At the Yaroslavl Shipbuilding Plant in Saint Petersburg, modern Russian naval tugboat Kapitan Ushakov capsized and partially sank alongside the Baltic Shipyard’s pier. The event caused flooding in the auxiliary machinery spaces, the Russian Western Interregional Investigative Directorate for Transport reports. 

According to the agency, no injuries were reported. However, the extent of the damage is still being assessed. The agency is investigating potential safety violations during the construction work.

The tugboat was launched on 14 June 2022, but it was under final construction and outfitting for another three years in Saint Petersburg. It is designed for towing ships in icy and open waters, escort operations, firefighting at sea, and refloating grounded vessels.

It measures nearly 70 meters in length, 15 meters in width, and 3,200 tons in displacement. The tug can sail up to 3,000 nautical miles with a 30-day autonomy and features a helipad.

Earlier, Russia canceled its main naval parade of the year in Saint Petersburg. The parade cancellation might have been linked to the military leadership’s fears due to real losses suffered by the fleet. An event meant to demonstrate Russia’s power risked having the opposite effect, causing discouragement and fear.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) confirmed on 9 August that its long-range drones struck a Shahed storage facility in Russia’s Tatarstan republic, destroying ready-to-use attack drones and foreign drone components 1,300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. 

The strike targets Russia’s expanding drone production network that now manufactures over 5,000 Shaheds monthly and launches nightly swarms of 100+ drones to build reserves before unleashing massive coordinated attacks of 500+ drones against Ukrainian cities. 

Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan is home to the main production facilities for Shahed drones used by Russia. The largest factory is located near the city of Yelabuga, specifically within the Alabuga Special Economic Zone.

According to Dnipro OSINT, the strike was carried out using a Liutyi drone. This drone has carried out accurate strikes on Russian oil refineries as far as 800km into Russian territory. Ukrainian sources report that the Liutyi accounts for up to 80% of precision hits on Russian oil refineries.

Ukraine’s systematic campaign against Russian drone network

“The Security Service continues its consistent work on demilitarizing Russian military facilities deep in the enemy’s rear. Storage warehouses for ‘Shaheds’, which the enemy uses to terrorize Ukraine every night, are one of the legitimate military targets,” the SBU stated.

The agency adds that each such successful special operation reduces Russia’s ability to wage a war of aggression against Ukraine. 

This strike continues Ukraine’s systematic targeting of Russia’s drone production network throughout 2025, striking warhead labs, antenna plants, and control system factories deep inside the country. 

In recent months, Russia has adopted a new strategy of launching 100+ Shahed drones per night for one or two nights while producing even more daily to build up reserves. 

Once stockpiles are sufficient, they unleash massive waves of over 500 drones in a single night, combining Shaheds with decoy Gerber drones designed to overwhelm air defenses and target multiple cities simultaneously.

The August 9 operation follows previous Ukrainian strikes on Shahed infrastructure, including January strikes that destroyed over 200 Shahed drones in storage facilities in Russia’s Oryol Oblast and attacks on the Yelabuga industrial zone, which houses Russia’s largest known Shahed production facility.

Russia has launched thousands of Iranian-designed Shahed drones against Ukraine since fall 2022. Western media reports each Shahed-136 drone costs as low as $20,000, making them cost-effective weapons for mass attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and cities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rejected US President Donald Trump’s proposal to exchange part of Ukraine’s territory in return for peace. Trump’s suggestion, which did not specify which areas might be swapped, struck a nerve with many Ukrainians, The New York Times reports.

Zelenskyy’s direct refusal risks angering, who has made brokering a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow one of the central goals of his foreign policy, even if the deal would disadvantage Ukraine.

“Peace as trap”: Ukraine may face pressure from US and Russia to accept Kremlin’s demands, says diplomat

This could leave Ukraine vulnarable to concessions it may need to make amid Kyiv’s dependency on Western aid and weapons in the struggle against Russia. 

Trump pushes for concessions

Trump has previously accused Ukraine of making excessively tough demands for a ceasefire. This time, he stated that some territories would need to be swapped and returned. There will be an exchange of territories for the benefit of both sides, he said. His vague comments sparked widespread outrage among Ukrainians.

Ukraine refuses to give up land

Zelenskyy’s stance reflects the overwhelming sentiment in Ukrainian society: territorial concessions are unacceptable. A Kyiv International Institute of Sociology poll found that over half of Ukrainians believe the country should not cede any land “even if this makes the war last longer and threatens the preservation of independence.”

Military experts warn that such a deal would mean abandoning a key fortified defensive line in northern Donetsk Oblast, between Sloviansk and Kostiantynivka, which has so far held back Russian advances.

Peace talks in Alaska and Moscow’s advantage

Trump has agreed to hold peace talks next Friday in Alaska. For now, Moscow’s approach, not Kyiv’s, appears to have the upper hand on the diplomatic front.

Ukraine has begun using the Czechoslovak Z-137 AgroTurbo to intercept Russian drones in its ongoing air defense campaign. Militarnyi reports that the agricultural aircraft has been modified with air-to-air missiles and is now working in coordination with radar teams to protect Ukrainian skies.

This comes amid Russia’s daily drone and missile attacks, targeting Ukrainian cities.

Guided from the ground, the light aircraft adapted for combat

Local residents recently filmed a modernized Czechoslovak Z-137 AgroTurbo flying with two short-range R-73 missiles mounted under its wings. The single-engine turboprop, originally designed for cropdusting, has been repurposed for air defense missions. Its tail now carries two white cross stripes, a marking typical of army aviation, Militarnyi notes.

Missile system allows flexible deployment

Militarnyi says that the R-73 missile does not require complex radar integration. It uses an infrared homing system to lock onto a heat-emitting target on launch. The conversion requires only a power feed and a launch command link to the pylon. Once fired, the missile’s seeker head automatically tracks its target.

According to Militarnyi, pilots of the modified Z-137 can receive target updates from officers at combat control points who have access to ground-based radar data. These controllers can direct the aircraft’s heading and altitude to position it for interception.

Designed for low-speed interceptions

The Z-137 AgroTurbo can reach speeds of 200–250 km/h. Militarnyi reports that this makes it suitable for engaging Russian Shahed drones and short-range reconnaissance UAVs. Using such turboprops allows the Air Force to conserve faster fighter jets for higher-priority missions.

Part of a growing light aviation program

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi previously confirmed that light aircraft are now in service for counter-drone operations. He said the projects are funded with foreign partner support and will be expanded. The military is also receiving modern light aircraft equipped with advanced weapons and navigation systems to increase the effectiveness of countering Russian drones.

In June, Ukraine had received its first light aircraft configured for electronic reconnaissance and warfare against Shahed-type drones. The Czechoslovak Z-137 AgroTurbo’s new role adds to this growing network of non-traditional aerial defense assets.

Kyiv is working to resolve a humanitarian crisis near the Georgian border, which the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry says was deliberately designed by Russia. Ukrainian citizens ended their hunger strike after meeting with Ukrainian representatives at the Dariali crossing, but 96 people are still remain trapped at the facility without food, shelter, and medical support.

“Our state is ready to take its people directly, rather than via Georgia and Moldova,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry states.

Russia is ignoring Kyiv’s request, which indicates Moscow’s desire to deliberately create a humanitarian crisis on the Russian-Georgian border, authorities say. 

96 Ukrainians trapped in border limbo

This systematic campaign has resulted in 96 Ukrainians being stranded in a buffer zone at the Dariali checkpoint. Desperation mounted as some deportees announced a hunger strike on 5 August, demanding permission to cross into Georgia after being held in cramped conditions.

Many deportees are former prisoners with criminal backgrounds, creating legitimate security concerns for Georgian authorities while leaving the individuals trapped without legal status.

Ukrainian diplomacy breaks immediate crisis

A representative of the deported Ukrainian citizens “expressed gratitude to the diplomatic mission for efforts to resolve the humanitarian crisis artificially created by the Russian side,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry reported after the hunger strike ended.

Ukraine successfully evacuated 44 citizens from the border zone since late June, but Russian deportations continue outpacing rescue efforts as Moscow maintains pressure on regional cooperation mechanisms.

Russia’s systematic pressure operation

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry notes that most deportees are “people who have previously been brought to criminal responsibility,” including those who served sentences in occupied Ukrainian territories and were forcibly transferred to Russian facilities, as well as Ukrainian citizens convicted of crimes within Russia.

The crisis intensified when Moldova temporarily suspended transit for this category of deportees, eliminating the main evacuation route and leaving more people stranded at Dariali with no clear path home.

Georgian authorities have expressed willingness to transport the deportees to Tbilisi Airport, but only after Moldova confirms readiness to receive them as transit passengers, according to reports. 

Ukraine’s deep strikes are becoming more destructive. The main reason, it seems, is the combination of a largely German-funded attack drone—and the powerful warhead, or warheads, it can carry.

As recently as last year, the Ukrainian military and its supporting agencies—in particular, the state security service, or SBU—struggled to make an impact with long-range drones. “More than half of the recorded strikes between September and February had limited impact,” Ukrainian analysis group Frontelligence Insight concluded in a March study.

But that’s changing as more and better drones with bigger and better-designed warheads strike more frequently many hundreds of kilometers inside Russia.

Tatarigami, Frontelligence Insight’s founder, recently sensed the change. “Based on an early look at several dozen hits over the past two weeks, both the success rate and damage from Ukrainian long-range drones have gone up compared to late 2024 [to] early 2025,” he wrote. “I haven’t put together the data set yet, but even at a glance, the results already look different.”

In recent weeks, Ukrainian drones have hit Russian airfields—destroying several warplanes and helicopters—while also blowing up key components of the refinery in Novokuibyshevsk, which accounts for around 3% of annual refining in Russia.

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One Ukrainian drone keeps smashing Russia’s top war factories—so Germany’s paying for 500 more

Thanks in large part to German largess, Ukrainian firm Ukroboronprom is building hundreds more of its best An-196 Liutyi attack drones than it had planned earlier this year.

According to German newspaper Die Welt, the government of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is providing around $100 million to pay for 500 of the propeller-driven, satellite-guided Liutyi drones. A Liutyi carries an approximately 50-kg warhead farther than 800 km. The $200,000 drone can follow a complex flight path and change altitude in order to avoid Russian air-defenses. 

Early Liutyi models may have had comparatively simple and light warheads. “One contributing factor” in the limited effectiveness of drone strikes in 2024 and early 2025, Frontelligence Insight concluded, “is the relatively small warhead size of certain Ukrainian drones, such as the Liutyi.”

For comparison, a Russian Shahed drone carries a 90-kg warhead.

It’s possible Ukroboronprom has been improving and enlarging the warhead on the An-196. Roy, a Canadian drone expert, recently observed a 60-kg OFB-60 warhead apparently recovered from the wreck of a crashed Liutyi. “The 60-kg high-explosive shaped-charge munition has a concave metal face for forming an … explosively formed projectile” that can punch through metal, Roy noted.

Warhead options

It’s not clear that all Liutyi drones have the 60-kg shaped-charge warhead. The drones are often described as carrying just 50 kg of explosives. It’s actually possible the drones can carry even bigger payloads. Missile expert Fabian Hoffman even claimed some An-196s are now packing 75-kg warheads.

A bigger warhead comes at a cost, however. “Given the long distances these [Ukrainian] drones must travel, increasing their warhead size would require adjustments to weight, fuel capacity and overall design,” Frontelligence assessed. In short, there’s a direct tradeoff. A bigger warhead means more destruction but a shorter range.

The reported recent development of a Liutyi model capable of traveling 2,000 km may imply some of the drones are carrying lighter warheads rather than heavier ones—trading away explosive payload in order to add fuel capacity.

So when Tatarigami senses Ukrainian drone strikes are becoming more destructive, there may be caveats. The most destructive raids might be the one striking closest to the Ukrainian border. Yes, a few An-196s or other drone types may range 2,000 km into Russia. But the ones dealing the real damage—potentially with the most powerful shaped-charge warheads—are probably hitting targets no more than 800 km from Ukraine.

Not coincidentally, SBU drones pummeled Saky air base in Russian-occupied Crimea on 3 August, reportedly destroying one Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet and damaging another—and also damaging three Sukhoi Su-24 bombers. Saky is fewer than 300 km from the front line in southern Ukraine.

That’s well within range of a harder-hitting Liutyi drone.

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Putin built concrete castles for his bombers—Ukraine’s drones burned them down

Russia launched two Iskander-K missiles and 47 drones overnight, hitting multiple cities and towns in the morning. The Russian strikes left one person dead and four others injured across Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, damaging homes, businesses, and power lines.

Missile strike hits Dnipro at dawn

Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration Serhii Lysak said Russian forces struck Dnipro with two Iskander-K missiles from occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast early on 9 August. One missile was intercepted, but the other hit an industrial site.

Three civilians — a 41-year-old woman and two men aged 21 and 29 — were hospitalized in moderate condition. The blast destroyed vehicles, damaged a disused building, and set parts of the facility on fire.

Civilian killed in Nikopol artillery strike

Lysak reported that Russian artillery and drones continued attacking Nikopol, Myrivska, Marhanetska, and Pokrovska communities through the night.

In Nikopol, artillery fire killed a 56-year-old woman when her home collapsed. Rescue workers recovered her body from the rubble. A 62-year-old man was seriously injured and taken to hospital.

Six more houses were damaged, one was partially destroyed, and two farm buildings and a power line were hit. In Myrivska community, an FPV drone strike on 8 August set a farm building ablaze and damaged a car.

Attacks also targeted Mezhivska community in Synelnykove district. Lysak said drones struck both a detached house and an apartment building, sparking fires that emergency crews later contained.

Kharkiv Oblast

In Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast, the head of the Balakliia City Military Administration, Vitalii Karabanov, said Russian drones struck the city center, damaging residential and nonresidential buildings and igniting a fire.

Suspilne reported that a series of explosions occurred in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, overnight.

Strikes hit multiple oblasts overnight

Ukraine’s Air Force reported that air defenses intercepted 16 of the 47 Shahed-type and decoy drones launched from Russia’s Kursk, Millerovo, and Shatalovo areas, along with one of the two Iskander-K missiles from occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

“As of 09:00, air defenses shot down or suppressed an Iskander-K cruise missile, 16 enemy Shahed-type drones, and various types of decoy drones in the north and east of the country. Hits from 31 drones were recorded at 15 locations,” the report reads.

