Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in his nightly video address to the nation, August 30, 2026
EA-Ukraine VideoCast: CIA Director to Putin — Your Invasion Is Failing
Sunday’s Coverage: 39+ Murdered In and Near Kyiv By Russia
UPDATE 1545 GMT:
Elon Musk remains opposed to allowing Ukraine to use Starlink for strikes deep inside Russia, say “three sources familiar with the matter”.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the issue during a meeting with Donald Trump on July 28.
Interviewing former Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov in Washington, the Financial Times said Musk is open to Ukraine using Starlink-equipped drones for the strikes inside Russia. However, he said the decision would ultimately be a political one requiring approval from the White House.
One source says Musk does not believe allowing Ukraine to use Starlink for the operations will help end Russia’s invasion:
“Musk wants a deal in this war, not escalation.”
Musk’s talks with Fedorov were “ultimately unsuccessful”.
UPDATE 0845 GMT:
“Sources close to the Kremlin” have told The Economist that Vladimir Putin, worried about loss of domestic support for his invasion of Ukraine, has chosen to escalate aerial attacks.
“A longtime associate” of Putin says he is likely to have seen last Tuesday’s visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Moscow as a sign of American weakness. The source said that was Putin’s interpretation of the trip to the Kremlin in November 2021 by Ratcliffe’s predecessor Bill Burns, warning Putin against any invasion.
One insider notes the perception of wasted time from more than 4 1/2 years of full-scale invasion. Another says that “there is a growing feeling that the tsar is naked”.
One source says Putin must seize all of the Donbas, the Donetsk and Luhansk region, in eastern Ukraine or face an inglorious end. He told cronies earlier in the invasion, “They will hang me,” if he fails.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has highlighted Russia’s escalating aerial attacks as the Kremlin tries to break civilian resistance and energy infrastructure.
In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky spoke of around 800 jet-powered drones and 1,500 UAVs in total over the past four days.
The Russians have also fired missiles, including in a devastating attack that set off a munitions depot and killed 38 people west of Kyiv on Saturday.
Zelensky said four Ukrainian companies have developed interceptor drones, and “one company has the most successful technology”. He said that the interception rate needs to be brought well above 90% during the autumn.
The President emphasized that there is an investigation in Saturday’s strike on the depot in a built-up area in Myla, 30 km (19 miles) from the capital. He said he had spoken with the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Security Service.
“Such sites definitely should not have been there….All the details must be established – and they will be,” he pledged.
Zelensky also spoke of preparations for “new communication with envoys” of Donald Trump.
We are doing everything to ensure that war doesn’t remain the only option for what comes next.
Importantly, America shares many of our views on the situation both on the front and with the strikes. We should be active, and that is exactly how we are working – actively, with no days off.
