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Stay informed with the most important Ukraine breaking news today. This page compiles the top headlines and critical updates from across Ukraine, offering a real-time snapshot of key developments.
Whether it’s military updates, political changes, or international reactions — we bring you the latest Ukraine news as it happens. All reports are carefully curated from verified sources and KyivPost correspondents on the ground.
The US president backs away from the trilateral summit, expresses frustration with “stupid” war, while experts say Russian deception may have caused the collapse of peace talks.
WASHINGTON DC – US President Donald Trump’s high-stakes push to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is teetering on the brink of collapse after he suggested he might withdraw from a planned trilateral summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump’s remarks, which came during an impromptu discussion with reporters Friday morning, represent a dramatic and sudden shift in his stance just as the White House was touting a major diplomatic breakthrough.
Join Natalka Cmoc for a discussion with Denmark’s Ambassador on defense, EU guidance, and partnerships fueling Ukraine’s recovery and community rebuilding.
Aide Andriy Yermak said military personnel bring valuable experience, as speculation grows that Zelensky and Zaluzhny could face off in future elections.
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, said work is underway to involve more military personnel in his institution “at all levels” on Friday, Aug. 22.
Yermak said President Volodymyr Zelensky “supported the idea.”
Lavrov’s Soviet-era sweater at the Alaska summit signals Kremlin nostalgia for the USSR, showing Putin’s desire to reclaim past power – a threat to neighbors and Russia itself.
Many gasped when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov landed in Anchorage, Alaska, for the Trump-Putin summit wearing a sweater with the letters CCCP – the Cyrillic acronym for the Soviet Union.
Obviously, this was no accident. But what was Lavrov hoping to convey?
FBI raids ex-Trump adviser John Bolton’s Bethesda home over alleged classified info; raid highlights Trump’s crackdown on critics since return to power.
FBI agents on Friday raided and searched the home of one of US President Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics, his former national security adviser John Bolton.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation entered Bolton’s home in the Washington suburb of Bethesda early in the morning, an AFP reporter said.
The Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said famine was affecting 500,000 people in the Gaza governorate, which covers about a fifth of the Palestinian territory.
The United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday, blaming “systematic obstruction of aid” by Israel, hours after Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to destroy the territory’s largest city.
Israel rejected the UN-backed report as “based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests.”
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reiterated that the investigation targets potential Russian influence and does not affect the country’s anti-corruption efforts.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Friday, Aug. 22, unveiled more evidence alleging a top official from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) of harboring Russian ties.
The government used the case as a basis to strip anti-corruption agencies of their independence in July, triggering nationwide protests, with the bill subsequently reversed amid public outcry.
Zelensky and NATO chief Rutte discuss security guarantees, F-16s, and sanctions, with Zelensky stressing: “We need strong sanctions if Russia refuses diplomacy.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Ukraine on Friday, Aug. 22, where they discussed security guarantees, weapons supplies, and future joint steps to strengthen Europe’s security.
“Today, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is in Ukraine, and during our meeting we talked primarily about what our next joint steps can give Ukraine and all of Europe more security and bring the real end of the war closer,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Russia struck Kostyantynivka with FAB bombs and drones, while Ukraine’s air defenses downed 46 of 55 Shaheds launched overnight nationwide.
Russian forces carried out a series of strikes on the town of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region early on Friday, Aug. 22, using aerial bombs and attack drones.
According to local authorities, the attacks lasted several hours and caused extensive destruction to civilian infrastructure.
Europe seems to have gained ground by enlisting Washington to press Kremlin-friendly Budapest on Ukraine’s EU bid – while Hungary stayed mute on a Russian border strike.
US President Donald Trump had reportedly phoned Hungarian leader Viktor Orban to discuss why his country is blocking Ukraine’s EU accession following Monday’s White House summit with Kyiv and EU leaders.
Under Orbán, Hungary aligns with Trump’s ideology while keeping close ties to Moscow – one of the few EU states to repeatedly veto Russia sanctions and block Ukraine’s accession talks.
Although the Alaska Summit was more show than substance, a combination of talks and Western pressure may yet force the Kremlin to agree an end to its war of aggression against Ukraine.
US President Trump deserves credit for one thing: he has put the end of Russia’s abominable war on Ukraine at the top of the international agenda. In less than a week, he has met with Vladimir Putin, who is prosecuting this war, President Zelensky of Ukraine, who is defending his country, and several European leaders, including the heads of NATO and the EU, who are concerned about the future of Europe if Putin were to prevail.
Trump has brought up every issue of significance, including territory, abducted Ukrainian children, future security guarantees, a ceasefire, and a long-term peace agreement. He is pushing for an end to the war, and everyone’s attention is focused at the highest possible levels.
The president said that Russia is merely trying to “complicate” peace talks with its demands.
