Exclusives

Military

Ukraine's Khartiia soldiers clear 4 km² near Kupiansk, while Russia pushes for main rail hub (VIDEO). On the left bank, Russian supply was so broken that they delivered water by drone.

Drones hit fuel depots in Sochi and an explosives plant 1,300 km away on the same night.

Spain keeps arming Ukraine against Russia's ballistic missiles, and promises even more. Madrid is readying a fresh batch of interceptors for Kyiv, and has ordered four new Patriot systems of its own in a $1.7 billion Raytheon deal.

Ukraine's F-16s are so short of Western missiles that pilots fall back on jet's built-in M61A1 Vulcan cannon, which risks killing civilians below. The AIM missiles the jets are rationing are the same ones defending Kyiv from the ground.

Ukraine says it struck a Bastion in Crimea, the launcher Russia pairs Zircon and Oniks missiles on. One of those missiles flies at hypersonic speed, and Russia has aimed both at targets far from any coastline.

Russian drone strikes SBU headquarters in central Kyiv. Zelenskyy says "geography" of Ukraine's response is set. The midday strike injured 12 people and damaged the nearby Sofia Kyivska historic complex, as Russia continues its relentless drone campaign against the capital.

Gunman on a motorcycle shoots the Russian air force general Ukraine says ordered the strike on Kyiv's children's hospital. The officer was hit twice as he stepped outside in a settlement near Engels, and surgeons in Saratov worked through the morning to keep him alive.

For first time, Ukraine shows its British Rapid Ranger air-defense system mounted on Spanish off-road chassis. Its crews call it "close-range storm". This 500-kilogram missile system is designed to catch what radar misses.

Intelligence and technology

Russia's answer to Starlink was written off as a failure, its satellites are still climbing. Forty-six days after their 19 July launch, the new craft sit at a median 365 km, higher than Russia's already-working first batch was at the same age.

Russia straps two small attack drones to wings of its long-range Gerans and releases them deep inside Ukraine. It rarely works, Flash says. An FPV drone drop was recently recorded in Kyiv Oblast, but there is no confirmation yet that it was carried out using a Gerbera.

Russia now hunts Kyiv by daylight too, Flash explains why.

International

Germany suspects Russian intelligence behind arson attack as hybrid warfare threat grows across Europe. The Munich attack follows attempts to disrupt Germany's power grid and comes amid mounting evidence of Russian covert operations targeting European countries supporting Ukraine.

Witkoff and Kushner to visit Kyiv and Moscow to revive peace talks as Russia ramps up attacks across Ukraine. The US envoys will meet Russian and Ukrainian leaders as Washington attempts to put peace talks back on track.

Finland ran Europe's largest civil defense drill since World War II inside a shelter carved under a sports arena. More than two thousand people spent hours underground in Kuopio while rescue services tested a facility that had never once been used for its wartime purpose.

Germany will close Russia's Bonn consulate after attributing Leipzig Airport drone attack to Moscow. Germany is tightening its response to Russia after the Leipzig drone plot, with new restrictions targeting Russian institutions and citizens as investigators identify two suspects.

Estonia paid $81 million for Ukraine's shells to firm that had never made one, now its defense minister is out. Estonia may have to repay €70 million in EU funds. The ammunition failed quality standards.

Poland sent Ukraine 350 tanks, Europe just agreed to refund it half a billion dollars. Once Hungary lifted its two-year veto, Warsaw's total refund for arming Kyiv is nearing $1.4 billion, with $500 million more due in 2027.

EU foreign ministers want Russia's ex-fighters out. Nobody has written down what counts as proof. Each member state would have to judge individual cases, and the bloc set itself a June deadline for the plan that its council still cannot approve.

Russian Black Sea attacks, low Danube waters push EU to seek alternative routes for Ukrainian grain exports. Ukraine's two main wartime export outlets are under pressure at once, threatening farm revenue as global crop prices climb.

Ukraine takes Zelenskyy's Russian airspace warning to UN aviation body. Kyiv's letter asks the UN aviation body to recommend that member states stop flying over Russia.

Belgium points Ukraine to next year's European loan instead of Russia's frozen cash. Earnings from the immobilized money underwrite an earlier European loan, while the sum they come from stays behind one government's objections.

Humanitarian and social impact

Ukraine adopts two-tier air raid alert system as Russia's mass drone attacks become the new normal. The new system will distinguish drone threats from the heightened threat of missile or combined strikes, changing how businesses and cities respond to air raids.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine orders temporary ceasefire as US envoys visit Moscow. Air raid alert sounds in Kyiv immediately as pause begins. The reported order covers 5–8 September as Washington seeks to restart peace talks after months of stalled negotiations, but Russian attacks continued as the pause was due to begin.

After years of disputes, Hungary finds common ground with Ukraine, on honoring Soviet deportations from Zakarpattia. A Rada resolution honors thousands who died in a Soviet deportation campaign targeting Hungarian- and German-speaking Zakarpattia residents.

Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies target Prosecutor General's Office official linked to fraudulent call centers. The operation targets an alleged criminal organization linked to a network of fraudulent call centers and asset laundering.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Ukraine's Khartiia soldiers clear 4 km² near Kupiansk, while Russia pushes for main rail hub (VIDEO). On the left bank, Russian supply was so broken that they delivered water by drone.

Gunman on a motorcycle shoots the Russian air force general Ukraine says ordered the strike on Kyiv's children's hospital. The officer was hit twice as he stepped outside in a settlement near Engels, and surgeons in Saratov worked through the morning to keep him alive.

Russia now hunts Kyiv by daylight too, Flash explains why.

Intelligence and technology

Poland sent Ukraine 350 tanks—Europe just agreed to refund it half a billion dollars. Once Hungary lifted its two-year veto, Warsaw's total refund for arming Kyiv is nearing $1.4 billion—with $500 million more due in 2027.

Russia straps two small attack drones to wings of its long-range Gerans and releases them deep inside Ukraine. It rarely works, Flash says. An FPV drone drop was recently recorded in Kyiv Oblast, but there is no confirmation yet that it was carried out using a Gerbera.

For first time, Ukraine shows its British Rapid Ranger air-defense system mounted on Spanish off-road chassis. Its crews call it "close-range storm". This 500-kilogram missile system is designed to catch what radar misses.

Ukrainian brigade trials Serval Cube EW dome in combat-like conditions, suppresses every drone launched at it. Serval Cube jams the control, navigation, and video-transmission channels a drone depends on rather than destroying it outright.

International

Ukraine takes Zelenskyy's Russian airspace warning to UN aviation body. Kyiv's letter asks the UN aviation body to recommend that member states stop flying over Russia.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian Black Sea attacks, low Danube waters push EU to seek alternative routes for Ukrainian grain exports. Ukraine's two main wartime export outlets are under pressure at once, threatening farm revenue as global crop prices climb.

Political and legal developments

Estonia paid $81 million for Ukraine's shells to firm that had never made one—now its defense minister is out. Estonia may have to repay €70 million in EU funds. The ammunition failed quality standards.

EU foreign ministers want Russia's ex-fighters out. Nobody has written down what counts as proof. Each member state would have to judge individual cases, and the bloc set itself a June deadline for the plan that its council still cannot approve.

Belgium points Ukraine to next year's European loan instead of Russia's frozen cash. Earnings from the immobilized money underwrite an earlier European loan, while the sum they come from stays behind one government's objections.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Military

42,020 troops, 1,827 artillery systems, 89 tanks: Ukraine's tally of what it cost Russia to keep fighting in August. As frontline losses climb, Moscow fires ballistic missiles and jet drones Ukraine cannot catch.

Ukraine confirms strike hit Novatek fuel plant at Russia's Ust-Luga port. Kyiv says the Baltic-coast facility supports Russia's military, while the strike's effect on production remains unknown.

Putin says Russia is 12 km from Sumy—1.5 km farther than in June. Just two months ago, the Kremlin claimed Russian troops were 10.5 km from Sumy—now it says they are 12 km away.

Foot soldiers get a long spear: Ukrainian assault units strike deep behind Russian lines. Ukraine's trench units now fly strike drones 150 km into the Russian rear—a job that once belonged to specialists.

Intelligence and technology

Twenty Ukrainian firms are racing to catch Russia's jet-powered Shaheds. This one's interceptor is already flying combat missions. Firebolt Engineering joins Ukraine's jet-interceptor drone race.

Kazakh refinery deal could ease Russia's front-line fuel pressure—but it covers just 0.3% of demand. Central Asia lacks capacity to solve Moscow's shortage, while potential suppliers risk Western sanctions.

Ukraine says it bought 5,000 pickup trucks through open competitive bidding and saved more than $45 million. Six suppliers will deliver the all-wheel-drive diesels by year's end.

International

190 or 580 Patriot missiles? What Ukraine's EU-loan request could buy—and why Washington still decides. The EU is weighing Ukraine's loan request to buy Patriot missiles, von der Leyen confirmed—member states take it up on 7 September.

Russia says Armenia's EU accession law means leaving Moscow-led trade bloc. Yerevan disagrees. At their first meeting since Armenia's June election, Pashinyan rejected Putin's claim that Yerevan had begun leaving Moscow's economic bloc.

A masked figure got into a Polish drone-parts plant—Poland now suspects a foreign spy service set the fire. Poland has opened a foreign-intelligence and terrorism case. A masked figure got in over the fence, the fire followed, and no one is charged.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia's air war has cost the average Ukrainian mall 166.8 working days since 2022, about eight months of closed floors. Ukraine's malls spent a fifth of August under air-raid alerts, a new record.

Zaporizhzhia's largest mall closes as Russia's attacks seek to make Ukrainian cities unlivable. City Mall will remain closed throughout September after a Russian strike hit a nearby hypermarket, as repeated attacks disrupt businesses and everyday life across Ukraine.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine says it busted a Kyiv crypto ring that drained EU citizens' wallets. The SBU says the alleged scheme's monthly turnover from stolen funds could reach $1 million during its most lucrative periods.

Putin dismisses mobilization reports as Ukraine warns Russia could call up 600,000 to war. Russian officials gave similar assurances before the Kremlin's 2022 call-up, while the decree authorizing it was never formally revoked.

Russian Church installs Soviet military veteran to lead occupation-created diocese in Kherson Oblast. After Patriarch Kirill consecrated him in Moscow, Igor Pashentsev will oversee Russian Orthodox parishes across five occupied Kherson districts.

