Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Belgrade on August 7 for his first official visit to Serbia, a country that has refused to sanction Russia, as US President Donald Trump denied reports of depleted American munitions stockpiles and threatened prosecution of leakers [4][11][27]. The visit and the Washington dispute unfolded against continued mutual infrastructure strikes, with Russian forces attacking seven Ukrainian oil and gas facilities overnight and Ukrainian drones striking a Russian e-commerce logistics center in Yekaterinburg [7][13][23].
Zelensky stated he would discuss expanding economic ties, EU relations, and security with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Duro Macut [22]. A senior Ukrainian official described the visit as a means to detach Serbia from Russia's camp [38]. Political analyst Djordje Vukadinovic said Zelensky welcomes anything that comes across as a slap in the face for Putin, and that Vucic wants to present himself as open to EU cooperation [4]. Analyst Srdjan Majstorovic of the European Policy Centre said Ukraine is expanding its circle of European partners, including countries that have not sanctioned Russia, and that Serbia's defense industry products matter to Ukraine's war effort [4].
Vucic portrayed the visit as an ordinary state engagement focused on energy cooperation and both countries' EU accession paths, and reaffirmed that Serbia's policy of not sanctioning Russia remains unchanged [4][17][37]. Strahinja Subotic of the Centre for European Policy in Belgrade said the visit would help present Serbia as sufficiently pro-Western to host the Ukrainian president but would not fundamentally alter its balancing act or unblock stalled EU accession talks [12]. Former US Ambassador Christopher Hill stated that the US facilitated significant Serbian ammunition sales to Ukraine over three years and that Serbia's future lies in the West [4][31].
Belgrade residents expressed skepticism toward the visit. Bojan Lazic questioned why a leader at war would visit Serbia, calling it illogical [30]. A pensioner identified as Slobodanka Mitrovic described the visit as an attempt to gain EU favor [30]. Another resident, Marija Pajic, said Serbia is officially pro-European but actually leans toward Russia [30].
Trump stated the US has massive amounts of munitions and vowed to seek long-term jail sentences for leakers who reported shortages [27]. White House representative Anna Kelly rejected claims of ammunition shortages and said there are enough munitions to achieve all of Trump's strategic goals [11]. Those denials differ from assessments by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where senior adviser Mark Cancian estimated the US has used around 60 percent of its THAAD missiles and has between 759 and 827 Patriot missiles remaining [27]. Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported that air defenses intercepted only 29 of 195 Russian ballistic missiles in July due to a critical shortage of interceptor missiles [24]. Zelensky said anti-ballistic missiles must protect people, not sit in stockpiles, and appealed to allies to send Patriot interceptors [2].
Ukraine's Security Service reported striking 14 refineries, dozens of oil depots, 14 aircraft, and four airfields over a 40-day campaign ordered by Zelensky in late June [2][10]. Analyst Nazarii Barchuk of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center said the strikes hampered resupply of Russian front-line units and disrupted logistics and fuel supply [10]. Putin acknowledged that Ukrainian attacks caused a certain fuel shortage but stated it was not serious [14]. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said the government banned fuel exports, strengthened air defenses around refineries, and that the market was gradually stabilizing [14]. Russian Presidential Envoy Artiom Zhoga condemned Ukrainian strikes as attempts by what he called the criminal Kyiv regime to damage Russian regions and sow panic [23].
Jade McGlynn of King's College London said the campaign's ultimate aim was not achievable given Putin's commitment to the war and Russian society's accommodation of it, though it brought the war home to more Russians [10]. An assessment published by VnExpress concluded the campaign achieved tactical successes, including over one billion dollars in damages, but failed to force Russia to end the war, and that Russian retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian logistics and port infrastructure harmed civilians the most [14].
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced new sanctions on five individuals from Russia's military-industrial complex, stating that Russia's army is failing to advance on the front and is instead conducting what she called a terror campaign against civilians [6]. Ukrainian regional governors reported Russian attacks killed at least nine people and injured 89 across Ukraine over the past day, with Dnipropetrovsk Oblast struck nearly 80 times [18]. A Russian drone attack killed three people including a child in the Kyiv region [15]. UN Deputy spokesman Farhan Haq stated that the attacks follow an alarming pattern resulting in a record-level increase in civilian casualties [8]. The ICRC reported at least 20 people killed in a recent night of attacks [33]. BBC reported on systematic targeting of medical personnel, with WHO data showing two attacks on healthcare per day since the invasion began [32]. On the Russian side, a Ukrainian drone strike killed two people in an apartment building in Russian-controlled Crimea, and another Ukrainian drone attack near Moscow killed five people in an industrial area [16][36].
A drone loaded with explosives was found near Ukrainian cargo planes at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany [3]. The Russian Embassy in Germany dismissed the incident as a staged provocation serving Ukraine and pro-war European factions [21]. German parliamentarian Roderich Kiesewetter and Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev accused Russia of responsibility [21]. Expert Andrei Soldatov said the incident sends a message that Russia can cause problems at major European airports [3].
US intelligence assessments reported by the Wall Street Journal warn that Putin may test NATO's resolve with a limited attack on a member state between autumn 2026 and 2029 [9][11]. NATO representative Martin O'Donnell stated that NATO routinely considers various scenarios and prepares for them [9]. Lithuania's Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said Russia is considering strikes on Baltic critical infrastructure, possibly using captured Ukrainian drones [9]. Former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö stated that hybrid war respects no borders and the front is everywhere, and argued Europe should ensure it can inflict damage on Russia while maintaining dialogue with Moscow [5].
Military analysts offered opposing assessments of Ukraine's Kursk incursion on its two-year anniversary. Military-political analyst Alexander Kovalenko argued the operation forced Russia to divert significant forces and inflicted reputational damage on the Kremlin [19]. An anonymous analyst from the Conflict Intelligence Team assessed that the operation did not achieve its goal of diverting Russian troops from Donbas and cost Ukraine significant reserves [19]. Former Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny, now ambassador to the UK, stated that Russia has found countermeasures to nearly all NATO weapons used by Ukraine and that the conflict has exposed NATO's weaknesses [26]. Ukraine's presidential sanctions commissioner Vladyslav Vlasiuk stated that China has shown no response for six months after receiving detailed evidence, including serial numbers, of Chinese components in Russian weapons [34].
Zelensky ordered officials to prepare a targeted sanctions operation against Russia's military-industrial complex, emphasizing the need to deny Russia time to adapt to restrictions [20]. He expressed gratitude for the US Senate's adoption of the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act as a means to increase pressure on the aggressor [1]. Negotiations for a Patriot missile production license for Ukraine continue despite Trump's public doubts about the munitions supply [41].