Good morning. It regarded, for a second, as if Donald Trump had lastly taken a transparent facet within the struggle between Russia and Ukraine: with hints that he could be prepared to offer Tomahawk missiles, and a vaunted White Home assembly with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, some observers thought he was on the point of rowing in behind Ukraine in a decisive means.
Then he received on the telephone with Vladimir Putin, and agreed to a face-to-face assembly inside the subsequent two weeks. And, after the White Home assembly on Friday, Trump downplayed the concept the missiles can be offered. Later stories steered that the assembly was a “shouting match” wherein Trump echoed Russian speaking factors and added: “If [Putin] needs it, he’ll destroy you.”
The diplomatic wrangling is essential to the end result of the struggle – however so too is the image on the battlefield, now usually missed. For at this time’s publication, I spoke to Francis Farrell, a reporter for the Kyiv Impartial who writes the Struggle Notes publication, in regards to the brutality of circumstances for the troopers on the “zero line”, the purpose the place the 2 sides meet – and the way that units the context for Trump’s oscillating view of the struggle. Listed below are the headlines.
5 huge tales
Israel-Gaza struggle | Israel launched waves of deadly airstrikes on Sunday and lower off all assist into Gaza “till additional discover” after a reported assault by Hamas, in escalations that marked probably the most severe menace to date to the more and more fragile ceasefire. Israel later mentioned that it had “begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire”.
Royals | The Metropolitan police are wanting into claims that Prince Andrew requested his taxpayer-funded shut safety officer to uncover details about Virginia Giuffre hours earlier than the emergence of a bombshell image of them collectively. The information follows Friday’s announcement that Andrew had relinquished his royal titles.
China-UK relations | Approving a Chinese language super-embassy in east London could possibly be illegal if ministers gave Beijing assurances in regards to the challenge prematurely, a high planning lawyer has concluded. The information got here as the federal government denied any political interference within the choice to drop prices in opposition to two males accused of spying for China.
France | French police are searching 4 thieves who carried out a extremely skilled daylight theft on the Louvre, breaking into one of many museum’s most ornate rooms and escaping with eight items of “priceless” historic jewelry, together with a necklace given by Napoleon to his spouse.
Reform UK | The chief of Reform UK’s flagship native authority has informed councillors that she has launched a hunt for the “cowards” who leaked a recorded assembly wherein she mentioned those that disagreed with selections must “fucking suck it up”. Bitter divisions amongst Reform members of Kent county council have been laid naked on the weekend by the Guardian.
In depth: ‘The battlefield remains to be an important issue’
A Ukrainian serviceman firing a howitzer at Russian troops close to the frontline city of Kupiansk in jap Ukraine. {Photograph}: Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters
Final month, Francis Farrell wrote an outstanding piece for the Kyiv Impartial based mostly on interviews with squaddies who had been stationed on the “zero line”, the front-of-the-front within the struggle between Russia and Ukraine. “It’s at all times been the hardest job, within the hardest circumstances,” he mentioned. “However in 2025, what we’ve seen is a brand new degree of distress for the infantryman: whereas per week or two there may need been commonplace a 12 months in the past, it’s now a month or two in the event that they’re fortunate.”
The diplomatic wrangling between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is clearly central to what occurs subsequent – however, Farrell mentioned: “The battlefield remains to be an important issue. The strongest potential card Ukraine might have going into negotiations is a rock-solid defence. And the strongest card Russia might have is a frontline in a state of collapse.”
What’s life like on the ‘zero line’ at this time?
One soldier Farrell spoke to, an ex-convict known as Ruslan, spent virtually 5 months in a tiny dugout below virtually every day hearth. “There isn’t any means we might get wherever with out infantry,” Ruslan mentioned. “Typically on the market you possibly can go loopy considering ‘why are we sitting right here?’ however we all know we’re important. I wished to develop into a hero, and I consider I did.”
The postings are longer due to the sapping of Ukrainian manpower. In the meantime, the “human wave” that after characterised Russian assaults has now been largely changed by “a relentless stream of 1 to a few folks attempting to infiltrate Ukrainian traces, trigger chaos, and dig in”, Farrell mentioned. In addition to that menace, Ukrainians on the entrance should additionally take care of more and more deadly assaults from Russian drones.
“It’s now potential to hunt a single human being with high-precision strikes,” Farrell mentioned. “These drones have scaled exponentially, particularly during the last 12 months.” Equally, whereas as soon as perhaps one in 100 automobiles stepping into or out of a city close to the frontline may need been hit, it’s now extra like one in two. “And drone groups 2-5km from the zero line, or artillery groups 15-20km again who was actually fairly protected, are all to an extent coming below the identical menace umbrella.”
