Main news
Ukrainian Christmas
Shares in Russia’s second-largest bank hit record low as Wildberries-linked offering price holds steady
VTB sought access to Wildberries’ 80 million customers. After drone strikes hit the retailer’s warehouses, Moscow considered making the bank central to a support plan.
Latest news
31 August 2026
- Daily reviewRusso-Ukrainian war, day 1649: Russia keeps Kyiv under fire for a fourth day as Ukraine tests new interceptors and strikes back at Russian oil
- Ukraine is testing four new drone interceptors as Russia floods its skies with faster Gerans
- Russia has burned millions of Ukrainian books, striking at the infrastructure of Ukrainian culture
- Ukraine strikes Russia’s second-largest oil refinery again in major overnight attack, also hitting airfield and drone launch site
- Four days of Russian attacks keep Kyiv under near-constant fire. Ukraine is struggling to defend its skies
- Ukrainian ground-robot maker has moved into air: Ratel’s first strike drone flies 30 kilometers on Starlink link
- Daily reviewRusso-Ukrainian war, day 1648: Russia hunts Ukraine’s grain trains
- “We have surprises for our neighbors”: Ukraine’s aviation commander says new aircraft developments are essentially finished and already in testing
- Russia launches third attack on Ukraine’s largest Danube port this month, during peak of wheat harvest
- After CIA head’s visit to Moscow, Poland’s PM warns Russia is preparing to escalate war. He puts critical window at seven or eight months
- What does Ukraine’s new defense minister wear on his wrist? He did not mention it until reporter asked
- Ukraine chooses three Western fighters to build its air force around. One of them can fly again from stretch of road in 15 to 20 minutes
- Russo-Ukrainian war 2022-2026Ukraine has five ways to stop Russia’s Iskanders. Only one arrives before the strikes on the grid begin
- Military techA rare Ukrainian Bulat tank turned up in a brigade that never had them
- Ukraine’s intelligence: Russia is running its Nepal, Cuba, Kenya, and India recruitment scheme in Indonesia now
- Daily reviewRusso-Ukrainian war, day 1647: Kyiv is under nonstop attack for a second day as Russia’s strikes wipe out 90% of Ukraine’s modern commercial storage
- Fix for Ukraine’s interceptors is radar seeker head, and American firm is selling one for $4,000, says president’s tech adviser
- Four ground robots for one evacuation: Russia is targeting Ukraine’s robotic medevac missions
- Ukrainian robot commander calls ground robots “Persian elephants.” What army really needs are “Arabian steeds”, he says
- Russia destroyed last of Kherson’s heat and power equipment on 26 August. Ukraine’s new defense minister arrived days later
- Partisans say Russian recruiters in occupied Donetsk are taking drunk men from bars straight to enlistment offices
- Ukraine dismissed its defense minister in July. He is now advising NATO country on defense innovation
- Russia has destroyed 90% of Ukraine’s modern commercial storage capacity. Retail logistics are being reshaped
Daily Review
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Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1649: Russia keeps Kyiv under fire for a fourth day as Ukraine tests new interceptors and strikes back at Russian oil
-
Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1648: Russia hunts Ukraine’s grain trains
-
Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1647: Kyiv is under nonstop attack for a second day as Russia’s strikes wipe out 90% of Ukraine’s modern commercial storage
Ukraine offers cash rewards for capturing Russian soldiers and close-combat kills
The group that captures a Russian soldier shares a reward of 100,000 hryvnias ($2,225), while each confirmed kill in small-arms or hand-to-hand combat, backed by video, brings 15,000 hryvnias ($335).
Black Sea attacks delayed up to 2.5 million tons of wheat bound for Asia
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s ports and Black Sea ships surged from 14 in all of 2025 to 124 this July. Up to 2.5 million tons of wheat bound for Asia is delayed.
Russia diverts defense-industry chemicals to gasoline—but stations still run dry
A July decree sent defense-industry chemicals to the fuel pump; motor oil prices have since spiked 40%, and Rosgvardia is patrolling gas stations in Moscow Oblast.
Russia is trying to get its guns within range of Zaporizhzhia. First it has to take a prison
The Ukrainian 118th Mechanized Brigade blocks any march on Zaporizhzhia City. But a Russian field army aims to disrupt the defense.
Putin’s Mach-10 wonder weapon misses by 30 meters. Russia stopped building it in April.
Putin unveiled it as unstoppable in 2018. Ukrainian intelligence says the line stopped in April, and the fuel now goes to Iskanders.
Russia’s last “Ukraine peace deal” led to Europe’s biggest war since WWII. Here’s why this one could be worse.
Moscow isn’t just negotiating—it’s setting the stage. Behind closed doors, familiar tactics are at play, and the consequences could reshape Europe’s future once again.
Moldova halves grain-transit fees for Ukraine as its own farmers threaten protests
President Maia Sandu is defending the halved transit fees against her own farmers, arguing that a neighbor able to export and arm itself is worth more to Moldova than the risk to local grain prices.
India’s cooking-oil imports jump for festival season—but not war-hit sunflower
Indian refiners are stocking up for the festival season, but the war has left the world’s top sunflower supplier shut out of the boom.
Russia has thousands of tanks it can’t risk. One drone shield decides whether they roll
Russia has finally fielded a tank defense that can shoot down Ukrainian FPV drones. The problem is that Ukrainian crews can send more drones than the Arena-M can stop—and the first tanks carrying it have burned anyway.
Ukraine let young men leave to keep teenage boys home. Restaurants now struggle to hire
Work.ua recorded 29% fewer male candidates aged 18 to 22 in hospitality and retail. Across the platform, advertised entry-level pay rose 23 to 24%.
Ukraine may have just lost its first Swedish assault boat—to a Russian jet drone
A Russian Geran-4 caught it near the Kinburn Spit on 12 August. Those boats are what put Ukrainian robots on Russian beaches.
Why is Ukraine losing ground? Mobilization crisis and command failures exposed
Ukraine's military problems can no longer be ignored as mobilization failures and systemic issues lead to mounting territorial losses
Evergreens
Yes, Ukraine can win the war – ex-minister decodes victory plan
Zelenskyy's plan and Ukraine's victory are completely realistic, says Andriy Zagorodnyuk. But there is a crucial caveat -- the current paradigm must be changed.
Is a fifth or well over half of Wildberries gone—or can both counts be right?
Estimates of how much of Wildberries Ukraine has burned run from a fifth of the network to well over half. Which is right depends on what you count. And some of the loudest claims don’t survive a check.
A realistic victory strategy for Ukraine
In a war where offensive operations are equally difficult on both sides, not losing is already winning in the next year and a half
Analysis
Europe promised Ukraine a deterrence force. The missiles that would make it work arrive in 2029.
The only deep-strike production line opening sooner runs through Ukrainian factories.
