Putin holds advantage ahead of Trump meeting, expert says

Shahed-type drones, originally designed in Iran, have become a key element of Moscow's long-range strike arsenal against Ukraine, frequently used to target cities, infrastructure, and energy facilities.

"We talked about a ceasefire today. President Trump said this is one of his priorities in conversation with President Putin," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Kyiv Independent’s Kollen Post sits down with Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia and political scientist, to discuss the upcoming high-level talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, scheduled for Aug. 15 in Alaska, as well as both sides’ strategies for the meeting.

Russia's communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, claimed the apps have become "the main services used to defraud and extort money, and to involve Russian citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities."

"It is regrettable to watch the Georgian authorities grovel before Moscow and disregard the principles of dignity and independence that have historically characterized the Georgian nation," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Switzerland extended its sanctions lists to align with the EU's 18th package against Russia, specifically targeting Moscow's largest budget revenue source – oil exports, the Swiss government said.

"The head of state demands that we must be ready for all possible scenarios," Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said.

"Russia is unlikely to abandon the use of strategic aviation or large-scale drone deployments," Mykhailo Podolyak told Corriere della Sera. "However, Ukraine is ready to discuss and consider this scenario," he added.

When war rages on the front line — with trenches, tanks, drones, and rockets — it is visible. But a far more dangerous war is fought where it goes unnoticed: in negotiations, in memoranda, in the emphasis on ethnic grievances and cultural claims.

Estonia said Dmitry Prilepin, the first secretary of the Russian Embassy in Tallinn, had engaged in efforts to erode the country's legal order, sow divisions in society, and aid crimes against the state.

Zelensky and Merz will hold a bilateral meeting before joining a video conference with European leaders, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and U.S. President Donald Trump, a presidential spokesperson said.

The Polish police detained more than 100 people over the weekend following an Aug. 9 concert of Belarusian rapper Max Korzh at Warsaw's National Stadium.

The financing will help Ukraine better prepare for the autumn and winter months as the country's gas storage reserves fall to their lowest level in at least 11 years due to Russian attacks.

Ukrainian drones targeted the Unecha oil pumping station, part of the Transneft Druzhba pipeline network, sparking a large fire, an intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.