A Washington Post article reports that four days after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revoked the security clearance of a senior CIA official who spent years covering Russia, thus ending his career. The officer was on active duty and was scheduled to be sent to Europe with the direct approval of CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The officer also worked directly with Trump’s team to help the president prepare for a meeting with Putin. The Wall Street Journal reports that CIA officials were excluded from the process and were surprised.
The White House said Zelensky and Putin “are not ready to end the war alone.” “Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with developments in Ukraine, but he’s not surprised either,” White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said. Trump is dissatisfied with Volodymyr Zelensky and Europe, believing their demands for a settlement in Ukraine are unrealistic, the Atlantic magazine writes, citing anonymous officials.
Trump also canceled a $1.5 million allocation for advertising paintings by Ukrainian women, the New York Post reports.
The Druzhba oil pipeline in Russia should not be attacked; it is part of European energy security, a European Commission representative said. However, he declined to directly state that the EC calls on Ukraine to refrain from attacking it. European leaders are discussing the possibility of creating a 40-kilometer buffer zone on the front line between Russia and Ukraine as part of a peace agreement, Politico reports, citing European diplomats. This option is among those under discussion, although there is no consensus among officials on the depth of the zone, the newspaper noted. Politico notes that it is unknown whether Kiev will accept this option, as it could involve territorial concessions. The United States is not participating in these discussions.
The European Commission is developing a plan to transfer nearly €200 billion in frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine after the war, Politico reports. According to some sources, supporters of the plan also see it as a possible step toward confiscating assets and transferring them to Ukraine, as a measure against Russia’s refusal to pay post-war reparations.
The UK Foreign Office summoned the Russian ambassador following the missile attack on the British Council headquarters in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, on the evening of November 27th, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of “sabotaging peace” in talks between Russia and Ukraine. According to some social media analysts, the British Council headquarters was hit by a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile.
Belgian Defense Minister Theo Frenken has not ruled out sending Belgian troops to Ukraine. “Regarding the military contingent (in Ukraine), we will think about it. For Belgium, this is entirely possible,” Frenken told reporters during an informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Copenhagen. Belgium will provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets as soon as possible and will provide Kiev with new military aid worth €100 million, the head of the Belgian Defense Ministry stated.
German Chancellor Merz said: “There will be no meeting between Putin and Zelensky,” confirming the White House’s statement. On August 28, another batch of weapons was delivered to Ukraine from Germany.
Denmark plans to introduce new sanctions against the Russian financial sector, including cryptocurrencies, as part of the 19th EU sanctions package. The issue will be discussed at the meetings of the heads of the EU foreign and defense ministries later this week, Politico reports, citing a document obtained.
Ukrainian authorities have officially recognized the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as associated with the Russian Orthodox Church. This decision is the basis for implementing a complete ban on the canonical Church through the courts.
And again, from Kiev, we learn that the court has granted the Prosecutor General’s Office’s request to seize the Ukrainian branch of Sberbank. The defendants in this case are the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the National Bank of Ukraine, the state-owned enterprise “National Investment Fund of Ukraine,” Bank of New York, and JP Morgan. Sberbank of Russia, the branches of JP Morgan and Citibank in the Russian Federation, and the International Reserve Bank of Ukraine (MR Bank) are listed as third parties. The details of the case were not disclosed; the discussion was held behind closed doors.
The August 28 Russian attack on Ukraine was the second largest since the start of the war, according to Sky News. Russia has broken its own record for the number of missiles and drones launched in a single night several times in recent months: 598 drones and 31 missiles were launched against Ukraine, second only to the July 9 strike, which involved 741 attack vehicles.
