Russia Invades Ukraine

[phkrause]

As Russian missiles rain down on Kyiv, casualties mount and the mood darkens

Ukraine’s military has run out of US Patriot interceptors to repel ballistic attacks, which have one aim, the capital’s mayor says: to destroy morale

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/22/russian-missiles-kyiv-ukraine-casualties-mood-darkens?

[phkrause]

Elite Ukrainian drone unit brings the war to Moscow’s doorstep A team of AP journalists got a rare glimpse into a rapidly expanding part of Ukraine’s war effort: Long-range drones designed to carry the war deep inside Russia, striking military, industrial and logistical sites far from the front line. Read more.

Why this matters: Kyiv has stepped up its attacks on Russia this year, with long-range missiles and swarms of drones targeting military industries and energy facilities. It has also increasingly pummeled giant Wildberries depots, burning billions of dollars’ worth of merchandise belonging to the Russian online retail giant. Those attacks have brought the war home to the Russian public, and forced Russia’s military to stretch air defenses over a larger area, disrupted airports, sparked fuel shortages and undermined morale in Russia.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Ukraine’s drone warriors US Army will shut down a unit in Europe focused on learning drone warfare Why Russia’s ballistic missiles are increasingly getting through Ukrainian defenses Zelenskyy details rift with Ukraine’s dismissed Defense Minister Fedorov

[phkrause]

Russia ‘losing 6,000 more troops in Ukraine each month than it can recruit’

Moscow recruits an estimated 1,000 people a day but western officials say it cannot keep up with casualty level

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/28/russia-losing-6000-more-troops-than-it-can-recruit-each-month-in-ukraine-says-west?

[phkrause]

Death toll rises to 38 from Russia’s deadliest attack on Ukraine this year

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from a Russian strike on a warehouse west of Kyiv, the war’s deadliest attack this year, rose to 38 with four people still missing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-strikes-attacks-energy-oil-gas-drones-warehouse-5cfe71b2954a40489c070459ba82116e?

[phkrause]

‘Battered’ Putin Vows to Hit Back as Crisis Spirals

The Russian dictator admits Ukrainian strikes are hitting his country where it hurts.

Vladimir Putin has vowed revenge after Ukraine humiliated the Russian dictator with a new drone attack on a major oil hub.

A barrage of long-range drones on Tuesday left the vast Ust-Luga fuel terminal in flames. The terminal, on the Baltic Sea near St. Petersburg, can process 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

It was the latest attack on Russia’s energy infrastructure as Kyiv focuses on economic targets four years into Putin’s war—a strategy that appears to be taking a toll on the 73-year-old president.

Putin told reporters on Tuesday he had ordered his military to prepare and launch large-scale strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities.

“They battered our people, and they will get a response,” Putin warned, in what amounted to a public admission that Ukraine’s attacks are inflicting real damage on his country.

Ukraine struck Russian oil refineries at least 21 times last month, the highest number recorded in a single month, according to a Bloomberg analysis.

The attacks have meant Russia has struggled to produce enough fuel to meet domestic demand, despite being the world’s third-largest oil producer, accounting for more than 12 percent of global crude oil production.

Wholesale fuel prices have soared, authorities have introduced rationing in several regions, and videos circulating on social media have shown motorists waiting in long lines to refuel in Moscow.

Oil exports and the broader energy sector account for roughly 30 percent of Russia’s budget revenues and remain critical to financing Moscow’s war effort.

The Ust-Luga terminal targeted on Tuesday is Russia’s second-largest shipping terminal, behind Novorossiysk in southern Russia, which has also been hit by Ukrainian drones.

“Damage and fire were recorded in the Ust-Luga port area as a result of the drone attack,” Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, said on Telegram.

Putin has attempted to ease public frustration over the fuel crunch, with lengthy lines returning to gas stations and major fuel suppliers reimposing limits on gasoline purchases.

“The situation will gradually improve,” Putin said in mid-July, weeks after admitting that Ukraine’s attacks on his oil refineries have resulted in Russia facing a “certain shortage” of fuel.

