Ukraine war latest: Ukraine hits Russian drone base in occupied Crimea; Kremlin says Putin-Zelensky meeting 'not ready at all'

Key developments on Aug. 22:

• Ukraine hits Russian drone base at occupied Crimean airfield, Navy claims
• Putin-Zelensky meeting 'not ready at all,' Kremlin says despite Trump push for peace deal
• Ukraine shoots down Russian Orlan 'mother drone' carrying FPVs for first time, military says
• Ukrainian naval drone explosion in Novorossiysk Bay kills 5 'elite' Russian divers, intelligence claims

The Ukrainian Navy attacked a Russian drone base in occupied Sevastopol, Crimea, the Navy reported on Aug. 22.

According to the statement, Ukraine destroyed three Mohajer-6 drones and two Forpost drones at the Khersones airfield on the occupied peninsula.

Russia uses these drones to monitor surface activity in the Black Sea, the Navy said.

Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drones are long-range weapons that can travel up to 200 km (approximately 124 miles). Russia has used Forpost drones against Ukraine since its 2014 invasion. After the full-scale war began in 2022, the drones were mainly used in the south by the Black Sea Fleet's air forces to target Ukraine's Bastion coastal missile systems.

The exact type of weapon used in the attack, as well as the timing of the attack, is unclear.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the reports.

Crimea has been under Russian occupation since its illegal annexation in 2014. Ukraine has stepped up strikes on military infrastructure on the peninsula since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

In early August, Ukrainian forces struck the Yenisei radar station, a component of Russia's advanced S-500 air defense system, in the occupied peninsula, Ukraine's military intelligence claimed.

Russia strengthens hand in potential peace talks with steady advances in Donbas

As President Volodymyr Zelensky seeks a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, the battlefield is shifting in Moscow’s favor, bolstering its position in potential peace talks. Russia’s main focus remains the Pokrovsk sector in the eastern Donetsk Oblast, where its troops are slowly advancing northeast of the logistic hub, once home to roughly 60,000 people. Russian troops are trying to close in on the Ukrainian pocket around Pokrovsk, approximately 16 kilometers wide, acc

The Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima

Putin-Zelensky meeting 'not ready at all,' Kremlin says despite Trump push for peace deal

Plans for a bilateral summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky are "not ready at all," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told NBC News on Aug. 22.

The statement comes as a blow to U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a speedy peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. Following separate meetings with Putin and Zelensky, Trump said that the next step would be a bilateral summit between the two leaders, which he hoped would occur in the next two weeks.

Lavrov threw cold water on those plans in an interview with NBC News on Aug. 22.

"There is no meeting planned ... Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all," Lavrov said.

The Kremlin's top diplomat claimed that delays in arranging the meeting were due to Zelensky's rejection of "several principles" necessary for future peace talks, such as no NATO membership for Ukraine and the "discussion of territorial issues."

"Zelensky said no to everything," Lavrov said.

Zelensky in fact said he was prepared to discuss territory with Putin in a press conference after his White House meeting with Trump on Aug. 18.

"How can we meet with a person who is pretending to be a leader?" Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told NBC News on Aug. 22.

Undermining the legitimacy of Zelensky's government is a key tenet of Russian propaganda. Putin has previously refused to meet with Zelensky on these grounds, which form part of Moscow's justification for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump met directly with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on Aug. 15 to discuss options for ending the war. Despite reaching no concrete agreements, Trump hailed the meeting as a resounding success and announced that bilateral and trilateral summits involving Zelensky would soon follow.

Zelensky said on Aug. 18 that he was ready to meet with Putin and hold peace talks with Russia without conditions. The AFP then reported that Putin told Trump he was willing to meet Zelensky.

Despite this, the Kremlin made no public comments in support of such a meeting.

Zelensky told reporters on Aug. 20 that if Putin "is not ready" for a one-on-one meeting, Kyiv expects the U.S. to respond with tougher measures.

What Russia stole, these Crimean Tatar authors endeavor to reclaim with literature

To much of the world, Crimea is mostly synonymous with the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine — once a precious Black Sea resort, the peninsula was seized at gunpoint in 2014 and transformed into a fortified military outpost. But behind the headlines of Russia’s ongoing occupation of Crimea is a deeper, often overlooked story: that of the Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of the peninsula, who have endured centuries of repression and now face yet another struggle for survival under Russi

The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan

Ukraine shoots down Russian Orlan 'mother drone' carrying FPVs for first time, military says

Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners shot down a Russian Orlan drone carrying two first-person-view (FPV) drones under its wings for the first time, the 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade reported on Aug. 22.

This marks the first time the Ukrainian military has destroyed a so-called "mother drone" carrying other UAVs, the brigade claimed.

"Anti-aircraft gunners from the 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade destroyed an enemy Orlan drone carrying two FPV drones under its wings," the unit said in a Facebook post.

"Prior to this, the pilots of the pursuit platoon had already shot down dozens of enemy reconnaissance drones — Orlan, Zala, and Supercam — but this was the first time they had managed to destroy a mother drone."

The Orlan is a Russian-developed reconnaissance drone widely used by Russia in Ukraine. Feared by Ukrainian soldiers, it often serves to target Russian artillery attacks. It can travel 600 kilometers and climb to an altitude of 5,000 meters.

Ukraine has previously reported downing high-altitude Orlan drones.

Innovations in drone warfare are a key component of Ukraine's defense strategy against Russia. Kyiv is reportedly developing its own version of a drone-carrier in partnership with the German defense company Quantum Systems.

The Sparta is designed to carry two FPV drones with a combat radius of 200 km (124 miles.)

Ukraine’s anti-corruption chief on how his agency became a target — and what’s next

Semen Kryvonos, head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), is stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one side, there’s mounting pressure on the bureau to deliver results, especially in exposing high-level corruption — including in the secretive and ever-expanding defense sector. On the other hand, Kryvonos must constantly defend his agency from attacks — including from other law enforcement agencies, whose loyalties lie with the president’s office. Among them, the all-po

The Kyiv IndependentOleksiy Sorokin

Ukrainian naval drone explosion in Novorossiysk Bay kills 5 'elite' Russian divers, intelligence claims

A naval drone operated by Ukraine's military intelligence exploded after it lost connection with central control and was seized by Russian military divers in Novorossiysk Bay, killing five of them, the agency reported on Aug. 22.

According to the agency, during an operation in the Black Sea, the naval drone lost connection with its control center due to electronic warfare and started drifting.

Later, the Russian command reportedly ordered five naval reconnaissance divers to retrieve the naval drone from the bay for inspection. Ukraine's military intelligence HUR identified them as members of the Russian commando frogmen — an elite unit that receives top-level training, significant funding, and advanced equipment.

"While handling a Ukrainian naval drone, it detonated — the explosion resulted in the elimination of all five elite Russian underwater saboteurs," the statement read.

The exact timing of the operation is unknown.

Novorossiysk has become a key port for the Russian Black Sea Fleet after successful Ukrainian strikes on occupied Crimea forced Moscow to pull out much of its naval forces from the peninsula.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the reports.

Note from the author:

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