Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Korrespondent] 22.19 Russian troops attacked Zaporizhzhia on the evening of August 17. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA Ivan Fedorov. Two people were killed.
"The enemy attacked Zaporizhia with a drone. A fire broke out at one of the garden societies," he noted.
21:30 Under the procedural guidance of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, a 26-year-old serviceman of the 237th Tank Regiment of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Armed Forces was reported in absentia on suspicion of recruiting and using a child to participate in an armed conflict. The Prosecutor General's Office reported this.
19.47 Russian troops attacked four districts of the Dnipropetrovsk region more than 80 times with drones, artillery and aerial bombs, two people were killed and one person was injured. This was reported by the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Ganzha, on August 17.
19.31 Ukraine is almost out of Patriot SAM interceptors. CNN showed footage of emptied Ukrainian Patriot complexes. The 16 tubes of the system, which the media saw, show signs of regular use, but its chief engineer in Ukraine, Dmytro, said that he had not seen a Patriot launcher fire for six weeks.
19.01 In the Odessa region, a private residential building was hit by an enemy attack. The roof of the building was completely destroyed, a fire broke out. This was reported by the head of the Odessa OVA, Oleg Kiper, on August 17. It is noted that the blast wave also damaged nearby private houses. Information about the victims is being clarified. All relevant services are working at the scene. Local media specify that the house is located in Chornomorsk.
18.49 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatiy denied information about public statements allegedly distributed by members of his family. He wrote about this on Facebook.
18.36 The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets, reported that 60 citizens have been returned from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in 2.5 months, including seven people on August 13.
18.15 During the clearing of the village of Andriyivka-Klevtsove, Donetsk region, Volnovakha district, Donetsk region, on the administrative border with Dnipropetrovsk region, 30 Russian servicemen surrendered. This was reported in the telegram channel of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"Operators of the 3rd SSO Regiment, in cooperation with one of the SSO psychological operations centers, conducted a comprehensive operation to liberate the settlement... 30 Russian servicemen were forced to surrender. Those who continued to resist were destroyed. Andriyivka-Klevtsove is again under the control of Ukraine," the report says.
18.08 NATO countries have developed a three-stage plan in the event of a Russian invasion of the Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania. Bild reported this, citing sources.
17.27 Personnel decisions are being prepared to strengthen defense in the most intensive areas of the front. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram following the results of the military command's report.
16.42 The Ministry of Defense has codified the domestic unmanned aviation complex Dovbush T40. This was reported by the press service of the ministry. It is noted that this multifunctional strategic-level unmanned aircraft is designed for deep reconnaissance, fire adjustment, and high-precision strikes on enemy structures, equipment, and personnel at a considerable distance from the line of combat contact. Dovbush T40 has a wingspan of almost 5 m and can stay in the air for more than a day. The range of application is sufficient to hit targets beyond the Urals and in Russian Siberia.
16.37 NPC Ukrenergo employee Mykola Mironov died as a result of a Russian FPV drone attack on a civilian car in Sumy region. His wife is in hospital. This was reported by the company's press service.
The tragedy occurred over the weekend. According to Ukrenergo, the man had arrived at the store when a Russian drone attacked a civilian car. Mironov suffered serious, non-life-threatening injuries.
Mykola Mironov has worked in the energy sector for over 25 years. In recent years, he has continued to work in the frontline region, despite regular Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
16.35 The "black box" of the Su-24M bomber, which crashed in the Khmelnytskyi region on June 16, has been deciphered. This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation.
During the flight, the control system elements on the left wing failed. The cause of the damage could have been an external factor.
15.59 Russia brands foreign mercenaries of the occupation army to strengthen control and depersonalization. Instead of standard metal military identification tags for foreign mercenaries, the Russian Federation uses a system of serial “inventory numbers” that are applied to equipment or skin. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. It is noted that the brand is applied with resistant paints - henna or jagua, so such marks last for weeks and cannot be washed off with soap and water. If the mark is erased and becomes barely noticeable, it is updated. There have been cases when the Russian police stopped foreigners, in particular students and labor migrants, and checked the presence of numbers - this is how Russian security forces are looking for deserters.
