An oil refinery in Kazakhstan is set to process Russian crude and send 70% of its diesel and gasoline output back to Russia amid shortages as a result of Ukrainian attacks, Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said Aug. 25.

The incident marks one of the first known attempts to target a military equipment manufacturer in Slovakia, according to Dennik N.

Key developments on Aug. 25: * UK, France approve Storm Shadow/SCALP missile production in Ukraine, Zelensky says * US asked Ukraine to refrain from striking Moscow during CIA chief's visit, source says * Kellogg backs mobilizing Ukrainian women, parliament says it is not under consideration * Kremlin dismisses Donbas free economic zone proposal * Russian drone strikes border crossing between Ukraine, Moldova * Ukrainian strike damages MiG-29 fighter jet at Russian air base * 'Fabricated

The High Anti-Corruption Court on Aug. 25 placed Iryna Mudra, a former deputy head of the President's Office, in custody for two months in a graft case and set bail at Hr 20 million ($448,000).

"Сhildren cannot be used as instruments of war or occupation," First Lady of Lithuania, Diana Nausediene, said.

"Our contribution plays a major role in getting funds to Ukraine, but it is not sufficient on its own," a European Commission spokesperson said, adding that other partners must "follow suit."

"They don't believe in the strength of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's air defenses," the source said.

Peter Novak, a Slovak with 25 years of experience in the IT and banking sectors, replaced former board member head Mykola Hladyschenko after he was officially dismissed from his position on Aug. 21 by the government due to his suspected involvement in a money laundering scheme.

The decision could help Ukraine move closer to producing the missiles at home. The U.K. has agreed to let European defense company MBDA share classified technical information on British-made parts of SCALP missiles with Ukraine, the U.K. government said on Aug. 24.

Russia would not end its war against Ukraine even if it captured all of Donbas, former U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg told the Kyiv Independent in an interview conducted on Ukrainian Independence Day. Kellogg made the comments during his sixth visit to Ukraine and his first since leaving office. He met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and received briefings on the latest war developments. For Kellogg, the central issue is not how much territory Russia captures, but whether Russi

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia considers Donbas its own territory and that it is "unlikely" to be governed by a "third party."

Stolar fled abroad more than a month ago and faces the charges of organized crime, embezzlement, corporate raiding, forgery, and hacking.

German investigators also found what appeared to be about 50 grams of hexogen, a military explosive, the German media reported.

Russia launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile, a Kh-31P guided missile, and 150 drones at Ukraine, the Air Force said. As of 9 a.m., air defenses had downed or suppressed 124 drones, while strikes were recorded at 17 locations. The attack was still ongoing at the time of the report.

Ukrainian forces struck several targets, including the fourth generation fighter jet on Millerovo air base in Russia's Rostov Oblast.

Key findings: * A Ukrainian state-owned bank, seized from a Russian owner in 2023, was allegedly turned into a tool for insider corruption. * A senior aide to President  Volodymyr Zelensky, Iryna Mudra, pressed to install a favored, conflicted candidate on the bank's oversight board. * Two officials who vetted him warned he had ties to a previous bank failure and a conflict of interest, but he was appointed anyway. * The bank's rushed, low-scrutiny nationalization made it easier to quietly

This is the third attack on a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova in the last two weeks.

"We recall that rule of law and the fight against corruption is an essential element for any country to join the European Union," European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert told the Kyiv Independent on Aug. 25.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told parliament on Aug. 24 that Yerevan will soon launch its bid to join the European Union, as the country seeks to further distance itself from Russia.

Speculation about another mobilization has intensified in recent months as Russia’s battlefield gains slow and its voluntary recruitment system struggles to compensate for mounting losses.

Robert Kocharyan, Armenia's president from 1998 until 2008, leads the Armenia Alliance, one of the main Moscow-friendly political forces opposing Armenia's pro-EU Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

He said that "it is very important for women, as part of society, to serve," adding he saw no problem with the idea "personally or professionally."

Dan Negrea, a U.S. envoy to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, instead called upon "both sides" to cease any strikes that might pose a risk to civilian vessels.

Polish diplomat Michal Miarka underscored recent violations of the Polish, Romanian, and Latvian airspace, saying they cannot be accepted as the "new normal."

The figure includes 1,230 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham and other European leaders plan to lobby U.S. President Donald Trump next month to provide Ukraine access to U.S. stockpiles of Patriot missiles, Burnham said on Aug. 24.

Ukraine's military launched an attack on Russia's Krasnodar Krai overnight on Aug. 25, reportedly striking the Afipsky Oil Refinery, Russian Telegram media channels reported.

Bradley Townsend, 33, was reportedly killed by an FPV drone in Donetsk Oblast two months after he joined the Russian military.

Concepts included "civic volunteerism" from the U.S., the British idiom "keep calm and carry on," and Ukraine's "sophiynist" — a philosophy of resilience that involves translating emotional and intellectual understanding into action.

The new agreement gives the U.K. access to Ukraine's AI Avengers Labs, which contains a trove of real-world battlefield data for training AI defense systems. The U.K. will be the first foreign partner to access the dataset.

The president revealed that Ukraine produces about 200-300 drones a day — but needs to churn out over three times that number to stay competitive with Moscow.

For years, NATO countries have watched Russian drones breach their airspace, reluctant to shoot them down for fear of escalation. That restraint is now beginning to erode. After Russian drones injured civilians in Romania, while Russian electronic jamming continued diverting Ukrainian drones toward critical infrastructure in the Baltic region, NATO fighter jets finally began shooting intruders down. But using expensive air-to-air missiles to destroy cheap, one-way Geran and Gerbera drones is h