Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1305: Defense tech summit in Lviv brings $100 million investment

Exclusives

Italy sends Ukraine an APC "on steroids" to evacuate soldiers under drone fire. The VCC-1's extra steel stops what aluminum cannot.

Ukraine builds fire sac kill zones—Russian bikers keep riding to their death anyway. Ukraine studied 'The Russian Way of War.' Russia apparently didn't.

Ukraine could make the EU's drone wall actually work—if politics allows. Europe's weapons cost millions; Ukraine's solutions cost hundreds.

As Russia clamps down, Ukraine sells assets in wartime reform gamble. Record $216 million in transparent auctions sends crucial signal to Western allies.

Military

Ukraine creates new assault troops branch as separate military force, Zelenskyy announces. The decision to legally establish assault troops as a distinct military branch came after Russian forces began copying Ukraine's assault unit system, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters. Ukraine scales up drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, Zelenskyy says. Russian fuel shortages and gas station queues signal the growing impact of Ukraine's expanded drone campaign, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters Ukraine hits Russian refineries with 15.8 million-ton annual capacity in Saratov, Samara strikes. Ukraine's military confirmed "strategic" strikes on Russian refineries processing 2.54% of Russia's total refining capacity and 8.8 million tons annually at a second facility. NATO avoids Turkiye's 2015 response after Russian jets violate skies over Poland's only Baltic Sea oil platform. From Petrobaltic to Estonian airspace, Moscow executes small moves with outsized risk. Estonia maps Russian MiG-31 route after Moscow claims neutral waters flight. Three Russian MiG-31 interceptors spent 12 minutes inside Estonian airspace with their transponders switched off, prompting Tallinn to release flight path evidence after the Kremlin denied any border violation occurred.

Intelligence and technology

Lviv hosts world's biggest defense tech summit, and funnels $100 million into Ukraine's tight military budget. Defense innovators from 50+ countries converge on Ukraine, turning the battlefield into a hub for global investment. British M16 launches "Silent Courier" darknet platform to recruit Russian spies. The initiative coincides with MI6 Chief Richard Moore's assessment that Putin shows "no interest in negotiations" beyond Ukraine's capitulation. Turkish defense giant Baykar expands Ukraine operations as innovations "explode". Ukraine's drone companies have grown from 'few' to 'hundreds' during war, says Baykar's CEO.

International

Ukrainian civilians pay price after Trump's Alaska summit with Putin, while US offers no aid to Kyiv. Nearly 3,500 drones and nearly 200 missiles in a single month show escalation is the Russian strategy. Ceasefire must trigger "real" security guarantees from allies as Russia-Ukraine peace treaty may never be signed, says Zelenskyy. Zelensky acknowledges Ukraine's situation "definitely differs from Korea," while accepting that no final war-ending document may emerge. What's inside new International nuclear agency's resolution on Ukraine's occupied Zaporizhzhia plant, which Russia defies?. The world demands Zaporizhzhia's plant return, but Moscow refuses to budge, leaving Europe on edge.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian missile strike ignites ATB warehouse fire in Dnipro during massive overnight assault. ATB Corporation confirmed one of its Dnipro warehouses suffered a direct rocket hit during Russia's 20 Sept. assault, causing a fire and damaging several company trucks while all staff escaped injury. Russia fires 619 missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, killing civilians. A Russian cluster munition directly struck a multi-story residential building in Dnipro during a massive barrage involving 580 drones and 40 missiles, leaving one dead and 26 injured in the oblast

Political and legal developments

Intel: Russia's economy transforms into military dependency, while oil revenues drop 17%. Russia has trapped itself in a "military rent" scenario where continuing the war becomes financially impossible, yet stopping it triggers mass unemployment and economic restructuring. Russia's business empire crumbles — yet its military still marches. Small businesses fail, innovation dies, but Moscow's energy profits keep its economi alive. Ukraine allocates record 955 billion hryvnias for weapons in 2026 budget. One-third of Ukraine's 2.8 trillion hryvnia defense budget will fund weapons procurement in 2026, as the country prepares its fifth consecutive wartime budget amid mounting debt concerns

New developments

Kharkyova wins gold medal at World Military Championships. A 28-year-old Ukrainian fencer outclassed European bronze medalist Angeline Favre in today's final, securing Ukraine's 2nd gold medal at the world military championships in Spain. Read our earlier daily review here.