15.39 This year, the police have received more than one and a half million requests from the CCK regarding the search for citizens who evade mobilization. This was reported by the acting head of the National Police, Maksym Tsutskiridze, in an interview with Censor.NET. According to him, since the beginning of martial law, law enforcement officers have investigated more than 20 thousand criminal proceedings on the facts of evasion of mobilization.
15.27 In the Kherson region, the SBU counterintelligence detained another Russian informant: a resident of the Belozersk community was correcting the shelling of the frontline region.
The woman came to the attention of the Russians through an old acquaintance who lives in the Russian Federation and collaborates with enemy intelligence officers.
The participant drove around the area located 10 km from the line of contact and recorded the locations of the Defense Forces' deployments, as well as the routes of movement of military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine towards the front line.
The informant passed this data to the Russians in the form of coordinates of potential "targets" marked on a Google map.
14.52 On Monday night, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine struck a number of important military targets of the Russian occupiers in Crimea. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported details.
14.29 Russia's largest oil loading port on the Black Sea, Novorossiysk, resumed operations on Sunday after being suspended on Friday due to a drone attack, Reuters reported, citing two industry sources.
13.50 Last week, the area of control of the Russian occupiers over the territories of Ukraine decreased by 95.89 sq. km due to the confirmed liberation of territories along the administrative border of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. But apart from this section of the front, the area of occupation increased by 22.6 sq. km, which is almost half as much as the week before last. This is reported by Interfax-Ukraine with reference to the data of the analysis of maps by the OSINT project DeepState.
12.58 Soldiers of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine Azov successfully conducted Operation Hell-2 in the Donetsk region.
"Operation Hell-2 is an additional argument (for the Russian army - ed.). A month ago, we warned the occupier: Azov sees its movements and will strike at the right moment," the military said.
According to them, individual units of Russian troops ignored these warnings and continued to store fuel in the occupied part of the Donetsk region.
"The burning dots on the map indicate facilities involved in storing and supplying fuel to the Russians. In a month, these dots remained only on the maps, but in reality they are now scorched earth," the military noted.
The defenders also drew attention to the fact that the corps never strikes civilian gas stations or attacks civilians, as the Russian invaders do every day.
12.48 Ukrainian military inflicted critical damage on the Kamensky Combine in the Rostov region of the Russian Federation. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this.
This plant produces solid rocket fuel for MLRS ammunition, a number of missile systems, and aircraft weapons.
12.43 The Defense Forces are effectively using resources during combat operations: the cost of losses of Russian troops is several times higher than Ukraine's costs of hitting targets. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense, citing data from the DELTA system.
Analytics are provided by the Mission Control module, which has been running in the combat system for six months. It currently processes about 50,000 missions and over 230,000 reports each week.
According to the Defense Department, in June, every dollar spent by the Defense Forces on hitting targets caused Russia losses of almost five dollars.
In particular:
Killing one enemy soldier cost the Defense Forces $3,032 (maintenance costs the Russian Federation approximately $65,000);
damage to a piece of equipment - $2,674;
damage to an infrastructure facility - $1,487.
12.33 The increasingly frequent incidents with drones and their debris on Romanian territory are a direct consequence of the Russian Federation's increased attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Danube. This was stated by the acting Minister of Defense of Romania, Radu Miruce.
"Recently, the shelling of Ukrainian ports on the Danube has reached its maximum. On the radars of the Ministry of Defense near Romanian airspace, but still in Ukraine, we recorded more than 100 drones that attacked Ukrainian ports on the Danube seven times in recent days," he noted.
According to the minister, Ukraine's air defense forces destroyed most of the UAVs, but in such a situation, it is very likely that their wreckage will later be carried to the banks of the Danube and the Black Sea on Romanian territory.
11.59 The Navy is deploying units of interceptor drones. Everything possible must be done to strengthen the security of civil shipping, said the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa.
