Ukraine repels Russian forces in Vasylkiv near Kyiv.

A Russian drone strike on the northeastern city of Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast left 12 people injured, including two children, local authorities reported on Aug. 20.

Switzerland is prepared to grant Russian President Vladimir Putin immunity from arrest if he travels to Geneva for peace negotiations, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in an interview on Aug. 19.

Talks among European officials on Aug. 19 reportedly focused on proposals to send troops from the U.K. and France to Ukraine, along with contingents from roughly 10 other countries.

The priest had concealed the passenger under his robes on the back seat to bypass checkpoints. The passenger turned out to be a 41-year-old resident of Sumy Oblast.

"If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that's a pretty... I want to try to get to heaven if possible, I'm hearing that I'm not doing well," Trump said on Aug. 19.

According to sources cited by Bloomberg, European leaders urged U.S. President Donald Trump to pressure Orban into dropping his opposition to Ukraine’s EU accession talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Aug. 19 that U.S. soldiers will not be on the ground in Ukraine to ensure security guarantees are upheld, deflecting the responsibility to European allies.

The European Union's 19th package of sanctions against Russia is expected to be ready in September, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas announced on Aug. 19, as the EU ramps up its pressure on Moscow in hopes that it will push Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

Russia has resumed grain shipments to Syria from within occupied Crimea, transporting stolen grain from Ukraine's occupied territories, reported Kateryna Yaresko, a journalist with the Ukrainian SeaKrime project that tracks Russia's illegal shipping activity.

NATO military leaders are scheduled to meet virtually on Aug. 20 to discuss the alliance's support for Ukraine as European leaders continue negotiations with Kyiv and Washington on security agreements for the embattled country.

The Kyiv Independent’s deputy chief editor, Toma Istomina, sits down with Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s former foreign minister, to discuss why the White House meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump, and European leaders brought little progress in stopping Russia’s war.