US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Russia is “not going to attack” NATO territory, pushing back against media reports that Washington is concerned about a possible Russian move on Europe.
“I've had good talks with him. He's not going to be attacking a NATO territory,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed not to do so.
Trump's comments came two days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew to Moscow for surprise talks that the Wall Street Journal and CBS News had said was an attempt to dissuade Russia from attacking NATO members, amid US intelligence assessments that Moscow could seek to test the alliance.
Last Wednesday, Trump said that Ratcliffe's unannounced trip to Russia was “semi-routine,” downplaying the visit amid speculation that the spy chief had an urgent reason to make an appearance in Russia's capital.
In the interview with Glenn Beck, Trump instead talked about trying to end the Ukraine war, a goal he has pursued without success since returning to office last year.
A senior EU official told AFP on Thursday that European intelligence agencies see no sign Russia is planning a military attack on European NATO countries, after US reports that the head of the CIA warned Moscow not to strike the alliance.
“European services in general do not see any risk of an attack from Russia to the European countries, and this assessment has not changed,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Russia bombarded cities across Ukraine with missiles and drones in an overnight onslaught that ran into the daylight of hours Thursday, when explosions echoed around Kyiv through the morning.
Ukraine is desperately short of US-made Patriot air defense missiles that can counter Russia’s ballistic missiles, and Moscow’s fast-flying jet-powered drones have brought another challenge since the Russian military’s full-scale invasion began 4½ years ago.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has struck a Russian Tu-95MS missile-carrying aircraft at the Engels base.
“These are the aircraft that are carrying out strikes against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said on X, adding the strike was carried out by the Alpha unit of Ukraine’s SBU domestic security service.
Ukrainian officials say Russia builds up missile stocks and launches major attacks every few days, hoping to exhaust Ukrainian defenses through the sheer weight of numbers.
In response, Ukraine has hit high-profile targets on Russian soil as the countries inflict mutual destruction.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces carried out a “massive” strike on targets in nine Ukrainian cities that began after nightfall on Wednesday.
It described the targets as military-related, including industrial facilities, oil refineries, logistics hubs and port infrastructure.
“Russia continues to invest in missiles and in expanding its war, and that means more countermeasures are needed,” Zelenskyy said on social media, noting promises earlier this week by European countries to provide more air defense assistance.
“It is important that these (measures) are also supplemented by additional ballistic missile defense packages” through European purchases of weapons from the United States, he said.
Though the Russian Defense Ministry insisted only war-related targets were attacked, Russia appears determined to hurt Ukrainian businesses and dent the country's economy through attacks on private enterprise after Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes caused financial difficulties for Moscow.
Russian drones hit three major distribution centers, destroying depots belonging to a toy store chain and a confectionery company, and damaging another run by an electronics retailer, the companies said.
In addition, Moscow continued its efforts to wreck the Ukrainian power grid before the freezing winter months.
Also, people in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson were urged to leave due to intensifying Russian attacks that risked cutting electricity and heating supplies for an extended period.
“I am once again addressing the residents of Kherson, especially families with children and elderly people: if you have the possibility.., please leave,” regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram.
“The enemy is intensifying its attacks every day on the region’s critical infrastructure,” he added.
“Last night, Russian forces again attacked Kherson’s district heating plant with glide bombs... the facility sustained very serious damage. Kherson may find itself without electricity or heating not for hours or days but for a long period,” he said.
Prokudin also wrote that, “Currently, there is no way to destroy these types of drones or the aerial bombs in any region of our country.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine's budget deficit in 2027 could be larger than forecast, requiring additional aid from the European Union as a result, Bloomberg wrote, citing sources.
Talks between Kiev and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have faced headwinds due to “politically sensitive demands” from the country’s second-largest lender, sources said.
In July, the IMF projected that Ukraine’s deficit would total 17.8% of GDP in 2027 - 3.3 percentage points lower than in 2025. However, this forecast presumes that the Ukraine conflict will end in 2026, the agency noted. “As the war drags on, the figure is expected to be revised upward,” Bloomberg said, citing one of its sources.
