France wants to prevent Ukraine from purchasing non-EU weapons using European funds, according to Euronews. Meanwhile, Italy and France have reached an agreement to supply Ukraine with four SAMP-T air defense systems and will allow Ukraine to produce Aster 30 missiles, according to La Repubblica. The upcoming 13th Italian military aid package to Ukraine, expected to be approved in October, will also include Aster 30 missiles from Italian arsenals, as well as Italian-made Kronos radars and SAMP-T components. All new systems are expected to arrive by early next year. As the newspaper notes, the Ukrainian armed forces already have two SAMP-T systems, for which no ammunition has been supplied since the summer of 2025 due to the depletion of national arsenals.
The Swedish military has asked the government to seize control of a property belonging to a Russian citizen, located near a naval base in the Stockholm archipelago. The property is located near the entrance to the Muskö naval base and is considered important for the base’s defense, especially against drones. Swedish media reported that the property belongs to Russian businessman Stanislav Aleshchenko. Officially, the property is registered in his wife’s name. The Swedish military stated that Russia’s increased use of drones has changed the security threat landscape for Sweden. They stated that the property is the only nearby structure they do not control and could contribute to strengthening the base’s defenses. Consequently, the Swedish Fortification Agency has asked the government to take control of the property.
An attempted arson attack on a drone factory in eastern Slovakia was foiled by police; three foreigners have been charged, according to the Slovak police press service.
Ukraine will receive fewer Patriot missiles in 2026 than in 2025. Deliveries continue and are regular, but they are insufficient to counter the pace of Russian attacks, says Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. Budanov noted that this is currently the only weapons system capable of effectively neutralizing ballistic missiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, the diplomatic title of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. The relevant presidential decree was published on the official website of the Head of State. Additionally, Gennady Ostash, Director of the Udovenko Diplomatic Academy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been awarded the diplomatic title of Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Second Class. Zelenskyy also awarded Elon Musk the Order of Freedom of Ukraine “for outstanding personal achievements in protecting human life and freedom, as well as in developing relations between the peoples of Ukraine and the United States.”
However, Kyiv is unable to appoint a new ambassador to the United States due to staff shortages, RBC-Ukraine reports. Zelenskyy’s deputy head of office, Pavlo Palisa, is still in the running for the position, as is former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. However, Palisa holds an important position in Zelenskyy’s inner circle and will likely remain in Kyiv. Kuleba’s candidacy is still unknown.
“Ukraine is gradually losing the conflict against Russia,” former Ukrainian Defense Minister Fedorov said in an interview with Reuters. “Ukraine suffers from an inability to innovate, entrenched corruption and nepotism, and a lack of political independence in government institutions.”
In 2026, the U.S. State Department has allocated nearly $40 million to purchase drones and ground control stations to fight crime in Ukraine, according to TASS, citing the government procurement portal. The contracts were signed with the Ukrainian company Stream Techno through the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). The deal was initially valued at around $32 million in February, but by August the funding had been increased to $39.9 million.
CIA Chief of Staff Visits Russia. A convoy of American diplomatic vehicles was spotted on the streets of Moscow after the arrival of a C-17 military transport plane at Vnukovo International Airport on August 25. Russian media reported that the aircraft was actually a Tupolev Tu-214PU.
According to journalist Michael Weiss, Ratcliffe will also ask Putin not to attack Europe and NATO countries. In 2021, CIA Director William Burns traveled to Moscow to warn Putin of the consequences of military action in Ukraine. Interestingly, Vacs considers Ratcliffe the most pro-Ukrainian member of the Trump administration. Ratcliffe left the Kremlin on August 25 at 8:40 PM Italian time.
