Romanian prosecutors indict Andrew Tate for trafficking minors, money laundering – Europe live

Russian drone strikes Ukraine's SBU security services HQ, Zelenskyy says, as he orders retaliation

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just reported a Russian drone hit the headquarter of the Security Service of Ukraine, SBU, in central Kyiv.

“I spoke with the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Oleksandr Poklad. Unfortunately, a Russian drone struck the central building of the Security Service of Ukraine on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, across from St. Sophia Cathedral.

All emergency services are on the scene. Everyone affected will receive the necessary assistance.

The drone was aimed directly at the office of the Head of the Security Service in that building.

I instructed Poklad to deliver an appropriate, tangible response and, where possible, one that mirrors this strike, to the Russians once everything is ready. Our military will support this response. Glory to Ukraine!”

Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschkosaid that five people were injured in the attack.

Russian attack on Ukraine's secret service HQ 'a major escalation,' Ukraine's foreign minister says

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has warned that the Russian attack on Ukraine’s Security Service HQ is “a major escalation that demands absolute responses.”

In a statement, he said:

“Moscow launched this strike during a renewed push for peace – laying bare its true rejection of diplomacy. Located nearby, the Unesco world heritage site – St. Sophia Cathedral – was also placed at risk.

We call on international partners to unequivocally condemn these actions and step up pressure on the Putin regime. We also urge Unesco to react decisively and increase its efforts to protect endangered heritage in Ukraine.”

Russian drone strikes Ukraine's SBU security services HQ, Zelenskyy says, as he orders retaliation

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just reported a Russian drone hit the headquarter of the Security Service of Ukraine, SBU, in central Kyiv.

“I spoke with the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Oleksandr Poklad. Unfortunately, a Russian drone struck the central building of the Security Service of Ukraine on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, across from St. Sophia Cathedral.

All emergency services are on the scene. Everyone affected will receive the necessary assistance.

The drone was aimed directly at the office of the Head of the Security Service in that building.

I instructed Poklad to deliver an appropriate, tangible response and, where possible, one that mirrors this strike, to the Russians once everything is ready. Our military will support this response. Glory to Ukraine!”

Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschkosaid that five people were injured in the attack.

Some more comments from the EU’s enlargement commissioner Marta Kos on Ratko Mladić and his planned funeral in Serbia (see earlier post at 12:14).

She said the next few days “will be a very important test”, with the convicted war criminal’s funeral expected to take place on Monday while a military commemoration ceremony is planned for tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters at the informal meeting of European affairs ministers in Dublin, Ireland, she said the handling of Mladić’s funeral would be taken into account when assessing Serbia’s alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy, a key requirement for EU membership.

Bardella vows to stop France being a ‘gateway’ for small boats to UK

In the UK, Jordan Bardella, the president of the French far-right, anti-immigration National Rally and member of the European Parliament, is at the Reform UK conference, where he has delivered a speech.

He said that if his party wins the next French general election, France will no longer be a route for migrants seeking to reach the UK, a remark that was met with rapturous applause.

“Dear friends here in Birmingham, I make you this promise. If the French people bring us to power in 2027 in a few months, with the Rassemblement National [National Rally] and Marine le Pen, our government will do everything in its power to ensure that France is no longer the gateway for illegal migration into the United Kingdom,” he said.

My colleague Andrew Sparrow has more on Bardella’s speech:

There is laughter in the room as Jordan Bardella describes the historical relationship between France and its neighbour as “turbulent”, which is somewhat the understatement. He describes, however, “a true friendship” between the two peoples at the most decisive moment of history, which draws warm applause.

For more updates, follow our UK politics blog here:

Serbians targeted with spyware in country’s ‘largest documented wave of surveillance’

Aisha Down

Global technology reporter

Meanwhile, it emerged that at least 14 people from across Serbian civil society were targeted with advanced spyware earlier this year in what the digital rights group Share Foundation said was the largest documented wave of such infection in Serbia to date.

The wave of spyware infections was discovered in August after Apple notified people in 110 countries that they had probably been victims of mercenary spyware.

The Citizen Lab, which carries out forensic analyses of spyware attacks, released an analysis on Wednesday showing that at least one of the Serbians had been targeted with the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, which would have given the attacker “total access to the device”.

Share said those targeted included members of a Serbian student movement that has been a thorn in the side of the government of Aleksandar Vučić since 2024. Coalescing out of countrywide protests that followed the collapse of a train station that winter, it is one of the largest student movements in Europe.

Vučić has been in power for more than a decade, during which time critics have said he has overseen a hollowing-out of institutions while steering the country closer to Moscow.

There is no evidence that Vučić’s government was the entity that targeted the student with the Pegasus spyware. However, other spyware used against the students, including a software called NoviSpy, has been previously connected to Serbian authorities.

