swedish airspace.

Ukrainian officials said Trump and Zelensky discussed the possibility of trilateral talks involving the United States, Ukraine, and Russia.

Putin said Russia had been prepared to return to talks after the Sept. 18-20 State Duma election, but claimed the attacks had changed Moscow’s calculus.

Twenty-five people, including two children, were hospitalized, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Key developments on Sept. 25: * Russian attacks on Kyiv kill 7, including 14-year-old boy, injure 59 as drone strikes continue into daytime * Trump made 'final decision' on granting Ukraine Patriot licenses, Zelensky says * Ukraine strikes Russian oil refineries, missile production facilities, General Staff confirms * Macron cites 'several signs' Russia preparing to mobilize 300,000 people At least seven people, including two children, were killed and 59 others injured in Russian attacks o

British companies are now invited to turn in proposals on how they envision using the "goldmine of battlefield data," the U.K. Defense Ministry said, adding that the selection would be made "in just a matter of weeks."

The Kyiv Independent’s Tania Myronyshena examines why Russia’s manpower advantage is under pressure, what a new mobilization campaign could look like, whether Russians could resist it, and how hundreds of thousands of additional troops could affect the war.

Moscow's shadow war on Europe grows bolder by the day, and no one can say how far the Kremlin is ready to go. Russia is no longer only meddling in elections or hacking networks: Germany found explosives-laden drones at its Leipzig Airport in an apparent Moscow-backed sabotage plot. Russian drone incursions in NATO airspace are now common. And a Russian warship shot flares at a Danish military helicopter. The rhetoric in Western capitals has hardened, with some saying this campaign is "no longe

The Kyiv Independent will host a live storytelling event in London on Oct. 2, bringing together its journalists and readers for an evening of firsthand accounts of reporting, working, and living through Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

Ukraine’s largest steel company, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, said on Sept. 25 that it cannot restart steel production amid a surge in Russian strikes on factories, as the embattled sector calls for more domestic and international support to prevent its total collapse. Since the summer, Moscow has launched a widespread campaign of attacks on Ukraine’s economy to shut down key industrial centers. The metallurgy sector, which contributed 7% of Ukraine’s  gross domestic product (GDP) last year and em

A few months ago, the only particularly serious threat to Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities came from Russian and North Korean ballistic missiles. As the Ukrainian mil-tech industry and air defense units perfected their ability to intercept the common "Shahed" drones (now officially called Geran-2, although Ukrainians stick to the original Iranian name), raising the shoot-down rate to 90–95%, a shortage of anti-ballistic interceptor missiles seemed to be the main issue facing Ukraine in the upcom

The research, conducted by the Centre for Defense Strategies, a Ukrainian security think tank, and shared with the Kyiv Independent, also shows that the majority of companies supplying components used in the production of Molniya drones are not yet subject to Western sanctions.

"At our meeting, President Trump stressed that he had made his final decision: Ukraine will receive licenses to produce Patriot missiles," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"That’s good news for Ukraine and bad news for Russia," said the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas, after EU countries agreed on how to unblock new money for Ukraine.

Among the facilities targeted was the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Perm, Russia, located approximately 1,450 kilometers (900 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

French President Emmanuel Macron claimed the Kremlin had been waiting to hold elections before launching another wave of mobilization.

At the start of July, Ukraine's government announced with much fanfare that it would ease restrictions on arms exports. Businesses across Ukraine’s defense sector had long argued the move was necessary to help them grow and bring the country’s battle-tested innovations to the world. But two and a half months later, not a single export permit has been issued. The issue, according to Ukraine's State Service for Export Control, is bureaucratic: "At present, there are no mechanisms or instruments

One of the deadliest attacks struck northeastern Kharkiv Oblast. Six people — two men and four women — were killed, and 14 others were injured in Russian strikes on the village of Stara Hnylytsia in the Chuhuiv district, Kharkiv regional authorities reported.

Much of Ukraine's $27 billion budget deficit is related to defense spending, including the production of drones and missiles, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 25.

Ahead of the U.S.-China summit, President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on Sept. 22 that he hoped Trump would encourage Xi to use his influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin to move the peace process forward.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made the disclosure during a speech to the United Nations on Sept. 23, saying Ukraine had recently "sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea" and that one of them had tried to kill himself after being captured.

The number includes 1,590 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Sanctions and detentions have forced 107 shadow vessels to join the Russian flag registry since January 2025, leaving them with few other options as open ship registries tighten oversight, a CREA report said.

"We are sincerely grateful to the United States for its unwavering and strong support of efforts aimed at the return, rehabilitation, and full reintegration of Ukrainian children and young people," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

"We are shaken by this evil," President Volodymyr Zelensky said after a Ukrainian man killed a priest and injured four others in a knife attack at an abbey in Jaroslaw, Poland.