Ukraine's Security Service says it foiled FSB plot to assassinate Russian opposition leader in Kyiv – several wounded in street shootout. The clash followed the reported disappearance of a Russian Volunteer Corps commander and a Ukrainian investigation into an alleged Russian assassination attempt.

Putin calls Zelenskyy's airspace warning "state terrorism" as shares in Russia's national airline fall 5%. European and US airlines already avoid Russian airspace, while carriers from China, Türkiye, and Gulf states continue using it.

New developments

Estonia quarantines emails from Russian domains over cyberattack risk. Messages will undergo automated security screening rather than being blocked outright. Local governments and some state bodies remain outside the system.

Russian propagandists fake Polish newspaper claiming Ukraine faces famine. The Matryoshka disinformation network fabricated a Polish newspaper front page claiming that Russian strikes could leave 63% of Ukrainians facing famine.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Second drone brigade in two months: Ukraine is forming the 446th Unmanned Systems Brigade. It is the second brigade of this level stood up in 2026, following the 445th, and recruitment is already underway, per unofficial sources.

Drone attack damages Russia's Baltic oil port as drone crosses Latvia into Estonia. Finland separately restricted air and maritime traffic in the eastern Gulf of Finland. No drones entered Finnish territory.

Russia's 6-day attack on Kyiv that started two days after CIA head's visit to Moscow, culminates with massive ballistic missile strike on eve of school year. Three children were among the injured. Civilian infrastructure was damaged in five of Kyiv's ten districts.

800 jet drones in four days: Russia is now firing type Ukraine's interceptors cannot catch. Of more than 1,500 drones launched over four days, about 800 have been jet-powered.

"In intercepts, they're screaming": Russia occupied this spit to control Ukraine's ports. Military says it has now isolated 2,500-strong grouping and destroyed all its artillery. Drone strikes and remote mining have cut supply, the Ukrainian soldiers say.

Intelligence and technology

Russia's Starlink rival falters as latest satellite batch stalls in low orbit, ISW says. None of the 16 spacecraft launched in July reached the 550-kilometer benchmark, while two may reenter the atmosphere and be lost.

Fired Ukraine defense chief Fedorov launches defense-tech company with Palantir CEO backing. After leaving government, Mykhailo Fedorov has moved deeper into defense technology, raising money in the US and pitching new ways to turn Ukraine's battlefield experience into weapons and military systems.

Russia promised a scramjet superweapon. Ukraine says Zircon runs on solid fuel. Ukraine's military intelligence puts Zircon's highest recorded speed at Mach 6.8, below Moscow's Mach 9 claim, and says both its motors are solid-fuel. Its component catalogue also names two US-manufacturer chips inside.

Ukrainian company builds single device that detects FPV drone, reads its video feed, and jams it. Brama has passed lab and combat testing and is now going through codification.

About $150 for airframe, about $875 for finished glider: Ukraine's BlueBird is selling its drone at every stage of assembly. Units pick the control system, camera, and electronics themselves; the bare airframe starts near $150.

Fired Ukrainian minister offers to help build America's drone army— for Patriot missiles in return. Mykhailo Fedorov is courting US investors for a fund that would build defense tech companies itself, not just back them.

International

Germany blames Moscow for Leipzig drone attack, closes consulate and cultural center among sweeping diplomatic measures. One of three drones linked to the incident reportedly struck a Ukrainian Antonov without detonating. Berlin also plans tighter entry controls for Russian nationals and additional EU sanctions.

German politician wants to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine after Russian drone attack in Leipzig airport. Wolfgang Kubicki wants Berlin to warn Moscow that further sabotage in Germany could unlock long-range cruise missiles for Ukraine.

US welcomes Russia back to G20 but rules out economic relief, source says. Washington tied any economic relief for Moscow to the end of the war, while European officials resisted Russia's return to the G20.

Armenia drops Russia's 'strategic partner' label, but foreign minister says alliance remains. The comments come after Armenia's new five-year government program changed how it describes ties with Moscow.

Latvia blocks Russian and Belarusian books, clothes and toys. The national measure goes beyond EU sanctions, covers goods worth €12.5 million in 2025, and limits the entry of propaganda materials.

Indonesia is examining whether traffickers put its citizens into Russia's war on Ukraine. The country's Foreign Ministry has put its overseas missions on establishing how one of its nationals came to serve Moscow's forces.

Someone placed funeral wreaths near defense companies in Lithuania and Czechia. The head of a Lithuanian defense company called it "ordinary intimidation" by Russians.

The US built itself a Russo-Ukrainian drone-war drill—Poland is the first ally in. A Green Beret officer expects most of NATO's 32 members to want a look, as Ukraine's war experience reshapes how the alliance trains.

Russia's shadow war on Europe is widening—NATO still sees no attack coming. A Polish warning, a US spy chief's Moscow trip, and an explosive drone found beside a cargo plane at a German airport all preceded the alliance's assessment.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian air attack interrupts lessons on first day of school in Ukraine. Around 240,000 Ukrainian children entered first grade, 10% fewer than last year. 200,000 students near the front will study entirely online.

UN counted 183 Ukrainian children killed or wounded in July, the highest since 2022. The Ukrainian military released the breakdown on the day many schools across the country stayed shut because of Russian strikes.

Russian drone struck a Ukrainian fire truck on its way to a house fire—four rescuers injured. The crew was answering a call in a village outside Zaporizhzhia, and all four men went to hospital with injuries of differing severity.

Political and legal developments

"Russian airspace will effectively be closing": Zelenskyy warns airlines Russian skies are no longer safe. Ukraine says civilian aviation is not a target, but warns airlines can no longer assume Russian skies are safe.

Former Ukrainian president has made offer to Zelenskyy amid Russia's new type of war on Kyiv. Petro Poroshenko has tabled a five-point plan for how the capital survives permanent air raid alerts.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

800 jet drones in four days: Russia is now firing type Ukraine's interceptors cannot catch. Of more than 1,500 drones launched over four days, about 800 have been jet-powered.

"In intercepts, they're screaming": Russia occupied this spit to control Ukraine's ports. Military says it has now isolated 2,500-strong grouping and destroyed all its artillery. Drone strikes and remote mining have cut supply, the Ukrainian soldiers say.

Intelligence and technology

Ukrainian company builds single device that detects FPV drone, reads its video feed, and jams it. Brama has passed lab and combat testing and is now going through codification.

About $150 for airframe, about $875 for finished glider: Ukraine's BlueBird is selling its drone at every stage of assembly. Units pick the control system, camera, and electronics themselves; the bare airframe starts near $150.

International

Fired Ukrainian minister offers to help build America's drone army— for Patriot missiles in return. Mykhailo Fedorov is courting US investors for a fund that would build defense tech companies itself, not just back them.

The US built itself a Russo-Ukrainian drone-war drill—Poland is the first ally in. A Green Beret officer expects most of NATO's 32 members to want a look, as Ukraine's war experience reshapes how the alliance trains.

Russia's shadow war on Europe is widening—NATO still sees no attack coming. A Polish warning, a US spy chief's Moscow trip, and an explosive drone found beside a cargo plane at a German airport all preceded the alliance's assessment.

New developments

Someone placed funeral wreaths near defense companies in Lithuania and Czechia. The head of a Lithuanian defense company called it "ordinary intimidation" by Russians.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Ukraine is testing four new drone interceptors as Russia floods its skies with faster Gerans. Kyiv is racing to scale new defences after Russia used more than 2,500 jet-powered drones in August alone.

Ukraine strikes Russia's second-largest oil refinery again in major overnight attack, also hitting airfield and drone launch site. The refinery has been targeted repeatedly during the full-scale war as Ukraine strikes infrastructure supporting Russia's military and economy.

Four days of Russian attacks keep Kyiv under near-constant fire. Ukraine is struggling to defend its skies. Russia has launched nearly 2,000 attack drones, more than 1,600 guided bombs and 31 missiles against Ukraine this week, while Kyiv faces repeated strikes and a shortage of critical air defence interceptors.

Ukrainian ground-robot maker has moved into air: Ratel's first strike drone flies 30 kilometres on Starlink link. The Ratel K1 carries two kilograms, the maker says.

"We have surprises for our neighbors": Ukraine's aviation commander says new aircraft developments are essentially finished and already in testing. Ukraine has already rebuilt what it flies. Its crews turned the 1970s-era Su-24 bomber into a launcher for SCALP cruise missiles.

Russia launches third attack on Ukraine's largest Danube port this month, during peak of wheat harvest. Five trucks loaded with grain were destroyed and three more damaged in the Izmail district.

Ukraine chooses three Western fighters to build its air force around. One of them can fly again from stretch of road in 15 to 20 minutes. The Air Force settled on them after weighing cost, logistics, and repair speed.

Fix for Ukraine's interceptors is radar seeker head, and American firm is selling one for $4,000, says president's tech adviser. Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov says cloud and fog collapse interceptor hit rates, and a seeker head is the way out.

Four ground robots for one evacuation: Russia is targeting Ukraine's robotic medevac missions. Ground robots are helping evacuate wounded troops from exposed positions, but the systems themselves have come under intense Russian fire.

Ukrainian robot commander calls ground robots "Persian elephants." What army really needs are "Arabian steeds," he says. A "Khartia" robot commander says FPV drones and mines have collapsed the machines' lifespan.

Russia destroyed last of Kherson's heat and power equipment on 26 August. Ukraine's new defence minister arrived days later. Yevhenii Khmara met the regional governor days after glide bombs wrecked the city's power plant.

Ukraine has built twin-Kalashnikov turret for cheap ground robots. Security Service has already used one to destroy Russian ambushes. A Brave1 turret carries two AKs and went from idea to prototype in under six months.

Ukraine struck Tu-95 at base Russia launches its cruise missiles on Ukraine's civilians. Satellite image shows third of right wing gone. SBU Alpha struck the strategic bomber at Engels-2.

Kyiv has been under attack for 2 days nonstop. Russia is targeting the capital's civilian supply chains. Russian jet-powered drones have repeatedly struck warehouses, businesses and logistics facilities around the capital, disrupting supplies while rescuers work under threat of further attacks.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine's intelligence: Russia is running its Nepal, Cuba, Kenya, and India recruitment scheme in Indonesia now. Ukraine's foreign intelligence says it holds documents on at least eight recruited Indonesian citizens.