11.35 Russian troops shelled settlements in Donetsk region 27 times over the past 24 hours. Two people were killed and 18 others were injured. The most casualties were in Kramatorsk, where two people were killed and 11 were injured.
11.31 Over the past week, Russian aggressors have attacked Naftogaz infrastructure in various regions of Ukraine 13 times. The company reported this on Monday.
The impacts have caused serious damage to equipment and production facilities. Part of the production volume has been lost.
11.12 In the temporarily occupied Crimea, on the evening of August 16, a fire broke out at the Yevpatoria aircraft repair plant due to falling drone debris. At about 19:30, one drone was shot down in the air approximately above the middle of the runway of the aircraft repair plant, the debris was burning. At 20:00, three drones arrived, aimed at a single target at the western end of the runway, where the antennas and transmitters are located.
11.04 Counterintelligence officers prevented a series of terrorist attacks in the city of Izmail in the Odessa region. The SBU reported this. The enemy agent made three bombs, which she filled with metal nuts to enhance the striking effect.
10.52 Russia may use North Korean soldiers to replace its units in border areas in order to free Russian servicemen and transfer them to the most active areas of the front. This was reported by Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army.
Their locations may include the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions, as well as the northwestern part of the Voronezh region.
10.43 Two people were killed in a night attack by Russian aggressors in Sumy, the local OVA reported. Residential buildings, non-residential and warehouse premises, garages and transport were destroyed and damaged in the city.
10.27 On Monday morning, power outages were recorded in five regions of Ukraine due to Russian attacks on civilian energy infrastructure facilities. Ukrenergo reported this. Where security conditions currently allow, emergency restoration work has already begun.
10.23 The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine published data on 10 individuals and two legal entities involved in the militarization and indoctrination of Ukrainian children in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
At the Zarnitsa 2.0 competition, which took place at the TOT of Ukraine in May, Putin's First Movement taught children how to handle weapons and explosives, fly drones, and spread militaristic propaganda among minors.
"The goal of such measures is to destroy Ukrainian identity in children and prepare them to participate in a criminal war against their own country," the GUR emphasized.
09.40 On the night of August 17, Russian troops attacked the port infrastructure of the Odessa region. A civilian ship flying the flag of the Republic of Togo was damaged. Four people were injured, three of whom were hospitalized, one in serious condition.
The attack caused fires that have now been completely extinguished.
09.14 On the night of August 17, Russia attacked Ukraine with 128 Shahed attack UAVs (including jet-powered ones), Gerber, and Parody-type simulator drones.
Air defenses shot down/suppressed 106 enemy Shahed, Gerbera UAVs and drones of other types in the north, south and east of the country. Drone hits were recorded at 14 locations, as well as the fall of downed drones (fragments) at two locations.
08.43 Russia has recruited at least 2,982 citizens from 37 African countries into its army. About 486 of them have died. Another 35 people are in Ukraine as prisoners of war. Most of those recruited for the war against Ukraine come from Kenya, Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Algeria and Mali.
Russia uses various methods of deception and pressure, including offering civilian jobs or training, promising high salaries, Russian citizenship, and other migration or social benefits. In many cases, foreigners are forced to sign military contracts in Russian under threat of deportation or imprisonment.
08.16 Over the past 24 hours, 236 combat clashes were recorded on the front. The largest number of assault actions was recorded in the Pokrovsky direction, where the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stopped 33 attacks.
Over the past 24 hours, the aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces struck 12 areas of concentration of enemy manpower.
07.40 A statement allegedly made by the wife of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty about "powerful internal resistance" to his reforms and possible early resignation is being spread on social networks. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
The Central Intelligence Agency continues to record the spread of disinformation and manipulative materials aimed at discrediting the Major General. This time, the pretext was allegedly a statement by his wife, which refers to "pressure" from the entourage of the former leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and political circles, as well as the possible early resignation of the Commander-in-Chief.
