10.08.2025

Reuters: Azerbaijan's president on Sunday condemned Russian air strikes on Azerbaijani oil and gas facilities in Ukraine but said energy cooperation between the two countries would continue.

Bloomberg: European nations are seeking to talk to Trump ahead of his planned meeting in Alaska with Putin (archive).

FT: European leaders are pressing Washington to ratchet up sanctions pressure on Moscow as they race to shape the outcome of a meeting between Trump and Putin (archive).

The Kyiv Independent: A Ukrainian drone attack on Aug. 10 struck the Lukoil-Ukhta oil refinery in Russia's Komi Republic, about 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Reuters: The leaders of eight Nordic-Baltic nations on Sunday jointly reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and said that peace could only come through consistent pressure being put on Russia to halt its "unlawful" war.

France 24: A new round of Moscow's shelling and drone attacks killed six people and wounded dozens in Ukraine Sunday, authorities said, while Kyiv hit two oil refineries deep inside Russia.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces liberated the village of Bezsalivka on the state border with Russia in Sumy Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Aug. 10.

Reuters: European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday that any deal between Washington and Moscow to end the war in Ukraine must include Ukraine and the EU, adding that she will convene a meeting of European foreign ministers on Monday to discuss next steps.

CNN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not named as a participant in the Alaska summit, to take place Friday between Trump and Putin. However, the White House has not completely ruled out including Zelensky in some meetings.

The Kyiv Independent: Putin and Lukashenko appear to have renewed their efforts to institute a migrant crisis within the EU with the assistance of Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, the Telegraph reported on Aug. 9.

09.08.2025

Reuters: European leaders on Saturday welcomed Trump's plans to meet Putin on ending the war in Ukraine, while stressing the need to keep pressure on Moscow and protect Ukrainian and European security interests.

Axios: Vice President JD Vance's hours-long meetings on Saturday in the U.K. produced "significant progress" toward President Trump's goal of ending the war in Ukraine, a U.S. official told Axios.

The Kyiv Independent: A Russian FPV drone struck a bus in the suburbs of the regional center of Kherson, killing two people and injuring 19 others, the local authorities reported.

The Kyiv Independent: Drones operated by Ukraine's Security Service struck on Aug. 9 a storage facility in Russia's Tatarstan Republic housing Shahed-type drones and foreign components used in their assembly, the agency reported.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces struck the Yenisei radar station, a component of Russia's advanced S-500 air defense system, in Russian-occupied Crimea, Ukraine's military intelligence confirmed.

AP News: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday rejected the idea that his country would give up land to end the war with Russia after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested a peace deal could include “some swapping of territories.” Zelenskyy said Ukraine “will not give Russia any awards for what it has done” and that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”

The Kyiv Independent: Trump has not imposed fresh sanctions on Russia, even as Moscow refused to cease hostilities in Ukraine by his Aug. 8 deadline.

ISW: Putin is likely deliberately offering a proposal designed to be unacceptable to Ukraine in order to delay sanctions as well as meaningful ceasefire negotiations and place the blame for the failure of negotiations on Ukraine.

08.08.2025

The Kyiv Independent: Putin introduced a sweeping proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine during a meeting with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, offering a halt in hostilities in exchange for Ukraine's eastern regions, WSJ reported on Aug. 8.

CBS News: Putin gave Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff an award to pass along to a senior CIA official whose son was killed in Ukraine while fighting alongside Russian forces. The award, the Order of Lenin, was meant to be handed off to Juliane Gallina, whose 21-year-old son, Michael Gloss, was killed in 2024.

CNN: A memo written by the Pentagon’s policy chief last month gives the Defense Department the option to divert certain weapons and equipment intended for Ukraine back into US stockpiles.

The Insider: For Japan’s Tsugami, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought a surge in profits. By 2024, the company’s shipments to Russia – including high-precision machine tools – had soared to more than twenty times what they were at the start of the war. These machines are critical to keeping Russia’s military production running.

United24 Media: Europe’s largest digital bank, Revolut, has stopped accepting money transfers from Russia, even if routed through third countries such as Kazakhstan. The bank warned clients that breaching the ban could lead to account suspension or closure.

Council of the EU: Ukraine is set to receive over €3.2 billion in funding after the Council adopted a decision on the fourth regular disbursement of support under the EU's Ukraine Facility.

The Kyiv Independent: Russian oil companies are redirecting shipments of Urals crude from India to China after Trump imposed new tariffs on New Delhi over energy cooperation with Moscow, Bloomberg reported.

Reuters: Russian aircraft makers have delivered only one of 15 planned commercial jets this year, data from Swiss aviation intelligence provider ch-aviation shows, as sanctions on foreign components stall production and high interest rates crimp investment.

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