The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
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Russia’s war against Ukraine
Rescuers conduct a search and rescue mission at a five-storey residential building in the Darnytskyi district, part of which was destroyed by an overnight Russian missile and drone strike, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on August 28, 2025. (Kirill Chubotin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
‘Moscow’s true answer to peace efforts’ — Russian mass attack on Kyiv kills 23, including children. At least 23 people were killed in the attack on the capital, including four children, authorities said. Three of them were aged 2, 14, and 17.
‘Engulfed in flames’ — Ukraine strikes Russia’s railway infrastructure, fuel tanks, HUR source says, releases video. Ukraine damaged Russian railway infrastructure and fuel tanks during a strike on the Tver railway on Aug. 28, a source in Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent.
Hungary sues EU over using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine. The lawsuit challenges last year’s decision by the Council of the EU to allocate military assistance to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility (EPF), the bloc’s chief defense aid tool.
Ukraine hits Russian cruise missile carrier near occupied Crimea, intelligence claims. Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) hit a Russian Buyan-M-class small missile ship, a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles, near Russian-occupied Crimea in the Azov Sea on Aug. 28, HUR reported.
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‘It is also a strike by Russia against President Trump’ — Missile, drone attack on Kyiv undermines peace efforts, Zelensky says. “This strike clearly shows that Russia’s goals have not changed. They want war — and they are striking not only our people, not only our cities and communities. Russia is now striking at everyone in the world who seeks peace,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Europe boosts artillery ammunition production sixfold in 2 years, NATO chief says. The production “is expected to reach 2 million rounds by the end of this year,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
Ukraine strikes 2 Russian refineries, other targets in overnight attack, military says. Ukrainian forces hit the Kuibyshev refinery in Russia’s Samara Oblast and the Afipsky refinery in Krasnodar Krai overnight on Aug. 28, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported.
Russia reportedly flying drones over US arms routes in Germany. European and U.S. military officials have been increasingly concerned over the flights in the German state of Thuringia, even as Russian sabotage operations in Europe declined in 2025, the New York Times reported.
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Ukraine war latest: Russian mass attack on Kyiv kills at least 23, including 4 children
Russia launched a large-scale aerial strike on Ukrainian cities overnight on Aug. 28, attacking Kyiv with missiles and targeting regions far from the front lines. At least 23 people were killed in the attack on the capital, including four children, authorities said. Three of them were aged 2, 14, and 17. Sixty-three people, including 11 children were injured, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Thirty of them were hospitalized.
Photo: Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto
Deadlines, delusions, and ballistic missiles: Trump’s theater of peace talks with Putin
The U.S. and European leaders are continuing to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, claiming that a breakthrough has been made in peace talks. At the same time, Russia has been storming the front in Ukraine’s east and bombarded Kyiv with ballistic missiles on Aug. 28, killing at least 23 people and damaging the EU delegation headquarters. Experts agree that the so-called peace talks are a farce, with no party expecting any meaningful results.
Photo: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images
‘It’s like a funeral’ — As US mimics peace talks, Russian missile strike on Kyiv kills at least 23
Living near the Kyiv Radio Plant and a railway station, 22-year-old Andrii Lyutiy knew that a Russian missile attack on his apartment building on the edge of the capital was inevitable. With Russia targeting both military and non-military facilities in the city on a regular basis, Lyutiy tries to go down to the shelter with his mother every time Russia launches ballistic missiles at Kyiv. “We know that if it’s ballistic (missiles), there is a good chance that they could fly directly at us,” Lyutiy told the Kyiv Independent.
Photo: Oleksandr Magula/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
As Russia recruits Ukrainian teens for sabotage, Ukraine races to reach them first
As Ukraine’s teenagers get ready for a new school year in a country at war, they face yet another threat — a network of Russian operatives trying to trick them into betraying their country. For the past year, Ukrainian headlines have tracked a series of shocking incidents where young people recruited by Russian state actors on messenger apps — particularly Telegram — have planted bombs, lit vehicles on fire, painted anti-state graffiti, and shared photos of potential military targets with Russian operatives.
Photo: Security Service of Ukraine
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Human cost of Russia’s war
Russian attacks kill 24, injure 62 in Ukraine over past day. Russia launched 598 drones overnight, including Shahed attack drones and decoys, as well as 31 missiles, among them two Kh-47 Kinzhal ballistic missiles, nine Iskander-M or North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles, and 20 Kh-101 cruise missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force reported.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,079,630 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The number includes 880 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
International response
US approves $825 million military sale to Ukraine for ERAM missiles. The U.S. State Department approved a military sale to Ukraine for Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) missiles and related equipment worth an estimated $825 million, the agency announced on Aug. 28.
Zelensky discusses security guarantees with Erdogan, says they’ll be ‘set out on paper next week.’ President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Aug. 28, “extensively” discussing security guarantees.
China accepts first sanctioned Russian LNG cargo in test of US response, Bloomberg reports. This marks the first time a vessel carrying fuel from the blacklisted facility has entered a Chinese import terminal.
India’s Russian oil imports will increase in September, despite US tariffs, Reuters reports. India plans to increase Russian oil imports by 10-20% in September, in spite of U.S. tariffs aimed at pressuring New Delhi into severing economic ties with Moscow.
In other news
Putin, Kim Jong Un to attend China’s military parade in September. Among the 26 foreign heads of state and government expected to attend the parade in Beijing, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will be the only leader of an EU country present.
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