This week, the US President Donald Trump met with Putin in Alaska, Russian special forces made a breakthrough in the Donetsk region, and the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is ready to take the case against the head of the Anti-Corruption Center (ACC) Vitaliy Shabunin to court.
Babel has compiled the main events of the week so that you can stay up to date with the news.
Attack on the external crisis center and fire danger at ZNPP
During the attack on Zaporizhzhia on August 10, the Russians damaged the External Crisis Center of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) — none of the employees were injured, but the office building was partially destroyed.
The external crisis center is an integral part of the nuclear power plantʼs safety system. Specialists from this center continuously monitor the radiation situation in the observation zone on Ukrainian-controlled territory.
On August 12, smoke was recorded in the area of the cargo port of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. “Energoatom” said that dry reeds were burning near ZNPP on the site of the Kakhovka reservoir destroyed by the Russians. This time the fire was near the power units of the plant. This directly threatened the nuclear, radiation and fire safety of the plant — it was burning very close to the critical infrastructure of ZNPP.
On the same day, IAEA recorded difficulties in ensuring a reliable water supply to the plantʼs six reactors.
Sabotage and reconnaissance groups breakthrough in the Pokrovsk direction
The DeepState project reported on August 11 that Russian troops had advanced in the direction of Dobropillia to Kucheriv Yar and Zolotyi Kolodyaz, and from there penetrated into Vesele. The “Dnipro” Operational-Strategic Group (OSG) explained at the time that the enemy, having a numerical advantage, was seeping past the first line of defense in small groups, losing a lot of personnel.
Deepstate
A few days later, on August 15, the DeepState analytical project updated the map, and the 1st corps of the “Azov” National Guard reported that as a result of search and strike operations, such settlements as Hruzke, Rubizhne, Novovodyane, Petrivka, Vesele, and Zolotyi Kolodyaz were cleared.
Trump deploys National Guard in Washington
On August 11, the US President Donald Trump reported that he was transferring Washington police to federal control and deploying 800 National Guard troops to the city. Trump said that Washington would no longer be a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants. His administration also began evicting homeless people from encampments in Washington parks.
The Washington Post, citing internal Pentagon documents, reported that the White House wants to create a new unit to combat protests. The plan calls for a permanent readiness of 600 Guardsmen who can be deployed within an hour. They would be stationed in two groups of 300 at military bases in Alabama and Arizona, with authority over states east and west of the Mississippi River.
The investigation into Vitaliy Shabunin has been completed — the case will be transferred to court
On August 13, the State Bureau of Investigation renewed suspicion against activist and head of the Anti-Corruption Center Vitaliy Shabunin and reported new suspicion against his commander Yuriy Yushko.
On August 14, the State Bureau of Investigation informed that it had completed the investigation into the case against Shabunin. According to the investigation, Shabunin, having been mobilized in 2022, did not appear at his place of duty for a long time and, under the guise of "business trips", was in civilian institutions that are not part of the Defense Forces.
Moreover, according to the State Bureau of Investigation, he received a monthly stipend, despite his actual absence from the military unit. The losses to the state are estimated at over UAH 224 000.
Trump and Putin held a meeting in Alaska
The US President Donald Trump and Putin held three-on-three talks on August 15. The meeting lasted about three hours, after which the US president and the Kremlin leader made brief statements, but did not answer journalistsʼ questions. The leaders did not make any significant statements about the ceasefire in Ukraine and related issues.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Reuters, citing sources, published Putinʼs demands. Among them are the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas, a ban on joining NATO, and the lifting of sanctions against Russia. In return, Russia is allegedly ready to freeze the front, return the occupied parts of Sumy and Kharkiv regions, and agree to certain security guarantees for Ukraine.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.