Ukraine has officially asked its partners to provide long-range missiles for strikes on Russian territory, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha. Kiev has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the topic of “Maintenance of Peace and Security in Ukraine.” President Volodymyr Zelensky said that national security advisers are discussing what guarantees will be offered to Kiev in the future peace agreement. According to him, the corresponding plan should be finalized next week.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, guarantees for Ukraine’s security should not be a condition for negotiations, but a result. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that no agreements have been reached for an air ceasefire with Ukraine. “The Russian Armed Forces are successfully striking Ukrainian military infrastructure, but Russia remains interested in continuing negotiations,” Peskov said. The Kremlin hopes that the investigation into the terrorist attacks on Nord Stream will be completed and the names of the perpetrators and clients will be revealed, Peskov said. “All of Russia’s positions on the resolution of the conflict have been communicated to Kiev, and the provisions have been submitted in writing to Ukraine,” Peskov said.
Meanwhile, Putin’s work schedule in China is taking shape, which is expected to begin in the second half of Sunday, August 31, Peskov said. In the late evening of August 28, video of MBEC striking the Simferopol missile system with a UAV at the mouth of the Danube appeared on the social media, filmed by the Orion reconnaissance and attack drone.
The Russian government has written off part of the debt on budget loans for nine other regions that have implemented infrastructure projects. Bashkiria, Ingushetia, Udmurtia, Khakassia, as well as the regions of Astrakhan, Kostroma, Penza, Saratov, and Tomsk, have been granted the opportunity to write off up to two-thirds of their debt on budget loans, totaling 25.5 billion rubles.
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 PM on August 29. The use of a fast unmanned vessel at the mouth of the Danube caused damage to the Ukrainian Navy’s medium-sized reconnaissance vessel “Simferopol.” As a result of the attack, the Ukrainian vessel sank, the Russian Ministry of Defense said. The Ukrainian Navy confirmed the attack on a warship, RBC-Ukraine reports. According to official data, one crew member was killed, several were injured, and several other sailors are missing. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Thursday that the “Simferopol” was sunk at the mouth of the Danube by a marine drone.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also announced that from August 23, 28, to August 29, 5:00 AM, air defense forces destroyed 54 drones. According to the department, 18 drones were shot down in the Bryansk region, 10 in Crimea. Another nine drones were destroyed over the Russian Sea. Eight drones were destroyed in the Tver region, two in the Oryol, Ryazan, and Tula regions, and one each in the Kaluga and Novgorod regions.
In the Bryansk region, three drone attacks were reported in three different districts, resulting in one injury and several agricultural vehicles destroyed.
Toward Sumy, in Yunakivka, assault units of the Russian Airborne Forces are engaged in house-to-house fighting. Ukrainian forces attempted a counterattack in the Oleksiivka area with forces from the 71st Separate Brigade, but were unsuccessful and retreated to their original positions with losses.
In the Kursk region, a military cameraman stepped on a mine and was taken to the hospital with injuries. A Ukrainian drone also struck a fixed post of the Interior Ministry, injuring a police officer.
The civilian population of the Belgorod region is under Russian attack. Specifically, 16 villages in different directions are under constant shelling.
In the direction of Lyman, Russian forces are attacking in the area of Zarichne and Kolodyazi; the Ukrainian armed forces write that for them: “the situation remains very difficult, as the Russians are increasing pressure.”
In the direction of Kostyantynivka, battles are taking place near Katerynivka, in the area of the village of Kleban-Byk, and near Nelipivka. Russian forces are increasing pressure; Ukrainians describe the situation for the Ukrainian armed forces as “very difficult.”
In the direction of Pokrovsk, Russian troops have closed a “pocket” southwest of the city, near Zvirove. In Pokrovsk, Russian units are trying to gain a foothold in the Zelenivka microdistrict. Battles are taking place in Novoekonomichne, as well as north of Myrnohrad.
In the direction of South Donetsk, Russian forces are advancing in the Dnipropetrovsk region towards Velykomykhailivka. Ukrainian OSINT channels complain of Russian attacks in the direction of Komyshuvakha from several directions and an advance near Malynivka. Clashes are mentioned near Zelenyi Hai.
Reciprocal shelling has been reported in the direction of Kherson.
Graziella Giangiulio
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