Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kremlin responds after Trump threatens new sanctions on Moscow

European Council leader Antonio Costa has visited Sweden to discuss its ongoing support of Ukraine.

In a post on X, Mr Costa said he and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson “agreed on the need to push ahead with increasing pressure on Russia through further sanctions”.

However, earlier on Monday a Kremlin spokesperson said no amount of sanctions could make Russia change its position on Ukraine.

Russia is set to manufacture close to 2,500 high-precision missiles in 2025, according to a top Ukrainian intelligence official.

Major General Vadym Skibitskyi told Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform that the weapons span cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic classes.

“In addition, we are observing a significant growth in the output of unmanned aerial vehicles, primarily such as Geran, Garpiya, and FPV drones,” Skibitskyi added.

Sunday saw Russia launch over 800 drones and missiles across Ukraine in its largest aerial assault of the war so far.

New analysis from The Independent shows the intensity of Moscow’s strikes has shot up since the beginning of June – and if this trend continues in September, it could be Ukraine’s most difficult month yet.

Federico Borsari, a Fellow with the Transatlantic Defence and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), has told The Independent that Russia has been trying to “instil fear and create a sense of panic among the population”.

Washington has told European countries they must stop importing Russian oil and gas if they want the US to place further sanctions on Russia, the Financial Times has reported.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the FT that Europe barring Russian imports and instead choosing American liquefied natural gas (LNG) would have a “positive impact” on Washington’s decisions.

“If the Europeans drew a line and said: ‘We’re not going to buy more Russian gas, we’re not going to buy Russian oil.’ Would that have a positive influence on the U.S. leaning in more aggressively (on sanctions) as well? Absolutely,” Wright said.

President Zelensky has marked a day celebrating Ukrainian intelligence agencies with staff members.

The Ukrainian leader presented state awards at a ceremony on Monday, pictures posted to his X showed.

US President Donald Trump has said he is ready to impose a new wave of sanctions on Russia following its huge aerial attack on Ukraine on Sunday.

Our reporter Steffie Banatvala has been looking at what those could actually involve and how they could impact Russia.

The European Commission is expected to propose a 19th package of sanctions against Russia by Friday and list banks in two central Asian countries, EU diplomats said.

The EU has stepped up its listings and is no longer shying away from larger entities in third countries.

In its 18th package, the bloc listed two Chinese banks and India’s major Nayara refinery at Vadinar.

The diplomats declined to provide further details of the upcoming new package.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will visit the UK on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG), the organisation said.

The UDCG is an alliance of 56 nations, including all NATO member states, which aims to provide military support to Ukraine.

The United Nations human rights’ chief warned on Monday that “disturbing trends”, including the glorification of violence, are undermining human rights and the international order worldwide.

“Rules of war are being shredded – with virtually no accountability,” said Volker Turk, who heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in his opening address to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He condemned widespread violations in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as well as the conflicts in Sudan, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gaza.