Partisans say Russian recruiters in occupied Donetsk are taking drunk men from bars straight to enlistment offices. An ATESH agent inside the Dnepr grouping headquarters reports a new scheme.

Russians bought $300 million in body armor, thermal sights, and drone parts on Ozon marketplace Ukraine is bombing. Russians bought 157,700 body armour vests there.

International

After CIA head's visit to Moscow, Poland's PM warns Russia is preparing to escalate war. He puts critical window at seven or eight months. Poland's prime minister says there are signals of serious Russian preparation.

Ukraine dismissed its defence minister in July. He is now advising NATO country on defence innovation. Guido Crozetto called the dismissed Ukrainian minister the day after Kyiv let him go.

From the Gripen sale to coast guard boats: Sweden sends 10 vessels to Ukraine. Ukraine's emergency service will use the boats for waterborne rescue work, including clearing mines from river beds. Stockholm's contributions to the US-led PURL programme now total $552 million.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia has burned millions of Ukrainian books, striking at the infrastructure of Ukrainian culture. More than 60,000 books were destroyed in a single warehouse strike near Kyiv this week, adding to losses that publishers say are becoming impossible to absorb.

Russia has destroyed 90% of Ukraine's modern commercial storage capacity. Retail logistics are being reshaped. Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi says the country faces no threat of famine, but warns stores could see a narrower range of products.

Political and legal developments

What does Ukraine's new defence minister wear on his wrist? He did not mention it until reporter asked. Yevhenii Khmara's bracelet carries the names of fallen comrades, a US magazine reported.

"Territory that will allow us to export our energy resources to Europe": Russia's deputy Duma chairman calls for massed bombing of Ukrainian cities. Duma vice-speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said the aim is to demoralise civilians until they give up.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusives

Intelligence and technology

"We have surprises for our neighbors": Ukraine's aviation commander says new aircraft developments are essentially finished and already in testing. Ukraine has already rebuilt what it flies. Its crews turned the 1970s-era Su-24 bomber into a launcher for SCALP cruise missiles.

Ukraine chooses three Western fighters to build its air force around. One of them can fly again from stretch of road in 15 to 20 minutes. The Air Force settled on them after weighing cost, logistics, and repair speed.

Ukraine's intelligence: Russia is running its Nepal, Cuba, Kenya, and India recruitment scheme in Indonesia now. Ukraine's foreign intelligence says it holds documents on at least eight recruited Indonesian citizens.

International

After CIA head's visit to Moscow, Poland's PM warns Russia is preparing to escalate war. He puts critical window at seven or eight months. Poland's prime minister says there are signals of serious Russian preparation.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia launches third attack on Ukraine's largest Danube port this month, during peak of wheat harvest. Five trucks loaded with grain were destroyed and three more damaged in the Izmail district.

New developments

What does Ukraine's new defense minister wear on his wrist? He did not mention it until reporter asked. Yevhenii Khmara's bracelet carries the names of fallen comrades, a US magazine reported.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Fix for Ukraine's interceptors is radar seeker head, and American firm is selling one for $4,000, says president's tech adviser. Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov says cloud and fog collapse interceptor hit rates, and a seeker head is the way out.

Four ground robots for one evacuation: Russia is targeting Ukraine's robotic medevac missions. Ground robots are helping evacuate wounded troops from exposed positions, but the systems themselves have come under intense Russian fire.

Ukrainian robot commander calls ground robots "Persian elephants." What army really needs are "Arabian steeds", he says. A "Khartia" robot commander says FPV drones and mines have collapsed the machines' lifespan.

Ukraine has built twin-Kalashnikov turret for cheap ground robots. Security Service has already used one to destroy Russian ambushes. A Brave1 turret carries two AKs and went from idea to prototype in under six months.

Ukraine struck Tu-95 at base Russia launches its cruise missiles on Ukraine's civilians. Satellite image shows third of right wing gone. SBU Alpha struck the strategic bomber at Engels-2.

Kyiv has been under attack for 2 days nonstop. Russia is targeting the capital's civilian supply chains. Russian jet-powered drones have repeatedly struck warehouses, businesses and logistics facilities around the capital, disrupting supplies while rescuers work under threat of further attacks.

Intelligence and technology

Partisans say Russian recruiters in occupied Donetsk are taking drunk men from bars straight to enlistment offices. An ATESH agent inside the Dnepr grouping headquarters reports a new scheme.

Russians bought $300 million in body armor, thermal sights, and drone parts on Ozon marketplace Ukraine is bombing. Russians bought 157,700 body armor vests there.

Russia is secretly building a mortar-launched drone-killer—and a resistance group just leaked the blueprints. Leaked documents describe a swept-wing drone built to hunt other drones at up to 300 km/h. Russian firm NIK allegedly cooperated with Boeing.

International

Ukraine dismissed its defense minister in July. He is now advising NATO country on defense innovation. Guido Crozetto called the dismissed Ukrainian minister the day after Kyiv let him go.

From the Gripen sale to coast guard boats—Sweden sends 10 vessels to Ukraine. Ukraine's emergency service will use the boats for waterborne rescue work, including clearing mines from river beds. Stockholm's contributions to the US-led PURL program now total $552 million.

Poland kept selling itself as Kyiv's gateway to Europe—Ukraine stopped needing one, Polish journalist argues. Russian disinformation moved into the gap the two governments left, hardening a rupture neither of them prepared for, he wrote.

Sofia gets seven minehunters from Belgium and the Netherlands for a sea Russia mined. Parliament signed off on two separate agreements this week, one a purchase and one a transfer, with the Dutch side restoring part of the fleet before it changes hands.

Moldova is investing in air defense against the Russian drones crossing from Ukraine—Romania shoots down the ones that reach it. Allied fighters over the neighboring NATO member have destroyed intruding drones repeatedly this year, while the neutral country in between can track them crossing but not shoot them down.

A suspected Russian scheme to obtain Finnish citizenship ran for more than 20 years before Finland noticed. Police and the Border Guard say the size of what they uncovered took them by surprise, and that several naturalizations were still moving through the system when the inquiry opened.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia destroyed last of Kherson's heat and power equipment on 26 August. Ukraine's new defense minister arrived days later. Yevhenii Khmara met the regional governor days after glide bombs wrecked the city's power plant.

Russia has destroyed 90% of Ukraine's modern commercial storage capacity. Retail logistics are being reshaped. Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi says the country faces no threat of famine, but warns stores could see a narrower range of products.

Political and legal developments

“Territory that will allow us to export our energy resources to Europe”: Russia's deputy Duma chairman calls for massed bombing of Ukrainian cities. Duma vice-speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said the aim is to demoralize civilians until they give up.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

"This is smart war": Ukraine is reinforcing two Donetsk groupings, as Russia pushes at fortress cities. Azov commanders will lead both. Putin has ordered his army to seize the entire territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by the end of this year.

Ukraine's new commander-in-chief has been picking technical chiefs. Adviser who knows them says he is putting most competent people. Serhii Beskrestnov says he knows most of the army's technical specialists and rates the new appointments.

A warehouse built to hold up to 54 million items burned down in Tambov Oblast, Russia. It opened only last year as the central logistics point of Russia's largest online retailer and has now been hit by drones twice.

Intelligence and technology

Russia's fleet is set to get 150 uncrewed vessels in 2026, and possibly 230. Sanctions are holding the build back. Ukraine's naval drones drove Russia's Black Sea Fleet out of its main base.

Zvook covers Ukraine's skies for under €50 million. Now, it has started testing hydrophones underwater. Zvook is currently focused on collecting data in real conditions, determining which objects can be reliably detected and classified.

Belarus built base near Ukraine. Now it's laying rail that can unload 60 wagons of military equipment. Project documents describe a freight platform with a ramp for unloading wheeled and tracked vehicles.

Biggest Magura sea drone doesn't ram ships. It carries other drones and stays out seven days. Unlike Ukraine's one-way strike boats, the V11 stays at sea a week and forward-bases other drones far offshore.

A gasoline and polystyrene mix—police call it napalm—was meant for a Ukrainian drone plant in Slovakia. Investigators say the three men charged were hired to set the fire, and about 70 employees could have been inside the hall when it went up.

Ukraine has wrecked more than 100,000 Russian vehicles by hitting the roads, and this new drone is built exactly for that job. The fixed-wing Baton is built to cut Russian supply lines, according to the association that showed it.

International

Ukraine asks US orchestra to drop Russian-born violinist, citing ties to Kremlin-backed cultural initiatives. The orchestra dropped Vadim Repin from a March 2022 program after Russia's full-scale invasion, then re-booked him for November.

Ukrainian officers march in Toronto's 105-year-old Warriors' Day Parade. The Warriors' Day Parade marked its 105th edition at the Canadian National Exhibition.

Humanitarian and social impact

Retired Valencia official came to Ukraine to repay debt from Franco's time. Russia has held him since 2022, and now his Kherson apartment has burned. Mariano García Calatayud has not been seen since Russian forces took him from his own doorstep in March 2022.

Political and legal developments

One tracked tank repairs, one marked artillery, one aimed bombs at civilians—all three got 15 years. Ukraine says two of the men came to Russian intelligence's notice through their own comments in chat groups, and the third through a relative working for Moscow's domestic security service.

Ukraine starts checks: Five days later, deputy commander was charged for $15,600 in combat pay for combat that never happened. The deputy battalion commander faces up to 12 years.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusive

Military

The fifth fire at the same refinery this year—and Russia still calls it debris. Ukraine's military confirmed the strike, naming the Afipsky plant as a fuel supplier for the forces invading Ukraine.

Ukraine destroys depot that occupiers filled with generators, after Russian state TV filmed them. Russian propagandists inadvertently filmed the target themselves.

Intelligence and technology

Poland signs $2 billion Piorun order, largest ever for launcher Ukraine has used since 2022. The framework deal covers several thousand launchers and missiles, more than 80 percent of them for Poland.

For first time, Ukraine is tendering ground robots to ministry-set specifications and no maker can take more than half of any class. The Defense Procurement Agency is applying the tender template it introduced for fiber-optic drones three days ago.

Russia's attack drones now jam the cheap interceptors sent to kill them. The jammer reads the interceptor's own video frequency, then floods it—blinding the operator who steers the drone.

Ukrainian drone maker is pitching its new five-inch strike FPV as assault squad's mortar. F-Drones says its F5 carries a kilogram, fits several to a rucksack, and flies six kilometers on fiber.

Ukraine mapped Russia's Su-35 down to individual control units—and found 22 firms nobody has sanctioned. The names cover engines, guidance, jamming gear, and the air-to-air missiles the aircraft fires.

International

Spanish nun's foundation brings her 45th convoy to Kyiv on Independence Day. It hands ambulance and six vehicles to border brigade fighting for Kharkiv. A convent foundation from Manresa delivered an ambulance, a pickup, and five cars, then opened the next stage of a medical program.

Humanitarian and social impact

A Russian drone chose its own target and killed three. The code that told it what to look for was readable. Ukrainian investigators found an Nvidia Jetson Orin module inside the wreckage, unencrypted, with the object-recognition code still readable.

582,000 children, 2,000 schools, no Ukrainian language: Russia sent occupied territories its first lesson – on "Unity of the Peoples of Russia". Ukrainian language was removed as a school subject entirely under federal standards on 15 December 2025.

Chernivtsi Oblast commissions three mini power plants to keep heat on during blackouts. The 3.9 MW addition contrasts with a March finding that 41% of 137 tracked donor units remained uncommissioned.

Aid the Ukrainian Red Cross stockpiled for winter in Kherson burned in a Russian drone attack. Alongside the cold-weather equipment, the warehouse held the emergency materials aid workers use to close up buildings torn open by Russian strikes, the Ukrainian Red Cross says.

Political and legal developments

Russia set target specific target for military recruits in 2026: in Arkhangelsk Oblast, man was sent to front after being detained for drinking on street. The School of the Conscript recorded 11 complaints in July and August.

About 50 grams of suspected military explosive lay in a German field 10 days after the attempt on Ukraine's plane. Germany's police worked the ground for two days before a first assessment identified the substance, and other leads had already taken officers to a village north of the runways.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Ukraine’s drones hit two Russian fighters and a spy drone—and blinded radars from occupied Crimea to Rostov. The aircraft sat at Vityazevo, a Black Sea airfield the jets had fled to after strikes made occupied Crimea too dangerous to park in.

One Russian warehouse smolders near Kazakhstan while a bigger fire rages near St. Petersburg. The parcel depot near Kazakhstan can hold tens of millions of orders and had to be cleared out.

Ukraine says it hit an Iskander launcher near the border—part of a dedicated hunt for Russia’s ballistic launch sites. The tactic gives Kyiv another way to reduce the missile threat when its stocks of anti-ballistic interceptors are low, Zelenskyy says.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine’s ousted defense minister confirms M&M’s operation planning and discloses real story behind its name. The planned operation involved using autonomous, AI-powered drones to target Moscow’s airports and disrupt air traffic.

Reports credit North Korea’s newest missile of terror with 2.5-ton warhead and 900-km range. Expert explains why those numbers can’t both be true. Russia may receive up to 150 North Korean missiles, including the KN-30.

International

Six Nordic-Baltic leaders came to Kyiv. Norway put a $9 billion figure on 2027 support. The visitors joined Ukraine's State Flag Day events ahead of Independence Day, alongside bilateral and multilateral talks with the Ukrainian president.

Humanitarian and social impact

Every Russian attack on Kyiv costs the city about $12 million. They now come almost twice in week. Over 4,000 buildings were damaged in the Ukrainian capital.

Russia holds up to 20,000 Ukrainian civilians in captivity. One of newest is teacher who stayed in her occupied village to care for her 83-year-old mother. Russia is replacing detained Ukrainian teachers with its own educators in occupied territories, where they are used to impose propaganda narratives.

New developments

Zelenskyy awarded Vikings star, ballistic missile CEO took stage, and strike drone got signed with messages to Russians: Ukraine’s major UNITED24 platform turns four. Ukraine's UNITED24 platform has raised nearly $4 billion in four years of war.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Evacuation is "force majeure that no one is ready for" in most Ukrainian units, and robots are too slow to fix it, commander says. Chornovol says casualty evacuation remains improvised chaos in most Ukrainian units, calling for dedicated evacuation teams and light-armored transport.

Ukrainian intelligence units will not help: Analyst warns that once Russia breaks into Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, reinforcing them only delays inevitable. Russian forces are 12 to 13 km from Sloviansk and Kramatorsk and could begin infiltrating the fortress-belt cities by late 2026.

Ukrainian drones hit warehouse belonging to Russian online retailer Ozon for the first time. Ozon suspended operations at the Chapayevsk hub and began redirecting deliveries and orders through other facilities.

Ukraine says its drones hit major Russian refinery amid deepening fuel shortages. Militarnyi describes the target as one of Russia's 10 largest refineries. Damage or interruption to production remains unconfirmed.

Ukrainian drone unit seriously wounded Colonel Dmitry Shabaev, commander of Russia's 64th brigade, tied to 2022 Bucha atrocities that killed 637 civilians. The strike hit 80 km behind the front line.

Intelligence and technology

One pilot, five bombers: Ukraine's Lasar's Group ties whole raid to single operator to save manpower. Facing a manpower shortage, Ukraine is building autonomy into its drones and ground robots so one operator can run several at once.

Four times pixels of anything before it: Ukrainian firm's rare thermal camera aims to see targets from much farther away. Ukrainian company Oko Camera is developing the Oko HD thermal camera.

Intelligence: Putin ordered secret biolab built on island, so protected that fishing is banned, and its own guards fear infection. Ukraine's military intelligence says Russia runs a secret biolab complex in Tver Oblast, an inversion of Russia's own false claims about Ukraine.

Ukraine is buying jam-proof fiber-optic drones for first time to single standard, so any maker can compete. Ukraine's Defense Procurement Agency launched its first buy of fiber-optic FPV kamikaze drones to Defense Ministry-defined specifications.

Ukraine has shown its answer to Russia's most powerful drones for first time. Meet Alexa Spatium, which can carry thermobaric warheads and fly back home. Ukraine codified its first jet-powered interceptor drone, the Alexa Spatium, built to destroy Russia's jet Geran drones.

Russia's North Korean missiles could threaten Kyiv and six other regions, ISW says. Moscow is expected to keep saving ballistic and cruise missiles for periodic mass attacks designed to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses.

Ukraine is fielding more drone-hunters than ever. Free simulator now lets operators learn each one before it reaches their hands. Two Ukrainian interceptor drones, the P1-SUN and Bullet, were integrated into the UFDS combat simulator.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia has burned 13 million Ukrainian books in three months, nearly third of everything country printed in 2025. Publishers have asked President Zelenskyy to convene the National Security Council.

Russia struck Kyiv and Boryspil, its main airport hub, twice in 24 hours with ballistics Ukraine can't stop without US Patriots, days before Independence Day.

Political and legal developments

"Only Ukrainians will decide for themselves who our heroes are," says Zelenskyy at International Veterans Forum with US envoy, as number of veterans passes two million. Zelenskyy said Ukraine will create a national pantheon for those who shaped its identity.

New developments

From Warsaw to New York, Ukrainians will form human chains on Independence Day. Communities scattered by Russia's invasion will revive a symbol from Ukraine's independence movement to keep the country visible abroad.

Military

Russian groups keep trying—and failing—to reach Lyman, gateway to Donbas' fortress belt, officer says. Russia is trying to push small infantry groups through Ukrainian defences as it seeks to capture Lyman and open the way towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, he noted.

Kyiv is asking Musk to let it strike inside Russia. Its best line to Musk is gone. Running low on Patriot interceptors, Kyiv wants to hunt the launchers up to 200 km inside Russia, but only Musk can switch the drones on.

Lukoil's Perm refinery struck 1,530 km from Ukraine's northern border, Kyiv confirms. The same overnight wave also hit a military airfield in Volgograd Oblast and left results in the Black Sea, the General Staff said.

Ukraine's drive to black out occupied Crimea claims another night. Russian officials are staying mum on the extent of the damage after overnight drone strikes across the occupied peninsula.

Ukraine's biggest weakness against Russia isn't interceptor shortage, analyst argues. It's what happens before missiles even launch. Russia plans its terror campaigns years out, an analyst says.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine warns Russia could exploit upcoming Independence Day for attacks and sabotage. Ukraine's security service urged vigilance ahead of 24 August, warning about potential attacks, sabotage, suspicious activity, and attempts to gather military information.

After Canada in May, now Finland: top-ranked Ukrainian drone maker keeps taking its technology abroad.

Russian-Australian man charged over alleged operation to gather Ukrainian military secrets. Australian police allege he joined Ukraine's armed forces after receiving military-style training in Russia, then tried to pass information to people linked to Russian intelligence.

Ex-FSB general who wired Russia's spies and army found dead in Moscow—a gunshot, no note, no official report. The 83-year-old chaired a long-time supplier of encrypted communications for the country's security and military structures.

Ukraine planned 1,000 AI-guided drones a night to shut Moscow airports, Atlantic reports. Two anonymous sources said the drones could identify targets despite jamming. A Ukrainian presidential official denied the project existed.

160 grams, 118-km link, and jam-resistance by frequency-hopping: Ukraine's answer to drone war's connectivity problem. Ukraine's Rise Technologies unveiled Nakande, a drone communication system that hops across frequencies to keep its link under jamming.

Ukraine takes Soviet BRDM-2s from its stockpile and rebuilds them into remote robots, with a Mercedes diesel under consideration. Ukraine is converting Soviet BRDM-2 armored scout vehicles into remote-controlled robotic platforms with a heavy weapon module.

65% on Telegram, 30% on web, translated into four languages: Russia floods 1,000 posts against Ukraine's new defense minister in two days. Russia branded Ukraine's new Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara a "terrorist".

International

Ukraine's Flamingo missile maker's new Danish plant delayed to 2027 as costs could triple. Denmark removed 20-plus legal barriers for Fire Point's rocket-fuel plant, but safety rules still make a new factory necessary.

Russia's UN envoy denies reports of post-election mass mobilization. More than 20,000 people crossed from Russia into Georgia in one day amid fears of a post-election draft. Ukraine says Russia is losing troops faster than it recruits them.

