Morning opening: Ukraine’s prosecutor general resigns as Russia resumes attacks
Jakub Krupa
Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, resigned from his post over corruption accusations that saw anti-graft officers search his offices at the weekend as part of investigations into illegal call centres, AFP reported.
In a statement, Ruslav Kravchenko has denied he was involved in the alleged scheme, and said his resignation was a “political decision” as he wanted to avoid his position being used “as an instrument of political confrontation.”
His decision to step down poses another challenge for Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy after tricky summer which involved a government reshuffle and a political crisis linked to his controversial decision to sack popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
The latest political crisis comes as Russia has resumed its attacks on Kyiv after a brief pause over the weekend intended to facilitate peace talks with senior US representatives.
“It was a complex attack that the Russians tried to plan to cause as much harm to life as possible – ballistic missiles, cruise and anti-ship missiles, and jet-powered shaheds. There is significant damage to residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure in the capital,” Zelenskyy said this morning.
At least two people died in the attack, and 10 were injured. Further attacks were also reported in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.
Elsewhere, I will keep an eye on the latest from Germany as the fallout from the Saxony-Anhalt election continues, and on reports from France about thieves stealing four works of French impressionist painter Auguste Renoir during a night heist at a museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer.
It’s Tuesday, 8 September 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
Russia to respond to Hungary’s decision to expel 10 Russian diplomats
Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry told RIA Novosti news agency that it would respond to Hungary’s decision to expel ten Russian spies diplomats from Budapest (11:09).
Win in war against Ukraine is ‘very near,’ Kremlin spokesperson says
But the tone coming from Moscow is very different, as Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia was very confident that victory in its war against Ukraine is “very near.”
“Yes, we are confident, and we are sure that victory is very near,” Peskov said in comments reported by Reuters.
US negotiators had ‘decent ideas’ on ending war, Zelenskyy says
We are getting more lines from Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chat with reporters this morning (10:57).
The Ukrainian president said that US peace negotiators had presented several “decent ideas” to be discussed during talks on how to end the war.
He also suggested the next trilateral meeting could be hosted by Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland or some other countries.
Another could take place as soon as this month, Zelenskyy said.
“If all sides agree, we also want to hold it in autumn. If September works out, then it would be great. The earlier, the better,” he said in comments reported by AFP.
Hungary expels 10 Russian diplomats accused of ‘engaging in activities unacceptable … under Vienna Convention’
Hungary has asked 10 Russian diplomats who “engaged in activities … that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention” to leave the country, foreign minister Anita Orbán said.
“The decision protects the security and sovereignty of Hungary,” she said in a statement on Facebook.
“This does not mean the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia. Hungary intends to continue the necessary dialogue, based on mutual respect and compliance with the rules,” she added.
Zelenskyy hopes to meet Trump this month to discuss missile defence
Separately, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hoped to meet US president Donald Trump this month to discuss missile defence ahead of what is expected to be another difficult winter for Ukraine.
His comments come as Kyiv finds itself once again under renewed attacks from Russia, with Ukrainian authorities repeatedly warning that they are facing a shortage of air defence supplies.
UK commits £100m to fund Ukraine’s defence this winter
The UK has committed £100m to boost Ukraine’s air defence capabilities this winter, including air defence interceptors, large-calibre artillery rounds and drones.
The money will be spent on Nato’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) that helps Ukraine get the equipment it needs with the support of Nato allies.
The UK government also said its “commitment to provide over 120,000 drones to Ukraine this year continues, with 25,000 delivered to date, a figure set to ramp up ahead of the winter.”
Iceland summons US ambassador over Trump’s AI-generated map
Iceland summoned the US ambassador for talks last night after US president Donald Trump posted on social media an AI-generated map of the US, Canada and other countries, which appeared to include Iceland as the US territory.
Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV reported that the ambassador was told that the post was “completely inappropriate.”
The map also included Greenland as the US territory, despite being posted just hours after the EU unveiled a €200m investment package for the territory in an apparent attempt to strengthen its ties with the bloc (Europe Live, Monday).
12 injured in overnight Russian attacks on Kyiv
The number of people injured in this morning’s attacks on Kyiv has gone up to 12, local authorities said.
Four artworks stolen from Renoir museum in southern France
Two thieves have broken into a museum dedicated to the French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France, stealing four artworks and dropping one as they fled, the mayor has said.
“This morning, two individuals broke into the Renoir Museum and stole four works of art,” said Bryan Masson, the far-right mayor of the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer.
“Spotted thanks to the town’s video surveillance cameras, the two individuals fled, abandoning one of the stolen paintings as they ran,” he said, adding that his office estimated the value of the stolen works at €9m (£7.7m).
The museum was opened in 1960 in the painter’s last home before his death in 1919. Its collection includes objects and furniture that belonged to Renoir, including his easel and wheelchair, as well as portraits, landscapes and nudes painted by the artist.
The mayor said it took five minutes for the authorities to respond. “The museum alarm went off at 5.48 am. At 5.53 am, just five minutes later, our municipal police were on the scene,” he said.
The theft comes less than a year after eight items valued at around €88m were stolen during a daylight robbery from the Louvre in Paris. The four suspected Louvre robbers have been arrested, but the stolen items have not been found despite extensive searches by French investigators in the Paris region, and exchanges with police in Belgium, Italy and beyond.
Art thieves in Europe are committing more violent robberies and specialist gangs have been replaced by ad-hoc opportunists recruited through social media, Europol said last month.
EU’s von der Leyen condemns ‘shocking’ funeral of Mladić in Serbia
Separately, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has condemned the presence of senior Serbian officials at yesterday’s funeral of Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladić, saying it showed “a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe’s recent history” and questioned Serbia’s alignment with the EU.
Mladić, who died last week, was buried with military honours in after a memorial service attended by tens of thousands of people and led by Porfirije, the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox church.
In a statement this morning, von der Leyen said:
“The images from Ratko Mladić’s funeral yesterday in Belgrade were shocking. Ratko Mladić was a convicted war criminal. He was responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. He died while serving a life sentence for the Srebrenica genocide and other crimes.
The elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable. They demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe’s recent history and contradict the values underpinning Serbia’s path towards the European Union.
Our thoughts are with all the victims of the crimes committed in the countries of former Yugoslavia.”
Morning opening: Ukraine’s prosecutor general resigns as Russia resumes attacks
Jakub Krupa
Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, resigned from his post over corruption accusations that saw anti-graft officers search his offices at the weekend as part of investigations into illegal call centres, AFP reported.
In a statement, Ruslav Kravchenko has denied he was involved in the alleged scheme, and said his resignation was a “political decision” as he wanted to avoid his position being used “as an instrument of political confrontation.”
His decision to step down poses another challenge for Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy after tricky summer which involved a government reshuffle and a political crisis linked to his controversial decision to sack popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
The latest political crisis comes as Russia has resumed its attacks on Kyiv after a brief pause over the weekend intended to facilitate peace talks with senior US representatives.
“It was a complex attack that the Russians tried to plan to cause as much harm to life as possible – ballistic missiles, cruise and anti-ship missiles, and jet-powered shaheds. There is significant damage to residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure in the capital,” Zelenskyy said this morning.
At least two people died in the attack, and 10 were injured. Further attacks were also reported in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.
Elsewhere, I will keep an eye on the latest from Germany as the fallout from the Saxony-Anhalt election continues, and on reports from France about thieves stealing four works of French impressionist painter Auguste Renoir during a night heist at a museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer.
It’s Tuesday, 8 September 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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