Ukraine security talks without Russia are ‘road to nowhere’, Lavrov says – Europe live

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UK adopts sanctions alleging Russian attempts to evade sanctions through Kyrgyz financial systems, crypto networks

Meanwhile, the UK has adopted new sanctions cracking down on what it said were “Russia’s attempts to avoid sanctions by exploiting Kyrgyz financial systems and crypto network.”

The new sanctions target eight people or entities allegedly involved in the practice.

The UK government said:

With sanctions continuing to bite, Russia has turned to the Kyrgyz financial sector to channel money through opaque financial networks, including through the use of cryptocurrencies. These networks have created a convoluted scheme to evade sanctions imposed by the UK and its partners.

Today’s action closes in on the Kyrgyzstan-based Capital Bank, and its director Kantemir Chalbayev, which Russia uses to pay for military goods. Sanctions also hit the Grinex and Meer cryptocurrency exchanges, the infrastructure behind a new rouble-backed cryptocurrency token A7A5, which has moved $9.3bn on a dedicated crypto exchange in just four months and is specifically designed as an attempt to evade western sanctions.

Keeping up the pressure on Russia’s war machine is vital to reinforcing President Trump’s efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine and force Putin to engage in meaningful talks. It is also a crucial step for security in the UK and beyond.

A military forensic expert investigating the drone incident in Poland (13:04) has provisionally confirmed the presence of explosives, the regional prosecutor confirmed just now.

Speaking at another press conference, prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz also confirmed that at the scene of the incident there is a blast hole of about 5-6m radius, 50-60cm deep.

He said that the probe continues, with more experts expected to join the investigation today as the authorities try to find out the origins of the drone and what explosives it carried.

We should hear more about this during the day, with the Polish defence ministry planning a press conference at 3.30 BST (4.30 CEST), and the prosecutor provisionally promising another briefing around 6-7pm local time (5-6 BST).

UK to offer troops to defend Ukraine’s skies and ports in Pentagon talks

Kiran Stacey

The head of the British armed forces will tell his American counterparts the UK is prepared to send troops to defend Ukraine’s skies and seas but not to the frontline with Russia, as planning intensifies for a postwar settlement.

Tony Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, will on Wednesday attend meetings at the Pentagon designed to finalise what 30 different countries are willing to commit to Ukraine’s national security.

Radakin is expected to confirm the UK will provide soldiers to help with logistical support and training, but not deploy them close to Russia.

Officials had been talking about deploying as many as 30,000 troops to protect Ukrainian sites, but that has been scaled back amid opposition from some European countries.

One British official said: “Wednesday is a really important moment. Nothing happens in Washington without the president giving the green light, so Trump giving his support to security guarantees on Monday kickstarted a lot of activity.”

Another said Radakin would echo the pledges made last week by John Healey, the defence secretary, who said Britain was willing to deploy troops to Ukraine “to secure the safe skies, safe seas and to build the strength of the Ukrainian forces”.

They said ministers envisaged this as meaning logistical and training support rather than sending battalions of frontline troops who could end up in combat.

Turkey's Erdoğan tells Russia's Putin he backs peace talks on Ukraine

Elsewhere, Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan earlier today.

The Turkish president’s office said that Erdoğan backed the effort to establish a permanent peace in Ukraine, Reuters reported, with AFP noting he supported the involvement of “all parties.”

Erdoğan also told Putin he was closely following developments related to the process, and that Turkey had strived for a just peace since the beginning of the war, it said.

The latest update from Poland comes via the Polish Press Agency, PAP, with sources in the country’s defence ministry saying it was most likely a military decoy drone without a warhead.

I will keep an eye on this for you.

Security discussions on Ukraine without Moscow are 'road to nowhere,' Russian foreign minister Lavrov says

Russia is in favour of reliable security guarantees for Ukraine but it hopes the United States understands that discussing security issues without Russia is a “road to nowhere”, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

The US has an increasingly clear understanding of the “root causes” of the Ukraine crisis, Lavrov added.

In further quotes, carried by Reuters, Lavrov also criticised what he saw as “clumsy” attempts by Europe to change Trump’s position on Ukraine, warning that the bloc was only trying to “aggressively escalate the Ukraine situation.”

He also claimed that Europeans did not field any “constructive” ideas in their meeting with Trump.

Preliminary finding on explosion in Poland says it was military drone, prosecutor says

A regional prosecutor in Poland said that the initial assessment is that the object which exploded overnight in eastern Poland was a military drone.

Speaking at a press conference, prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz said authorities could not yet confirm the origin of the drone, with forensic experts expected to arrive on scene shortly to lead the probe. It is believed that the drone was struck by explosive materials it carried.

The drone’s wreckage will be carefully collected and checked in a laboratory, he said.

Trusiewicz said the authorities couldn’t confirm what triggered the explosion, with investigators also looking at a potential crash with high-voltage power lines.

