On the night of August 5, russia launched 24 ballistic missiles at Ukraine, which the Air Force classified as belonging to the joint category "Iskander-M/S-400". The main direction of the strike was the Kyiv region. Due to the shortage of Patriot missiles, it was not possible to intercept any targets.
The peculiarity is that the S-400 is originally a complex for shooting down missiles, not for striking ground targets. But the russians put missiles on the assembly line for them, reached Kyiv and significantly strengthened their strike capabilities.
This is not the first time that the russians have used air defense missiles to strike ground targets. In 2022, they hit frontline cities with old anti-aircraft missiles from the S-300 systems.
Later, there was confirmation of the use of new 48N6 missiles, compatible with the later S-300 and S-400. And in 2026, they were joined by the RM-48U, which russian industry is serially converting from retired anti-aircraft missiles. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate, in 2025 the enemy produced 200 such missiles, and the plan for 2026 exceeds 480 units.
The RM-48U is not equal to the Iskander in terms of accuracy, warhead mass, and ability to penetrate protected structures. Instead, it increases the number of high-speed targets in a combined attack and further burdens the Ukrainian early warning and missile defense system.
https://oboronka.mezha.ua/yak-rosiya-peretvorila-s-400-na-zbroyu-teroru-313900/But the new russian ballistic missiles and their increase in number are not the only new problem for Ukraine. Since the fall of 2022, the Shahed-136 kamikaze strike drones (in the russian version, Geran-2) have been the main and most massive means of the russian army for air strikes on the Ukrainian rear. Now their era is coming to an end. Instead, jet counterparts are entering the arena, which are much more difficult for Ukrainian air defense to shoot down and which have artificial vision based on AI. Thanks to these weapons, the russian Federation has already been able to block Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
During the shelling of Kyiv on the night of August 4-5, the share of jet UAVs in the total number of strikes for the first time was more than half, the Ukrainian Air Force reported. That night, the russians launched 115 strike drones, of which almost 85% were shot down and suppressed. The next day, russia launched 101 drones, and again more than half of them were jet-powered. The kill rate dropped even lower, to 65%. This is because jet-powered drones fly higher and faster, and new means must be created to intercept them.
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/ce971erm7m2oOn the night of August 7, russia launched one of the most massive strikes on Naftogaz Group facilities in eastern Ukraine. Seven Ukrnafta assets that provide oil and gas production were hit. The company reported that significant production volumes were lost due to the destruction of critical equipment, and the work of a number of facilities was stopped.
https://ua.news/ua/war-vs-rf/rf-zdiisnila-odnu-z-naimasovanishikh-atak-na-obiekti-naftogazu-na-skhodi-ukrayiniOn the night of today, August 8, russia attacked Ukraine with six ballistic missiles, as well as 151 drones, of which only 135 drones were intercepted. Missiles and 13 drones were hit at 12 locations.
https://uatv.ua/uk/shist-balistychnyh-raket-ta-ponad-150-bpla-zapustyla-rf-po-ukrayini-shho-vidomo-pro-naslidky/At least three people, including a child, have been killed in overnight russian attacks near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7dy8gq99eoIn two districts of Kyiv and in a village near Kyiv, industrial enterprises and nearby houses were hit.
https://kanaldim.tv/rosiya-vchergove-vdaryla-po-kyyevu-ta-oblasti-shho-vidomo-pro-naslidky-foto/During the war, it is better not to live near factories, infrastructure facilities, warehouses and other similar facilities. But the industry is not only threatened by direct hits from missiles and drones.
Despite the general attention to the agricultural sector, the greatest threat of losing Ukraine's export potential now hangs over the mining and metallurgical complex and the oil industry. Due to the blockade of seaports, the country is on the verge of a forced shutdown of the giants of heavy industry, as the railway is physically unable to transport oversized cargo. The way out of this crisis could have been foreseen at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Especially considering the constant threat of blocking the ports. However, during all the years of the war, not a single railway branch with a European gauge was built in Ukraine.
https://novyny.live/ekonomi/agro/gzk-vzhe-zupiniaiutsia-iak-zablokovani-porti-nishchat-metalurgiiu-ta-oliinii-biznes-339039.htmlInstead, the war in Ukraine has brought Kim Jong-un record profits, Bloomberg reports. Between 2022 and 2025, Kim received $22 billion in foreign exchange, nearly four times the amount he received in the previous four years after US sanctions were imposed. In 2022, russian leader Vladimir putin launched an invasion of Ukraine, giving Kim an unexpected opportunity. Moscow asked Pyongyang for Soviet-era artillery. North Korea’s domestic stockpiles have become a valuable resource that Kim has been able to convert into cash, food aid and advanced military technology.
