Delegations from Hungary, Turkey, and the United States were among the twenty-three countries that observed the drills; the multiday exercises are taking place in both Belarus and Russia (CNN)
Belarus’ government invited the United States to observe the games as ties between the two countries improve (Al Jazeera)
Second NATO Nation Reports Russian Drone
Romania summoned Russia’s ambassador to protest a Russian drone entering its airspace; Moscow did not immediately comment on the incursion, which European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called a “reckless escalation” (Axios)
It comes after NATO forces shot down Russian drones that violated Polish airspace last week (Guardian)
Trump Urges NATO Oil Ban and Tariffs on China to End Ukraine War
President Donald Trump called on all NATO members to stop buying Russian oil and impose tariffs of 50 to 100 percent on Chinese imports tied to Moscow’s energy sales, suggesting such measures would force Russia to end its war in Ukraine (AP)
UN Security Council Holding Emergency Meeting After Poland Downed Russian Drones
Poland is seeking reinforcements for its air defenses from NATO allies, who are debating their joint response to the incident; Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that while the country did not appear on the brink of war, it was nevertheless at its closest to open conflict since World War II (FT)
Poland, along with Lithuania and Ukraine, issued a joint statement condemning the drones as a “deliberate and coordinated attack” (Poland MoFA)
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich said at a press conference that the alliance did not yet know whether the act was intentional; he recommended reserving “low confidence” in the number of drones that were reported (Guardian)
Grynkewich called NATO allies’ response to the incident—which mobilized Polish, Dutch, Italian, and German forces—well executed, but said there were lessons to be learned; not all of the drones were shot down (Reuters)
Russian Drones in Poland
Poland triggered a mechanism for consultations with NATO allies after it said it shot down Russian drones in its airspace early this morning (EuroNews)
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the drones an “unprecedented violation of airspace” and said that many came from Belarus; NATO chief Mark Rutte said the alliance was assessing the incident and denounced “Russia’s reckless behavior” (CNN)
U.S. President Donald Trump held a call with Poland’s president and wrote on social media, “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones?” (CNN)
Russia issued ambiguous statements: the Kremlin said it would not comment but the defense ministry said the drones had not planned to hit targets in Poland (Reuters;TASS)
Russian Strike Kills Twenty-Three Retirees
The retirees were collecting pension payments near the front line in eastern Ukraine when a Russian bomb struck, killing at least twenty-three and injuring eighteen; the head of Ukraine’s postal service believes Russia intentionally targeted the postal vehicle distributing pensions (NYT)
U.S. Demands European Countries Reduce Purchases of Russian Energy
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Energy Secretary Christopher Wright, and Zelenskyy all called for European countries to purchase U.S. liquefied natural gas, gasoline, and other fossil fuel products instead (FT)
The EU sourced 14 percent of its gas imports from Russia in 2024, according to an energy think tank (Ember)
Responding to Trump’s renewed threat of sanctions yesterday, a Kremlin spokesperson said that “no sanctions” will force Russia to change its position on the war (Reuters)
Russia Launches Its Largest Drone Attack of the War
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war” (NYT)
The attack included more than eight hundred drones and thirteen missiles, setting fire to a main government building in Kyiv (DW)
The strikes killed at least four people across the country, according to Ukrainian officials (BBC)
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia for refusing to reach a peace deal (Guardian)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed Trump’s comments that Washington was ready to increase economic pressure on Moscow; Bessent said that European countries should increase their financial pressure, too (NBC)
Certain European leaders are expected to visit Washington this week for talks, Trump said without specifying whom (BBC)
Twenty-Six Countries Pledge Postwar Security Guarantees to Ukraine
These would include support on land, sea, and air, French President Emmanuel Macron said in Paris (Reuters)
France and the United Kingdom (UK) have suggested that they could deploy troops to Ukraine following a peace deal, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that Italy would not do so (AFP)
European leaders also met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and held a call with President Donald Trump regarding efforts to end the war; the announcement came amid reports that the United States plans to reduce some financial backing for European armies along Russia’s border (AP)
The Financial Times reported that Pentagon officials told European diplomats the United States would phase out security assistance for armies on Russia’s border; previously approved funds are due to expire in 2026 (FT)
Europe will increase sanctions on Russia “if the Russian side continues to play for time,” a German government spokesperson said (DW)
Russia Launches 502 Drones and 24 Missiles Toward Ukraine Overnight
Ukraine reported shooting down or suppressing 430 drones and 21 missiles, while its neighbor Poland increased the readiness of its air force in response to the barrage; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the ongoing attacks showed Russia’s “open disregard” for global efforts to end the war (ABC)
