The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
Russia’s war against Ukraine
This handout satellite image taken and released by Vantor on August 12, 2026, shows heavily damaged ships at the Black Sea port naval base of Novorossiysk in Russia, following Ukrainian strikes. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor / AFP via Getty Images)
Explosions rock Russia’s Novorossiysk after ‘unique operation‘ targeting Black Sea Fleet, Zelensky says. Drone attacks were reported overnight in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and across occupied Crimea, with explosions heard near Sevastopol and the Crimean Bridge.
Ukraine liberated 745 square kilometers in Oleksandrivka sector since January, Zelensky says. “Russian losses amounted to at least 9,550 people killed and more than 6,600 people wounded,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky teases joint plan with allies to force Putin to stop war. “(Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not want to stop this war, but he will stop it. We have a plan,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukraine could ‘destroy all the Russians’ ballistic missiles’ if US sells 10% of Patriot missile supply to Kyiv, Zelensky says. “If they sell us 5% we will go through the winter and save people’s lives. If they can sell us 10%, we will destroy all the Russians’ ballistic missiles,” the president added.
Ukraine’s HUR reveals size of Russia’s Geran attack drone stockpile. During periods when Russian forces are replenishing their stockpiles, however, they typically launch around 150–200 drones per attack, with the number occasionally reaching approximately 300, the report read.
Ukrainian unit reports shortages of food, water on front line, command promises evacuation when ‘security situation allows.’ Platoon Commander Anatolii Syshchuk said his unit arrived at the position in April to relieve troops who had been stationed there for eight months without rotation. Their deployment was initially expected to last one month, he said.
Transcarpathia recruitment chief suspended as Drapatyi’s team reviews mobilization reforms. Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi’s team has begun reviewing recommendations aimed at reforming Ukraine’s mobilization system, Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said on Aug. 12.
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Ukraine war latest: 4 Russian warships damaged in strike on Black Sea Fleet port in Novorossiysk
Four Russian warships were damaged in a Ukrainian strike on the Black Sea Fleet naval base in Novorossiysk overnight on Aug. 12, the General Staff said.
Photo: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images
Ukraine’s protest movement has run into a wall
Protesters say they have achieved part of what they set out to do, but now lack a clear path to force the president to meet their central demand.
Photo: Genya Savilov / AFP / Getty ImagesAndrej Isakovic / AFP via Getty Images
Cheaper than a missile, just as hard to down — Russia’s Banderol munition adds strain to Ukraine’s air defenses
“That engine is the scariest part because it sounds like a cruise missile.” That noise is the sound of a Russian threat that has escalated drastically in recent months — the Banderol loitering munition, a hybrid weapon that combines features of a cruise missile and a jet-powered drone.
Photo: militarnyi
Ukraine wants foreign investors to buy its state assets. So far, they’re not biting
Ukraine’s government wants to sell thousands of state-owned assets that are overwhelmingly unprofitable, inefficient, or nonoperational — sometimes all three. But it’s facing a problem. Low prices aren’t enough to attract the foreign investors Ukraine wants most, particularly those from Europe.
Photo: Yurii Stefanyak / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images
Human cost of war
Russian attacks kill 8, injure 57 across Ukraine over past day, as deadly strike hits oil tanker truck in Odesa Oblast. Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight on Aug. 12 with an Iskander-M ballistic missile, an anti-radiation Kh-31P missile, Kh-35 guided air-launched missiles, and 138 Shahed-type drones, the Air Force said.
Opinions and insights
Zelensky’s Serbia gamble puts Ukraine’s principles to the test
Ukraine needs partners wherever it can find them, including states that maintain close ties with Moscow. But Serbia is not becoming a conventional Ukrainian ally. Belgrade nominally supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and has provided humanitarian assistance, while Serbian-made ammunition has reached Ukraine through third countries.
Photo: Stringer / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
‘Hemingway Knows Nothing’: Ukraine’s writers are redefining literature of war
When war, loss, and unimaginable suffering become routine, a book can offer a kind of lifeline — especially one by a writer who has lived through such an ordeal and tried to make sense of it.
Photo: Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images; Collage: The Kyiv Independentgency / Getty Images
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International response
Moscow to respond in kind to Europe seizing Russian merchant ships, Putin says. The statement comes as the West ramps up efforts to clamp down on Russia’s shadow fleet, a group of aging and poorly insured tankers Moscow uses to circumvent sanctions and carry out hybrid operations.
Russia imports gasoline from India for the first time amid Ukrainian attacks on refineries. Nayara Energy Ltd., an Indian oil refining company backed by Russia’s largest oil producer, Rosneft, was revealed to be the source of fuel that traveled aboard Russian-linked tankers through Egypt, Bloomberg reported.
Latvia ‘forgot’ about ammunition when buying anti-drone systems — new PM reveals strange incident. “They purchased the equipment, but forgot to buy the ammunition,” Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said, without disclosing further details about what systems he was referring to or who was responsible.
67% of Poles back deporting unemployed Ukrainian men, poll shows. Some 79% of positive responses came from Poles identifying as right-wing, although the proposal also found strong support among voters of the ruling liberal-left coalition.
Ukraine-Armenia ties becoming ‘more constructive,’ Zelensky says after call with Armenian PM. President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Aug. 12, discussing priority areas for cooperation between the two countries.
Belarusian cousins convicted of supplying Russian weapons industry in Austria. Two Belarusian cousins were convicted on Aug. 12 by a Vienna court for supplying manufacturing equipment to Russia’s weapons industry in violation of EU sanctions.
Ukrainian soldier on surviving 200 days in the kill zone.
Meet the collection inspired by Kyiv’s embroidery
Two collaborations, one enduring Ukrainian tradition. Created so you can carry a piece of Kyiv with you, wherever you go.
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