Ukrainian intelligence estimates that by the end of 2025, North Korea was supplying up to 50% of russia’s needs for 122mm and 152mm ammunition. Kim Jong-un also supplied russia with men, sending between 16,000 and 22,000 troops in exchange for about $2,000 a month each.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-north-korea-windfall/?srnd=homepage-europeAt the end of June, Ukraine's state and state-guaranteed debt amounted to UAH 9.49 trillion, or $211.6 billion, and in June alone, the debt increased by UAH 173.9 billion. The main reason was the receipt of funding from the EU and the World Bank to cover the budget's needs during the war, said Danylo Hetmantsev, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy.
https://psm7.com/uk/money/skilky-groshej-zaborguvala-ukrayina-mizhnarodnym-partneram-getmanczev.htmlOn June 25, 2026, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, known for his love of unfulfilled plans and empty slogans, approved the conduct of a 40-day operation by the Security Service of Ukraine to influence the aggressor state, which was unofficially called "compelling russia to peace." The goal was formulated directly: to force russia to end the war by systematically putting pressure on key points on which its ability to continue fighting depends - oil infrastructure, air defense, logistics, military production and the fleet. Interestingly, the term "compelling peace" was once used by Russia itself - in relation to the war against Georgia in 2008.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine, during the campaign, more than 100 successful strikes were carried out on strategically important objects in russia and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Strikes were carried out on the oil industry, the shadow fleet, military aviation and air defense.
On August 4, 2026, when the formal 40-day period ended, President Zelensky announced that he had approved new SBU operations against russia and announced “good results” of the Service’s work. Commenting on the end of the formal period, Head of the Presidential Office Kyriylo Budanov emphasized that special measures would continue in the future — without a clearly defined time limit. According to him, what is important is not the number of days, but the result and how Ukraine will emerge from this process.
https://censor.net/ua/blogs/4016976/pidsumky-40-dennoyi-operatsiyi-prymus-rosiyi-do-myru-ogoloshenoyi-zelenskymWell, the actions were undoubtedly effective, although they did not force russia to make peace. Still, the scale of losses for russia should be much greater. russia's advantage in weapons and people is obvious. So far, I do not see how Ukraine can gain an advantage in a direct military confrontation.
The chorus of optimism has quieted on several fronts, including Zelensky’s struggle with corruption and his relations with Trump, writes The Atlantic. Earlier this summer, Ukraine had finally seized the initiative in its punishing four-year war. President Volodymyr Zelensky had plenty of dramatic victories and technological advances to tout to his Western backers as he made the case that russia can be defeated.
At one point earlier this summer, Zelensky could look ahead to an influx of new U.S. missiles to defend Kyiv, the right to make even more in Ukraine, and the potential ability to strike inside russia thanks to Fedorov’s overtures to Musk. He enjoyed greater respect from Trump for Ukraine’s innovations and battlefield momentum, and better relations across Washington thanks to a well-regarded young ambassador.
Instead, Trump appears to have turned lukewarm and is stalling on previous commitments on Patriot missiles. Entreaties to Musk have so far failed. Zelensky’s firing of his popular defense minister has prompted protests at home. And Ukraine has no ambassador to make the case for continued U.S. support, because the previous one returned home to face charges of corruption.
https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/08/ukraine-war-zelensky-trump/688203/The US position remains inconsistent. One of the Pentagon's top generals overseeing military operations in Europe Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commander of the Army’s V Corps, has been removed from command, nearly two months before his time on the job would have naturally wrapped up, though the circumstances surrounding his removal remain unclear. V Corps is responsible for overseeing U.S. Army forces and coordinating operations across Europe. Partially based in Poland, the corps has taken on an increasingly prominent role since russia's invasion of Ukraine, helping coordinate U.S. support for Kyiv and managing the American military footprint along NATO's frontlines.
https://abcnews.com/Politics/top-us-general-europe-abruptly-removed-command/story?id=135461842The U.S. Senate easily passed sweeping russia sanctions legislation on Friday, advancing a long-delayed measure backed by late Senator Lindsey Graham and setting the stage for consideration by the House of Representatives within weeks. It also includes expanded sanctions on Iran sought by President Donald Trump as lawmakers pushed for a vote on the measure well over a year since it was introduced in 2025. The Senate's Republican leaders had not brought the bill up because of resistance from Trump, who had kept decisions on sanctions at the White House, not Congress, since starting his second term in January 2025. The Senate voted 86-11 to pass the "Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning russia and Iran Act of 2026," to sanction russian officials and authorize stiff tariffs on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on russian oil and gas. However, broad support may not be enough to secure House passage, with some lawmakers and industries wary that new tariff powers for Trump could raise costs for U.S. importers and consumers while exposing Republicans to political blowback, writes Reuters.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/sweeping-russia-energy-sanctions-head-toward-us-senate-passage-2026-08-07/The US State Department has officially approved a large-scale resale of American weapons from Turkish military stocks to Ukraine. Turkey is transferring 12 M270 MLRS launchers, 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles and 2,524 unguided 227-mm M26 rockets with cluster warheads. In addition, the Ukrainian artillery will receive 47,000 M509A1 203-mm cluster shells, which are suited for the Soviet-style 2S7 "Pion" heavy self-propelled guns.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2026-08-06/pdf/CREC-2026-08-06.pdfAll of these weapons are considered outdated, and given the range of their use and small amount of them, they will certainly cause significant damage to the russians at the front, but Ukraine will not gain any strategic advantage.