Russia-Ukraine Prisoner Swap
Each country returned 146 prisoners in the latest prisoner swap—mediated by the United Arab Emirates—as both sides consider peace talks (France24)
While the United States and Ukraine have pushed for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s foreign minister said in an interview that none is planned and the agenda for such a meeting “is not ready at all” (CNBC)
Ukraine Seeks Meeting With U.S. and Russia Once Guarantees Are Agreed Upon
Zelenskyy said he is open to meeting in Austria, Switzerland, or Turkey (AFP)
But in recent days, U.S. President Donald Trump told his team that Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin should meet before a trilateral summit, unnamed administration officials told The Guardian (Guardian)
Overnight, Russia launched its largest combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine in more than a month (FT)
Ukraine said it blocked 577 of 614 drones and missiles that were launched; one person was reported killed (BBC)
Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries have led to a spike in gasoline prices, prompting Moscow to temporarily suspend gasoline exports; wholesale prices for Russia’s most common grade of gasoline have risen by 55 percent since the start of the year (FT)
Zelenskyy: Kyiv Seeks Security Guarantees Consensus Within Seven to Ten Days
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow must be involved in decisions on Ukraine’s postwar security architecture, a demand that could thwart progress on a war settlement (FT)
In addition to demanding Moscow’s involvement in these talks, Lavrov said that China should be one of the guarantors of Ukraine’s security; Zelenskyy dismissed both prospects (France24)
Nevertheless, the United States, Ukraine, and European allies are moving forward with talks on security support (WSJ)
An Italian proposal under discussion would commit Ukraine’s allies to confer on a response within twenty-four hours if Ukraine is attacked, potentially triggering new military support and sanctions; the plan has been described as similar to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause (Bloomberg)
In another proposal, France and the United Kingdom would station troops in postwar Ukraine (Bloomberg)
U.S. Open to Providing Air Support to Bolster Ukraine’s Postwar Security
The White House press secretary said that U.S. troops on the ground were ruled out (WaPo)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a commission to develop draft proposals for security guarantees with European countries, multiple news outlets reported (Axios)
Trump Pledges U.S. Will Play a Role in Ukraine’s Future Security
U.S. President Donald Trump pledged that Washington would play a role in assuring Ukraine’s security following a peace settlement (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the unusual meeting—in which heads of several European countries, NATO, and the European Union (EU) flew to visit the White House at the last minute—a “big step forward” (Bloomberg)
Leaders said they would work out the details of security guarantees for Ukraine in the coming days (Reuters)
Trump said Washington will provide “coordination” for security guarantees given directly by European countries (NPR)
Zelenskyy said he presented a proposal for Ukraine to buy about $90 billion in U.S. weapons and for the United States to buy Ukrainian drones (Guardian)
Trump also paused talks to call Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy; following that call, a Kremlin aide stated that Moscow and Washington would elevate the seniority of the negotiators appointed for peace talks (Reuters)
European leaders pushed back on Putin’s ambitions of controlling Ukraine’s Donbas region at the meeting (WSJ)
Publicly, Zelenskyy said that any decisions over territory would need to be made directly between him and Putin (Bloomberg)
While the meeting did not immediately produce a timeline for the next stage of peace talks, Trump and Zelenskyy both reported a far more positive dialogue than during a bilateral Oval Office talk that broke down in February; Zelenskyy said it was Ukraine’s “best meeting with President Trump” (BBC)
Major questions still hang over the nature of Western security guarantees for Ukraine; Russia’s foreign ministry issued a statement reiterating its opposition to NATO boots on the ground in Ukraine (NYT)
Meanwhile, Russian attacks across Ukraine killed fourteen people in the hours after Zelenskyy arrived in Washington, underscoring Russia’s capacity to harm Ukraine as long as there is no ceasefire in place (NYT)
Zelenskyy Consults With European Allies After Trump-Putin Summit
Trump told European leaders that Putin sought all of Ukraine’s territory in the Donbas region, including Ukraine-controlled areas; in exchange, Putin would reportedly freeze the frontline in other places, requiring Ukraine to cede territory that Russia currently occupies (FT)
Putin agreed that the United States and Europe could “effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee,” U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN on Sunday, referring to NATO’s mutual defense clause (CNN)
Trump had resisted extending such guarantees to Ukraine in recent months (BBC)
Speaking alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Zelenskyy called for a full ceasefire ahead of further discussions; he stated that the current line of fighting must serve as the starting point for negotiations (Politico)
Von der Leyen welcomed the possibility of Article 5-like security guarantees and said that Ukraine must be able to receive arms (AP)
She reiterated Europe’s position that international borders cannot be changed by force and that only Ukraine can make decisions about its territory (Kyiv Independent)
