Sky News Today with Sam Washington

The broadcast began with US policy on the war in Ukraine. Donald Trump paused further sanctions on Russian oil and gas days before they were due to take effect, citing America's national interest, after announcing a deal with Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel. Tensions with Ukraine intensified, and Ukraine accused the Trump administration of withdrawing key military support. A report described Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels with EU support, with Ukraine needing Patriot interceptor missiles while US stocks were low because of the war against Iran; it noted Trump's criticism of Zelensky, limits on Starlink, and his call for Zelensky to resign. Britain was meanwhile preparing for a possible peacekeeping mission in Ukraine if a ceasefire were reached. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting announced a major exercise in Poland next month involving British, Polish, French and German troops, over 1,500 personnel, logistics and supplies, to support military training and post-war rebuilding. The head of the army, General Sir Roly Walker, told 700 soldiers at Catterick Garrison that the nation would need them and that citizens should be ready to make sacrifices to prioritise defence and security, while political leaders prepared a frank conversation with the nation about preparedness.

The next story focused on the Middle East, where another tanker was attacked off Saudi Arabia and Donald Trump faced pressure to secure vital waterways and stop oil prices soaring. Mark Stone reported from the USS George Washington in the Arabian Sea, within striking distance of Iran and Yemen. Iran was said to be escalating attacks on cargo ships, with fewer commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz. The US Navy's mission was to open and keep open the strait and push Iran back; a US fighter jet from the carrier disabled the engine of a commercial vessel that US Central Command said was trying to leave Iranian waters and break a US blockade, causing no casualties. The carrier operated with a fleet including the destroyer USS Shoup, and an officer said the environment was more dangerous but that training and systems were competent to defend the strike group. The report questioned how sustainable the mission was and described a strategic failure, noting Iran still had ballistic missile capability and could attack commercial ships. A later section showed a weapons resupply on the carrier deck, with munitions flown from a supply ship and empty pallets returned. The blockade aimed to prevent Iranian vessels from leaving the strait while ensuring free flow for other commercial vessels, and Trump had suggested he might restart full-scale operations or bombing of Iran; the Saudis were also asking the Americans to help defend against the Houthis in Yemen. The crew were unsure what mission could come next but said they were prepared.

In Scottish politics, John Swinney was to tell the SNP conference in Aberdeen that the stars were aligning for Scottish independence, after Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered to work with the Scottish government on more devolution while saying power should move from Holyrood to local communities. Burnham offered to devolve employment support powers from the Department for Work and Pensions so local communities could develop their own models, and the SNP highlighted that he did not explicitly rule out a second independence referendum in this Parliament when asked. The report noted the SNP's fifth successive Holyrood election win in May, polling figures showing Burnham on net plus nine in Scotland compared with minus 90 for Swinney, and Swinney's plan to argue that nationalist parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus a pact with Sinn Fein and Plaid Cymru, made this a turning point. Kemi Badenoch accused him of being Russia's useful idiots in trying to break up the UK. Volodymyr Zelensky then posted that Russia had carried out one of its largest attacks on Ukraine's energy sector, targeting more than 15 critical power generation and transmission facilities, with restoration work ongoing; he thanked European partners for new support packages and said Americans needed to see what was really happening, warning that Russia was trying to cause a blackout before winter and that a US sanctions blackout and financial rewards for Putin encouraged attacks. A small plane crash near Glasgow killed a 16-year-old boy and an 80-year-old man; police said it happened near Drmin yesterday afternoon, the air accidents investigation branch had been informed, inquiries were ongoing, and temporary airspace restrictions were in place over the Drmin area. Finally, the White House was looking for a new press secretary after Katie Zachariah lasted less than a week. She had faced criticism over her first press conference and her claim to be a lawyer, and Trump told reporters she should reconsider her post; a report said she took only three questions from right-leaning outlets, there were inquiries into whether a crime had been committed, and questions over whether she had passed the bar exam. Trump blamed the media, while the report asked why he had appointed a candidate from nowhere reportedly without consulting his chief of staff.