A building burns in western Ukraine after Russian strikes, August 21, 2025
Thursday’s Coverage: Russia Bombs Cities as It Avoids Putin-Zelensky Meeting
UPDATE 1505 GMT:
The Kremlin says the Russian State-backed messenger application Max, a rival to WhatsApp, must be pre-installed on all mobile phones and tablets bought in the country from next month.
Critics say Max can be used to track users. Russian authorities began restricting WhatsApp and Telegram last week, declaring that the platforms were not sharing information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.
UPDATE 1249 GMT:
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is in Kyiv for consultations with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The two men discussed security guarantee for Kyiv. Zelensky said they should be similiar to NATO’s Article 5 that an attack on one member is an attack on all.
The President noted that Russia is trying to prevent the arrangement, avoid any meeting between himself and Vladimir Putin.
Rutte assured that support for Ukraine is “unwavering” and “continues to grow”, with more NATO funding to ensure “a crucial flow of lethal US weapons”.
He praised Monday’s talks at the White House, saying Trump made it clear “the United States will indeed be involved in providing security guarantees for Ukraine”.
Robust security guarantees will be essential, and this is what we are now working to define, so that when the time comes you for you to enter that bilateral meeting, you have the unmistakable force of Ukraine’s friends behind you, ensuring that Russia will uphold any deal, and will never ever again, attempt to take one square kilometer of Ukraine….
We are now working together – Ukraine, the Europeans, the United States – to make sure that the security guarantees are of such a level that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, sitting in Moscow, will never, ever try to attack Ukraine again.
UPDATE 1242 GMT:
The Ukraine Navy has struck a Russian drone base in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.
The Navy said it destroyed three Mohajer-6 drones and two Forpost drones used to monitor surface activity in the Black Sea.
Iran-made Mohajer-6 drones have a range of up to 200 km (124 miles).
UPDATE 1013 GMT:
Two civilians have been killed and 24 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.
Air defenses downed 46 of 55 drones launched by Russia overnight.
In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, a 59-year-old man was killed. Three civilians including two women aged 53 and 60, suffered injuries.
In the Kherson region in the south, one person was murdered and 17 injured in attacks on 31 settlements.
Casualties were also reported in the Sumy, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
UPDATE 0835 GMT:
Amid Ukrainian drone strikes damaging refineries, gasoline prices in Russia are at record highs.
Ukrainian long-range drone strikes have knocked out around 13% of Russia’s oil refining capacity since the beginning of August.
Wholesale prices on Russia’s most common petrol grade reached 82,300 rubles ($1,023) per ton on Wednesday, up 55% since the start of 2025 and up 8% since August 1.
On July 28 the Kremlin suspended exports of petrol. Rationing has been introduced in Russian-occupied Crimea and in parts of far eastern Russia, with coupons issued only to enterprises. Videos on social media show long lines of cars and lorries at gas stations in regions across Russia and in occupied parts of Ukraine.
“The pumps are covered with ‘Out of order’ signs,” one driver in the Far East said. “You can still fill up in larger towns, but the lines are an hour and a half to two hours long.”
UPDATE 0755 GMT:
European Union foreign policy head Kaja Kallas has said on BBC radio that Vladimir Putin is not keeping any promises and “just laughing – not stopping the killing, but increasing the killing,…the bombings on Ukraine”.
You see Europeans, Ukrainians, Americans wanting peace, and doing all the diplomatic efforts to achieve that, whereas Russia is just dragging feet, it’s clear that Russia does not want peace.
Kallas called for more EU and US sanctions and tariffs against Russia to “make all the efforts in really pressuring [Putin] to come to the negotiation table”.
She rejected any speculation about Ukraine giving up parts of its territory as “this is exactly the trap that Russia wants us to walk into”.
UPDATE 0747 GMT:
Ukrainian drones have again attacked the Unecha oil pumping station, one of the largest hubs of the Druzhba oil pipeline, in western Russia.
Robert Brovdy, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ unmanned systems, confirmed the attack in the Bryansk region on Thursday night. He published a video of the fire.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said supplies via the Druzhba pipeline have been suspended.
The attack is the fourth on the Unecha station since the beginning of August. Nine days ago, pumps and the pipeline were damaged by HIMARS rockets, and the facility was struck the following evening.
The strikes cut off gas to Hungary and Slovakia, which was resumed on August 20.
The two countries have urged the European Commission to guarantee security of supplies.
“The physical and geographical reality is that without this pipeline, the safe supply of our countries is simply not possible,” said Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó and Slovakian counterpart Juraj Blanár in a joint letter.
They complained, “We find Ukraine’s actions, which severely threaten the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia, completely unacceptable.”
UPDATE 0739 GMT:
“Informed sources” say US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has banned the sharing of information about talks between Russia and Ukraine with the Five Eyes allies of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
Before becoming DNI, Gabbard was a supporter of the Kremlin’s propaganda lines over its invasion of Ukraine and its support of the Assad regime in Syria.
Signed on July 20, her directive classifies all information related to the negotiation process as “NOFORN” (no foreign nationals).
Diplomatic or military information not related to the negotiations, such as information “to facilitate defensive operations” in Ukraine, can still be shared.
UPDATE 0707 GMT:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has praised his North Korean troops supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “heroes”.
At a ceremony to honor soldiers who recently returned from Russia, Kim said they displayed “fighting spirit”: “The combat activities of overseas operational forces … proved without regret the power of the heroic army.”
Around 12,000 North Koreans were deployed in autumn 2024 to help the Kremlin regain parts of the Kursk region in western Russia. Ukraine held the territory after a surprise cross-border incursion in early August 2024.
South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence services said Pyongyang may send tens of thousands more troops as Russia struggles to maintain its invasion amid heavy casualties.
Kim laid a flower at a memorial for North Korean soldiers who died overseas. The returning soldiers were honored with a concert, and relatives of troops killed in action were among those at a banquet.
Around 600 North Korean troops have been killed out of a total deployment of 15,000, South Korean lawmakers said in April.
North Korea's Kim kneels before portraits of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine, decorates survivorshttps://t.co/dzxchzesDe pic.twitter.com/Geyiful8QV
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 22, 2025
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has highlighted Russia’s “massive attack” with more than 600 drones and missiles, as the Kremlin avoids any meeting between Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.
The Russians launched 574 drones and 40 missiles early Thursday. Air defenses downed 546 UAVs and 31 missiles, but those that landed caused significant damage in western Ukraine, killing one civilian and wounding 26.
The murder was in Lviv where three people were injured. In Mukachevo in the Zakarpattia region, the Russians hit an American electronics manufacturer, wounding 19 people.
I am at the site of a truly horrendous Russian missile attack.
Overnight, one of the largest American investments in Ukraine – Flex – an active member of the American Chamber of Commerce was hit by Russian missiles.
This was not only an attack on Ukraine. It was an attack on… pic.twitter.com/05jcTlySlB
— Andy Hunder (@AndyHunder) August 21, 2025
In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky said:
In Mukachevo, the Russians practically burned down an American company producing electronics — home appliances, nothing military. The Russians knew exactly where they lobbed the missiles. We believe this was a deliberate attack against American property and investments in Ukraine.
Fire at Flex plant in Mukachevo still raging after Russian strike
Fifty-four rescuers, 15 units of equipment, and two firefighting trains from Ukrzaliznytsia are working at the scene. According to regional authorities, 23 people were injured.
Meanwhile in Hungary, President… pic.twitter.com/pRQpQh9OhK
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 22, 2025
Noting his discussions in Washington on Monday alongside European partners with Donald Trump, Zelensky referred to the proposal for his meeting with Putin, following by a trilateral summit.
The signals coming from Russia are simply outrageous. They are trying to wriggle out of holding a meeting. They don’t want to end this war. They continue their massive attacks on Ukraine and their ferocious assaults along the frontline.
The President emphasized, “This war must be brought to an end. Pressure must be exerted on Russia to end the war. Putin understands nothing but force and pressure.”
In Mukachevo, the Russians practically burned down an American company producing electronics—home appliances, nothing military. The Russians knew exactly where they lobbed the missiles. We believe this was a deliberate attack against American property and investments in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/1TiadwmAqk
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 21, 2025
Earlier in the day, Zelensky told reporters that Ukraine is test-launching a new long-range cruise missile. The Flamingo is designed to strike targets at a distance of up to 3,000 km (1,864 miles).
“The missile has undergone successful tests. It is currently our most successful missile,” Zelenskyy said. Mass production could begin by February.
Kremlin Avoids Negotiations, Maintains Demand
Risking its manipulation of Trump, the Kremlin doubled down on its avoidance of a Zelensky-Putin meeting and its ultimata for Ukraine’s capitulation.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared without evidence that Ukraine wanted to “undermine Trump’s efforts to resolve conflict”. He insisted that Russia “was already ready for an honest talk about security guarantees” while maintaining the ultimata from spring 2022 for Ukraine’s surrender of territory and Kyiv rendered weak, demilitarized, and “neutral”.
Lavrov emphasized the ultimata through Moscow’s framing of the “root causes of the conflict”, saying the Coalition of the Willing supporting Ukraine wanted to “shift the focus” from these. He effectively rejected security guarantees for Kyiv, saying European troops could not be in Ukraine.
Putting up another barrier to a meeting with Zelensky, Lavrov repeated the Kremlin’s refusal to recognize the President or his Government: “When it comes to signing something, the issues of legitimate of the Ukrainian representative will have to be resolved.”
Trump expressed frustration with Russia’s refusal of the summit, suggesting for the first time that he would back Ukraine’s strikes inside Russia.
It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country. It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia….Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out?….Interesting times ahead!!!