Matthew Loh
Sun 24 August 2025
Business Insider
Kyiv's long-range missiles mean it can now decide for itself to strike deep into Russia, Zelenskyy said.
That would be a major change from when Kyiv relied on Western approval for strikes over the border.
His comment comes after a new report said the Pentagon had blocked ATACMS strikes against Russia.
Ukraine can now strike deep into Russia without needing coordination with the US, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
"As of today, we are using our domestically produced long-range weapons. And to be honest, we haven't been discussing such matters with the US lately," Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
"There was a time when there were different signals regarding our retaliatory strikes after their attacks on our energy system," Zelenskyy said, referring to Russia's strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. "That was already a very long time ago. Today, we don't even mention it."
The Ukrainian leader's statement signals a massive change in what had, for years, been a status quo in Kyiv's deep strike capability. Ukraine, reliant for much of the war on long-range Western systems such as the US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, typically needed approval from Washington and its allies for strikes into Russia.
The ATACMS in particular requires US-provided satellite data and targeting for successful precision strikes, affording the Pentagon greater authority over what the weapons can be used for.
NATO countries, fearing escalation with Moscow, withheld permission for Kyiv to launch attacks into Russia for months, limiting strikes to targets in Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian officials repeatedly voiced frustration at the restriction, saying they were kneecapped and unable to strike the Kremlin's forces massing on the border.
In November, after an extended period of indecision, the Biden administration and US allies began permitting selected attacks on Russian soil with munitions such as ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles.
But that arrangement may be in question. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing two unnamed US officials, that the Pentagon had blocked Ukraine from firing its ATACMS into Russia and had denied at least one request.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said to WSJ that there had been "no change in military posture in Russia-Ukraine at this time."
The report comes as the Trump administration has tried to entice Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, hoping to mediate a peace deal.
President Donald Trump also raised the topic in a Thursday TruthSocial post while criticizing his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
"It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader's country. It's like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia," Trump wrote.
Notably, he told Time Magazine in December that he had disagreed "very vehemently" with Ukraine's ATACMS strikes on Russia the month before.
But Ukraine has, in the last few years, developed its own long-range missiles and systems, which would allow Kyiv more leeway to independently launch precision strikes on Russian targets.
One example is the Neptune, a truck-launched subsonic cruise missile meant to hit naval targets.
The Neptune was in development before the full-scale invasion, but Ukraine has more recently unveiled a new ground-launched munition.
On August 18, its defense minister said the country was now serially producing the Flamingo, a domestically manufactured missile touted to have a range of 1,800 miles.
That distance would allow Ukraine to possibly threaten Russia's key military production facilities in faraway areas such as the Urals.
Zelenskyy said on Friday that the Flamingo could enter mass production by February.
"The missile has undergone successful tests. It is currently our most successful missile," he told reporters.
These precision munitions aside, Ukraine has also been regularly launching deep strikes against Russian energy facilities and weapons production plants with fixed-wing drones, which are far slower.
Kyiv's long-range missiles mean it can now decide for itself to strike deep into Russia, Zelenskyy said.
That would be a major change from when Kyiv relied on Western approval for strikes over the border.
His comment comes after a new report said the Pentagon had blocked ATACMS strikes against Russia.
Ukraine can now strike deep into Russia without needing coordination with the US, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
"As of today, we are using our domestically produced long-range weapons. And to be honest, we haven't been discussing such matters with the US lately," Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
"There was a time when there were different signals regarding our retaliatory strikes after their attacks on our energy system," Zelenskyy said, referring to Russia's strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. "That was already a very long time ago. Today, we don't even mention it."
The Ukrainian leader's statement signals a massive change in what had, for years, been a status quo in Kyiv's deep strike capability. Ukraine, reliant for much of the war on long-range Western systems such as the US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, typically needed approval from Washington and its allies for strikes into Russia.
The ATACMS in particular requires US-provided satellite data and targeting for successful precision strikes, affording the Pentagon greater authority over what the weapons can be used for.
NATO countries, fearing escalation with Moscow, withheld permission for Kyiv to launch attacks into Russia for months, limiting strikes to targets in Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian officials repeatedly voiced frustration at the restriction, saying they were kneecapped and unable to strike the Kremlin's forces massing on the border.
In November, after an extended period of indecision, the Biden administration and US allies began permitting selected attacks on Russian soil with munitions such as ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles.
But that arrangement may be in question. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing two unnamed US officials, that the Pentagon had blocked Ukraine from firing its ATACMS into Russia and had denied at least one request.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said to WSJ that there had been "no change in military posture in Russia-Ukraine at this time."
The report comes as the Trump administration has tried to entice Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, hoping to mediate a peace deal.
