Ukraine struck a Russian rocket and space centre in Samara using flamingo missiles, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The military also attacked the Savasleyka military airfield, a base for Russian fighter jets, Zelensky added, declaring “new significant results” from deep strikes.
“A good achievement. The distance from our border is about 900 kilometres,” he said of the Samara strike. “Our plan of long-range sanctions against Russia for this war is being implemented, and it is important that Russia’s war potential be reduced. Peace is needed, and this must be evident in Russia – through concrete damage to specific facilities.”
It comes after Nato jets were scrambled on Friday after a drone entered Latvia’s airspace during Ukrainian attacks on Russian ports, according to authorities.
Two Italian Eurofighter jets took off from Lithuania and two Turkish F-16s were scrambled from a base in Estonia in response, Nato spokesperson Allison Hart said.
Read MoreRussian Navy officer who defected from Ukraine killed by hidden bin bomb in Crimea, officials say
North Korea’s latest missile tests are unusual. Ukraine should be wary
Putin puts RFK Jr’s son Conor on most wanted list for fighting in Ukraine war
Key Points
- Nato jets shoot down drone after it enters Latvian airspace
- Two killed in Russian drone attack on passenger train, Zelensky says
- Russia's Baltic Sea port damaged in drone attack, governor says
- Putin’s visit to disputed island prompts strong reaction from Japan
- Ukrainian drones target Wildberries logistics hub and oil refinery in Bashkortostan
Russia seeks explanation from US and Turkey over reports of possible arms transfer
15:30 , Bryony GoochRussia has asked Washington and Ankara to explain reports of possible plans to transfer to Kyiv a "substantial arsenal" of US weapons and ammunition held by Turkey, the spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Such a transfer would cause "serious harm ... to our bilateral relations with Washington and Ankara," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
Baby killed in drone strike in southeastern Ukraine
15:00 , Bryony GoochA Russian strike on an apartment block in southeastern Ukraine on Saturday killed a three-month-old baby and wounded 11 people, local officials said.
Drones hit the building in the town of Marhanets, said Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration.
Russia's Ministry of Defense also said that it had targeted warehouses and infrastructure at the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Izmail and Yuzhnyi.Ukraine's Air Force said that Russia launched 152 drones over the country Saturday, of which 124 were destroyed.
Russian troops claim to control 19 settlements in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia
14:00 , Bryony GoochRussian troops have taken control of 19 settlements in southeastern Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions over their summer campaign, the Russian defence ministry said on Saturday.
In a statement, the ministry cited a report by Pyotr Bolgarev, commander of the eastern group of forces. It did not name the settlements.
Separately, the ministry said its forces had recently taken control of the settlement of Rybalskoye in Zaporizhzhia region, news agency Interfax reported.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
Russian advances on the frontline have slowed this year even as Moscow has intensified its ballistic strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces had recaptured 745 square km (288 square miles) of Russian-held land this year across the southeastern front.
Breaking: Rocket centre hit by Ukraine supports Russia's Starlink-style satellite internet
13:13 , Bryony GoochUkraine said on Saturday its long-range strikes had hit a Russian military airfield and a rocket centre that Kyiv says supports Russia's nascent Starlink-style satellite internet network.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Flamingo cruise missiles struck the rocket facility, about 900 km (560 miles) from Ukraine's border, as part of Kyiv's campaign to pressure Moscow to end the more than four-year war by targeting sites deep inside Russia.
"It is important that Russia's war potential be reduced. Peace is needed, and this must be evident in Russia – through concrete damage to specific facilities," he said in a post on X.
He said the airfield hosted aircraft used to attack Ukraine.
Russian plot to kill American citizen in Warsaw stopped by Poland
13:00 , Bryony Gooch
Russian plot to kill American citizen in Warsaw stopped by Poland
Recap watch: Ukrainian firefighters run for their lives as Russian drones attack trucks
12:30 , Bryony GoochZelensky shares footage of long range strikes on Russia
12:00 , Bryony GoochUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky shared footage of long range strikes on Russian facilities.
He said: “Our plan of long-range sanctions against Russia for this war is being implemented, and it is important that Russia’s war potential be reduced. Peace is needed, and this must be evident in Russia – through concrete damage to specific facilities. Glory to Ukraine!”
Today, there are new significant results from our deep strikes. In Russia’s Samara region, one of the key enterprises within Roscosmos – the Progress Center, which was involved, among other things, in electronics production – was hit. Flamingo missiles were used. A good… pic.twitter.com/1BlZpmvKRN
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 15, 2026
In pictures: protesters demonstrate to reinstate Fedorov as defence minister on Friday
11:30 , Bryony GoochProtesters hold placards as they demonstrate for a reform of the defence sector and to demand the reinstatement of the tech-savvy defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was sacked a month ago, in central Kyiv on August 14, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia repels 'massive attack' in Samara, local authorities claim
11:00 , Bryony GoochUkraine struck industrial infrastructure in Russia's Samara region on Saturday, local authorities said.
Ivan Noskov, head of the regional capital Samara, said air defences had repelled a "massive attack".
"Samara's industrial infrastructure sustained localised damage," he said in an online post, without giving further details on what facility had been affected.
Ukraine has previously targeted the southwestern region's Syzran oil refinery on the Volga river as part of its campaign to strike energy infrastructure and pressure Russia to end the more than four-year conflict.
China launches first regular cargo service through Arctic waters along Russian coastline
10:45 , Bryony GoochA Chinese shipowner is set to begin the first weekly container service through the Arctic on an express route to Europe on Saturday, making the voyages until October and prompting concerns over vessels warming polar ice.
The company, Sea Legend, tested the premise last year when it completed the first China-to-Europe container ship transit through the frigid Northern Sea Route (NSR) along Russia's coastline.
Zelensky hints at more strikes targeting Russian infrastructure
10:30 , Vishwam SankaranUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky signalled yesterday that Kyiv was planning more long-range strikes targeting Russian oil refineries and other facilities, along with operations in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to limit Moscow's ability to continue the war.
“The long-range sanctions plan is being implemented, and there are more and more of our mid-range strikes as well," Zelensky said in his nightly address.
"In fact, we have succeeded in blocking off Russia’s south, and we are expanding this strategic operation, quite rightly, in response to Russian strikes on our ports and our cities."
The Ukrainian president also signed a sanctions package targeting individuals and companies involved in what he described as the illegal export of Ukrainian grain from Russian-occupied territories.
In Video: Russia targets Ukrainian grain ports
10:00 , Vishwam SankaranRussia rejects any peace talks that freeze current frontline
09:00 , Vishwam SankaranKremlin officials have reiterated Russia's unwillingness to engage in any peace talks that aim to freeze the current frontline, emphasising Moscow's commitment towards a “long-term, reliable, and sustainable” settlement on its own terms.
Russian security council deputy chairperson Dmitry Medvedev said earlier this week that Russia will suspend or end the war in Ukraine “exclusively” on its own terms.
This is in line with Moscow's routine rejection of all Ukrainian peace proposals to end the war in Ukraine on any terms that do not fulfil Russia’s demands for Ukraine’s complete capitulation.
Russia and North Korea are coordinating on national security: KNCA
08:00 , Vishwam SankaranMoscow and Pyongyang are coordinating on matters concerning the security and stability of the two countries, North Korean state media KCNA said today.
The legacy of blood ties and combat friendship between Russia and North Korea has become a cornerstone of their relations, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said, according to KCNA.
The two countries would continue "constructive joint work" on bilateral and international issues, Putin said, according to North Korean state media.
Drone advancements are expanding kill zone in Ukraine, expert warns
07:30 , Vishwam SankaranUkrainian forces recently destroyed a Russian first-person view drone that was radio-controlled using frequency-hopping and spread-spectrum (FHSS) technology, signalling a new adaptation in the war.
The FHSS technology enables Russian drones to evade Ukrainian electronic warfare jamming by rapidly switching frequency bands.
This could lead to an expansion of the kill zone area, currently within 15 to 25 km from the frontline, Ukrainian drone warfare expert Dmytro Putiata said.
In Video: Kyiv target's Russia’s Ust-Luga energy hub
07:00 , Vishwam SankaranJuly was worst month for Ukrainian civilians since conflict began
06:30 , Vishwam SankaranAt least 437 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 2,600 injured in July 2026 alone, making it the month when most people were killed or injured in Ukraine since Russia's invasion of the country began in early 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has reported.
This is a 30 per cent increase from June, which was previously the deadliest month on record.
Among the 437 killed were 17 children, making July the month with the highest child casualties since April 2022.
"Every month this year the number of killed and injured civilians has increased. That trend accelerated sharply in July," HRMMU Head Danielle Bell said.
Ukraine warns Egypt of food supply threat due to Russian strikes
06:06 , Vishwam SankaranUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said today that he has warned his Egyptian counterpart of a food supply threat from Kyiv caused by Russian strikes in the Black Sea.
"Ukraine is one of the largest food suppliers to Egypt and to a significant number of other countries in Africa and the Middle East. These supplies are now under serious threat because of Russia’s war," Zelensky said in a post on X.
"There has already been a significant reduction in supplies, and this could have very serious consequences due to rising prices and shortages," he said, urging the Egyptian president to pay attention to the situation in our Black Sea region.
In pictures: Aftermath of drone strikes in Russian-controlled Ukraine
03:00 , Maira Butt
Inside Putin’s aggressive army recruitment drive as Russians ‘snatched off streets’ to feed Ukraine war
02:00 , Maira ButtMoscow appears to be adopting increasingly aggressive strategies to recruit fresh troops for its war of attrition in Ukraine, as Vladimir Putin looks to make up for heavy battlefield losses.
Men are reportedly being snatched off Russian streets and students offered significant financial incentives to join drone units as Moscow looks to avoid another forced mobilisation.
Local officials have been issued recruitment quotas by the Kremlin and Moscow’s defence ministry as it looks to meet this year’s 409,000 target, sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.
Russians are given referral bonuses for encouraging others to sign up while officials exploit knowledge of potential recruits’ debts and legal problems to pressure them into signing up, the FT adds.
Inside Putin’s aggressive army recruitment drive as Russians ‘snatched off streets’
US backs Japan over Putin’s visit to disputed islands
01:00 , Maira ButtThe US has backed Japan in its territorial dispute with Russia after Vladimir Putin visited a group of disputed islands on Thursday.
US Ambassador to Tokyo George Glass said Washington recognises Japanese sovereignty over the islands and remains “unwavering” in its support for Japan.
“The United States remains unwavering in its support of its most important ally and in its recognition of Japanese sovereignty over the Northern Territories,” Glass said on X, using the Japanese name for the Kuril islands visited for the first time by Putin on Thursday.
“At a time when the US-Japan Alliance is dedicated to cultivating prosperity across the Indo-Pacific, we strongly oppose any action that undermines its peace and stability,” Glass added.
‘A seductive redhead Russian spy’: The true story of Anna Chapman and why she matters now
Friday 14 August 2026 23:30 , Maira ButtIf you say the name ‘Anna Chapman’ or ‘that story about the Russian redhead spy’, everyone’s come across it in the tabloids at some point,” says Jamie Crawford. “It’s one of those cultural blips in the last 15 years or so… Her story in and of itself is not history-changing. But what’s interesting about it is how it fits into a bigger story of East against West.”
Crawford is the director of the new Channel 4 documentary Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story. It depicts the true story of Chapman, a glamorous Russian spy, from her time living in Britain in her early twenties before moving to New York City, where she’s tracked by the FBI as part of a larger web of deep-cover Russian agents.
“It’s a story told in reverse in that she suddenly sprang to brief fame in 2010 when she was arrested as part of an FBI sting on Russian spies operating in the United States,” says Crawford. “And it quickly became apparent that before being in the US, she had been in the UK.”
‘A seductive Russian spy’: The true story of Anna Chapman and why she matters now
Putin puts RFK Jr’s son Conor on most wanted list for fighting in Ukraine war
Friday 14 August 2026 22:31 , Maira ButtRobert F Kennedy Jr’s son Conor has been placed on Russia’s international wanted list for fighting in the Ukraine war, according to Russia’s state media.
