EU Sanctions 5 New Individuals Related to Russia

FILED - 15 June 2026, France, Évian: File Photo - Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, speaks at a press conference ahead of the G7 summit in Evian. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
FILED - 15 June 2026, France, Évian: File Photo - Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, speaks at a press conference ahead of the G7 summit in Evian. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
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EU Sanctions 5 New Individuals Related to Russia

FILED - 15 June 2026, France, Évian: File Photo - Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, speaks at a press conference ahead of the G7 summit in Evian. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
FILED - 15 June 2026, France, Évian: File Photo - Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, speaks at a press conference ahead of the G7 summit in Evian. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa

The European Union has adopted new sanctions listings targeting individuals involved in Russia's military-industrial complex, EU ⁠foreign policy chief Kaja ⁠Kallas said on Friday on ⁠social media platform X.

She added this was in response to the recent Russian airstrikes against Ukraine but ⁠did ⁠not specify which individuals were sanctioned.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned both sides for attacks on civilian areas as Ukraine and Russia kept up their artillery war.

Ukraine struck two Russian oil refineries hundreds of kilometers from the border in an overnight attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, as Russia hit a train station and commercial ship in Ukraine.

Both sides have been intensifying their long-range attacks in recent months, leading to a jump in civilian deaths.

Kyiv has been firing record numbers of drones at Russia, while Moscow has been launching all-time high missile attacks.

Zelensky said Ukraine had hit oil refineries in the Bashkortostan and Yaroslavl regions -- about 1,300 (800 miles) and 700 kilometers from the front.

Russian missile attacks on Kyiv a day earlier had killed at least 17 and destroyed warehouses belonging to a number of retailers in what was widely seen as a direct response to Ukraine's campaign targeting Wildberries, widely dubbed "Russia's Amazon.”

But Guterres called Thursday for an end to the deadly attacks on civilian areas in both countries.

"These latest series of attacks follow an alarming pattern of escalating strikes against populated areas," spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.

"Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are a clear violation of international humanitarian law, and must stop immediately," he added.



Iran Guards Say Attacked US Naval Drone

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are visible near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, August 25, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are visible near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, August 25, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iran Guards Say Attacked US Naval Drone

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are visible near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, August 25, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are visible near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, August 25, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that they had attacked a US naval drone that was trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, hours after Tehran and Washington traded strikes.
"The heroic Naval Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked an American military unmanned surface vessel (remotely operated vessel) that was attempting to enter the protected area of the Strait of Hormuz," the Guards said in a statement carried by Iranian state television IRIB.


NATO Will Not Tolerate Hybrid Actions Against Members, US Envoy Says

The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)
The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)
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NATO Will Not Tolerate Hybrid Actions Against Members, US Envoy Says

The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)
The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)

NATO members should not tolerate deliberate actions of hybrid war, and the United States will stand by countries as they deal with these incidents, Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, said on Saturday.

Whitaker said last month's attempted drone attack at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport, which Berlin ‌has blamed ‌on Russia, was more worrying ‌than ⁠other recent incidents ⁠NATO members have faced due to Russian drones targeting Ukraine that strayed off course.

"Then you have what I would call the more concerning hybrid actions like we saw ⁠in Leipzig, like we ‌have seen ‌in Poland," Whitaker said speaking on the sidelines ‌of a business conference in Italy.

NATO ‌members must be prepared, vigilant and also deliver a strong message when they are challenged by these events, ‌he said.

"If we can identify who's doing it — which Germany ⁠did — ⁠we make sure we express strongly that is unacceptable and we will not tolerate it," Whitaker said.

Critical infrastructure, including energy assets, could be targeted and should be monitored by national authorities, he added.

The response to these challenges is primarily national, but the United States supports countries when they are dealing with these acts, he said.


Thousands March for Democracy Ahead of Eastern German Vote

People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Thousands March for Democracy Ahead of Eastern German Vote

People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Thousands of people joined a march for "democracy" in eastern Germany on Saturday, a day ahead of a regional election expected to result in a historic win for the far right.

The march in Magdeburg, capital of the Saxony-Anhalt region, drew demonstrators holding up placards proclaiming "more love, less hate", "a better life without Nazis", and "the potato is also of foreign origin".

The march was organized by a coalition of groups dubbed "Saxony-Anhalt: Open to the World".

The far right, anti-migrant, pro-Russian and pro-Donald Trump Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is leading in the polls for the Saxony-Anhalt election, and is expected to top the vote in the small state of 2.1 million inhabitants.

It would be the first regional election win for the AfD, marking an unprecedented breakthrough for the far right in Germany in the postwar era.

However, the party is not assured of managing an absolute majority that would allow it to govern alone.

So far, all other parties have ruled out governing with the AfD, with the exception of the pro-Russian left-wing party BSW, whose members are divided on the issue.