McFaul: As an American, I feel ashamed of my country. I cannot look Ukrainian soldiers in the eyes. I hope it is not too late to reverse this course and put government back on the side of democracy against tyranny. I am a patriotic American. I want to feel proud again. 1/

Ukraine struck the main Missile and Artillery Directorate of Russia in the Volgograd region with six FP-5 “Flamingo” cruise missiles, General Staff of Ukraine. This is one of Russia’s largest arsenals, where Russia stored missiles, ammunition, and explosive materials.

The IOC disqualified Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Winter Games minutes before his race. Vladyslav Heraskevych's "helmet of remembrance" honors the two dozen Ukrainian athletes killed since Russia's invasion, Reuters. 1/

Brittney Shki-Giiziz, Canadian volunteer in Ukraine: My first day fighting was absolutely excellent. I destroyed a train station with a tank. Being at war was physically easier than the training the Canadian Army puts us through. It prepared me very well for war. 1/

Ukrainian POWs were forced to exhume civilians killed by Russia in Mariupol. Marine Serhii Hrytsiv: “Over four weeks, we dug up around 800 civilian bodies.” Russia made prisoners clean up the crime scene — then blamed them for it, Slidstvo.Info reports. 1/

From Morgan Stanley to the front line. At 22, Ukrainian Viktoriia Honcharuk had a Manhattan banking job, Midtown apartment. Two weeks later, she was evacuating wounded soldiers under Russian fire, NY Post. 1/

Vsevolod, Kyiv resident: When it’s +2°C inside your apartment, you can’t do anything there. We spend the day at our volunteer hub, then crash wherever friends can take us for the night. There’s no heating almost for a month. 1/

Portuguese Azov Sergeant Tuga: Russians know that Azov is there and they heard English. Usually they kill themselves. We just talk in English or broken Ukrainian. They easily understand we are not Ukrainians. They yell. We heard shots inside and after that nothing more. 1/

Russia wants to push Ukraine into the Stone Age — to freeze us, exhaust us, and leave us without a future. That will not happen. This why Kyiv School of Economics is hosting a 3-day Science Mini School for high school students and early-year undergraduates, right now in Kyiv. 1/

A Russian missile shut down a Kyiv heating plant — underwater. Ukrainian divers crawled through a flooded tunnel buried beneath the Dnipro river and sealed missile-caused cracks by hand, Hromadske. 1/

Ukrainian energy workers are doing a titanic job. After every Russian strike, they go back and save the power system again. At -15°C, they drive to destroyed power plants and boiler houses to restore heat and electricity to homes, hospitals, and schools. 1/

Serhii Sternenko — the new advisor to Ukraine’s Minister of Defense on UAVs. Serhii Sternenko is 30 years old. He is a volunteer, civic activist, and one of the key public figures behind Ukraine’s wartime drone movement. 1/

There is no good Russians on the screen of a thermal scope — Daria “Hilka”, commander of the Ukrainian all-women Typhoon drone unit. I believe that those who come onto our land with weapons are only temporarily alive. Their thoughts or dreams don’t matter to me. They must get out. 1/

These days are the most surreal of my life. Daryna, KSE student: Lately, I’ve been spending more and more time thinking about whether I will even be able to wake up, because the cold is unbearable and I do wake up — but from shivering, not from the alarm clock. 1/

Fedorov is the best Ukraine can offer right now. New Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov: The top 50 of 400 drone units deliver 70% of enemy losses. Grow the rest, and results explode. Leadership will be judged by results, not titles. 1/

Ukrainian troops have raised the flag over Kupiansk City Hall after a successful liberation operation in the Kharkiv region, United24 Khartia Brigade of the National Guard led the assault and took full control of the city center. They continue to clear the remaining russians. 1/

Why does a book matter in captivity, where you can be broken at any moment? For Vladyslav Dutchak, it was a way to keep himself and others from breaking, reports Suspilne. 1/

Kellogg: Zelenskyy's a tough son of a b*tch. He's stubborn. He has his opinion. He's unafraid to say that. He knows how to use media. I said [to Trump] he was an embattled and courageous leader. We in the United States have not seen a leader like him since Abraham Lincoln. 1/

Zelenskyy on Maduro's capture: If this is how dictators can be dealt with, then the US knows what to do. 1/

I was born 51 years ago. What is the purpose of my life? I have lived several lives in my lifetime. A happy but oblivious childhood in the Soviet Union, focused on family, mathematics, and sports. The gangster 1990s in Ukraine focused on survival and money. 1/

Kyiv School of Economics in Ukraine is raising $4m to fund 800 full scholarships for students hit by Russia’s war ($5k each: tuition + accommodation). I meet them every day—studying between air-raid alerts and power cuts. Please donate: foundation.kse.ua/en/donate-to... 1/

Meloni announces that Italy will donate a large number of power generators to Ukraine to help the country withstand Russia’s attack on its energy infrastructure — Visegrad24

Germany’s Merz says frozen Russian assets for Ukraine must be a shared EU risk — and Belgium cannot be left carrying the burden alone — Reuters. Merz writes in FAZ that EU states must incur an equal share of the risk, as a function of their respective economic performance. 1/

Kellogg: Russia and its allies can field about 100 fifth-generation fighters. The U.S. can deploy 400 in Europe. It’s a warning to Russia: if you want to dance with us, we’ll dance. And as a former KGB officer, Putin understands the optics. 1/

Zelenskyy: Andriy Yermak has submitted his resignation as Head of the Office of the President. I want there to be no questions about Ukraine — from anyone. That is why today we are making several internal decisions. 1/

This is my “game-theoretic” read of the leaked transcripts between Witkoff, Ushakov, and Dmitriev: 1. The US is steering the peace track and using a calibrated mix of pressure and incentives on Russia. 1/

