The main event this week was President Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs meeting with the US President Donald Trump and European leaders at the White House. This time, there were no arguments.
In addition, the Ukrainian authorities officially confirmed the production of the domestic long-range Flamingo missile, the Defense Forces attacked the “Druzhba” oil pipeline several times, and a large-scale prisoner exchange took place.
Babel has compiled the main events of the week so that you can stay up to date with the news.
White House Summit and Security Guarantees
On Monday, August 18, Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump, and a number of European leaders gathered in Washington to discuss the US presidentʼs summit with Putin and the resolution of the war in Ukraine.
First, Trump and Zelensky held a joint press conference. The Ukrainian president delivered a letter from Olena Zelenska to the US First Lady Melania Trump and insisted on security guarantees. President Trump reiterated that Ukraine would not be accepted into NATO, but promised that “we will provide them with very good security guarantees”. Trump later emphasized that the US would definitely not send troops to Ukraine, but did not rule out air support for European forces.
At a multilateral meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stressed that a ceasefire must be achieved first, before a peace agreement can be reached. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni proposed security guarantees that would operate under the principle of Article 5 of the NATO Charter.
Zelensky reported a package of Ukrainian proposals for the purchase of American weapons worth $90 billion — they should become part of security guarantees. Babel has collected the main results of the meeting here.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Changes to the state budget
On August 20, the Verkhovna Rada adopted in the second reading and as a whole Bill No. 13439-3, which introduced amendments to the state budget by UAH 40 billion.
The document mainly concerns non-military expenditures. Among the main items are:
- UAH 25.5 billion — replenishment of the state budget reserve fund (unforeseen military and humanitarian expenditures), of which UAH 8 billion can be directed to “Ukrzaliznytsia”;
- UAH 4.3 billion for the Ministry of Digital Affairs (UAH 1.4 billion will go to the purchase of special equipment, drones and equipment, and another UAH 2.8 billion will go to grants for the development of production in the defense tech sector);
- UAH 4.6 billion — for meals for primary school students in all regions and grades 5-11 in front-line territories.
This document provides for the redirection of part of the bank profit tax from the Kyiv budget to the general fund of the state budget (UAH 8 billion). The opposition strongly opposed this provision.
Ukrainian missile "Flamingo"
The missile was first reported last week, but its production was confirmed by the Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal on August 18. The missile has a range of 3 000 kilometers and a warhead weight of 1 ton.
And on August 21, President Zelensky reported that mass production of missiles should begin in Ukraine in late 2025 and early 2026.
Attacks on “Druzhba” oil pipeline
Attacks on oil pumping stations on the “Druzhba” oil pipeline began on August 13. On the night of August 18, the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck it a second time, and late in the evening of August 21, a third time.
On August 20, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that the strikes had disrupted oil supplies to the country. He called the attack “outrageous and unacceptable”. However, the same day, the European Commission denied Budapest’s complaints that the strikes on the “Druzhba” pipeline were affecting oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia.
Because of these attacks, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban even wrote a letter to the US President Donald Trump.
New tranche of aid from the EU
On August 22, Ukraine received €4.05 billion from the European Union under two programs: the Ukraine Facility and ERA Loans.
At the same time, within the framework of the Ukraine Facility, the tranche was cut because Ukraine did not implement all the reforms necessary for this financing.
Liberation of villages in the Donetsk region
This week it became known about the liberation of four settlements in the Donetsk region. These are Mykhailivka, Zelenyi Hai, Volodymyrivka and Novomykhailivka.
Prisoner exchange
On Independence Day — August 24 — Ukraine held another prisoner exchange. Ukraine did not name the exact number of those returned, although the Russian Federation reported a “146 by 146” format.
The military and 8 civilians returned home. Among them are the UNIAN journalist Dmytro Khylyuk and the former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko.
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