US president Donald Trump said he was "not sure" he would let Ukraine build Patriot surface-to-air interceptor missiles.
"It's a very extraordinary weapon, and we have to be a little bit careful of who we licence to," the president said in his comments to FT yesterday. This comes weeks after offering to share the license of the coveted air defence systems with the war-hit nation.
On 10 July at the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said: “We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”
Ukraine has been requesting the US for Patriot missiles to shoot down incoming Russian missiles, drones and bombs.
His remarks come just hours after Russia launched a North Korean ballistic missile at a Ukrainian village killing six members of a single family, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukrainian drones struck two more warehouses belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries, sparking fires at both sites, the company and a regional official said on Thursday.
‘Scared’ British tourist in Poland films moment air raid sirens sound during Russian strikes in Ukraine
A British tourist in Poland has captured on camera the moment air raid sirens started blaring during Russian strikes in Ukraine.
In the early hours of Thursday, Ryan, who was staying in Lublin, was woken to the sounds of sirens.
“As a British tourist this scared the hell out of me,” he wrote.
The alarm was triggered by Russian airstrikes in neighbouring Ukraine, which killed eight people. The sirens stopped after a few minutes.
Poland’s defence minister Wladyslav Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the country endured an “extremely tough night”, which saw sirens blare, F-16 fighter jets scrambled and a suspected Russian missile crash into a field.
Russia says it hit vessel with military cargo near Ukraine's Odesa
Russian forces struck a vessel carrying military cargo near Ukraine's Odesa, the Russian defence ministry said this morning.
Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks in recent weeks on ships that they say are aiding the other side's war effort.
Russia extends diesel and gasoline export bans until end of January 2027
The Russian government extended its bans on the export of diesel and gasoline until 31 January, 2027, it said in a statement on Thursday.
Russia initially introduced the ban on diesel from 8 July to 31 July as part of a broader package of measures to support the domestic fuel market after repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries triggered fuel shortages and price spikes.
Moscow had already imposed restrictions on exports of gasoline and jet fuel.
North Korean missile likely used in Russian strike that killed five family members
A Russian overnight assault that tragically claimed the lives of a family near the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih is believed to have involved a North Korean missile, according to two sources. This marks the first suspected use of such a weapon in the conflict for almost a year.
While Russia has previously deployed North Korean missiles against Ukrainian targets, their re-emergence after a significant hiatus suggests Moscow has replenished its arsenal. This fresh stock of weapons could enable Russia to escalate its missile campaign against its neighbour, one source indicated.
The military source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information, said August 8, 2025 was the last time that Ukraine confirmed a Russian strike using a North Korean missile. Russia began firing North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles at Ukraine towards the end of 2023.
Watch: Six family members killed after Putin launches ‘North Korean ballistic missile’ at Ukrainian village, Zelensky says
Ukraine strikes two more warehouses of Russian online retailer Wildberries
Ukrainian drones struck two more warehouses belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries overnight, sparking fires at both sites, the company and a regional official said.
Ukraine has attacked about a dozen Wildberries sites since 18 July in a bid to disrupt the operations of the company, a linchpin of the consumer economy that is often described as Russia's answer to Amazon.
Oleg Melnichenko, governor of the Penza region in western Russia, said one person was injured and around 200 people were evacuated from the Wildberries site there.
Wildberries said a fire had also broken out at its logistics facility in Sarapul in Russia's Udmurtia region after a Ukrainian drone attack.
The company said staff had been evacuated in advance, that there were no preliminary reports of casualties, and that deliveries were being rerouted through other facilities.
Several Russian news outlets reported a third attack on a Wildberries site in the Urals region of Perm, but the company said its sorting centre there was operating normally.
Moscow adds Telegram founder to list of extremists and terrorists
Russia's financial monitoring agency, Rosfinmonitoring, added Telegram founder Pavel Durov to its list of extremists and terrorists, according to a designation on the agency's website posted on Thursday.
Moscow charged Durov on Wednesday with facilitating terrorist activity, alleging that Ukrainian spies were using his popular messaging app to organise attacks inside Russia.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Durov, who lives in Dubai, is being placed on an international wanted list, but it did not specify what mechanism Russia would use to do this.
The action against Durov is part of a broader crackdown on Telegram by the Russian government, which has effectively throttled the app as it seeks to promote state-backed services and tighten control over what Russians can see and do online.
Trump says he is 'not sure' on Ukraine building Patriot missiles - report
US president Donald Trump said he was "not sure" he would let Ukraine build Patriot missiles, The Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing a phone call with him.
Trump also said his envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff would visit Ukraine for the first time in the coming days, the Financial Times said.
"It's a very extraordinary weapon, and we have to be a little bit careful of who we licence to," the president said in his comments to FT.
Ukraine's envoy tells Washington 'we need the missiles'
Ukraine hopes a new push for ceasefire talks with Russia could halt the war before a potentially brutal winter, but needs new anti-ballistic missiles now to defend against strikes by Moscow, the country's envoy to Washington said.
Olha Stefanishyna told reporters that Ukraine was in discussions with the Pentagon about a license to produce Patriot PAC-3 missiles itself, but that process could take 12 months to five years.
“The devastating effect of every overnight attack right now is unbelievable,” Stefanishyna said.
“Last night and the night before, it was 30 to 40 ballistic missiles.”
While Ukraine was able to defend against Iranian and Russian-built drones, it had not yet developed an effective way to defend against ballistic missiles, whose production is being rapidly increased by Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“He has an intention to destroy Ukraine, and that's why, you know, we're looking for different capabilities. We have been successful in everything, but so far, for this winter, we need the missiles.”
Discussions were also underway about Ukraine agreeing to a long-term purchase of PAC-3 missiles, and then swapping positions in the production line with another buyer.
Romania scrambles jets as aerial targets detected near Ukraine border
Romania, a member of European Union and Nato, briefly scrambled two fighter jets as a group of aerial targets was detected near its river border with Ukraine, the Romanian defence ministry said on social media website X.
The targets later disappeared from the radar monitoring systems without entering the national airspace, it said in a follow up post, adding that the air alert was lifted and explosions were reported on the Ukrainian territory.