The Kyiv Independent's Deputy Chief Editor Oleksiy Sorokin spoke with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa during her visit to Kyiv on July 15, following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of his deal with NATO to arm Ukraine and his threat to impose severe sanctions on Russia if it doesn't reach a peace deal with Ukraine within the next 50 days. They also discussed the EU's new sanctions on Russia, Latvia's ongoing support for Ukraine, and its upcoming parliamentary elections.
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.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are scheduled to join U.S. President Donald Trump for an "official Peace Signing Ceremony" on Aug. 8.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
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.
"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.