President Volodymyr Zelensky once again dismissed the Kremlin’s claims that Russian-speaking Ukrainians are discriminated against on Wednesday, suggesting that Moscow may be stalling to avoid peace talks.
As per Ukrinform, Zelensky told journalists that Ukrainians “already have a state language – Ukrainian,” and would not adopt Russian as a second official language.
Kim praised the “admirable” troops “who returned home with great honour” after enduring the “hail of bullets and bombs of the life-and-death war in the foreign country.”
New images released by North Korean state media on Friday showed leader Kim Jong Un kneeling before portraits of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine, as well as hugging an emotional survivor of the conflict.
The images of an elaborate ceremony showed an overcome Kim presenting medals, placing them beside portraits of the fallen and consoling the returned soldiers, as Pyongyang’s leadership hailed the soldiers as “heroes” who sacrificed their youth and lives.
Five European leaders joined the Ukraine summit in Washington, but Eastern EU states were absent - raising questions about their sidelined role despite proximity to the war.
The leaders of five European countries attended Monday’s Ukraine summit in Washington, but there were no representatives from Eastern European EU member states. Eastern European media outlets ask why these countries’ support for Ukraine and their proximity to the war zone aren’t giving them a more prominent role.
The Czech Republic and Poland are gambling away the political capital they gained through their support for Ukraine, Hospodářské noviny (Czechia) laments:
Ukraine’s drones struck Russia’s Unecha pumping station, a vital Druzhba hub, reportedly halting oil to Hungary.
Ukraine has again struck Russia’s largest oil pumping station, part of the Druzhba pipeline system, in the city of Unecha (Bryansk region), according to Robert Brovdi (“Madyar”), commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces.
Brovdi reported on Telegram that the Unecha station was targeted by drones from the 14th Regiment of the Unmanned Systems Forces.
Moscow’s new propaganda campaign, “Russia is not my enemy,” spreads in Romania with stickers pushing a false image of Moscow as a peacemaker.
Russia has launched a propaganda campaign in Europe under the slogan “Russia is not my enemy.” Stickers with this message have appeared in Romania, France, and Italy.
According to Ukrinform, this was reported on Telegram by the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.
Key Takeaways from ISW:
A Gabbard memo marked Ukraine peace intel “NOFORN,” cutting off the UK, Canada, Australia & New Zealand from key US intelligence.
Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, reportedly has barred America’s closest intelligence allies from accessing information about ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations.
According to CBS News, a classified memo signed by Gabbard on July 20 directed US intelligence agencies to designate all analysis and reporting on the volatile talks as “NOFORN” – meaning no foreign dissemination.
Trump pursues peace talks that only embolden Putin.
Putin continues his war, despite feverish peace efforts to end the conflict, mounted by President Trump and European leaders.
The alliance deals with a homicidal leader who won’t stop. But they behave like police reasoning with a person in a suicide vest and armed to the teeth with a criminal record a mile long, who can only be stopped with brute force. Thus, murder and mayhem continued in Ukraine, and pointless meetings proliferated.
Analysts tell Kyiv Post any truly effective deterrent for Ukraine would be “indistinguishable” from a NATO commitment, a move Moscow has already rejected.
WASHINGTON, DC – The diplomatic tightrope US President Donald Trump’s administration is walking on Ukraine’s future security is becoming clearer, as a recent series of high-level talks reveals the profound chasm between what Kyiv and its allies seek and what Russia is willing to accept.
At the heart of this complex negotiation is the question of “security guarantees” – a phrase that means something entirely different to each party and has now been tasked to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to define.
A business executive and his managers siphoned off natural gas from a state provider and a foreign trader, and sold it to various other entities using forged documents, then laundered the proceeds.
Police have uncovered two large-scale schemes involving the misappropriation of natural gas, which caused losses exceeding Hr.400 million ($9.7 million) the National Police reported on Thursday.
Officials of an unnamed private company, state news Ukrinform explained, illegally misappropriated natural gas belonging both to the state operator of Ukraine’s gas transmission system and to a foreign company—a major trader—through document forgery and unauthorized interference in information systems.
Meanwhile, Zelensky on Thursday accused Russia of “trying to avoid the necessity to meet” and said that it did not want to end the war.
Donald Trump on Thursday set a two-week time frame for assessing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, as the US president ramps up his efforts to negotiate an end to the war.
“I would say within two weeks we’re going to know one way or the other,” he said in a telephone interview when asked about the chances of a peace agreement.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has made several trips to Kyiv, again threatens Kremlin with terrorist label unless Ukrainian kids are brought home.
US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Thursday repeated his promise to push for the labeling of Russia as a sponsor of state terrorism unless Moscow returns to Ukraine thousands of abducted and expatriated young people.
“During the course of the Russia-Ukraine war, Russia has kidnapped over 19,000 Ukrainian children. Stealing children from their home country is a despicable and barbaric act,” he wrote on social media.