The U.S. health secretary’s third child revealed he joined an international group of volunteers to fight against Vladimir Putin’s soldiers in 2022, the year the still-ongoing conflict began. At the time, Kennedy said he wanted to help the Ukrainians following Putin’s illegal invasion and was “willing to die” for the cause.
Four years later, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS, a Moscow court has authorised the 32 year-old Kennedy’s arrest in absentia while accusing him of acting as a mercenary for the Ukrainian army.
Putin puts RFK Jr’s son Conor on most wanted list for fighting in Ukraine war
Watch: Ukrainian firefighters run for their lives as Russian drones attack trucks
Friday 14 August 2026 21:30 , Maira ButtRussian plot to assassinate Ukrainian-American in Warsaw foiled, Polish PM says
Friday 14 August 2026 20:30 , Maira ButtA suspected Russian plot to assassinate a Ukrainian-American in Warsaw was foiled by Polish authorities, according to Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.
The suspect, allegedly recruited by Russia’s secret services, was arrested on 7 August.
Police said that he will be in custody for an initial three months.
Tusk said it was the first known attempt by “someone on the orders of Russia” to target a US citizen on the territory of another Nato country.
The target was reportedly a US citizen of Ukrainian origin who was considered “uncomfortable for Putin’s regime”, Tusk said during a press conference.
The operation involved US and Polish intelligence cooperation, Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister overseeing intelligence services, said.
Russian drone strike kills mother and son in Sumy oblast
Friday 14 August 2026 19:30 , Maira ButtA Russian drone attack killed a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son in Sumy oblast early today morning, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Russian forces reportedly struck the same house twice with two jet-powered UAVs, a tactic often described as a “double-tap” attack.
Oleh Hryhorov, head of Sumy oblast military administration, wrote on Telegram: “Widespread devastation and a fire have been reported. Sadly, a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son have been killed. Four other people have been injured. Two of them – the boy’s father and grandmother – are in hospital with severe burns.”
Russian drones kill a woman and 9-year-old son at home
Friday 14 August 2026 18:30 , Daniel KeaneRussian jet-powered drones struck a home in northern Ukraine on Friday, killing a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son, officials said.
The strike came a day after the United Nations said July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the weeks following Moscow's all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago.
At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 wounded last month, the U.N. monitoring mission in Kyiv said, as Russia escalated its bombing of Ukrainian towns and cities. That was 70% higher than in July last year and 30% up on June of this year.
Russia rejects Black Sea ceasefire
Friday 14 August 2026 17:30 , Daniel KeaneRussia on Friday dismissed the idea of a ceasefire with Ukraine in the Black Sea.
Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks in recent weeks against commercial ships in the Black Sea, driving world grain prices higher.
In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of "brazen acts of terrorism" against shipping, while making no mention of Russia's own attacks.
"We view these attacks (by Ukraine) as a deliberate policy aimed at destabilising civilian shipping in the Black Sea region to further escalate tensions and prolong the conflict, all with the blatant acquiescence of regional neighbours," Zakharova said.
"At the same time, we see no signs of improvement in the situation and, consequently, no grounds for half-measures that merely grant the Kyiv regime a temporary breathing space."
Russian anti-war party to contest ruling barring it from running in election
Friday 14 August 2026 16:30 , Daniel KeaneRussia's liberal Yabloko party has appealed against a court ruling that bars it from contesting a parliamentary election next month, state news agency TASS reported on Friday.
The Supreme Court on Monday excluded Yabloko from fielding candidates in the election to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, sidelining the only officially registered party opposed to Moscow's war in Ukraine
Ukraine says it hit Russia's gas condensate processing complex at Baltic port of Ust-Luga
Friday 14 August 2026 15:30 , Daniel KeaneUkraine's military said on Friday it struck Russia's Novatek gas condensate processing complex in the Baltic port of Ust-Luga overnight.
Two processing units were damaged and a fire broke out as a result of the attack, the general staff said on the Telegram app.
