Ahead of upcoming talks with Steve Wittkoff, Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, met with Alexander Soros, one of Ukraine’s largest financiers. Meanwhile, President Trump has called for George Soros to be prosecuted for supporting protests in the United States. The White House also announced that frozen Russian assets should be considered in negotiations with Moscow, and not immediately seized; source: US Treasury Secretary Bessent.
The EU intends to try for the first time to introduce secondary sanctions against Russia’s partners as part of the 19th package of restrictions, having reached the limit of direct measures, Bloomberg reports. The United States has told European countries that it is ready to assist Western troops who will provide security guarantees to Ukraine, according to the Financial Times, citing officials familiar with the negotiations on the guarantees. The approximate terms of the agreement are expected to be announced shortly.
According to the Financial Times, Washington has promised to provide European countries with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance resources, as well as support for command and control structures for critical systems needed to ensure Ukraine’s air security. This represents a “major shift in position” by the US authorities, the publication notes.
Also on the European issue, it has been learned that the goal of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Copenhagen will be to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine following the conclusion of a peace agreement, including the provision of troops by a third country to patrol its territory, Politico reported on Thursday. “At this meeting, ministers should discuss which neutral third country could provide peacekeeping troops to patrol the future demilitarized zone,” stated the publication’s interlocutor, an EU diplomat.
Giorgia Meloni, speaking from the Rimini meeting, said that “security guarantees for Kyiv based on Article 5 of the NATO Charter are the primary ones under discussion.” It should be remembered that Russia has set as a sinecure condition Kyiv’s non-membership in NATO, prohibiting any protection of Kyiv under NATO agreements to continue negotiations.
Among the options under consideration, in addition to that proposed by Italy, is the deployment of military contingents to monitor the ceasefire. This initiative was put forward by the “coalition of the willing” led by Great Britain and France. Italy is discussing the possibility of sending engineers to clear mines in Ukraine’s territories and maritime zones. Prime Minister Meloni and Deputy Prime Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini will discuss the issue at a Cabinet meeting, according to Corriere della Sera.
Fifty-two percent of Germans believe Ukraine should agree to give up lost territories for the sake of peace, Welt reports. The Chancellor disagrees, saying: “Ukraine’s capitulation will only give Putin time to prepare for the next war.” Merz stated this during a visit to Chisinau. “We don’t want Ukraine to capitulate. Such a capitulation would only give Russia time, and Putin will use this time to prepare for the next war. We need lasting peace. And we are working hard for this with our partners in the United States and Europe.” We are doing this for Ukraine, but we are also doing it for ourselves,” emphasized Friedrich Merz.
Following a nighttime attack in Kiev, the EU Mission building was damaged, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha reported on the morning of the 28th. The Ukrainian delegation, which will join the US delegation for future negotiations with Russia, is ready: it will include Zelensky’s cabinet chief, Andriy Yermak, and the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov. According to the source, the agenda could focus on security guarantees for Ukraine and a possible bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Putin.
In Russia, the RSPP, the Russian Federation of Industry, has called for introducing mechanisms into the Tax Code to compensate for the costs of protection against drone attacks through a system of deductions, according to Vedomosti. The Ministry of Finance has not supported consolidating the support measures proposed in the Tax Code. The department believes that the government should take the necessary measures. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
Between 10:00 PM on August 27 and 6:00 AM on August 28, air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 22 fixed-wing drones over the Black Sea, the MoD reported. According to its data, 21 drones were shot down over the Rostov and Samara regions, 18 drones over the Krasnodar Territory, 11 drones over Crimea, three over the Voronezh and Saratov regions, two over the Volgograd region, and one over the Sea of Azov.
In the Volgograd region, a locomotive depot in the town of Petrov Val caught fire following an attack. The fire was extinguished, no one was injured, but rail traffic at the station was suspended. In the Rostov region, debris from the drone fell on the roof of a house, damaging power lines; 89 people were evacuated. In the Voronezh region, no casualties or injuries were reported.
