What happened
Russian President Vladimir Putin again raised the specter of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, in a state film broadcast Sunday. A day earlier, Kyiv said it shot down two Russian Su-30 fighter jets over the Black Sea using modified U.S.-made missiles fired from Ukrainian sea drones. As Russia intensifies its airstrikes on Ukraine, Kyiv is getting at least one more U.S. Patriot air-defense system, The New York Times said Sunday.
Who said what
One Patriot system is being moved to Ukraine from Israel after refurbishment and "Western allies are discussing the logistics of Germany or Greece giving another one," the Times said. President Donald Trump's "public remarks on the war have softened in favor of Ukraine," but a former White House official said the "Biden administration had secured the agreement with Israel in September."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late Saturday called Ukrainian intelligence's first-ever downing of a Russian warplane from a marine drone "brilliant" and "a testament to Ukraine's capabilities." The attacks "demonstrate the threat Ukraine poses to Russia" and "seek to challenge Moscow's narrative that its victory in Ukraine is inevitable," The Wall Street Journal said. The Kremlin is "trying to scare Ukrainian people into essentially accepting capitulation, when the realities of the battlefield for Russia are far from Russia actually winning," Kateryna Stepanenko of the Institute for the Study of War told the Times. Last year "was the deadliest for Russian forces" since 2022's full-scale invasion, the BBC said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
"There has been no need to use [nuclear] weapons ... and I hope they will not be required," Putin said in the Russian state film. "We have enough strength and means to bring what was started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires."
-
September 27 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include Donald Trump and the rapture that wasn't
-
Sarah Ferguson: a reputation in tattersIn the Spotlight After emails surfaced revealing ties to Jeffrey Epstein, weeks after she claimed to cut contact, her charities are running for the hills
-
Sudoku medium: September 27, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
UK, 3 Western allies recognize Palestinian stateSpeed Read Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal formally recognized the state of Palestine
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Russia slams Kyiv, hits government buildingSpeed Read This was Moscow's largest aerial assault since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022
-
'Axis of upheaval': will China summit cement new world order?Today's Big Question Xi calls on anti-US alliance to cooperate in new China-led global system – but fault lines remain
-
China's Xi hosts Modi, Putin, Kim in challenge to USSpeed Read Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Asian leaders at an SCO summit
-
Russian strike on Kyiv kills 23, hits EU officesSpeed Read The strike was the second-largest since Russia invaded in 2022
-
UN votes to end Lebanon peacekeeping missionSpeed Read The Trump administration considers the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be a 'waste of money'
-
Israeli double strike on Gaza hospital kills 20Speed Read The dead include five journalists who worked for The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera
