A delegation from the Spanish Santa Clara Convent Foundation, with Sister Lucía Caram, visited Ukraine on its most important day. It handed an ambulance, a pickup, and five cars to the 11th Border Detachment, the "Forpost" brigade holding one of the hardest sectors in Kharkiv Oblast, the State Border Guard Service reported.

The vehicles are the visible part of a medical channel. Sister Lucía Caram, based in Manresa, delivered its 45th convoy to Kyiv this week, according to Atalayar.

The surgery program moves to its next stage

Acting Border Guard Service head Major General Valerii Vavryniuk met the delegation alongside a simultaneous video call with Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles.

Two commitments came out of it. The border service is to continue rehabilitating severely wounded border guards in Spanish medical facilities, and to begin advanced training for its own surgeons in reconstructive surgery.

Housing came up as well

Caram raised an initiative by the HANSEN Ukrainian Mission, which offered partnership support in housing families who lost their homes to fighting in the east.

The two sides also discussed rehabilitation more broadly for border guards wounded in combat. Vavryniuk thanked Caram and Spain for the aid programs.

Catalan business pays for the convoys

Before the meeting, Caram and the head of the 10th Mobile Border Detachment laid flowers at the Nebesnyi Dozor monument in Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. She also attended Ukraine's National Prayer Breakfast, the annual interfaith event bringing together political, religious, and civic figures.

Earlier, Robles announced Spain would transfer 100 VAMTAC armored tactical vehicles to Ukraine, along with a batch of 155 mm artillery shells.

In March, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a new €1 billion military aid package for Ukraine for 2026. Part of the aid, financed through the EU SAFE instrument, was intended to support the development of joint production within Ukraine’s defense industry. 

Humanitarian supplies stored for the coming winter in Kherson burned in a Russian drone attack, the Ukrainian Red Cross said. The fire at the organization's warehouse also took stock kept for emergency repairs after Russian strikes. The attack injured no staff or volunteers, and Red Cross teams keep working in Kherson and Kherson Oblast.

Winter equipment, medical supplies, and blankets among the burned stock

The attack occurred on the evening of 23 August. The fire damaged or destroyed aid worth almost UAH 28 million ($626,000), the Red Cross said. Part of the stock was equipment and materials for the autumn and winter period. Another part was held for fast response after Russian shelling, including materials for temporarily covering damaged buildings. The warehouse also stored medical supplies, blankets, hygiene kits, and equipment for supplying water and electricity.

Kherson and the de-occupied part of Kherson Oblast come under Russian attack every day with various weapons. Authorities there report civilian casualties and damage daily. Ukrainian prosecutors have documented more than 11,000 small-drone attacks on civilians since 2024, with nearly half of the cases in Kherson Oblast.

Aid the Ukrainian Red Cross stockpiled for winter in Kherson burned in a Russian drone attack

Aid stores keep burning across Ukraine

In early August, the Ukrainian Red Cross said Russian forces had subjected its facilities to "unprecedented attacks" in July, which hurt its ability to respond quickly and deliver aid to people. A massive Russian attack on Kyiv damaged one of its warehouse complexes, burning 320,000 units of humanitarian cargo and hospital equipment worth more than $1.77 million. Russian forces destroyed a Red Cross humanitarian aid warehouse in Kherson on 20 December 2023. 

Other aid stores have burned this summer, among them a World Health Organization medical warehouse in Dnipro and a Kyiv Oblast warehouse holding HIV-prevention supplies.

The European Commission approved €6.1 billion ($7.12 billion) in new defense procurement for Ukraine on 24 August, covering air and missile defense systems, missiles, ammunition, and radars. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the decision as Ukraine marked its Independence Day.

Russia's intensifying missile campaign has outpaced what Ukraine's partners can supply, and Europe is now financing the systems its own industry can build while the scarcest interceptors stay in American hands.

How the €90 billion loan pays out

The funding is part of the EU's €90 billion ($105 billion) Ukraine Support Loan for 2026-27, with €60 billion allocated to defense and €30 billion for budgetary support. The new package comes on top of €16 billion in previously approved defense procurement. Reuters put the disbursed total at €8.35 billion.

On 30 June, the European Commission disbursed €3.9 billion as the first payment under a first tranche of around €6 billion dedicated to drone procurement. On 15 July, it disbursed €1.1 billion, and on 30 July another €3.47 billion for drones, missiles, air defense, and Gripen fighter jets. The Commission's own three defense-window payments add to €8.47 billion.

Most of the buying will be from EU defense companies, and the Commission said deliveries will mean drawing down stockpiles, reprioritizing orders, and raising production. Under the mechanism, Ukraine submits signed contracts with defense companies, and the Commission reviews them before releasing funds.

Interceptor deliveries are falling as strikes rise

Air defense is among Ukraine’s most urgent military needs as Russia steps up its aerial campaign. The European Commission said Ukraine faced 376 missile strikes in July alone.

Kyiv has repeatedly warned of shortages of interceptors, particularly for ballistic missiles. The shortfall traces to Washington: since the United States went to war with Iran, it faces its own Patriot shortage and has resisted releasing large numbers to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released figures ahead of the Independence Day meeting that show the scale: Ukraine received 675 Patriot interceptors in 2023 and 364 in 2025, while 264 are projected for 2026, against a request for at least 300 for the winter, according to Kyiv Post.

Allies gather in Kyiv with missiles on the table

The announcement coincided with a hybrid meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Kyiv. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired the meeting, with Macron joining by videoconference, the Élysée Palace said. European Council President António Costa also took part, and NATO was represented by Deputy Secretary General Radmila Šekerinska.

Britain agreed to let defense firm MBDA release classified information on UK components of the long-range SCALP missile so Ukraine and France can set up local assembly lines, the UK government said. The EU decision followed Norway's pledge on 23 August to provide Ukraine with about $9 billion in support in 2027, including military, humanitarian, and financial assistance. Nordic and Baltic leaders announced the pledge during a visit to Kyiv.