UNITED NATIONS: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the UN on Saturday accused Europe of blocking diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have stepped up attacks after the deadliest summer since 2022.
Lavrov took aim at Europe and said it was actively trying to block talks supported by US President Donald Trump’s government.
“Europe is doing everything it can to thwart peace talks in which the Trump administration is interested,” Lavrov said in a fiery speech to the UN General Assembly.
🔴 #LIVE: Remarks by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the General Debate of 81th Session of the UN General Assemblyhttps://t.co/RAvH8qHDnu
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) September 26, 2026
“The aims of the special military operation will be achieved, the threat to Russian security will be eliminated and peaceful life will come back. This will happen no matter the circumstances,” he added.
Russian and Ukrainian strikes killed at least 16 people over the last 24 hours, both countries said Saturday.
Kyiv said Russian strikes had killed at least six people — in northeastern Sumy, in Zaporizhzhia and in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russia said Ukrainian strikes had killed four people in its Krasnodar and Belgorod regions. Meanwhile, officials said six others were killed in southern Ukraine in the past 24 hours.
Earlier this week at the UN General Assembly, Trump once again said that a deal between Moscow and Kyiv to end the war was “going to happen.”
But US-led talks to end fighting have not led to a breakthrough.
Moscow has intensified strikes on Kyiv as the city prepares for another winter of war, while Ukraine has struck deeper inside Russia this year, hitting as far as the Urals and Siberia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Russia was “escalating every single day” and has called for more allied sanctions on Moscow.
“They want to simply wipe out our nation,” said 43-year-old Kyiv resident Oleksandr Gorlachov.
Before his speech, Lavrov met with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul — the first meeting between Moscow and Berlin’s foreign ministers since before the war.
The talks took place as tensions between Berlin and Moscow intensified, Germany accusing Russia of orchestrating an attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport and each country ordering the closure of the other’s consulate.
European countries, including Germany, have sounded the alarm in recent days over what they say is increased Russian sabotage activities on their soil.
Lavrov last met with a German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, in January 2022. Germany is one of Kyiv’s main allies.
Lavrov recently accused Germany of “wanting war again”.
In his speech to the UN, Lavrov took a major swipe at Berlin.
“UN Security Council reform cannot involve any additional seats being allocated to Western countries, especially to Germany and Japan, who are now on the path to militarism.”
