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Ukraine needs money for war, so it’s selling weapons to fund weapons. Three years of survival bred Ukraine’s newest export: battle-tested lethality.

Missile hunters: Ukraine and Russia race to wipe out each other’s launch crews. It’s so hard to intercept a Russian Iskander missile in mid-air that the Ukrainians are now hunting the launchers, instead. But their Neptune crews can suffer the same fate.

Russia is so scared of Ukrainian drones, it’s stripping the turrets off tanks. When you’ve lost 22,000 armored vehicles, converting a T-72 into a Franken-IFV to attack Pokrovsk makes total sense

Trump’s “paper tiger” jab at Russia followed by diplomatic showdown with Lavrov. America’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio, delivered a blunt demand after the US President’s reversal on Ukraine’s territorial concessions.

Barrels up, cash down: Russia’s crude problem gets rough. Record oil exports usually signal strength—but Russia’s surge masks economic trouble.

Military

Ukraine expects shift in Moscow’s tactics in Donetsk Oblast this fall. Each day on this front shows why Ukraine’s survival hinges on fresh arms from partners.

Ukrainian naval drones paralyze Russian oil export hubs; 2 mn barrels daily capacity hit. Ukrainian forces struck at the heart of Russia’s oil export machine, hitting terminals in Novorossiysk and Tuapse that load tankers circumventing international sanctions

Ukraine’s drones torch two Russian transport aircraft and two radars in occupied Crimea — and film the whole thing (video). Ukrainian intelligence published a video of the strike, showing both An-26 planes hit in sequence at Sevastopol’s Kacha airfield.

Ukraine secretly drains $30 million from Moscow’s war chest. HUR cyber specialists paralyzed Russia’s payment system, halting transfers for those participating in the brutal war agaisnt Ukraine.

Frontline report: Ukraine forms largest Russian “cauldron” yet in Pokrovsk counter-attack, trapping thousands soldiers. Ukrainian forces achieved significant territorial gains in the Pokrovsk direction by using coordinated drone swarms and ground operations to create three separate encirclements of Russian troops.

Intelligence and technology

Zaluzhnyi warns: mass UAV warfare has made traditional battle impossible. Ukraine’s former military chief reveals how UAVs broke hundred years of warfare, and what must happen next to avoid catastrophe.

Ukraine to unveil new high-class APC to shield soldiers from lethal drone swarms in hottest war zones. It will combine cutting-edge tech and battlefield experience to outsmart Russian FPV drones.

Reuters: Chinese drone engineers spotted at Russian weapons plant under Western sanctions. More than half a dozen visits by Chinese experts to Russian arms manufacturer IEMZ Kupol since last year have involved testing military drones and adapting flight control systems

International

Germany fears standing alone, pushes €140B frozen assets plan for Ukraine. Germany is scrambling to avoid carrying Europe’s Ukraine burden alone.

Trump still wants to get deal and to make money with Putin despite change of Ukraine’s rethoric, former US envoy says. Trump demands cuts in Russian energy purchases while hinting at tariffs on China and India.

Poland wants to shoot down targets over Ukraine without NATO and EU approval. Poland’s Defense Ministry has drafted legislation allowing military forces to intercept Russian drones over Ukrainian territory without seeking prior NATO or EU consent, marking a significant shift from current requirements imposed in February 2022.

US fighter jets took off to intercept Russian warplanes near Alaska – military. Four Russian military aircraft flying near Alaska triggered an immediate response from American forces on 24 September

As drones strike Europe and civilians keep dying, Zelenskyy calls on US to build powerful air defense shield over Ukraine. Ukraine calls for a shield that can protect its people and the continent from Russia’s daily raining death.

Ukraine and Syria restore diplomatic ties at UN summit following Assad’s fall. The restoration comes after Ukraine severed ties in 2022 when former Assad’s government recognized Russian territorial claims in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

Russia overflew a German Navy frigate. Germany says it was no accident. Minister Pistorius told the Bundestag the flyovers were part of deliberate Kremlin provocations, testing NATO’s response.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian occupation is erasing entire Crimean Tatar people and may trigger new global war. Crimean Tatar leader warns 60 nations that Putin appeasement mirrors 1938 Hitler lesson as Russia expels 50,000 Crimean Tatars from occupied Crimea.

Russia’s drones hit Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure again as daily strikes continued. Several civilians were killed or injured in overnight strikes that also caused power outages on railway sections, delaying several trains and forcing passengers into shelters.

Political and legal developments

EBRD joins the consensus: Ukraine’s war economy stalls. Major lenders agree: Ukraine’s war economy just hit a wall.

“Lord and military records”: Russia’s new “holy” app collects users’ personal details. Under the guise of faith, Zosima tracks citizens more closely than confession ever could, turning prayers into surveillance for the Kremlin.

Russia curbs diesel exports, continues gasoline restrictions after refinery strikes plummet production. The latest measures apply to traders only, with state-aligned producers still allowed to continue cross-border shipments under tightened rules.

Zelenskyy declares readiness to step down after war ends. “My goal is to end the war, not to continue running for office,” President Zelenskyy said in an Axios interview.

New developments

Ukrainian freediver becomes world champion for the second time in a month. A 75-meter plunge without fins delivered another world championship for Ukrainian Kateryna Sadurska, who now holds eight world titles across different international freediving organizations.

Read our earlier daily review here.