Watch: Kyiv bombs Russian naval base on Black Sea
Friday 14 August 2026 14:40 , Daniel KeaneCivilian deaths in Ukraine jumped in July as Russia hit cities, says UN
Friday 14 August 2026 14:10 , Daniel KeaneCivilian casualties from the war in Ukraine rose by nearly a third month-on-month in July, to the highest level since May 2022, as Russia struck towns and cities far from the battlefield with missiles and drones, the UN said.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said in a report that it had confirmed at least 437 civilians killed and 2,610 injured in July, a 30% rise from June and a 70% jump from the same month last year.
Long-range weapons, such as missiles and drones, remained the leading cause of civilian deaths last month, accounting for 38% of the total.
"Most casualties from these weapons occurred far from the frontline in urban centres," the UN report said.
Russian plot to kill American citizen in Warsaw stopped by Poland
Friday 14 August 2026 13:40 , Daniel KeaneA Russian plan to kill a Ukrainian American citizen in Warsaw was thwarted by Poland, the Polish prime minister said Thursday.
Donald Tusk said it was the first time that “someone on the order of Russia” sought to attack a U.S. citizen on the territory of another NATO country.
Western officials previously warned that Russia has stepped up a campaign of targeted killings since President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, saying they have disrupted several plots across Europe. But Tusk said this incident was unprecedented.
Russian Navy officer who defected from Ukraine killed by hidden bin bomb in Crimea
Friday 14 August 2026 13:10 , Daniel KeaneA Russian military officer who had defected from Ukraine was killed in a bomb blast on Thursday in Russia-annexed Crimea in a targeted assassination plot, the regional governor said.
Robert Shageyev was a former Ukrainian naval officer who fled to Crimea after switching allegiance to Russia during Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, according to Russian Telegram channels.
He was commanding Ukraine’s only submarine, the Zaporizhzhia.
Russia's Federal Security Service confirmed the death of a military official and announced the detention of a woman, a Russian national, suspected of carrying out the attack.
Read our full story below.
-c43158eeb8145f2aa04250e28b449d03-copy-b4be2514.jpeg?trim=0,0,0,0&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800)
Russian Navy officer who defected from Ukraine killed by hidden bin bomb in Crimea
Lavrov says Russia will intensify efforts against West
Friday 14 August 2026 12:40 , Daniel KeaneRussia will intensify its efforts to destroy anything used to support Ukraine from the West, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
In an interview broadcast by state television on Friday, he said: "We will make our methods much tougher in order to dismantle everything that fuels Kyiv's war machine from the West. And we are already doing this.”
Moscow has sought to disrupt the west’s support for Ukraine through a “hybrid” conflict in Europe, including drone incursions into neighbouring countries and election interference.
Speaking about efforts to end the war, Lavrov said Russia ruled out an immediate halt to the fighting.
"We must only stop once there is a long-term, reliable and sustainable settlement," he said.
Pictured: Smoke rises from a train on fire after Russian drone attack in Odesa region
Friday 14 August 2026 12:10 , Daniel Keane
Russia jails man for 23 years for spying for Poland
Friday 14 August 2026 11:40 , Daniel KeaneA Moscow court sentenced a Russian citizen to 23 years in prison after finding him guilty of spying for Poland, state news agency TASS reported.
According to the court, the man supplied Poland with information on advanced Russian weapons systems and missile systems used in the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine could restore grain export volumes within a month if a moratorium on attacks introduced
Friday 14 August 2026 11:10 , Daniel KeaneUkraine could restore its grain export volumes through its Black Sea ports within a month if a moratorium on attacks on civilian cargo vessels is introduced, Ukrainian agriculture minister Taras Vysotskyi said on Friday.
Ukraine has sent Russia an offer suggesting they both halt attacks on civilian targets in the Black Sea, a source said on Thursday.
It coms after mounting strikes on vessels and ports there raised fears over global food supplies.
Watch: Ukrainian firefighters run for their lives as Russian drones attack trucks
Friday 14 August 2026 10:40 , Daniel KeaneRussian drone strike kills mother and son in Sumy oblast
Friday 14 August 2026 10:10 , Maroosha MuzaffarA Russian drone attack killed a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son in Sumy oblast early today morning, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Russian forces reportedly struck the same house twice with two jet-powered UAVs, a tactic often described as a “double-tap” attack.
