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Japan's Defense Ministry reported that it scrambled fighter jets after two Russian patrol aircraft were detected flying in circles around the country.

Although the Russian planes did not enter Japanese airspace, their proximity raised significant concerns. This incident marks the first such military activity around Japan since 2019, when Russian bombers breached Japanese airspace.

The Russian Tu-142 aircraft were tracked traveling from the sea between Japan and South Korea towards the southern Okinawa region, according to Digi24.

They then proceeded north over the Pacific Ocean, reaching the northern island of Hokkaido. In response, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force launched an urgent interception of the Russian planes.

The Russian aircraft also flew over the disputed Kuril Islands, known as the "Northern Territories" in Japan.

On September 12, Russian forces continued their counterattacks across the Ukrainian bulge in the Kursk region but achieved only minor successes. The limited progress is likely due to ongoing Ukrainian offensive operations and defensive counterattacks in the area, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, gave his strongest hint yet that the White House is about to lift its restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weapons supplied by the west on key military targets inside Russia, with a decision understood to have already been made in private.

Speaking in Kyiv alongside the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, Blinken said the US had “from day one” been willing to adapt its policy as the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine changed. “We will continue to do this,” he emphasised.

Blinken said he and Lammy would report back to their “bosses” – Joe Biden and Keir Starmer – after their talks on Wednesday with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The foreign secretary suggested Iran’s dispatch of ballistic missiles to Moscow – revealed this week – had changed strategic thinking in London and Washington. It was a “significant and dangerous escalation”, he said.

He added: “The escalator here is Putin. Putin has escalated with the shipment of missiles from Iran. We see a new axis of Russia, Iran and North Korea.” Lammy urged China “not to throw in its lot” with what he called “a group of renegades”.

British government sources indicated that a decision had already been made to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow cruise missiles on targets inside Russia, although it is not expected to be publicly announced on Friday when Starmer meets Biden in Washington DC.

The two leaders are planning to discuss the war in Ukraine, and how it could be ended, as part of a wide-ranging foreign policy discussion, though they will avoid an intense focus on any individual weapons system, as the aim of the conversation is strategic.

The United States is unlikely to stop supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia, regardless of the presidential election, Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, said at a conference in Seoul, according to Bloomberg.

He also noted that Donald Trump made it clear in his debate with Kamala Harris that he wants the war to end. Furthermore, both the Democratic and Republican parties advocate for continued assistance, the admiral said.

"I think it’s unlikely in that light that the US as a country will stop supporting Ukraine," Bauer said.

The situation on the left flank of the Ukrainian grouping in Russia’s Kursk Oblast has deteriorated, as Russian forces have begun active assault operations.

Source: the DeepState analytical project

Details: Russian troops have launched active assaults by initially moving armoured vehicles across the Seym River, followed by crossings over smaller rivers.

DeepState experts also recorded the movement of a Russian armoured convoy from Korenovo toward Snagost, with ongoing intense fighting there.

The United States will soon officially notify Ukraine of its permission to use ATACMS short-range ballistic missiles inside Russia.

The War Zone reported on this with reference to the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman.

Currently, the U.S. government is expected to officially announce the decision, which will allow Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles inside Russia.

“I talked to Blinken two days ago, and he is traveling with his counterpart from the UK to Kyiv to basically tell them that they will allow them to hit Russia with ATACMS,” Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated.

Ukraine struck the Moscow region on Tuesday in its biggest drone attack so far on the Russian capital, killing at least one woman, wrecking dozens of homes and forcing around 50 flights to be diverted from airports around Moscow.

Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, said it destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian attack drones as they swarmed over the Moscow region, which has a population of more than 21 million, and 124 more over eight other regions.

At least one person was killed near Moscow, Russian authorities said. Three of Moscow’s four airports were closed for more than six hours and almost 50 flights were diverted.

Sumy Regional Administration has announced mandatory evacuation from three settlements in the Shostka district – Hlukhiv, Svesa, and Esman.

As of September 7, 242 people, including 50 children, had already been evacuated from these settlements.

About a week ago, a police unit called "White Angels" was formed in the region. They will provide evacuation assistance using three armored vehicles, reported Volodymyr Artiukh, head of the regional military administration.

He also mentioned that an evacuation railcar will continue to operate from Shostka to Kyiv.

Each of these settlements is located approximately 10 km from the Russian-Ukrainian border.

On August 20, Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko reported that 45,000 people would need to be evacuated from the Sumy Oblast in the future, noting that this is not an urgent evacuation.

Russian prisoners of war (POWs) held in Ukrainian camps are no longer allowed to make phone calls to their relatives, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced on national television on Sept. 7.

Lubinets said that the ban does not violate the Geneva Conventions, as Russian POWs can still send written letters to their families.

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Earlier in March, the petition calling to ban phone calls for Russian POWs received the needed 25,000 signatures. However, the Ukrainian parliament rejected the proposal back then, saying that phone calls "serve an important informative function, providing objective information to Russians that they should not be afraid to surrender."

Russian soldiers who have surrendered or have been captured in Ukraine are kept in four POW camps. Conditions there adhere to international laws, particularly the Geneva Conventions, according to Lubinets.

Multiple reports and witnesses show that Ukrainian POWs in Russia are most often kept in horrible conditions, subject to torture, beatings, and starvation.

However, Lubinets latest address comes amid the recent increasing number of Russia’s violating the rights of Ukrainian POWs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to act as a mediator in negotiations with the United States regarding the supply of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, reports Messaggero, citing informed sources.

According to the report, Zelenskyy plans to involve Rome in a mediating role. Sources familiar with the matter say he wants Meloni, as the G7 leader until the end of the year, to influence Washington to transfer a significant number of Patriot systems before the US presidential elections.

A Russian drone that flew into Latvia’s airspace from Belarus has crashed in Latvia.

The Latvian Ministry of Defense reported on this.

It is reported that the drone crashed on September 7 in the Rēzekne district. The incident’s circumstances are still under investigation, but according to preliminary findings, it is a Russian drone.

"It is crucial that all the weapons from the already announced support packages finally reach the combat brigades. We also need strong long-range decisions from our partners to bring closer the just peace we are striving for," he wrote.

Zelenskyy will meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. Separate talks will be held with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Following this, the president will travel to Italy to attend the international economic forum Ambrosetti, where meetings with Italian business representatives and talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are planned.

On Thursday, Der Spiegel, citing informed sources, reported that Zelenskyy plans to "convey the full seriousness of the situation" to partners at Ramstein.