President Donald Trump also raised the topic in a Thursday TruthSocial post while criticizing his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
"It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader's country. It's like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia," Trump wrote.
Notably, he told Time Magazine in December that he had disagreed "very vehemently" with Ukraine's ATACMS strikes on Russia the month before.
But Ukraine has, in the last few years, developed its own long-range missiles and systems, which would allow Kyiv more leeway to independently launch precision strikes on Russian targets.
One example is the Neptune, a truck-launched subsonic cruise missile meant to hit naval targets.
The Neptune was in development before the full-scale invasion, but Ukraine has more recently unveiled a new ground-launched munition.
On August 18, its defense minister said the country was now serially producing the Flamingo, a domestically manufactured missile touted to have a range of 1,800 miles.
That distance would allow Ukraine to possibly threaten Russia's key military production facilities in faraway areas such as the Urals.
Zelenskyy said on Friday that the Flamingo could enter mass production by February.
"The missile has undergone successful tests. It is currently our most successful missile," he told reporters.
These precision munitions aside, Ukraine has also been regularly launching deep strikes against Russian energy facilities and weapons production plants with fixed-wing drones, which are far slower.
US blocks Ukraine firing long-range missiles into Russia
Niamh Robinson
Sun 24 August 2025
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena Zelenska were joined in Kyiv by Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, as they laid wreaths at a memorial wall to mark Ukraine’s independence day - Sean Kilpatrick/AP
Donald Trump is preventing Ukraine from firing long-range missiles into Russia in an effort to get Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks.
The Pentagon introduced a review mechanism in the spring that is effectively preventing Kyiv from striking targets in Russian territory, US officials revealed.
The policy has meant that Ukraine has not been able to fire the US-made Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) at Russian supply lines feeding Moscow’s grinding advance in eastern Ukraine.
The review system has also effectively barred Ukraine from cross-border strikes using the British-produced Storm Shadow, which is reliant on US targeting data.
The reports came ahead of a meeting on Monday of the coalition of the willing, intended to harden plans for a Europe-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine in the event a ceasefire is struck.
On Sunday, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, insisted that Kyiv no longer had to rely on US approval to strike deep inside Russia, and had its own arsenal of long-range weapons.
“We haven’t been discussing such matters with the US lately,” he said at a joint press conference with Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, on Ukraine’s independence day in Kyiv. “At the moment, we are using our long-range domestically produced weapons.”
Russia said it had shot down Ukrainian drones over St Petersburg on Saturday night, while a huge fire broke out at a fuel terminal in the Ust-Luga port in the Gulf of Finland after it was targeted by at least ten drones.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for defence, introduced the review system granting final approval for any Atacms strike to Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary.
At least one request to use the Atacms has been rejected, US officials said. Ministry of Defence officials refused to comment on whether the UK government supported the US approach.
Mr Trump signalled earlier this week that he could revisit the decision amid signs of growing frustration at the apparent failure of his latest push for a peace deal. In a social media post on Thursday, he said that Ukraine’s fighting ability had been constrained by its inability to “attack” Russian territory.
“It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defence, but is not allowed to play offence,” he wrote on Truth Social. “There is no chance of winning!”
The US president added: “Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out?”
The Trump administration reversed Joe Biden’s decision late last year to allow strikes deep inside Russia as it sought to lure the Kremlin into peace talks.
High-profile strikes with Western weapons could have derailed that process, it was feared.
US officials told the WSJ that Mr Trump’s statement did not call the Pentagon’s approval process into question, but said it could imply increased US support for expanded offensive operations against Russia.
On Monday, Sir Tony Radakin, Britain’s chief of the defence staff, will co-host the meeting of 30 countries from the so-called coalition of the willing.
Along with his French counterpart, he will brief them on his meeting in Washington with US defence officials.
These talks, last Wednesday, were described as “candid”. At the meeting, European leaders will discuss ways to urge Mr Trump not to give in to Putin’s demand for concessions.
Credit: Telegram/Exilenova_plus
Speaking in Kyiv, Mr Carney said he would not rule out putting Canadian boots on the ground to protect a peace deal.
“In Canada’s judgment, it is not realistic that the only security guarantee could be the strength of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ... that needs to be buttressed and reinforced,” Mr Carney said.
A firm series of commitments could persuade Mr Zelensky to eventually agree to a peace deal and bolster Mr Trump’s promise of providing US support.
However, talks have been hampered by a lack of concrete detail on the size and nature of each member of the coalition of the willing’s proposed contribution.
On Saturday, Paris summoned Italy’s ambassador over “unacceptable” comments made by deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini against Emmanuel Macron.
“Italian soldiers in Ukraine? Absolutely not. If Emmanuel Macron wants it, let him go himself. Put on a helmet, take a rifle, and go to Ukraine yourself,” the populist politician said last week.
