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Morning Headlines
France 24: Trump said reclaiming Crimea or entering NATO were off the table for Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington for Monday talks aimed at ending the war with Russia.
Reuters: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said India's purchases of Russian crude were funding Moscow's war in Ukraine and had to stop, adding that New Delhi was "now cozying up to both Russia and China."
The Kyiv Independent: Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities late on Aug. 17, mere hours before Zelensky is scheduled to meet for peace talks with Trump at the White House. In Kharkiv, at least 18 people were injured, and four killed, including a toddler and a 16-year-old boy.
ISW: Putin's offer of a Russian law forbidding a future invasion of Ukraine is not credible because Russia has already twice broken previous binding international commitments not to invade and because Putin has shown that he can freely change Russian law as he desires.
17.08.2025
Reuters: European leaders will join Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet Donald Trump in Washington, they said on Sunday, seeking to shore up Zelenskiy's position as the U.S. president presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian military intelligence carried out a drone strike on Russian military logistics in the Voronezh region overnight, damaging infrastructure at a key transportation hub.
Kyiv Post: Ukrainian Forces struck a column of Russian troops in the Kursk region, leaving Lieutenant General Esedulla Abachev, deputy commander of the North Group of Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, seriously wounded.
United24 Media: On August 16, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence carried out an operation in the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, destroying a Russian ammunition depot and enemy personnel deployed to the Zaporizhzhia front.
The Kyiv Independent: The Armed Forces of Ukraine has made gains in eastern Donetsk Oblast, the General Staff reported on Aug. 17.
Politico: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sunday that the European Union’s 19th package of sanctions against Russia is set to be unveiled in early September.
AP News: Putin agreed at his summit with Trump that the United States and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the war, a U.S. official said Sunday.
The Kyiv Independent: International borders cannot be changed by force, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Aug. 17, stressing that decisions about Ukraine's territory "cannot be taken without Ukraine at the table."
Politico: A pro-Russian propaganda group is taking advantage of high-profile news events to spread disinformation, and it’s spoofing reputable organizations — including news outlets, nonprofits and government agencies — to do so.
ISW: Seizing the remainder of Donetsk Oblast would likely be a difficult and years-long effort for Russian forces rather than a quick effort as Putin likely aims to portray, as Russian forces remain unable to secure operationally significant advances or advance faster than foot pace.
16.08.2025
The Moscow Times: Trump backs a Russian proposal for Moscow to take full control of two Ukrainian regions and freeze the front line in two others which Moscow only partially controls, a source told AFP. The source with knowledge of the matter said Putin "de facto demands that Ukraine leave Donbas," an area consisting of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.
Reuters: The Ukrainian military said on Saturday that it had pushed Russian forces back by about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) on part of the Sumy front in northern Ukraine.
NPR: Papers with U.S. State Dept markings, found Friday morning in the business center of an Alaskan hotel, revealed previously undisclosed and potentially sensitive details about the Aug. 15 meetings between Trump and Putin in Anchorage.
Reuters: The leaders of eight Nordic-Baltic nations said on Saturday that they remain steadfast in their support for Ukraine and to the efforts by Trump to end the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent: Russian troops have occupied two additional villages in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast amid intensified fighting, the Ukrainian military said in an official statement on Aug. 16.
AP News: Trump reversed course in the wake of his meeting with Putin to say an overall peace agreement — not the ceasefire that he has long championed — is the next step in ending the 3 1/2-year war in Ukraine.
Reuters: Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to "in two or three weeks."
The Kyiv Independent: European officials expressed disappointment and disgust on Aug. 16 after the much-anticipated meeting between Trump and Putin ended with no ceasefire for Ukraine.
ISW: The Russian military command is reportedly trying to redeploy forces and means to reinforce and exploit the penetration near Dobropillya but has so far been unsuccessful.
15.08.2025
Bloomberg: The Trump administration’s decision to pause military aid to Ukraine earlier this year undercut the country’s fighting capability and undermined its negotiating position with Russia, according to a newly disclosed assessment from the US European Command (archive).
Reuters: The United States has had internal discussions on using Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker vessels to support the development of gas and LNG projects in Alaska as one of the possible deals to aim for when Trump meets Putin on Friday.
The Insider has sifted through what data remains available and found stark imbalances in economic growth, quality of life, and household prosperity in Russia. Regional inequality has already become a key factor driving economic and social tensions.
Reuters: Russia is preparing to test its new nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missile and if successful, plans to use the results to bolster its negotiating position with the West, Ukrainian military intelligence said on Friday.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian troops have cleared Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast of Russian sabotage groups and individual saboteurs, the 7th Corps of Ukraine's Airborne Assault Forces reported on Aug. 15.
American support for sending US military aid to Ukraine has climbed sharply since March, with the increase driven largely by Republicans, according to a new poll from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
The Kyiv Independent: Around 120,000 Ukrainian refugees living in the U.S. will start losing their legal status on Aug. 15 as the Trump administration is letting their protection program lapse, WSJ reported.
Reuters: Rusal reported a first-half net loss on Friday, as rising costs, higher interest expenses and foreign exchange fluctuations weighed on the Russian aluminium producer's earnings.
The Moscow Times: Russian banks are turning down the overwhelming majority of loan applications, with just 21.4% approved in July, according to data from the National Credit History Bureau cited by the pro-Kremlin daily Izvestia.
Reuters: Ukraine struck the Syzran oil refinery in Russia's Samara region in an overnight attack and also hit a Caspian Sea port and cargo vessel used to transport military supplies from Iran to Russia the previous day, Kyiv said on Friday.
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