Ceasefire Talk Over Energy Strikes, Border Tension Rises

Diplomacy over Ukraine's energy grid dominated the day. Trump said on Truth Social that Kyiv and Moscow had agreed to stop hitting each other's energy infrastructure; Zelensky later confirmed the US had floated a serious proposal and said Ukraine was ready to reciprocate, though neither side had formally confirmed a deal. Chancellor Merz called it part of a likely decisive stretch for Europe. The war's edges stayed sharp: a Russian drone hit a train near Poland's border, prompting an emergency meeting under PM Tusk and a promise from FM Sikorski of a serious response. Ukraine's FM Sybiga meanwhile urged the EU to keep oligarchs like Fridman and Usmanov on its sanctions list rather than ease pressure. At home, prosecutors denied a former attorney general's claim that NABU chief Kryvonos had received a suspicion notice, as a corruption dispute simmers. Zelensky named Colonel Kostiantyn Humeniuk the new head of the Medical Forces. Border traffic shifts too: the Shehyny-Medika crossing bars buses from September 20 for repairs into 2027, while Germany reported nearly 400,000 Ukrainians now employed there, a 39.7 percent rate. The day closed on grim notes: Kyiv doctor Igor Ilyin died of wounds from a September 3 shooting by a patient's husband, and a 44-year-old British pilgrim was found dead near Uman during Rosh Hashanah, with police now investigating a possible murder.