Latvia resumes naming firms trading with Russia or Belarus after nearly three years. A new monthly register identifies Latvian businesses that traded goods with Russia or Belarus in July, without alleging that they violated sanctions.

Italy's largest arms maker had no plans for a Ukraine factory—a year later, it has a Kyiv subsidiary. The Kyiv-based R&D unit will research communications, navigation, and electronic and optical technologies for Ukraine's defense sector.

Gasoline rationing returns to Moscow and St. Petersburg as Rosneft caps fills nationwide. Rationing has returned to Russia's two biggest cities, and Rosneft is now capping fills at 30 liters at every station in the country.

Russian strike damaged Ukrainian warehouse of Yves Rocher, French brand that paid $6 million into Russia's budget in 2022. Russia's 20 August attack damaged the Ukrainian warehouse of Yves Rocher that sits on Ukraine's list of international sponsors of war.

Ukraine can't get one permit to find its WWII dead in Poland—yet approves Polish searches, Kyiv's ambassador says. Ukraine's ambassador says a permit awaiting regional approval has prevented researchers from searching a suspected Ukrainian burial site in Poland.

A suspected Russian intruder in Finland's sky, and Helsinki wants answers. A three-minute crossing by a Russian reconnaissance plane has drawn in Helsinki's investigators and put its allies on notice.

Ukraine's new commander spoke with chair of NATO's Military Committee. Result: body will visit Ukraine in October, for first time in eight years. Ukraine's security is NATO's security, NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone says.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian drone strike on Kryvyi Rih shopping center kills 15, injures 130. Second attack targeted rescue workers 30 minutes later. The daytime drone attack set the shopping center on fire before a second wave struck emergency crews responding to the scene.

She joined Ukraine's army in 2019. Seven years later, she is still feeding the front. For one Ukrainian military cook, seven years of service show how much of a working life Russia's war can occupy.

Russian strikes on Odesa ports push Ukrainian farms toward bankruptcy, Bloomberg reports. Weekly grain and oilseed exports have fallen by more than 90% since early July, Bloomberg reports. Oxford Economics estimates a 2.1% GDP loss in 2027.

Russia occupied Anton's home when he was 10. At 18, he volunteered to fight against Ukraine. Many Ukrainian-born prisoners told the BBC they joined Russia's army willingly. Others described forced conscription.

Political and legal developments

Captured Russian marine executed Ukrainian commander on superior's order, prosecutors say. The suspect is in custody as Ukraine steps up efforts to prosecute Russian troops accused of crimes against Ukrainian prisoners of war.

72 searches, 22 suspects: Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation, together with General Staff, open large operation across military units. Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation launched an operation targeting illegal payments to soldiers and commanders using troops for private labor.

Hungary sent commandos to seize Ukraine's $82 million bank convoy. Its investigators now say they have found no crime. Hungarian investigators found the seized cash and gold came from a lawful bank deal. Attention has now turned to officials behind the raid.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Romania destroys a sea drone and finds aerial drone debris on its soil amid Russia's attack on Ukraine. Both incidents occurred during the same overnight barrage that also triggered air defense activations in Poland and Moldova.

She made sushi last year—now she flies combat drones for Ukraine's army. Khrystyna is one of a growing number of young Ukrainians choosing drone roles through the "18–24" voluntary military contract—now the most popular specialization at recruitment centers.

Ukraine hits major Russian refinery and Black Sea oil terminal as drones strike substation powering occupied Crimea. Fires broke out at all three targets as occupied Crimea suffered a widespread blackout that halted electric transport in several cities.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine's top military marketplace has processed $235 million in orders. Now it goes further, letting units spec a custom drone across 17 characteristics. Ukraine's Brave1 Market added a tool letting military units order custom drones built to their own specifications.

Russia stops mass-producing Kinzhals amid accuracy problems, but 50 missiles remain ready for Ukraine. Russia is redirecting resources toward other ballistic and cruise missiles as it seeks to maintain the pace of strikes against Ukraine.

Arson did not disrupt Ukraine deliveries, Estonian military robot maker says. Three suspects were detained in Latvia. The company Milrem said more than 200 of its robotic systems would be operating in Ukraine by year-end.

Bradley IFVs won battles in Ukraine. The parts to keep them running went out of production. US Army seeks contractor to restart production of discontinued Bradley parts and train Ukrainian crews to maintain the fleet.

International

Ukraine's refinery strikes push Russia's fuel crisis into Central Asia. Gasoline prices rose 10–13% in the most exposed markets, a Kazakh economist estimated, as governments sought other suppliers.

Russia faked broadcasts from Sweden's national TV to smear its PM—the same network already hit Germany and France this month. Germany's domestic intelligence agency, France's anti-disinformation body, and Swedish journalists all flagged the campaign in August.

Belgium lines up a "drone deal" to tap Ukraine's war-tested know-how. Brussels has pledged 30 F-16s and over €1 billion in aid a year. A joint drone pact is next, with both sides eyeing a signing date.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian Shaheds hit near Moldova-border crossing, burn food cargo, and black out 13,000 in Odesa Oblast. The Odesa strikes were part of a combined Russian attack across Ukraine. A suspected Shahed also crossed into Moldova, and a drone crashed in Romania.

14 killed as Russia unleashes massive overnight barrage on unprotected Kyiv, striking homes, hospital, school and railway infrastructure. Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic and cruise missiles, including Zircon, Iskander-M and S-400 missiles, as well as 168 Shahed-type and other drones in a massive overnight barrage.

Russia hit Kyiv with ballistic and hypersonic missiles overnight, damaging a children's hospital, with people trapped in a shelter. Russia launched a massed overnight attack on Kyiv with ballistic and Zircon hypersonic missiles on 20 August.

Political and legal developments

He was on the set of a Hollywood thriller about Nord Stream. Then Germany had him arrested over the real attack.. Croatian authorities detained a Ukrainian diver wanted by Germany after two earlier attempts failed, opening a new path to trial in the Nord Stream case.

Read our earlier daily review

Exclusives

Military

"Two targets and ammo with one drone": How a Ukrainian drone crew hunts Russian transport behind the front line. A National Guard unit uses middle-strike drones to hunt Russian military vehicles deep behind the front line.

Intelligence and technology

Ukrainian top volunteer from outgoing minister's own team, whose drones downed 12,954 Russian targets, is offering to help his successor. Serhii Sternenko, the activist whose charity has supplied hundreds of thousands of FPV drones, congratulated new Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara with his new position.

Ukraine's 25th Airborne Brigade moves ground robots from testing to combat. The brigade is now using the machines for supply, evacuation and fire missions across its units.

No radio signal, no way to jam it: Ukraine's top-ranked strike drone can wait 48 hours for its target. Ukraine's manufacturers ranked their most effective fiber-optic strike drones in July, with Beshket, Deadliner Q1, and Vyriy Opto 10 taking the top three.

Estonia probes Russian link in suspected arson at military robot maker supplying Ukraine. A Tallinn blaze hit premises used by the maker of THeMIS ground robots, which Ukraine uses for evacuation, resupply, and mine clearance.

Humanitarian and social impact

Two officers, 101 soldiers—Ukraine's newest homecoming from Russian cells. The group spans four years of the war, from the fall of Mariupol to captures made only months ago.

Polish prosecutors charge a woman over an attack on Ukrainian children. Consulate says the siblings were targeted for speaking Ukrainian. The attacker twisted one child's arm, broke the siblings' toy drone, and threw its fragments at the 12-year-old boy, scratching him, according to the family and the consulate.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine's parliament advanced a Finnish-style shelter bill: everyone must be able to reach one within 10 minutes. Ukraine's parliament passed a first-reading bill requiring bomb shelters within 10 minutes' reach, as tens of thousands shelter in metro stations nightly.

Ukraine's former Defense Minister Fedorov is out, but man behind his procurement reform and apps like Army+ isn't going anywhere. Mstyslav Banik, the deputy who ran Ukraine's defense-procurement reform, says he is staying in the team of new Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara.

"Fedorov instead of Khmara": Ukrainian protesters outside parliament greet news of new defense minister's appointment with disapproval. People say they will continue protesting despite the decision.

Ukraine's new defense minister says he already knows Russia's strategy for fall and winter. Yevhenii Khmara has become Ukraine's new defense minister after a vote in parliament.

Germany charged a Ukrainian for the Nord Stream blasts—Kyiv is now investigating if Russia staged the attack to frame Ukrainians. Ukraine's top prosecutors confirmed they are testing a "false flag" theory even as a Ukrainian suspect heads to trial in Germany.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Russia launches "massive" attack on Ukrainian power plant as Kyiv braces for extremely difficult winter. The strike halted electricity generation at the plant as Moscow steps up attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure ahead of the cold season.

Operation Hell-2: Azov says it burned 4,221 tons of Russian fuel in occupied Donetsk Oblast. The Ukrainian National Guard unit spent a month tracking Russian fuel tanks in occupied Donetsk Oblast before striking them.

“Chasing away vipers”: Ukrainian special forces retake Andriivka-Klevtsove, capture 30 Russian soldiers. The operation adds another settlement to Ukraine's gains in its eight-month Oleksandrivka counteroffensive, which Kyiv says has reclaimed 745 square kilometres.

Greek-run tanker carrying Russian oil hit off Russia's Black Sea coast, Bloomberg reports. The ship's manager reported no injuries or pollution. It was the first attack on a vessel calling at the CPC terminal in nearly three weeks.

Russia claims it downed a record 1,671 drones as fires burn across Moscow Oblast. A drone struck another Wildberries warehouse, but this one caused no major fire as others had in previous strikes.

Russian drone attacks on Ukraine's Danube ports hit recent high, Romania says. Drone debris reached Romania as Ukraine sought safer grain routes and Bucharest prepared cheaper defences against low-flying incursions.

Russia's latest strike on Ukraine's most important trade route: Togo-flagged civilian ship hit in Odesa. A Russian strike on Odesa Oblast port infrastructure damaged a civilian vessel and injured four people, three of them hospitalised.

Intelligence and technology

Russia could open northern front by February if it orders new mobilization, Ukraine intel says. Ukraine's military intelligence sees no preparations for a northern attack, but officials warn such a front could pull defenders from the east and south.

1.2 million weapons in a year: Inside Ukraine's Amazon-for-arms that ships to the frontline in 24 hours. Frontline units now pick from 1,181 products by 300 Ukrainian makers, and the fastest arrive within 24 hours.

