Overview

• After the August 18 summit, the Kremlin stopped short of confirming leader-level meetings despite President Trump’s claim, with aide Yuri Ushakov citing only continued delegation talks and a possible raise in representation level.
• European leaders backed robust guarantees modeled on collective-defense principles and voiced a preference for a ceasefire tied to talks, though no ceasefire is in place.
• Russia launched Iskander missiles and waves of Shahed-type and decoy drones that hit multiple oblasts and caused civilian casualties, while Ukraine struck targets inside Russia, including an oil facility that halted Druzhba pipeline flow and a strike that seriously wounded Lt. Gen. Esedulla Abachev.
• Ukrainian counterattacks in the Pokrovsk sector collapsed a Russian salient near Dobropillya and retook nearby settlements, limiting Moscow’s ability to turn an infiltration into a broader breakthrough.
• Data cited by opposition outlet Vazhnye Istorii indicate Russian contract recruitment hit a two-year low in Q2 2025, with authorities leaning on regional budgets and ad hoc incentives to sustain enlistment payments.