US says Russia could announce ‘sham referendums’ in occupied parts of Ukraine this week

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that at least 180 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Moscow Oblast during the attack, with over 600 claimed to have been launched at the region.

The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office announced arrest warrants in absentia for three Russian media figures on Aug. 17, accusing the suspects of issuing public calls for terrorism against the country.

Russian opposition figure Lev Shlosberg was sentenced to 11 years and one month in prison for making statements opposing the war against Ukraine, Russian political party Yabloko wrote on Aug. 17.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug. 17 appointed Yurii Pohrybnyi as commander of the Logistics Forces of Ukraine's Armed Forces, according to a presidential decree.

Russia's security service (FSB) blackmailed prominent Ukrainian volunteer Mykhailo Puryshev into cooperation, threatening to conscript his son into the Russian army, he claimed on Aug. 17.

The Banderol is a small, low-cost cruise missile which is launched from a Kronshtadt Orion strike and reconnaissance drone.

"At a time when Russia continues its war of aggression against Ukraine, systematically destroying our cities, cultural heritage and national identity, granting one of the world’s most prestigious cultural platforms to a project connected to the Russian state and its networks of influence sends an extremely troubling signal," the Foreign Ministry said.

Maksym Tsutskiridze added that police have received 1.5 million requests from enlistment offices related to locating people suspected of evading mobilization.

"To the EU and its member states: please, do listen to Ukraine! Sadly, no other country in the world knows better why Moscow cannot be trusted in the atomic energy sphere," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

Using satellite imagery and leaked documents, the publication identified at least 59 newly constructed "launch rails" spread across 10 locations, some repurposed from old military bases and civilian airports, while others were created in the countryside.

Alongside the attacks on Odesa Oblast, Russian forces launched 128 drones across Ukraine overnight on Aug. 17, the Air Force said.

The figure includes 1,440 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.