What’s the strategic image on the entrance?
On this podcast, former Ukrainian defence minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk says that whereas a few months in the past some analysts have been “overtly saying that Ukraine was shedding the struggle”, now the consensus is that “the Russian summer time offensive hasn’t received any substantial acquisitions and hasn’t modified the conditions strategically”.
Farrell broadly agrees: “Russia’s good points haven’t been strategically vital, they haven’t come wherever close to some type of operational breakthrough. It’s a struggle of attrition.”
The fiercest preventing continues to be in Donetsk oblast within the far east of Ukraine; Russia has made its advances there at a steep casualty fee – greater than 1,000 a day, based on Ukrainian estimates. However with elements of the entrance steady and others seeing Russian incursions and Ukrainian counterattacks, there may be additionally a way that “successful” or “shedding” has develop into virtually irrelevant as a result of the overall place is so entrenched.
What has the impression been of Russian air assaults?
Because the altering menace to Ukrainian infantry illustrates, if the frontlines stay largely frozen, the aerial struggle is far more dynamic. Justin Bronk of the Royal United Companies Institute informed Peter Beaumont that “it is among the areas within the battle the place we have now seen probably the most vital change prior to now 18 months”, with “first particular person view” (FPV) drones in a lot higher use, and a pointy improve in Russian use of glide bombs – standard ordnance fitted with pop-out wings and satellite tv for pc steerage that may be launched behind the frontlines and hit targets at a higher vary with out as a lot threat to the carrying plane.
Russia launched greater than 3,000 drones, 92 missiles and virtually 1,400 glide bombs in opposition to Ukraine between 5 October and 12 October alone, focusing on cities and significant infrastructure together with power crops. A barrage of assaults final week triggered blackouts in eight areas.
“It appears to be like like a large marketing campaign in opposition to power and heating infrastructure forward of winter,” Farrell mentioned. “Ukrainians are used to this – it doesn’t come as a shock to them, and individuals are used to getting six hours or much less of electrical energy a day.” However modifications to Russia’s arsenal, making drones and missiles higher at evading air defences, could give Moscow the higher hand.
The problem just isn’t a lot about era within the east, the place petrol and diesel mills are the first supply of army energy, he added. “It’s about whole warfare – on the economic system, and on society. What we’re seeing in the intervening time is only the start.”
What about Ukrainian assaults inside Russia?
In the meantime, Ukraine has been conducting long-range strikes in opposition to Russian oil refineries – with, for instance, three strikes on the Saratov refinery inside a month. On this glorious report, Reuters estimates that there have been a minimum of 58 assaults on key Russian power websites for the reason that begin of August, reaching so far as 1,200 miles into Russian territory. There have been solely three such strikes in June and July.
Analysts are likely to view these assaults as a thorn in Putin’s facet somewhat than a important blow in opposition to Russian army energy – however observe that it’s a supply of ache to atypical Russians, with refining capability lowered by as a lot as 21% on the finish of August.
“It’s exhausting to calculate the tangible impression on the Russian economic system, which remains to be a behemoth,” Farrell mentioned. “However it’s undoubtedly a blow to the social contract that Putin has together with his folks, the place if they’re loyal to him he’s the supplier of power and stability.”
A key query is whether or not Ukraine can preserve the tempo of those assaults at a degree that might knock refineries out of service altogether – and, for now, any declare that this could be gamechanging seems fanciful. “You possibly can examine it to when Russia first began hitting Ukrainian power infrastructure,” Farrell mentioned. “A professional-Russian observer may need thought that Ukraine would give up. However Ukraine tailored, the infrastructure was repaired, Russia didn’t have the missiles it wanted to proceed the depth of the marketing campaign, and that was that.”
How vital might Trump’s assembly with Putin be?
Trump’s behavior of fixed recalibration in his perspective to Zelenskyy and Putin – at completely different factors suggesting that he has misplaced endurance with each and is able to make a decisive shift in his place, solely to again away – was repeated final week. After suggesting that he may present Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, he performed that prospect down on Friday. The Monetary Occasions reported that he tossed apart Ukrainian maps of the entrance and informed Zelenskyy that Putin had informed him the battle was a “particular operation, not even a struggle”. That’s not promising temper music for Kyiv forward of his subsequent assembly with Putin.
“This is similar circus,” Farrell mentioned. “In August he appeared very near imposing harsh penalties on Putin, after which Putin proposed the Alaska assembly and Russia was off the hook. Now it appears to be like like that might occur once more if Moscow performs its playing cards proper.”
