Exclusives

Russians captured him, cut his throat, and left Ukrainian POW to die. He survived and wants revenge for tortured comrades. National Guard soldier Vladyslav was dragged into a basement near Pokrovsk and watched how the Russians tortured seven Ukrainian defenders before they slashed his own throat and dumped him in a pit with their bodies, thinking he was dead. He was not.

2 million workers gone: Russia’s war economy slides toward collapse. With 73% of businesses understaffed, defense plants are breaking under labor shortages and falling output.

Ukraine’s M-2 Bradleys engage Russian infantry at point-blank range. A Russian tank brigade pushed into Vorone. A Ukrainian assault regiment pushed back.

Ukrainian journalist abducted from his garden in 2022 returns from Russian captivity weighing less than 45 kg. Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khyliuk returned from Russian captivity in the latest exchange on 24 August, weighing less than 45 kg (99 lbs), as he spent three years in Russian prison after his abduction near Kyiv in 2022.

Military

DeepState: Russians occupy two villages in Dnipro Oblast for the first time

. After months of Ukrainian military denials, Russian forces established their first confirmed presence in Zaporizke and Novogeorgiyivka villages, Dnipro Oblast.

Russia’s Syzran refinery lost critical equipment in recent strikes — Rosneft plant now offline, Astra reports. The core oil processing and pump installations were destroyed, halting operations entirely.

Ukraine knocks out 17% of Russia’s oil capacity — and that’s just this month, Reuters says. Moscow’s energy security unravels as Ukraine escalates long-range attacks on its most vulnerable assets.

Ukrainian drone reportedly crashes in Estonian field after Russian GPS jamming diverts flight path. No injuries occurred, but Estonian Security Police warn the device could have caused extensive damage if it had hit residential buildings instead of farmland.

Intelligence and technology

Revenge served cold: Kronshtadt’s billion-ruble meltdown. AO Kronshtadt, one of Russia’s largest drone manufacturers, is drowning in debt.

Russia helps China to develop amphibious operation system for potential Taiwan attack. The technology transfer coincides with China’s strategic commitment to prevent Russia’s Ukraine defeat, suggesting coordinated efforts to stretch Western military resources across multiple potential theaters.

Ukrainian intelligence exposes Russian colonel’s four fake combat awards scheme

. The scheme exposes how Russia’s $1 trillion war budget enriches corrupt officers while families of killed soldiers are systematically denied death benefits.

Ukrainian man disguised as woman to spy for Russian intelligence. He got 15 years in prison.. A 26-year-old man from Odesa Oblast was recruited through a Telegram channel advertising opportunities for quick financial gain.

International

EU’s new Russian sanctions package will not be as expected. EU prepares 19th sanctions package targeting Russian shadow fleet and evasion tactics while leaving energy sales that fund Ukraine war intact.

Belgium promises first F-16 jets to Ukraine within months. Belgium joins the growing coalition of countries providing F-16s to Ukraine, while also committing to comprehensive support including €20 million for grain initiatives and completing Black Sea demining by 2029.

US-Russia energy deals floated as incentives for Ukraine peace talks: Reuters. Exxon return and LNG equipment sales offered as incentives for Russia agreeing to a peace deal with Ukraine.

Brussels confirms member states free to determine refugee payment levels amid Polish restrictions. EU countries must provide Ukrainian refugees with “necessary assistance” but face no minimum payment standards, European Commission confirmed amid Poland’s moves to restrict benefits to working Ukrainians.

Russia’s closest ally accuses Moscow of betrayal despite sending weapons to kill 13,800 Ukrainians

. The alliance fracture reveals how partnerships built on civilian targeting prove fragile when partners face their own military goals.

Humanitarian and social impact

122 Crimean Muslims persecuted since Russia’s 2014 annexation: CTRC. Russia has “actively persecuted” members of the Crimean Tatar indigenous group since its illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.

Russia eliminates monitoring of facilities where beatings, electrocution becomes standard practice against Ukrainian POWs. Russia plans even worse crimes against Ukrainians after quitting a torture convention, says the Ukrainian ombudsman.

UPDATE: Russian shelling traps 148 miners underground in Dobropillia coal mines. The 148 trapped miners face potential suffocation or equipment failure without power to operate ventilation and safety systems in the deep coal shafts.

Political and legal developments

Ukrainian human rights defender Maksym Butkevych shortlisted for Václav Havel Prize. One of Ukraine’s leading voices on human rights spent 913 days in Russian prison.

Ukraine’s $185 billion war tab threatens everything after victory. Ukraine spends more servicing debt than supporting its elderly and vulnerable.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Halloween 2025 carving ideas. To get your Halloween projects to truly get noticed, it all begins with the proper tools

Military

Frontline report: Top Russian general maimed and rushed to Moscow as Ukraine strangles supply routes in Sumy. Ukrainian forces ambushed Abachev’s convoy while he attempted to reorganize collapsing defenses, trapping Russian soldiers in Sumy without resupply.

Frontline report: Russian artillery can’t fire from the riverbank — so reinforcements crawl 15 km under drones. Denied artillery cover, Russian soldiers inch toward the Zherebets bridgehead while Ukrainian drones circle overhead.

Intelligence and technology

Experts spotted new Ukraine’s guided bomb at defense innovations forum

. Ukraine debuts domestically-made guided bomb with 3D-printed components to international defense ministers at Kyiv weapons showcase forum.

Ukraine tests its largest 700kg remote-controlled vehicle. Ukrainian forces showcased PROTECTOR, a remote-controlled ground vehicle capable of transporting 700 kilograms of cargo, injured soldiers and towing trailers with three-ton vehicles.

Ukraine deploys new Veres-2 anti-drone system that jams UAVs at 2km range. Commercial drones carrying explosives face new countermeasures as Ukraine deploys domestically-produced Veres-2 jammers on active front sections.

Polish president’s veto may cut Starlink access for Ukraine, used for drone real-time coordination. Poland’s Digital Minister warns the presidential veto will cripple Ukrainian forces’ ability to coordinate drone strikes and artillery operations in real-time.

Zelenskyy presents combat-tested weapons to EU partners in Kyiv’s shelter defense forum. Ukraine’s battlefield innovations are attracting European defense ministers seeking proven technologies rather than untested concepts.

Defense Express: Official video allegedly reveals first ever public look at Ukraine’s secretive 1000 km Neptune missile. The original domestic R-360 Neptune targeted ships at 300 km, but the “Long Neptune” variant strikes ground targets at 1000 km.

Polish helicopter plant sent €1.2 million to Russian defense company month before invasion of Ukraine. InformNapalm’s investigation reveals how NATO defense contractors may have inadvertently financed the very military capabilities now threatening alliance security.

International

Germany to spend $ 9 bn annually to support Ukraine – Finance Minister. Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil announced Germany’s €9 billion yearly commitment to Ukraine during talks with Ukrainian officials, up from €1.6 billion in direct budget aid since 2022.

Ramstein Ukraine defence meeting set for London on 9 September. Defence officials from Ukraine’s partner countries will meet face-to-face in London next month for the latest Ramstein format discussions

Trump: Putin avoids meeting Zelenskyy because “He doesn’t like him”.

Ukraine advances $50 billion deal with US during meeting with Kellogg in Kyiv. Ukraine’s proposed annual production of 10 million drones would dwarf current manufacturing while establishing the country as world’s defense technology powerhouse.

China denies media reports of willingness to join Ukraine peacekeeping forces. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman stated that “China’s position on the Ukrainian crisis is consistent and clear.”

Ukraine needs NATO-like security guarantees before any peace deal, German foreign minister says. Johann Wadephul highlighted the need for United States participation in any comprehensive security arrangement for Ukraine beyond Europe’s involvement.

Humanitarian and social impact

Crimean spy case prisoner beats death odds after seven-year Russian ordeal. Most Ukrainian face electric shock torture and starvation in Russian captivity.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine indicts officials involved in $36 million mortar rounds procurement fraud scheme. Ukrainian artillery units lost access to 100,000 mortar rounds through systematic theft by the very officials meant to arm them.

New developments

Storm destroys Ukrainian installation “Black Cloud” at the US Burning Man festival. A Ukrainian art installation warning about global war threats lasted mere hours at the Burning Man festival before a desert windstorm tore through the 7-ton structure

Ukrainian war veterans complete Bosphorus swim, two with amputated legs finish under 90 minutes. Two Ukrainian veterans who lost legs in combat completed the Bosphorus swim on Independence Day, crossing 6.5 km from Asia to Europe without informing organizers of their amputations

Ukraine posts 265,000 jobs during war but half the workers are gone. Ukraine has a quarter-million job openings and high unemployment. At the same time.

Woody Allen joins Moscow film festival as Russia kills Ukrainian artists. The Hollywood director appeared via video link at the Moscow International Cinema Week, where he praised Russian cinema and expressed openness to future projects despite the ongoing aggression.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

From text to speech to HD video: How AI is enhancing media across the board. This blog post explores how AI is enhancing media, focusing on text-to-speech AI, AI video upscaler, and AI voice generator

Ukraine’s Fire Point builds 100 attack drones every day, all day—aimed at Russia. Running nonstop, Fire Point will turn out 36,000 drones this year, nearly matching the Shahed swarms that Moscow sends by the thousands.

Military

Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s largest Baltic gas hub in Ust-Luga strike (VIDEO)

. The precision strike on Novatek’s cryogenic fractionation unit marks Ukraine’s second successful attack on the strategic port this year.

HUR surprise assault liberates Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast as Russians lose company-sized unit. The operation caught Russian defenders unprepared.

Marines raise Ukrainian flag on National Flag Day in liberated Donetsk settlement. The recapture of Zelenyi Hai comes amid broader Russian advance on the Donetsk front line.

Ukrainian drones strike Russian port and oil refinery in coordinated attack on war-funding infrastructure [updated]. The attack focused on energy facilities processing petroleum products for military use.

Intelligence and technology

Canada commits $ 1 billion in drones, armor, and ammunition for Ukraine — delivery expected in September

. Prime Minister Mark Carney specified that this sum will fund immediate weapons procurement, with additional tens of millions allocated for bomb shelters and cybersecurity assistance.

Norway and Germany to finance two American Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine amid Russian missile threat. The joint purchase operates within the new mechanism in which Europe finances American-manufactured systems aimed for Ukraine.

International

NBC invites Russia’s top diplomat on Ukrainian independence day to demand territorial surrender. Lavrov set conditions on Ukraine’s right to exist while dismissing Zelenskyy as “de facto head of the regime” in interview with “Meet the Press.”

Humanitarian and social impact

Kherson’s former mayor freed from Russian captivity on Independence Day, while current mayor still suffers behind bars

. Mykolaienko’s heroic decision to refuse early release in 2022 to save a critically ill cellmate reveals the moral choices facing Ukrainian prisoners.

Independence Day swap returns Ukrainian defenders from thousands who are still captive in Russia. These soldiers defended locations that defined Ukraine’s resistance.

Political and legal developments

German investigators: four bombs weighing up to 27 kg each destroyed Nord Stream gas pipelines 80 meters underwater. Placing bombs required specialized diving equipment and explosives expertise that points to military-level planning, German prosecutors stated.

New developments

Independence Day of Ukraine: celebrating independence when fighting for freedom. Ukraine declared independence in 1991; Russia has been trying to crush it ever since.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Ukraine’s Fire Point builds 100 attack drones every day, all day—aimed at Russia. Running nonstop, Fire Point will turn out 36,000 drones this year, nearly matching the Shahed swarms that Moscow sends by the thousands.

Ukraine’s blue-yellow flag marks 33 years of independence symbolism. Ukraine’s blue and yellow colors trace back to 1256 when Prince Danylo Halytskyi created Lviv’s coat of arms – beginning a 767-year journey through persecution, space missions, and wartime victories.

Kostyantynivka’s new morning routine: turn on the gas. Nothing. Russians are 3 miles away. Hours of bombing today destroyed gas lines. The postal service fled, saying it was “too dangerous”.

Inside Human Safari: the film that captures Russia’s drones hunting Ukrainians like prey. “A fantastic horror movie… our reality”

Military

Ukraine drone strike keeps Russia’s only Rostov refinery burning for third day. The Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery processes 100,000 barrels daily. Locals now face water shortages, toxic air, and unpaid wages.

Frontline report: Russian reinforcements walk for days to reach Sumy front — Ukraine hits them first. After massive armor losses in Kursk, Moscow’s forces rely on infantry that often arrives too late to stop Ukrainian advances.

Russian soldiers who killed civilians in Bucha blow up in occupied Luhansk Oblast. Russian soldiers were operating an air defense unit in occupied Luhansk Oblast when an explosion killed three and injured two others on 22 August

Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot dies in landing crash after combat mission

. A 44-year-old pilot from Kropyvnytskyi who had been conducting daily combat flights against Russian forces was killed in a MiG-29 crash while attempting to land after a mission.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine must build “anti-Rubicon” hunter units to target elite Russian drone crews, says expert. Mariia Berlinska says offensive counter-strategy is urgently needed against 5,000-strong force.

European Defence Commissioner “more optimistic” on investments in Ukraine’s defence industry. Andrius Kubilius moved from spring concerns about lukewarm EU support for Ukraine’s defence investments to declaring their intentions to tap €150 bn in EU defence loans “quite soon.”

Russia imposes fuel rationing on civilians: Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence. Assessment follows Ukrainian strikes on major refineries forcing Russian export bans.

International

“Forever grateful”: US Orthodox Archbishop cosied up to Putin in Alaska, now he is sorry. Meeting Putin at Trump’s Alaska summit, Archbishop Alexei’s remarks drew backlash and forced him to clarify he acted alone, not for the Orthodox Church in America.

Nearly two-thirds of Poles reject military mission to Ukraine, poll shows. A new survey reveals minimal Polish public support for participating in international peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, with 17.3% respondents backing the idea

Italy’s deputy prime minister tells Macron to “take a rifle” and go to Ukraine himself, sparking diplomatic row. France summoned Italy’s ambassador after Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told Emmanuel Macron to “put on a helmet, take a rifle and go to Ukraine yourself” rather than send Italian troops

China is ready to send peacekeepers to Ukraine under United Nations authorization – Welt. European officials face a dilemma over China’s conditional offer, with some viewing Beijing’s UN mandate requirement as both opportunity and potential espionage risk.

NATO military chief: Foreign troop deployment in Ukraine “at minimum premature”

. NATO’s top military official calls troop deployment talks “embryonic” as the alliance delivers $33 billion in weapons to Ukraine since January via new rapid-delivery system.

Humanitarian and social impact

Sumy State University lost 60,000 books due to Russian attacks in seven months. A 5-million-hryvnia diffractometer and 15,000 books were destroyed when Russia struck Sumy State University on 18 Aug., bringing total book losses to 60,000 volumes.

69-year-old British volunteer killed by Russian drone in Ukraine; body trapped in combat zone. British woman drove alone into Ukraine war zone to deliver aid, died in Russian drone strike as family battles bureaucracy for death certificate

Fire in Mukachevo extinguished for third day after Russian strike. Thirteen Ukrainian rescue workers spent three days battling a fire that consumed 7,000 square meters of an American-owned factory after Russian missiles struck Mukachevo on 21 August.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Zelenskyy wanted 30,000 attack drones. One factory alone is building 36,000. Fire Point is producing 100 drones a day. Together with other plants, Ukraine may soon launch swarms to rival Russia’s 5,000 Shaheds a month.

Ukraine’s blue-yellow flag marks 33 years of independence symbolism. Ukraine’s blue and yellow colors trace back to 1256 when Prince Danylo Halytskyi created Lviv’s coat of arms – beginning a 767-year journey through persecution, space missions, and wartime victories.

Kostyantynivka’s new morning routine: turn on the gas. Nothing. Russians are 3 miles away. Hours of bombing today destroyed gas lines. The postal service fled, saying it was “too dangerous”.

The film showing how Russia’s killer drones turned Ukraine into a human safari. “A fantastic horror movie… our reality”

Russia lost a brigade near Dobropillya—more brigades are coming. Russia is rushing additional brigades into the salient northeast of Pokrovsk. Can the Ukrainian 1st Azov Corps sustain its counterattack?

Ukraine’s Black Widow ground drone carries six FPVs—costs less than a single Javelin missile. The carrier launches drones in pairs—one strikes, the other films the kill. The unusual feature lets operators confirm destruction before a follow-up attack.

Kamyshin built Ukraine’s arsenal sixfold—now he says Europe must pay to unlock it. “We need money,” said the man whose industry delivers weapons faster than traditional European suppliers.

Military

Ukrainian drones partially sink Moscow’s arms ship 640km deep inside Russia. The Caspian Sea attack on Port Olya 4 disrupts Iranian weapons deliveries that fuel daily Shahed strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine hits Russia’s most dangerous high-tech formation in Donetsk Oblast. The destruction of Rubicon’s command post may restore Ukraine’s drone advantage after the unit inflicted hundreds of vehicle losses in Kursk.

Five Russian divers tried to lift a Ukrainian drone in Novorossiysk bay — they never surfaced again

. The sea drone detonated during the recovery attempt, killing Russia’s elite sabotage group instantly.

Ukraine drones turned Russia’s Druzhba oil lifeline into fire — second hit in Bryansk’s Unecha this month (video). A late-night strike engulfed the Unecha pumping station in flames, disrupting a hub key to Moscow’s oil exports to Hungary and Slovakia.

Intelligence and technology

War-torn Ukraine develops cruise missile Europe’s industry сouldn’t build, says Austrian expert. The 1,150kg warhead missile enters mass production in January alongside 3,000 monthly FP-1 drones, though effectiveness depends on penetrating Russian air defenses through coordinated swarm attacks.

Ukraine’s gamified drone app raises $24K from 45 сountries on launch day. The app’s gamification features allow civilian donors to adopt military call signs and track their contributions to specific drone strikes.

International

Zelenskyy rejects China as peace guarantor after Beijing supplies 90% of weapons components to Russia

. Beijing’s $125.8 billion trade partnership with Moscow and weapons component supplies contradict its claims of neutrality.

Zelenskyy: Russians are doing everything to prevent the US-Ukraine-Russia meeting from taking place. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for international sanctions to compel Russia into peace negotiations, arguing that partners must “help ensure at least a minimal productive position from the Russian side.”

Ukraine gets $ 4.7 bn EU aid for Independence Day but loses $ 1.2 bn over stalled reforms. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the $ 4.7 billion transfer to Ukraine “evidence of our firm commitment.”

Rutte in Kyiv promises Ukraine “no repeat of Budapest Memorandum” with dual security guarantees. The commitment aims to establish deterrence mechanisms that the failed 1994 Budapest Memorandum couldn’t provide, though questions remain about whether theu can contain Putin’s territorial ambitions.

Humanitarian and social impact

Kremlin to Washington: your businesses are targets too. Two Kalibr missiles slam into a US-owned electronics plant in western Ukraine, injuring 12.

Two days of fire in Mukachevo, 21 wounded — ISW says Russia hit US-owned Flex plant to scare off US and EU investors

. Moscow stockpiled missiles and drones for the attack ahead of Putin’s meeting with Trump in Alaska, the think tank says.

Political and legal developments

Ukrainian suspected of undermining Nord Stream denies charges and refuses extradition. A Ukrainian man arrested in Italy over the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions displayed a three-finger trident gesture in court Friday while denying charges and refusing extradition to Germany

New developments

Two Ukrainians win gold at the 2025 world canoe sprint championships. From European runners-up to world champions in two months – Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan and Iryna Fedoriv completed their ascent to the top of international canoe sprint racing with victory in Milan.

Top 5 Forex cashback/rebate programs. You will understand how each program delivers value, what makes it unique, and how to tap into its benefits

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Sweden sends Ukraine billions in military aid—and every armored vehicle. Gripen jets? Ask NATO. Stockholm sent tanks, drones, and even its full fleet of armored carriers—everything but the jets Ukraine wanted most.

How did Russians sneak into Kupiansk—and run right into a Ukrainian tank?. Russians slipped deep into Kupiansk, and ran right into an alert Ukrainian tank. It’s not good news for Ukraine.

Military

Ukrainian General Staff confirms refinery strike in Rostov, reports new attacks on drone hub in Donetsk and fuel site in Voronezh

. The military’s announcement expands the known scope of the 21 August attacks.

Ukraine’s commandos struck a moving Russian fuel train in occupied Crimea. Kyiv’s elite troops continue sabotaging Russia’s critical supply chains on occupied soil.

Ukraine strikes another Russian refinery, railway substation, and GRU base in occupied Crimea (video). Occupation authorities in Sevastopol attempted to mask the attack as emergency exercises, drawing public skepticism.

Ukraine releases footage of drone strike on seasoned Russian general with war crime charges. He lost arm and leg. While Ukraine filed charges against Abatchev, documenting his participation in combat operations across multiple Luhansk Oblast settlements, Russia awarded him “Hero” titles.

Russia seeks entire Donbas in exchange for ceasefire promises, Zelenskyy says it would take them four years to occupy it. Zelenskyy stressed that Russian forces have only managed to seize about one-third of Donetsk Oblast since the full-scale invasion began.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine to start mass production of 3,000 km Flamingo missile, Zelenskyy says. The long-range weapon has already completed tests and could enter large-scale manufacturing by early 2026.

International

Militarnyi: Russian drone stayed in Polish airspace for 2.5 hours and was never intercepted. Airspace monitoring suggests it crossed 200 km from Ukraine to a village just 40 km from Warsaw.

After howitzers and a helicopter, Czech campaign now raising funds for five training aircraft for Ukraine. The Gift for Putin campaign has previously crowdfunded D-30 howitzers, a Black Hawk helicopter, anti-tank rocket launchers, explosives and other equipment and matériel for Ukraine.

Trump blames Biden’s policy that allowed Ukraine only to defend itself and not fight back properly

. The US president used a sports analogy of banning offensive plays to criticize Biden’s restrictions of strikes with American weapons, arguing that defensive capabilities alone cannot achieve victory.

Norway creates second brigade in Arctic to monitor border with Russia. Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik called the new Finnmark Brigade “a necessary response to a more uncertain security situation” along the Russian border

Frontline report: Azerbaijan and Armenia were bitter enemies—until Russia made them allies. Once at war over Nagorno-Karabakh, the two states now back a US-brokered corridor plan that sidelines Russia.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian attack on Sumy university burnt 15,000 books — third strike since 2022. The previous attack in April destroyed 45,000 volumes in the university’s congress center and killed 35 people.

Massive Russian air attack hits Ukraine with 574 drones and 40 missiles, including city near Hungarian border

. Kalibr missiles struck an American factory in Mukachevo while other strikes hit residential blocks in Lviv and targeted several more cities.

Political and legal developments

Russia awards Order of Courage to American killed fighting against Ukraine. His mom is CIA official.. The 21-year-old son of CIA deputy director had grown increasingly angry with American policies, moved to Russia, and signed a military contract in 2023. He died in 2024 near Bakhmut.

SBU: Ukraine arrests Russian spy inside marine brigade on active front. He directed strikes on Ukrainian bases. The accused commander leaked geolocations of his own unit to help Russian forces correct their targeting, while simultaneously attempting to recruit other Ukrainian soldiers for Moscow’s intelligence network.

Italy arrests Ukrainian suspect in Nord Stream pipeline bombing case. Serhij K.’s arrest in Italy represents a breakthrough in Germany’s two-year investigation into the Nord Stream bombings

Ukraine clears path to sell Sense Bank, Ukrgasbank in first wartime privatizations. Ukraine has finally decided to sell off some state banks, showing reform is advancing even as war grinds on.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Military

Ukrainian General Staff confirms refinery strike in Rostov, reports new attacks on drone hub in Donetsk and fuel site in Voronezh. The military’s announcement expands the known scope of the 21 August attacks.

Ukraine’s commandos struck a moving Russian fuel train in occupied Crimea. Kyiv’s elite troops continue sabotaging Russia’s critical supply chains on occupied soil.

Ukraine strikes another Russian refinery, railway substation, and GRU base in occupied Crimea (video)

. Occupation authorities in Sevastopol attempted to mask the attack as emergency exercises, drawing public skepticism.

Ukraine releases footage of drone strike on seasoned Russian general with war crime charges. He lost arm and leg.. While Ukraine filed charges against Abatchev, documenting his participation in combat operations across multiple Luhansk Oblast settlements, Russia awarded him “Hero” titles.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine to start mass production of 3,000 km Flamingo missile, Zelenskyy says. The long-range weapon has already completed tests and could enter large-scale manufacturing by early 2026.

International

Militarnyi: Russian drone stayed in Polish airspace for 2.5 hours and was never intercepted. Airspace monitoring suggests it crossed 200 km from Ukraine to a village just 40 km from Warsaw.

Frontline report: Azerbaijan and Armenia were bitter enemies—until Russia made them allies. Once at war over Nagorno-Karabakh, the two states now back a US-brokered corridor plan that sidelines Russia.

Humanitarian and social impact

Massive Russian air attack hits Ukraine with 574 drones and 40 missiles, including city near Hungarian border

. Kalibr missiles struck an American factory in Mukachevo while other strikes hit residential blocks in Lviv and targeted several more cities.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine moves to privatize state banks, testing reform amid war. Ukraine has finally decided to sell off some state banks, showing reform is advancing even as war grinds on.

Russia seeks entire Donbas in exchange for ceasefire promises, Zelenskyy says it would take them four years to occupy it. Zelenskyy stressed that Russian forces have only managed to seize about one-third of Donetsk Oblast since the full-scale invasion began.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Russia’s cozy nuke-proof command vehicle is back in action. Russian industry only produced four or five Ladoga nuclear reconnaissance vehicles. Two wound up in Ukraine.

From ambush to alliance: Zelenskyy-Trump summit hints at revival of “peace through strength. Something fundamental shifted when the man who promised to end Ukraine’s war in 24 hours discovered Putin won’t negotiate in good faith.

Trump–Zelenskyy summit: smiles in Washington, no ceasefire, $ 100bn bill. This Oval Office meeting went better than the last—but the war continues and enforcement remains unclear.

Ukrainian soldier first fought against Russia and then against Ukraine – his story reveals forced conscription in occupation. Ukrainian defenders captured their fellow Ukrainian fighting in Russian uniform who shared that the occupying authorities had threatened him with up to 12 years in prison for allegedly fabricated charges if he did not join killing of his own people on the front lines.

Ukraine builds an army where robots die so soldiers don’t have to. A New York tech CEO is finding the answer to Russia’s three-to-one manpower advantage.

NATO banned weapons to this Ukrainian unit. Now they study its tactics.. Azov went from pariah to the territorial defense case study.

Zelenskyy demands “everything” for security while Trump hints at vague Article 5-like protection. Ukraine wants weapons, troops, and intelligence support. Trump says he will discuss the guarantees with NATO allies later today.

Military

Intelligence and technology

International

Humanitarian and social impact

New developments

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Ukraine builds an army where robots die so soldiers don’t have to. A New York tech CEO is finding the answer to Russia’s three-to-one manpower advantage.

NATO banned weapons to this Ukrainian unit. Now they study its tactics.. Azov went from pariah to the territorial defense case study.

Zelenskyy demands “everything” for security while Trump hints at vague Article 5-like protection. Ukraine wants weapons, troops, and intelligence support. Trump says he will discuss the guarantees with NATO allies later today.

Triptorelin peptide: A scientific overview. Researchers have theorized that Triptorelin may interact with receptor sites involved in pituitary signaling, potentially affecting gonadotropin secretion and broader physiological responses in the observed research models

Ukraine’s Flamingo missile is for blasting Russian factories. Ukraine has a new cruise missile. It may be one of the hardest-hitting missiles in the world. But it’s unclear how many Kyiv can afford.

Military

Ukraine’s strike disrupts oil supplies to three EU countries still purchasing Russian oil. Ukraine’s 950km strike completely halted Russia’s Druzhba pipeline, cutting oil supplies to Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia while targeting infrastructure that funds Moscow’s 6.3% GDP war spending.

Syrskyi: Russian troops defeated near Sumy, redeploying to other direction. Russian forces abandoned their offensive in Sumy Oblast after two months without territorial gains, with elite paratroopers and marines now redeploying to the Zaporizhzhia direction

Frontline report: Azov corps encircles 800 Russian soldiers after 18-kilometer breakthrough collapses. Azov command reports an additional 101 Russian soldiers wounded and 13 taken prisoner during the rapid response operation that mobilized Ukraine’s 1st national guard army corps.

Russian soldiers apparently parading with American flag in occupied Ukraine. Propaganda video emerges days after Trump welcomed Putin in Alaska.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine gains access to the EU’s €1 billion defense contracts. Ukraine transforms from aid recipient to partner as EU opens €1 billion in defense contracts to battle-tested Ukrainian companies.

Post-war Ukraine set to supply military equipment across Europe, says US diplomat.

Frontline report: Azerbaijan is mass-producing 122mm and 155mm shells — Ukraine wants them all. Russia hit Azerbaijan’s oil sites in Ukraine. Baku answered by threatening to send weapons.

International

Ambassador resigns over Trump-Zelenskyy shouting match in Oval Office. Brigitte Brink revealed that a 28 February tense argument between Trump and Zelenskyy, during a meeting meant to seal a mineral resources deal, was a key reason she stepped down as US Ambassador to Ukraine.

US journalist apologizes to Zelenskyy after February suit controversy sparks in Oval Office

. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a response that highlighted the contrast between changing clothes and changing positions on the war.

EU increases its imports of Russian liquefied natural gas in six months.

President Zelenskyy meets Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, before Trump’s office visit. Seven European leaders accompanied President Zelenskyy to Washington for 18 August meetings with Trump administration officials

Live updates: Zelenskyy meets with Trump, European leaders to stop Russia’s mass killings in Ukraine. Since 2022, Russia has killed nearly 14,000 civilians and committed nearly 160,000 war crimes in Ukraine.

Trump reportedly threatened to end talks in Alaska when Putin wanted entire Donetsk Oblast – media. Negotiations between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin reached a critical juncture in Alaska when Putin demanded for complete control over Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast

Humanitarian and social impact

Ukraine says Russia teaches children from occupied territories to hate democratic world in brainwashing military camps

. Russian investment in teenage military camps reveals preparation for extended war rather than peace.

Russia kills family with five drones in Ukrainian region, which is under Washington’s negotiation agenda. Moscow’s coordinated drone assault on sleeping civilians tests whether targeted family killings can influence the peace talks in Washington.

Russian missiles hit Zaporizhzhia infrastructure, casualties mount to 17 in 24 hours. Russian ballistic missiles struck Zaporizhzhia on Sunday morning, injuring six people including two in serious condition

Azerbaijan oil depot SOCAR hit by 10 Russian drones in second Odesa attack this month. The same SOCAR oil depot targeted by Russian drones on 8 Aug. came under attack again overnight, igniting fires that required over 100 emergency responders and a railway fire train to extinguish

Death toll from Russian attack on residential area in Kharkiv rises to 5, including toddler and teenager. The youngest victim was just 18 months old when Russian Geran-2 drones struck a five-story apartment building in Kharkiv’s Industrial district, killing five people and injuring 20 others in the dawn attack.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine exposes 1,000-ship Russian “shadow fleet” using fake flags to fund war. Ukraine’s new tracking portal reveals how Moscow transforms stolen grain and oil into weapons funding,

Russia gunpowder plant explosion kills 20, injures 134 in Ryazan Oblast safety breach. Russia’s military explosives plant Elastik suffered another deadly blast Friday, killing 20 workers in one of the region’s worst industrial accidents.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Ukraine’s Flamingo missile is for blasting Russian factories. Ukraine has a new cruise missile. It may be one of the hardest-hitting missiles in the world. But it’s unclear how many Kyiv can afford.

144 Russian prison guards exposed for torturing Ukrainian POWs—investigation reveals daily routine of cruelty and family life. The Molfar Intelligence Institute, a Ukrainian NGO, traced how guards commit war crimes and then return to allegedly normal homes.

Hudson Institute lists Russia’s eight most fragile military arteries Ukraine could sever next to break the stalemate. A new report highlights targets ranging from Crimean bridges to drone factories that sustain Moscow’s war effort. Analysts argue that striking these weak points could paralyze Russia’s logistics and increase the cost of occupation.

Alaska surrender: Putin scores total victory, Trump turns pressure on Ukraine. Trump abandoned $205 million daily sanctions against Russia while demanding Ukraine surrender its fortress belt—territorial concessions unprecedented since 1945.

Robot counterattack! Ukraine rolls gun-‘bots into brutal Pokrovsk battle.. Wheeled robots firing machine guns are helping Ukrainian troops defeat a deep Russian incursion near Pokrovsk.

Editorial: The summit that peacewashed genocide. Putin left Alaska knowing genocide pays. Every dictator was watching.

Military

Ukrainian sniper pulls off record 4-km shot that killed two Russians. Yes, it took AI. The strike near Pokrovsk used a 14.5 mm Snipex Alligator rifle guided by drones and AI, doubling the weapon’s official range.

Russia launched 60 drones and a missile overnight—Ukraine downed 40, but 12 locations still hit. Air Force says waves of Shaheds and decoys struck targets in three frontline oblasts late on 16 August.

Kadyrov’s fighters were driving truck into Melitopol base when Ukraine struck, wiping out Russian aresenal. The Ukrainian intelligence struck deep in the occupied city, destroying a key military arsenal.

Frontline report: The clock is ticking for Azov to turn Russia’s Pokrovsk breakthrough into a trap

. Azov’s mission exploits Russian overextension—troops pushed 13 kilometers in four days but left flanks exposed.

Ukraine hit a Russian convoy in Kursk — deputy commander of Moscow’s North grouping lost an arm and leg. The strike in Kursk Oblast forced Moscow to rush its deputy commander to emergency surgery, HUR says.

A direct drone strike lit up Liski rail station—Russia confirmed train delays across its southern network (video). Despite claiming mass interceptions, Russian officials acknowledged the hit on one of their key transport arteries.

Volgograd refinery goes up in smoke again—two days after a major drone strike (video). The fire broke out during reported “repairs” as emergency vehicles rushed in and sirens rang across the city.

Pokrovsk cleared of Russian infiltrators — but Dobropillia front still unstable, Ukrainian military says. Ukrainian forces also cleared villages near Dobropillia, including Hruzke, Rubizhne, Novovodiane, Petrovka, Vesele, and Zolotyi Kolodiaz, dissecting the Russian push.

Frontline report: Russian commanders vanish after questioning orders of “meat grinder” near Pokrovsk. Russia systematically uses deceived Central Asian migrants and forcibly mobilized separatists from occupied areas as cannon fodder, reflecting Moscow’s willingness to sacrifice marginalized populations for symbolic land victories.

Intelligence and technology

Frontline report: Azerbaijan is mass-producing 122mm and 155mm shells — Ukraine wants them all. Russia hit Azerbaijan’s oil sites in Ukraine. Baku answered by threatening to send weapons.

Ukraine sanctions Russia’s international AI drone networks. Russian, Chinese, and Belarusian companies hit with new sanctions for supplying Russian drone manufacturing.

International

The Economist: Trump team is “unbelievably aggressive” toward Ukraine in land concession push. A Kyiv officer warned US negotiators are pressing Ukraine to yield territory, raising fears Washington is advancing Russia’s interests.

Europe ditched Ukraine troop plan 4 days ago — now it’s back after US security promise. Trump’s Article 5-style pledge, reportedly agreed in Alaska talks with Putin, revived plans for a multinational force in Ukraine.

Trump envoy: Putin agrees to NATO-like security guarantees for Ukraine, vows law blocking Russian attacks on Europe

. Steve Witkoff said Russia agreed to NATO-style protections for Kyiv and to pass a law forbidding future Russian invasions of European countries.

Trump met Putin – now Zelenskyy brings 5 European leaders, NATO, and the EU to the Oval Office. The Washington meeting comes days after Donald Trump’s Alaska talks with Vladimir Putin unsettled Kyiv and its allies.

Humanitarian and social impact

One note forced failed Russian businessman to choose survival over duty on Toretsk front. A former crypto entrepreneur, thrown into combat, obeyed a drone’s message and escaped the fate of his comrade.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

144 Russian prison guards exposed for torturing Ukrainian POWs—investigation reveals daily routine of cruelty and family life. The Molfar Intelligence Institute, a Ukrainian NGO, traced how guards commit war crimes and then return to allegedly normal homes.

Hudson Institute lists Russia’s eight most fragile military arteries Ukraine could sever next to break the stalemate. A new report highlights targets ranging from Crimean bridges to drone factories that sustain Moscow’s war effort. Analysts argue that striking these weak points could paralyze Russia’s logistics and increase the cost of occupation.

Alaska surrender: Putin scores total victory, Trump turns pressure on Ukraine. Trump abandoned $205 million daily sanctions against Russia while demanding Ukraine surrender its fortress belt—territorial concessions unprecedented since 1945.

Robot counterattack! Ukraine rolls gun-‘bots into brutal Pokrovsk battle.. Wheeled robots firing machine guns are helping Ukrainian troops defeat a deep Russian incursion near Pokrovsk.

Editorial: The summit that peacewashed genocide. Putin left Alaska knowing genocide pays. Every dictator was watching.

Military

Ukraine crashes Russian horns of war near Pokrovsk, eliminating 271 occupiers over few days. Smoke and dust rise over the Donetsk horizon as Ukrainian brigades hold the line, crushing Russian attempts to seize Dobropillia and blunting their push toward Pokrovsk.

One note forced failed Russian businessman to choose survival over duty on Toretsk front. A former crypto entrepreneur, thrown into combat, obeyed a drone’s message and escaped the fate of his comrade.

Zelenskyy: Kyiv expects surge in attacks on Ukraine to force concessions after Alaska peace talks

. Russian forces are massing for fresh assaults, yet Kyiv says it is ready to fight fire with fire.

Intelligence and technology

Russian Grad and tank wiped out in Donetsk by Ukraine’s Phoenix drone unit drones in one mission (video). Video from Ukrainian border guards shows FPV drones eliminating the weapons and infantry.

International

Alaska talks end, yet nothing changes: Putin still considers Ukraine “artificial” country. Russia continues its ultimatum, showing zero willingness to compromise on Ukraine’s sovereignty.

War criminal walked red carpet in Alaska like king, while Ukraine’s fate was hanging in shadows

. The summit’s slogans promised dialogue, but the reality reinforced Russia’s immovable demands on territory and neutrality.

EU leaders demand “ironclad security guarantees” for Ukraine, vow stronger Russia sanctions after Trump-Putin talks. The joint statement from Macron, Meloni, Merz, Tusk and other leaders challenged any agreement that would limit Ukraine’s “pathway to EU and NATO.”

Macron warns lessons of 30 years are clear — Russia cannot be trusted to keep promises. After the Alaska talks ended without a deal, the French president stresses that any peace must rest on unwavering guarantees for Ukraine.

Negotiations or blackmail: Ukraine and Trump split over how to end Russia’s war. Trump insists on striking a deal first; Kyiv says that path only rewards Moscow’s missiles.

Kremlin officials celebrate Putin’s “red carpet” treatment as war isolation narrative has collapsed. Russian Deputy Security Council Chairman stated that “negotiations are possible without preconditions and simultaneously with the continuation of the ‘special military operation,'” rejecting Ukrainian demands for a ceasefire first.

Reuters: After Alaska talks, Russia offers US firm return to Russian oil project and demands sanctions relief

. Putin’s new decree requiring foreign investors to “undertake actions to support the lifting of Western sanctions” signals Moscow’s push to end three years of wartime isolation.

“Now it’s up to Zelenskyy”: Trump shifts peace responsibility after Putin talks as Russia denies three-leader meeting claim. After rating his Putin meeting a perfect “10 out of 10,” Trump said that Ukrainian President must “get it done” and that organizers would arrange a summit between all three leaders—but Russian officials say no such trilateral meeting was ever discussed during the three-hour Alaska session.

Putin escapes US sanctions despite leaving Alaska talks without peace deal on Ukraine. After days of speculation, the Trump-Putin summit closes without signatures, only vague promises of progress, while Russia bombardments continue.

LIVE UPDATE: Putin lands in Alaska for meeting with Trump. Earlier, the US President Donald Trump suggested that a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine might require some territorial exchange for the benefit of both sides.

Trump says Putin’s “genes” may be responsible for strikes on Ukrainian civilians. He also claimed Ukraine may receive some security guarantees.

Humanitarian and social impact

US First Lady delivers personal letter to Putin via Trump addressing massive child deportation war crimes. Ukraine documented over 19,000 illegally moved children from occupied territories, while the actual number may be much higher, and the Hague court charged Putin for this crime.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Disgusting.

That’s the word watching American soldiers drop to their knees, unrolling a red carpet for the man who killed Ukrainian children yesterday and will kill more tomorrow.

While Putin posed for photos in Alaska, Ukrainian parents were pulling their kids from rubble.

While he grinned in Trump’s limousine, Ukrainian mothers were digging graves.

While an Orthodox bishop exchanged gifts with a war criminal, 19,000 stolen Ukrainian children remained in Russian camps.

What really happened Friday: America told the world that genocide pays. War crimes get you red carpet treatment. Russia’s Foreign Minister showed up wearing a USSR sweatshirt. Russian state media served “chicken Kyiv” on Putin’s plane while actual Kyiv burns nightly from Russia’s drones.

The message was clear: We own you now.

The truth Trump abandoned

Putin didn’t just get legitimacy in Alaska; he got proof that the West has abandoned truth itself.

Genocide became “diplomacy.”

War crimes became “peace talks.”

Child killers become “partners.”

Here are the truths they’ve abandoned:

Truth 1: Peoples have the right to exist. They call this a “territorial dispute” when Russian officials openly admit genocidal intent.

Putin isn’t after land—he’s after eliminating Ukraine itself. But reality doesn’t bend to political convenience. Our right to exist isn’t negotiable.

This is bigger than Ukraine. Russia is fighting against existence itself—the principle that different peoples should exist, should grow, should contribute their own gifts to the world. Every time a people is erased, the world becomes smaller, darker, less human.

While America rolled out the red carpet for our destroyer, Ukraine stood up for the right of all peoples to flourish in this world. Because when the powerful are allowed to erase the weak, you’ve destroyed the only thing standing between civilization and chaos.

Once might makes right, there’s always someone mightier.

Truth 2: Truth and justice make civilizations great, not strongmen. Trump thinks Putin is powerful. He said Russian troops “retreated” from Kyiv because they got stuck in the mud, not because Ukrainians stood and fought.  He looks past Zelenskyy, thinking Ukraine doesn’t have the cards.

But he has it backwards.

Ukraine’s strength doesn’t come from tanks. It comes from standing for truth and justice—the very foundations that once made the West great.

Trump promised to “Make America Great Again.” He could have done exactly that by supporting the nation fighting for the very things that make America great. Instead, he chose a perpetrator of genocide.

Truth 3: Unconfronted evil grows. Politicians say: “This war needs to end, it’s cost thousands of lives.”

The lie is that giving Putin what he wants will make him stop. It won’t.

Putin didn’t stop after Georgia or Crimea, and he won’t stop after Donetsk. Evil doesn’t get satisfied when fed. It gets hungrier.

The choice before us

This is the West’s war being fought with Ukrainian blood. Putin isn’t just trying to erase Ukraine—he’s testing whether democratic civilization will defend itself. Friday gave him his answer.

The West can abandon Ukraine today and face Putin’s tanks in Warsaw tomorrow. America can sell us out now and watch its own children conscripted later.

What must happen now

Friday was America’s test. America failed.

But Ukrainians are still fighting. Still dying for the principles democratic civilization claims to believe in. Still holding the line that Western leaders are too weak to defend.

The West has one chance left:

• Send every weapon Ukraine needs. Now.
• Freeze every Russian asset. Today.
• Cut every pipeline, every bank, every trade deal that feeds Russian aggression.

Ukraine still fights for existence itself. The only question is whether the West will fight for its own.

Exclusive

Can anybody tell how many new T-90M tanks Russia is building—300 a year or just 10? NATO’s asking for a friend. The analysis community’s best guesses range from “almost none” to “a lot,” which isn’t much help for military planning.

From myth to genocide: how the Kremlin’s story about Ukraine fuels war. Why are Russians hell-bent on hating Ukrainians? Why do they hate them enough to leave their families and try to kill them in some faraway steppe, inspired by drivel from their TVs? This hatred was cultivated over decades — but what dirty purpose does it serve in the Russian soul? A new book explores precisely that.

Anchorage braces for Trump–Putin summit today as protests warn of deal over Ukraine. Ukraine’s leader and European allies fear Washington could cut a deal over their heads.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption cops just beat the president—but the fight’s not over. Ukraine’s corruption investigators are back to charging million-dollar schemes after surviving a July attempt to strip their independence. But they’re working under a government that still has the administrative tools to derail sensitive cases and has demonstrated its willingness to use them.

The peace that kills: How the Alaska summit could end Ukraine without ending the war. In Washington, they call it peace negotiations. In Moscow, they call it Ukraine’s legal execution.

Russian infiltrators near Pokrovsk are about to get the tank treatment. Ukraine is rushing heavy armor toward Pokrovsk. The tanks could help roll back a dangerous Russian incursion.

Russian Easter vodka binges delayed Ukraine’s covert bomber-killing drone strike, SBU reveals. The Security Service of Ukraine originally planned the operation for early May, but Russian drivers’ Easter drinking binges forced a delay for a month

Military

Ukraine crashes Russian horns of war near Pokrovsk, eliminating 271 occupiers over few days. Smoke and dust rise over the Donetsk horizon as Ukrainian brigades hold the line, crushing Russian attempts to seize Dobropillia and blunting their push toward Pokrovsk.

Russian Grad and tank wiped out in Donetsk by Ukraine’s Phoenix drone unit drones in one mission (video). Video from Ukrainian border guards shows FPV drones eliminating the weapons and infantry.

Putin calls North Korean troops “heroic” – Russia rewards Pyongyang for cannon fodder

. Western intelligence estimates 4,000 of the original 11,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured in Kursk Oblast.

Ukrainian city smaller than Prague faces Russian forces larger than some NATO states’ entire troops. Drawn from Sumy front’s fields, entire Russian brigades roll east, turning a Donetsk town into the focal point of the war in Ukraine

Ukraine’s GenStaff says its deep strikes have erased 4% of Russia’s GDP this year—42% of attacks targeted oil refineries (infographics). Kyiv’s military reveals a breakdown of long-range attacks that have crippled refineries, storage depots, and ports.

Russia abandons foreign fighters in Ukrainian captivity – lured in by promises of riches. Moscow’s foreign recruitment spans six continents while captured fighters remain excluded from all prisoner exchanges.

Russia says 13 drones destroyed — but Syzran refinery burns and videos show fire raging at military-linked fuel plant. Authorities scrambled to impose “Kovyor” plan, grounding aircraft and restricting communications.

Ukraine strikes Russian Olya port in Astrakhan Oblast, targeting vessel with Iranian drone parts. The Astrakhan Oblast port has been used to deliver military cargo for Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Debris found after Russian Su-30 crash near Ukraine’s Zmiinyi (Snake) Island in Black Sea, Navy says

. Ukrainian officials say radio intercepts showed a Su-30 vanished near Zmiinyi (Snake) Island, with wreckage spotted and the pilot missing.

Intelligence and technology

TWZ: Russia made its missiles smarter — Ukraine’s Patriots are now struggling to catch them. Flight maneuvers and decoys give warheads more ways to beat air defenses.

Militarnyi: Russian Black Sea Fleet’s 43rd Air Regiment loses over half its Su-30SM fighters since 2022. The Crimean-based unit began the war with 12 jets. Seven are now gone, with more damaged.

International

LIVE UPDATE: Putin lands in Alaska for meeting with Trump. Earlier, the US President Donald Trump suggested that a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine might require some territorial exchange for the benefit of both sides.

Trump says Putin’s “genes” may be responsible for strikes on Ukrainian civilians

. He also claimed Ukraine may receive some security guarantees.

“War criminal on US soil”: Alaska erupts as Putin lands for Trump summit. Local voices unite against what they see as legitimizing tyranny.

Lavrov wears “USSR” sweater in Alaska, as his colleague makes it clear — no peace deal signing today. Putin and Trump will sit across from each other as Alaska braces for tense discussions that will shape Europe’s future.

Global crowds demand “no new Munich” as Trump-Putin summit excludes Zelenskyy. Global demonstrations reject territorial concessions as bilateral meeting sidelines Ukrainian president

Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar says Kremlin has joined Orbán’s campaign against him. The Kremlin’s spy agency echoed Viktor Orbán’s rhetoric, portraying Magyar as a Brussels stooge ahead of April’s elections.

Humanitarian and social impact

From Kharkiv to Kherson, Russia’s war on civilians kills again in latest day of strikes. Ukraine’s Air Force said it intercepted 63 of 97 Russian drones overnight, but two Iskander-M missiles and several UAVs still hit 13 locations.

“Get out now”: Ukraine tells families to flee as 5 more Donetsk towns face Russian guns closing in. Regional officials added Druzhkivka and four nearby villages to the evacuation list as Russian strikes reach 3,000 a day.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Ukraine’s corruption fighters survive presidential assault but face ongoing threats. Ukraine’s corruption investigators are back to charging million-dollar schemes after surviving a July attempt to strip their independence. But they’re working under a government that still has the administrative tools to derail sensitive cases and has demonstrated its willingness to use them.

The peace that kills: How the Alaska summit could end Ukraine without ending the war. In Washington, they call it peace negotiations. In Moscow, they call it Ukraine’s legal execution.

Russian infiltrators near Pokrovsk are about to get the tank treatment. Ukraine is rushing heavy armor toward Pokrovsk. The tanks could help roll back a dangerous Russian incursion.

How Russian drinking culture delayed Ukraine’s biggest Spider Web strike on airbases. The Security Service of Ukraine originally planned the operation for early May, but Russian drivers’ Easter drinking binges forced a delay for a month

So you think Ukraine can just leave Donbas? It’s the shield forged in steel — and paid in blood. The Donbas fortress belt has held for years against Russia’s army. Surrendering it would open the road west.

Ukraine builds resilience as Russia doubles down. The daily bombardment of Ukrainian cities and battlefield dynamics tells a starker story than diplomatic calendars suggest.

The Ukraine war won’t end in Alaska—but Western unity might. Putin gets an American partner against Europe; Trump gets to claim he tried diplomacy.

Military

Debris found after Russian Su-30 crash near Ukraine’s Zmiinyi (Snake) Island in Black Sea, Navy says. Ukrainian officials say radio intercepts showed a Su-30 vanished near Zmiinyi (Snake) Island, with wreckage spotted and the pilot missing.

Frontline report: Ukrainian marines flush out Russians from moldy cellars to save Pokrovsk. Marines fight room to room in a coal village shielding Pokrovsk from an eastern encirclement.

Satellite photos reveal what’s left of Russia’s key oil hub and prized radar in Crimea

. Charred pipeline structures and mangled radar towers tell the story of the recent strikes.

Intelligence and technology

Czech initiative delivers million ammunition rounds to Ukraine in 2025 – Fiala. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala reported that Ukraine has received over one million large-calibre ammunition rounds in 2025 through a Czech-coordinated supply initiative

One million shells in eight months — Czech ammo push for Ukraine reaches milestone as Trump–Putin talks loom. The Czech Prime Minister revealed the figure during a coalition-of-the-willing meeting just days before the Alaska summit.

Berlin commits $ 500 million to Ukraine, sourcing weapons directly from US reserves. The goal is rapid delivery of air defense and other vital gear. NATO says the package will include urgently needed air defense systems.

Russian Feniks recon UAV washed ashore on beach in Bulgaria—it crashed months ago in the Black Sea. Bulgarian Navy specialists blew up the drone wreckage found on the beach.

International

Global crowds demand “no new Munich” as Trump-Putin summit excludes Zelenskyy. Global demonstrations reject territorial concessions as bilateral meeting sidelines Ukrainian president

Russian territorial claims to Alaska resurface ahead of Trump-Putin summit. Kremlin propagandists leverage the symbolic summit venue choice to fuel territorial fantasies.

ISW: Russia’s pre-Alaska-summit position leaves no path to genuine talks — it just confirmed its peace plan still means Ukraine’s capitulation. Deputy Foreign Ministry official Fadeev’s remarks reveal the Kremlin still wants total capitulation before talks.

Some 42% of Germans favor Ukrainian territorial concessions to end war – poll. As Donald Trump prepares to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Germans remain divided on a key question: should Ukraine trade land for peace to end the grinding war?

Security guarantees without NATO? Trump’s Ukraine plan draws cautious optimism and concern before his Putin summit. Politico sources say the offer lifted some hopes, but leaves glaring holes in how Kyiv would be defended after the war.

European leaders brace for Alaska Trump-Putin meeting after NBC says US President pledged no territorial carve-up without Kyiv’s consent

. NBC reports Trump told Zelenskyy and EU leaders his focus is a Ukraine ceasefire, not border changes.

Humanitarian and social impact

“Get out now”: Ukraine tells families to flee as 5 more Donetsk towns face Russian guns closing in. Regional officials added Druzhkivka and four nearby villages to the evacuation list as Russian strikes reach 3,000 a day.

Russian war crimes: Ukraine has evidence occupiers forcibly deported 15 children from special school to Russia. Children were forbidden to speak Ukrainian or display Ukrainian symbols while being forced to participate in pro-Russian events and sing Russian anthem.

Hydroelectric crisis: Ukraine records smallest water stocks since 2015. Ukraine’s hydroelectric reservoirs have dropped to their lowest levels in a decade following an exceptionally dry spring. By autumn, Ukrhydroenergo promises to accumulate water reserves

Ukraine swapped 84 prisoners with Russia — and got its legendary minesweeper captain back. Among those freed were Mariupol defenders and civilians held for nearly a decade, Zelenskyy said.

Political and legal developments

Reuters: UN warns Russia of responsibility for sexual violence against prisoners of war. Russian forces subjected Ukrainian prisoners of war to electrocution of genitals and prolonged nudity across 72 detention facilities, prompting UN warnings of potential blacklisting

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

WWII Nazi-fighter’s “dirty” tactics could break Putin but the West won’t use them. Facts don’t defeat fascists. Fear does.

“I don’t know what they report to you, Mr. President” — Ukraine hero explodes at Zelenskyy as Russia nears Pokrovsk. Russian troops are advancing past empty Ukrainian trenches. Do Ukraine’s leaders really understand the scale of the breach?

Trump can’t find Alaska on mental map—thinks he’s traveling to Russia for Putin talks. The US President again falsely claimed Ukraine’s leader chose to begin Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and said Ukraine must give up territory to Russia.

Military

Zelenskyy announces Ukraine’s estimated losses in the war over one night. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed Ukraine faces a 1:3 personnel disadvantage against Russian forces while detailing August 11 casualties that left 18 Ukrainian soldiers dead and 243 injured.

Zelenskyy: Russia redeploys 30,000 troops from Sumy Oblast to three directions

. Russia is preparing for September offensive operations across three Ukrainian front sectors, moving its strongest brigades and 30,000 personnel from the unsuccessful Sumy direction

Russia’s troop deployment to Belarus, echoing 2022 buildup before all-out war, is planned for September 2025. As Russian and Belarusian forces flex their muscles in joint exercises, Kyiv and NATO prepare for the worst, watching closely for signs of a new offensive.

Ukraine hits core of Moscow’s drone war machine for second time in single week. Ukrainian forces target Russia’s expanding Shahed production network with precision strikes 1,300 km from the border.

Ukraine’s special forces slip into Crimea overnight — and erase Russia’s Skala-M radar from the map. The destruction of the long-range installation in Abrykosivka has punched a hole in the Russian air surveillance network across the occupied peninsula.

Azov Corps rushes to block Russian advance threatening key cities in Donetsk Oblast. Deployment targets the area where the Russian breakthrough threatens the Pokrovsk encirclement and road access to Donetsk Oblast cities.

Two Russian defense plants hit in under 24 hours — drones strike Orenburg helium site and Stavropol sapphire factory. Both sites supply critical materials for Russia’s military systems and advanced technologies.

Chief of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence visits Zmiinyi Island and gas production platforms in the Black Sea. Two years after Russian forces abandoned Zmiinyi Island, Ukraine’s top intelligence official visited the strategic outpost to inspect current defensive capabilities and honor fallen soldiers.

Ukraine just cleared two Sumy villages—monitoring maps never showed them as occupied

. Russian forces may have attempted a stealth breakthrough with small assault groups before being pushed back across the border.

Frontline report: Russian Navy collapsing on all fronts: carrier scrapped, earthquake hits subs, Ukraine steals secrets. Single Ukrainian drone cancels St. Petersburg parade as carrier decommissioning marks end of era

Intelligence and technology

Kyiv sends first wartime text via new Starlink’s tech — no Russian-made blackout can interrupt it. Starlink Direct to Cell lets Ukrainians text through darkness of Russia’s aggression.

Czech shell initiative changes Russian artillery advantage from 10-to-1 to 2-to-1, Lipavsky says. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky declared his country opposes any “false goals” in Ukraine’s EU accession process and expects rapid opening of membership negotiations during his meetings with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv.

International

White House confirms Trump-Putin meeting in Anchorage without Zelenskyy. The largest city in Alaska will host a bilateral summit between Trump and Putin to discuss ending the Ukraine war, while the White House acknowledged that “only one side participating in this war will be present.”

Latvia to contribute $ 2.3 mn to NATO’s initiative to supply Ukraine with US weapons

. The Baltic nation becomes the latest NATO member to fund American weapons deliveries to Ukraine through the alliance’s Priority Ukraine Requirements List

Putin’s team issues expectations ahead of Alaska meeting to help Trump to “keep the face” after sanctions failure. The Kremlin is pushing a bilateral Trump–Putin ceasefire plan that would redraw Ukraine’s borders, ban NATO entry, and sideline both Kyiv and Europe from the negotiating table.

Zelenskyy insists on clear security guarantees from West before any peace deal with Russia. The Ukrainian president lays out a straightforward roadmap for peace but warns the West must offer concrete guarantees to prevent repeated Russian aggression.

Despite pouring more billions in military aid for Ukraine than US, Europe’s leaders will not be present at Alaska talks. This leaves Kyiv diplomatically isolated and is raising fears that Ukraine may be pressured into concessions without its strongest allies at the negotiating table.

Kremlin’s propaganda threatens Azerbaijan with war after Baku sends millions in aid to Ukraine. Once tightly controlled by Moscow, Azerbaijan now defies Kremlin orders, prompting a fierce propaganda offensive that paints Baku as a “Western puppet”.

Estonia invokes “Munich 1938” as Trump prepares Putin talks. Estonia’s foreign minister has invoked one of history’s most ominous diplomatic moments to warn about Friday’s Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska — comparing it to the 1938 Munich Agreement that greenlit Hitler’s expansion.

Ukraine’s right to self-determination non-negotiable, all EU leaders say, except for Hungary’s. With the backdrop of potential territorial concessions looming over Trump’s meeting with Putin, European leaders stand united in their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Humanitarian and social impact

Foreign volunteers killed in Russian strike on training camp near Kropyvnytskyi – NYT. An American recruit from Florida witnessed “at least 15 dead soldiers and more than 100 wounded” when Russia targeted a mess hall packed with international volunteers eating lunch at a training camp in central Ukraine.

Ukrainian artist who died fighting Russians: “True anarchists share their people’s hardest struggles”. David Chychkan turned down thousands of euros from European cultural institutions to create art abroad, choosing instead to volunteer for a Ukrainian mortar crew where the 39-year-old fought alongside a vegan chef, software developer, and engineer.

Political and legal developments

Switzerland slashes Russian oil price cap to $ 47.6 in new EU sanctions package. Switzerland cut the price ceiling on Russian oil to $47.6 per barrel and banned 105 third-country vessels as part of the EU’s 18th sanctions package.

Russian court sentences Ukrainian medic to 5+ years for 2018 service in Ukraine’s Forces. Russian authorities sentenced 54-year-old Olena Ipatova to prison for terrorism six years after she served as a Ukrainian military medic.

Read our earlier daily review here

Exclusives

Ukraine built a drone wall to stop Russia—then fiber cables made it useless. Electronic warfare became obsolete overnight, thanks to Beijing.

Russia punches narrow hole in Ukraine’s Pokrovsk front — can Kyiv close it before it widens?. A 10-kilometre Russian advance has left Ukrainian commanders racing to prevent a deeper breach in Donetsk.

Belgium’s biggest Ukraine military aid is 30 F-16s it won’t deliver until 2028. The country also controls €180 billion in frozen Russian assets that help bankroll Kyiv’s defense.

Ukraine’s draft evasion problem is a symptom of a deeper crisis. Why do Ukrainian men refuse mobilization, hide in their homes, and let their wives, sisters, and mothers do the everyday heavy lifting? Why does Ukraine’s mobilization system no longer work?

CS2 Wiki explained: How to use it for smarter skin trading. In a trading environment where milliseconds and margins matter, the wiki can mean the difference between scoring a deal and getting left behind.

Military

DeepState: Russians breach near Pokrovsk, cut highway toward Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast. The OSINT project warns the wedge could endanger Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and Kostiantynivka unless Ukrainian reserves regain the roads.

Bloomberg: Ukraine drone attack stops Saratov oil refinery powering Russia’s heartland. Fires broke out after an 10 August drone strike forced one of Russia’s largest Volga-region oil plants offline.

Frontline report: Ukrainian gas pipeline deep strike on Russia achieves swift economic damage where Western sanctions lag. While Western sanctions crawl forward through bureaucracy, Kyiv delivers its own economic warfare with immediate, devastating precision of drone attacks, cutting power to key Russian military plants.

Drone strikes sanctioned plant producing military aircraft control systems deep inside Russia [updated]. The Arzamas Instrument-Making Plant manufactures gyroscopic instruments, control systems, onboard computers, steering mechanisms, and testing equipment for Russian military aircraft and spacecraft.

Frontline report: Russia’s oil barges pile up — India’s ports won’t take them

. When tariffs threatened $186 billion in US trade, India’s Russian oil deal ended overnight.

Intelligence and technology

HRU reportedly attacks major Russian provider of services to security services. Ukrainian intelligence destroyed 800 terabytes of data and disabled 600 virtual machines belonging to the Filanko group, a major Russian IT provider serving security agencies

Rheinmetall to double production of 155mm shells at new plant in Ukraine. Production of 155mm artillery shells will begin at Rheinmetall’s new Ukrainian facility in 2026, with capacity reaching 300,000 rounds annually after a two-year ramp-up period

International

“Alaska opposes tyranny”: Protest is organised in Alaska ahead of meeting between Putin and Trump. Alaskan activists will stage a counter-demonstration in Anchorage on 14 August, challenging their governor’s endorsement of hosting Putin for talks with President Trump the following day.

Kallas’s pre-Trump summit warning: No concessions without ceasefire—and EU’s preparing more sanctions

. Europe’s top diplomat insists on proper sequencing as Putin tries to flip script with territorial demands.

Zelenskyy: diplomatic push creates real chance to achieve peace. President Zelenskyy declared “now is the moment when there is a real chance to achieve peace” during a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, while rejecting any territorial concessions days before a planned Trump-Putin meeting.

Zelenskyy and European leaders to talk to Trump before his meeting with Putin – European Commission. Eight Nordic and Baltic countries demanded that any diplomatic settlement preserve Ukraine and Europe’s “vital security interests” as Trump prepares to meet Putin with proposals that could cede occupied territories to Russia.

Modi tells Zelenskyy India opposes deciding Ukraine’s fate behind its back. Ukraine and India will meet at the UN General Assembly in September to discuss peace initiatives and sanctions against Russian energy exports

The Times: Europe spent € 72 billion on Ukraine — but has no role in Trump–Putin peace talks. Why?. Europe outspent the US on Ukraine aid but is “years away” from defending it — and absent from the Trump–Putin summit.

Nordic-Baltic nations remind before Trump-Putin meeting: international borders must not be changed by force. Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden released a joint statement three days before Trump’s Alaska summit with Putin, demanding “robust and credible security guarantees” for Ukraine.

NATO chief: weapons keep flowing to Ukraine—even if Trump cuts a deal with Putin in upcoming Alaska meeting

. The meeting on 15 August excludes Ukraine initially, but Rutte insisted that any substantive negotiations on territory and security guarantees “will have to be—and will be—involved” Ukrainian participation.

Humanitarian and social impact

Foreign volunteers killed in Russian strike on training camp near Kropyvnytskyi – NYT. An American recruit from Florida witnessed “at least 15 dead soldiers and more than 100 wounded” when Russia targeted a mess hall packed with international volunteers eating lunch at a training camp in central Ukraine.

Russia bombed Azeri energy assets in Ukraine. Now Baku sends millions in aid to Ukraine. The Russian missile attacks targeted facilities crucial to Azerbaijan’s new energy corridor to Europe, with sources close to the Azeri’s president saying restrictions of weapons deliveries may also be lifted soon.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine receives third $ 1.9 bn payment from EU’s frozen Russian assets program. The European Union announced its third transfer of €1.6 billion generated from frozen Russian assets, with 95% of the funds now flowing through Ukraine’s loan cooperation mechanism

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Vacancies: News reporter, Defense tech reporter, Head of SMM. Euromaidan Press is expanding and searching for professional soulmates who believe in independent journalism.

Ukraine’s secret weapon against Russia’s drone swarms: a wall of static. It spans 1,500 kilometers, weighs nothing, and kills Russian drones with invisible math.

Ukraine’s Leopard tanks rush to Pokrovsk—100,000 Russians wait to spring the trap. The battered coal-mining village is the last barrier between Russian forces and Pokrovsk’s encirclement.

Ukraine’s Liutyi drone warhead grew by 50%—at the cost of 400 km of range. Something changed in Ukraine’s long-range drones. Their targets are suffering more damage, and the answer might be in the payload.

Military

Russia bombs Zaporizhzhia, injuring 20, days before Trump–Putin summit. Two guided aerial bombs struck a bus station and a medical university clinic in Ukraine’s southeastern industrial hub on Sunday evening, according to local officials.

Ukraine’s first strike in Komi — 2,000 km away — hits Lukoil refinery supplying Russian army

. Explosions shook an oil facility in Russia’s far north, prompting evacuations and flight restrictions.

Frontline report: Russia fixed a giant refinery supplying its bombers — Ukraine torched it again. After Russia restored the Ryazan plant — a key bomber fuel source — Ukrainian drones struck again, cutting into 9% of its aviation kerosene output.

General Staff confirms strike on Saratov refinery in Russia overnight. Ukrainian forces conducted a successful drone strike against the Saratov oil refinery in Russia, with the operation resulting in explosions and fire at the 7-million-ton capacity facility that supplies fuel to Russian forces

Ukraine liberates Bezsalivka in Sumy Oblast. Ukraine reclaimed the strategic border settlement of Bezsalivka in Sumy Oblast after eliminating 18 Russian soldiers, marking another reversal for Moscow’s attempts to establish a “security buffer zone” along the frontier.

Russians complain about drone attack on Saratov oil refinery

. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported intercepting 121 drones over Russian oblasts

International

Frontline report: One number made India choose America over Russia in 24 hours. When tariffs threatened $186 billion in US trade, India’s Russian oil deal ended overnight.

“We’re done funding the Ukraine war — Europeans can take the lead,” Vance says. The US vice president said taxpayer money will no longer fund the Ukraine war ahead of Trump–Putin talks in Alaska on 15 August.

Slovakia PM Fico sparks Ukraine diplomatic row with “elephant and grass” war metaphor

. Ukraine’s FM issued a rebuke to Slovak PM after he compared Ukraine to “grass” that inevitably suffers when “elephants” fight, referencing the planned Trump-Putin summit on ending the war

Ukraine President: War’s end must serve European security interests. Ukraine’s president expressed gratitude for European support while backing a seven-leader statement that demands specific security guarantees before any Trump-Putin negotiations on ending the war.

Seven EU leaders warn Trump against Ukraine territorial concessions before Putin summit. France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and EU officials warned the United States they will maintain military support for Ukraine regardless of any Trump-Putin agreements

White House may invite Zelenskyy to Alaska for Trump-Putin meeting. The White House had originally made a Putin meeting with Zelenskyy a precondition for the Trump-Putin encounter, but Trump later dropped this requirement.

New developments

Ukrainian wins silver at 2025 World Games in wakesurfing in China. A 17-year-old Ukrainian athlete secured her country’s 9th medal at the 2025 World Games, with Sofia Sokolova finishing 2nd in the inaugural wakesurfing competition in Chengdu, China.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Ukraine’s Leopard tanks roll into Pokrovsk as 100,000 Russians tighten the ring. The battered coal-mining village is all that stands between Russian forces and Pokrovsk’s encirclement.

Ukraine’s Liutyi drone warhead grew by 50%—at the cost of 400 km of range. Something changed in Ukraine’s long-range drones. Their targets are suffering more damage, and the answer might be in the payload.

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

Military

At Dobropillia’s edge, Ukrainian conscripts from Donetsk streets join 100,000 Russian troops in fight against their own country. Criminals, migrants, and abducted locals are waiting to be sent to the front.

Black clouds of smoke rise over Tatarstan as Ukrainian 75-kg warhead drones decimate Shahed storage 1,300 km inside Russia. Operation reportedly destroys attack drones and foreign components at a facility supplying terror attacks.

ISW: Give up your fortress belt shield, take nothing in return—Putin’s ceasefire pitch to Ukraine. ISW says Russia lacks the means to capture the fortress belt in Donetsk Oblast, so it wants Ukraine to abandon it.

Locals watch Lithuanian coast guard chasing Russian marine drone launched from Kaliningrad. Coast guard chases the drone near Nida as Lithuania accelerates defense spending amid mounting Russian provocations.

Intelligence and Technology

Russian new tugboat sinks in Saint Petersburg — another blow to fleet crippled by Ukraine’s strikes. Launched less than three years ago, this vessel, designed for ice and open-water missions, now rests partially submerged.

Old Czechoslovak Z-137 AgroTurbo cropduster goes from crop fields to Ukraine’s drone battlefront. The agricultural plane is now a guided drone killer working with radar teams to protect cities.

International

Ukraine is not real estate deal: Ukrainians see Trump’s land concession proposal as betrayal. Kyiv warns the West’s secret talks risk chaining Ukraine’s fate to a handshake with Moscow that will be broken before the ink dries.

Russia creates diplomatic crisis, stranding 96 Ukrainian prisoners from occupied territories at Georgian border

. For weeks, Russia has been dropping Ukrainians at Georgia’s border, where they live in limbo under tin roofs and the threat of winter.

Canada joins EU and UK in slashing Russian oil price cap to $47.60 — Japan and US stay out for now. The new coordinated move aims to choke Russian crude profits without disrupting markets. Moscow uses the export revenues to fund its war in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy to Trump-Putin’s plan for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia: Ukrainian land is not yours to trade. The Ukrainian president calls any surrender of land unconstitutional and unacceptable.

Axios: US, Ukraine, and NATO allies rush to high-stakes UK meeting to forge united stance before Trump meets Putin. Diplomats are scrambling to close gaps and prevent any deal that could lock in Russian territorial gains.

Trump’s Russia deadline expires without sanctions — now he’s flying Putin to Alaska for “peace” talks. The president has dropped pressure on Moscow in favor of a summit featuring Ukraine’s territorial swap proposals.

Humanitarian and Social Impact

Russia’s Iskanders from occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast hit Dnipro — three civilians in hospital after dawn strike. Russia launched two Iskander-K missiles and 47 drones overnight, hitting several cities and towns in the morning.

Political and Legal Developments

G4Media: Romania investigates Russia over chlorine-tainted Azerbaijani oil bound for Europe. Authorities say the contamination could have corroded Petrobrazi refinery equipment, sparking a severe fuel shortage and disrupting European supplies.

Read our earlier daily review here.

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.

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.

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.

Exclusives

“Russian spies” who justified Ukraine’s anti-corruption crackdown nowhere to be found. Ukraine’s Security Service found Russian infiltrators everywhere except when journalists asked for proof.

Russia’s air force can barely see Ukraine coming. Ukraine’s strikes have cut Russia’s A-50U fleet to just four planes—two or three near the front, and still not enough.

Ukraine caves under $ 2.3 bn threat, appoints investigator it desperately wanted to block. Ukraine’s government spent weeks trying to block a qualified anti-corruption investigator. Today, $2.3 billion in international pressure changed their minds.

Trump’s ceasefire clock is ticking — and his envoy, who’s met Putin more than any American, just landed in Moscow. Two days before Trump’s ceasefire deadline, Steve Witkoff is back in Moscow for round five with Putin.

Putin built concrete castles for his bombers—Ukraine’s drones burned them down. Ukraine’s state security agency, the vaunted SBU, has made a bad summer for the Russian air force much worse.

Military

Deadly attack hits Ukrainian recreation centre in Zaporizhzhia: 2 killed, 12 injured. Russian forces killed two civilians and injured 12 others, including two children, when they bombed a recreation base in Zaporizhzhia district during early morning hours on 6 August

Ukrainian Commander says Russia lost 77,000 troops in Kursk Oblast. Ukraine’s year-old Kursk operation forced Russia to redeploy significant reserves and abandon offensive plans in northern Ukraine, Syrskyi said.

“We can’t miss this moment”: Ukraine may abandon Pokrovsk if Russian forces close 15km gap. Russian forces are 15 km from fully surrounding Pokrovsk. If that narrows to 10, Ukraine may be forced to pull out, says defense analyst Ivan Stupak.

Russia loses vital fuel supply route as drones target strategic military railway in Rostov. Ukrainian drones targeted the same Russian railway station on consecutive nights while also striking an oil depot in Bryansk overnight on 6 August.

Frontline report: Ukraine destroys Russian radar hub in Black Sea raid, opening new front in coastal war

. A Ukrainian Bayraktar drone destroyed Russian resupply boats, cutting off reinforcements before the amphibious landing.

Romania issues 90-minute alert as Russian drones strike near border. Romanian authorities declared an air alert in Tulcea county on 6 August as residents witnessed Russian drone strikes across the Danube in southern Odesa Oblast

Intelligence and technology

US weapons heading to Ukraine in first NATO-funded shipment within weeks. A NATO official told European Pravda the delivery is backed by over $1 billion from European allies and marks the start of a new US weapons supply mechanism.

US approves $ 203.5 mn deal to maintain Ukraine’s M777 howitzers. The announcement marks a significant shift as the administration had previously paused some weapons aid for Ukraine.

European allies to finance more than $ 1 billion in US arms package for Ukraine. Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands will fund more than $1 billion worth of US military equipment for Ukraine, including critical air defense components.

International

Ukraine to begin historic exhumation work in Poland this September. Ukraine plans September excavations in Poland’s village for the first time, following June operations in Lviv where Polish-Ukrainian teams searched for WWII-era Polish military casualties.

Estonian NGO praised for Ukraine aid now accused of €450,000 fraud. Prosecutors say its founder greenlit fake logistics and unjustified payments to a Ukrainian company.

Ukraine EXPO 2025: 500 guests watch allied pavilions light up in Ukrainian colors. Over 15 countries joined Ukraine’s National Day at EXPO 2025, with allied pavilions lighting up in blue and yellow across Osaka.

Trump slaps 25% tariff on India hours after “constructive” Witkoff-Putin talks in Moscow. US President follows through on sanctions threat as three-hour meeting produces no full ceasefire agreement

Trump calls Zelenskyy as Witkoff leaves Russia — sanctions deadline nears. Trump called Zelenskyy as Witkoff left Moscow following his fifth meeting with Putin, with new US sanctions looming.

The Telegraph: India — not China — could be the key to ending the Ukraine war

. Despite buying less Russian oil than China, India has drawn US pressure — and may hold greater leverage over Moscow’s ability to sustain the war.

Ukraine, US to launch 3 strategic mining projects in next 18 months. The US-Ukrainian Investment Recovery Fund will hold its 1st meeting in September, with plans to expand into defense sector investments alongside three planned mining ventures

Humanitarian and social impact

Unseen footage shows another evidence of Russian war crimes: troops kill Bucha civilian, steal goods while body remains on street. Russian forces occupied Bucha for 33 days, leaving evidence of mass killings discovered after liberation on 31 March 2022. Authorities documented over 9,000 war crimes, 1,700 civilian deaths during the occupation.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Russia built 12 jet bunkers in Crimea. Ukraine’s drones blew through them. Ukraine’s state security agency, the vaunted SBU, has made a bad summer for the Russian air force much worse.

Russia’s 137× drone surge wasn’t magic—it was Chinese engines labeled “fridges”. Ukraine faced just 40 drone attacks monthly in 2022. Now it’s over 5,000—using Cold War engines China ships as “refrigerators.”

Military

Russia refuses to end war, even after losing 267,460 troops in 2025 alone. Russia’s war machine is breaking down, with 1.058 million troops, 11,071 tanks, and 421 aircraft destroyed since February 2022.

Ukraine’s special forces eliminate eight Russian companies in one rear operation

. Ukraine’s special forces launched deep raids and cut off Russian supply chains.

It launched one salvo and disappeared in flames: Ukrainian drones make rare kill of Russian TOS‑1A (video). The rare TOS‑1A thermobaric missile launcher tried to hide after firing, but its heat trail betrayed it to the sky.

Drone attack hits Russia’s Rostov Oblast—fire breaks out near railway station.

Intelligence and Technology

Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Netherlands sent American weapons worth $1 billion to Kyiv in two days. The new PURL initiative accelerates arms deliveries, reinforcing Kyiv’s frontline with vital US-made firepower.

Most Germans say they won’t fight for their homeland, while Russia launches $1,1 trillion rearment program since Soviet Union. Despite German intelligence warning of Kremlin provocations, a majority of Germans still say they won’t take up arms to defend their country.

Hindustan Times: Ukraine found India-linked electronics in Russia’s Shahed drones

. Ukrainian investigators tracked Indian-assembled tech in Shahed 136 drones attacking civilian areas.

Netherlands becomes first NATO country to buy US Patriot missiles for Ukraine. The Dutch government has allocated €500 million to fund US-made Patriot missile systems and components for Ukraine—marking a first among NATO allies.

International

Finland rejects NATO’s new procurement tool for Ukraine. While NATO rallies billions for Ukraine, Helsinki charts its own course — arming Kyiv without joining the club.

“War is already at our doorstep”: NATO accelerates military aid for Ukraine. NATO wants to ensure Ukraine receives air defense systems precisely when they are needed most.

India holds up mirror to West: Stop your Russian oil deals before demanding ours. Under pressure from the US, India insists its energy strategy is economic necessity, not political choice, and calls out Western double standards.

‘It’s not safe to return’: Ukrainian refugees face work permit limbo in US

. Communities that embraced displaced Ukrainians now worry about their legal futures, CBS reports.

Thousands of lives are at stake this week as Washington holds key to peace, says Zelenskyy’s top aide. Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andrii Yermak argued that decisive US action, targeting Russia’s energy and financial arteries, can bring Vladimir Putin’s war to an end.

Humanitarian and Social Impact

Lozova’s worst drone strike: Russia kills railway worker, injures teenagers. Moscow’s overnight barrage on the civilian city included 46 kamikaze drones and a ballistic missile.

Political and Legal Developments

Kremlin’s oil revenues drop by nearly 33% — but Trump’s sanctions threaten even more pain. With oil and gas revenues down 27%, the Kremlin braces for fresh US measures targeting not only Moscow but also its energy partners.

Panama just slammed the door on Russia’s shadow fleet — tankers over 15 years old now blacklisted

. The world’s largest shipping registry just threw a wrench into Moscow’s oil smuggling machine.

Ukraine wins historic $5 billion award against Russia—and Europe starts making Moscow pay it. For the first time, Ukraine’s $5 billion arbitration victory is being enforced as Austria confiscates Russian property worth €120 million.

New Developments

Cold “space” war: China-Russia race to install nuclear reactor on moon and establish “restricted zones” for US. In response, NASA is accelerating its own nuclear power program for the Moon. A recent directive sets a tight timeline: a program leader must be appointed within 30 days.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Russia’s 137× drone surge wasn’t magic—it was Chinese engines labeled “fridges”. Ukraine faced just 40 drone attacks monthly in 2022. Now it’s over 5,000—using Cold War engines China ships as “refrigerators.”

Digital defense for activists & journalists in conflict zones: A comprehensive security guide. Digital defense in conflict zones requires a comprehensive, layered approach combining technical security measures with operational discipline and legal awareness

OSCE at 50: Kick Russia out or shut it down. Fifty years on, the OSCE lets Russia bomb, kidnap, and veto. Time’s up—kick Moscow out or close the doors.

Whatever you do, don’t march with two landmines strapped to your back while Ukrainian drones patrol overhead. Russian engineers are literally telling their troops to walk 20km carrying two anti-tank mines each. Ukrainian drone footage shows what happens next.

Military

HUR: Explosion plunges Russian military repair base in Berdiansk into darkness. The blackout left Russian troops blind and stalled at a strategic site where vehicles were mended.

Ukraine’s Security Service obliterates Russian $50 million Su-30 jet in Crimea—and damages more. Ukraine delivers a brutal reminder: no corner of occupied land is safe.

Russia converts Donetsk airport into drone launch base to target Ukraine faster. Satellite imagery from July 2025 shows Russian forces constructing drone storage areas, control points and fuel infrastructure at the occupied Donetsk City airport

Major Russian rail hub hit: Drones strike Volgograd transport corridor, delay Moscow-St. Petersburg trains. Transport disruptions spread across southern Russia as drone strikes on railway infrastructure in Volgograd Oblast delayed five passenger trains

Frontline report: Poland’s fighter jets now scramble nightly while Russian drones test NATO’s eastern border. The unmanned aircraft flew close enough to Vilnius for residents to capture video footage, initially sparking fears that a live munition had penetrated NATO airspace

Frontline report: NATO’s AWACS are mapping every radar pulse over Russia’s Kaliningrad

. Each flight builds a radar profile of Russian systems near the Suwalki Gap, preparing NATO for potential strikes.

Intelligence and technology

New Russian 9M729 missile threat just brought world back to Cold War era. The Kremlin has scrapped its moratorium on intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles, reviving a class of weapons once eliminated under a landmark Cold War treaty, and blaming the West for its return.

Germany raids company which secretly sent 20 machines to Russia for munitions production, despite Ukraine’s warnings. Law enforcement moves in after Ukrainian watchdogs expose how banned high-tech exports may be enabling Russia’s battlefield slaughter.

China cuts rare minerals, stalling US weapons — and threatening Ukraine’s fight for survival. Ukraine relies on Western weapons, but China’s export bans on key minerals risk cutting off the lifeline.

US tech giants land in Kyiv to outsmart Russia’s deadly drones. Dedrone and Ukrainian tech join forces to stop swarms, as the drone war is just beginning.

International

Ukrainian sappers to train at Middle East mine action school with funding from Paris. With nearly 40% of its territory potentially contaminated, Ukraine deepens cooperation with France and Lebanon to dismantle hidden killers of war.

Delhi turns to American, Canadian, and Emirati oil suppliers amid Western pressure. However, Russia remains its top oil source, keeping Moscow’s war machine alive and capable of killing more Ukrainian civilians.

Kremlin signals openness to Putin-Zelenskyy talks — but conditions remain unchanged. Moscow has not ruled out a future meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, but insists negotiations must follow “expert-level” groundwork, with Ukraine first accepting key Russian demands, including neutrality.

Trump again confirms US nuclear submarines near Russia after Medvedev threats. Two US nuclear submarines are now positioned near Russian territory following a week of escalating threats between President Trump and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Trump’s special envoy Witkoff to visit Moscow as 8 August ceasefire deadline looms. As Trump’s 8 Aug. Ukraine ceasefire deadline approaches, the US Middle East envoy will meet with Russian officials who requested the talks amid threats of sanctions and 100% tariffs

Humanitarian and social impact

Ukraine reports infant in critical condition after multi-region Russian assault. Russian night attack killed a 45-year-old man in Kherson Oblast and injured three people in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, including an infant in serious condition

Political and legal developments

Russia punishes Ukrainian flag more harshly than Nazi symbols in occupied Crimea. While Kremlin courts overlook swastikas, they jail Ukrainians for singing patriotic songs or showing national colors.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies uncover suspected UAV graft scheme. Drone procurement scandal highlights ongoing battle over anti-corruption efforts.

TikTokers face $ 300 fine for filming burning Russian oil depot hit by Ukrainian drones. Russian police detained three young people who traveled 1,500km from Nizhny Tagil to film a burning Sochi oil depot hit by Ukrainian drones

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

While missiles hit Kyiv, the OSCE throws itself a birthday party. Fifty years on, the OSCE lets Russia bomb, kidnap, and veto. Time’s up—kick Moscow out or close the doors.

Whatever you do, don’t march with two landmines strapped to your back while Ukrainian drones patrol overhead. Russian engineers are literally telling their troops to walk 20km carrying two anti-tank mines each. Ukrainian drone footage shows what happens next.

Russia built a billion-ruble nuclear submarine—Ukraine just took its secrets. The Knyaz Pozharsky is no longer a mystery to Ukrainian defense intelligence.

Forget steel: Ukraine’s new tank armor is rubber and spikes. Steel once defined tank protection. Now, under constant drone attack, Russia bolts spikes onto its armor while Ukraine wraps vehicles in rubber—a complete rethink of how to survive on the battlefield.

Military

Ukraine reports infant in critical condition after multi-region Russian assault. Russian night attack killed a 45-year-old man in Kherson Oblast and injured three people in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, including an infant in serious condition

Frontline report: 100,000 Russian troops almost had Pokrovsk. Almost.. Russian infiltrators slipped into Pokrovsk, but drones and rapid-response units cut them off before Moscow’s 100,000 troops could join the fight.

Russia tries “total infiltration” in Pokrovsk — Ukraine boosts fortifications inside the city, Syrskyi says. The top Ukrainian general says Russian attempts to slip inside were crushed fast.

Ukraine appoints new Air Forces chief after F‑16 losses and intensified Russian attacks

. Anatoliy Kryvonozhko takes command of Ukraine’s Air Forces after a year in an acting role, amid rising missile and drone strikes.

Rosneft’s southern oil hub on fire: drones set Russia’s Adler depot ablaze overnight. A 2,000 cubic meter fuel tank lit up the night sky as drones struck Russia’s Black Sea hub.

Intelligence and technology

Frontline report: NATO’s AWACS are mapping every radar pulse over Russia’s Kaliningrad. Each flight builds a radar profile of Russian systems near the Suwalki Gap, preparing NATO for potential strikes.

Putin was shocked: US showed it can hit anywhere, anytime, says Ukraine’s intel chief. They could’ve launched from Europe. Instead, they flew tens of thousands of kilometers.

Azov’s 12th Brigade turns British “Bulldog” into armored battlefield guardian

. White paint, oxygen tanks, stretcher rails — and a diesel heart.

International

Trump’s special envoy Witkoff to visit Moscow as 8 August ceasefire deadline looms. As Trump’s 8 Aug. Ukraine ceasefire deadline approaches, the US Middle East envoy will meet with Russian officials who requested the talks amid threats of sanctions and 100% tariffs

The Hill: US senators chose a break, leaving Russia sanctions power in Trump’s hands. Lawmakers walked away from a sweeping sanctions bill, leaving Trump to decide how to confront Moscow this month.

Humanitarian and social impact

Damaged but still stands: Russians bombed vehicular bridge in Kherson

. The attack ripped a hole in the deck and cut off the Korabel micro-district from the city center.

Nightly assaults become routine as Russian drones swarm Ukrainian skies, injuring civilians. City after city woke to fires, debris and shattered windows as attacks stretched across the map.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine’s anti-corruption strike: National Guard officers and a Servant of the People MP caught taking bribes for drones. Anti-graft agencies briefed the president on a scheme that threatens both trust and battlefield supply.

Read our earlier daily review here.