EU enlargement commissioner calls off Serbia visit over Mladić's 'glorification'

EU’s enlargement commissioner Marta Kos has called off her planned visit to Serbia in protest at what she called “the glorification surrounding the death” of Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladić.

Mladić, who died last week while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, will be commemorated at a public event in Belgrade on Saturday afternoon before his burial on Monday.

Upon landing in Belgrade last night, Mladić’s coffin was wrapped in the national flag and Serbian army soldiers carried his body from the plane to a van for transport to the military hospital, AP reported.

In a strongly worded statement, Kos, a Slovenian diplomat and politician, said:

“Ratko Mladić was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The return of his remains to Belgrade reminds Europe of the darkest pages in our recent history.

The glorification surrounding his death is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built. That path requires confronting the past, genuine reconciliation and respecting the victims of war crimes.

The values that underpin our common future are not negotiable. In this context, I have decided not to proceed with my planned visit to Serbia at this time.”

Minorities fear first far-right win in German state election

Ashifa Kassam

in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt

Polls have suggested that the election on Sunday could yield Germany’s first-ever state government led by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), shattering a postwar taboo and leaving minorities’ fate in the hands of a party that has promised to launch deportations “from day one”.

Polls suggest the state’s AfD, whose antisemitic, anti-Islam and anti-migrant discourse has contributed to authorities classifying the party as “firmly rightwing extremist”, is poised to win the most votes.

A strong showing in the election could allow it to govern Saxony-Anhalt, turning the eastern state into Germany’s first testing ground for the AfD’s long-running hostility towards migrants, including refugees, Muslims and the LGBTQ+ community.

As the Bible study session wrapped up, leaving worshippers to mingle over cake and coffee, Fatemeh, 44, fought back tears as the conversation turned to Sunday’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt.

“I worry about it every day,” she said. “I can’t stop thinking about my son and what might happen to us.”

Germany investigates new grid sabotage attempt, days from crucial state election

In other news from Germany, the country is investigating another attempt to short-circuit an electricity grid transformer south of Düsseldorf, after two similar incidents earlier this week.

Police received a letter claiming responsibility for the incident in Dormagen as well as vandalism at a substation in nearby Bergheim that took 4,200 megawatts in generating capacity offline on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The latest incident comes just days before a closely watched election takes place in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) could win power for the first time.

Germany’s interior ministry said it was “no coincidence” that such “hybrid attacks” were happening on the eve of the election.

Volkswagen to cut further 50,000 jobs as it ends row with union over revival plan

Patrick Daly, Lisa O’CarrollandMark Sweney

The car company Volkswagen has approved controversial plans to shed 100,000 jobs in a battle for survival as it faces fierce competition from Chinese rivals.

After the latest round of talks this week, the company announced a further 50,000 job cuts and agreed a staggered end to current production at four German plants: Emden, Zwickau, Hanover and the Audi site in Neckarsulm between 2031 to 2034. There are no specific plans beyond that.

The agreement came as a surprise after a meeting of shareholders, unions, and state representatives on the supervisory board in what was seen as a considerable test for the German carmaker’s chief executive, Oliver Blume.

He had gone as far as to arrange an emergency meeting if the package was rejected in preparation for a potential showdown with unions.

“This is a strong signal for the future,” said Blume, who now has a mandate for what the company previously called the “most strategically profound transformation programme” in the history of the VW group.

He was booed last month by staff during a tour of the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, northern Germany, as part of a dialogue about the need to address the company’s financial challenges.

IG Metall, the company’s biggest staff union and representative on the supervisory board, said concessions had been made on both sides to avert “a dangerous escalation of the conflict”.

Chief among these was a stay of execution for four plants threatened with closure in exchange for an agreement on staff reductions. The deal includes a sweeping cost-cutting plan to cut a further 50,000 positions by 2030, bringing the total job losses in the pipeline to 100,000.

Meloni marks milestone as her government becomes longest-serving in history, surpassing Berlusconi's record

Angela Giuffrida

in Rome

Giorgia Meloni is celebrating her government becoming the longest-serving since the history of the Italian Republic, although she cautioned that “stability is not a record to flaunt”.

Meloni, leader of the far-right Brother of Italy, and her coalition allies will mark the milestone with a festival-style rally in the southern Italian city of Bari on Friday. About 10,000 people will be bussed in from across Italy and Meloni will deliver a speech, essentially launching her campaign ahead of general elections next year.

In a message on social media, Meloni said she welcomed the longevity record “with gratitude and a strong sense of responsibility”.

She added:

“Because stability is not a record to flaunt, but a condition that enables a nation to plan, make decisions, keep its commitments and command respect.”

Meloni came to power in October 2022, becoming Italy’s first female prime minister. Her government has so far lasted 1,413 days – beating by a day the late Silvio Berlusconi’s second administration between June 2021 and April 2005.

