Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1655: More than 400 Ukrainian defense firms push Kyiv to create single authority over $6.8 billion industry

Exclusives

Ukraine is running short of its best missiles for hunting Russia's jet drones. Now MiG-29s are firing 1970s weapons. The R-73 was the missile for the job. Ukraine has burned through enough of them to bring back a weapon that was obsolete in 2022.

Ukraine is taking 1980s Leopards from across Europe and giving them radar-guided anti-drone guns and gunner-less turrets. Thirty-one get a Belgian turret the crew doesn't sit in. Others become radar-guided drone killers, built in Rome and paid for with frozen Russian money.

Russia destroyed most of Ukraine's big warehouses. Now the country is scrambling to build small ones everywhere. Whether they can do it before winter, and at what cost to prices, is the question now hanging over the country's food supply.

Military

Ukraine's Lasar's Group says its bomber drones destroyed rare Russian Zhitel jammer 55 km behind front. The R-330Zh Zhitel jams GPS, satellite and cellular signals at once.

"Everyone is absolutely livid": Expert says Russian agent may have activated MESH relay within 5 km of attack on Security Service, enraging Ukraine and Europe. The drone was aimed directly at the acting SBU chief's office, Zelenskyy said.

Intelligence and Technology

More than 400 defense firms ask Kyiv to create one state body with real authority over $6.8 billion industry. A year after the strategic-industries ministry folded into Defense, the sector's council says responsibility is scattered across half a dozen agencies.

From HQ to the zero line: Ukraine's Hrafit system answers one important question on an ordinary phone in a trench and on the road. Built by military programmers, Hrafit fuses radio-intelligence and surveillance into one picture.

International

Slovakia, led by one of EU's most Russia-friendly governments, condemns Russia's drone strike on Ukraine's Security Service building. Slovakia condemns Russia's SBU strike but urges "both sides" to de-escalate.

Ukraine orders temporary ceasefire as US envoys visit Moscow. Air raid alert sounds in Kyiv immediately as pause begins. The reported order covers 5–8 September as Washington seeks to restart peace talks after months of stalled negotiations, but Russian attacks continued as the pause was due to begin.

Germany suspects Russian intelligence behind arson attack as hybrid warfare threat grows across Europe. The Munich attack follows attempts to disrupt Germany's power grid and comes amid mounting evidence of Russian covert operations targeting European countries supporting Ukraine.

Humanitarian and Social Impact

Russia made 500 Ukrainian schoolchildren in occupied Donetsk take part in "anti-terrorism dictation". It taught them they can be jailed for a repost at 14. The test drilled Russian extremism law into pupils. In 2025 alone, occupation authorities sent 48 Ukrainian children to psychiatric hospitals.

Political and Legal Developments

"If you're gonna f*ck, f*ck a queen, if you're gonna steal, steal a million": Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau says senior official ran criminal ring inside Prosecutor General's Office. Investigators say the suspect took bribes to shield scam call centers and laundered millions.

Read our earlier daily review here.