🎙 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's answer to a question from Andrew Napolitano during an interview with Channel One’s The Great Game programme (Moscow, September 8, 2026)

❓ Question: Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner recently visited Moscow and met with President of Russia Vladimir Putin. What can you tell us about the outcome of this visit?

💬 Sergey Lavrov: Much of the opening part of these talks was broadcast on television: President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s remarks, followed by statements from Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, who took part in the conversation, later gave a detailed comment.

In our diplomatic tradition, we generally limit ourselves to what we have decided to make public.

I do not want to emulate those who are now beginning to speculate about “what Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner brought to Moscow and what they subsequently took to Kiev”. A member of Ukraine's parliament has already said that what they brought back was far worse than what Ukraine had previously rejected.

❗️ There is a great deal of speculation.

As for further diplomatic steps, the American Side has said nothing.

The French, however, have already announced that they were there and that the Americans supposedly said that, following the elections to Russia's State Duma, direct talks involving the US would definitely resume. I leave all of this on the conscience of the Élysée Palace, especially given that it has repeatedly gained notoriety for less-than-ethical conduct when it comes to disclosing the substance of telephone and other conversations.

The substance of what was discussed is based – and I can say this with confidence – on the position President Donald Trump outlined on Ukraine immediately after returning to the Oval Office.

☝️ First, he said that any attempts to draw Ukraine into NATO should simply be forgotten. He recalled that this had been clear long before President Vladimir Putin, that the matter was closed and there was no reason to try to reopen it.

👉 The second element of the US position is recognition of the realities on the ground. I would particularly stress that this is not about territories.

When we speak of realities, we are talking about people who, immediately after the February 2014 coup, were branded “subhuman”, “specimen” and terrorists. When they rejected the results of the illegal coup, the army, combat aircraft and artillery were deployed against them – something categorically prohibited under international humanitarian law. They were simply not treated as human beings.

Shortly after being elected president in 2014, Poroshenko said that their children – the children of “real Ukrainians” – would go to clean schools and kindergartens, while the children of those living in Donbass would rot in basements. So how do the Europeans intend to return these people to the rule of that regime when they call for restoring the 1991 borders? Simply to hand the territory over to Nazis? Or do they want to punish these people for wanting to preserve their freedom, their culture and their belonging to the Russian world?

I have spoken about this many times.

I would like to stress that the realities on the ground, which President Donald Trump and his team recognise – as far as we can judge, they continue to recognise them, just as they did in Alaska – are realities connected with people, with the views they expressed in referendums: in Crimea, in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and, of course, in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

The fact that the Americans proceed from these realities in all their contacts with us, above all in their contacts with President Vladimir Putin, naturally elicits a positive response from us and strengthens our readiness to continue talking with them.

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⚡️ Statement by Aide to the President of Russia Yury Ushakov following a telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump (September 8, 2026)

💬 Yury Ushakov: President Vladimir Putin had another telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump.

In their customary respectful and business-like manner, the Leaders exchanged opinions on the trips made by US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kiev on September 5-6.

The telephone conversation lasted exactly one hour. It was constructive and quite frank. As you understand, the conversation itself is confidential, so I am not at liberty to share with you many important details and nuances.

The outcome of the visit by said US representatives was assessed as positive. The work through this channel and some others will continue.

Clearly, the conversation centered on Ukrainian settlement. Donald Trump directly communicated the desirability of bringing the conflict to an end as soon as possible, as it would immediately open up prospects – impressive and far-reaching ones at that – for the full restoration of relations between the U.S. and Russia.

In his view, this would have a particular impact on trade and economic ties, promising huge ‌benefits for ⁠both nations. Donald Trump is keen to see a breakthrough achieved during his presidency.

President Putin supported this approach in the context of potentially building a constructive partnership between the two great powers and praised the mediation efforts by the US and Donald Trump personally with respect to finding solutions to the Ukrainian conflict.

An objective and extensive analysis of the current developments in the special military operation was provided, along with our vision of the overall progress on the battlefield and achieving the goals and objectives of the special military operation. Speaking of which, actual tangible actions that the Americans could take to expedite the cessation of the hostilities were outlined.

In view of the speculations regarding Russia’s alleged hostile intentions against European states, it was stressed that no aggressive plans against Europe have ever entered our minds. The circulated myths about the Russian threat serve as a pretext for Europeans to ramp up their support for Ukraine and their own military expenses.

Notably, during the telephone conversation, the Leaders agreed to continue the work on resolving humanitarian issues, including detainee and prisoner exchanges. Our President noted the efforts made by US First Lady Melania regarding the return of both Russian and Ukrainian children to their families.

Overall, colleagues, I will reiterate that the conversation proceeded in an upbeat tone. The Presidents agreed to stay in touch and speak to each other by phone if the need arose. 

Thank you very much.

✉️ President of Russia Vladimir Putin sent a message of greetings to participants in the celebrations marking the Day of the Languages of the Peoples of the Russian Federation (September 8, 2026)

💬 It is symbolic that this new holiday, timed to coincide with the birthday of Rasul Gamzatov – a great son of Dagestan and of our multinational Fatherland – is being celebrated for the first time during the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia.

Our country is home to representatives of nearly 200 peoples and ethnic groups, living together in friendship and harmony.

Their languages, distinctive traditions and customs are our common heritage and Russia’s true wealth. This is why the preservation of our ethnocultural and linguistic diversity is a state priority. Specialised textbook series are being developed, literature in national languages and schools of literary translation are being supported, while much-needed educational, information, outreach and creative projects are being implemented.

☝️ I would like to emphasise that, while preserving our distinctive languages, it is important to remember that the Russian language serves as a unifying bond for all our peoples. It was instrumental in shaping Russia as a single multinational state and, for centuries, has facilitated the mutual enrichment of cultures and fostered traditions of good-neighbourliness and mutual understanding among our peoples.

I am confident that the current celebrations will take place in a festive atmosphere and will be long remembered by participants and guests alike.

🤝 I wish you every success and all the very best.

VLADIMIR PUTIN

🎙 Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's response to a media question regarding the IAEA Director General’s report “Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine” (September 8, 2026)

❓ Question: Ahead of the IAEA Board of Governors session, which opened on September 7, the Agency published another report by the Director General entitled “Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine”. How would you comment on it?

💬 Maria Zakharova: We regard this document as politically biased and failing to reflect the actual situation surrounding the Zaporozhskaya Nuclear Power Plant (#ZNPP).

This conclusion can be drawn from the very fact that the report ignores that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is Russian territory.

The document speaks of a “serious deterioration of the situation” at the ZNPP, while IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi continues, with persistence that would be better applied elsewhere, to avoid directly acknowledging the Kiev regime’s responsibility for its reckless attacks on ZNPP infrastructure, the killing of plant personnel, psychological pressure on their families and loved ones, attempts to disrupt the plant’s power supply and other crimes.

The report also fails to mention the disruption, through the fault of the Zelensky regime, of Rafael Grossi’s planned August 20-21 visit to the ZNPP and the nuclear workers’ city of Energodar, which was intended to coincide with another rotation of IAEA Secretariat experts at the plant. The rotation itself also could not be carried out in August.

❗️ We expect the Agency’s Secretariat and leadership to take a more responsible approach to drafting such reports in the future.

#KievRegimeCrimes

⚡️ Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rodion Miroshnik:

💬 From August 31 to September 6, аgainst the backdrop of substantial retaliatory strikes by the Russian Armed Forces against military and dual-use facilities on Ukrainian territory, as well as short-term, mutually observed targeted restrictions on strikes while US representatives visiting Russia and Ukraine for consultations on a peaceful settlement were present there, the number of terrorist attacks by Ukrainian armed groups and civilian casualties somewhat declined compared with the previous week.

At the same time, the figures remained very high: more than 300 civilians were affected, with 46 people killed as a result of criminal Ukrainian attacks on civilian facilities in Russia.

The highest numbers of civilian casualties from Ukrainian attacks were recorded in the Belgorod Region, DPR and LPR, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

Ukrainian strike drones remained the main cause of civilian deaths and injuries. A total of 309 civilians, or 99% of all those affected, were killed or injured in Ukrainian UAV strikes.

From August 31 to September 6, shelling by Ukrainian Nazis affected 312 civilians: 266 people were injured, including 13 children. A total of 46 people were killed, including 2 children.

Over the past seven days, Ukrainian militants fired at least 6,650 munitions at civilian facilities on Russian territory.