Ukraine returns 64 bodies of fallen Azovstal defenders

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on Aug. 12, the Kremlin announced, just days before Putin is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska.

Officials allege that an acting head of one of the Central Territorial Departments in Ukraine's Defense Ministry orchestrated a plot to help a developer secure a tender for a construction project in Kyiv, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) said.

Russian independent media outlet Mediazona, in collaboration with the BBC Russian service, has confirmed the identities of 121,507 Russian military personnel killed in Ukraine.

"This is a listening exercise for President (Donald Trump)," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who offered to host future peace talks in Turkey. The call comes just days before the Aug. 15 Trump-Putin summit on ending the war in Ukraine—without Ukraine's participation.

Russian hackers are suspected of breaching a U.S. federal court filing system, just days before a meeting between Trump and Putin, the New York Times reported Aug. 12.

To prepare for Operation Spiderweb, Ukraine’s Security Service adopted tactics used in fighting transnational organized crime, studying how international drug cartels move contraband past customs and border controls, SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk said in an interview aired on Aug. 12.

Ukraine's Energy Ministry warned that any provocations or military activity in the area could trigger "unpredictable and catastrophic consequences for the entire continent."

The technology provides connectivity when traditional cellular networks are unavailable, particularly during power outages from Russian strikes on critical infrastructure.