Johann Wadepul, Germany’s foreign minister, has also said that the country’s army was likely too stretched to send any troops to Ukraine
Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy vows to ‘push Russia to peace’ as Ukrainians mark independence day
The Guardian
Sun 24 August 2025
Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives to greet Canadian PM Mark Carney at an independence day ceremony in Sophia Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday.Photograph: Canadian Press/Shutterstock
Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that a meeting with Vladimir Putin remained “the most effective way forward” as the two sides exchanged prisoners and Ukraine marked 34 years since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union. Peace hopes dimmed on Friday when Russia ruled out any immediate meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents but Zelenskyy said on Sunday that the “format of talks between leaders is the most effective way forward”, renewing calls for a bilateral summit, as sought by US president Donald Trump. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov earlier criticised Zelenskyy for “demanding an immediate meeting at all costs” but the Ukrainian president, speaking at a ceremony attended by western officials including US envoy Keith Kellogg, vowed “to push Russia to peace”.
US vice-president JD Vance claimed Putin had made “significant concessions” towards a negotiated settlement, expressing confidence that progress was being made despite the lack of clear signs. Vance told NBC the Russian concessions included that Ukraine would receive security guarantees protecting against future Russian aggression. “They’ve recognised that they’re not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv,” he said. “That was, of course, a major demand at the beginning. And importantly, they’ve acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has told Zelenskyy he backs Ukraine’s calls for robust security guarantees as part of any peace deal, saying Canada would not rule out sending troops under such a framework. Carney backed Ukraine’s calls for potential international participation, telling a joint press conference in Kyiv on Sunday: “In Canada’s judgment, it is not realistic that the only security guarantee could be the strength of the Ukrainian armed forces ... that needs to be buttressed and reinforced.” The two leaders also signed an agreement on drone co-production.
Zelenskyy was asked at the press conference about a Wall Street Journal report that said the Pentagon had for months been quietly blocking Ukraine’s use of the US-supplied Atacms missiles to hit targets deep inside in Russia. In response he said Kyiv had of late been using its own domestically produced long-range weapons to hit targets inside Russia, which are not cleared with Washington. “Lately we have not been discussing this issue with the United States.”
Russia said on Sunday that its forces had captured a new settlement in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region but Ukraine’s top commander said Kyiv’s troops had made gains elsewhere, recapturing three villages in eastern Donetsk region. The Russian defence ministry said it had taken Filia village in Dnipropetrovsk, while Ukraine made no acknowledgement that Filia had changed hands. Moscow says it has been making inroads into Dnipropetrovsk while Ukrainian forces have been pressing to recapture villages in the Donetsk region – the focal point of the Russian advance – and to prevent any further movement into Dnipropetrovsk. Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s top commander, said on Telegram that Kyiv’s forces had retaken the Donetsk villages of Mykhailivka, Zelenyi Hai and Volodymyrivka. The battlefield reports could not be independently verified.
Moscow has accused Kyiv of launching dozens of drone attacks – including one that sparked a fire at a nuclear power plant – as Ukrainians marked independence day, reports Angelique Chrisafis. The drone attack on the Kursk plant in western Russia, 37 miles (60km) from the Ukraine border, caused damage to an auxiliary transformer and forced a 50% reduction in the operating capacity of a reactor, Russian authorities said. Ukraine did not immediately comment on the alleged attack. The fire sparked by the drone, which was shot down, had been extinguished and there were no casualties or increased radiation levels, the plant said on Sunday.
Ukraine and Russia said on Sunday they had each sent back 146 prisoners of war and civilians in the latest of a series of swaps. Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomed the release of two Ukrainian journalists, Dmytro Khyliuk and Mark Kaliush, denouncing “their abductions and the abuse they suffered in detention”.
A Russian artillery strike killed a woman and wounded two residents in the town of Kupiansk in Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region. In the eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, a Russian drone strike killed a woman, the governor said.
Norway's leader is the latest to visit Ukraine as Trump weighs peace options
ILLIA NOVIKOV
Mon 25 August 2025
In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, a Russian Army BM-21 "Grad" self-propelled multiple rocket launcher fires towards Ukrainian position in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Norway’s multibillion-dollar military and civilian support for Ukraine’s fight to defeat Russia’s invasion will stretch into next year, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Monday during a visit to Kyiv, as uncertainty surrounds U.S.-led efforts to secure a peace settlement.
Store, whose country borders Russia, told a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine is “defending a critical principle on the European level” by refusing to accept Russia’s seizure of territory.
A stream of high-ranking visitors to Kyiv in recent days reflects concerns around the U.S.-led peace drive, as President Donald Trump weighs how to proceed with no sign of a breakthrough.