There has been considerable speculation about the CIA’s head of state’s visit to Moscow. In reality, due to his status and hierarchical position within the US chain of command, the CIA director does not have the authority to discuss issues related to the evolving war. However, he does have the right to conduct negotiations regarding cooperation between special services and covert operations. At the same time, the director is permitted to disclose sensitive US information if necessary to achieve the visit’s objectives. That is, when he visits a country that is not a US ally, he acts as an envoy, conveying certain information to the other side, along with comments from the American leadership. Recall that Russia recently released Robert Gilman for health reasons, and it is highly likely that Ratcliffe returned a Russian citizen arrested in the West to Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Washington Post that the CIA director’s trip to Russia was related to contacts with the intelligence services. He added that a meeting between Putin and the CIA director is not scheduled. The discussions took place between the CIA, John Lee Ratcliffe, and Sergei Naryshkin, head of the SVR. According to Russian sources, “Since 2025, Ratcliffe and Sergei Naryshkin, head of the SVR, have maintained regular communication, agreeing to deescalate the conflict and establish working channels between intelligence agencies. The plausible explanation is that direct contacts have been held between the intelligence services on sensitive issues, without resorting to public diplomacy: mitigating the risks of escalation, exchanging information on the current situation in Ukraine, potential issues related to detainees/exchanges, and regional stability.”
Putin was informed of the results of the contacts with CIA Director Ratcliffe, Peskov said. He noted that it is premature to discuss the impact of the CIA director’s contacts with Russian intelligence services on the resolution of the crisis in Russia-US relations.
Russia could replace Armenian agricultural products with supplies from other countries, which are in high demand and of higher quality, Vyacheslav Volodin told the Russian press. “If Armenia believes otherwise, if it believes it can succeed, then, I repeat, that’s its choice,” he added.
Interestingly, at the same time, three US Secret Service employees, including Communications Director Anthony Guglielmi, were temporarily suspended following an internal investigation, according to CNN. The employees were also stripped of access to classified information and service devices. The specific violations they are suspected of have not been disclosed.
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev responded to the Finnish President’s comments on the Ukrainian attacks on Wildberries, calling them necessary, and called Finnish President Alexander Stubb “a fool and a moral monster for his statements about the reasonableness of Ukrainian military strikes deep into Russian territory and against market warehouses.”
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree supporting businesses affected by Ukrainian drone attacks on RVB Group plants. The document provides for the deferral of certain taxes and insurance premiums, as well as the temporary suspension of inspections.
And now a look at the frontline as of 3:30 PM on August 26. During the night, drones attacked a Wildberries plant in Kotovsk, Tambov Oblast (at least 16 were shot down), starting a fire (100,000 square meters) and disrupting operations. Ten drones heading toward Moscow were destroyed. In Crimea, new drone strikes were carried out, targeting power plants. A child and an adult were killed and two people injured when a drone crashed into a private home in Lipetsk Oblast.
Russian forces struck targets in Odessa, Zaporizhia, and Kharkiv Oblasts. In the evening, secondary detonations were observed in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast after the attack on Peschanka. Footage shows fires in Chernihiv and Kiev following the attacks.
In the Bryansk region, a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and injured two others.
On the Sumy front, Russian forces repelled a Ukrainian attack near Sadky; fighting continues near Pysarivka. In the Shostka district, Russian attack aircraft attacked Ukrainian forces with light weapons near Ulanove.
In the Belgorod region, one civilian was killed and at least 13 people were injured by multiple drone strikes in various locations across the region. Private and residential buildings, cars and trucks, businesses, social and infrastructure facilities were damaged in the districts of Belgorod, Borisovsky, Valuysky, Graivoronsky, Krasnoyarsk, Rakityansky, Shebekinsky, Prokhorovsky, and Korocha.
In the Kharkiv region, Russian forces report that Ukrainian forces are reorganizing and transferring new reserves. Fighting is ongoing in Kozakha Lopan, and intense clashes continue in the Vovchansk sector, near Vasylivka. Offensive fighting by Russian forces is reported in the Slovyansk direction, toward Nykanorivka.
Slovyansk direction: The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the “capture of Hannivka, adjacent to Dobropillya, by the Central Group of Forces.”
In the eastern part of the Zaporizhia region, the gradual erosion of Ukrainian territory continues along a broad front. Local accounts reported a penetration of Ukrainian defenses near Zahirne and an expansion of the control zone near the settlement of Dolynka, captured the previous day.
On the Zaporizhia front, two employees of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant were injured in a targeted attack by a Ukrainian drone. The attack occurred near the plant’s hydraulic facilities.
In the Kherson region, in addition to ongoing drone strikes, Ukrainian forces are dropping mines from drones themselves. The munition may look like a piece of wood, but inside it is a fuse (called a “jonik”) that can be detonated by an approaching car, motorcycle, or person carrying metal objects.
Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
