Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says intelligence indicates Russia wants to widen its war beyond Ukraine's borders and plans to spend $12 billion next year on jet-powered drones and loitering munitions. The warning came hours after Russian strikes killed at least four people in Kyiv and the Zaporizhzhya region, while US President Donald Trump declined to confirm a Patriot missile production license for Ukraine and urged both sides to make peace.
Russian drone strikes killed at least four people in Ukraine overnight into September 27, one in Kyiv's Solomyansky district and three in the Zaporizhzhya region, Ukrainian officials said. A separate strike on Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky district wounded a woman and two 16-year-olds, who were hospitalized, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. In Zaporizhzhya's Komyshuvakha village, a strike destroyed one house and killed a man, while a strike on a car in Novotavriyske killed a man and a woman.
Zelenskyy Says Russia Plans to 'Expand Their War'
In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Moscow shows no sign of ending the war and called on the West to stay united in pushing the Kremlin to the table. According to RFE/RL: "Obviously, the Russians are not preparing to stop their war, at least for now," Zelenskyy said, citing intelligence that Russia intends to spend $12 billion next year on jet-powered drones and loitering munitions. He said many intelligence services believe Russia wants to expand its war to other countries and regions, and that Ukraine's air defenses are intercepting 55% of the jet-powered drones Russia launches.
Trump Declines to Confirm Patriot Deal, Tells Sides to 'Settle'
Trump declined to confirm he had agreed to let Ukraine produce Patriot missiles, despite Zelenskyy's September 25 statement that Trump had made a final decision to grant the license. Asked about it on September 26, Trump said he wants Zelenskyy and Putin to settle their war, after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on September 22. Zelenskyy has asked Trump to enforce the Lindsey Graham Act, signed into law a week earlier, which gives the president new authority to sanction Russia's energy sector and those who help it evade restrictions.
Washington has also proposed a first Ukraine-Russia-US meeting in months, at a technical level, hosted by the United Arab Emirates, though the US has not confirmed it. Putin said all peace proposals remain on the table but that Moscow must weigh its interests first.
Source: Oilprice.com / RFE/RL
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