The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
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Russia’s war against Ukraine
.Residents of a front-line town in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast were evacuated amid threats of Russian first-person-view (FPV) drone strikes and bombings on Aug. 20, 2025 in Novodonetske, Ukraine (Pierre Crom/Getty Images)
US may provide air support for Ukraine under peace deal, Trump says. “When it comes to security, (European allies) are willing to put people on the ground. We’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably, by air,” U.S. President Donald Trump said.
Around 10 European allies willing to send troops to Ukraine, talks accelerate on security guarantees, Bloomberg reports. Talks among European officials on Aug. 19 reportedly focused on proposals to send troops from the U.K. and France to Ukraine, along with contingents from roughly 10 other countries.
Security guarantees for Ukraine can’t be discussed without Russia’s participation, Lavrov claims. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that “seriously discussing security issues without Russia is a road to nowhere.”
Putin discusses Ukraine war with Erdogan before potential meeting with Zelensky. Russian President Vladimir Putin “noted with satisfaction Turkey’s assistance in hosting talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul,” the Kremlin reported.
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Russian drone strike on Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast injures 14, including children. After the attack, a family with three injured children — aged 5 months, 4 years, and 6 years — sought medical assistance, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukraine’s postal service сloses Kostiantynivka branch in Donetsk Oblast as front line approaches. Ukrposhta, Ukraine’s state-owned postal service, is closing its offices in the front-line city of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast due to the deteriorating security situation, company CEO Ihor Smelyansky announced on Aug. 20.
Drone strike sparks blaze at oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov Oblast, media reports. The attack allegedly hit the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, which has previously been targeted in Ukrainian drone strikes.
Russian oil supplies to EU resume after Ukrainian drone strike, Hungary says. “We expect that Ukraine will not launch new attacks on the pipeline, which is critical to our country’s energy supply,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
Read our exclusives
5 days of diplomacy, 5 days of deadly Russian attacks on Ukraine
At least 31 civilians have been killed and 145 injured in Russian strikes across Ukraine since U.S. President Donald Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15.
Photo: Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
Russia is turning occupied Ukraine into a giant military base
Moscow’s forces are converting civilian infrastructure into bases to house its soldiers, transport ammunition, and launch its drones from closer than ever to Ukrainian-held territory.
Photo: PlanetLabs
Ukrainian students to protest Navalny widow at Edinburgh literary festival
The Ukrainian Society, the student group that is planning the protest against her appearance, believes Yulia Navalnaya holds imperialist views similar to those of her late husband, and should not be given a platform to speak at an event where Ukrainian authors will also participate.
Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
We finally watched ‘Russians at War’ — it’s worse than we thought
At its core, “Russians at War” is a troubling film, marked by a deliberate ambiguity that functions as an ideological tool and shapes how viewers look at Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. War is presented as a matter of personal perspective rather than a crisis measured against international law.
Photo: TIFF/YouTube
From Crimea to Donbas, Russia’s “peace” has always meant more war. We’re here in Ukraine to give the world a reality check. Support independent journalism in this critical moment.
Human cost of Russia’s war
Russian attacks kill 3, injure 34 in Ukraine over past day. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russian forces launched 93 Shahed-type attack and decoy drones, along with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, overnight.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,072,700 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The number includes 920 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
The ground drone revolution in Ukraine
International response
Rutte, Erdogan discuss Ukraine peace process, Black Sea security. “The call addressed the latest developments concerning the peace process between Ukraine and Russia,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office reported.
Polish prime minister rejects Hungary as venue for potential Zelensky-Putin talks. “Not everyone may remember this, but in 1994, Ukraine already got assurances of territorial integrity from the U.S., Russia, and the U.K. In Budapest,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
‘Russia once again provokes NATO countries’ —Poland says Russian drone crashes near its village. Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed that the object, which fell into a cornfield near the village of Osiny, was a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle.
Japan, Sweden say they’re ready to contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine. Closer to Ukraine, Lithuania said it was willing to put troops on the ground as part of a peacekeeping force, while Poland said its soldiers would assist the “coalition of the willing” from Poland.
Italy’s Meloni backs Ukraine security plan that gives allies 24 hours to send troops if Russia invades again, Bloomberg reports. The plan would require countries that have signed security agreements with Ukraine to deliberate and respond quickly in the event of another Russian attack following a peace agreement. It would not include NATO membership for Ukraine.
India resumes Russian oil imports despite US tariffs, Bloomberg reports. Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. bought several shipments of Russian Urals crude in recent days, with deliveries expected in September and October.
US absent from UN condemnation of Russia’s war in Georgia. In a joint statement, representatives of five Security Council members — Denmark, France, Greece, the United Kingdom and Slovenia — along with incoming member Latvia, denounced Russia’s invasion of Georgia 17 years ago and its continued military presence in the country’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions.
Trump calls occupied Crimea ‘size of Texas,’ says it’s ‘in the middle of the ocean.’ Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, illegally occupied by Russia since 2014, is roughly 26 times smaller than Texas.
In other news
Ukraine’s ex-military chief Zaluzhnyi denies running presidential campaign from London. “Valerii Zaluzhnyi has stated his position more than once, and as far as I know, it has not changed: while the war continues, we need to work to preserve the country, not think about elections,” Zaluzhnyi’s aide Oksana Torop said.
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