"This time, a statement by the Commander-in-Chief's wife about "powerful internal resistance" to Mykhailo Drapaty's reforms, "pressure" from the entourage of the former leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and political circles, as well as possible early resignation is being spread online. There is no confirmation of the authenticity of this statement or its belonging to the Commander-in-Chief's wife," the Center emphasized.
It is noted that such publications are a continuation of an information campaign aimed at creating a false impression in society about an internal split in the military leadership and undermining trust in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
07.18 From February 24, 2022 to August 17, 2026, the total combat losses of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine amounted to approximately 1,468,760 people (+1,440 per day).
06.29 The European Union plans to impose the largest sanctions against Russia since the start of the war in the coming months. After its adoption, the number of Russian entities under sanctions will increase by a third, said EU foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas.
03.24 Over the past six months, the number of attacks on Russia by Ukrainian Flamingo missiles has almost doubled. This is reported by Russian media with reference to data from the Russian Defense Ministry. If in the spring the Russian Defense Ministry reported that 16 Flamingo missiles were allegedly shot down, then in the summer their number is already approaching 60, 25 of them in the last two weeks.
01.21 The Russians massively attacked Sumy with jet drones. Large-scale fires broke out in the city. Civilian infrastructure and a large number of residential buildings in the private sector were hit.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[NewsFront] 20:52 Crews of the 152mm 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled howitzer of the Vostok group of forces defeated UAV control centers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Dnipropetrovsk region. 20:27 During the day from 8:00 Moscow time to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 316 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the fixed-wing type were over the territories of the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Oryol, Rostov, Smolensk regions, the Moscow region, the Republic of Crimea and over the waters of the Black Sea.
20:03 Monitoring resources reported about the destruction of another energy facility in Ukraine, this time in the Chernihiv region.
19:10 UAV operators of the Southern group carried out precision strikes destroyed enemy vehicles and heavy UAVs in the Kramatorsk area.
18:24 RF Armed Forces inflicted strikes on two ships delivering weapons and other cargo for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the ports of Odessa and Nikolaev
17:31 This week, Russian Army hit 13 Naftogaz facilities
17:02 Strikes continues on Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities in Odessa
Arrivals are reported in the port area.
16:36 RF Armed Forces inflicts strikes on Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities in Illichivsk and Odessa.
15:57 In Kryvyi Rih was explosion - A Geranium rocket attacked an industrial facility
15:34 In the Belgorod region, attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces wounded two more civilians
14:55 Summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the Special Military Operation as of August 17, 2026
Units of the North group of forces have improved their tactical position.
The personnel and equipment of two mechanized brigades, two airmobile brigades, and a territorial defense brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were defeated near the settlements of Velyka Chernetchina, Pershe Travnya, Pisarevka, Ulanovo, and Khoten in Sumy Oblast. In Khar'kov Oblast, units of four mechanized brigades, a motorized infantry brigade, and an assault regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were defeated near the settlements of Alisovka, Kazachya Lopan, Novooleksandrivka, Rubizhne, and Svitlichnoye in Khar'kov Oblast.
The enemy lost up to 260 troops, an armored combat vehicle, and five vehicles. Two electronic warfare stations and a counter-battery radar station were destroyed.
Units of the Western group of forces have taken up more advantageous positions and lines.
The manpower and equipment of three mechanized brigades, an assault brigade, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a territorial defense brigade were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Balakleya, Veseloe, Podliman in the Khar'kov region, Donetsk, Krymki, Mayaki and Svyatogorsk in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy's losses amounted to more than 210 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, 18 vehicles, a Grad multiple launch rocket system combat vehicle, an artillery piece, and two electronic warfare stations.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces have improved their position along the front line.
Formations of three mechanized, mountain assault, and airmobile brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a territorial defense brigade were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Vysokoivanovka, Druzhkovka, Kramatorsk, Kurtovka, Nikonorovka, Nikolaevka, Nikolaypolye, Orekhovatka and Slavyansk of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost up to 205 soldiers, a French-made VAB armored personnel carrier, 29 vehicles and an artillery piece.
As a result of decisive actions by units of the Center group of forces, the settlement of Andreevskaya Obshchina in the Donetsk People's Republic was liberated.