HUR: Russia seeks rest of Donetsk Oblast, not a peace deal, by year-end. HUR's deputy chief says Russia cannot form new units without mobilization after battlefield losses exceeded contract recruitment in June and July.

New satellite imagery shows a caved-in roof at Russia's only Soyuz rocket-assembly plant. The imagery pins the damage to the building where crews wire the rockets' controls and electronics.

Why does Ukraine need a Bebradron-M drone with no warhead and only 2 kg of payload?. Ukraine has approved 413 new unmanned aerial systems for military use this year, most of them domestically produced.

The Ukrainian company behind MAUL, a robot that hits 70 km/h and survives flipping over, moves toward investment from an $81M US firm. AIDronesUA and US-based Empery Digital Inc. have signed an agreement to explore a strategic investment, with due diligence now underway.

International

NATO army bought Russian missiles and now it can't give them away. Israel and US lawmakers are stalling Türkiye's F-35 deal as its talks to offload a Russian S-400 to the UAE show no movement.

Russia warns UK of “consequences” over British-made drones in Ukraine's deep strikes. London vows to continue supporting Kyiv. Moscow accused London of deliberately escalating the war after reports that Ukrainian forces used UK-built drones to strike targets inside Russia, including oil refineries.

Blast marks Moldova's third airspace breach in nine days. Ukraine's Air Force reported that a Russian Banderol crossed the border, but Moldovan investigators could not conclusively identify the wreckage.

Kenya and South Africa went first, and now Ghana accuses Russia of luring Ghanaians into war. The methods drawing foreigners toward the front range from bogus contracts to political intrigue across Africa.

650 participants from 24 countries: Ukraine brings its battle-tested drone-defence experience to NATO's Baltic Trust 2026 exercise. For Ukraine, taking part as a valued contributor rather than an aid recipient marks its deepening integration with the alliance it seeks to join.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia weaponizes Ukrainian children in occupied territories. Ukraine singles out those responsible. At a competition in May, children practised handling explosives and piloting drones across Russian-occupied Ukraine, according to HUR.

Two Russian missiles hit a post office and shops in Kharkiv Oblast, killing 10 people. The strike on a crowded crossroads in Pechenihy wounded 18 more and set a cafe and cars ablaze.

Medical tourism and IT can draw visitors back to Ukraine after the war, UN Tourism's chief told a Kyiv briefing. Her Kyiv visit, the first by a UN Tourism chief in a decade, came with a concrete deliverable: 500 online-academy scholarships, 200 of them for veterans.

He fought for Ukrainian independence until a Soviet chocolate-box bomb killed him. Now Ukraine plans to honour him permanently. Ukrainian leader Yevhen Konovalets' remains returned from Rotterdam after 88 years and are set for temporary reburial at Ukraine's National Military Memorial Cemetery.

Latvian public broadcaster opens new charity drive for Ukraine's wounded. Timed to Ukraine's 24 August Independence Day, a Latvian broadcaster's new drive aims to fund recovery for Ukrainian soldiers.

Political and legal developments

Russia jails 61-year-old Ukrainian for alleged Azov service, names no specific act. A Russian military court sentenced Hulak to five years and four months over an alleged connection to the Azov group.

World's largest crypto exchange helped Russia identify and jail a man who donated to Ukraine's army. Binance reportedly provided Russian authorities with personal data that helped lead to the arrest of a Russian IT specialist.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Ukraine hit ground-control station for rare drone that fires Russia's Banderol, missile hitting 650 km/h with 114-kg warhead. Ukraine hit a Shahed storage and launch site, an Orion drone control station, and drone relay points across occupied Crimea and Kherson Oblast.

Ukraine has knocked out seven of Russia's 10 biggest warehouses as its air defenses fall short, ISW says. The drones keep reaching depots that help supply Moscow's military, faster than Russia can shield them. The latest strike occurred yesterday.

A Russian drone knocked out an evacuation robot, so a Ukrainian commander drove into the kill zone in a pickup to save two wounded soldiers. The robotic evacuation that Ukraine now runs by the thousand failed under fire. A commander with a pickup was the fallback.

Intelligence and technology

Why does Ukraine need a Bebradron-M drone with no warhead and only 2 kg of payload?. Ukraine has approved 413 new unmanned aerial systems for military use this year, most of them domestically produced.

The Ukrainian company behind MAUL — a robot that hits 70 km/h and survives flipping over — moves toward investment from an $81M US firm. AIDronesUA and US-based Empery Digital Inc. have signed an agreement to explore a strategic investment, with due diligence now underway.

$3,032 to kill a soldier on whom Russia spends $65,000: Ukraine's new system puts a price on every strike. Every $1 Ukraine spends hitting a target inflicts nearly $5 of losses on Russia, according to the Mission Control module.

Ukrainian commander says one French howitzer could have changed the war's early months, if there'd been more of it. The French CAESAR is one of the best self-propelled howitzers in Ukraine's arsenal, accurate, long-range, and mobile, an artillery major says.

This new drone stays aloft for more than day and resists jamming. Ukraine says it can now reach beyond the Urals. The T40 extends Ukraine's homegrown deep-strike reach to distant rear-area targets like factories and airfields.

Slovakia resumes BMP-1 hull production after 36 years. The secret customer may be Ukraine. The first two prototype hulls are complete under a late-2025 contract with an unnamed foreign buyer, and Defense Express points to Ukraine as the likely customer.

Russia builds and expands at least 10 drone bases. Some could put Warsaw in range – Telegraph. Seven sites were reportedly used in attacks on Kyiv, while the wider buildout adds to Russia's military infrastructure along NATO's borders.

Russia's most-used map app is erasing a Baltic missile site that Western maps still show. The concealment appears only on Yandex, leaving Google, Apple, and Microsoft to reveal exactly what Moscow wanted buried.

Russia's new drone outruns old Shahed by four times and tracks its target in real time. Its own heat is what lets Ukraine track it back. Its size and heat signature make it vulnerable, a Ukrainian colonel says.

International

Berlin weighs closing the Russian House for spying, yet a federal ministry just moved in beside it. One arm of the German government reviews shutting the site while another shares a wall with it, exposing a split over how seriously the threat is taken.

Japan tracks four Russian missile boats passing close to its coast off Hokkaido. The country's navy shadowed the warships with a patrol plane as they sailed back west through a strait between two of its northern islands.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia's latest strike on Ukraine's most important trade route: Togo-flagged civilian ship hit in Odesa. A Russian strike on Odesa Oblast port infrastructure damaged a civilian vessel and injured four people, three of them hospitalized.

Russians are buying seaside apartments built on the ruins of the Mariupol homes Russia bombed—DW. Russian occupation authorities ordered some residents out of apartments that survived the siege, sending them to hostels or Mariupol's outskirts, according to DW sources.

Nearly 500 Africans recruited into Russia's army have died, Ukraine says. Ukraine has identified almost 3,000 recruits from 37 countries, including 35 now held as prisoners of war.

Russia's strikes across 10 Ukrainian regions kill at least eight in 24 hours. Deaths were reported in at least three regions, with civilian infrastructure damaged.

Russia struck Ukraine's gas producer 13 times in a single week, forcing some wells offline. The drone-and-missile barrage more than doubled the company's strike count from a comparable week last winter, well before the heating season begins.

Man and woman attacked two children for speaking Ukrainian, Gdańsk consulate says. The consulate says police are searching for the alleged attackers. The siblings escaped serious physical injury but suffered severe emotional stress.

Political and legal developments

World's largest crypto exchange helped Russia identify and jail a man who donated to Ukraine's army. Binance reportedly provided Russian authorities with personal data that helped lead to the arrest of a Russian IT specialist.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

British drones hit Russia for first time in Ukraine's deep-strike campaign – The Sunday Times. The newspaper says British drones add cheaper firepower for Ukrainian mass strikes.

One alternative to air defense: Ukraine strikes Russian Bastion system used to attack Ukrainian cities from Crimea. Ukraine's Navy said the strike hit the Bastion's launch positions and deployment site, reportedly damaging a key platform for Russia's missile attacks from occupied Crimea.

"One of the most massive" Ukrainian drone attacks hits Moscow Oblast: two major warehouses ablaze. Footage showed fires at Koledino and Severnoye Domodedovo. Moscow's mayor claimed 201 drones were intercepted.

Ukraine hit the plant that fuels Uragan, Smerch, and Tornado-S rockets Russia fires at frontline cities with no metro to shelter in. Ukraine hit the plant that fuels the Uragan, Smerch, and Tornado-S rockets Russia fires at frontline cities with no metro to shelter in.

Intelligence and technology

Russia's new drone outruns old Shahed by four times and tracks its target in real time. Its own heat is what lets Ukraine track it back. Its size and heat signature make it vulnerable, a Ukrainian colonel says.

Ukraine's ground robots ran nearly 17,000 missions in June. Every one depended on holding signal, problem this new antenna targets.

International

Former Polish PM accuses Ukrainian officials of letting robbers plunder massacre victims' graves. Kaczyński named no site or public evidence for the allegation, as authorized Polish-Ukrainian teams continue joint exhumations.

NYT: France, Germany and UK build joint format to secure Europe a place in Ukraine peace talks. France and Germany lead the E3 push while Britain hesitates. The group wants a say over sanctions and Ukraine's postwar security.

World Archery just reinstated Russia's flag and anthem, despite its killing more than 760 Ukrainian athletes and coaches since 2022. World Archery lifted restrictions on Russian athletes, letting them compete under their flag and anthem.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia burned 80% of this cathedral's roof at UNESCO site with 975 years of history. Switzerland is giving $730,000 to rebuild it. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra's Dormition Cathedral was damaged by a Russian drone strike two months before the Lavra's 975th anniversary.

Kyiv's largest book market hit by Russian missiles. Several rows burned at the Kyiv landmark, extending losses from Russian strikes across Ukraine's booksellers and publishers.

Political and legal developments

Former Ukrainian submarine commander who deserted to Russia in 2014 was killed by bomb 12 years later. Suspect reportedly worked as escort. The Insider identified the man killed in a 13 August Sevastopol bombing as Robert Shageev.