He said he couldn’t rule out that the drone arrived from abroad.

The prosecutor also provisionally ruled out two of the earlier suggestions it could be a smuggling or a civil drone (12:32).

Nato military chiefs to discuss Ukraine, security guarantees today

Nato’s military chiefs are meeting (virtually) this afternoon to discuss the latest on Ukraine including eventual security guarantees that could be provided in case of a peace arrangement.

The meeting is set to being at 2.30pm CEST (1.30pm BST), with only few details publicly available.

But the focus is expected to be on taking forward what was discussed at the Monday’s White House summit with US president Trump, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy and numerous European leaders.

Separately, on Tuesday evening top US officer Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with European military chiefs on the “best options for a potential Ukraine peace deal,” a US defence official told AFP.

Poland investigates exploding 'object' discovered overnight with three hypotheses

We are getting a bit more detail on that object that exploded overnight in a field in eastern Poland (10:14), with authorities investigating three theories of a Russian or smuggling drone or an act of sabotage.

The incident took place in the village of Osiny, some 120 km from the Ukrainian border and 100 km from the Belarusian border.

The blast, captured on some CCTV cameras in the area, shattered windows in nearby homes, but nobody was injured, PAP news agency reported. Police officers found burnt metal and plastic debris at the site, it added.

The Rzeczpospolita newspaper claimed the object was identified as a Russian drone Shahed, regularly deployed by Russian forces against Ukraine.

Poland’s deputy prime minister and defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said it was most likely a drone of some sort, but was cautious about prejudging the investigation.

“The entire incident is being verified.

The three hypotheses: a drone that is Belarusian, Russian, or a drone used for smuggling, or an act of sabotage that could have taken place on Polish territory, none of these possibilities should be ruled out.“

Kosiniak-Kamysz compared the situation to recent incidents when Russian drones flew into Lithuania and Romania.

It’s Jakub Krupa here, taking over from Charlie Moloney.

Good morning or afternoon, depending on where you are.

I will guide you through the rest of the day in Europe.

Emerging market stocks and currencies fell on Wednesday due to uncertainty over a potential deal to end the Ukraine war, with attention moving to the Jackson Hole symposium of central bankers for clues on the path of US interest rate cuts.

Long-dated maturities of Ukraine’s international dollar bonds were down between 0.6 cents and 0.9 cents, easing from five-month highs following President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s meetings in Washington as Russia launched its biggest air assault on Ukraine for weeks.

Hopes of a peace deal had buoyed Ukraine’s bonds in recent sessions, but investors are waiting to see more details.

“There hasn’t really been that much progress on Ukraine this week, despite European leaders hailing a ‘breakthrough’,” said ING’s Global Head of Markets Chris Turner.

“Let’s see whether any more details emerge about the level of support the U.S. is prepared to offer Europe in defending Ukraine, and also whether President Putin is prepared to accept European boots on the ground in Ukraine.”

Russia’s rouble firmed 0.8% against the dollar and Ukraine’s hryvnia dipped 0.1%.

Pope Leo has asked Catholics and other religious faithful to observe a day of fasting and prayers for peace in Ukraine and other war-torn countries on Friday, August 22.

“As our Earth continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in many other regions ... I invite all the faithful to live the day of August 22 in fasting and prayer,” the pontiff said during his weekly audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.

Leo suggested the faithful could ask God to “grant us peace and justice and to wipe away the tears of those who suffer because of the ongoing armed conflicts.”

A former US deputy assistant secretary of defence has said Donald Trump could leave Ukraine like “Germany after World War One” without a millitary.

Jim Townsend, told Times Radio the US president needs to decide whether he wants Ukraine to be a “frontline for European security” or a “buffer zone”.

“If he is talking about Ukraine as a buffer state, that means it could be neutral it could be something that is not going to have a major millitary in it.

“He’s not going to allow Ukraine to have much of a military. It’s almost like Germany after World War One under the Versailles treaty where Germans were limited in terms of what their millitary looked like”, he said. “If that’s what Putin has in mind and that Trump has agreed well that’s not going to be a host of a security guarantee force at all, if they’re just a buffer.”

Zelenskyy says Russia struck gas distribution station in Odesa region

Ukraine’s president said on Wednesday that Russia had struck a gas distribution station in the southern region of Odesa.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X: “Last night, a drone strike on Okhtyrka in the Sumy region injured 14 people. A family with wounded children – 5 months, 4 years, and 6 years old – sought assistance after the attack. In Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, a glide bomb strike damaged five apartment buildings, and at least three people still remain under the rubble. The rescue operation continues.

“There was also a treacherous strike on a gas distribution station in the Odesa region. Shelling also targeted the Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions. In total, more than 60 drones and a ballistic missile were used.

“All of these are demonstrative strikes that only confirm the need to put pressure on Moscow, the need to impose new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy is fully effective,” Zelenskyy added.