Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian government allows men aged 18-22 to go abroad

Key developments on Aug. 26:

• Ukrainian government allows men aged 18-22 to go abroad
• Monitors claim Russia captured 2 Dnipropetrovsk Oblast villages for first time
• Nearly 150 Ukrainian miners rescued after Russian attack on mines, 1 worker killed
• Next Ramstein summit scheduled for Sept. 9 in London
• Ukraine targets Russian logistics in occupied Crimea, military says after reported railway strikes

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has revised travel rules and allowed men aged 18 to 22 to cross the border, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Telegram on Aug. 26.

Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 have been prohibited from leaving the country since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, with some exceptions. Men aged 25 to 60 can be conscripted into the armed forces.

On Aug. 12, Zelensky asked the Cabinet to relax border crossing rules for Ukrainian men aged 18 to 22. On Aug. 22, a bill allowing them to cross the border was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.

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

Monitors claim Russia captured 2 Dnipropetrovsk Oblast villages for first time

Russian forces occupied the villages of Zaporizke and Novoheorhiivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, DeepState monitoring group reported on Aug. 26.

This marks the first time the battlefield monitors report Russia taking control of settlements in the central-eastern region that Moscow's forces sought to penetrate for the past few months.

The two small settlements lie near the administrative borders between the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have captured the villages as of Aug. 25.

The Ukrainian General Staff denied the occupation of the villages on Aug. 26. According to the General Staff, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have stopped the advance of the Russian forces and continue to control Zaporizhske.

The General Staff also said that fighting continues in Novoheorhiivka.

As Putin, Trump debate Ukraine’s future borders, Donetsk Oblast residents are split on what they would accept to end the war

KRAMATORSK, Donetsk Oblast — U.S. President Donald Trump began to actively push Ukraine to accept losing its land and people to Russia, following years of brutal, all-out war. People in Kramatorsk, the largest Ukrainian-held city in Donetsk Oblast — a region that Russia wants and Trump is thinking of handing over in full — have met the recent news with unease. Those who spoke with the Kyiv Independent, however, still maintain a fragile hope for a lasting peace — something this region hasn’t se

The Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima

Nearly 150 Ukrainian miners rescued after Russian attack on mines, 1 worker killed

A Russian attack against a Ukrainian mine killed one worker and injured three, while 146 miners remained underground during a subsequent power outage, the DTEK energy company reported on Aug. 26.

"The attack damaged the enterprise's buildings and equipment, causing a power outage," the company commented on the attack against its facility.

"At that time, 146 miners were underground; their ascent to the surface is ongoing."

Though DTEK did not specify the exact location of the impacted mine, lawmaker and trade union federation leader Mykhailo Volynets reported earlier the same day that some 148 miners were trapped underground after a Russian attack against mines in the Dobropillia community in Donetsk Oblast.

All have been brought to the surface as of 2:30 p.m. local time, Volynets said later during the day.

Security guarantees for Ukraine explained: What’s on the table and what’s realistic?

As peace talks to end the war in Ukraine gather speed toward a potential trilateral meeting between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia, the question of what kind of security guarantees Kyiv might receive continues to loom over the flurry of diplomatic meetings. After President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Aug. 18 appearance at the White House, European leaders are now expected to draft a skeleton proposal for security guarantees over the next week, according to Kyiv Independent sources. The proposal will ex

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

Next Ramstein summit scheduled for Sept. 9 in London

The upcoming Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting in the Ramstein format will be held on Sept. 9 in London, Suspilne reported on Aug. 25, citing Germany's Defense Ministry spokesperson.

The meeting is expected to be held in person, though the agenda remains undisclosed.

The Ramstein summit will take place as Washington is trying to organize peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian presidents in its effort to end Moscow's full-scale war, while Kyiv awaits a proposed framework for security guarantees from its partners.

The last Ramstein-format UDCG meeting took place in Brussels on June 4 under the chairmanship of London and Berlin — a position previously held by the U.S.

In August, NATO and Washington launched the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program, which allows participating nations to buy weapons from the United States. Kyiv aims to secure at least $1 billion a month from its allies to purchase U.S.-made weapons, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Where is Crimea? And other things you (and US presidents) should know

U.S. President Donald Trump referred to Crimea as a piece of land “right in the ocean” that is “the size of Texas” while talking on the Mark Levin Show, a right-wing talk radio program, on Aug. 20. “It’s beautiful. It’s, you know, this massive piece of land stuck out right in the ocean, right in the Black Sea. So beautiful. I mean, it’s so beautiful,” he told Levin, before adding that Ukraine was told by former U.S. President Barack Obama to “give it up to Russia.” Russia invaded Ukraine’s Cri

The Kyiv IndependentElsa Court

Ukraine targets Russian logistics in occupied Crimea, military says

Ukraine's Special Operations Forces crippled Russian logistical facilities in Crimea, the branch said on Aug. 26 after reported drone attacks against the occupied peninsula.

The announcement follows the Crimean Wind Telegram channel's reporting that drones struck a substation at a railway station in the Krasnohvardiiske town in a "precise" hit, sharing footage of smoke rising above the site.

The pro-Ukraine Telegram channel also reported a strike against railway infrastructure in nearby Dzhankoi and a possible attack against an oil depot in the same city.

The operation "disabled logistical facilities that support the operations and combat supply of Russian army units," the Special Operations Forces said in a statement.

The Ukrainian military did not disclose what facilities were targeted, what types of weapons were used, or provide further details about the consequences.

"We continue to destroy Russian logistics in occupied Crimea," the Special Operations Forces said.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its forces intercepted eight Ukrainian drones over Crimea between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. local time, disclosing no information about possible damage.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

As Zelensky, Trump prepare to talk about peace, most Russian demands are non-starters for Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid out a number of demands that he would require to stop his country’s war against Ukraine. Most of these demands are non-starters for Ukraine, analysts say. Russia has demanded a full Ukrainian withdrawal from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, de jure recognition of the occupied territories as Russian, a special status for the Russian-backed church and the Russian language in Ukraine, Kyiv’s demilitarization, and a ban on Kyiv’s NATO membership. In exchange,

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova