Exclusives
 | WWII Nazi-fighter’s “dirty” tactics could break Putin but the West won’t use them. Facts don’t defeat fascists. Fear does. |
 | “I don’t know what they report to you, Mr. President” — Ukraine hero explodes at Zelenskyy as Russia nears Pokrovsk. Russian troops are advancing past empty Ukrainian trenches. Do Ukraine’s leaders really understand the scale of the breach? |
 | Trump can’t find Alaska on mental map—thinks he’s traveling to Russia for Putin talks. The US President again falsely claimed Ukraine’s leader chose to begin Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and said Ukraine must give up territory to Russia. |
Military
Zelenskyy announces Ukraine’s estimated losses in the war over one night. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed Ukraine faces a 1:3 personnel disadvantage against Russian forces while detailing August 11 casualties that left 18 Ukrainian soldiers dead and 243 injured.
Zelenskyy: Russia redeploys 30,000 troops from Sumy Oblast to three directions. Russia is preparing for September offensive operations across three Ukrainian front sectors, moving its strongest brigades and 30,000 personnel from the unsuccessful Sumy direction
Russia’s troop deployment to Belarus, echoing 2022 buildup before all-out war, is planned for September 2025. As Russian and Belarusian forces flex their muscles in joint exercises, Kyiv and NATO prepare for the worst, watching closely for signs of a new offensive.
Ukraine hits core of Moscow’s drone war machine for second time in single week. Ukrainian forces target Russia’s expanding Shahed production network with precision strikes 1,300 km from the border.
Ukraine’s special forces slip into Crimea overnight — and erase Russia’s Skala-M radar from the map. The destruction of the long-range installation in Abrykosivka has punched a hole in the Russian air surveillance network across the occupied peninsula.
Azov Corps rushes to block Russian advance threatening key cities in Donetsk Oblast. Deployment targets the area where the Russian breakthrough threatens the Pokrovsk encirclement and road access to Donetsk Oblast cities.
Two Russian defense plants hit in under 24 hours — drones strike Orenburg helium site and Stavropol sapphire factory. Both sites supply critical materials for Russia’s military systems and advanced technologies.
Chief of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence visits Zmiinyi Island and gas production platforms in the Black Sea. Two years after Russian forces abandoned Zmiinyi Island, Ukraine’s top intelligence official visited the strategic outpost to inspect current defensive capabilities and honor fallen soldiers.
Ukraine just cleared two Sumy villages—monitoring maps never showed them as occupied. Russian forces may have attempted a stealth breakthrough with small assault groups before being pushed back across the border.
Frontline report: Russian Navy collapsing on all fronts: carrier scrapped, earthquake hits subs, Ukraine steals secrets. Single Ukrainian drone cancels St. Petersburg parade as carrier decommissioning marks end of era
Intelligence and technology
Kyiv sends first wartime text via new Starlink’s tech — no Russian-made blackout can interrupt it. Starlink Direct to Cell lets Ukrainians text through darkness of Russia’s aggression.
Czech shell initiative changes Russian artillery advantage from 10-to-1 to 2-to-1, Lipavsky says. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky declared his country opposes any “false goals” in Ukraine’s EU accession process and expects rapid opening of membership negotiations during his meetings with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv.
International
White House confirms Trump-Putin meeting in Anchorage without Zelenskyy. The largest city in Alaska will host a bilateral summit between Trump and Putin to discuss ending the Ukraine war, while the White House acknowledged that “only one side participating in this war will be present.”
Latvia to contribute $ 2.3 mn to NATO’s initiative to supply Ukraine with US weapons. The Baltic nation becomes the latest NATO member to fund American weapons deliveries to Ukraine through the alliance’s Priority Ukraine Requirements List
Putin’s team issues expectations ahead of Alaska meeting to help Trump to “keep the face” after sanctions failure. The Kremlin is pushing a bilateral Trump–Putin ceasefire plan that would redraw Ukraine’s borders, ban NATO entry, and sideline both Kyiv and Europe from the negotiating table.
Zelenskyy insists on clear security guarantees from West before any peace deal with Russia. The Ukrainian president lays out a straightforward roadmap for peace but warns the West must offer concrete guarantees to prevent repeated Russian aggression.
Despite pouring more billions in military aid for Ukraine than US, Europe’s leaders will not be present at Alaska talks. This leaves Kyiv diplomatically isolated and is raising fears that Ukraine may be pressured into concessions without its strongest allies at the negotiating table.
Kremlin’s propaganda threatens Azerbaijan with war after Baku sends millions in aid to Ukraine. Once tightly controlled by Moscow, Azerbaijan now defies Kremlin orders, prompting a fierce propaganda offensive that paints Baku as a “Western puppet”.
Estonia invokes “Munich 1938” as Trump prepares Putin talks. Estonia’s foreign minister has invoked one of history’s most ominous diplomatic moments to warn about Friday’s Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska — comparing it to the 1938 Munich Agreement that greenlit Hitler’s expansion.
Ukraine’s right to self-determination non-negotiable, all EU leaders say, except for Hungary’s. With the backdrop of potential territorial concessions looming over Trump’s meeting with Putin, European leaders stand united in their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Humanitarian and social impact
Foreign volunteers killed in Russian strike on training camp near Kropyvnytskyi – NYT. An American recruit from Florida witnessed “at least 15 dead soldiers and more than 100 wounded” when Russia targeted a mess hall packed with international volunteers eating lunch at a training camp in central Ukraine.
Ukrainian artist who died fighting Russians: “True anarchists share their people’s hardest struggles”. David Chychkan turned down thousands of euros from European cultural institutions to create art abroad, choosing instead to volunteer for a Ukrainian mortar crew where the 39-year-old fought alongside a vegan chef, software developer, and engineer.
Political and legal developments
Switzerland slashes Russian oil price cap to $ 47.6 in new EU sanctions package. Switzerland cut the price ceiling on Russian oil to $47.6 per barrel and banned 105 third-country vessels as part of the EU’s 18th sanctions package.
Russian court sentences Ukrainian medic to 5+ years for 2018 service in Ukraine’s Forces. Russian authorities sentenced 54-year-old Olena Ipatova to prison for terrorism six years after she served as a Ukrainian military medic.
Read our earlier daily review here