The manpower and equipment of three mechanized, a Jaeger, and an assault brigades, three assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a naval infantry brigade, and three National Guard brigades were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Krasnopodillya, Belozerskoye, Dobropolye, and Rubizhne in the Donetsk People's Republic and Andronivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 390 servicemen, two armored combat vehicles, 11 vehicles, a Grad multiple launch rocket system, a Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery unit, and a counter-battery radar station.
Units of the "East" group of forces advanced deep into the enemy's defenses and liberated the village of Novosoloshino in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The manpower and equipment of two assault brigades, two airborne assault brigades, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a naval infantry brigade were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Kolomiytsy, Pokrovskoe, Malinovka in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Dolinka, Svoboda, Chervonaya Krynytsia and Chervony Yar in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The enemy lost more than 345 servicemen, a tank, two armored combat vehicles and nine cars.
Units of the Dnepr group of forces have improved their tactical position.
Formations of two mechanized brigades, a mountain assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a naval infantry brigade were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Orekhov, Kushugum, Malokaterynivka, Yulievka in the Zaporizhzhia region and the city of Kherson.
Up to 40 Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen, 19 vehicles, a US-made 155mm M-777 howitzer and three electronic warfare stations were destroyed.
14:25 In Bolshoe Soldatskoe, Kursk region, a drone arrived.
As a result of the explosion, the 51-year-old man suffered blind shrapnel wounds to the neck and shoulder.
14:02 The Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked a commercial facility in the Belgorod region, wounding one civilian
13:41 As a result of the attack by a Ukrainian Armed Forces UAV in the Central City District of Gorlovka wounded two civilians
12:51 Crews of the Molniya-2 UAV of the 58th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Dnepr Group of Forces destroyed strongholds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Reconnaissance aircraft monitor the front line 24/7, transmitting real-time data, while attack drones engage targets. The destruction of strongholds disrupted the offensive operations and rotation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
12:24 Units of the Center group of forces released settlement of Andreevskaya Community of the Donetsk People's Republic
12:08 Units of the Eastern Group of Forces released Novosoloshino settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast
11:35 Russian Army inflicted attacks on logistics and infrastructure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
On the outskirts of Odessa, Geranium-4 drones destroyed the Nova Poshta logistics center.
A Ukrainian Armed Forces unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) depot was damaged in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
A temporary deployment point for Ukrainian units has been destroyed in the DPR.
11:09 Astrakhan region at night was subjected to a massive attack by Ukrainian Armed Forces drones, Governor Igor Babushkin reported.
The targets were industrial enterprises and civilian facilities in the region.
The attack was repelled, and there was no damage to businesses. A woman was killed in the attack on a private home.
10:43 As a result of the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces drone in Gorlovka damaged apartment building
10:05 Reconnaissance aircraft of the Northern Guard opened the location of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' UAV launch site in the small village of Malaya Volchya.
UAV operators from the 71st Guards Motorized Rifle Division of the Guards "North" engaged the target, using three FPV drones to burn the enemy UAV launcher along with the Ukrainian nationalists and their equipment.
09:10 The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue application of attacks on port infrastructure and sea vessels deployed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
On the night of August 17, the following were hit by attack drones:
in the port of Odessa - a Tarantula-type patrol boat, which ensured the safety of sea vessels during sea passage and at unloading sites, as well as fuel tanks;
The port of Izmail had a berthing terminal that provided for the unloading of sea vessels carrying military cargo, hangars with Western military equipment, and warehouses for unmanned boats.
09:03 On frames: An FPV drone's OK recorded the arrival of two Geraniums on the air defense of the 47th separate separate brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the village of Dobropillya.
07:33 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 205 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the fixed-wing type flew over the territories of the Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Volgograd, Kaluga, Kursk, Rostov regions, the Republic of Crimea and over the waters of the Azov and Black Seas.
