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Ukraine Dismisses Reports on Bolstering Troops Near Belarus

A serviceman of 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces loads a shell inside a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer during fire towards Russian troops on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 30, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS
A serviceman of 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces loads a shell inside a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer during fire towards Russian troops on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 30, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS
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Ukraine Dismisses Reports on Bolstering Troops Near Belarus

A serviceman of 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces loads a shell inside a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer during fire towards Russian troops on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 30, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS
A serviceman of 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces loads a shell inside a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer during fire towards Russian troops on a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 30, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS

Ukraine's border guards dismissed claims from Belarus that it was reinforcing troops on their mutual border, describing the reports as an information operation from Minsk with Moscow's support.
Belarus, a close Russian ally that has provided support for Moscow's 28-month full-scale war in Ukraine, said last week that Kyiv was bolstering its forces along the frontier. According to Reuters, the Kremlin said on Monday the report was a cause of concern.
"It is not the first time Belarus offers information about Ukraine presenting a threat and strengthening itself," border guard spokesman Andriy Demchenko told Ukrainian TV. "This is another part of the information operation conducted by Belarus with support by Russia."
He said the border remained a concern, and Ukraine was strengthening it with engineering while maintaining the necessary number of troops to prevent any provocations.
He also said that Belarus had been conducting military exercises since June 21, and that blaming Ukraine for friction at the border could be aligned with those drills.
On Sunday, the Belarus Defense Ministry claimed it had information showing Ukraine had been moving troops, weapons, and military equipment to the border, in particular in Zhytomyr region.
Minsk also said its own forces had deployed additional air defenses to protect the border area from drones, after claiming to have shot down a Ukrainian quadcopter earlier last week.

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World

Netanyahu Party in Uproar as Far-Right Refuses Pleas to Unite

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir whispers into the ear of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the last Knesset session in Jerusalem before its dissolution, on July 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir whispers into the ear of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the last Knesset session in Jerusalem before its dissolution, on July 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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Netanyahu Party in Uproar as Far-Right Refuses Pleas to Unite

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir whispers into the ear of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the last Knesset session in Jerusalem before its dissolution, on July 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir whispers into the ear of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the last Knesset session in Jerusalem before its dissolution, on July 16, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party on Friday upbraided a far-right cabinet member for refusing to run on a joint slate with another ultranationalist, warning a split vote risked tanking their coalition in upcoming elections.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who recently drew international condemnation for saying Israel should kill "30 to 40" Palestinians nightly in Gaza, has rejected Netanyahu's pleas to join forces with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

"What does Ben-Gvir want? A broad national government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu... or because of personal considerations, to burn right-wing votes in order to put a left-wing government in power?" the Likud's official account wrote on X.

Netanyahu's calls for unity among his hard-right allies ahead of the October 27 vote come amid a surge in the polls for a new far-right party outside his coalition, founded by former general Ofer Winter.

Analysts say Winter's rising star could siphon votes from Smotrich's base, potentially preventing his Religious Zionism party from clearing the electoral threshold of 3.25 percent unless it joins a list with another party.

Winter, himself from the religious right, has been a vocal critic of the governing coalition, which relies on ultra-Orthodox parties, for allowing men of that community to avoid military service.

In a video posted on X on Thursday night, Netanyahu said Smotrich and Ben-Gvir "must unite. Every time we ran united, we won. When we ran separately, we lost."

"In 1992, the Right had more votes than the Left, like today, but because we were running separately, we got the disaster of Oslo, Arafat, Hamas and recurring catastrophes," he said, referring to the peace process launched with the 1993 Oslo Accords between slain center-left Israeli premier Yitzhak Rabin and late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Smotrich appeared receptive to the proposal. "It's time for unity and responsibility in the national camp," he wrote on X Thursday evening.

On Friday morning, Netanyahu invited Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to a meeting on Sunday. "We must not waste a single vote; we must unite to save the right-wing bloc!" he wrote on X.

But Ben-Gvir accused Netanyahu of seeking to weaken his right-wing populist Jewish Power party, which consistently polls at around seven to eight parliamentary seats -- comfortably above the threshold.

"According to all polls, a joint run between me and Smotrich would set Jewish Power back by three to four parliament seats," Ben-Gvir wrote on X.

Both ultranationalist parties, once shunned by mainstream politicians, have been keen to maintain independence, allowing them to be kingmakers and to promote uncompromising positions rather than follow the lead of the historically secular Likud.

Ben-Gvir suggested Netanyahu instead push for a joint slate between Winter and Smotrich.

Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have run together twice before. Their joint list won six seats in 2021, then doubled its tally to 14 in the 2022 election that produced the current parliament, before splitting into Smotrich's Religious Zionism and Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power, with seven seats each.

World

Senior Ukrainian Official Expects 'Technical Talks' on Russia's War Soon

Parts of a shot-down kamikaze drone at a site of a Russian strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Vyshneve in Kyiv region, Ukraine, August 28, 2026. (Reuters)
Parts of a shot-down kamikaze drone at a site of a Russian strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Vyshneve in Kyiv region, Ukraine, August 28, 2026. (Reuters)
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Senior Ukrainian Official Expects 'Technical Talks' on Russia's War Soon

Parts of a shot-down kamikaze drone at a site of a Russian strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Vyshneve in Kyiv region, Ukraine, August 28, 2026. (Reuters)
Parts of a shot-down kamikaze drone at a site of a Russian strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the town of Vyshneve in Kyiv region, Ukraine, August 28, 2026. (Reuters)

Ukraine's top presidential adviser said on Friday that technical talks on Russia's war would likely take place in the near future but added that he did not expect any swift agreement.

"I think everyone will see the negotiations happening very soon. But this will mainly concern the technical side of things and preparations for something big, which I hope we will eventually get to," Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview for YouTube project "Moseichuk+".

US-backed peace talks have so far led to no tangible results to end a war now in its fifth year. The last round of trilateral negotiations took place in February.

Asked if fighting would drag on through the winter, Budanov said it was "unrealistic" to expect the war to end now.

In recent months, both sides have significantly stepped up attacks on logistics, port infrastructure and energy facilities. Russia is also expected to renew its relentless campaign against Ukraine's power grid as winter approaches.

Ukraine and Russia need to reach a point where they are ready to simultaneously take a step toward each other, said Budanov, who is his country's representative at the talks, adding that Kyiv was open to this.

"And as of now, the Russian Federation — and I'm telling you this as someone who is deeply involved in this process — is saying outright, 'we might want to but no'."

Russia's key demand is Ukraine's withdrawal from the eastern Donbas area, which Russian troops have not managed to fully occupy during their more than four-year full-scale invasion. Kyiv says it will not cede territory it still controls.

World

EU Pledges Two Million Euros in Nepal Flood Aid

A general view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. (AFP)
A general view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. (AFP)
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EU Pledges Two Million Euros in Nepal Flood Aid

A general view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. (AFP)
A general view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Trishuli in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. (AFP)

The European Union on Friday promised two million euros ($2.3 mn) in aid for Nepal after devastating floods on the country's border with Tibet swept away entire villages, killing hundreds of people, AFP reported.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X that the "immediate humanitarian aid" would help "deliver life-saving assistance to families and communities hit hardest."