I told CNN I’m optimistic about peace talks because Russia is keeping quiet and Trump’s shifts create openings. Also, remember the U.S.–Ukraine minerals. First, it was draconian, but then became workable. This case is of course harder 1/

Rubio in Geneva peace talks: It's probably the most meaningful meeting so far. We have a very good work product built. Our teams are working on suggestions and making changes to get closer to something both Ukraine and the United States are comfortable with. 1/

The Telegraph has leaked the full 24-point European peace proposal for Ukraine. 1. End the war and ensure it cannot restart. 2. Full unconditional ceasefire on land, in the sky and at sea. 3. Immediate technical talks on ceasefire monitoring with US and EU participation. 1/

I told WSJ that given the leverage the US seems willing to exert, Zelenskyy would need to consider the peace proposal seriously, even though the current version would be impossible for Ukrainians to accept The real question is whether Ukraine can get a better deal. 1/

Putin has no plan for winning in Ukraine. His losses are catastrophic – 984k-1.44m casualties, up to 480k dead and all he has achieved is expanding NATO and wiping out a generation of young Russian men, writes The Economist. 1/

Russia’s oil export revenues fell to $13.4B in September, a decline of $200M compared to the previous month. Crude revenues increased by $200M, but this gain was fully offset by a $400M drop in oil product revenues, KSE Institute reports. 1/

Daria Lopatina, 19, an engineer with Azov’s special forces, left the Kyiv School of Economics to defend Ukraine. She was killed in action and buried in Kyiv. Her death symbolizes a generation of Ukrainian women who grew up with war and chose to fight — NPR. 1/

Norway may provide €100B from its welfare fund as collateral to unblock the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine — The Times. Belgium is blocking the decision, but Oslo may use its €1.7T sovereign wealth fund to guarantee Brussels against any risks. 1/

The UK military has finally delivered its first Ajax armored vehicles — eight years late and at nearly £10M each. The system emerges in a drone-dominated war where tanks often fail to survive. Fifty units are now ready for NATO’s eastern flank — The Guardian. 1/

Putin lost his teeth in Pokrovsk, a city in eastern Ukraine. Former Ukrainian Marine Shaun Pinner compared it with the farmhouse at Waterloo. Both places mauled the army of an imperial aggressor, CEPA. "We fight for survival. Russia fights for optics.” 1/

Ukraine spoiled a birthday gift for Putin, blowing up the new power line meant to connect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to the Russian grid. Ukrainian partisans cut the line, and it is now reconnected to Ukrainian power, The Guardian. 1/

Europe may soon fund Ukraine with Russia’s own money. EU leaders in Brussels are weighing a €140 bln “reparations loan” backed by Russia’s frozen assets at Belgium’s Euroclear, New York Times. Ukraine repays only if Moscow ever pays reparations. 1/

I see two scenarios for the next 10 years for Ukraine. Pessimistic — only 10–15 million people remain. Optimistic — return migration brings us to 35–40 million. Like Israel’s story: recovery, joining the EU, and a sense of purpose can bring people back. 1/

Britain, France, and Germany move closer to giving Russian assets to Ukraine. “We are ready to progress towards using the value of the immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s armed forces.” — Starmer, Macron, and Merz in a joint statement. 1/

Ukrainian marines fight like “phantoms in the night” on the Dnipro delta — striking Russian bridgeheads and vanishing before dawn. Their mission is to stop Russian troops from crossing the river into Kherson, writes The Times. 1/

“I had read Hemingway and Remarque for years. I thought they knew everything about war. But they didn’t know mine.” “When I came back from the front and saw my bookshelf, I felt like a fool,” wrote 25y old Ukrainian soldier and author Artur Dron in UP. 1/

Ukraine's small F-16 fleet now flies roughly 80% of all Ukrainian Air Force sorties despite limited pilot numbers and armament. F-16 wing vice commander "AB" revealed his unit downed over 1,000 Russian Shahed drones and dozens cruise missiles — Air & Space Forces Mag. 1/

Russians seized Donetsk doctor Ihor Kirianenko in 2018. He was 57. They tied him to a table like a cross, wired his feet and fingers, and electrocuted him until he screamed. Then they tore out his teeth with pliers and broke his ribs and fingers, writes Hromadske. 1/

A Ukrainian sergeant known as “Rus” defended two bridges near Dobropillia for 50 days. He killed 27 Russian soldiers. His brigade nominated him for Hero of Ukraine, the nation’s highest honor. - The Times. 1/

That’s new. Europeans privately tell Russia they are ready to shoot down Russian jets, Bloomberg. British, French, and German envoys warned Kremlin in Moscow meeting that NATO is ready to shoot down Russian planes for further airspace violations, after 3 MiG-31 jets' incursion over Estonia. 1/

JD Vance: We’re looking to sell Tomahawk missiles to Europe for Kyiv. Key shift — not just US giving weapons, but Europeans buying them, putting skin in the game. It invests them in defense and peace. Meanwhile, Russia gains little, economy wrecked, people dying for nothing. 1/

A UK conservative MP lost his seat and went to Ukraine to fight at the frontline. What a story. The Times: Jack Lopresti, 56, lost his UK Conservative MP seat in 2024. 0/

Ukraine imposes the most effective sanctions on Russia. While others talk, Ukraine strikes. This time Ukraine has disabled Russian gas plant 1,675 km behind the border. The plant may stay offline for months. — Reuters 1/

KSE Institute: Russia’s oil revenues grew again in July 2025, reaching $14.3B, up $0.9B from June. Higher global prices and one extra day in July drove the gain. Crude brought $8.94B, oil products $5.39B. 1/