U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg attended Independence Day celebrations in Kyiv on Sunday. Zelenskyy said he would meet with Kellogg later Monday and hold talks by the end of the week with other senior U.S. officials.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Kyiv on Sunday for meetings with Zelenskyy, pledging 2 billion Canadian dollars in aid, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was in the Ukrainian capital on Friday. Germany’s vice chancellor and finance minister, Lars Klingbeil, arrived in Kyiv on Monday to discuss “how Germany can best support Ukraine in a possible peace process.”
A week ago, Trump said he had set in motion arrangements for direct peace talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy. But Russian officials have signaled that such a summit won’t happen any time soon.
Trump said Friday he expects to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks aren’t scheduled.
Analysts say Putin thinks he can outlast Western governments’ commitment to Ukraine and use his bigger army to capture more Ukrainian land while peace efforts are under discussion.
Norway on Sunday pledged about 7 billion kroner ($695 million) toward air defense systems for Ukraine. Norway and Germany are jointly funding two U.S.-made Patriot anti-missile systems, including missiles, with Norway also helping procure air defense radar, Store said.
Drone strikes continue
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 104 strike and decoy drones overnight, targeting the country's north and east. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
Ukraine has continued long-range drone attacks on Russia, hitting oil refineries, armories and transport hubs and causing commercial flight disruption during the summer vacation period.
On Sunday, an Egyptian plane carrying Russian tourists from Sharm El Sheikh to St. Petersburg diverted to Tallinn because the Russian city’s international airport had temporarily closed due to a drone attack, the Estonian daily Postimees reported.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting 23 Ukrainian drones overnight and Monday morning over seven Russian regions, both on or near the border with Ukraine and deeper inside Russia.
___
Russia says Europe’s leaders don’t want peace in Ukraine as Vance says US will keep trying
Richard Luscombe
THE GUARDIAN
Sun 24 August 2025
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov: ‘We want peace in Ukraine. He wants, President Trump wants, peace in Ukraine.’Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Reuters
Russia accused western European leaders on Sunday of not wanting peace in Ukraine, as Moscow’s most senior diplomat praised efforts by Donald Trump to end the war, while Vice-President JD Vance said the US would “keep on trying” to broker talks in the absence of a deal.
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, made the comments during a sometimes contentious interview on NBC on Sunday morning, during which he denied his country had bombed civilian targets in Ukraine.
Trump, he said, had set himself above European leaders who accompanied Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks at the White House last week, immediately after the summit between the US president and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on 15 August.
“We want peace in Ukraine. He wants, President Trump wants, peace in Ukraine. The reaction to [the] Anchorage meeting, the gathering in Washington of these European representatives and what they were doing after Washington, indicates that they don’t want peace,” Lavrov said.
The Alaska talks produced neither a ceasefire nor an agreement for Zelenskyy and Putin to meet, and was widely considered to be a public relations triumph for the Russian leader.
Lavrov brushed aside Trump’s apparent frustration at the outcome and the US warning of “massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both” against Moscow. He said “yes” when asked if Putin wanted peace and said Putin and Trump respected each other, while assailing the alliance of leaders such as France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Britain’s Keir Starmer and European Union president Ursula von der Leyen who came to the White House last week to bolster Zelenskyy’s visit.
European leaders in recent days have pledged to support security guarantees as part of a peace agreement, although Russia has flatly rejected the prospect of troops from countries in Europe being positioned in Ukraine.
Trump has ruled out sending the US military, and on Friday it was reported that his administration had blocked Ukraine’s use of US-supplied long-range missiles to attack Russia.
Meanwhile, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney told Zelenskyy on Sunday that he backed Ukraine’s calls for robust security guarantees and that Canada would not rule out sending troops.
Earlier, Lavrov became defensive when NBC asked him if Putin was “stringing along” Trump by appearing conciliatory to his peace overtures but continuing to bomb Ukraine, attacks which last week included an airstrike on an American electronics manufacturing company in the west of the country.
“It is not for the lawmakers or for any media outlet to decide what President Trump is motivated by. We respect President Trump because President Trump defends American national interests. And I have reason to believe that President Trump respects President Putin because he defends Russian national interests,” he said.
Critics, including some conservative voices, are alarmed by what they see as Putin manipulating Trump over Ukraine and US elections.
Related: At home and abroad US policy chaos has one constant: Trump’s self-interest
Lavrov meanwhile denied that Russia attacks civilian targets including schools, hospitals and churches, hinting at Russia’s extraordinary claims throughout the war that Ukraine is attacking its own people.
“Our intelligence has very good information, and we target only military enterprises, military sites or industrial enterprises directly involved in producing military equipment for [the] Ukrainian army,” he said.
Vance appeared separately in the same Sunday morning program and insisted Russia deserved credit for indicating it was ready to end a conflict that Trump has said more than 50 times he would solve “in one day”, while in contrast the vice-president warned of a longer process.
“I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict,” Vance said.
“They’ve recognized that they’re not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv. That was, of course, a major demand at the beginning. And importantly, they’ve acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Vance said historically that peace negotiations go “in fits and starts” and warned that he did not think ending the war was “going to happen overnight”.
Vance said of Russia, in a comment that was not further clarified: “Should they have started the war? Of course, they haven’t. But we’re making progress”. Trump in February blamed Ukraine, saying, “you never should have started it.”
Any sanctions against Russia, Vance said, would be on a “case by case basis”, but he remained hopeful that US efforts could bring Zelenskyy and Putin together.
“It’s complicated, but we’re going to keep on trying to convince these parties to talk to each other and continue to play the game of diplomacy, because that’s the only way to get this thing wrapped up.”
Lavrov remained adamant that Russia also wanted peace, and acknowledged “Ukraine has the right to exist”. But he said it “must let people go”, referring to Putin’s demand that it give up Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula seized by Russia in 2014, as well as southern and eastern parts, such as the Donbas, captured since 2022, as part of a peace agreement.
“In Crimea [they] decided that they belong to the Russian culture,” he said, citing a disputed 2014 referendum condemned by most of the world as illegal.
On Friday, Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat of Connecticut, said on CNN that stronger US action was needed because “Putin is not going to stop until we stop him.”
Sun 24 August 2025
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov: ‘We want peace in Ukraine. He wants, President Trump wants, peace in Ukraine.’Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Reuters
Russia accused western European leaders on Sunday of not wanting peace in Ukraine, as Moscow’s most senior diplomat praised efforts by Donald Trump to end the war, while Vice-President JD Vance said the US would “keep on trying” to broker talks in the absence of a deal.
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, made the comments during a sometimes contentious interview on NBC on Sunday morning, during which he denied his country had bombed civilian targets in Ukraine.
Trump, he said, had set himself above European leaders who accompanied Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks at the White House last week, immediately after the summit between the US president and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on 15 August.
“We want peace in Ukraine. He wants, President Trump wants, peace in Ukraine. The reaction to [the] Anchorage meeting, the gathering in Washington of these European representatives and what they were doing after Washington, indicates that they don’t want peace,” Lavrov said.
The Alaska talks produced neither a ceasefire nor an agreement for Zelenskyy and Putin to meet, and was widely considered to be a public relations triumph for the Russian leader.
Lavrov brushed aside Trump’s apparent frustration at the outcome and the US warning of “massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both” against Moscow. He said “yes” when asked if Putin wanted peace and said Putin and Trump respected each other, while assailing the alliance of leaders such as France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Britain’s Keir Starmer and European Union president Ursula von der Leyen who came to the White House last week to bolster Zelenskyy’s visit.
European leaders in recent days have pledged to support security guarantees as part of a peace agreement, although Russia has flatly rejected the prospect of troops from countries in Europe being positioned in Ukraine.
Trump has ruled out sending the US military, and on Friday it was reported that his administration had blocked Ukraine’s use of US-supplied long-range missiles to attack Russia.
Meanwhile, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney told Zelenskyy on Sunday that he backed Ukraine’s calls for robust security guarantees and that Canada would not rule out sending troops.
Earlier, Lavrov became defensive when NBC asked him if Putin was “stringing along” Trump by appearing conciliatory to his peace overtures but continuing to bomb Ukraine, attacks which last week included an airstrike on an American electronics manufacturing company in the west of the country.
“It is not for the lawmakers or for any media outlet to decide what President Trump is motivated by. We respect President Trump because President Trump defends American national interests. And I have reason to believe that President Trump respects President Putin because he defends Russian national interests,” he said.
Critics, including some conservative voices, are alarmed by what they see as Putin manipulating Trump over Ukraine and US elections.
Related: At home and abroad US policy chaos has one constant: Trump’s self-interest
Lavrov meanwhile denied that Russia attacks civilian targets including schools, hospitals and churches, hinting at Russia’s extraordinary claims throughout the war that Ukraine is attacking its own people.
“Our intelligence has very good information, and we target only military enterprises, military sites or industrial enterprises directly involved in producing military equipment for [the] Ukrainian army,” he said.
Vance appeared separately in the same Sunday morning program and insisted Russia deserved credit for indicating it was ready to end a conflict that Trump has said more than 50 times he would solve “in one day”, while in contrast the vice-president warned of a longer process.
“I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict,” Vance said.
“They’ve recognized that they’re not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv. That was, of course, a major demand at the beginning. And importantly, they’ve acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Vance said historically that peace negotiations go “in fits and starts” and warned that he did not think ending the war was “going to happen overnight”.