Ukrainian rapper mocked Russia's claim he helped deliver drones for attacks near Moscow. A month later, Russia allegedly tried to kill him in Poland. Polish services detained the suspected hitman with US help on 7 August 2026. Russia accused the alleged target, the rapper Kyivstoner, of supplying drones to Ukraine.

New developments

Stranded beside a frontline road, a dog found rescuers in Ukrainian soldiers. The mesh protects car traffic from Russian FPV drones. When a dog became trapped in it, passing troops stopped to cut it loose.

"Get the f*ck back to Ukraine": Two intoxicated Polish women attack Ukrainian men amid rise in anti-Ukrainian violence in Poland. Both women involved in the incident left before police arrived but were later identified and detained. The case has not been classified yet as a hate crime.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Captured Russian soldier describes 28-km crawl that killed most of his group before reaching Ukrainian lines. There, they were cut down from 16 to four and surrendered, the 71st Brigade says.

Reported Flamingo strike hits Samara industrial area housing factory that builds rockets for Russia's Starlink rival. The strike reached an industrial area in Samara roughly 900 kilometers from Ukraine.

Intelligence and technology

A jet-powered BM-35 can now hit 350 km/h. Russia says that's specifically to outrun Ukraine's interceptors. Russia has begun fitting jet engines to another attack drone, the BM-35, to outrun Ukraine's interceptors, following the same shift it made with Shaheds, adviser Serhii Beskrestnov says.

First warehouses burned, now payment system is down: Ukraine launches dual campaign against Russia's largest marketplace that reportedly moves drone parts. Ukrainian hackers disrupted the payment and customer-service systems of Russia's Wildberries marketplace, HUR says.

International

70 rescuers, 15 pieces of equipment, two weeks in France: Ukraine's rescuers just came home from their first-ever EU civil-protection mission. Ukraine's rescuers returned from nearly two weeks fighting French wildfires.

Humanitarian and social impact

Ukraine still hands Kremlin opponents back to Russia—even now. Ukraine never stopped handing Kremlin opponents to Russia and its own prisoner swaps, human rights defender says.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Russia drops eight FAB-250 bombs on Kramatorsk, killing one and injuring 18. Prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation into the glide-bomb strike, the latest in a series that has hit residential blocks across Donetsk Oblast.

Russia's defense ministry threatens to "freeze" Ukraine this winter. Moscow posted photos of attack drones captioned "like snow on your head," tying the taunt to its strikes on Ukraine's ports.

Poland was ready to scrap these MiG-29s. Bulgaria's interest just revived the Ukraine deal.. Warsaw was ready to let the jets go to the scrapyard, until a rival buyer showed up.

745 km² recaptured in Ukraine's eight-month Oleksandrivka counteroffensive, Kyiv says. The eight-month operation retook 26 villages across three oblasts, halting Russia's push toward Dnipropetrovsk and turning it back on Ukrainian soil, per the report.

Ukrainian drones hit Wildberries warehouse in Tver for the third time in two weeks. Wall damaged again, no injuries reported, marketplace says goods intact.

Ukrainian drones hit Russia's Ust-Luga oil port for the 6th time this year. Fire breaks out at Baltic terminal handling nearly half of Russia's regional exports.

Intelligence and technology

Captured Akhmat fighter says he chose Ukraine and a drone guided him away from Russia's ranks. Magomed said earlier Chechen defections prompted Russian commanders to check fighters' phones and tighten surveillance.

Armor can barely reach Ukraine's front now—so robots drive and soldiers walk. Ukraine's frontline logistics are under strain from drone pressure, forcing soldiers to walk while ground robots take over the most dangerous runs.

They find a sword, we find a shield: Ukrainian soldier on why drones will never replace infantry. He went from mortarman to drone operator, and says neither role can absorb the other.

Ukraine's drones crushed a US armored brigade in a war game in Germany. Ukrainian crews knocked out US units so fast the drill had to revive them, years and billions after America bet big on beating drones.

International

More than 100 drones detected near Romania in four days, NATO jets scrambled seven times. The latest figures underscore how Russia's drone war is increasingly reaching NATO's eastern flank, with Romania already forced to destroy several drones this summer.

Ukraine: 18 of 26 Russian oil and stolen-grain ships face no sanctions. HUR says the oil tankers run for firms like Lukoil and Rosneft, while the dry-cargo ships load stolen grain at occupied ports such as Sevastopol.

Military training from age 15: Belarus splits 10th-graders into drone pilots and battlefield medics. The move deepens a years-long militarization of Belarusian schooling that now reaches from kindergarten military-patriotic groups to mandatory field camps.

Russia's state statisticians report the growth Putin demanded—economists doubt it will hold. The rebound leaned on war spending and one-off boosts, it barely moved the flat first-half trend, and it landed just after Putin ordered his officials to turn the economy around.

Reuters: Russia dismisses Black Sea ceasefire idea after Ukraine's offer. Reuters says Kyiv passed the proposal through a third party after attacks pushed carriers from Odesa and choked routes that move Ukrainian grain.

Russia allegedly sent a hitman after a US-Ukrainian citizen in Warsaw. Poland caught the suspect. Polish services detained the Russian suspect earlier this month after working with US counterparts.

NATO fighter, one drone, one district: a jammed intercept lands over Latvia. A NATO fighter shot down a drone over Latvia's Balvi district after Russian jamming pushed it off course, officials say.

NASA shows Crimea as Russian on a map during its eclipse broadcast. It's the latest in a run of Western maps quietly erasing the line international law still draws around occupied Crimea, this time from the US space agency.

Japan weighs sanctions after Putin's first visit to disputed Kuril Islands. Tokyo says Moscow's move is "totally unacceptable".

Humanitarian and social impact

A stray goat named Borka has become the Spartan Brigade's mascot after 18 months on the front lines in Donetsk Oblast. The soldiers once pulled on body armor and helmets and drove back into drone range to bring him out.

437 killed, over 2,600 injured: Ukraine's deadliest month for civilians since 2022, UN says. 437 killed, 2,610 wounded, the worst toll since May 2022, UN monitors say.

Political and legal developments

Russia plans to remove border zones separating Russia from occupied Ukrainian territories. Russia plans to remove special border zones along its boundaries with occupied parts of Ukraine, further integrating the occupied territories into its legal and administrative system.

A Russian soldier kept a Ukrainian woman in a basement and raped her for two months – Ukrainian court sentences him to 12 years. The abuse ended only when Ukrainian troops captured the Russian soldier during fighting in December 2025, freeing the woman from the basement where she had been held.

“Responsibility is inevitable”: Zelenskyy warns Russian collaborators in occupied territories after explosion kills defector. Zelenskyy said collaborators helping Russia attack Ukrainians will be held accountable as Ukrainian special services continue targeted operations in occupied territories.

Russian agent who set fires in Kyiv receives 15-year prison sentence. He was one more disposable recruit in Russia's Telegram sabotage campaign, hired for two arson jobs, then left to face the court alone.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

Ukraine puts controversial Skelia regiment under Azov command as Drapatyi pushes military reforms. The 425th Separate Assault Regiment will remain independent but operate under Azov Corps' command, with its scattered units gradually being brought together on the same section of the front.

Blackout and a blinded radar: Ukraine hits Russian military infrastructure across Crimea and beyond. Ukraine struck a Russian Nebo-U radar in Sevastopol as a wider overnight campaign targeted the logistics and military infrastructure supporting Russia's war.

Poland would rather the next Russian missile be downed over Ukraine than over its soil. It may send Kyiv more Patriots. A Russian missile that fell inside Poland in July has shifted Warsaw's thinking.

Russia pulled its fleet back to Novorossiysk to keep it safe. Ukraine hit it there with 15 kinds of weapons at once. The overnight barrage fused jet drones, Neptune missiles and naval drones against the fleet's last major refuge.

5% of US Patriot stocks gets Ukraine through winter, 10% ends the ballistic threat, and Zelenskyy has just 1%, he tells CNN. Ukraine holds just 1% of the Patriot interceptors it needs to stop Russia's ballistic missiles, Zelenskyy told CNN.

Ukrainian drones black out occupied Sevastopol and hit the Balaklava power plant. Power was restored on a temporary scheme after the city's energy infrastructure was damaged.

Two railway workers killed: a Russian jet drone hit their train's locomotive in Odesa Oblast. The jet-powered Shahed hit the locomotive as the train neared a station, the latest strike in Russia's campaign against Ukraine's railways.

115 days in a forest Russia has tried to seize since 2022: one border guard's stand. In the Serebryanskyi forest, holding on that long meant digging a well for water so that supply drones could bring in more food.

Intelligence and technology

One tower linked two Russian regiments near Kharkiv border. Ukrainian partisans say they disabled it. ATESH says damage to the tower slowed Russia's 345th and 380th motor rifle regiments and made it harder for them to support each other.

Ukraine strikes Gazprom's Salavat refinery again as Russia's fuel shortages return in 16 regions. The second hit in a month lands as Russian refining falls to its lowest since 2002.

International

Finland backs €28.5 million power plant project as Ukraine braces for Russia's next winter energy assault. Finnish technology will help Ukraine add power generation capacity as repeated Russian strikes continue to threaten the country's electricity and heating systems.

Ukraine asks the EU for €220 million to unlock €4 billion in farm loans as Russia's port strikes choke exports. The proposed EU grant would offset interest and bank risk, helping Ukrainian growers borrow before storage pressure peaks.

Poland and the Baltics risk Russian sabotage for backing Ukraine, Bloomberg says. The CIA warned regional governments as Russia weighed sabotage and false flags against Ukraine's supporters, officials told Bloomberg.

Tree lines out, swamps in: Lithuania rethinks how to stop Russian armor at the border. Restored wetlands are meant to make some ground simply impassable to heavy military vehicles within a few years.

Humanitarian and social impact

From "easy money" to murder: Russia escalates recruitment of Ukrainians for terrorist attacks inside Ukraine, police warn. Russian handlers are targeting people through Telegram job and drug channels, fake SBU calls, personal relationships, and even minors, gradually turning recruits into disposable operatives.

A 12-year-old dies in occupied Kherson Oblast where no hospital or ambulance is left, Ukrainian official says. The official says the nearest hospital in the town where the child died is 60 km away. Russian authorities have sent no aid to the city for over a year.

Ukraine brings home 261 bodies in latest repatriation, as Russia claims the dead are Ukrainian soldiers. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said the remains arrived on 13 August 2026, and that investigators will now work to establish the identities.