Oleh Hryhorov, head of Sumy oblast military administration, wrote on Telegram: “Widespread devastation and a fire have been reported. Sadly, a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son have been killed. Four other people have been injured. Two of them – the boy’s father and grandmother – are in hospital with severe burns.”
Ukraine strikes Baltic Sea Port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s Leningrad
Friday 14 August 2026 09:50 , Maroosha MuzaffarUkraine struck the Ust-Luga port in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast overnight on 13 August, damaging port infrastructure and sparking a fire, according to regional governor Alexander Drozdenko.
Russian officials said 51 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the region, according to The Kyiv Independent.
Ust-Luga is a major Baltic Sea port and oil-export hub, handling crude oil and petroleum products and generating significant revenue for the Russian state.
The port has been repeatedly targeted by Ukraine in recent months as Kyiv intensifies attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
Russian plot to assassinate Ukrainian-American in Warsaw foiled, Polish PM says
Friday 14 August 2026 09:31 , Maroosha MuzaffarA suspected Russian plot to assassinate a Ukrainian-American in Warsaw was foiled by Polish authorities, according to Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.
The suspect, allegedly recruited by Russia’s secret services, was arrested on 7 August.
Police said that he will be in custody for an initial three months.
Tusk said it was the first known attempt by “someone on the orders of Russia” to target a US citizen on the territory of another Nato country.
The target was reportedly a US citizen of Ukrainian origin who was considered “uncomfortable for Putin’s regime”, Tusk said during a press conference.
The operation involved US and Polish intelligence cooperation, Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister overseeing intelligence services, said.
US backs Japan over Putin’s visit to disputed islands
Friday 14 August 2026 09:10 , Maroosha MuzaffarThe US has backed Japan in its territorial dispute with Russia after Vladimir Putin visited a group of disputed islands on Thursday.
US Ambassador to Tokyo George Glass said Washington recognises Japanese sovereignty over the islands and remains “unwavering” in its support for Japan.
“The United States remains unwavering in its support of its most important ally and in its recognition of Japanese sovereignty over the Northern Territories,” Glass said on X, using the Japanese name for the Kuril islands visited for the first time by Putin on Thursday.
米国は、最も重要な同盟国である日本への支持と、北方領土に対するその主権の承認について、揺るぎない姿勢を維持している。日米がその同盟によってインド太平洋全域の繁栄の促進に尽力している今、地域の平和と安定を損なういかなる行動にもわれわれは強く反対する。 https://t.co/RxlwQDjfBp
— ジョージ・グラス駐日米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) August 14, 2026
“At a time when the US-Japan Alliance is dedicated to cultivating prosperity across the Indo-Pacific, we strongly oppose any action that undermines its peace and stability,” Glass added.
Zelensky struggling to find former US envoy's replacement - report
Friday 14 August 2026 08:50 , Maroosha MuzaffarUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is reportedly struggling to find a replacement for former envoy to the US Olga Stefanishyna, with prospective candidates being reluctant to take up the job at a critical point in the war, according to two former senior Ukrainian officials and four lawmakers cited by Politico.
Stefanishyna was formally dismissed on 3 August over impending embezzlement charges.
Zelensky had wanted to offer the ambassadorship to Yulia Svyrydenko, the outgoing prime minister, according to a former senior Ukrainian official, but she has declined.
“Framing it as if nobody wants the job would be a kind of oversimplification,” a former unidentified Ukrainian diplomat was quoted as saying by the outlet.
“Of course, there are people who want the job, but there’s no one who really measures up to it. Zelensky is having a hard time filling the position.”
North Korea’s latest missile tests are unusual. Ukraine should be wary
Friday 14 August 2026 08:30 , Maroosha MuzaffarKim Jong Un’s silence over missile tests earlier this month raises possibility that Pyongyang is refining weapons for use by its ally Russia. Shweta Sharma reports
North Korea’s latest missile tests are unusual. Ukraine should be wary
Russian Navy officer who defected from Ukraine killed by hidden bin bomb in Crimea, officials say
Friday 14 August 2026 08:10 , Maroosha MuzaffarA Russian military officer who had defected from Ukraine was killed in a bomb blast on Thursday in Russia-annexed Crimea in a targeted assassination plot, the regional governor said.
Robert Shageyev was a former Ukrainian naval officer who fled to Crimea after switching allegiance to Russia during Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, according to Russian Telegram channels.
He was commanding Ukraine’s only submarine, the Zaporizhzhia.
Russia's Federal Security Service confirmed the death of a military official and announced the detention of a woman, a Russian national, suspected of carrying out the attack.
The suspect was acting “on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence agencies,” said Sevastopol’s governor Mikhail Razvozhayev on Telegram.
Read more here:
Russian Navy officer who defected from Ukraine killed by hidden bin bomb in Crimea
Russia and Ukraine exchange bodies of killed soldiers
Friday 14 August 2026 07:50 , Maroosha MuzaffarRussia and Ukraine exchanged the bodies of killed soldiers on Thursday.
Russia handed Ukraine 261 bodies, while Ukraine returned 24 bodies to Russia, according to officials.
Kyiv says Russia has previously included Russian soldiers and civilians among the remains it hands over, raising suspicions that Moscow may be manipulating the exchanges to inflate the apparent number of Ukrainian deaths.
“The bodies of 261 deceased persons have been returned to Ukraine, which, according to the Russian side, belong to Ukrainian servicemen,” said Ukraine’s prisoners of war agency.
The identities of the 261 bodies have yet to be independently identified.
Nato jets shoot down drone after it enters Latvian airspace
Friday 14 August 2026 07:30 , Maroosha MuzaffarFighter jets on a Nato air defence mission shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace early on Friday, Latvia’s armed forces said on X.
The armed forces later lifted an air threat alert in regions near Russia.
Finland, another Nato and EU member that shares a border with Russia, also temporarily restricted aviation and maritime traffic in parts of the eastern Gulf of Finland as a precaution against possible drones, its defence forces said on X.
Latvia’s armed forces did not immediately provide details about the drone or where it came from.
Countries bordering Russia and Ukraine periodically issue air threat alerts and intercept drones as Moscow and Kyiv continue to exchange attacks more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine drone strikes on major Russian oil refinery 800 miles from the border sparks fire
Friday 14 August 2026 07:00 , Maroosha MuzaffarUkrainian drones struck a major refinery deep inside Russia, military officials said Thursday, the fourth in three days in Kyiv’s monthslong campaign to choke Moscow’s vital oil sector.
Russia is one of the world’s biggest energy producers, with oil providing an economic mainstay as its army tries to push deeper into Ukraine in a slow and costly advance more than four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.
The attacks have dented Russia’s refining capacity, bringing shortages at gas stations. Kyiv officials say the onslaught seeks to compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a peace deal. There is no sign that strategy is working.
Read more:
Ukraine’s drones hit a major Russian oil refinery 800 miles from the border
Russian plot to assassinate Ukrainian-American in Warsaw foiled, Polish PM says
Friday 14 August 2026 06:30 , Maroosha MuzaffarA suspected Russian plot to assassinate a Ukrainian-American in Warsaw was foiled by Polish authorities, according to Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.
The suspect, allegedly recruited by Russia’s secret services, was arrested on 7 August.
Police said that he will be in custody for an initial three months.
Tusk said it was the first known attempt by “someone on the orders of Russia” to target a US citizen on the territory of another Nato country.
The target was reportedly a US citizen of Ukrainian origin who was considered “uncomfortable for Putin’s regime”, Tusk said during a press conference.
The operation involved US and Polish intelligence cooperation, Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister overseeing intelligence services, said.
Ukraine ‘offered Russia deal to stop attacks on civilian ships in Black Sea’
Friday 14 August 2026 06:05 , Maroosha MuzaffarUkraine has reportedly offered Russia a mutual deal to stop attacks on civilian shipping in the Black Sea, aimed at restoring the vital grain export route, Reuters reported.
The move comes as Ukraine’s harvest season begins and its grain exports are severely disrupted.
It also follows US pressure on Zelensky to stop attacks on Russian oil shipments and the port of Novorossiysk, according to The Financial Times.
