Nato pushes back Russian ships allegedly rehearsing undersea cable sabotage near Svalbard

Nato forces drove away Russian ships in Arctic waters near the remote Svalbard archipelago after the vessels were reportedly training to attack undersea cables using a secret sabotage device deployed from submersible craft, Reuters reported, citing Western officials who did not detail how the technology works. British and Norwegian officials subsequently shared their findings with Moscow to demonstrate awareness of the new capability. Reuters also reported that CIA director John Ratcliffe's August visit to Moscow partly served to warn Russia against escalating sabotage activity in Europe, though the White House and CIA declined to comment. Norway's defence minister, Tore Sandvik, said the joint operation sent Russia a clear message that covert activity in the High North would not be tolerated.

Separately, a London court heard that Joshua Cammidge, a British man arrested as an alleged Russian agent, is accused of assisting a plot to sabotage a drone factory in England. Prosecutors said Cammidge had been in contact with a suspected representative of the GRU Volunteer Corps and had passed on information about four drone manufacturing sites in Swindon. He remains in custody ahead of a further hearing.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said cooperation with Ukrainian services had averted a direct threat to a border crossing, warning that further attacks on crossings, including in Poland, were likely. Poland briefly suspended flights at Lublin and Rzeszów airports for preventive military operations linked to Russian missile strikes on Ukraine. A drone strike on Wednesday hit a Ukraine-Moldova border crossing in Odesa region, killing two people.

A Russian strike on a shopping centre in Pavlohrad killed at least five people and injured 76, including children, in a city that serves as a supply route to the eastern front. In Dnipro, an attack on the US-owned Bunge sunflower oil plant killed two people and injured five; Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called it part of a systematic campaign against American economic interests. Further strikes hit Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, while Russian officials said Ukrainian drone strikes on Belgorod killed two people. Two Azerbaijani tugboat crew members were also killed in a Russian attack on shipping in Odesa region.

Canada pledged fresh support for Ukraine during a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, including roughly $253m for air defence and drones plus loan guarantees for the energy sector. Amnesty International said Russia is trafficking foreign nationals from countries including Brazil, Colombia, Sri Lanka and South Africa through fake job offers, coercing them into military contracts and using them as "cannon fodder".