Ongoing attacks despite Kremlin’s ceasefire talk

The Institute for the Study of War noted that Russia’s continued strikes on major Ukrainian cities show the Kremlin’s lack of interest in good-faith negotiations. T

Canada joins EU and UK to lower the Russian oil price cap to $47.60 in a move aimed at cutting Kremlin revenues while avoiding shocks to global markets. The change, due in early September, leaves Japan and the US as the only G7 members not adopting the reduced limit.

Canada aligns with European allies on oil sanctions

On 8 August, the Department of Finance of Canada confirmed Ottawa will match the European Union and United Kingdom in reducing the price cap on seaborne Russian-origin crude oil from $60 to $47.60 per barrel. The measure is part of the G7-led sanctions mechanism introduced in December 2022 to restrict Moscow’s war funding. The coalition also includes Australia and New Zealand.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the cut would increase economic pressure on Russia and limit a crucial source of funding for its war in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Anita Anand stressed Canada’s commitment to applying sustained pressure on Moscow. Kyiv has pressed for an even lower $30 limit.

Japan and US not joining the cut

Most G7 members will introduce the lower cap in September. Japan and the US have not signed on, but Canada remains part of the Price Cap Coalition and may follow future reductions agreed within the group.

Ukraine is working to resolve a humanitarian crisis reportedly designed by Russia near the Georgian border, after Moscow intensified deportations of Ukrainian citizens in what Kyiv calls a systematic pressure campaign against neighboring countries.

The Georgia border crisis represents how Russia weaponizes individual Ukrainian suffering to destabilize regional cooperation, creating impossible choices for neighboring countries between humanitarian obligations and security concerns.

Ukrainian deportees stranded at the Russia-Georgia border ended their 3-day hunger strike on August 8 after Ukrainian Embassy representatives gained access to the checkpoint, but 96 people remain trapped in basement conditions at the Dariali crossing as Russia’s broader strategy continues.

“Our state is ready to take its people directly, rather than via Georgia and Moldova,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry stated. “The Russian Federation is ignoring this request, which indicates Moscow’s desire to deliberately create a humanitarian crisis on the Russian-Georgian border.”

Since mid-June, Russia has significantly escalated the deportation of Ukrainian citizens — primarily former prisoners who served sentences in occupied Ukrainian territories and were forcibly transferred to Russian detention facilities, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Moscow then deports these individuals through the Georgia border rather than allowing direct repatriation to Ukraine, creating complications for regional cooperation. The operation transforms individual Ukrainian citizens into pressure tools against Georgia’s sovereignty and Ukraine’s diplomatic relationships.

96 Ukrainians trapped in border limbo

This systematic campaign has resulted in 96 Ukrainians being stranded in a buffer zone at the Dariali checkpoint. People are being held with inadequate shelter, food, medical care, and legal support in basement conditions designed for much smaller numbers.

Desperation mounted as some deportees announced a hunger strike on August 5, demanding permission to cross into Georgia after being held in cramped conditions since mid-June.

Meanwhile, entry into Georgia is largely denied due to concerns over security and documentation. Many deportees are former prisoners with criminal backgrounds, creating legitimate security concerns for Georgian authorities while leaving the individuals trapped without legal status.

Deportation operations intensify at Georgia crossing

Since mid-June, Russia has significantly intensified deportations across the Georgia border.. While Ukraine successfully evacuated 44 citizens since late June, 96 remain stranded as Russian deportations continue.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted this “may indicate a deliberate Russian operation” designed to overwhelm Georgia’s capacity to handle deportees.

The crisis intensified in July when Moldova temporarily suspended transit for this category of deportees, leaving more people stranded at the Dariali checkpoint with no clear exit route to Ukraine.

Ukrainian diplomacy breaks immediate crisis

Ukrainian Embassy intervention ended the hunger strike on August 8 after consular representatives gained access to the stranded deportees. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed that diplomatic contact provided temporary relief from the protest.

A representative of the deported Ukrainian citizens “expressed gratitude to the diplomatic mission for efforts to resolve the humanitarian crisis artificially created by the Russian side,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry reported after the hunger strike ended.

Ukraine successfully evacuated 44 citizens from the border zone since late June, but Russian deportations continue outpacing rescue efforts as Moscow maintains pressure on regional cooperation mechanisms.

Russia’s systematic pressure operation

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted that most deportees are “people who have previously been brought to criminal responsibility,” including those who served sentences in occupied Ukrainian territories and were forcibly transferred to Russian facilities, as well as Ukrainian citizens convicted of crimes within Russia.

According to the Foreign Ministry, rather than allowing direct repatriation across the Russia-Ukraine border, Moscow deliberately routes deportees through Georgia to create complications for both countries. This forces Georgia to choose between humanitarian obligations and legitimate security concerns while straining Ukraine’s diplomatic resources.

The crisis intensified when Moldova temporarily suspended transit for this category of deportees, eliminating the main evacuation route and leaving more people stranded at Dariali with no clear path home.

Regional cooperation under Russian pressure

Georgian authorities have expressed willingness to transport deportees to Tbilisi Airport, but only after Moldova confirms readiness to receive them as transit passengers, according to the MFA. This dependency on third-party coordination demonstrates how Russia’s strategy complicates regional cooperation.

The Dariali crossing represents the only viable exit route for Ukrainians deported from Russia, making Georgia’s cooperation essential while placing the country in an impossible position between humanitarian duties and security concerns.

Ukraine continues working with international organizations including the Red Cross, UNHCR, and International Organization for Migration to address the crisis, but Russia’s systematic approach suggests pressure will continue as Moscow weaponizes human suffering for strategic advantage.

Romania is investigating Russia over chlorine-tainted Azerbaijani oil after refinery testing revealed contamination that could have caused severe equipment damage and major fuel shortages. G4Media reports, citing official sources, that the suspected sabotage has disrupted shipments, triggered an official crisis declaration, and raised alarm in Italy and Czechia.

Romania probes suspected Russian sabotage of oil supply

According to G4Media’s official sources, Romanian authorities are examining whether Russia deliberately contaminated Azerbaijani crude intended for OMV Petrom’s Petrobrazi refinery. The oil, transported through the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline and shipped onward to Romania, was found to contain chlorine levels high enough to corrode refinery systems. Officials believe such damage could have led to prolonged shutdowns and serious disruption of the country’s fuel supply.

Contamination reaches other European countries

G4Media notes that part of the chlorine-tainted Azerbaijani oil had already reached Italy, where energy company Eni confirmed contamination in one of its refineries, according to Reuters. The Czech company Orlen Unipetrol, which was also due to process the batch, halted all operations involving the shipment.

Sources cited by G4Media say the contamination could have been carried out through a relatively simple sabotage operation along the 1,770 km pipeline route. The suspected method involved injecting several tankloads of chlorine into the crude stream during transit, a step that could have been executed without major technical obstacles.

Wider European energy risks

The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline operator BTC Co., managed by BP, acknowledged being informed of possible quality issues linked to organic chlorides in some loads of its crude mix. BTC Co. stated it is assessing oil quality at all facilities along the route. Organic chlorides are sometimes used in oil extraction but must be removed before pipeline transport, as they can cause severe corrosion to refinery equipment.

Similar contamination incidents have had serious market impacts in the past. In 2019, Russian oil exports via the Druzhba pipeline were halted after high levels of chlorides were detected, forcing buyers to seek alternative supplies at short notice.

Strategic response and ongoing investigation

Romania’s emergency release of fuel stocks is intended to cover domestic demand until uncontaminated shipments arrive. G4Media reports that swift action by the Ministry of Energy helped avert immediate shortages, but concerns remain over the spread of contaminated crude in storage tanks and processing units across Europe.

Senior officials from the US, Ukraine, and several European countries will meet this weekend in a high-stakes UK meeting to coordinate positions before President Trump’s planned talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Axios reported on 8 August. Diplomats are working to align strategies and prevent any agreement that could cement Russian territorial gains in Ukraine.

Allies push for unity before Trump-Putin summit

Axios said the weekend gathering was arranged after a series of conference calls between US, Ukrainian, and European officials, the third in as many days. The idea for an in-person meeting in the UK came up during a call on Friday, 8 August. Discussions will focus on producing a common stance that could shape Trump’s approach when he meets Putin.

According to Axios, the urgency stems from concerns among Ukraine and NATO allies that Trump might accept Kremlin proposals without fully taking their positions into account. The Kremlin’s reported offer would freeze Russian control over occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as well as areas of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts Russia has held since the invasion.

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Trump’s Russia deadline expires without sanctions — now he’s flying Putin to Alaska for “peace” talks

Confusion over Russian proposal

Axios cited two sources saying that during a call on 6 August, White House envoy Steve Witkoff briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders on his meeting with Putin in Moscow. The initial impression among some participants was that Putin might drop his claim to partially occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, a shift from earlier Russian demands.

However, Axios said that in a follow-up video call the next day, Witkoff clarified that Putin had agreed only to freeze positions in those oblasts, leaving large portions under Russian occupation. Ukrainian officials remain unsure about the exact details of the Kremlin’s terms and the US position. One

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ISW: Give up your fortress belt shield, take nothing in return—Putin’s ceasefire pitch to Ukraine

Stakes for Ukraine’s security

Trump announced that he will meet with Putin in Alaska on 15 August. The US President claimed the sides are “getting very close” to a deal. He has spoken of “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both countries” and suggested returning some occupied areas to Ukraine. According to Trump, Zelenskyy is preparing a legal arrangement that would allow him “to sign something” without violating Ukrainian law.

Western officials cited by Axios view the UK meeting as an opportunity to present a united message to Trump before his high-profile summit with Putin. The White House has declined to comment on the planned ally meeting.

The Ukrainian president has predictably rejected Trump-Putin’s plan to cede territory to Russia, calling any such move unconstitutional and unacceptable. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine will not give land to the occupier in exchange for a ceasefire, stressing that its borders are already defined in the Constitution and cannot be altered.

Zelenskyy rules out territorial concessions in peace talks

In his 9 August morning video address, Zelenskyy said the answer to Ukraine’s territorial question is already in the Constitution.

“No one will retreat from this and no one can. Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,” he stated.

He described any settlement reached without Ukraine’s participation as a “dead decision” that would never work, warning that real and lasting peace must be respected by all parties.

The President said Ukraine is ready to work with US President Donald Trump and international partners to secure agreements that will hold over time.

“We are ready together with President Trump, together with all partners, to work for real, and most importantly, lasting peace – peace that will not fall apart because of Moscow’s wishes,” he noted.

According to earlier reports, the Kremlin’s proposal would see Ukraine cede unoccupied, strategically important areas of Donetsk Oblast to Russia while freezing the frontline elsewhere. Analysts assess that such a move would leave Kyiv in a weaker defensive position and give Moscow a better launch point for future offensives.

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ISW: Give up your fortress belt shield, take nothing in return—Putin’s ceasefire pitch to Ukraine

Kremlin officials are reportedly demanding that Ukraine surrender the Ukrainian “fortress belt” in Donetsk Oblast before any ceasefire, a move the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says is deliberately designed to be unacceptable. The think tank assessed that Moscow “lacks the means to capture” the fortified cities and instead wants Kyiv to abandon them “in exchange for nothing.”

Putin’s demands target Ukraine’s strongest defense line

Bloomberg reported on 8 August that Vladimir Putin’s proposal would require Ukraine to withdraw from Ukrainian-controlled areas in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, along with Crimea, before any negotiations. The plan makes no mention of Russian withdrawal from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant or from positions in Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolaiv oblasts.

According to the Wall Street Journal, two European officials briefed on the offer said it included two phases: Ukraine would first withdraw from Donetsk Oblast and freeze the frontline, followed by a peace plan to be agreed between Putin and US President Donald Trump, and later negotiated with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump said at a press conference on 8 August that “there will be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both,” adding there would be “no further announcements until August 9 or later.”

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Trump’s Russia deadline expires without sanctions — now he’s flying Putin to Alaska for “peace” talks

ISW stressed that conceding the Ukrainian fortress belt—a line of four major cities and several towns reinforced since 2014—would allow Russian forces to avoid “a long and bloody struggle for the ground.”

The belt, stretching dozens of kilometers along the H-20 highway from Sloviansk to Kostiantynivka, has blocked Moscow’s advance for over a decade. Losing it would push the front 82 kilometers deeper into Ukraine, positioning Russian forces within striking range of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

Risk of new offensives after a ‘ceasefire’

The think tank warned that Russian forces “will almost certainly violate any future ceasefire or peace agreement” without robust monitoring and security guarantees. Ceding the belt would also force Ukraine to urgently fortify open terrain at the Donetsk Oblast border, which ISW described as “significantly less defensible than the current line.”

Russian troops have repeatedly failed to seize Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Druzhkivka since 2022. ISW noted that taking them now would require years of combat and high losses, making a negotiated surrender far more advantageous for Moscow. It would also spare Russian forces from costly battles for Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, and allow them to bypass Ukraine’s westernmost Dobropillia-Bilozerske defensive line.

Ongoing strikes signal lack of good faith

While the proposal circulated, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched four jet-powered drones and 104 Shahed-type strike and decoy drones overnight on 7–8 August. Of these, 79 were downed, but 26 struck ten locations, damaging civilian and industrial infrastructure in Kharkiv City’s Saltyvskyi Raion, Bucha Raion in Kyiv Oblast, and in Sumy and Odesa oblasts.

ISW concluded that these continued strikes, combined with Kremlin messaging that “only Putin will dictate the terms of peace,” show the Russian leader “remains disinterested in good-faith negotiations” and still seeks Ukraine’s capitulation.

After his own deadline for Moscow to accept a ceasefire expired without any sanctions, US President Donald Trump said he will meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on 15 August. Speaking after signing a peace declaration with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on 8 August, Trump said the talks would include proposals for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia.

Trump abandons sanctions threat for Alaska summit

Trump had earlier warned Putin that failing to meet his ceasefire deadline would trigger US sanctions. The deadline silently expired on 8 August. Instead, he told reporters,

“I will be meeting very shortly with President Putin. It would have been sooner… I guess there are security arrangements that unfortunately people have to make.”

Later the same day, he confirmed on his Truth Social account that the summit would take place in Alaska next Friday, 15 August.

The US President claimed the discussions were ostensibly “getting very close” to a deal and said the arrangement would allegedly bring “betterment” to both sides.

“We’re looking at territory that has been fought over for 3.5 years… We will get some back. We will get some — some switched. There will be some swapping of territories,” he said, calling it “very complicated” but ultimately positive.

Kremlin confirms date and location

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told Russian media the meeting would happen on 15 August in Alaska, describing it as “logical” because the two countries are close neighbors. He added that the Arctic and Alaska are where their economic interests meet, with potential for large-scale joint projects. Ushakov said the key topic would be options for a “long-term settlement” of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Secret envoy visit before announcement

The Wall Street Journal reported that US special representative Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow on 6 August for three hours. Sources told the paper that Putin had presented a two-stage proposal: first, the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donetsk Oblast and a freeze of the front line, and second, a final peace deal to be agreed with Trump and later discussed with Ukraine.

Plan mirrors earlier Russian demands

The Wall Street Journal, citing a senior European diplomat and a Ukrainian official, said Putin could propose that Russia officially control part of the occupied Ukrainian territories in exchange for pulling troops from other areas. This aligns with Trump’s public stance.

“He has to get everything he needs. He is getting ready to sign something, and I think he is working hard to get that done,” Trump suggested of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump repeats false aid claim and praises NATO

During his remarks, Trump again repeated his debunked claim that the United States had spent $350 billion on Ukraine, saying,

“$350 billion… the United States has spent on that. It should have spent nothing. It should have never happened.”

He praised NATO allies for increasing their defense spending from 2% to 5% of GDP, adding,

“Europe wants to see peace. European leaders want to see peace. President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace and President Zelensky wants to see peace.”

Although Russia’s 2014 invasion continued throughout Trump’s pre-Biden first term, he again claimed the war would “never have happened” if he had been president earlier, blaming Biden and citing destruction in Ukraine:

“Magnificent towers, the spires… considered the most beautiful in the world… they are all in a million pieces laying on the ground… So sad. Millions of people have died.”

It is unclear what “towers and spires” Trump had in mind, as Ukraine has not lost any such world-famous landmarks in the war — the image appears to exist only in his imagination, though Russia has indeed obliterated entire cities like Popasna, Bakhmut, Mariupol, and Vovchansk.

Lithuania may have become the target of a Russian underwater drone, right off its own coast. In early August, near the resort town of Nida, the drone likely entered Lithuanian territorial waters from the direction of Russia, Delfi reports.

Locals noticed the unusual behavior of a border patrol boat. A coast guard vessel was seen chasing an unidentified object in the Curonian Lagoon, an area where active operations are rarely conducted.

Underwater provocation near Nida

Aistė Žalneraitienė, senior specialist at the State Border Guard Service, confirmed the incident: on 2 August, a suspicious object was indeed detected in the reported place and is currently being examined by the Criminal Investigation Department.

Preliminary assessments suggest the drone may have been launched from Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast, which is one of the main hubs of Russian military activity near NATO borders.

“Gerbera” strikes again

This is not the first incident involving Russian unmanned systems in Lithuania. On 1 August, debris from a Gerbera drone, widely used in Ukraine’s war, was found at the Gaižiūnai military training ground in the Jonava District. The drone was likely launched from Belarus. The incident was confirmed by Lithuania’s Minister of National Defense, Dovilė Šakalienė.

A week earlier, another drone of the same type crashed near the closed Šumskas border checkpoint, almost directly on the Belarusian border.

In July, a Russian drone also violated Lithuanian airspace near Vilnius. It flew at an altitude of 200 meters and remained in Lithuanian airspace for about half an hour.

Following this series of violations, Lithuanian armed forces will implement additional security measures.

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service Head, Sergey Naryshkin, warned that Poland and the Baltic states would be the first to suffer in the event of a war between Moscow and NATO. In 2025, Russia plans to train and station up to 150,000 additional troops in Belarus.

Exclusives

Boosting work efficiency with Mini PCs: A smart solution for modern businesses. These devices offer a unique combination of space-saving design and robust performance, making them suitable for a wide range of applications in the workplace

Blue hair, drones, and evac crews: Ukraine’s fallen women fighters (Part 1). Nobody drafted them; nobody forced them. These women fighters chose to go to war and face death.

This NATO defense minister tried to stop Russian propaganda. His country fell anyway. Slovakia proved democracy can be bought with fake news, Martin Sklenar reveals

Russia found 1,000 rusty tanks in Siberia—it’s all that’s left. Russia’s 1970s tanks are back in style—because everything newer is getting blown up in Ukraine.

Military

Ukrainian GRU attack kill 12 in bold strike on Russian air defense base in Krasnodar Krai. Ukraine’s intelligence service struck deep into Russian territory on 8 August, killing 12 members of an air defense unit and injured dozens more

Russia hunts 13-year-old Ukrainian boy with drone in Kherson, as fears grow Kremlin may try to recapture liberated city. Drone attacks, artillery, and infrastructure strikes hit hard as the Kremlin eyes recapturing the only regional capital it seized during the all-out war.

Intelligence and Technology

Baykar’s Akıncı drone successfully tests smart missiles using Ukrainian engine

. Türkiye’s Bayraktar Akıncı drone completed successful weapons testing using Ukrainian AI-450T engines, demonstrating the readiness of a 5-year defense partnership between the two nations.

Ukraine shoots down two new Russian Shahed-type drones. Two new Russian Shahed-type drones shot down by Ukrainian forces this week were packed with Chinese technology, including flight controllers and navigation systems from a single company

International

Bloomberg: US, Russia discuss deal to secure occupied Ukrainian territories for Russia. Putin reportedly is demanding Ukraine surrender the entire Donbas and Crimea as part of a deal that would potentially freeze the war along current battle lines.

Latvia joins Europe’s Trump-proof weapons funding mechanism for Ukraine. First weapons deliveries under the new PURL initiative will arrive in Ukraine within weeks.

New Pentagon memo may put Ukraine aid on hold, as weapons may stay in US unless Trump says “go”

. Despite public support for NATO arms deal, behind-the-scenes bureaucracy may stall lifeline supplies to Kyiv.

British volunteer killed by Russian drone strike one month into Ukraine deployment. A British volunteer with no military background was killed by four Russian drones during his first combat operation in Ukraine

Ex-UK Defense Chief demands seat at Ukraine peace talks to counter two “bulliyng” leaders. European nations must secure representation in planned US-Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations to prevent Ukrainian President from facing pressure from “two bullies,” former UK Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace said

White House reportedly preparing trilateral meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin. Trump administration sources reveal the White House is actively organizing a three-way presidential summit that could bring together the US, Ukraine’s and Russia’s presidents as early as next week

Humanitarian and Social Impact

Kyiv buried journalist Victoria Roshchyna, murdered in Russian captivity

. She never abandoned what she started,” former editor Angelina Karyakina said at the August 8 funeral of journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died in one of Russia’s most brutal places of detention.

Five people injured after Russian attack on Kyiv, Odesa and Sumy oblasts overnight. Ukraine’s air defense downed over 80 Russian drones during a coordinated Russian assault on civilian targets that damaged residential buildings, infrastructure, a kindergarten across 3 oblasts.

Political and Legal Developments

Russia sentences Mariupol defender for 21 years as Russian court labels him terrorist. Russian prosecutors secured a 21-year sentence against Vladislav Shpak by classifying his enlistment in Ukraine’s National Guard as terrorist activity, after the soldier was captured defending Mariupol’s Azovstal plant.

Russia accidentally admits what it denied for three years: war is breaking its economy. Russia just admitted something it has spent three years denying: the war is breaking its economy. According to Russian Finance Ministry data, Moscow’s federal deficit hit $62 billion by July, already 25% over its yearly target with five months still to go.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Kyiv held a funeral service on 8 August for Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died in Russian detention.

Roshchyna disappeared in occupied territories on 3 August 2023. Russia confirmed her captivity in May 2024, and her death was announced 10 October 2024. She had been previously kidnapped by Russians in March 2022 but freed after ten days.

She was held in at least two Russian prisons, including the Taganrog detention center—described as “one of the most brutal places of detention for Ukrainians on Russian territory.”

The journalist worked for hromadske, Ukrainska Pravda, Radio Liberty, and other outlets. She received the 2022 International Women’s Media Foundation award “For Courage in Journalism.”

According to hromadske, the farewell ceremony on 8 August began with a service at St. Michael’s Cathedral, where several hundred people gathered, including Roshchyna’s relatives—her father and younger sister—former colleagues, and concerned citizens. Her coffin remained closed with bread placed on top, while attendees laid flowers.

After the cathedral service, the hearse proceeded to Independence Square under police escort, with traffic stopped for the procession. During the civilian ceremony, a military officer called out: “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to Victoria!”

Former hromadske editor-in-chief Angelina Karyakina, who worked with Roshchyna for nearly three years, described the journalist’s unwavering commitment to her stories.

“Vika never abandoned what she started, if she began to lead some case, some story, to cover some event. She just never left either her heroes or her cases. This is how her very deep, thorough coverage of Maidan cases was born. This is how her documentary film about the prisoners—Ukrainian sailors—was born. This is how other cases were born. I am sure that her work from the occupied territories was built according to the same logic,” Karyakina said.

Karyakina recalled that Roshchyna never took vacations or days off because “for her, this was not work, journalism was a calling for her.”

The former editor emphasized that journalists must determine what happened to Roshchyna and continue her work.

People’s Deputy Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, who came to bid farewell to Roshchyna, remembered her as a political journalist who asked “uncomfortable questions without limitations.”

Roshchyna was buried at Baikove Cemetery. The farewell ceremony was organized by her colleagues from several newsrooms where she worked, including hromadske.

Washington and Moscow are negotiating an agreement that would formalize Russia’s control over Ukrainian territories seized during the invasion, Bloomberg reported on 8 August, citing sources familiar with the talks.

US and Russian officials reportedly are finalizing terms for a Trump-Putin summit as early as next week, according to sources, cited by Bloomberg. The US is seeking Ukrainian and European approval for the deal, though success remains uncertain.

Putin demands Ukraine cede the entire eastern Donbas and Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. This would require President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to withdraw troops from parts of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts still under Kyiv’s control, handing Russia a victory that its army couldn’t achieve militarily since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Under proposed terms, Russia would halt offensives in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts along current battle lines. Sources cautioned that “the terms and plans of the accord were still in flux and could still change.” Whether Moscow would relinquish any occupied territory, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, remains unclear.

The agreement aims to “essentially freeze the war and pave the way for a ceasefire and technical talks on a definitive peace settlement,” sources said. This shifts from Washington’s earlier demand for Russia to first agree to unconditional ceasefire.

After his 6 August meeting with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Putin briefed leaders from China, India, South Africa, and other nations on the discussions, the Kremlin reported.

Trump, who promised rapid conflict resolution, has grown frustrated with Putin’s ceasefire refusal. The leaders held six phone calls since February while Witkoff met Putin five times in Moscow.

“I don’t like long waits,” Trump told reporters on 7 August. “They would like to meet with me and I will do whatever I can to stop the killing.”

The deal would represent “a major win for Putin,” who sought direct US negotiations while sidelining Ukraine and European allies. Zelenskyy risks facing “a take-it-or-leave-it deal to accept the loss of Ukrainian territory, while Europe fears it would be left to monitor a ceasefire as Putin rebuilds his forces,” Bloomberg reported.

Multiple US officials expressed skepticism about Putin’s genuine peace interest, particularly regarding deals falling short of his stated war goals: Ukrainian neutrality, abandoning NATO aspirations, and recognizing Russian control over five Ukrainian oblasts.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said officials are “finalizing details for a meeting within the next few days” at an agreed but unnamed venue.

Whether Putin would join trilateral talks with Trump and Zelenskyy remains unclear. Putin said on 7 August he didn’t object to meeting Zelenskyy “under the right conditions, though he said they don’t exist now.”

Ukraine cannot constitutionally cede territory and maintains it won’t recognize Russian occupation of its land.

A military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced captured Ukrainian soldier Vladislav Shpak from the Azov brigade to 21 years in a maximum-security prison colony, Russian media Mediazona reported on 8 August.

Russian prosecutors charged the prisoner under articles “concerning participation in a terrorist organization and training for terrorist activities.”

According to the report, in June 2020, 20-year-old Vladislav Shpak “with the aim of improving his financial situation, as well as for ideological reasons” signed a contract with Ukraine’s National Guard and joined the Azov special forces unit. Russia classified this as participation in a terrorist organization.

Between April and June 2021, Russian law enforcement alleges, Shpak underwent military training — which they classified as preparation for terrorist activities.

The soldier served in a unit in the village of Urzuf. In February 2022, when Russian forces invaded Ukraine, he was transferred along with his fellow servicemen to Mariupol. Shpak participated in the defense of Azovstal and was captured three months later on 17 May, along with other Azovstal defenders.

Court materials do not clarify Shpak’s exact role in Azov. Some documents describe him as performing “machine gunner duties,” others call him a “grenade launcher assistant,” while still others identify him as a “reconnaissance driver.”

When asked whether he feels hostility toward Russian citizens and authorities “after the start of the military conflict,” the defendant replied: “Toward citizens — no, toward the authorities — yes.”

Latvia affirms support for NATO’s new Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative in a call with President Zelenskyy, the leaders of the two countries announced on social media.

PURL allows European allies to directly fund American weapons for Ukraine, bypassing traditional government-to-government aid that faces political delays.

The phone call highlights Europe’s shift toward independent Ukraine support mechanisms that don’t depend on US Congressional approval or political cycles.

“Had a good [phone call] with President @ZelenskyyUa,” Latvian President Rinkēvičs posted on X. “We discussed ongoing efforts to reach just and lasting peace. I also informed about Latvia’s support for new NATO initiative for arming Ukraine (PURL). I also reaffirmed Latvia’s support for speedy EU accession process of Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy confirmed the discussion on his Telegram channel: “We also discussed the new PURL instrument, which is already really working. Latvia is ready to join. Thank you!” He emphasized that reliable peace requires “support from the US and European unity,” adding that “Latvia absolutely principally supports Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO. We greatly value this position.”

How PURL changes Ukraine aid

Under PURL, Ukraine compiles priority weapons needs in packages of approximately $500 million. NATO allies then negotiate among themselves to fund specific items directly from US manufacturers, coordinated by Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The mechanism has already proven effective. In early August, Nordic countries committed $1 billion through PURL in just two days. The Netherlands contributed €500 million for Patriot missile components, while Sweden, Norway, and Denmark jointly provided another €500 million.

Building sustainable support

The PURL initiative represents a broader European effort to create Ukraine’s support mechanisms that survive political changes in Washington. As NATO and the US launched the system in July, officials described it as a $10 billion framework allowing continuous weapons deliveries regardless of US domestic politics.

For Ukraine, diversified European support reduces vulnerability to American political cycles while building foundations for long-term security partnerships. Initiatives such as PURL show Europe exploring ways to sustain Ukraine’s military needs, even as traditional aid faces political pressures.

Latvia’s outsized impact

Despite having only 1.9 million citizens, Latvia has become a key driver of European support for Ukraine. The country co-leads the international drone coalition with the United Kingdom, delivering 12,000 drones to Ukraine this year.

Latvia has committed 0.25% of its GDP annually to Ukraine military aid through 2026 — a higher percentage than most larger allies. The country has also trained 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers with plans for another 3,000 next year.

Ukrainian military intelligence carried out a sabotage operation against Russia’s 90th anti-aircraft missile brigade in Afipsky settlement, Krasnodar Krai, on the morning of 8 August, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 Russian servicemen and dozens of injured, according to sources in Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR).

“Two explosions occurred near the checkpoint of the military unit,” sources told Hromadske. The attack destroyed equipment and prompted a massive emergency response, with ambulances and special service vehicles converging on the scene.

Local Russian media and social media channels confirmed the explosions in Afipsky, while local security services cordoned off the area and declared an “anti-terrorist operation” regime. Russian authorities attempted to cover up the incident by attributing the explosions to malfunctioning gas cylinder equipment in a vehicle, according to intelligence sources.

“Russian authorities are trying to conceal the fact of sabotage on the territory of the military unit,” a HUR source said. The Federal Security Service has been working to remove mentions of the incident from Russian media.

The 90th anti-aircraft missile brigade targeted in the operation has been participating in Russia’s war against Ukraine on the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia fronts, the intelligence directorate added.

The attack came amid broader Ukrainian operations against Russian infrastructure, with drone strikes also hitting the Afipsky oil refinery in the same oblast, causing significant fires at gas condensate processing facilities.

A previous version of this article mistakenly said GRU (the Russian military intelligence) instead of HUR.

According to preliminary data from the Finance Ministry cited by The Moscow Times, the deficit increased by 1.2 trillion rubles ($15 billion) in July alone, and expenditures jumped to 3.9 trillion rubles ($49 billion).

This data shows Russia’s war machine consuming the state itself. Unlike previous conflicts, Moscow can’t fund this war indefinitely — and Western allies now have concrete proof that sustained pressure works.

Russia’s budget meltdown by the numbers

The new figures reveal a grim picture of stagnation, overspending, and war-at-all-costs priorities. According to Reuters, government spending rose more than 20% in the first seven months of 2025, while revenues grew just 2.8%. That gap is mainly driven by ballooning military costs.

So far this year, Russia has spent 25.2 trillion rubles ($320 billion) — a staggering increase from pre-war spending levels when the annual federal budget totaled around $220 billion in 2021.

Why do civilian sectors collapse first?

As Bloomberg reports, signs of crisis are now visible across different sectors, as coal mining companies suffer losses, oil, gas, and metallurgy companies see a decline in profits. The automotive industry significantly cuts production due to weak demand.

Productivity in civilian sectors is falling fast. The Moscow Times reported in July that Russian car makers have all shifted to a four-day work week to preserve existing jobs due to diminishing demand, high interest rates, and a lack of affordable financing tools for buyers.

Russia’s aviation industry, once a symbol of national pride, has delivered just one of 15 promised passenger aircraft this year.

Sanctions, oil price caps, and labor shortages are eroding Russia’s economic foundation — yet Moscow shows no intention of scaling back its invasion. A recession with consequences far beyond Russia’s borders now looms.

What this means for Ukraine’s war strategy

The signs are clear: Western sanctions, shifting energy markets, and export controls are having an impact. But they’re not enough on their own. The Kremlin is willing to sacrifice every civilian sector to keep the war machine running.

That’s why Ukraine’s battlefield resilience — and sustained Western support — remain essential. Economic pressure may hurt Russia, but it won’t stop the war on its own.

For Western policymakers, these numbers prove that economic pressure is working, but they also show why military aid remains crucial to finish what sanctions started. Russia’s budget crisis gives Ukraine a strategic window, but only if allies simultaneously maintain economic and military pressure.

Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve raised 70% of our funding goal to launch a platform connecting Ukraine’s defense tech with the world – David vs. Goliath defense blog. It will support Ukrainian engineers who are creating innovative battlefield solutions and we are inviting you to join us on the journey.

Our platform will showcase the Ukrainian defense tech underdogs who are Ukraine’s hope to win in the war against Russia, giving them the much-needed visibility to connect them with crucial expertise, funding, and international support.

We’re one final push away from making this platform a reality.

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In today’s fast-paced business environment, the mini PC has emerged as a vital tool for enhancing daily work efficiency. Its compact design and powerful capabilities make it an ideal choice for businesses looking to streamline operations and reduce costs.

The adoption of the mini PC is becoming increasingly popular among businesses seeking to optimize their daily work processes. These devices offer a unique combination of space-saving design and robust performance, making them suitable for a wide range of applications in the workplace. From administrative tasks to specialized software applications, mini PCs are transforming how businesses approach their daily operations.

Benefits of using Mini PCs for daily work

1. Space-saving design: 

Mini PCs are designed to fit into small office spaces without sacrificing performance, making them perfect for businesses with limited room.

2. Cost-effectiveness: They provide affordable computing power, enabling businesses to access reliable technology without significant financial investment.

3. Energy efficiency: Mini PCs consume less power than traditional desktops, helping to reduce energy costs and contribute to overall savings.

4. Versatility: These devices can be customized to support various business applications, enhancing productivity and efficiency in daily tasks.

Enhancing Point-Of-Sale systems

Mini PCs are revolutionizing point-of-sale (POS) systems by providing faster transaction times and improved accuracy. Their compact nature allows for seamless integration into existing POS setups, enhancing customer satisfaction and sales efficiency. Additionally, mini PCs support real-time data analytics, offering valuable insights into customer behavior and sales trends, which are crucial for informed decision-making.

The ease of installation and maintenance makes mini PCs an attractive option for business owners who may lack technical expertise. With user-friendly interfaces and robust support networks, these devices ensure minimal disruption during deployment and operation.

Streamlining employee management

Mini PCs play a crucial role in effective employee management by facilitating the scheduling of work shifts, tracking performance, and managing payroll efficiently. By centralizing these functions, businesses can reduce administrative overheads and focus on strategic growth initiatives.

Moreover, mini PCs allow for remote access to employee data, enabling managers to make timely adjustments even when away from the office. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for businesses with multiple locations or those operating outside standard working hours.

Incorporating mini PCs into employee management processes can also improve communication across teams. With integrated communication tools, employees can collaborate effectively regardless of their location, fostering a more connected workplace environment.

Optimizing inventory tracking

Efficient inventory management is essential for maintaining profitability, and mini PCs offer real-time tracking capabilities that help businesses maintain optimal stock levels. By providing accurate data on product availability, mini PCs reduce errors associated with manual tracking methods, ensuring quick responses to supply chain disruptions or demand fluctuations.

Businesses have successfully implemented mini PCs for comprehensive inventory management solutions that integrate seamlessly with other operational systems. This holistic approach enhances overall business efficiency by reducing redundant tasks and streamlining workflows across departments. For more information on compact computing solutions, visit Geekom.

Russia may attempt to recapture Kherson. Moscow forces are relentlessly shelling Kherson, while Western media warn that Moscow may be preparing an airborne assault on the liberated city within weeks, in a move to reverse its 2022 liberation.

On 2 August, Russians launched a powerful strike on a strategically important bridge connecting the island district of Korabel to the main part of Kherson city. The strike also damaged three private homes and an apartment building. The invaders had previously targeted the bridge, forcing about 1,800 residents to leave their homes.

Civilians injured as Russia strikes Kherson again

On 8 August, Russian troops launched artillery strikes on central Kherson, critically wounding an elderly woman. She suffered a concussion, multiple shrapnel injuries, and lost an arm. Doctors say her condition is life-threatening, the regional administration reports.

The same day in Antonivka, a suburb of Kherson, Russian drones dropped explosives on two men, aged 33 and 36. Both suffered blast injuries, says the Kherson City Council. 

One of the most shocking attacks involved a 13-year-old boy who was struck by a drone while walking down the street, according to regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin. 

“He sustained a blast injury and shrapnel wounds to his arm and leg,” he said. 

The child was hospitalized and is receiving medical care.

Also in the district suffering the most from attacks, Korabel, due to Russia’s attack on the power grid, water supply will be provided for only two hours per day. 

CNN: Russia could launch an airborne operation in Kherson

According to the report, the Kremlin may be preparing to land troops in Kherson in the coming weeks to reclaim the city that Ukraine liberated in 2022.

Roughly 72% of Kherson Oblast remains under Russian occupation, mostly the left bank of the Dnipro River. The Ukrainian-controlled right bank includes the city of Kherson itself. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military analysts say a Russian amphibious operation in Kherson would be highly risky and unlikely to succeed.

Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve raised 70% of our funding goal to launch a platform connecting Ukraine’s defense tech with the world – David vs. Goliath defense blog. It will support Ukrainian engineers who are creating innovative battlefield solutions and we are inviting you to join us on the journey.

Our platform will showcase the Ukrainian defense tech underdogs who are Ukraine’s hope to win in the war against Russia, giving them the much-needed visibility to connect them with crucial expertise, funding, and international support.

We’re one final push away from making this platform a reality.

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From frontline to warehouse. New Pentagon memo allows redirecting weapons meant for Ukraine back to the US, despite US President Donald Trump publicly endorsing a new supply plan, CNN reports. 

This could mean “that anything short of the president saying go ahead might not get through,” the person said.

Previously, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth already halted a large weapons shipment to Ukraine. Although Trump announced a deal with NATO whereby Europeans would pay for US weapons bound for Ukraine, the Pentagon can be depended on the decision of one person. 

Under the new memo, equipment designated for Ukraine may never reach the front. This includes intercept missiles, air defense systems, and artillery shells, all which is critically needed by Ukraine’s military.

The USAI program, which has reliably supplied Ukraine with arms since 2016, recently received $800 million in new funding under the National Defense Authorization Act. But even that is now in question as sources aren’t sure the weapons will actually reach Kyiv.

“But it’s unclear whether the weapons produced with that money will ultimately go to Ukraine under the new Pentagon policy,” sources told CNN.

 

Separately from USAI, the Pentagon still holds $4 billion in authorized funds to ship weapons directly from US stockpiles.

In Congress, Republicans Roger Wicker and Jim Risch have introduced a bill to establish a special fund that allies can contribute to in order to replenish US weapons sent to Ukraine.

At the same time, the US and NATO are developing a new mechanism — a NATO bank account — where allies would deposit funds specifically to buy American weapons for Kyiv. 

NATO allies have already begun filling the account: according to Secretary General Mark Rutte, more than $1 billion has been allocated, with the total expected to reach $10 billion. But even that may not guarantee the weapons will reach Ukrainian soldiers, not if the Pentagon decides to replenish its own stockpiles first.

Ukraine remains in dangerous limbo. The Pentagon memo could change the course of the war — if the word “go” never comes.

Former UK Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace has called for Britain’s inclusion in upcoming peace talks between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine, warning that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy risks being pressured by what he described as two bullying leaders.

Trump will reportedly meet with Putin as soon as next week, followed by trilateral discussions with Zelenskyy. European nations are not scheduled to participate in these initial discussions.

“Both Trump and Putin are known to be bullies, they bully people all the time, and I don’t think two bullies versus Zelenskyy, who is a brave man, but I don’t think would necessarily produce the right outcomes,” Wallace told Times Radio, according to Bloomberg.

The former defense secretary emphasized that European powers should have representation during negotiations.

“There are two other nuclear powers in NATO, France and Britain, and I think it is important that in the room should be a European power,” he said.

Wallace expressed concerns about Ukraine potentially being coerced into accepting unfavorable terms. When asked if Ukraine could be “strong-armed” by Trump, he responded: “Yes, there is a concern.”

The announcement follows three hours of meetings between Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, and Putin in Moscow. Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, confirmed that a summit could take place next week at a venue decided “in principle,” though he dismissed the possibility of Zelenskyy joining the initial summit.

After phone discussions with the US president, Zelenskyy said he believed Russia was “now more inclined to a ceasefire.”

Trump has simultaneously increased pressure on Moscow through new sanctions, designating Russia as an “extraordinary threat” to the United States. The administration imposed a 25 percent trade tariff on India over its Russian oil purchases, targeting a key revenue source for the Kremlin.

Western officials have repeatedly accused Putin of using peace negotiations to buy time for Russian forces to capture additional Ukrainian territory. Putin has previously demanded settlement terms that Ukraine characterized as equivalent to surrender.

The White House is working to organize a three-way meeting between US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, sources in the Trump administration told Ukrainian media Suspilne.

The negotiations could take place as early as next week, though the venue has not yet been determined, according to the sources.

White House spokesperson Caroline Leavitt confirmed that President Trump remains open to meetings with leaders from both countries.

“As President Trump said yesterday (on 7 August), the Russians have expressed a desire to meet with President Trump, and the president is open to this meeting. President Trump would like to meet with both President Putin and President Zelenskyy because he wants this brutal war to end. The White House is working out the details of these potential meetings, and details will be provided at the appropriate time,” Leavitt said.

The diplomatic push follows a series of high-level contacts this week. On 6 August, Trump’s special representative Steve Witkoff visited the Russian capital for a three-hour meeting with Putin. Moscow has not disclosed details of the discussion’s content.

Trump later wrote on his Truth Social platform that Witkoff had a “productive meeting” with the Russian leader.

This was followed by a phone call between Zelenskyy and Trump that included European leaders. Following the conversation, the Ukrainian president said it “seems Russia is now more inclined toward a ceasefire, the pressure on them is working.”

However, Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of ensuring Moscow does not deceive either Kyiv or Washington regarding the details of any potential agreement.

Türkiye’s Baykar company has conducted successful trials of its Bayraktar Akıncı drone equipped with Ukrainian engines, technical director and co-owner Selçuk Bayraktar said on X.

The trials featured the Akıncı testing ALPAGUT and EREN smart missiles, which demonstrated high target accuracy, RBC-Ukraine reported. Video footage showed the drone taxiing on a runway before takeoff, operated from a ground control station.

The Bayraktar Akıncı uses Ukrainian AI-450T turboprop engines. These engines provide the necessary thrust for high-altitude flights, opening possibilities for strike and reconnaissance missions, according to the company.

Baykar began developing the Akıncı in 2018 and presented the first prototype that same year. By 2019, the drone was fitted with Ukrainian turboprop engines. On 10 August 2019, Ukrainian state company Ukrspetseksport and Türkiye’s Baykar Makina established their first joint venture in precision weapons and aerospace technology. Two days later, Ukraine delivered two AI-450T engines to Türkiye for use in the Akıncı.

The drone made its first public appearance with weapons in September 2019 at the Teknofest exhibition.

The Bayraktar Akıncı carries up to 1,350 kilograms of combat payload. The heavy strike drone measures 12.2 meters in length with a 20-meter wingspan and can remain airborne for 24 hours while reaching altitudes above 12,000 meters.

Built on a modular design, the Akıncı offers flexibility in weapons selection, from air-to-ground missiles to precision bombs and smart munitions. Future upgrades will include thermal imaging systems, active phased array radars, and high-precision optical cameras.

In 2022, preparations began for an agreement with Türkiye to build a Bayraktar factory in Ukraine. Baykar subsequently received licensing permits from Türkiye to manufacture both Bayraktar TB2 and Akıncı drones in Ukraine.

Construction of the Ukrainian factory started last year, with plans to produce over 100 drones annually, according to the company.

Exclusive

• How a NATO country flipped toward Russia—according to its former defense minister

Military

“Victory cannot be achieved in defence”: Syrskyi confirmed that there are plans for offensive. Ukraine’s strategy for victory requires offensive action rather than defensive positioning, Commander-in-Chief said, revealing that military command developed operational plans.

Ukraine’s drones found the guns. Artillery finished the job — four Russian howitzers gone (video). Three D-20s and one D-30 were destroyed in a confirmed artillery strike.

ISW: Russia likely takes two villages near Kupiansk — now it’s eyeing the town’s lifeline highway

. Russian troops may envelop the city from the west instead of attacking frontally, according to the ISW.

Russia rigged the bridge with mines — Ukraine’s drone turned it into dust. The FPV drone strike didn’t just target the bridge. It used Russian explosives against them.

Kherson withstood occupation once—now Moscow wants it back, but Ukraine says invaders will drown before it happens. Moscow’s forces hit Korabel’s only link to the mainland, aiming to carve out a foothold. But Ukrainian defenders are turning the Dnipro Delta into a trap.

Intelligence and technology

Expert: War’s deadly pulse shows no sign of slowing—no matter what results Witkoff-Putin meeting brings. With hundreds of drone strikes hitting Crimea and the Donbas every week, the expert say peace is still far out of reach.

Russia may prepare to launch “flying Chornobyl” again—but only thing it has ever hit is its own scientists. Experts say it’s more theater than threat amid the US-Russian peace talks over Ukraine.

Ukraine’s AI Factory sets course for global top 3 by 2030

. With battlefield-born digital expertise, Kyiv now eyes global leadership in the next great technological race.

International

Zelenskyy reveals high-level security meeting following Trump envoy’s Moscow visit. Ukraine and its Western partners scheduled follow-up security talks for 8 August after Trump envoy Steve Witkoff briefed allies on his Putin meeting

“Peace as trap”: Ukraine may face pressure from US and Russia to accept Kremlin’s demands, says diplomat. Former ambassador Chaly says Moscow’s demands haven’t changed.

Witkoff to brief Ukrainian and NATO officials on meeting with Putin – media reports. Trump’s call with Zelenskyy after Witkoff’s Kremlin visit left Kyiv and EU capitals confused about whether US policy was shifting or sanctions would proceed as planned on 8 Aug.

Putin names UAE suitable location for planned meeting with Trump.

White House sets Zelenskyy meeting as condition for Trump-Putin summit

. White House officials have made Putin’s agreement to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a prerequisite for any Trump-Putin summit, despite Moscow’s claims that a bilateral meeting was already arranged in principle.

Bloomberg: Trump suggests Putin would be open to peace talks in exchange for territory. The developments follow a meeting between Putin and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on 6 August, which Trump characterized as achieving “great progress.”

ISW: Ahead of Trump’s 8 August deadline, Russian propagandists fuel White House division to avoid sanctions. Meanwhile, Russian officials still claim economic strength despite falling oil revenues and slowing household consumption.

Ukraine EU poll 2025: Confidence in quick membership hits lowest point since invasion. Ukrainian confidence in EU membership within 10 years drops to 52% – down 21 points from 73% in 2022-2023, new Gallup poll shows.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia opens “slave market” of stolen Ukrainian children — users can choose them by color of eyes. Since 2014, nearly 20,000 children have been taken from occupied territories, and now Moscow is cataloging them online like items in a store.

“We’ll cut it off and rape you”: Ukrainian prisoner threatened with castration during interrogation in Russian captivity

. Anatoliy Tutov survived four rounds of beatings and sexual torture, and released with broken ribs, internal bruises, and fractured bones.

Ukraine reveals name of main torturer of journalist Roshchyna, who was killed in Russian detention center. Alexander Shtuda, the Russian detention chief, is now charged with overseeing the savage abuse that led to Victoria Roshchyna’s death.

Political and legal developments

Ukrainian draft employees to be mandated to wear body cameras from 1 September – Defense Minister. Ukraine’s recruitment centers face new transparency measures requiring body cameras and video recording amid escalating tensions around mobilization efforts.

Russia’s energy revenues crash by 19% as war devours civilian budget. With gas exports to Europe halved and oil profits plunging, the Kremlin raids its welfare fund while fueling the front.

Indian refineries stop buying Russian oil again after US tariffs – Bloomberg. Three of India’s largest state-owned oil companies have stopped buying Russian crude in their next purchasing cycle after President Trump slapped 25% tariffs on Indian exports

Capitulation is not peace: Nearly 80% of Ukrainians reject Russia’s demands on ceding territory and disarmament. Putin’s so-called “peace plan” requires surrender, while Ukrainians call it what it is: defeat in disguise.

WP: Trump administration plans to soften criticism of Russia on human rights. Trump’s human rights report on Russia omits the Supreme Court’s LGBTQ+ organization ban and related arrests, which a former State Department official calls a “glaring omission.”

Read our earlier daily review here.

Ukrainian drone interceptor unit Posipaky has successfully shot down two new Russian Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles, volunteer Serhiy Sternenko reported, publishing video footage of one of the intercepts.

Ukrainian intelligence officials previously identified these drones as potential reconnaissance assets and decoy targets designed to reveal Ukrainian air defense positions or overload defense systems. The aircraft reportedly can also carry a warhead weighing up to 15 kilograms.

The drone’s fuselage features a delta-wing configuration similar to the Shahed-136 but significantly smaller in dimensions. Most components used in this Russian UAV are of Chinese origin, according to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate.

“Almost half of them: flight controller with autopilot, navigation modules and antennas, air speed sensor and Pitot tube – from one Chinese company CUAV Technology, which specializes in research, development and production of system modules and applications for UAVs,” according to the intelligence report.

The drone is also equipped with a Chinese copy of the Australian RFD900x data transmission module manufactured by RFDesign. Like the original sample, the Chinese product is designed for long-range data transmission up to 40 kilometers in direct line of sight, depending on the antenna.

This device enables data transmission channels from the drone to its ground station or between UAVs, thereby expanding reconnaissance capabilities. The Shahed-type drone is fitted with a Chinese DLE-60 engine and electronic ignition module.

The intercepts highlight ongoing Ukrainian efforts to counter evolving Russian drone technology that increasingly relies on Chinese-manufactured components for critical flight systems and communication equipment.

In October 2022, CUAV Technology announced restrictions on supplying its products to both Ukraine and Russia to prevent their use in military applications. However, in 2023, Russia presented a vertical takeoff drone as an original development, which turned out to be a CUAV product available on Aliexpress.

Militarnyi notes that DLE engines were previously used by Russian developers in the Gerbera and Parodiia decoy drones. KST servos have appeared in the Shahed-136 drones, V2U, aerial bomb glide kits.

Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve raised 70% of our funding goal to launch a platform connecting Ukraine’s defense tech with the world – David vs. Goliath defense blog. It will support Ukrainian engineers who are creating innovative battlefield solutions and we are inviting you to join us on the journey.

Our platform will showcase the Ukrainian defense tech underdogs who are Ukraine’s hope to win in the war against Russia, giving them the much-needed visibility to connect them with crucial expertise, funding, and international support.

We’re one final push away from making this platform a reality.

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Four years ago, most of these women fighters had never fired fired a gun or held a weapon in combat. By the time they died, they were operating some of Ukraine’s most sophisticated military equipment.

All of them were killed while serving in frontline combat roles when Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Their ages ranged from 22 to 52. Their deaths span the full spectrum of modern warfare: drone operators, combat medics, reconnaissance scouts, evacuation specialists. Some were career soldiers; others learned military skills after February 2022.

Their stories reveal how Ukraine’s war has quietly revolutionized military service. Civilians became drone pilots. University students became battlefield medics. Mothers learned reconnaissance. They died performing jobs that placed them in the most dangerous areas of combat – from evacuation routes under artillery fire to reconnaissance missions in contested territory. Their call signs and nicknames became known to their units not as curiosities, but as soldiers who had mastered their roles and died performing them.

The medic fighter who refused to leave

Two days into Russia’s invasion, Inna Derusova could have stayed home. The 52-year-old senior sergeant had just returned from vacation when the bombs started falling. Instead, she reported to her medical unit near Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast and began treating wounded soldiers under artillery fire.

On 26 February 2022, just two days after the full-scale invasion, Russian shells hit her aid post. Derusova had already saved more than ten soldiers that day. She died treating the wounded, becoming the first woman to receive Ukraine’s highest honor – Hero of Ukraine – posthumously awarded by President Zelenskyy.

Her career began in 2015, long before anyone imagined this full-scale war. By 2022, she headed a medical unit and trained frontline medics. The invasion found her exactly where she chose to be: holding the line.

From university to the trenches

Anastasiia Marianchuk was studying Japanese at Kyiv’s Taras Shevchenko University when Russia invaded. The 22-year-old took a sabbatical in 2022 – not to flee, but to volunteer as a combat medic.

Her call sign “Troia” became known throughout the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade’s first rifle battalion. She served around Kyiv, then moved to the Donetsk front. On 18 March 2024, she was evacuating wounded soldiers under heavy fire near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast when enemy shells hit her vehicle.

Marianchuk had planned to teach Ukrainian in Japan after the war. Instead, her classmates held an art exhibition of her drawings after her funeral. She was 22 when she died – old enough to choose the fight, young enough to dream of what could come after.

The mother who learned to fly drones

Liudmyla Shkurenko spent the early months of the war as a volunteer, like thousands of Ukrainian civilians. But the 43-year-old mother of two from Kyiv Oblast wanted to do more than pack humanitarian aid.

She learned to operate UAV systems, then formally enlisted in the Ukrainian Army in May 2024. Assigned to a mechanized battalion as a reconnaissance scout and gunner, she deployed to the Kupiansk area in Kharkiv Oblast.

On 29 May 2024, Shkurenko texted her husband before a night mission, promising to stay safe. It was the last message he received. Enemy shelling struck her unit during the operation, and she died from the wounds.

Her funeral in Ukrainka, Kyiv Oblast drew neighbors who remembered her as a devoted mother; her unit remembered her as a soldier who had mastered new skills to fight more effectively.

To win in a war of attrition, Ukraine should mobilize women, report argues

The IT recruiter turned battlefield angel

Yana “Yara” Rykhlitska worked in civilian IT recruitment before February 2022. After the invasion, the 29-year-old began volunteering with medics and refugees. By late 2022, she had formally joined the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Mechanized Brigade and served at a first-aid post during the Battle of Bakhmut.

Her colleagues called her the “Angel of the Fighters” for her work treating the wounded. On 3 March 2023, she was evacuating injured soldiers in a clearly marked medical vehicle when Russian artillery struck near Bakhmut. The shells killed her during the evacuation.

At her funeral in Vinnytsia, her parents asked mourners to donate to military medics rather than the family – a final reflection of Rykhlitska’s priorities.

The decorated veteran

Some of these women were career soldiers. Mariia Vlasiuk had served since 2016, long before the full-scale invasion. The college-trained nurse from Rivne Oblast deployed with the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade to multiple regions during 2022 – Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv.

In April 2022, Ukraine awarded her the Order For Courage (3rd class) for evacuating dozens of wounded soldiers under fire. She had saved hundreds of lives by the time she deployed to Luhansk Oblast for what would be her final rotation.

On 24 May 2022, Vlasiuk was traveling to pick up injured comrades near Bilohorivka when Russian forces hit the evacuation convoy. Shrapnel from the artillery barrage killed the 27-year-old medic instantly.

The veteran medic from Transcarpathia

Nataliia “Babochka” Bokoch had worked as a paramedic and emergency medical technician for over two decades before the war. The 46-year-old mother of two from Khust in Zakarpattia Oblast even trained with the Red Cross in Britain. She was fondly known as “Babochka” (Granny) among her comrades-in-arms.

In 2023, she returned from Hungary and enlisted in the Ukrainian Army as a military medic. Regional media in Transcarpathia reported that she “tragically died on the front line” in early 2024 while serving with a medical evacuation unit, though military officials did not release specific details about her death during combat operations.

The blue-haired drone ace with the cat’s ears

Kateryna “Meow” Troian’s call sign suited her personality, but her skill made her legendary. The 32-year-old had flown over a thousand successful combat missions for Ukraine’s 82nd Separate Air Assault Brigade. But Russian forces killed her on 8 June 2025 near Pokrovsk.

Troian joined Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces in 2023, when FPV drone warfare was still evolving from hobby technology into a decisive battlefield tool. She learned to pilot first-person-view drones – small, agile aircraft that operators control through video feeds, often flying them directly into enemy targets.

Her distinctive blue hair made her stand out among the paratroopers, but her flight record made her invaluable. Over a thousand successful missions meant she had engaged Russian positions more times than most soldiers fire their rifles. Fellow drone operators considered her among the best FPV pilots in the brigade.