23 tourists on the Black Sea coast, in the fire zone near Gelendzhik, were cut off from evacuation routes, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported. A boat has been dispatched to retrieve them. More than 40 rescuers and 11 vehicles, as well as a Mi-8 helicopter from the Russian Emergencies Ministry, are extinguishing the fire, the department said.
The queue to leave Crimea via the bridge grew to 1,488 vehicles overnight – operational headquarters. The Navy’s naval fleet was replenished with the patrol vessel “Viktor Velikiy,” the small guided missile ship “Stavropol,” and the small guided missile ship “Typhoon,” the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
According to Russian OSINT sources, this is the first time Russian unmanned vehicles have won a victory over a Ukrainian vessel: an unmanned vehicle from the Black Sea Fleet sank the Ukrainian Navy’s medium-sized intelligence vessel “Simferopol” at the mouth of the Danube, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. This is the most valuable vessel in the entire Ukrainian Navy since the beginning of World War II. The Ukrainians have posted a video online showing two Ukrainian GUR FPV drone strikes against a Russian Buyan-M-class corvette of the Black Sea Fleet in the Sea of Azov, off the coast of Crimea. The drones targeted the ship’s communications and radar systems.
And now a look at the front’s lira, updated at 3:30 PM on August 28. A massive combined attack against Ukraine with “Geranium” and missiles of various types, involving strategic aviation. From there, the missiles began reaching targets in the morning. Numerous explosions reverberated in Kiev, in the town of Kozyatyn, in the Vinnytsia region; A hypersonic “Kinzhal” struck a target in the city of Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankivsk region, and targets in Poltava, Chernihiv, Ternopil, Sumy, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, and Chernivtsi. By 6:00 a.m., explosions in Ukraine had not stopped. In Kiev, the Russians reportedly struck the Bayraktar drone plant for the fourth time in six months.
According to Ukrainian data, 20 X-101 missiles, two Kinzhal missiles, nine ballistic missiles, and 598 drones were fired at Ukraine.
The Ukrainians launched a counterattack in Crimea and Sevastopol; the city’s governor reported successfully downing targets, although rumors were spreading online of hundreds of enemy drones allegedly aimed at the peninsula. Ukrainian forces have also targeted the Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar Krai and the Novokuibyshevsky oil refinery in the Samara region, and online footage of the fires is currently inconsistent. The extent of the damage is currently difficult to determine. In the Rostov region, in the village of Mankovo-Kalitvenskoye, drone debris fell on the roof of a house and damaged the electrical system.
In the Belgorod region, 13 localities are under constant fire from Ukrainian drones. Injuries and damage to property and equipment have been reported.
In the direction of Sumy, fighting is ongoing in Yunakivka and near Bezsalivka.
In the direction of Lyman, Russian troops are advancing in the area of Borivs’ka, Andriivka, Karpivka, and Shandryholove, as well as in the forested area of Tors’ke and Serebryansʹkyy.
In Slovyansk, three Iskander missiles destroyed the Hotel Ukraine, where—according to Russian social media sources—Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel were staying.
In the direction of Kostyantynivka, fighting is ongoing near Katerynivka, Shcherbynivka, and in the Oleksandro-Shultyne area, north of the village of Dyliivka. According to Ukrainian sources, Russian forces are attempting to reach the Kleban-Bykske Reservoir.
In the direction of Pokrovsk, Russian forces are storming Udachne and Kotlyne, where fighting has been ongoing for several months. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the liberation of Pustynka, located south of Pokrovsk. Ukrainian resources write of a background Ukrainian Armed Forces defense near Pokrovsk.
On the Zaporizhia Front, in the Stepnohirsk sector, no changes have been reported; offensive battles are ongoing. Russian Aerospace Forces are working in Orichiv.
In the Kherson region, at least 16 Russian-held villages have been bombed.
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/
