Russia in August 2026: the most important developments in security
In Russia in August 2026, Russia and Ukraine exchanged long-range strikes on an increasing scale. Ukraine attacked Russia with hundreds of drones on 16 August, one of its largest aerial assaults of the war. Russia said about 600 drones were directed at Moscow overnight and that its air defenses downed 822 in all. Another attack on the Moscow region followed on 18 August, with the mayor reporting 620 drones. On 10 August a Ukrainian drone strike on Nizhnekamsk, an oil-refining centre in Tatarstan, killed at least 13 people, according to Russian authorities. Ukraine repeatedly hit refineries and oil terminals, including Novorossiysk on 12 August, as well as warehouses of the online retailers Wildberries and, later, Ozon.
Russian strikes on Ukraine killed civilians in Kyiv and other cities. On 1 August a missile and drone attack on Kyiv killed at least nine people, and on 5 August a further attack killed at least 17. Strikes on 20 August killed at least 16 in Kyiv and its surroundings, and on 22 August a strike on a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih killed 16; France then announced it would deliver interceptor missiles. On 29 and 30 August a drone strike near Kyiv killed between 27 and 38 people, and Russia was reported to be preparing strikes on Ukrainian energy sites.
On the ground, reports said Russia's offensive had stalled across several fronts and that it relied on small infiltration groups, while Russia said its summer campaign had captured 19 settlements. Zelensky said Russia planned to deploy between 30,000 and 50,000 North Korean troops and prepared a further mobilization. Russia said it had a domestic manpower shortage.
Tension with NATO countries also grew. Lithuania warned that Russia might stage attacks on Baltic targets using Ukrainian drones. On 13 August Poland said it had thwarted a Russian plot to kill a US citizen in Warsaw. German authorities investigated a drone incident at an airport, and a second suspect in the 2022 Nord Stream sabotage was arrested in Croatia on 19 August. On 28 August Russia test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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