Ukraine’s former Defense Mykhailo Fedorov in an online video statement, August 18, 2026
Monday-Tuesday Coverage: Kyiv Could Strike Russia With Ballistic Missiles By End of 2026 — Fedorov
UPDAT£ 1254 GMT:
Ukraine and Russia have exchanged 103 prisoners of war on each side.
The Ukrainians released from Russian captivity include service members from the armed forces, the Border Guard, and the National Guard. Among them are defenders of Mariupol, the port city overrun by Russia after 12 weeks of assaults and siege in spring 2022, on the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Sumy frontlines.
Today, 103 Ukrainian warriors are returning home from Russian captivity.
They are defenders from the Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, and the National Guard. Among those released are warriors who defended Ukraine in Mariupol and in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv,… pic.twitter.com/S11swC2k5O
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 19, 2026
UPDATE 1241 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has commented on Russia’s murder of four civilians and injuring of five in an overnight attack on a minibus in Kherson in the south of the country.
These are the realities of everyday life in Ukraine’s frontline regions. While partners hesitate over additional supplies of defence equipment, the Russians have long run wild. Pressure on the aggressor is needed. Support for those defending life is needed.
UPDATE 1232 GMT:
The Ukraine Parliament has approved the reappointment of Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and nomination of Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara.
UPDATE 1226 GMT:
Fuel stations in Moscow have reimposed limits on gasoline purchases amid Ukrainian attacks on refineries.
Gazprom Neft stations restricted gasoline and diesel sales to 40 liters per customer.
Rosneft limited gasoline sales at all its filling stations across Russia to 30 liters per vehicle, with no restrictions in diesel.
Lukoil also said it introduced fuel sales restrictions in Moscow and the surrounding region without disclosing specific limits.
UPDATE 1222 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Deputy Chief of Staff Iryna Mudra.
Mudra’s premises were raided earlier today in a money laundering investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (see 0815 GMT).
UPDATE 0845 GMT:
Four civilians have been murdered and five injured by a Russian attack on a minibus in Kherson in southern Ukraine.
One person was slain and 10 injured in Zaporizhzhia.
UPDATE 0815 GMT:
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office are carrying out raids “to expose a criminal organization that operated under the leadership of current and former Ukrainian MPs, with the participation of high-ranking officials of the Office of the President of Ukraine and other persons”.
Among the premises raided are those of Presidential Deputy Chief of Staff Iryna Mudra and MP Vadym Stolar.
Mudra is responsible for the judiciary and judicial reform at the President’s Office.
Stolar has been linked to controversial construction projects in Kyiv, and to a scheme that allegedly defrauded hundreds of homebuyers during the 2000s. He has denied the accusations.
UPDATE 0658 GMT:
Russia’s State-owned Vnesheconombank has fired Chief Economist Andrey Klepach, following media reports of his negative economic assessment contradicting Vladimir Putin’s proclamation of forthcoming victory in Ukraine.
Klepach assessed Russia’s economic and geopolitical challenges at the Moscow Exchange’s Nikitsky Club on May 21. He concluded that the Russian war economy is stagnating amid high defense spending, restrictive monetary policy, sanctions, and Ukrainian strikes.
Citing a source close to Klepach, the independent Russian outlet the Bell reported that VEB Chief Executive Officer Igor Shuvalov fired Klepach on Sunday after a “call from above”. Another source confirmed that Klepach’s dismissal was related to his economic assessment.
Klepach was Chief Economist of VEB for 12 years. Before that, he was Russia’s Deputy Minister of Economic Development for six years.
He said in his May 21 assessment that Russia can sustain a war of attrition without collapsing; however, it risks a social crisis as it falls further behind the US, China, and Ukraine economically and technologically. He noted that, amid Ukrainian strikes, Russian growth will likely slow to near zero in 2026.
UPDATE 0652 GMT:
A drone attack at a bus stop used by staff of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant killed one person and injured 15 around 6 a.m. on Tuesday, reports the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Russian-installed administration at the plant, seized by Russia’s invasion in March 2022, said 16 staff members and subcontractors had been injured.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called on “military commanders responsible for these actions, as well as those targeting nuclear power plants or their staff, to put an immediate stop to these unacceptable actions”.
UPDATE 0637 GMT:
A German court has convicted a Ukrainian man, working for Russian intelligence, over a plot to send parcel bombs in Europe.
The court in Stuttgart said three Ukrainians were involved in sending two packages with GPS trackers and spare auto parts from Germany to Ukraine. The shipments sought to identify opportunities for sabotage.
The 30-year-old defendant was sentenced to 15 months for acting as an agent for the purposes of sabotage. He has already served his time in pre-trial custody.
The two other defendants were acquitted because of a lack of evidence that they were knowingly involved in the plot.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine’s former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says President Volodymyr Zelensky should call an election despite the ongoing Russian invasion.
Federov became Defense Minister in January, and was widely hailed for technological innovation and implementation. He was dismissed by President Volodymyr Zelensky in July amid disputes with commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi. The removal has sparked mass protests calling for his reinstatement.
Fedorov was offered another position by Zelensky, but has said that he will only accepted his former post. On Tuesday, the President formally nominated Yevhen Khmara, a former senior officer in the SBU State security service, as Defense Minister.
Fedorov said in an online video, released Tuesday evening, that Ukraine must “restore a full democratic process even amid a prolonged war”: “Democracy cannot be held hostage by Russia. We are fighting precisely because we want to remain a free European state.”
Zelensky has said elections can only follow a lasting ceasefire which ends Russia’s full-scale 53 1/2-month invasion. Ukraine’s Constitution prohibits a vote during martial law.
Fedorov said, “We cannot allow Russia to determine what Ukraine will be like” during “this moment” of “colossal challenges”.
He cited the need for faster weapons production, implementation of defense technology, and critical decisions with partners. He went farther by saying Ukraine must plan for forthcoming years.
We must find a legal state and realistic mechanism that will allow Ukraine to restore a full democratic process, even under conditions of a prolonged war.
