Ukraine updates: Russia sees 'no alternative' to war

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday.

Lula has sought for Brazil to take a neutral stance in the conflict and has opposed sanctioning Russia, a country with whom Brazil has good relations.

According to a statement from the Brazilian government, Lula expressed his belief that a military response will not bring an end to the conflict with Russia, and that an agreement on the terms of a ceasefire should be the first step in negotiations, the statement said. Lula advocated for greater involvement by the UN to reach a negotiated solution.

For his part, Zelenskyy wrote a message about the meeting on the Telegram messaging app, saying it was "meaningful," adding that "strong international pressure was needed on Russia to remove blockages on the path to dialogue."

"I told the president about the real situation at the front and Russia's manipulative attempts to depict military victories," he wrote. The Ukrainian president expressed gratefulness for Lula's "readiness to play a role in the peace process."

"President Lula told me that he will try his best to do everything to bring peace closer to Ukraine. I'm thankful to him for his clear position," Zelenskyy later told reporters.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York near the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that Rubio reiterated Trump's call "for the killing to stop" during the talks with Lavrov. 

The Russian Foreign Ministry in its statement reported Lavrov told Rubio that Ukraine and European are "prolonging the conflict."

The meeting came after Trump suggested that Russia is a "paper tiger," with the US president saying it is possible for Ukraine to take back all of its land from Russia. Russia has refuted the "paper tiger" label and said its invasion of Ukraine will continue.  

Rubio and Lavrov previously met each other on the August 15 summit in Alaska between Trump and Vladimir Putin.  

Germany said that US President Donald Trump's remarks about supporting Ukraine in retaking land occupied by Russia had fuelled hopes of further increasing pressure on Moscow.

At a regular government press conference, spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said that Trump's statements align with the German government's political goals "to keep up the pressure on the aggressor Russia and to increasingly isolate Russia." 

"These statements give us reason to hope that we can now discuss this issue more intensively and maintain the necessary pressure on Russia," he added.

The European Commission will propose higher import tariffs on Russian oil in "due course," according to a Commission spokesperson who was quoted by Reuters news agency.

Hungary and Slovakia, both EU member states, import around 200,000–250,000 barrels of Russian oil per day. This accounts for approximately 3% of the EU's total oil demand.

Last week, US President Donald Trump published a letter accusing NATO member states of weakening the alliance's negotiating position and bargaining power regarding Russia's war in Ukraine by continuing to purchase Russian oil and gas.

Trump vowed that the US would impose "major sanctions" on Russia once all NATO countries had ceased such purchases. 

For years, the European Commission has been trying to persuade the governments of Hungary and Slovakia to diversify their energy sources beyond those from Russia.

Progress has been slow due to these governments' insistence on keeping costs low and their reliance on existing infrastructure.

Early on Wednesday, a Spanish military jet carrying Defense Minister Margarita Robles experienced a GPS disturbance as it flew near Russia's Kaliningrad exclave en route to Lithuania, according to the ministry.

"There has been an attempt to disrupt the GPS signal, but as our aircraft has an encrypted system, it was not affected," a ministry spokesperson said.

"It must be common on this route and also with commercial flights. It is not because it is our aircraft," they added.

In addition to Robles, the plane was carrying relatives of Spanish airmen who are part of the NATO air defense mission on its eastern flank. The mission was launched earlier this month after Poland shot down drones that violated its airspace.

According to the Spanish government's agenda, Robles was scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with her Lithuanian counterpart, Dovile Sakaliene, during her visit to the Siauliai Air Base on Wednesday.

Earlier, Estonia and neighboring Finland had also accused Russia of jamming GPS navigation devices in the region's airspace. Russia has denied interfering with communication and satellite networks.

This incident follows a similar one in which the GPS system of a plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was jammed en route to Bulgaria on August 31.

The Kremlin said it was wrong to think Ukraine could recapture land occupied by the Russian army.

The statement came a day after US President Donald Trump said that Kyiv could push Russian forces completely out of the country.

"The idea that Ukraine can recapture something is, from our point of view, mistaken," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

On Tuesday, Trump also said that Russia's economy was in trouble and that Moscow's forces had been "fighting aimlessly for three and a half years."

However, Peskov said the war was not aimless and claimed that it arose from the United States' and the European Union's unwillingness to address Russia's security concerns.

