Ukraine and Hungary spar over drone incursion
Ukraine accused Hungary of trying to spy on its border areas, saying several reconnaissance drones that had violated its airspace were “likely” of Hungarian origin.
“Ukrainian forces recorded violations of our airspace by reconnaissance drones, which are likely Hungarian,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X.
Zelenskyy referred to “very strange incidents” on the Hungarian border, speaking in his nightly video address.
He said he had called for “thorough checks” and “if such drones appear again, to respond appropriately for the defence of our state.”
Hungary rejected the accusation and mocked Zelenskyy.
“President Zelenskyy is losing his mind to his anti-Hungarian obsession. He’s now starting to see things that aren’t there,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a post on X.
Relations between Ukraine and Hungary have soured since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been skeptical about Western military aid for Ukraine and maintained more cordial relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin than other NATO and EU member states.
EU’s eastern members agree on ‘drone wall’ after Russian incursions
Countries along the European Union’s eastern border agreed Friday to prioritize a so-called “drone wall” that can help defend the bloc from future airspace incursions.
Defense ministers from 10 EU members met via videoconference to discuss the measures in the wake of repeated airspace violations in recent days affecting Poland, Romania, Estonia and Denmark.
Russia is believed to be behind the incursions, although Moscow has denied the allegations.
“Russia is testing the EU and NATO, and our response must be firm, united, and immediate,” European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius, who convened the talks, told a press conference after the meeting.
The defense ministers agreed to work toward establishing a “drone wall” that would be included in an Eastern Flank Watch, which would include defenses on the ground and at sea, Kubilius said.
“We shall look (at) how to build a comprehensive European Union industrial policy and financial toolbox to make the shield a reality,” he said.
Representatives from Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Denmark, as well as representatives from Ukraine and NATO, took part in Friday’s meeting.
In an interview with AFP news agency, Kubilius urged the bloc “to move fast” and to learn “lessons from Ukraine,” which has faced regular barrages of Russian drones and missiles.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Denys Shmygal, who participated in the meeting, said on X that the drone wall “will create a fundamentally new defense ecosystem in Europe, of which Ukraine is ready to be a part.”
Ukraine’s military commander says Russia’s offensives in 2025 failed
Ukraine’s military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has said that Russia’s offensives in Ukraine this year have not achieved their objectives.
“The Russians’ spring and summer campaign has effectively been disrupted,” he told reporters at a meeting.
The commander said the active front line was now 1,250 km (777 miles) long and that an estimated 712,000 Russian troops were engaged in combat in Ukraine.
According to Syrskyi, since the beginning of summer, the Russians had been using a tactic he termed “a thousand cuts” and described as a large number of small-scale infantry assaults.
However, he said that Russian plans to create a “buffer zone” in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions in the north and north-east, to capture the city of Pokrovsk, and to take control of the entire Donetsk region had failed.
Syrskyi added that Ukraine had hit 85 military or military-industrial facilities in Russia over the past two months, including air bases, depots, and factories.
Germany says Russia is showing lack of interest in peace process
Germany said Russia’s top diplomat’s accusations at the UN General Assembly that NATO was seeking war against his country underscored Moscow’s lack of interest in peace in Ukraine.
“That’s part of a known pattern … it shows that there is obviously no interest on the Russian side in de-escalating this conflict or to seek a solution or peace,” the government spokesperson said during a press conference.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused NATO and the European Union of using Ukraine to declare a “real war” against Russia in a speech at the United Nations.
EU to discuss €140 billion Ukraine loan using Russian assets
European Union countries were due on Friday to begin discussions on a potential new €140 billion ($163 billion) loan for Ukraine, which would be funded by frozen Russian central bank assets.
This month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated the idea of using the assets for a “reparations loan,” which Kyiv would only repay when Russia compensates Ukraine for the damage inflicted by Moscow’s invasion.
On Thursday, this initiative gained the influential support of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a key EU decision-maker who had previously been reluctant to do more to access the Russian assets.
“That loan would only be repaid once Russia has compensated Ukraine for the damage it has caused during this war,” Merz wrote in an opinion piece for the Financial Times.
The vast majority of Russian central bank assets in the EU are held by Euroclear, an international deposit organisation based in Belgium. However, the country has firmly rejected calls to seize the assets outright and hand them to Ukraine.
What is the proposal about?
The proposal, which is currently being debated by EU ambassadors at a meeting in Brussels on Friday, would see the EU borrow funds from Euroclear that have matured into cash.
This money would then be loaned to Ukraine on the understanding that any post-war reparations paid by Russia would be used to reimburse the EU.
The scheme would be backed by the EU’s 27 member states, which would be responsible for repaying Euroclear if Russia were to reclaim the assets without paying reparations.
This proposal will be on the table for discussion when EU leaders gather for a summit in Copenhagen next week.
Belarus says nuclear power plant could provide electricity to Ukrainian regions controlled by Russia
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that Minsk is ready to build a new nuclear power plant in eastern Belarus and supply energy to parts of Ukraine that Russia has illegally annexed.
Belarusian state media quoted Lukashenko as saying, “If a decision is made, we will immediately begin building a new power unit or a new station if there is a need in western Russia” and the Russia-controlled Ukrainian regions.
Lukashenko and Putin are meeting in Moscow as part of World Atomic Week.
Belarus is a key Russian ally, and Russia used Belarusian territory to launch its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The first nuclear power plant in Belarus was built by the Russian state-owned company Rosatom and financed by the Russian government. Its first unit launched in 2020.
However, the Astravets power plant, located in the western Grodno region, has come under scrutiny due to safety concerns, prompting neighboring countries and international organizations to voice their concerns.
Russia only understands military power, Finnish foreign minister tells DW
“When dealing with an imperialist power like Russia, diplomacy hardly helps,” Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said in an interview with DW on the sidelines of theUN General Assembly.
“We have tried it for so many years… Nothing worked, they just kept advancing,” she added, remembering Russia’s war against Georgia in 2008 and its aggression toward Ukraine since 2014.
“Unfortunately, it seems to be the case that Russia understands only military power,” the Finnish minister warned. “Diplomacy is good, but we also need credible deterrence and defense so that we can force Russia to negotiate and engage in diplomacy.”
In response to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s claim that NATO and the EU have declared war on Russia, she said, “That is utterly false, of course, because Russia has been waging war against Ukraine since 2014. The full-scale invasion started three and a half years ago.
“The world knows that President Zelenskyy and Ukraine have been ready for a ceasefire and negotiations,” Valtonen said, adding that, on the contrary, Russia continues to fight on the battlefield and has specifically targeted civilians with drone and missile attacks.
‘Russia seems to wage hybrid war around the world’
Valtonen stressed that Finland has never had any illusions about Russia and has invested in defense and deterrence because it is aware of the possibility that Russia might be a threat.
“What we see now is that Russia not only has the capability but also the will to threaten basically every country in the world that is dedicated to offering democracy and freedom to their people,” she said.
Valtonen noted that Russia appears to be waging a hybrid war not only in Europe but also globally, “Everybody is worried about Russia’s actions in the Sahel, in Western Africa, where they are not only supporting military coups, but also spreading misinformation and disinformation to destabilize societies.”
EU states, Ukraine to hold talks on ‘drone wall’
Following air incursions from Russia that alarmed European Union members, the bloc will hold its first talks on proposals to build an anti-drone defense system.
On Friday, European Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius will discuss the proposals with officials from approximately 10 of the EU’s 27 countries via video conference.
Most participants are located along the EU’s eastern border with Russia and Ukraine. However, Denmark was added to the list following recent drone incidents.
Ukraine, which has developed the ability to cheaply detect and shoot down Russian drone swarms, will also participate.
Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a “drone wall” in a keynote speech hours after NATO pilots shot down Russian drones in Poland.
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-updates-eu-states-agree-on-need-for-drone-wall/live-74142085