Vance said of Russia, in a comment that was not further clarified: “Should they have started the war? Of course, they haven’t. But we’re making progress”. Trump in February blamed Ukraine, saying, “you never should have started it.”
Any sanctions against Russia, Vance said, would be on a “case by case basis”, but he remained hopeful that US efforts could bring Zelenskyy and Putin together.
“It’s complicated, but we’re going to keep on trying to convince these parties to talk to each other and continue to play the game of diplomacy, because that’s the only way to get this thing wrapped up.”
Lavrov remained adamant that Russia also wanted peace, and acknowledged “Ukraine has the right to exist”. But he said it “must let people go”, referring to Putin’s demand that it give up Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula seized by Russia in 2014, as well as southern and eastern parts, such as the Donbas, captured since 2022, as part of a peace agreement.
“In Crimea [they] decided that they belong to the Russian culture,” he said, citing a disputed 2014 referendum condemned by most of the world as illegal.
On Friday, Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat of Connecticut, said on CNN that stronger US action was needed because “Putin is not going to stop until we stop him.”
The Ukrainian special forces unit that crushed Putin’s surprise advance
AUDREY MACALPINE
Sat 23 August 2025
Shaun Pinner, a British man who served with the Azov Corps, described the front line as an ‘iron curtain of drones’ - AFP via Getty Images
Small groups of two or three soldiers push forward, slipping into cellars, houses and ruined buildings, where they wait to be reinforced by other units, all the while trying to stay hidden from Ukraine’s ever-present eyes in the sky. This, Mr Pinner said, is almost impossible.
“There isn’t one area of the front line that isn’t on a TV screen,” he said, describing a wall of surveillance. He added: “It’s almost an impenetrable ‘iron curtain’ of drones.”
Ukrainian soldiers in the area believe Russian troops managed to slip through despite this constant surveillance because of a lack of manpower, with Ukrainian forces in the middle of a rotation at the time.
Monitoring Ukraine’s extensive front line has been difficult, especially with the new threat of Russian guerrilla groups. Videos released by the 93rd Mechanised Brigade show Ukrainian FPV pilots operating drones remotely to hunt down soldiers near Dobropillia on motorcycles and on foot.
Credit: UA Land Forces / Telegram
But the situation remains fluid. Ukrainian soldiers say Russian forces are using heavy bomber drones capable of carrying up to 44lb of supplies to sustain pocketed positions and southern portions of the corridor. Some even claim that Russian troops have clawed back lost ground within the past 48 hours.
The numbers suggest the fighting was fierce. The Azov Corps reported Russian losses of 385 soldiers, 37 vehicles, one armoured fighting vehicle and a tank, suggesting the assault combined small guerrilla-style units with co-ordinated attacks.
The failed advance brought Russian positions to within six miles of Dobropillia – once a safe haven for those fleeing the embattled towns and villages of the Donbas, but now at risk of siege.
The immediate target of Moscow’s assault was clear: the Dobropillia-Kramatorsk highway, one of the most important supply routes in the Donetsk region. The road connects Dobropillia to the embattled city of Kramatorsk, serving as a logistical artery for Ukrainian reinforcements and supplies.
Control of even a short stretch would have given Moscow a chance to choke Ukraine’s movements in Donetsk and complicate Kyiv’s ability to defend its remaining strongholds in the east, while strengthening Putin’s negotiating position in talks with the US.
That Azov turned up in Dobropillia at all is noteworthy. The brigade has historically operated near Kharkiv, but its deployment here to eliminate a Russian incursion suggests the new corps structure is giving it greater flexibility.
Ukraine, it appears, is ready to send its most capable soldiers to meet Russian troops head-on, if they breach the first lines of defence.
Credit: Courtesy of 5th Separate Mechanized Brigade via Reuters
In April, the regiment was elevated to corps level and became “1st Corps of the National Guard Azov”. Ukraine’s previous structure, a Soviet legacy, left brigades operating independently even on the same front. Transitioning to a corps system allows Azov to expand its ranks, strengthen command and control, and make brigade operations more effective.
It also enables the group “to come in and sweep up the mess”, according to Mr Pinner.
One soldier stationed in the area said it was not the first time Ukraine sent in special forces for such an operation. He cited last month as another example.
“When the DRG [Russian Diversion and Reconnaissance Groups] were running around Pokrovsk, SSO [the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces] was going around at night neutralising them,” he said. “It’s good that Azov stopped them here, it would’ve been really bad if they took Dobropillia, then Pokrovsk would be lost.”
He said that more defensive pushes like this were needed. “Rodynske is the city we really need [back],” he added, referring to the city near Pokrovsk.
Engineers at an Azov Corps drone laboratory in eastern Ukraine - Maria Senovilla/EPA/Shutterstock
The timing of this most recent push from Russian forces came days before a meeting between Putin and Donald Trump, the US president, in which the Kremlin demanded that Ukraine gave up the Donbas region.
Russia occupies about 88 per cent of the Donbas, and as its summer offensive grinds on it has been making small gains.
Mr Pinner said: “While these talks are going on and there’s a chance of peace, this violence is just going to get worse.”
While small groups of soldiers carried out guerrilla-style advances in the Donbas, further south near Zaporizhzhia – another region Russia has staked out in its maximalist demands – Russia has redeployed troops for a new push, according to Gen Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces.
He said: “The occupiers are also trying to deliver a powerful blow, which was initially planned a year ago.
“The goal is to break through our defences and advance deep into our territory. Their goal, of course, is to occupy the entire region.”
Despite these new offensives, Ukrainian soldiers told The Telegraph that such a push was not an immediate cause for concern. One said: “Things are actually cooling down in Pokrovsk.”
AUDREY MACALPINE
Sat 23 August 2025
THE TELEGRAPH
Ukrainian soldiers have pushed back a Russian offensive in the Donetsk region - Kostyantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty
On Aug 11, Russian soldiers breached Ukraine’s front-line defences and penetrated at least six miles behind enemy lines.
Battlefield maps, kept studiously up to date by open-source intelligence groups, showed a red tendril reaching north into Ukraine’s territory through several villages in the contested eastern Donetsk region coveted by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.
The advance set off alarm bells among Kyiv’s supporters, who feared it marked the start of an offensive aimed at the stronghold city of Kostiantynivka or the logistical hub of Pokrovsk, both of which could provide Russia with a foothold in Ukraine’s fortress belt.
What Russian soldiers did not know was that Ukrainian forces had discovered the attack before the mission even began. In response, on Aug 12, Ukrainian forces began what Ukraine’s General Staff euphemistically referred to as “active measures”.
Within days of the offensive, Russian soldiers found themselves surrounded by the Azov Corps, one of Ukraine’s elite forces. The incursion, one of the deepest since the shift to attritional warfare, quickly became a costly and deadly failure.
By Aug 14, Ukraine’s military said the situation had been stabilised. According to the Azov Corps, Russian forces were pushed out of six of the villages they had captured.
Ukrainian soldiers told The Telegraph this week that the incursion was no longer cause for concern after Azov troops eliminated many of the Russian soldiers.
But as Moscow continues to send soldiers to their deaths in the name of seizing more Ukrainian land, Russia’s mission on Aug 11 offers a glimpse of what is to come on the battlefield. As with many soldiers on similar missions before them, it’s possible that these Russians knew they were going to die before the attack even began.
This grim Russian tactic has become a feature of the war as Moscow probes for weaknesses in Ukraine’s defences. Small groups of Russian soldiers are sent forward on motorcycles, dirt bikes and electric scooters without support to break through Ukrainian lines at speed
Shaun Pinner, a former British marine who served with the Azov Corps, calls these Russian tactics “suicide missions”.
Ukrainian soldiers have pushed back a Russian offensive in the Donetsk region - Kostyantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty
On Aug 11, Russian soldiers breached Ukraine’s front-line defences and penetrated at least six miles behind enemy lines.
Battlefield maps, kept studiously up to date by open-source intelligence groups, showed a red tendril reaching north into Ukraine’s territory through several villages in the contested eastern Donetsk region coveted by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.
The advance set off alarm bells among Kyiv’s supporters, who feared it marked the start of an offensive aimed at the stronghold city of Kostiantynivka or the logistical hub of Pokrovsk, both of which could provide Russia with a foothold in Ukraine’s fortress belt.
What Russian soldiers did not know was that Ukrainian forces had discovered the attack before the mission even began. In response, on Aug 12, Ukrainian forces began what Ukraine’s General Staff euphemistically referred to as “active measures”.
Within days of the offensive, Russian soldiers found themselves surrounded by the Azov Corps, one of Ukraine’s elite forces. The incursion, one of the deepest since the shift to attritional warfare, quickly became a costly and deadly failure.
By Aug 14, Ukraine’s military said the situation had been stabilised. According to the Azov Corps, Russian forces were pushed out of six of the villages they had captured.
Ukrainian soldiers told The Telegraph this week that the incursion was no longer cause for concern after Azov troops eliminated many of the Russian soldiers.
But as Moscow continues to send soldiers to their deaths in the name of seizing more Ukrainian land, Russia’s mission on Aug 11 offers a glimpse of what is to come on the battlefield. As with many soldiers on similar missions before them, it’s possible that these Russians knew they were going to die before the attack even began.