Troian’s service took her from Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region to combat operations in Russia’s Kursk area. On 8 June 2025, she was conducting a mission near Pokrovsk when her unit came under heavy artillery fire. She died of her wounds at Mechnikov Hospital after her evacuation ambulance took direct hits.

What their deaths reveal

The deaths of these women fighters weren’t mere anomalies. Ukraine’s military has has integrated women into combat units, artillery, reconnaissance, and medical corps in growing numbers since February 2022. Official casualty reports list hundreds of servicemembers killed in action – a toll that includes an increasing number of women serving in frontline roles.

The war found some of them in uniform already. Others chose to join the fight, learning skills from drone piloting to battlefield medicine. All seven died doing jobs that required them to operate in the most dangerous areas of the battlefield – from evacuation routes under artillery fire to reconnaissance missions in contested territory.

Their call signs and nicknames – “Meow,” “Troia,” “Yara,” “Babochka” – became known to their units not as curiosities, but as soldiers who had mastered their roles and died performing them.

Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve raised 70% of our funding goal to launch a platform connecting Ukraine’s defense tech with the world – David vs. Goliath defense blog. It will support Ukrainian engineers who are creating innovative battlefield solutions and we are inviting you to join us on the journey.

Our platform will showcase the Ukrainian defense tech underdogs who are Ukraine’s hope to win in the war against Russia, giving them the much-needed visibility to connect them with crucial expertise, funding, and international support.

We’re one final push away from making this platform a reality.

Join us in building this platform on Patreon

Russian forces launched drone attacks against civilian targets across three Ukrainian oblasts overnight on 8 August, according to regional officials.

Ukraine’s Air Force reported about the downing of more than 80 Russian drones during the night, predominantly Shaheds, along with reactive drones and decoys. The attacks represent continued Russian targeting of civilian infrastructure across multiple oblasts, with Sumy Oblast remaining one of the most frequently attacked border areas where shelling, drone attacks, and Russian reconnaissance group infiltration attempts occur regularly.

In Sumy Oblast, Russian forces struck Shostka with attack drones around 1 am, with air defense systems engaging the threats. Multiple Russian drones moved toward the city, followed by explosions as air defenses operated. Witnesses reported hearing characteristic sounds of Iranian kamikaze drones and series of loud explosions in the sky.

Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov said that three Russian drone impacts damaged several multi-story residential buildings, vehicles, and social infrastructure facilities in the Shostka community.

Sumy community also suffered damage, with the local administration confirming no fatalities but reporting destruction and one injury. The attack damaged several non-residential buildings, a store, and a private vehicle. A 54-year-old man was injured, receiving immediate medical assistance on-site and continuing outpatient treatment.

The Kyiv Oblast Military Administration reported that Russian forces attacked settlements in the oblast with drones, specifically targeting the Buchan district.

In Bucha, the assault injured three civilians: women aged 56 and 80, and a 16-year-old teenager, according to the Kyiv Oblast Military Administration. Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk confirmed that seven private houses and a kindergarten sustained damage from the Russian night attack.

Fedoruk said that all residents remained alive, with rescuers, utility services, and police immediately providing assistance to affected people.

Russian drone also attacked Odesa Oblast, injuring one person and causing destruction, Governor Oleh Kiper said. The attack damaged a sewage pumping station building, while falling debris from downed drones ignited dry grass in suburban areas before firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze.

“A gas station security guard was injured when the blast wave blew out glass. The man received multiple lacerations on his hand. Medics provided him with all necessary assistance, and the wounded man continues outpatient treatment,” Kiper said. 

The Russian military regularly attacks Ukrainian oblasts with various types of weapons, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, schools, kindergartens, energy and water supply facilities.

The Ukrainian authorities and international organisations qualify these strikes as war crimes by the Russian Federation and emphasise that they are of a targeted nature.

When Martin Sklenar served as Slovakia’s defense minister, his government did something unusual: they shut down Russian disinformation outlets spreading through Slovak society. The polls immediately shifted. Support for the Russian narrative dropped.

Then politics changed. The outlets returned. So did the pro-Russian sentiment.

It’s a real-time case study of how Russia captures Western democracies – with measurable results. Sklenar watched it happen from the inside.

Now Slovakia’s government, led by Robert Fico, pushes “peace” messaging that echoes Russian talking points. The country that once strongly supported Ukraine has flipped. And Sklenar, who served during the transition, knows exactly how Russia pulled it off.

“It’s incomprehensible that Slovaks would forget that in 1968 the Soviet Union invaded Slovakia,” he tells Euromaidan Press at the Globsec Forum in Prague. But it happened: Russia found another angle—focusing on the 1945 liberation instead of the 1968 invasion, claiming credit for the Red Army’s multinational sacrifice.

The formula works. Slovakia is proof. And Sklenar warns it’s spreading across Central Europe as populists promise to end the war quickly by giving Russia what it wants.

In our conversation, the former defense minister reveals the mechanics of Slovakia’s transformation, explains why European leaders hesitate to fully support Ukraine despite superior resources, and argues that Russia’s nuclear threats have become a paper tiger that nobody wants to test.

Russia used Minsk process ceasefire to advance war goals

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: Throughout this forum, a ceasefire has been discussed repeatedly as the best-case scenario for Ukraine. Is that your assessment?

SKLENAR: Ceasefire is only the first step. What we need is a justified and sustainable peace in Ukraine—the only thing that Ukraine deserves and the only thing that will actually stop the war.

However, a ceasefire seems to be a tool mostly for Russia to play with the political level of engagements, delaying any chance of action while allowing more time to produce weapons, deploy soldiers, and continue atrocities.

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: In 2015, we had a ceasefire negotiated, but it allowed Russia to rearm and attack with new vengeance. What prevents a ceasefire from becoming a new Minsk agreement?

SKLENAR: The most difficult piece is making sure it’s not worth it for Russia to attack Ukraine. If we can do that, then Russia won’t start this again because it’s not worth it. You calculate the damages to your political reputation, international reputation, stability back home, economic situation, and the actual land you want to capture. Then you see if it’s worth it or not.

The main objective is to ensure that Russia doesn’t try again. This is difficult because the international political situation doesn’t seem aligned with reaching that solution. But we run the risk that if we allow Russia to seize territory, they’ll do this again when we can’t control it as well.

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: But that’s exactly what Russia gets from a ceasefire – control over Ukrainian territory.

SKLENAR: It depends. Ukraine is ready to start talking. Russia doesn’t want to start because they’d need to give away what they have now. The primary task is to continue supporting Ukraine so it can be stronger and have a stronger position as dialogue goes on, either directly with Russia or through mediators.

But even with a ceasefire, we’d need to monitor an area stretching a thousand kilometers, when the front is now 50 kilometers deep. That’s an incredible dimension. It’s so difficult to control every piece that striving for a ceasefire looks like a tactic to delay resolution.

That’s exactly what happened with Minsk. Russia uses so-called peace negotiations and ceasefires to advance war goals that include not only dominating Ukraine, but reversing all Eastern European NATO states.

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: One year ago, Zelenskyy’s peace plan was the number one idea. Now, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha talks about Trump’s plan as viable. Why has this rhetoric shifted?

SKLENAR: Trump’s arrival changed the situation. Last year, there was little optimism that negotiations could start. Now everybody talks about opportunities for negotiations. I’m disappointed personally, because we’ve given Russia another chance to play around with the West and delay the resolution of the conflict.

Ukrainian representatives are in a difficult position—they must explore anything that could stop the war and liberate Ukraine. That involves President Trump, so you must work with the US administration. The US still plays a very important role in the world. And that’s why you need to adjust to the diplomacy. And with the diplomacy comes the rhetoric that you need to keep the US engaged.

It’s not just business deals but discussions that reflect the current situation. We saw what happened when President Zelensky visited the White House, if the rhetoric isn’t right. What you say should open possibilities to work closer and find solutions. If you don’t do that, you’re not even getting to the point where you discuss outcomes.

And if you are able to do that, that gives you some possibilities. If you don’t do that, then you are not even getting to the point where you are discussing some of the outcomes.

Foreign ministers are good at this, especially when your country has been at war for [eleven years].

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: What do we consider Ukrainian victory now?

SKLENAR: For Ukrainians, it’s clear. Victory is a situation where they can rely that Russia will not do this again. That requires strong commitment from Ukrainians, Europeans, the United States, Canada, Türkiye, and others – a strong enough relationship to ensure deterrence is strong enough that Russia’s post-war calculation tells them it’s not worth trying again.

Slovakia’s flip towards Russia

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: You served in government during Slovakia’s transition from strong Ukraine support to Fico’s return with peace messaging. Why does the populist promise to end the war quickly resonate with voters who lived through the Soviet occupation?

SKLENAR: In Slovakia, the population is very polarized. We’ve been the object of strong Russian propaganda, polarizing society to where people don’t think about their experience but get influenced by disinformation campaigns targeted against them, questioning everything. This creates a complicated situation where everything and nothing seems true, which is easy to manipulate.

We’ve seen this trend for a long time. Previous governments tried to address it. When the full-scale invasion started in February 2022, there was a strong push toward limiting Russian influence in Slovak society, which unfortunately couldn’t continue due to political reasons.

What the government did was shut down some online outlets spreading disinformation. When that happened, we saw an immediate decrease in support for the Russian narrative. When there was no more political will to continue this, we saw an uptick again.

There’s a clear relationship between what’s coming into the country and population opinions. It’s not that Slovaks think one way or another—it’s still a polarized society with very small changes in support that, in the grand scheme, meant the government changed completely.

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: So, Russian propaganda is the reason for these changes that led to support for Fico?

SKLENAR: It’s a chicken and egg situation, but Prime Minister Fico is a very good politician who feels very well what the population can support. He can identify how to angle discussions to resonate with small, marginal groups. The main groups remain the same, but it depends on how much of the marginal groups you engage for election mobilization.

It’s incomprehensible that Slovaks would forget that in 1968, the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact invaded Slovakia because it had a different opinion about how to run things. That’s a big national trauma the country still feels.

But now there’s another angle being used – not mentioning the 1968 invasion, but focusing on the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 by the Red Army, which the Russian Federation now claims all responsibility for, even though it was Ukrainians and other nationalities who served in the Red Army and helped liberate Slovakia.

That’s overlooked, and it comes back to misinterpreted history during socialist times. After the Slovak national uprising against the fascist regime in 1944-45, before the war’s end, when the Communist Party took over in 1948, they reconstructed historical facts and connotations in favor of the socialist regime.

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Social media becomes a battlefield

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: What actions in Slovakia were useful to limit the spread of disinformation?

SKLENAR: Taking down outlets that spread disinformation was most effective, but there’s only so much a country can do. Most people now consume news and opinions they want to believe on social media.

The straightforward way to handle this is through dialogue with social media platforms and media generally, ensuring the professionalism we expect. We grew up when news were produced by professional journalists who studied how to make news objective and provide a picture for people to form their own opinions.

Now this has gone away. People don’t distinguish between professional journalists and people sharing opinions on social media. That should change through media literacy, education, and analytical thinking required to understand what’s being pushed at you and that you’re being targeted.

If propaganda is part of war—as General Gerasimov told us in 2007 when he proposed what we call the hybrid warfare doctrine, saying that whether it’s peacetime or crisis, Russia will always conduct information operations to advance its objectives—then this has been going on forever.

This is a general talking about military operations in the information space all the time. Social media becomes a battlefield, but people don’t perceive it that way.

If people want to join the military, they think about risks and rewards—I earn money and have a stable job, but if situations deteriorate, I might end up fighting for my country. You make an informed decision.

Сreating a social media profile, you don’t think you’re joining a battlefield. Yet every time you log in, you become a soldier. You could choose to be on the good side or bad side, or stay indifferent and be the target in the middle.

People should understand: if you’re here, this is an information space where the battlefield reaches. Make your own assessment of how you want to deal with it.

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: What’s the number one reason preventing the West from ensuring Ukraine’s victory?

SKLENAR: The false perception of peace in Europe. Sometimes we say Ukraine is far from Paris, Madrid, or Rome, so it’s not as urgent as in Baltic countries or Poland, which border Russia and know what might happen.

But populations in these countries feel very secure and normal. Even here in Prague—it’s beautiful—there are no signs Russia is at war with Europe.

And Russians are telling us they are [at war]. They assign us objectives that we’re an enemy country. They push propaganda. They make their influence. They send their shadow fleet across the Baltic Sea, seeing whether something bad happens, they might use as a pretext for escalation.

They’re attacking us in this way. In one panel, we discussed how Russia attacks NATO members in this hybrid, below-the-threshold way. But people don’t feel like it. If it’s below the threshold, people think it’ll be fine—maybe a little discomfort, and there should be people watching to know if it gets worse. But right now it’s fine and we live as we used to.

In Europe, this means social benefits and money spent having a great time. With that comes a lack of interest and support for difficult political decisions about supporting Ukraine to the necessary level. Politicians who push too hard without popular support lose elections.

We risk getting more representatives like in Slovakia’s case, who come into important positions doing even less. That’s difficult for Ukraine when there’s no end to the war in sight and negotiations haven’t even started.

It’s this perception of peace in Europe despite us being in deep trouble.

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Explaining the level of support that Ukraine needs is difficult

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: Romanian former NATO spokeswoman Lungescu just said there’s been no Russian attack on NATO members– despite Russian drones regularly falling on Romanian soil—and no war in Europe, despite Ukraine being at war. Who can make the difficult decisions, if politicians are bound by the population’s will, and populists exploit this?

SKLENAR: These decisions are still being taken. Many governments decide despite a lack of support – I don’t think any country has ever had resolute support for donating military equipment to Ukraine. That would be hard to imagine in any context.

But to ensure Ukraine negotiates from strength requires much more support. The level of increase necessary is difficult to explain to populations.

Politicians don’t need to make all decisions at once, but they must explain and raise awareness about what’s at stake. It’s not only Ukraine—it’s ordinary citizens’ way of life at stake.

We hear Russia could be ready to test NATO and the EU in two to five years. Two years could happen at any time. Whenever there’s an opportunity, Russia might use it. Just recently, we heard news about Israel attacking Iran. Just like that, it could be news about Russia challenging NATO and EU unity in the Baltics, Romania, or anywhere else.

