Ukrainian forces intercept Russian sabotage group near border in Sumy Oblast

"We prove that Ukrainians exist and Ukrainians will remain on this land," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address.

Ukraine shot down a total of 48 drones, while a missile and 24 Shahed attack drones struck 10 locations, the Air Force said, without specifying the targets.

"Yes, we have taken the first steps. But I will say it figuratively, we are at a distance of 10 kilometers and have passed, maybe, the first 200 meters, no more. But in any case, we are moving in the right direction," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

In response to concerns over airspace safety, Russia’s federal aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, temporarily suspended operations at multiple airports in major cities of the Volga and Central regions of European Russia—including Izhevsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Penza, Tambov, and Ulyanovsk.

Washington approved the sale of 3,550 Extended-Range Attack Munition (ERAM) missiles to Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Aug. 23, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.

"An agent of our movement destroyed a transformer cabinet on the railway branch near Cherkessk in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. Military cargo is transported along this road, and military units and the Russian National Guard in the region are supplied," the Atesh partisan group said.

One person was killed and another nine were injured as a result of Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Aug. 23.

The U.S. has quietly implemented a review process giving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authority to approve Ukrainian long-range strikes inside Russia with American missiles, effectively blocking strikes for months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 23.

To mark Ukraine’s National Flag Day, drone operators from the "Rugby Team" battalion of the 129th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade raised the blue-and-yellow flag over two villages in Russia’s Kursk region.

Responding to Macron’s appeal earlier this week, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini used a Milanese dialect expression loosely meaning "get lost."

"These sanctions represent 100% synchronization with this year’s Canadian sanctions against 139 individuals and entities working for Russia’s war," Zelensky said. "Everyone who helps Russia continue killing and building the war machine for further aggression must feel the real pressure of the world."

Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb voiced doubts about Russia's readiness for peace in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, saying, "They (Russia) want to continue the war at least until the fall to maximize their own territorial gains."

A 31-year-old Russian serviceman claimed in an interview to have participated in the May 2024 killing of five captured Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk Oblast, according to Polish-Belarusian media outlet Vot Tak.