This grim Russian tactic has become a feature of the war as Moscow probes for weaknesses in Ukraine’s defences. Small groups of Russian soldiers are sent forward on motorcycles, dirt bikes and electric scooters without support to break through Ukrainian lines at speed
Shaun Pinner, a former British marine who served with the Azov Corps, calls these Russian tactics “suicide missions”.
Shaun Pinner, a British man who served with the Azov Corps, described the front line as an ‘iron curtain of drones’ - AFP via Getty Images
Small groups of two or three soldiers push forward, slipping into cellars, houses and ruined buildings, where they wait to be reinforced by other units, all the while trying to stay hidden from Ukraine’s ever-present eyes in the sky. This, Mr Pinner said, is almost impossible.
“There isn’t one area of the front line that isn’t on a TV screen,” he said, describing a wall of surveillance. He added: “It’s almost an impenetrable ‘iron curtain’ of drones.”
Ukrainian soldiers in the area believe Russian troops managed to slip through despite this constant surveillance because of a lack of manpower, with Ukrainian forces in the middle of a rotation at the time.
Monitoring Ukraine’s extensive front line has been difficult, especially with the new threat of Russian guerrilla groups. Videos released by the 93rd Mechanised Brigade show Ukrainian FPV pilots operating drones remotely to hunt down soldiers near Dobropillia on motorcycles and on foot.
Credit: UA Land Forces / Telegram
But the situation remains fluid. Ukrainian soldiers say Russian forces are using heavy bomber drones capable of carrying up to 44lb of supplies to sustain pocketed positions and southern portions of the corridor. Some even claim that Russian troops have clawed back lost ground within the past 48 hours.
The numbers suggest the fighting was fierce. The Azov Corps reported Russian losses of 385 soldiers, 37 vehicles, one armoured fighting vehicle and a tank, suggesting the assault combined small guerrilla-style units with co-ordinated attacks.
The failed advance brought Russian positions to within six miles of Dobropillia – once a safe haven for those fleeing the embattled towns and villages of the Donbas, but now at risk of siege.
The immediate target of Moscow’s assault was clear: the Dobropillia-Kramatorsk highway, one of the most important supply routes in the Donetsk region. The road connects Dobropillia to the embattled city of Kramatorsk, serving as a logistical artery for Ukrainian reinforcements and supplies.
Control of even a short stretch would have given Moscow a chance to choke Ukraine’s movements in Donetsk and complicate Kyiv’s ability to defend its remaining strongholds in the east, while strengthening Putin’s negotiating position in talks with the US.
That Azov turned up in Dobropillia at all is noteworthy. The brigade has historically operated near Kharkiv, but its deployment here to eliminate a Russian incursion suggests the new corps structure is giving it greater flexibility.
Ukraine, it appears, is ready to send its most capable soldiers to meet Russian troops head-on, if they breach the first lines of defence.
Credit: Courtesy of 5th Separate Mechanized Brigade via Reuters
In April, the regiment was elevated to corps level and became “1st Corps of the National Guard Azov”. Ukraine’s previous structure, a Soviet legacy, left brigades operating independently even on the same front. Transitioning to a corps system allows Azov to expand its ranks, strengthen command and control, and make brigade operations more effective.
It also enables the group “to come in and sweep up the mess”, according to Mr Pinner.
One soldier stationed in the area said it was not the first time Ukraine sent in special forces for such an operation. He cited last month as another example.
“When the DRG [Russian Diversion and Reconnaissance Groups] were running around Pokrovsk, SSO [the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces] was going around at night neutralising them,” he said. “It’s good that Azov stopped them here, it would’ve been really bad if they took Dobropillia, then Pokrovsk would be lost.”
He said that more defensive pushes like this were needed. “Rodynske is the city we really need [back],” he added, referring to the city near Pokrovsk.
Engineers at an Azov Corps drone laboratory in eastern Ukraine - Maria Senovilla/EPA/Shutterstock
The timing of this most recent push from Russian forces came days before a meeting between Putin and Donald Trump, the US president, in which the Kremlin demanded that Ukraine gave up the Donbas region.
Russia occupies about 88 per cent of the Donbas, and as its summer offensive grinds on it has been making small gains.
Mr Pinner said: “While these talks are going on and there’s a chance of peace, this violence is just going to get worse.”
While small groups of soldiers carried out guerrilla-style advances in the Donbas, further south near Zaporizhzhia – another region Russia has staked out in its maximalist demands – Russia has redeployed troops for a new push, according to Gen Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces.
He said: “The occupiers are also trying to deliver a powerful blow, which was initially planned a year ago.
“The goal is to break through our defences and advance deep into our territory. Their goal, of course, is to occupy the entire region.”
Despite these new offensives, Ukrainian soldiers told The Telegraph that such a push was not an immediate cause for concern. One said: “Things are actually cooling down in Pokrovsk.”
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