Discussion about West’s use of nuclear weapons needed

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: Russian nuclear weapons appear to be Russia’s strongest deterrent because Western nations submit to Russia’s red lines. But Ukraine violates these red lines daily. Do you see this changing? Do you see this dynamic changing, or are we stuck with nuclear paralysis indefinitely?

SKLENAR: That’s the most difficult discussion to have because the weapons are so horrifying that even the slightest possibility of them being used is seen as most extreme; you don’t want to play with that situation at all.

We haven’t chosen this situation. This is Putin deciding to put everybody in an uncomfortable situation and do this as long as necessary to break their will and do as he feels like doing.

Despite expectations that Russia might use weapons or signal their use, we’ve seen both horizontal and vertical escalation from Russia’s side, then balancing from the Western side.

“If you deliver F-16s to Ukraine, you will see a response from Russia, and we will not shy away from using nuclear weapons to protect our territory.” Yet the F-16s are in Ukraine; they’re flying, nothing has happened.

“Ukraine cannot target targets in Russia. Otherwise, it will mean use of nuclear weapons.” This has not happened. So Russian rhetoric is… I don’t want to say inconsistent, and don’t want to say they don’t really mean it. This is exactly the situation where you cannot take it out of the equation.

But just as drones represent the change in how modern warfare is fought, we see discussions about the role of modern technology versus traditional military equipment. I think we’ll need a discussion about what role nuclear weapons can actually achieve in a conflict like this very soon—what it means and why we have nuclear weapons if in situations where they should be used, they’re not even being signaled to be used.

West does not benefit from war against Ukraine

EUROMAIDAN PRESS: Cynical voices say the West benefits from this war – Russia is using Soviet-era stock artillery to kill Ukrainians instead of attacking NATO countries. Is the West buying time with Ukrainian blood?

SKLENAR: No. The West is not benefiting. Ukraine has chosen to be part of the West. Now we know we didn’t do enough before the invasion to bring Ukraine into NATO. If we were in a similar situation now, we’d ensure Ukraine is protected by Article 5.

When this is over—not if but when—Ukraine will become part of the West. So the West is losing. Every citizen in Ukraine killed is a loss for the West.

The West recognizes that Ukraine is fighting a war for the whole Western community against Russia. If Ukraine were a NATO member, this would be much simpler. That’s what’s so attractive about being a NATO or EU member—you have basic arrangements with countries you can rely on. Ukraine is in a challenging situation because we weren’t quick enough or we didn’t believe Russia would actually do this.

We put them in this unfortunate situation. But with the support, we’re trying to help.

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Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve raised 70% of our funding goal to launch a platform connecting Ukraine’s defense tech with the world – David vs. Goliath defense blog. It will support Ukrainian engineers who are creating innovative battlefield solutions and we are inviting you to join us on the journey.

Our platform will showcase the Ukrainian defense tech underdogs who are Ukraine’s hope to win in the war against Russia, giving them the much-needed visibility to connect them with crucial expertise, funding, and international support.

We’re one final push away from making this platform a reality.

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After 42 months of grueling fighting in Ukraine, Russia’s stocks of modern armored vehicles are low. So low, in fact, that Russian technicians are pulling out of long-term storage derelict tanks that, until now, were widely considered unfit for combat.

Closely inspecting recent satellite imagery of Uralvagonzavod, the sprawling Russian tank plant in Nizhny Tagil 1,600 km from Ukraine, open-source analyst Jompy spotted something he’d long anticipated as Russian tank losses exceeded 4,000 earlier this year. That’s as many tanks as Russia had in front-line service before widening its war on Ukraine in February 2022.

“Just like that, there are a lot of likely T-72As parked in the yards outside UVZ now,” Jompy wrote, using the abbreviation for Uralvagonzavod. When tanks appear outside Uralvagonzavod, it’s usually because they’re gradually being brought inside the factory for refurbishment and possibly upgrade before being shipped off to front-line regiments, including those fighting in Ukraine.

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Russia’s last tank yards go dark as every inch in Ukraine demands more sacrifice

The 46-ton, three-person T-72A isn’t the oldest T-72 variant, but it’s close. Just one model of T-72, the Ural, preceded the T-72 into Soviet service in the early 1970s. Russian industry produced thousands of T-72 Urals and T-72As, but the much-improved T-72B—with a stabilized 125-millimeter gun, thicker armor and a more powerful engine—succeeded it in the 1980s.

The older T-72s went into storage at bases such as the 349th Tank Storage Base, in Russia’s Topchikhinsky District 2,000 km from Ukraine. And there they remained for decades, useful only as sources of spare parts—until Ukrainian mines, artillery, missiles and drones wiped out entire generation of more modern tanks.

Too few new tanks

With Uralvagonzavod building just 300 or so of the latest T-90M tanks annually, the Kremlin has had little choice but to dip into stocks of very old T-72s in order to partially replace its tank losses in Ukraine. The 40-year-old T-72Bs began arriving at Uralvagonzavod by the dozens earlier this year, but there were just a few hundred T-72Bs in storage. There are around 1,000 T-72 Urals and T-72As.

As recently as last summer, High Marsed—another open-source analyst—concluded the first-generation T-72s weren’t of much use as long as Russia still had some of the slightly newer (but still very old) T-80Bs, T-80BVs and T-72Bs in storage. “I expect that at some point they will have to create an upgrade program for these tanks,” High Marsed wrote about the T-72As. That “should be a sign that there aren’t many T-72B, T-80B/BV left in storage.”

The sign has appeared. The T-72Bs and other 1980s-vintage tanks are running out. Now it’s the T-72As’ turn to fight in Ukraine on those increasingly rare occasions when the Russians risk tanks along the drone-patrolled front line.

How many of the 1,000 or so rusty early-model T-72s are still repairable after decades in open storage is unclear. It’s equally unclear how much Russia will invest in their refurbishment and upgrade. The T-72As lack many of the features that makes a modern tank modern—in particular, stabilized main guns that are accurate even when a tank is moving.

Ukraine’s oldest front-line tanks, its Leopard 1A5s, were last upgraded in the 1980s—but even they have stabilized guns.

The T-72As’ impending return to front-line service is the latest evidence of the steady “de-mechanization” of the Russian army as it suffers catastrophic losses in heavy equipment in Ukraine. The T-72As’ resurrection doesn’t mean the Russians are losing, however. What the Russian army lacks in modern tanks, it more than makes up for with manpower.

These days, Russian regiments in Ukraine mostly attack on motorcycles or on foot. They suffer heavy losses usually totaling more than 20,000 killed and wounded a month. But with generous signing bonuses and deceptive contracts, the Kremlin manages to recruit 30,000 fresh troops a month.

They fight without modern tanks, but they still fight. And they can still push back Ukraine’s own manpower-starved brigades.

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Russia is churning out hundreds of new T-90M tanks — but why aren’t they all in Ukraine?

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Ukraine’s Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has confirmed that Ukrainian command has offensive plans, stating that victory cannot be achieved through defensive operations alone.

In an interview with TSN, Syrskyi emphasized the necessity of offensive action for military success.

“We have plans, of course. Victory cannot be achieved in defence – only in offence,” Syrskyi told a journalist, who asked whether he sees room for another bold operation similar to the offensive in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

The commander outlined Ukraine’s strategic approach to ending the war, explaining that “we must inflict such losses on him [the enemy] that he will go [for it]” not from a position of strength, but on Ukraine’s terms.

The statement comes amid reports of international pressure for offensive action. The Washington Post, citing an anonymous Ukrainian official, reported that during a 4 July phone call, US President Donald Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine needs to go on the offensive to achieve victory.

Kursk operation results

The Defense Forces’ last major offensive operation was the Kursk campaign, which began in August 2024. According to military reports, Ukrainian defenders were forced to withdraw from most of the Russian oblast in spring 2025. Russian forces managed to occupy part of Sumy Oblast on another section of the border.

Syrskyi previously reported strategic gains from the Kursk operation. In June, the commander said that the operation drew nearly 63,000 Russians and approximately 7,000 North Korean soldiers, weakening Russian pressure on other fronts and allowing Ukraine to regroup its forces.

The commander also reported that active Defense Forces operations in another area of Kursk Oblast in April disrupted Russian offensive group reinforcements in occupied territories. Beyond parts of Kursk region, Ukrainian forces maintain presence in Russia’s Belgorod region.

According to Syrskyi, Russia’s total losses during the year-long Kursk operation reached 77,000 military personnel.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on the evening of 7 August that security advisers from Ukraine and its partners held discussions about ending the war.

“Our team just reported to me that the security advisers held a fairly long conversation, very detailed. There was a significant composition of participants in the conversation. This is important. Thank you all for your work, for the genuine desire to stop the killings and ensure lasting peace,” Zelenskyy wrote.

According to the president, the advisers agreed during the call to continue their work on 8 August. “There is still a lot of work to be done,” he said. 

American media outlet Axios, citing two informed sources, reported that the video conference included US special envoy Steve Witkoff and officials from Ukraine, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, and Britain.

According to the sources, Witkoff conducted the conference to inform partners about his 6 August meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and discuss next steps, including possible negotiations between Trump and Putin. Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne also reported Witkoff’s participation, citing an informed source.

The briefing comes as President Trump has shifted toward discussing a potential summit with Putin after initially moving toward tougher sanctions on Russia. Trump held a call on 6 August with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, telling them about the possibility of a meeting between him and Putin, followed by a trilateral summit including Zelenskyy.

ABC News, citing an unnamed White House official, reported that a possible meeting between Trump and Putin has not yet been agreed upon, nor has a location for such negotiations been determined, despite earlier claims by the Russian side.

The official noted that for negotiations with Trump to take place, Putin must meet with President Zelenskyy first.

Ukraine’s leader said that Russia fears US sanctions that Trump promised to impose if Russia does not agree to peace with Ukraine by 8 August.

All employees of Ukraine’s territorial recruitment centers (TCC) and service centers will be required to wear body cameras starting 1 September, Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said on 7 August.

The new mandate requires staff to record video during document checks and draft notice deliveries.

“This step will help ensure transparency and legality in the work of enlistment offices’ teams, as well as protect the rights of both sides,” Shmyhal said.

Violations of the body camera requirement will result in disciplinary action, according to the Defense Ministry. Currently, approximately 85% of recruitment office staff have body cameras, with procurement efforts underway to secure additional devices.

The announcement follows mounting concerns over recruitment practices. In July, two Kyiv military officials faced charges after a conscript’s death. Media reports regularly document cases of recruitment office employees exceeding their authority.

Recent months have seen escalating tensions around mobilization efforts. On 1 August, protesters in Vinnytsia demanded the release of men detained by military recruitment offices, breaking into a stadium where detainees were held. Police launched an investigation on 2 August, charging five men aged 21-33 with seizing a state building.

Russian forces have targeted recruitment infrastructure in multiple strikes during June and July, hitting offices in Kryvyi Rih, Poltava, Kremenchuk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia. These attacks caused civilian and military casualties while damaging recruitment facilities.

The strikes represent an escalation in tactics aimed at disrupting Ukraine’s mobilization efforts and fueling social unrest, according to military analysts. Russian propaganda frequently uses mobilization reports to escalate social tensions and undermine recruitment campaigns.

Former Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Valerii Chaly believes that Russia’s agreement to negotiations is an information operation to buy time and avoid sanctions. Chaly emphasizes that Russia’s ceasefire memorandum has long been published, and the Kremlin’s positions remain largely unchanged, Radio NV reports. 

In August 2025, Putin declared that the conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine remain:

• Ukraine must fully withdraw its troops from the so-called Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, which Russia claims as its own,
• Ukraine must renounce NATO membership and adopt a neutral, non-aligned, and non-nuclear status,
• The Kremlin demands the lifting of Western sanctions imposed due to its aggression.

Ukraine and its international partners reject these demands as unacceptable since they imply capitulation.

“Russia understands it can still buy time… it’s simply a stunt,” says diplomat Chaly.

However, he admits some Russian demands may have softened, such as Ukraine’s neutrality or the official status of the Russian language.

A trap for Ukraine — US pressure to accept unpopular decisions

Chaly warns that the Americans, as mediators, may pressure Kyiv to accept terms unsupported by Ukrainian society.

“Trump is already out of the game, we are left alone with the Russians, and Ukraine is essentially blamed for breaking agreements. Then the war goes on Russia’s terms, no sanctions, and existing sanctions start to be lifted. That’s the trap,” he says. 

Thus, the Kremlin could achieve the legalization of occupation.

Russia may offer “commercial” concessions

The diplomat suggests Russia might offer the US joint access to natural resource development as a bargaining chip to pressure Kyiv.

“The Russians present it as a ‘gift’ in exchange for American pressure on Ukraine to accept maximum Russian ultimatums,” Chaly adds.

He stresses Ukraine must remain vigilant against such traps, as “Russians are skilled at setting them,” and that it is premature to expect a genuine peace process.

One such trap would be Ukraine accepting the de facto recognition of occupied territories as Russian.

Ukraine needs strong allies at the negotiation table

Chaly underscores the risk of isolation if European countries are absent from peace talks.

“If Europe is not present, who will stand with us at the table?” he asks.

Ukraine must avoid empty formalities in negotiations.

“Because while Russia pretends to negotiate, it continues ballistic missile strikes on the front lines,” Chaly warns.

The idea of a ceasefire in the air with Russia seems elusive. Russia almost instantly breaks any agreements, says Serhii Zgurets, the Defense Express head, Espreso reports. 

During the war, Ukraine signed the Minsk agreements aimed at ending the conflict in Donbas. The goal was to halt hostilities and establish peace, but the implementation was violated by Russia during its all-out war.

In 2025, Russia also announced the so-called “Eastern truce,” which lasted only 30 hours in Ukraine. During that brief period, Ukraine recorded at least 2,000 violations and attacks along the front lines.\

Witkoff to brief Ukrainian and NATO officials on meeting with Putin – media reports

“A ceasefire with the enemy is quite ephemeral… any ceasefire will be broken literally the next day due to their treacherous actions,” Zgurets says. 

He notes that negotiating a halt to strikes with Russia is almost impossible given Russia’s tactics.

Drone and cruise missile strikes continue unabated

In theory, there could be agreements banning strikes using cruise missiles and drones, but in practice, this is unlikely as:

• Russia continues active use of strike systems of various types and ranges,
• Ukrainian attacks are also increasing in number and effectiveness

Dnipro Osint reports that after the facility in Yelabuga was established, the number of attacks using Shaheds began to increase systematically. For example, until July 2024, Russia launched up to 500 drones per month, while by March 2025, this figure had reached nearly 4,200 units.

