Key Takeaways from the ISW:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff in Moscow on August 6, but concrete results from the meeting remain unclear.
- Trump may meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the coming weeks.
- Certain Russian commentators are attempting to stoke schisms within the Trump administration, likely as part of a wider effort to avoid US sanctions ahead of Trump’s stated August 8 deadline for peace efforts in Ukraine.
- Russian officials and media continue to project an image of a strong and resilient Russian economy in anticipation of further US sanctions.
- US President Donald Trump formally imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on India’s exports to the United States due to India’s ongoing economic cooperation with Russia.
- Russian forces likely advanced to the western outskirts of Kupyansk and secured positions from which they can threaten Ukrainian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) into the town.
- The US State Department approved a $104 million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Ukraine.
- A Russian servicemember recently executed a Ukrainian civilian in occupied Donetsk Oblast in clear violation of international law.
- Ukrainian forces advanced near Chasiv Yar. Russian forces advanced in northern Kharkiv and western Zaporizhia oblasts and near Kupyansk, Lyman, Siversk, Toretsk, and Pokrovsk.
Authors: Christina Harward, Daria Novikov, Olivia Gibson, Jessica Sobieski, Anna Harvey, and Karolina Hird.
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