Leaders of the so-called Coalition of the Willing—a group of countries that have pledged to support Ukraine—said after a virtual summit chaired by France and the United Kingdom that they stood ready to deploy a “reassurance force” after the war ends (UKG)
Trump-Putin Summit Concludes Without Agreement
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin gave statements to the press after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting in Anchorage, Alaska (CNN)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited to attend (LA Times)
Trump claimed the pair “made great progress,” but he did not announce a ceasefire (CBC)
En route to Alaska, Trump had told journalists Russia would face “very severe consequences“ if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire (WSJ)
Putin endorsed Trump’s claim that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if he were in office in 2022; Putin said the “root causes” of the war needed to be addressed (WaPo)
Trump said he would call NATO allies and Zelenskyy to brief them on the meeting (Politico)
Zelenskyy Meets Starmer in Build-Up to Trump-Putin Summit
President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Starmer met at 10 Downing Street, demonstrating British support for Ukraine ahead of the meeting between Trump and Putin (AP)
Putin’s foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, confirmed the meeting will take place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska at 11:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. GMT, 3:30 p.m. EDT); Trump and Putin will first hold a one-on-one meeting with only translators present, followed by a broader discussion with their delegations (Politico)
Russia’s delegation will include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev, and Yuri Ushakov (Politico)
Putin praised Trump for his “sincere efforts” to end the war in Ukraine today and is allegedly considering proposing a nuclear arms agreement with the United States (Reuters)
On a Fox News radio show, Trump said that he believes that Putin is “convinced that he’s going to make a deal” to end the war and added that he will call Zelenskyy after the meeting to “get him over to wherever [Trump, Putin, and Zelenskyy] are going to meet” (Reuters)
Trump added that there is “a 25 percent chance that this meeting will not be a successful meeting” (CNN)
If the meeting is “negative,” Trump will hold a press conference to say that “the war is going to go on” (CNN)
Trump added that he does not know if the outcome of the meeting will be an immediate ceasefire (X)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump’s goal “is to achieve some stoppage of fighting” so that further conversations about security guarantees can take place (Reuters)
Separately, President Macron and European Council President Antonio Costa praised Trump after he reportedly agreed that the United States would offer military backup in post-war security guarantees for Ukraine; Trump did not publicly confirm his support for the security operation known as Multinational Force Ukraine (AP)
On the battlefield, Ukraine said small groups of Russian infantry approached Ukraine’s main defensive line near Dobropillia, but the Ukrainian Defense Forces stabilized the front line, and Russian forces made “minimal gains;” Ukraine also sent more forces to the area, including Azov Corps units (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone strikes struck a Lukoil oil refinery in Volgograd overnight, causing large fires that were extinguished on Thursday evening (Reuters)
Trump, Zelenskyy, European Leaders Have “Constructive” Conversation
At a virtual summit, the leaders of countries including France, Germany, and Ukraine outlined common positions ahead of Trump’s meeting tomorrow with Russian President Vladimir Putin (CNN)
Trump said afterward the call was “very good” and that Russia would face “very severe consequences” if it did not agree to end the war after Friday’s meeting (Al Jazeera;Reuters)
Trump told European leaders that he would not negotiate territorial matters, which needed to be decided between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (WSJ)
Trump’s goal for tomorrow’s meeting in Alaska is “to obtain a ceasefire,” French President Emmanuel Macron said; Kyiv has called for a truce before any further negotiations (Bloomberg)
Zelenskyy, additionally, reiterated that Ukraine will not surrender the Donbas region to Russia (CNN)
He also said that “Putin is bluffing” about wanting a ceasefire, and is instead “trying to push all over the front line” (BBC)
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that Moscow’s stance remains unchanged, referring to a speech in which Putin said Russia seeks the entirety of certain Ukrainian territories that it currently partially occupies, as well as for Ukraine to forgo its ambitions to join NATO (Reuters)
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement that partner countries would “deploy a reassurance force” after fighting stopped and that there should be “no limitation” on Ukraine’s military or its partnerships with other countries (Reuters)
Separately, a report by the Institute for the Study of War wrote that Russia may have coerced twenty thousand Central Asian migrants to fight in Ukraine by threatening to annul their citizenship and deport their families, and by fabricating criminal cases against the migrants (ISW)
Additionally, a report from two U.S. researchers and a Western security source claimed that Russia is preparing to test its new nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered Burevestnik missile, known by NATO as the SSC-X-9 Skyfall; Putin has previously stated that the weapon is “invincible” to missile defenses (Reuters)
Russia Intensifies Offensive in Donetsk
Russian troops have broken through part of the front line of fighting in eastern Ukraine near the logistics hub of Pokrovsk, according to a Ukrainian open-source intelligence group (Moscow Times)