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The Tomahawk missiles, which might considerably prolong Ukraine’s potential to hit targets deep in Russian territory, can be very invaluable. (Dan Sabbagh has extra on their significance on this piece.) “However it’s actually simply a part of the larger image,” Farrell mentioned. “Promoting them to Ukraine could be an indication that he has lastly decided. However Ukrainians aren’t placing an excessive amount of hope in the concept this merry-go-round will lastly be over.”
What else we’ve been studying
Marjorie Taylor Greene on the RNC. {Photograph}: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
Marjorie Taylor Greene (pictured above), Georgia congresswoman and scourge of the left, has at all times appeared extra Maga than Maga – so what’s behind her curious shift of late, gaining Democrat followers together with her stance on healthcare, Gaza and the Epstein recordsdata? David Smith and George Chidi examine. Toby Moses, head of newsletters
The necessities on migrants hold ratcheting up, writes Nesrine Malik: voluntary work, an extended look forward to citizenship, A-level commonplace English. She could be very persuasive on how badly these insurance policies misunderstand what actually prevents integration on an “island of strangers”. Archie
The flashback sequence – the place stars recreate pictures from their youth – at all times presents a unique perception into its topics, and Huey Morgan doesn’t disappoint: “Writing and enjoying songs turned a catalyst; a approach to get out of myself, to derail these emotions of not being ok”. Toby
Sophie McBain wrote an excellent, alarming piece for Saturday journal about what could be the daybreak of a “stupidogenic” society, the place we outsource all the things authentic or tough to AI: “Till not too long ago you would solely outsource remembering and a few knowledge processing to expertise; now you possibly can outsource considering itself.” Archie
One other glorious AI piece: whereas all of us panic about it stealing our jobs (not me boss, I’m irreplaceable), Pip Finkemeyer asks: if tech bros have been so flawed about social media’s advantages, why ought to we consider the hype about AI? Toby
Sport
Harry Maguire celebrates scoring the winner at Anfield. {Photograph}: Carl Recine/Getty Photographs
Soccer | Harry Maguire, pictured above, shocked Anfield with a late winner for Manchester United. Liverpool fell behind within the second minute, and fought again to degree the sport solely to be denied on the dying in a 2-1 loss. Elsewhere, Aston Villa defeated Tottenham 2-1.
Cricket | England held their nerve to defeat India by 4 runs and attain the Girls’s Cricket World Cup semi-final.
Formulation One | Max Verstappen gained the US Grand Prix with a dominant run for Purple Bull on the Circuit of the Americas. With victory he has staked his declare as a real contender in an more and more tight Formulation One world championship battle – his title rival Lando Norris overwhelmed into second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc into third.
The entrance pages
“Scramble to shore up ceasefire as Israel hits Gaza with lethal raids” – that’s the Guardian this Monday morning and the i paper goes on related traces: “Ceasefire in peril as Israel bombs Gaza, blocks assist and accuses Hamas of assault”. The Occasions has “Prince’s ‘bid for police to research his accuser’” whereas the Mail’s angle is “King’s menace to disgrace Andrew by stripping titles”. The Metro rubs it in: “And when he was down he was down”.
The Day by day Mirror calls it a “Scandal with no finish”. The Day by day Categorical runs with “Mayor accused over grooming gangs ‘cover-up’ in capital”. Right now’s Day by day Telegraph says “Trump tells Kyiv: take deal or be destroyed”. Taco information within the Monetary Occasions as nicely: “Trump warned Zelenskyy in assembly that Russia might ‘destroy’ Ukraine”.
Right now in Focus
{Photograph}: eranicle/Getty Photographs/iStockphoto
Boriswave, fighting-age males, cultural Marxism: how the far proper is altering how we communicate
Why are the net far proper so profitable in shaping our political language? With Dr Robert Topinka
Cartoon of the day | Ella Baron
Illustration: Ella Baron/The Guardian
The Upside
A bit of fine information to remind you that the world’s not all unhealthy
‘It’s nonetheless principally two folks watching TV and bickering about bins.’ {Photograph}: Posed by fashions; FG Commerce Latin/Getty Photographs
The “lavender marriage”, as soon as the protect of queer celebrities compelled to adapt to Hollywood’s heteronormative guidelines, is again. Solely this time, these coming into into less-than-traditional types of wedlock are doing so out of alternative. The time period has been co-opted on-line as a shorthand for loving, dedicated relationships that don’t centre on standard romance and sexual need. Because the Guardian’s Emma Beddington tells traditionalists, whether or not it’s straight girls marrying homosexual males, asexual friends coming into right into a platonic life partnership, or finest mates shacking up to allow them to break up the payments, love in all its varieties is a trigger for celebration.
Join right here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, despatched to you each Sunday
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