On Tuesday, the Russian president also claimed that Russia had repaired 90 percent of the oil refineries damaged in Ukrainian attacks.

“We have only 10 percent of our refineries left to repair, but it wasn’t enough to prevent another strike on the ones that had already been repaired,” Putin told reporters. “Just last night, there was another attempt to strike three oil refineries. It didn’t work because they’re already protected.”

But one of Putin’s most prominent foes warned last month that Ukraine’s relentless drone campaign is pushing Russia’s battered oil industry toward a potentially catastrophic “breaking point.”

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 63, the self-exiled former oligarch who headed the oil giant Yukos, suggested that Ukraine’s repeated strikes on oil refineries had caused damage that Moscow could no longer properly repair while keeping the facilities running, contradicting Putin’s remarks this week.

“No one can name the day when the patches give out—not in Kyiv, not in Washington, and not in Moscow,” Khodorkovsky wrote in a blog post. “But the question is no longer whether Ukraine’s campaign is working, it’s what happens as the breaking point approaches.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/battered-putin-vows-to-hit-back-as-crisis-spirals/?

[phkrause]

Ukraine’s drone attacks caused turmoil for Russians throughout summer

There were long lines at gas pumps, turning each fill-up into an ordeal. Flights to vacation destinations were canceled, delayed or rerouted. Online orders were disrupted as e-commerce hubs were set ablaze by buzzing drones.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-summer-war-ukraine-attacks-gas-2367e71fc35353e92dc4884028ba403b?

Russia now bombards Kyiv during the day as well as at night

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — For much of the war, Russian drone and missile attacks in Kyiv followed a particular rhythm. They almost always came at night.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-kyiv-drone-attacks-bf44285b08051866f6054afabde660ec?

Russian drone strikes Ukraine security service headquarters as US talks on the war are expected

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s security service in central Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, ahead of diplomatic talks with U.S. officials on ending the war.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-diplomacy-zelenskyy-kushner-witkoff-553d4ed8204070be97b1671db0c5cd53?

ps:A waste of talks! For one putin is not interested in stopping anytime soon, and two the U.S. people are also not interested in talking putin into stopping!! Seems to me they're just there to drag this on some more!!!!!

[phkrause]

Russia strikes Ukraine intelligence HQ in ‘major escalation’

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has told SBU to deliver ‘appropriate, tangible response’ to Kyiv strike

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/04/russia-strikes-ukraine-intelligence-hq-kyiv-major-escalation?

ps:Makes me wonder what it is that happen at that meeting with putin? Because not more than hours after, it seems, Russia attacks Ukraine!! All this time they had no idea where this place was and now they do!!!!!

[phkrause]

Russia detains a Moldovan citizen suspected of shooting a military officer on orders from Ukraine

Russian authorities said Tuesday they have detained a suspect in last week’s shooting that wounded a senior military officer, the latest in a series of attacks on personnel and figures linked to the war in Ukraine. Read More.

[phkrause]

Poland warns Russia likely to intensify provocations on Ukraine's borders with European countries

Two incidents along Ukraine's borders with Poland and Moldova this week are a preview of potential intensified Russian provocations at Ukraine's border crossing points with Europe, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. Read More.

[phkrause]

Russians are still fleeing abroad, citing fears of a new mobilization and a loss of freedom A number of people have either left or are contemplating a move amid recent Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia and persistent rumors of a coming mobilization of troops for the 4 1/2-year-old war. Read more.

Why this matters: The attacks this summer caused an unprecedented fuel crisis and dealt crippling blows to the booming e-commerce sector. Since last year, the government has cited the attacks to justify harsh restrictions on connecting to the internet. The exodus is nowhere near as large as in 2022, when hundreds of thousands fled in the first year of the full-scale invasion. Still, a group that helps citizens who flee abroad said it received nearly eight times more queries last month than it had in May.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ NATO jets down drone in Lithuanian airspace after bloc warns strikes will drive support for Ukraine  Zelenskyy says Ukraine will pause strikes on Russia if Kremlin spares critical infrastructure  More than 500,000 Russian troops killed in Ukraine, UK defense chief says WATCH: Meet a digital content marketer who left Russia