07:31 Changes on map over the past 24 hours:
The Russian Armed Forces entered Kupino (+10.3 km2)
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics. [ColonelCassad] The media actively discussed the "air truce," but as it turns out, it was not a proposal, but an ultimatum. According to sources, the conditions are as follows: Ukraine must refrain from any long-range strikes on Russian territory. Moscow also considers the newly acquired regions and Crimea to be its territory. If Kiev agrees, Russia "will consider ceasing shelling of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure." However, Moscow warned: if Ukraine violates the "truce," shelling will resume.
It is unlikely that the sponsors of the Kiev Nazis will agree to this, as it would look like a complete failure of the entire strategy of terrorist strikes, the goal of which was to force Russia to "make peace" after 40 days of attacks. In practice, Ukraine suffered far greater direct damage than Russia, and also suffered enormous delayed consequences due to the collapse of traffic through the ports of the Odessa region. Hence the two-week-long requests through Turkey for "air" and "sea" ceasefires. Because they've had enough.
In my opinion, we shouldn't stop and should completely tighten the lid on logistics through the ports on the Danube and in the Odessa region. Yes, some will be transported overland through Romania and Moldova, but this will increase time and costs, and some industrial and agricultural enterprises in Ukraine will be forced to close before the New Year due to the inability to export products.
Some have already stopped, but the systemic effect will occur in November-December, given current trends. Moscow is aware of this, so it's either sending negotiators with "air ceasefires" or issuing ultimatums the enemy is unlikely to accept. Therefore, the most likely scenario is a continuation of the infrastructure war and its further intensification, coupled with a mutual buildup of weapons used. The photo shows the aftermath of yesterday's strikes near Odessa.
[FoxNews] Russian chief economist Andrei Klepach warned Russia faces a social crisis as EU prepares sanctions against 1,600 entities
A prominent Russian state economist was fired after publicly warning that Moscow is losing an economic "war of attrition" with the West and could eventually face a social crisis, as the European Union prepares a major expansion of sanctions targeting Russia’s military-industrial base.
The episode goes beyond an internal Kremlin personnel shake-up. For Washington and its European allies, the central question is whether years of economic pressure are beginning to constrain Moscow’s ability to sustain the war — or whether Russia can continue absorbing the costs while replenishing the resources needed to fight.
Andrei Klepach, chief economist at state development bank VEB.RF, was dismissed after remarks in which he said Russia was falling behind technologically and economically and suffering mounting costs from the war in Ukraine, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Aug. 17.
VEB confirmed to Reuters that Klepach was no longer its chief economist but did not give a reason for his departure. Klepach, who had held the position since 2014 after spending a decade at Russia’s Economy Ministry, also confirmed his dismissal.
"We are falling behind. We are losing both the technological and economic competition in the world," Klepach said in a May speech to the Nikitsky Club, a forum of economists, academics and government officials. The remarks were delivered in May but did not draw attention in Russian media until last week.
"And we are losing it not only to China and the United States, in some ways we are losing it to Ukraine too," he said, attributing Ukraine’s resilience in part to continued financial backing from the West.
"We will not win the competition in this war of attrition," Klepach said. "We have the illusion that everything there [in Ukraine] will collapse. It has not collapsed and will not collapse. Our costs are mounting."
Klepach acknowledged that Russia had proved resilient to Western sanctions but warned that Ukrainian attacks on energy and logistics infrastructure were creating additional economic pressure. Reuters noted that Russia’s central bank said in July that economic growth could fall as low as zero this year, while repeated Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries and other facilities have caused supply disruptions and added to inflation risks.
"Economically we will not collapse, but our lag will continue to grow, with all the resulting consequences," Klepach said, predicting that Russia could face a social crisis "precisely when nobody is particularly expecting it."
A European intelligence source told Fox News Digital that Russia’s deeper economic problems should not be confused with immediate financial pressure on President Vladimir Putin. The source said higher oil prices had helped Moscow cover more of its budget deficit and could give the Kremlin additional time before economic constraints begin forcing difficult choices over the war. "It doesn’t solve the fundamental economic problems in Russia, but from a budgetary point of view, Putin is OK actually," the source said. "He’s not under pressure."
