The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
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Russia’s war against Ukraine
People gather next to a bust of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, an interactive installation called “The world through Shevchenko’s eyes”, by the Ukrainian artist Sergiy Zapadnya, installed at a park in central Kyiv on Aug. 7, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images)
Putin, Trump to meet in coming days, Moscow says as US sanctions deadline draws near. Preparations for the meeting are underway, and the venue has already been agreed upon, Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.
‘It is time we ended the war’ — Zelensky confirms talks on trilateral leader summit. “Yesterday (Aug. 6), various potential formats for leader-level meetings to bring peace were also discussed – two bilateral and one trilateral,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said after a phone call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Over 70% of Ukrainians reject Russian peace plan, support for US proposal remains divisive, poll shows. “As in May 2025, the only plan that can be the subject of discussions and approval by the Ukrainian public is a joint plan from Europe and Ukraine,” the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology read.
‘It’s up to him’ — Trump says ceasefire deadline depends on Putin. U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire deadline he set for Russia — scheduled for Aug. 8 — now depends on Vladimir Putin. “We’re going to see what he has to say. It’s going to be up to him,” Trump told reporters on Aug. 7.
‘This is child trafficking‘ — Russia launches ‘catalog’ of Ukrainian children for adoption, sorted by eye and hair color. “Parents of some of them were killed by occupation authorities, others were simply issued Russian identification documents to legitimize their abduction,” said Mykola Kuleba, head of the Save Ukraine organization.
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Trump reportedly tells European allies, Zelensky that Putin open to land-swap talks. The comments reportedly came during a phone call on Aug. 6, just two days before U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face harsher U.S. penalties.
2 Russian-recruited minors detained for deadly bombing in Ukraine. Ukrainian law enforcement detained two minors recruited by Russia who carried out a terrorist attack in Zhytomyr city earlier this week, killing one man and seriously injuring another, the Security Service of Ukraine announced on Aug. 7.
Inflicting ‘serious losses,’ Ukraine strikes Russian radar systems, landing craft in Crimea, intelligence claims. “The demilitarization of the temporarily occupied Crimea continues,” Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) said in a statement.
Ukrainian drones strike train station in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast, governor reports. Ukraine’s military launched a drone attack on Russia’s Volgograd Oblast overnight on Aug. 7, striking a railway station in the town of Surovikino, regional Governor Andrei Bocharov reported.
Over 21,000 civilians, including 115 children, remain in Donetsk Oblast combat zones, official says. Approximately 1.2 million civilians have been evacuated from their permanent residences in the Ukrainian-controlled territory of Donetsk Oblast.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Putin, Trump to meet in coming days, Moscow says as US sanctions deadline draws near
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are expected to meet in the coming days, Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Aug. 7.This would mark the first meeting between the presidents since Trump took office on Jan. 20.
Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images
What it’s really like being Black in Russia
Kremlin state propaganda has long tried to promote the idea that people from Africa and the global Black diaspora can live free of discrimination in Russia, where they will be judged by their achievements and not their skin color.
Photo: Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
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Human cost of Russia’s war
6 killed, 35 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russian forces launched 112 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones overnight.
Opinions and insights
Best way to ramp up Western sanctions on Russia is to double down on their enforcement
“Slapping new sanctions on India and China will turn up the heat on Russia — but doubling down on enforcement is what will really hit home,” writes Prentice Everett, an advisor on labour market reform for the Tony Blair Institute in Ukraine, in this op-ed.
Photo: Maxim Shemetov / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
International response
‘It’s about economy’ — US says tariffs may be forcing Putin to reconsider stance in Ukraine peace talks. “President (Donald) Trump has made it clear that he’s willing and capable of moving forward on some economic actions, secondary sanctions, or other direct sanctions as well,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
In other news
Ukraine bonds surge as Putin-Trump meeting confirmation fuels peace deal hopes. Ukraine’s debt securities, sensitive to prospects of an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, hit their highest levels in four months.
Ukrainian draft officers will be mandated to wear body cameras starting fall.
“This step will help ensure transparency and legality in the work of enlistment offices’ teams, as well as protect the rights of both sides,” Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
Far-right Russian group disrupts ceremony honoring victims of Stalinist purges, which included Ukrainians. Members of the Russian Community reportedly arrived at the cemetery in Russia’s Karelia region before the ceremony on Aug. 5 and doused participants with water while singing the patriotic Soviet song “Katyusha,” according to Sova.
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