The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
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Russia’s war against Ukraine
Ukrainians celebrate the Day of the National Flag of Ukraine in Kyiv, on Aug. 23, 2025. (Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ukraine marks flag day with symbolic action in Kursk region, regains control of Donetsk Oblast village. To mark Ukraine’s National Flag Day, drone operators from the “Rugby Team” battalion of the 129th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade raised the blue-and-yellow flag over two villages in Russia’s Kursk region.
Zelensky promises developments on security guarantees in ‘coming days.’ Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb voiced doubts about Russia’s readiness for peace in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, saying, “They (Russia) want to continue the war at least until the fall to maximize their own territorial gains.”
Russian deserter confesses to killing 5 captured Ukrainian soldiers. A 31-year-old Russian serviceman claimed in an interview to have participated in the May 2024 killing of five captured Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk Oblast, according to Polish-Belarusian media outlet Vot Tak.
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Pentagon has quietly barred Ukrainian long-range strikes in Russia with US missiles, WSJ reports. The U.S. has quietly implemented a review process giving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authority to approve Ukrainian long-range strikes inside Russia with American missiles, effectively blocking strikes for months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 23.
Drone incidents reported in Moscow and St. Petersburg, dozens of flights disrupted. In response to concerns over airspace safety, Russia’s federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, temporarily suspended operations at multiple airports in major cities of the Volga and Central regions of European Russia—including Izhevsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Penza, Tambov, and Ulyanovsk.
Zelensky signs decrees imposing sanctions on Putin’s relatives, Kremlin allies. “These sanctions represent 100% synchronization with this year’s Canadian sanctions against 139 individuals and entities working for Russia’s war,” Zelensky said. “Everyone who helps Russia continue killing and building the war machine for further aggression must feel the real pressure of the world.”
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Everything you didn’t know about Ukraine’s flag
In the wake of Russia’s brutal invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian flags have been raised the world over from government buildings to people’s homes–even seen waving over small towns in the United States where there is no Ukrainian diaspora. These flags serve as reminders that Ukraine’s blue-and-yellow flag is not just a national marker, but a rallying symbol of resistance, particularly one against Russian aggression, a centuries-long fight for Ukrainians.
Photo: The Kyiv Independent
After scandal, Ukraine’s president’s office chief seeks to restore trust by tapping veterans
President’s Office Head Andriy Yermak has a new idea — bring in soldiers and veterans into the office recently rocked by scandal. “It is fair. Because these people are the benchmark of honor, morality, and loyalty to Ukraine,” Yermak said on social media on Aug. 22. President Volodymyr Zelensky backed the idea. Yermak’s new push comes a month after a major scandal, in which the president’s team attempted to take away the independence of major anti-corruption institutions.
Photo: Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images
Once a top backer, Poland fades from Ukraine peace talks amid domestic turmoil
As U.S.-led efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine were gaining momentum, Poland, once among Kyiv’s most vocal backers, was noticeably absent from high-level talks. The country, which provided an estimated 4.5 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in military aid since 2022 and hosts the critical Rzeszow-Jasionka hub for Western weapons deliveries, has struggled to maintain its early prominence. Analysts say dwindling military stockpiles and shifting domestic politics have reduced its role.
Photo: Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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Human cost of Russia’s war
Russian strikes in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kill 1, injure 9 others. One person was killed and another nine were injured as a result of Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Aug. 23.
Ukrainian pilot dies in MiG-29 crash. A Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot was killed after completing a combat mission early on Aug. 23, according to a statement by Ukraine’s Air Force.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,075,160 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The number includes 840 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
International response
China ready to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, German media reports. German media outlet Welt reported, citing anonymous EU sources, that China has signalled it is prepared to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. However, China is prepared to do so only “if the peacekeeping forces were deployed on the basis of a mandate from the United Nations (UN),” the sources told Welt.
In other news
France summons Italian ambassador over official’s remarks on Macron’s Ukraine proposal, Reuters reports. Responding to Macron’s appeal earlier this week, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini used a Milanese dialect expression loosely meaning “get lost.”
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