Man killed in explosion in occupied Sevastopol, Russian sources report. A pro-Kremlin channel claims a woman carrying a backpack tracked the victim in the moments beforehand.

Read our previous daily review here.

Exclusives

Exclusives

Military

From 27,711 to 40,438 in two months: Ukraine's drone kill rate is climbing fast. All of the destroyed targets were confirmed through the DELTA battle-management system.

From builder to the eyes of Ukraine's front: the soldier with the callsign Dancer who went from Soviet launchers to drones. When Russia's full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022, Fedir was 22 and responsible for the generators that kept a Soviet S-300 battery firing. Now he is flying drones on the zero line, the point of closest contact with Russian forces.

Two Russian refineries burn – Orsk hit by drones 1,500 km out, Komsomolsk ablaze 6,500 km east. Explosions rocked Orenburg Oblast before flames engulfed a Rosneft plant in Khabarovsk, as monitoring channels flagged the second blaze as possible sabotage.

Ukrainian drones set a newly opened Wildberries mega-hub ablaze near Voronezh. Ukrainian drones burn a giant Wildberries logistics complex near Voronezh, killing one and forcing mass staff evacuation.

With Ukraine short of Patriot interceptors, Russia sees no reason to enter real negotiations, ISW says. Kyiv's dwindling air defenses now face freshly built weapons fired straight off the assembly line, not pulled from stored reserves, military intelligence warns.

Intelligence and technology

"Faster than originally planned": Russia wants 292 Starlink-rival satellites by 2027. The Rassvet network already offers brief connections as satellites cross Ukraine. Kyiv is discussing countermeasures.

Russia's jam-resistant drones run on a Chinese modem no one has sanctioned. The XK-F358 mesh radio that keeps Russia's Geran and Gerbera drones flying past Ukrainian jamming sells openly online from about $8,100 a unit, and it appears on no US, EU, UK or Ukrainian sanctions list.

Russia's tank shield shot down seven drones—Ukraine destroyed the tank anyway. Russia's Arena-M shield knocked seven drones out of the air on one tank, then ran dry.

Ukraine's newest interceptor doesn't ram its target. It nets it for $27, then flies home to catch another. Ukraine's WINFLY unveiled the Spider, an interceptor drone with a net-launcher.

Ukraine's security service breaks up two schemes registering Starlink terminals for Russia. The SBU says it detained three suspects in Dnipro and Zhytomyr and blocked every device the two operations had signed up.

A $300 FPV downs a $20,000 bomber drone. Ukraine tests an EW shield for it. Kyiv is testing a new electronic-warfare system designed to stop cheap Russian FPV drones from destroying expensive Ukrainian heavy bombers.

Ukraine's new AI platform trains weapons on five million frames of drone footage. Partner countries can use it too. Ukraine's Defense Ministry opened Avengers Labs, an AI-training platform built on battlefield data.

International

Sweden detains Russians who "camped" near home of CEO of Gripen jets Ukraine is buying. Micael Johansson is under personal protection.

Seoul says no again to Ukraine's weapons request as Pyongyang gets ready to send Russia more troops. South Korea arms NATO members with K2 tanks and K9 howitzers that free up older kit for the front, yet still draws the line at any direct transfer to Kyiv.

Local residents hang "thousand thanks" banner as Ukrainian firefighters help stop wildfire from reaching their French village. Ukrainian rescuers helped extinguish a wildfire that engulfed about a hectare of forest and threatened a village in France.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia's Odesa strikes halve Ukraine's grain export forecast. Disrupted Black Sea exports are straining Ukraine's grain storage and pushing some wheat prices below production costs.

North Korean ballistic missile kills 7 steelworkers on their way to shelter, shuts down Zaporizhstal plant. The strike comes as Russia expands its use of North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles, which are harder for Ukraine to intercept and have been linked to deadly attacks on civilians.

Russia's education minister calls it "objective." A new textbook teaches Ukrainian children that their occupied region is historically Russian. Two new textbooks, compulsory from 1 September for grades 5–7, recast Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts as Russian soil.

US forecasters see Ukraine's corn exports falling 39% as Russia bombs ports. Corn stocks are set to jump more than tenfold — the grain is there; the way out is not.

Ukraine and Moldova discuss rail corridor for grain amid Russian Black Sea attacks. Kyiv is requesting a 50 percent discount on transport costs as Chisinau seeks guarantees on cargo volumes, Reuters reports.

Russian ballistic missiles struck the grounds of a Kyiv children's hospital and set a warehouse ablaze — overnight strikes across Ukraine killed at least 9. Young patients and medical staff had reached the shelter before impact, sparing them, though a 28-year-old man was wounded at a nearby fire.

Political and legal developments

US House takes up Graham sanctions bill targeting Russia's oil money and shadow fleet. Lawmakers moved during recess, and the House text is word-for-word identical to the bill the Senate already passed 86-11.

Ukraine's distributed generation program has failed. It needed 7,000 MW of small plants to outlast Russian strikes, but built only 700, says former grid chief. The failure leaves the grid as vulnerable to Russian strikes as ever.

Canada joins Ukraine, EU, and Switzerland in sanctioning UAE arms maker whose vehicles equip Russia's National Guard. Canada has imposed restrictions on Streit Group, a UAE defense manufacturer.

New developments

Russia's Syrian foothold shrinks to a training center as Damascus takes back the airport and a berth. Under a memorandum signed on 9 August 2026, Russia will transfer civilian facilities to Syrian state control and turn its military bases into joint training centers.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Exclusives

Military

"What happens here affects next 50 years": why American left Pennsylvania to fight in Ukraine's 47th Brigade. "Lighthouse", a soldier in the 47th Brigade's reconnaissance company, came from Pennsylvania after the full-scale war.

"This is money of his accomplices burning": Russian partisans and Ukraine hit Siberian plant tied to Putin's inner circle. The plant is located over 2,000 km away from the Ukrainian border and is one of Russia's largest.

Ukraine's Crimea campaign could strike seven times more targets with faster funding, Brovdi says. To clear the skies over the peninsula, the force destroyed more than 300 Russian air defense assets in recent months, its commander said.

Russia's advance in Ukraine slows as casualties per square kilometer rise 3.5-fold, Radio Svoboda reports. Ukrainian drone operators say Russian infiltration units moving on foot lose all but one soldier out of every fifteen.

Zelenskyy says Russia could receive up to 50,000 North Korean troops. Kyiv says North Korean deployment numbers have grown from hundreds to tens of thousands within roughly two months, according to Ukrainian estimates.

Drones strike Russian oblasts overnight: thick smoke over a Nizhnekamsk refinery as Crimea's Krasnoperekopsk industrial zone burns. Unmanned aircraft reportedly hit a Tatarstan oil hub and the occupied peninsula, with satellite sensors flagging heat signatures and 15 airports halting flights.

Russian electric locomotive was named target of Ukrainian partisan operation. It carried military supplies toward Kharkiv front. The ATESH partisan movement says its agents destroyed the cab of an electric locomotive.

Intelligence and technology

Forged end-user certificates through eight countries: how one network kept European tech flowing into Russian missiles. Austrian counterintelligence exposed an international network that funneled high-tech industrial equipment to Rostec-linked Russian defense firms.

70 ballistic missiles and 12 launchers: Ukraine lines up deep-strike refill from an unlikely supplier. The M39 ATACMS flies about 165 kilometers the short-range original, carrying a warhead that scatters 950 bomblets over troops and air defenses.

Russian plants are overfulfilling monthly missile production quotas by 110-120% and unlikely to pause strikes, Ukraine's intelligence says. Moscow met its full-year Zircon and Onyx output targets by early August, seven months into 2026, Ukraine's deputy intelligence chief said.

New Iranian loitering munition has started reaching Ukraine, analyst says. It's built to hit deep behind front. Iran is improving its Shahed-107 kamikaze drones based on the Ukraine war, adding shrapnel elements.

International

Ukraine gave up 1,900 nuclear warheads in 1994 on Western promises that didn't work. New plan would replace them with Britain's shield instead. Plan pairs Britain's nuclear deterrent with Ukraine's army as Europe doubts US protection and struggles to deter Russia.

The Atlantic: US firms may fear cheaper Ukrainian Patriots, Republican official says. A Republican congressional official says intellectual-property concerns may mask fears of Ukraine being able to make Patriots more cheaply and more quickly.

Humanitarian and social impact

A $20,000 "welcome bonus" that was never paid: how a Colombia-registered recruiter sent Peruvians into Russia's war. Russia has deceived more than 450 Peruvian citizens into its army, and some have already been killed.

Occupied Ukraine's schools get a new Russian ideology class, a separate military-training track, and behavior grades from 1 September. Behavior grades for children as young as the second grade, a standalone military-training course, and a compulsory Russian identity subject take effect together across the temporarily occupied territories from 1 September.

A Russian missile took Oleksandra Paskal's leg at six. At 10, she competes in rhythmic gymnastics across five continents. She returned to the gym roughly seven months after the amputation, and now trains as hard as any girl in her group, on a prosthesis.

July was Ukraine's deadliest month for civilians since 2022 — and Russia is scaling its ballistic missile salvos toward 200 at once. Kyiv's unmanned-forces commander warns the Kremlin is racing to swamp a depleted air shield, echoing intelligence that Moscow now overfulfills its monthly weapons plans.

ISW: Russia strikes the Mayaki bridge linking southern Ukraine to Romania and Moldova. Moscow's overnight hit on the M-15 highway forced Kyiv to halt traffic toward the Danube ports, its main grain outlet after sea exports collapsed.

Political and legal developments

Sweden says it stopped Russian operation to discredit country and EU. But no one will be prosecuted. Sweden's Säpo exposed a Russian intelligence operation that recruited an agent in a foreign diplomatic mission to undermine Swedish decision-making.

A Russian who moved to Ukraine got 13 years the moment he visited relatives back home. Eleven alleged transfers of about 100 hryvnias ($2.23) each led Ivan Stolbov to a harsh sentence after he returned to Russia.

Zaluzhnyi, Fedorov, and Budanov lead Ukraine's trust ranking as Zelenskyy places fourth – KIIS. Three of Ukraine's most recognizable wartime figures now command the strongest public confidence, a late-July sociological study found, even as the president's standing lags noticeably behind.

Read our earlier daily review here.