Ukraine ordered the mandatory evacuation of 525 children from Kramatorsk and surrounding villages as Russian forces closed to within 20 kilometers of the city, a Ukrainian stronghold in Donetsk Oblast since 2014 [8][14][49]. Vadim Filashkin, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, called the evacuation "a difficult but necessary decision," stating that the security situation is worsening and that it is unacceptable to leave children under the constant threat of Russian bombardment [8][49]. The city was struck 31 times on August 5 alone by FPV drones and glide bombs targeting residential buildings [14]. Approximately 115,000 residents remain in the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk region, including over 6,100 children [14].
Russian-aligned commentary framed the evacuation as evidence that Russian forces are on the verge of capturing the last Donbas strongholds. EADaily cited former CIA analyst Ray McGovern stating that Russian forces have accelerated their advance and that only Sloviansk and Kramatorsk remain to be "liberated" in Donbas [42]. The Institute for the Study of War assessed that Russian forces attacking the Fortress Belt are unlikely to advance quickly toward Kramatorsk in the near term [37]. Ukrainian OSINT analysts and frontline commanders offered a different assessment: DeepState analyst Roman Pohorilyi stated that Ukrainian defenses in Kostyantynivka are buckling, affecting the entire Kramatorsk-Sloviansk area [38]. Radio Svoboda reported that the frontline is now less than 13 km from the cities, with Russian forces systematically isolating the area through sustained air strikes [41]. Evacuation volunteers described a situation resembling Kostyantynivka a year ago, with FPV drones now flying freely over Sloviansk and Kramatorsk [46].
The evacuation order coincided with Russian strikes across Ukraine that killed at least 17 people in the Kyiv region, where Ukraine's air force reported that none of 28 missiles were intercepted [10][16][21]. Regional officials reported deaths and injuries across Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia [6][8][9][18][34]. In Brovary, eight civilians were killed on a train station platform while waiting for a delayed train [32]. The UN reported that July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, with 1,396 killed and 7,978 injured in the first half of 2026 [17]. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned both Russia and Ukraine for rising civilian deaths, describing an "alarming pattern of escalating strikes against populated areas" on both sides of the front that "must stop immediately" [9][20]. The ICRC's head of delegation in Ukraine, Juan Pedro Schaerer, stated that the recent spate of attacks is the worst he has seen in a year of working in the country [28], and Plan International's Ukraine Response Director Sven Coppens said the combination of long-range strikes and targeted drone attacks is shrinking the space where civilians can feel safe [15].
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that ballistic interceptors could have saved the lives of those killed in the Kyiv attack and attributed the failure to intercept any missiles to a two-thirds drop in allied air-defense missile supplies [10][16][39]. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he was discussing with allies how to continue getting Ukraine the air defenses it urgently needs [9][35], and Finnish President Alexander Stubb spoke with Zelensky about procuring interceptors from stockpiles [9]. US President Donald Trump initially raised the possibility of authorizing Ukraine to build Patriot missiles under license at the NATO summit in Ankara but later stated the US must be "very careful" about allowing others to produce these missiles [21][27]. BBC News Japan quoted a military analyst comparing the Patriot shortage to "owning a Lamborghini without fuel" [45].
Ukraine simultaneously pressed its long-range strike campaign, with Zelensky announcing that Ukrainian forces struck two Russian oil refineries — Bashneft-Novoil in Bashkortostan and Slavneft-Yanos in Yaroslavl, more than 1,300 km from the front — describing the strikes as "long-range sanctions" to limit Russian oil revenues used to finance the war [1][3][23]. Zelensky stated that the strikes were "strengthening the prospects for diplomacy" [20][26]. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that air defenses intercepted 605 Ukrainian drones overnight [6][9]. Yaroslavl Governor Mikhail Yevrayev described the refinery attack as the region's "most massive" of the war [6][26], while Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov stated that fuel production would continue undiminished and had even increased [11].
In the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that two dry cargo vessels near Odesa were struck because they were transporting military cargo [5][7]. Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper reported that the Guinea-Bissau-flagged "Mera Queen," carrying wheat, was damaged and one crew member was killed, condemning the attacks as "systematic terror" threatening global food security [5][6]. A Ukrainian marine transport union leader stated that being in the port is "more frightening than being on the front line" [13], and a grain trading director estimated that Ukraine has lost the capacity to export 500,000 to 700,000 metric tons of grain [13]. The International Food Policy Research Institute reported wheat prices 25% above January 2026 levels, with Black Sea shipments down more than 40% year-on-year [44].
Zelensky stated that Russian authorities are preparing to expand mobilization in autumn 2026 and that Putin is "concealing his intention behind different words and signals" [4]. Russian officials rejected the claim: Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "it is not Zelenskyy's job to talk about our plans" [4], Federation Council member Andrei Klishas said a new mobilization was not being discussed [4], and Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the reports as "pre-election propaganda," stating that 200,000 people enlisted in the first half of 2026 [4]. Military expert Yan Matveyev assessed that current recruitment is insufficient for Russia to secure a military victory and that losses will continue to rise [4]. BBC News Russian reported 234,795 named Russian military dead, with daily losses averaging 200 per day since July 2024 [47].
Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Cherniak reported that a North Korean ballistic missile unit with six launchers and 120 missiles is deploying to Russia's Voronezh Oblast, and that Russia has already used North Korean KN-23 missiles against Ukrainian territory [10]. On the Kursk incursion's second anniversary, Russia's Investigative Committee raised the civilian death toll to 640 killed and 561 wounded, with spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko accusing Ukrainian nationalists and mercenaries of mass war crimes including rape and murder [22][24]. Independent Russian-exile analysts reached a different assessment: Alexander Kovalenko of the Information Resistance Group and a CIT analyst told Novaya Gazeta Europe that the operation failed to divert Russian forces from Donbas, cost Ukraine significant reserves, and forced Russia to expand its Kursk group to 50,000 troops with North Korean assistance [12].
In Berlin, French authorities designated the Russisches Haus cultural center as a cover for Russian intelligence services [29]. Bundestag member Robin Wagener demanded an immediate end to its funding, calling it "an instrument of Russian information warfare" [29], and European Parliament member Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann called it "a massive security risk in the heart of Berlin" [29]. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution declined to comment on intelligence matters, and the Russisches Haus denied any intelligence role, describing itself as a cultural institution [29].
In Kyiv, Mayor Vitaliy Klichko reported that a Russian missile strike hit an ammonia tank [25]. State Emergency Service spokesperson Pavel Petrov stated that the tank itself was not damaged, that all valves were closed in time, and that a minimal leak of up to 100 liters was eliminated with no remaining threat [25].
Russian forces continue to press the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration through what Radio Svoboda described as "slow gnawing" tactics, with Israeli military expert David Hendelman assessing that the operation to capture the agglomeration has begun with an air and remote strike phase [41]. A Ukrainian battalion commander stated that Russian forces are losing more soldiers than they receive reinforcements on the Kramatorsk direction [41]. Evacuation workers reported that the window to leave may close by the end of summer [46].