Her government has been buoyed by a strong parliamentary majoritywhile Meloni has earned respect overseas after jettisoning her previous hardline rhetoric in favour of cultivating a more moderate, pragmatic image. Still, some of her domestic policies, such as restricting LGBTQ+ rights and vigorously expanding law and order regulations, show her old instincts remain.

But she is now being challenged on the far-right by a former army general, Roberto Vannacci, who in the space of a few months has drawn defectors from all three of the main ruling coalition parties, as well a significant portion of their electorate.

Stability is a major achievement, especially in a country like Italy where governments easily collapse, but with internal infighting beneath the surface, Meloni’s passage towards a second mandate is much less guaranteed than it was a few months ago.

Romanian lawyer for the Tates say will examine indictment, clients reject allegations

A Romanian lawyer for the Tate brothers responded to the latest move by the Romanian prosecutors (10:38).

“We will examine every aspect of (the indictment) with the same level of scrutiny and we will challenge any evidential, procedural or legal deficiencies through the appropriate judicial process,” a Romanian lawyer for the Tates, Eugen Vidineac, said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

“Our clients continue to reject the allegations against them.“

US negotiators could visit Ukraine on 6 September - reports

Discussions on US negotiators going to Ukraine are ongoing, and the teams have spoken about 6 September as a possible date, a source familiar with the matter said, as reported by Reuters.

Russian news agency TASS reported earlier that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would visit Russia and Ukraine on Saturday and Sunday.

Air Tanzania suspends flights to Moscow amid Ukrainian warnings

Back to Ukraine and Russia, Air Tanzania is the first airline to suspend flights to Moscow, attributing the decision to “a routine risk assessment of the operating environment along the route.”

In a post on Facebook, the airline said it was “temporarily” suspending flights to Moscow, insisting that “safety considerations always take precedence over commercial ones.”

The move comes after repeated warning from Ukraine that Russian airspace is becoming unsafe for commercial airlines because of increased military activity, with Kyiv formally notifying the International Civil Aviation Organization of its concerns.

A rapid escalation of Ukrainian military capability in the past few months has allowed Ukraine’s forces to strike at targets around Moscow, St Petersburg and other locations deep inside Russia.

Today’s announcement regarding the Tate brothers is the latest in a series of developments in their legal cases in Romania.

Romanian investigative journalist Andrei Popoviciu wrote for the Guardian last year that “how we handle [Tate] will reveal what kind of country we really are.”

“If Romania’s justice system wants to maintain any credibility, it must remain independent – not just from Washington, but from any external or political influence. Judges, prosecutors and lawmakers must take the allegations against the Tates seriously, and the government must be independent, not least for the sake of the Tates’ alleged victims.”

For what it’s worth, the brothers have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Romanian prosecutors indict British man identified as Andrew Tate for number of alleged crimes

A British man – identified by local media as controversial manosphere influencer Andrew Tate – was formally indicted by Romanian authorities on Friday for a number of alleged crimes, including trafficking minors, money laundering, and sexual offences.

His older brother – identified by media as Tristan Tate – was also indicted for alleged complicity and seeking to pervert the course of justice.

A press release issued by DIICOT, Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, outlines a number of alleged offences including alleged sexual exploitation of a minor who was moved to Luton, UK, for the purposes of online pornography.

The press release also includes allegations of attempts to pervert the course of justice by seeking to stop another victim from reporting it to the police.

The two men are not named in the press release, but the authorities said it was part of an investigation into two British citizens, aged 38 and 39 and members of the same family. National news agency Agerpress, Antena3 and Digi24 all identified them as the Tate brothers.

As part of the investigation, the prosecutors also requested that four of their luxury cars – worth €825,000 – are confiscated as part of the probe.

The Tate brothers also face separate proceedings in the US and in the UK.

Morning opening: Russia keeps targeting Ukraine's energy facilities

Jakub Krupa

Russia keeps targeting Ukraine’s energy facilities in its latest round of overnight attacks, part of an ongoing attempt to cripple the country’s power grid ahead of winter.

Odesa region governor Oleh Kiper said that one was died and at least five were injured in the attack.

Over the last few days, strikes continued to hit the capital city of Kyiv as Russia seeks to disrupt daily life by adding daytime attacks to regular night-time attacks.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last night that he was preparing to hold further talks with US negotiators in the coming weeks, with tentative dates set for their much-anticipated visit to Kyiv.

I will bring you all the updates on this today.

Separately, Germany braces for the Saxony-Anhalt state election on Sunday, which could see the far-right Alternative für Deutschland in power for the first time since the second world war. Over in Italy, Giorgia Meloni celebrates her record as longest-serving government in the country’s post-war history.

It’s Friday, 4 September 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.