Putin 'knocking on doors of NATO' with near-miss strike on train of European officials

Day 1,660.

Today, after Russia strikes a train near the Ukrainian border with Poland, narrowly missing top European officials including Boris Johnson, we consider whether the attack was deliberate. The officials were attending a major gathering in Kyiv seeking to forge a new way forward – we’ll bring you the highlights. Then we try to get to the bottom of what some are calling ‘Ukraine’s biggest victory this year’ – the reported counterattack around Lyman liberating almost 200 square kilometers of territory. If confirmed, it seemingly exposed lying Russian commanders, Ukrainian formidable operational security, and expectations in the ground war over the coming months.

Contributors:

Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

Memphis Barker (senior foreign correspondent). @memphisbarker on X.

Producer: Rachel Porter

Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan

Social Producer: Tom Steed

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley

Created by David Knowles

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:

If you’re interested in sponsoring Dom’s upcoming defence event, email our colleagues at events@telegraph.co.uk

World’s First Naval Drone Duel Results In Ukrainian Success (Naval News)

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/09/worlds-first-naval-drone-duel-results-in-ukrainian-success/

Germany floats new Ukraine loan backed by frozen Russian assets (Politico)

https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-ukraine-loan-frozen-russia-assets/

EU fails to agree Russia sanctions rollover with one day to spare (Politico)

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-fails-to-agree-russia-sanctions-rollover-with-one-day-to-spare/

Germany Aims to Prevent Far Right From Accessing Secret War Plan (Bloomberg)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-10/germany-aims-to-prevent-far-right-from-accessing-secret-war-plan

House to take up Russia sanctions bill next week (The Hill)

https://thehill.com/homenews/6084914-house-russia-sanctions-vote/

Francis’s interview with Ambassador Daniel Fried:

On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUjC_O7ZpeE

On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RGt2H2Ww2a44wXP16XBkm

On Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/putin-will-exhaust-russias-capacity-by-2028-ukrainian/id1612424182?i=1000789061444

Ukraine’s biggest victory this year exposes lying Russian commanders (Memphis Barker for The Telegraph)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/12/lying-russian-commanders-ukraines-biggest-victory-putin/

Watch Mephis’s video on the Lyman counterattack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56b-9FOC-58&pp=ygUJdGVsZWdyYXBo

Berlin-Hacker stellten geheime Drohnen-Akten ins Netz! (‘Berlin hackers put secret drone files online!’: Bild)

https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/berlin-leak-geheimakten-ueber-drohnengefahr-am-ber-6aa3ebb40f417ae59102eab3

Russia Is Churning Out Smart, Cheap New Weapons Faster Than Ukraine or the U.S. (Wall Street Journal)

https://www.wsj.com/world/russia-is-churning-out-smart-cheap-new-weapons-faster-than-ukraine-or-the-u-s-c817d014

Ukraine’s way of fighting war can’t match what’s coming (Eric Schmidt for the Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/09/09/how-russia-is-erasing-ukraines-battlefield-advantage/

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Putin 'knocking on doors of NATO' with near-miss strike on train of European officials • How Ukraine’s audacious counterattack exposed lying Russian officials

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