Russia's Finance Ministry has proposed raising the value-added tax rate to 22% from 20% in 2026 to fund increased military spending for the ongoing war in Ukraine.

According to the ministry, the 10% VAT rate on food, medicine, and children's goods would remain unchanged. 

According to government estimates, military and security spending already accounts for about 40% of total government expenditure in the 2025 budget. 

Large state orders for the defense industry and substantial payments to soldiers and their families have fueled growth in Russia's war economy. However, signs of strain are emerging in civilian sectors, and inflation is squeezing household budgets.

The budget proposal still requires parliamentary approval, a step widely seen as a formality in Russia.

The Kremlin rejected the idea that Russia was a "paper tiger," as said by US President Trump, and said it had no choice but to continue its war in Ukraine.

"We are continuing our special military operation to ensure our interests and achieve the goals," set by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, using Moscow's term for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"We are doing this for both the present and the future of our country. For many generations to come. Therefore, we have no alternative," he added in a radio interview.

Peskov also pushed back against Trump's "paper tiger" remark.

"Russia is by no means a tiger. Russia is traditionally seen as a bear. There is no such thing as paper bears. Russia is a real bear ... There is nothing paper about it," Peskov said.

He did, however, concede that the economy, which has been slowing after three years of rapid growth and stubborn inflation, is facing headwinds.

"Russia maintains its macroeconomic stability," Peskov said, adding that it "is experiencing tensions and problems in various sectors of the economy."

He also said that the rapprochement that began when Trump returned to the White House in January has yielded "close to zero" results.

These comments were made in response to US President Donald Trump's statement that Ukraine could reclaim all its territory from Russia and his characterization of Russia as a "paper tiger" with a failing economy.

European countries need to step up their support for Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, following remarks by US President Donald Trump that Ukraine could retake all of its land occupied by Russia.

"We can achieve much more; not all European states have done what they promised Ukraine for a long time. We need to look at what other financial and military options we have," Wadephul told German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

The German minister emphasized that the US president is right to demand a greater financial commitment from Europeans and an end to their reliance on Russian energy.

Olha Stefanishyna, who was appointed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukraine's ambassador to the US at the end of August, told DW that the meeting between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly was "the longest and most thorough" meeting the two leaders had had.

According to Stafnishyna, the meeting has a very wide agenda, including briefings on the military and economic situations, as well as the management of frozen Russian assets and a discussion about a mineral deal.

When asked about the unexpected change of Trump's position, who stated that Ukraine could regain its territory from Russia, she answered that there has been a major shift because both sides have come a long way.

"President Trump had a meeting and phone calls with President Putin, who made a lot of promises and spread incorrect information. Steve Witkoff went to Moscow many times. It was a lot of different contexts," Stafnishyna said.

The ambassador emphasized that Tuesday's meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was about trust.

"I have a sense that President Trump trusts President Zelenskyy," she said. "And it probably won't be possible if all this hadn't been happening before this meeting."

The dialogue about the security guarantees for Ukraine is "going really well," according to Stefanishyna. "My president says that [the] contribution of the United States to these security guarantees is really vital and important," she said.

According to the envoy, in order to end the war and prevent another attack, it's crucial to have something that would deter the aggressor "from even thinking of a new aggression."

Stefanishyna said that the United States will determine its contribution to security guarantees once European leaders have decided on their role.

"Now that the US is getting on board, it helps the unity within the European Union to take the joint effort," the ambassador added.

The local governor of the Bashkortostan region reported in a Telegram post that Ukrainian drones attacked the Salavat petrochemical complex, one of Russia's largest. This is the second such attack in less than a week.

"Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat has been subjected to another terrorist drone attack. We are assessing the extent of the damage. All emergency services are on scene, and firefighting measures are underway," Radiy Khabirov said.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified its drone attacks on Russia's extensive oil and gas infrastructure, targeting refineries and pipelines destined for export. These attacks come as peace talks with Moscow have stalled.

According to traders and retailers, Russia is experiencing shortages of certain fuel grades because the attacks have reduced refinery output and high borrowing costs prevent private filling stations from stockpiling fuel.

Following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Monday, US President Donald Trump appeared to shift his rhetoric about the war in Ukraine.

Trump said that, with time, patience, and financial support from Europe and NATO, Ukraine could regain its territory from Russia, which he accused of fighting "aimlessly."

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy is scheduled to deliver a speech on Wednesday, the second day of the United Nations General Assembly.

Follow developments here.