The source argued that this could delay expectations that deteriorating economic and budget conditions would eventually pressure Putin to end the war, potentially allowing Moscow to continue fighting "another spring" or "another season." The assessment adds a counterpoint to Klepach’s warning: Russia may be losing ground economically over the longer term while still retaining enough near-term revenue to sustain its war effort.
The warning comes as the European Union prepares to intensify its economic pressure on Moscow.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Germany’s Die Welt that she plans to propose what she called the "most far-reaching sanctions listings since the start of the war." Kallas said existing EU sanctions had deprived Russia’s war machine of more than $1.16 trillion, a figure presented by Kallas and reported by Reuters on Aug. 17.
EU diplomatic sources told Reuters that the bloc’s diplomatic service is expected to propose sanctions against approximately 1,600 additional Russian individuals and entities, with a particular focus on the country’s military-industrial complex.
The measures are expected to include asset freezes along with travel and transaction bans. Officials plan to present the list to EU governments in early September and aim for adoption in October.
Inside Russia, authorities also moved Monday against one of the country’s remaining prominent liberal opposition figures.
Lev Shlosberg, deputy chairman of the Yabloko party, was sentenced to 11 years and one month in a penal colony, independent Russian outlet Mediazona reported. Shlosberg was accused of "discrediting Russia’s armed forces and spreading false information" about them.
Shlosberg, who described the war during his trial as a catastrophe for Russia, maintained his innocence and said the case against him was political. He also repeated his call for a ceasefire. The sentencing came a week after Russia’s Supreme Court barred Yabloko from participating in next month’s parliamentary election.
Meanwhile, attacks continued through the weekend and into Monday.
Russian strikes targeted port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Izmail district in the Odesa region overnight, according to Ukrainian authorities. A separate strike damaged a civilian Togo-flagged vessel and injured four people. Across the border, a Ukrainian drone attack killed a woman and struck an industrial facility in Russia’s southern Astrakhan region, the regional governor said.
Separately, ArcelorMittal said a Russian missile strike on its Kryvyi Rih steel plant over the weekend killed two employees and injured three employees and contractors, damaging major energy and blast-furnace facilities and partially halting production.
#1
For emphasis: Economically we will not collapse, but our lag will continue to grow, with all the resulting consequences," Klepach said, predicting that Russia could face a social crisis "precisely when nobody is particularly expecting it.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Russian taunts toward Nato have grown following the deployment of a warship armed with hypersonic missiles past a German tourist island.
Last week, the Admiral Kasatonov - a frigate fitted with nuclear-capable Zircon hypersonic missiles - was spotted close to Fehmarn, a small tourist island in the Baltic Sea off the northeast coast of Germany.
Its presence in the vital shipping area marks the latest escalation between the Kremlin and Nato and comes only months following Vladimir Putin's threats to seize British and EU ships in response to European operations against Russia's 'shadow fleet' tanker.
Constructed in 2020, the Admiral Kasatonov is among the Russian navy's most advanced vessels, capable of long-range strikes and submarine warfare.
It is the second Russian warship to be spotted in European waters in recent months, after the Admiral Levchenko was redeployed from the Northern Fleet to the Baltic Sea.
It is not known if the vessel remains close to Fehmarn on Monday afternoon; however, a recent US intelligence report warned an attack by Russia on the Western alliance to test its resolve could be launched within weeks.
This is likely to be through a small-scale attack on Poland or a Baltic state.
Speaking last week, Russian President Putin warned the Kremlin was ready to hit back against British and EU ships that aim to seize his vessels.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[ColonelCassad] The media actively discussed the "air truce," but as it turns out, it was not a proposal, but an ultimatum. According to sources, the conditions are as follows: Ukraine must refrain from any long-range strikes on Russian territory. Moscow also considers the newly acquired regions and Crimea to be its territory. If Kiev agrees, Russia "will consider ceasing shelling of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure." However, Moscow warned: if Ukraine violates the "truce," shelling will resume.