Kyiv has reportedly made the proposal through a third party, Reuters said, but Russia has not yet responded.
A previous UN-Turkey-backed Black Sea grain deal ran from 2022-23 but collapsed after Russia refused to renew it.
Putin’s visit to disputed island prompts strong reaction from Japan: ‘Absolutely unacceptabe’
Friday 14 August 2026 05:28 , Maroosha MuzaffarRussian president Vladimir Putin visited Etorofu, one of the four Kuril Islands disputed between Russia and Japan, prompting a strong reaction from Tokyo.
Japan said the visit makes improving already strained relations with Moscow more difficult.
Prime minister Sanae Takaichi said it “hurts the feelings of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable”, adding: “We hope that the Russian side will take the seriousness of this matter fully to heart.”
The island – known as Iturup in Russia and in Japan as Etorofu – was seized by Soviet forces in 1945 after Japan’s surrender in World War II.
Japan continues to claim the four islands and has made their return a condition for signing a formal peace treaty with Russia.
Relations have deteriorated further since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Japan joining Western sanctions against Moscow.
Putin’s visit also comes amid Russia’s broader efforts to assert historical territorial claims.
Ukrainian drones target Wildberries logistics hub and oil refinery in Bashkortostan
Friday 14 August 2026 05:10 , Maroosha MuzaffarUkrainian drones targeted a logistics hub owned by Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries and sparked a fire at one of the country’s major oil refineries in Bashkortostan on Thursday, according to regional officials.
Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov said 16 drones were shot down over Salavat and another five over the nearby Chishminsky district, according to The Moscow Times.
The areas are about 1,200km east of Moscow and more than 1,300km from Ukraine.
“Two people were injured” in the attacks and were receiving treatment in hospital, Khabirov said on Telegram.
He said falling drone debris caused a fire in an “industrial area”.
Exiled outlet Astra identified the site as the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat refinery, which accounts for about 2.7 per cent of Russia’s total refining capacity.
The refinery halted operations after being damaged in a drone attack last month.
Wildberries said a fire also broke out in an “industrial zone” housing one of its facilities.
The company said staff had been evacuated beforehand and that no retail goods were stored at the site.
Russia's Baltic Sea port damaged in drone attack, governor says
Friday 14 August 2026 04:50 , Maroosha MuzaffarRussia’s Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga was damaged in a drone attack, the Leningrad region’s governor said, without immediately providing details on the extent of the damage or any casualties.
Two killed in Russian drone attack on passenger train, Zelensky says
Friday 14 August 2026 04:30 , Maroosha MuzaffarTwo people were killed in Russia’s drone attack on a passenger train in Odesa region, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday.
“Today in the Odesa region, the Russians once again destroyed an ordinary passenger train locomotive with a jet-powered drone. There were 340 people on the train,” he said.
“Whoever was operating that drone certainly could not have been unaware that the target was entirely civilian,” he added.
The two dead were the train’s engineer and assistant engineer, according to officials.
Nato jets shoot down drone after it enters Latvian airspace
Friday 14 August 2026 04:09 , Maroosha MuzaffarFighter jets on a Nato air defence mission shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace early on Friday, Latvia’s armed forces said on X.
The armed forces later lifted an air threat alert in regions near Russia.
Finland, another Nato and EU member that shares a border with Russia, also temporarily restricted aviation and maritime traffic in parts of the eastern Gulf of Finland as a precaution against possible drones, its defence forces said on X.
❗️In Latvian airspace, in Balvi Municipality, NATO Baltic Air Policing fighter jets have successfully shot down a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that had entered Latvia as a result of russian electromagnetic warfare.
— Ministry of Defence of Latvia 🇱🇻 (@MoD_Latvia) August 14, 2026
At the same time, the National Armed Forces informed that the… https://t.co/HWa1EHNy41
Latvia’s armed forces did not immediately provide details about the drone or where it came from.
Countries bordering Russia and Ukraine periodically issue air threat alerts and intercept drones as Moscow and Kyiv continue to exchange attacks more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
-c43158eeb8145f2aa04250e28b449d03-copy-b4be2514.jpeg?width=1200&auto=webp&trim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
