Russia

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation has drafted departmental orders to abolish border zones in certain areas of the Rostov and Voronezh regions that border the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as between occupied Crimea and the Kherson region.

On the night of August 14–15, Russian sources reported a strike on the Savasleika military airfield in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, where MiG-31K fighters—carriers of “Kinzhal” aeroballistic missiles—are based. In Samara, there was also reportedly a strike on one of the industrial facilities.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to impose personal and economic sanctions against individuals, companies, and vessels involved in the illegal export of Ukrainian grain.

On August 14, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a provocative post stating: “You’ll be in for a freeze this winter.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Moscow sees no point in returning to the 2022–2023 version of the “Black Sea Initiative” and suspending hostilities in the Black Sea. Sergey Lavrov also commented on Turkey’s proposal.

In Ukraine, the first jet-powered interceptor drones, designed to counter a new threat—jet-powered “shahids”—are undergoing combat testing.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia will not stop at the front lines, but will make its own methods of combat “much tougher in order to destroy everything that fuels Kyiv’s war machine from the West.”

On the night of August 8, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out a large-scale attack on the Syzran Oil Refinery, which is part of Rosneft’s oil complex. Drones struck not just a single target, but the facility’s entire production chain-from basic oil refining to secondary refining units and the production of high-octane fuel components.

This morning, Russian troops launched a double strike with rocket-powered drones against a private residential building in the Buryn community in Sumy Oblast.

Russia has changed its airstrike tactics and has recently been targeting primarily Ukrainian logistics hubs. In particular, Russia is attempting to destroy warehouses and sorting centers belonging to companies such as "Nova Poshta," Rozetka, and "Epicenter." The Russians claim that this is their alleged response to Ukrainian strikes on warehouses belonging to the Russian marketplace Wildberries. To find out who is inflicting more damage on whom, read the article by “Shelter.”