In July 2025, the UN documented that Russian forces launched ten times more missile strikes and drone attacks than in June 2024. The experts reported 232 civilian deaths and 1,343 injuries, marking the highest monthly casualty toll in three years. 

Also, in just the last two weeks, drone strikes on Russia-occupied Crimea have also been recorded repeatedly. The Russian military is also losing critical logistics routes from Ukrainian assaults: Rostov, Volgograd, and the Donbas railway.

“This is a new chapter in the operation of our drone systems, which have significantly expanded their capabilities and are now blocking the use of the railway as a key logistical resource for Russian defense,” emphasizes Zgurets. 

A ceasefire will not change the war’s dynamics

Even if drone strikes pause temporarily, stockpiling will continue.

“When the ceasefire is broken, these systems will again be used massively,” the expert stresses.

Thus, an aerial ceasefire is unlikely to alter the overall frontline situation. Drones will remain a key weapon and influential factor in the war.

Earlier, the Main Intelligence Directorate reported that in Russia, production of Shaheds and their imitators reached about 170 units per day as of May 2025. By the end of the year, the figure is planned to increase to 190 drones per day.

Russia has created a website to sell Ukrainian orphans. The website features faces, descriptions, and filters by eye and hair color, just like in a product database, reveals Mykola Kuleba, founder and head of the organization Save Ukraine.

“Russia has created an online catalog for the ‘sale’ of Ukrainian children,” he says.

According to him, since 2014, Russia has systematically taken children from occupied territories, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Crimea, to various regions of Russia. But now this scheme has transformed into digital child trafficking.

Filters, personal characteristics, and human dignity 

Kuleba reports that the site allows users to “choose” a child by appearance.

“You can literally select a child by photo, with uncovered faces. They describe the children like products: ‘obedient’, ‘calm’, and so on,” he says.

He emphasizes the disturbing ability to sort children by gender, eye color, and hair color, calling the process nearly indistinguishable from slave trading.

Evidence found on official Russian websites

“Most of the children in this catalog were born before the occupation of Luhansk and had Ukrainian citizenship. Some of their parents were killed by the occupying authorities. Others were simply issued Russian documents to legalize their abduction,” Kuleba explaines.

He highlights the absurdity of Russia’s actions. 

“When Russians demand lists of abducted Ukrainian children during negotiations, they could simply hand over the database from their own Luhansk ‘Ministry of Education’ website. The entire evidentiary base of their crimes is right there on their official resources,” he continues. 

Kuleba pledges that Save Ukraine will do everything possible to rescue these children and return them to “what matters most — home, family, and country.” 

“Children of War”: 325 photos of Ukrainian children to be shown in Kyiv

White House envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly will hold a video conference on 7 August with senior officials from Ukraine, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and the UK to brief them on his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Axios reported, citing its sources.

The briefing comes as President Trump has shifted toward discussing a potential summit with Putin after initially moving toward tougher sanctions on Russia. Trump held a call on 6 August with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, telling them about the possibility of a meeting between him and Putin, followed by a trilateral summit including Zelenskyy.

That call left confusion in Kyiv and other European capitals, with officials uncertain whether US policy was changing or whether sanctions would still be announced 8 August as Trump had planned.

Ukrainian officials expressed concern that Putin’s proposal for a meeting with Trump represents an attempt to reach agreements with the US directly about ending the war without Ukraine or European powers having input, Axios reported.

Putin said on 7 August that there was mutual interest in a summit with Trump, but the Kremlin cast doubt on the US proposal for a trilateral summit with Zelenskyy.

The development follows Trump’s announcement on 6 August that he would double tariffs on India to 50%, effective 27 August, over the country’s purchases of Russian oil. The White House said further penalties on Russia would be announced o 8 August, though officials have not indicated whether China – another major customer of Russian oil – would be targeted.

The Trump administration stated that a meeting between Trump and Putin would occur only if Putin also meets with Zelenskyy.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Witkoff’s planned conference call.

The Kremlin’s financial foundation for war is cracking. According to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Russia’s federal budget revenues from oil and gas dropped by 19% in January–July 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, down to $69.2 billion. 

The drop in energy revenues underscores Russia’s growing vulnerability to external pressure, the agency emphasizes.

A double blow to the Kremlin

The average price for Urals crude fell by 18.4%, to $60.37 per barrel. At the same time, the ruble was artificially strengthened by 45%, from 113.71 to 81.25 per USD, undermining export earnings in foreign currency.

Gas exports to the EU plummeted by 50% to just 9.93 billion cubic meters, continuing Russia’s steady loss of energy foothold in Europe.

Ministry of Finance in panic

The Russian government has already revised its oil and gas income forecast for 2025, now expecting only $104.4 billion instead of the previous $137.3 billion, which is a 24% drop from earlier projections.

To partially offset the shortfall, the Kremlin is cutting fuel subsidies under the “fuel damper” mechanism and tapping into the National Welfare Fund.

India’s state-owned oil refiners have temporarily halted spot purchases of Russian crude following President Donald Trump’s imposition of additional 25% tariffs on Indian exports to the US, according to Bloomberg sources with direct knowledge of procurement plans.

Companies including Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. “plan to skip spot purchases of the crude in the upcoming buying cycle, until there’s clear government guidance,” Bloomberg reported on 7 August. The companies asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.

The pause will specifically affect purchases of Russia’s Urals crude cargoes scheduled for October loading.

Indian Oil Corp. demonstrated the shift by purchasing five million barrels of oil from the US, Brazil and Libya – “the latest in a string of purchases for relatively quick delivery,” Bloomberg reported.

Trump’s tariff escalation represents “a direct punishment for the country’s refiners taking Russian crude” and is designed to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, according to the report. The measure has not yet been matched by similar action against China, another major buyer of Russian oil.

The development has impacted global oil markets, with Brent crude trading near $67 a barrel on Thursday following a five-day decline as traders assess potential supply disruptions.

Despite the corporate response, New Delhi has not officially directed refiners to stop buying Russian crude. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government continues to push back against Trump’s tariffs, Bloomberg said.

The temporary halt comes as India has become one of the world’s largest buyers of Russian oil since the Ukraine war began. At its peak, India imported more than 2 million barrels per day of Russian oil, up from nearly zero purchases before the conflict.

The situation reflects the broader geopolitical tensions over energy flows, with Washington intensifying pressure on countries that continue purchasing Russian energy exports. While overall October-loading Urals purchases by Indian refiners are unlikely to drop to zero, traders anticipate the reduction could prompt increased demand for US, Middle Eastern and African crude alternatives.

Oil ministry spokesmen and representatives from Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. did not immediately respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comment.

A Ukrainian artillery strike destroyed four Russian howitzers after drones from the 44th Brigade located the targets. Three D-20s and one D-30 were eliminated, with the strike confirmed by released video.

Ukrainian artillery strike guided by drones despite jamming

The 44th Separate Artillery Brigade used reconnaissance drones to adjust fire on Russian artillery positions, according to Militarnyi. Russian electronic warfare systems failed to jam the UAVs.

The brigade said its gunners “give the enemy no chance” and that recent days showed “firing points turned into scrap metal.”

The targeted guns included three D-20s, 152 mm howitzers with a 17 km range, and one D-30, a 122 mm system with a 15 km range. Both D-20 and D-30 are the Soviet-era towed artillery pieces.

Destroying these artillery pieces reduces enemy firepower on the frontline and increases the safety of Ukrainian positions.

Earlier this year, the 44th Brigade received an upgraded version of the domestic Bohdana self-propelled howitzer with a new armored cabin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has identified the United Arab Emirates as a potential venue for a Russia-US summit, stating this following his meeting with the UAE leader in the Kremlin, according to Russian propagantist media TASS.

“We have many friends who are ready to help us organize an event of this kind. One of the friends is the president of the United Arab Emirates,” Putin said. “I think we will decide, but this would be one of the suitable, quite suitable places.”

The statement comes as Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists that a meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump is planned for the coming days, likely next week.

Regarding prospects for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Putin added: “I have already said many times that I have nothing against this in general, it is possible.”

However, the Russian leader maintained distance from any immediate such meeting, stating: “But certain conditions must be created for this. But, unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.”

Trump has separately declared “good chances” for holding a meeting with Putin in the near future. According to media reports, Trump informed European leaders during a conversation on 6 August about his intentions to meet with Putin “as early as next week,” and subsequently organize a trilateral meeting together with Zelenskyy.

The diplomatic maneuvering comes as Trump imposed deadline for Russia, having threatened secondary tariffs on Russian oil purchasers unless Putin agrees to a truce by 8 August.

Russian advance near Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, may soon cut the city’s main supply route, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 6 August. Russian forces likely reached the western outskirts of the city and secured positions from which they can threaten key ground lines of communication.

Russian troops likely seize Sobolivka and Myrne

Geolocated footage from 6 August shows Russian forces advanced south of Sobolivka, immediately west of Kupiansk. ISW assessed that they likely seized both Sobolivka and Myrne, just north of it. A Russian milblogger claimed troops are close to interdicting the H-26 Kupiansk–Shevchenkove highway — the main Ukrainian supply line into the city — located about one kilometer south of Sobolivka.

Envelopment instead of direct assault

ISW noted that Russian forces may be preparing to envelop Kupiansk rather than attack it directly. This fits their recent pattern of flanking settlements instead of launching frontal assaults, using tactical pressure to disrupt Ukrainian logistics and defenses.

Three possible next moves

ISW outlined three possible Russian actions after these advances. They may push west toward Shevchenkove or northwest toward Velykyi Burluk to build a buffer in northern Kharkiv Oblast. Alternatively, forces could shift to the Oskil River’s east bank to support operations in Luhansk Oblast, or redeploy to Kostyantynivka, Pokrovsk, or Novopavlivka to aid efforts in Donetsk Oblast.

“Ukrainian forces advanced near Chasiv Yar. Russian forces advanced in northern Kharkiv and western Zaporizhzhia oblasts and near Kupiansk, Lyman, Siversk, Toretsk, and Pokrovsk,” ISW added.

President Donald Trump has set a precondition for any meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, requiring the Russian leader to also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, New York Post reported on 7 August.

The developments follow a three-hour meeting between Putin and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on 6 August. Ushakov described it as “useful and constructive,” while Trump subsequently claimed “significant progress” was achieved during that encounter.

“Putin must meet with Zelenskyy for the meeting to occur,” a White House official told The Post. “No location has been set.”

The condition comes after Moscow claimed on 7 August that Russia and the United States had agreed “in principle” to hold a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Trump. Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said that “an agreement was agreed in principle to hold a bilateral summit meeting in the coming days, that is, a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump,” which he said was made “at the suggestion of the American side.”

However, the White House had not confirmed any bilateral meeting. Trump himself expressed skepticism about Putin’s intentions during a Wednesday press conference, noting he has “been disappointed before” by Moscow’s promises of seeking peace.

“He talks nice and then he bombs everybody,” Trump said, referring to Putin’s pattern of private peace pledges followed by aerial attacks on Ukrainian civilians.

Trump indicated he would determine Putin’s seriousness about ending the war “within a matter of weeks, maybe less.” The president expressed concern about hosting a bilateral meeting ahead of a trilateral one, fearing Putin might continue to “tap along” Trump with meaningless talks.

The Kremlin appears resistant to including Zelenskyy in any initial meeting.

“First of all, we propose to focus on the preparation of a bilateral meeting with Trump and we consider the main thing that this meeting should be successful and effective,” Ushakov said.

The UN sounds the alarm. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are held in overcrowded, unsanitary prisons on occupied Ukrainian territories, as well as in Belarus and Russia, Alice Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, reveals in an article for The New York Times. 

Most Ukrainian prisoners are isolated from the outside world and subjected to systematic torture, starvation, and psychological abuse. 

“Investigating and prosecuting torture is a legal obligation, not a diplomatic nicety or something that can be negotiated or leveraged during negotiations,” Edwards stresses.

Russia legalizes torture as a military tactic

Edwards concluded that only one party in the conflict employs torture as a state policy — Russia.

“ …Widespread nature of witness accounts while in Russian custody — along with Moscow’s failure to address the issue — have led me to the conclusion that it can only be a systemic, state-endorsed practice approved at the highest levels,” she says.

Torture methods are shockingly brutal: sexual violence, electric shocks, suffocation, sleep deprivation, mock executions.

“Malnourishment is routine, and individuals have reported being hung upside down and held in stress positions for long periods, sometimes beaten during it,” Edwards noted.

Victims’ testimonies: “Threatened with castration and rape”

For example, Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Kharlats, captured early in the war, described six or seven torture sessions with electric shocks, forced to keep his arms along his body to intensify pain, and beaten with batons and rifle butts when convulsing.

Another prisoner, Anatoliy Tutov, endured four interrogations with beatings and sexual torture, including a threat to cut off his penis and rape him. Upon release, doctors documented internal bruises, two broken ribs, and cracked bones.

Another prisoner, a woman from occupied Kherson, was abducted on her way to work, raped, and electrocuted on her first day in captivity. She has been transferred between prisons and is now held in a Russian facility.

A Ukrainian drone destroys Russian bridge in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. The FPV drone strike didn’t just damage the structure — it detonated Russian-planted anti-tank mines, causing the bridge to collapse in a powerful explosion.

Ukrainian drone unit strikes key logistics target

Militarnyi reports that the attack was carried out by the strike drone company of the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade, which is currently attached to the 3rd Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade, also known as the “Iron Brigade.” The brigade published footage of the operation.

The destroyed concrete bridge had long served the Russian army as a critical supply route in the border area, enabling the transfer of troops and equipment. Expecting a Ukrainian advance, Russian forces had mined the bridge with TM-62 anti-tank explosives.

Recon teams triggered a deadly chain reaction

Ukrainian reconnaissance units discovered the planted mines. In response, the military launched an FPV drone armed with an explosive warhead. The drone hit the bridge and set off the Russian explosives. The resulting blast destroyed the entire structure.

Open-source analyst Blinzka identified the bridge as located near the village of Novopetrovka in Belgorod Oblast. The explosion not only destroyed the transport artery but also inflicted additional losses due to the detonation of Russia’s own engineering munitions.

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