Explosions reported in Odesa

Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko are among Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest international allies.

The deficit jumped by 1.2 trillion rubles ($15 billion) last month alone, "mainly due to a decline in the average price of oil," the Russian Finance Ministry said.

Journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna's death has become a stark symbol of Russia's systemic abuse of Ukrainian civilians and the brutal risks faced by journalists in occupied territories.

"There is hope for this. Today is the deadline for the ultimatum," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a news conference.

The crude mixed with organic chloride, which was transported through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, could have seriously corroded infrastructure at OMV Petrom’s Petrobrazi refinery, potentially triggering a national fuel crisis, G4Media reported.

Barrels of Russia's Urals oil are now being offered at a discount to both state-owned and private Chinese refineries, Bloomberg reported.

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said first-person-view (FPV) drones and night bombers were responsible for most of the hits.

At the same time, five Ukrainian clubs have not received similar payments due to restrictions by a Swiss bank, allegedly because they are located in a "zone of military operations," the Guardian reported.

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.

"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.

According to Ukraine's Air Force, Russian forces launched 104 Shahed-type attack drones, decoy drones, and eight rocket-powered kamikaze drones overnight.

Russia's Defense Ministry reportedly demanded cash payments for security services, marking a sharp departure from previous arrangements under Wagner that involved compensation with natural resources.

The number includes 1,040 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

Approximately 1.2 million civilians have been evacuated from their permanent residences in the Ukrainian-controlled territory of Donetsk Oblast.

Preparations for the meeting are underway, and the venue has already been agreed upon, Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.