Ukraine’s military said that “effective measures” were taken to stop Russian advances in Dobropillia and Pokrovsk, while Ukrainian drones allegedly hit the Orenburg Helium Plant, a Russian facility producing helium for rockets and a Shahed-type drone storage site in Tatarstan (Kyiv Independent)
A Russian missile attack on a military training facility killed one soldier and wounded eleven (AP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, furthermore, put Russia “on notice” that it could be listed among parties who are “responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence” (Reuters)
In a press briefing, Zelenskyy said that Putin wants the remaining 3,500 square miles, or 30 percent, of Donetsk under Ukrainian control as part of a ceasefire plan; Zelenskyy rejected that proposal and said that Ukraine will not leave the Donbas, as ceding the area would be a “springboard for a new offensive” (AP)
Zelenskyy also added that the United States proposed a bilateral meeting with Russia, followed by a trilateral meeting that would include Ukraine in the future (AP)
The White House called President Trump’s forthcoming meeting with Putin in Alaska a “listening exercise” (Reuters)
European Union leaders, with the exception of Hungary, said in a joint statement that “international borders must not be changed by force” (EU)
Trump Says Russia-Ukraine Agreement Will Include Land Swaps
At a press conference four days before he meets with Putin, Trump stated that both Kyiv and Moscow will need to give up territory if the war is to end; Trump also said that the talk with Putin is “really a feel-out meeting” and he would know “in the first two minutes” if progress with Putin is possible (Reuters)
After meeting with leaders from India and Saudi Arabia, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian intelligence suggests that Putin “is certainly not getting ready for a ceasefire and war end” but rather is preparing a new offensive (Reuters)
Separately, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz organized meetings on Wednesday with Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Zelenskyy, Mark Rutte, and other European leaders to discuss potential peace negotiations and possible measures that they can take to pressure Russia (AP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that peace “must be built within Ukraine–not imposed upon it” (Reuters)
EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas also announced that the EU is working on a nineteenth package of sanctions against Russia and added that without a complete and unconditional ceasefire, there should be no talk of concessions (Reuters)
On the battlefield, a Ukrainian drone attack targeting Moscow killed two people and injured two others in the Tula region; a separate attack targeting a Russian plant producing missile components in Nizhny Novgorod killed one person and injured two others (Reuters)
European Leaders Demand Ukrainian Presence at Trump-Putin Summit
In emailed comments, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas said that “any deal between the U.S. and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included” as the war is “a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security” (Reuters)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz echoed Kallas’s comments (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that a Russian guided aerial bomb attack in Zaporizhzhia hit residential areas, a bus station, and a clinic, and injured twelve people (Reuters)
A Ukrainian drone attack in Saratov damaged several apartments and an industrial facility and killed one person (Reuters). Russian air defense units reportedly destroyed 121 Ukrainian drones (Reuters)
Ukrainian and European Leaders Pitch Counterproposal to U.S. Officials
One day after President Trump announced that he would meet with Putin in Alaska on August 15, Ukrainian and European leaders reportedly proposed a counteroffer to Putin’s demands, which required the full implementation of a ceasefire before territorial negotiations and called for reciprocal territorial exchanges (ISW;WSJ)
Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that Ukrainians are ready to work with Trump for “lasting peace” but “will not give their land to the occupier” (AP)
The leaders of Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (EU) said in a joint statement that “meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities” (UKG)
Trump and Putin to Meet in Alaska for Peace Talks
Trump said that a peace settlement could include “some swapping of territories” (BBC)
It will be Putin’s first visit to the United States in ten years and his first meeting with a U.S. president in more than four (CNN)
Trump said that he will meet with Putin even if Putin does not meet with Zelenskyy (Euronews)
To reach a peace deal, Putin is reportedly demanding that Ukraine cede the entire eastern Donbas area, which would also require Ukrainian troops to withdraw from parts of Luhansk and Donetsk still held by Kyiv (Bloomberg)
Experts warn that surrendering the Donetsk Oblast would position Russian forces to renew their attacks when they have favorable terms and would force Ukraine to abandon its “fortress belt” (ISW)
According to sources familiar with the discussions, the White House is reportedly attempting to persuade European leaders to accept the potential agreement; however, it remains unclear whether European leaders will accept the proposed concessions (BBC)
Potential Trump-Putin Meeting
The Kremlin said that U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin plan to meet “in the coming days,” but that Putin said he was “far away” from meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (NBC;NYT)
The comments came after Putin met in Moscow with Trump’s envoy earlier this week (BBC)