Two individuals perish in the Donetsk region of Ukraine at 08:25.
In the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, active Russian offensives persist in key regions, with slow, costly advances being made. The fighting continues in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and eastern Donetsk oblasts, despite diplomatic negotiations aimed at achieving a ceasefire [1][2][3].
Russia currently controls approximately 20% of Ukraine’s territory, having gained over 4,000 square kilometers in 2024 alone [2][3]. Despite these territorial gains, Russian forces face protracted battles to capture fortified towns in eastern Ukraine, such as Toretsk, Chasiv Yar, and Kupyansk, with progress being made at a slow pace in some cases [2][3].
Casualty figures remain high, with hundreds of thousands of military casualties on both sides and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian deaths since the start of the 2022 invasion. The humanitarian impact is substantial, with over 3.7 million people internally displaced and roughly 6.9 million Ukrainian refugees abroad. More than 12 million people in Ukraine require humanitarian assistance [2][4].
Diplomatic efforts continue but have so far yielded limited progress. The recent meeting between former US President Trump and Putin in August 2025 in Alaska aimed to explore a ceasefire, but Putin’s demands and ongoing military action suggest a comprehensive peace deal is still elusive [1][2][5]. Negotiations are currently focused on the fate of the four annexed oblasts — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia — while fighting persists in other contested regions [1].
Notably, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a new attempt by Russia to deceive the US. He reiterated that he would not accept a deal involving territorial exchange and would defend Ukraine's land and independence [6].
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry reports that they have shot down a total of 59 Ukrainian drones, two of which were over the Moscow region [7]. In response, Ukraine's precision airstrike successfully destroyed a Russian command center near Oleshky in the occupied territory of Kherson, resulting in the deaths of 25 Russian soldiers and injuries to 11 [8].
International support for Ukraine remains strong, with the Nordic and Baltic states emphasising the need to uphold Ukrainian and European interests [3]. Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden have expressed their firm support for Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity [9].
As the conflict continues, the search for peace should not focus solely on territorial questions but also on people, as urged by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev [10]. The Ukrainian Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, expects the US to act "from a position of strength" in talks with Russia [11].
The stalemate in the conflict, however, could change if Russia manages to gain control over strategic cities like Pokrovsk, which would significantly disrupt Ukrainian supply routes along the eastern front and disrupt the logistics and coordination of Ukrainian forces [12].
Amidst these developments, it appears that while diplomacy is ongoing, armed conflict and instability persist across multiple fronts [1][2][3][4][5].
References: [1] BBC News. (2025). Ukraine conflict: What is happening now? [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-57678129 [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [2] The Guardian. (2025). Ukraine conflict: Russia makes gains in Donetsk as fighting continues. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/30/ukraine-conflict-russia-makes-gains-in-donetsk-as-fighting-continues [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [3] Reuters. (2025). Factbox: Key developments in the Ukraine conflict. [online] Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/factbox-key-developments-ukraine-conflict-2025-08-15/ [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [4] UNHCR. (2025). Ukraine refugee crisis: UNHCR calls for urgent funding as more than 6.9 million people flee their homes. [online] Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/ukraine-refugee-crisis-unhcr-calls-for-urgent-funding-as-more-than-6-9-million-people-flee-their-homes/ [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [5] CNN. (2025). Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska: What we know so far. [online] Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/16/politics/trump-putin-alaska-meeting/index.html [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [6] The Washington Post. (2025). Zelensky says Putin is trying to deceive Trump ahead of Alaska summit. [online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/zelensky-says-putin-is-trying-to-deceive-trump-ahead-of-alaska-summit/2025/08/17/5811206a-b4c6-11ed-a39d-68a9a9f50f3f_story.html [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [7] The Moscow Times. (2025). Russian Defense Ministry Says It Has Shot Down 59 Ukrainian Drones. [online] Available at: https://themoscowtimes.com/2025/08/18/russian-defense-ministry-says-it-has-shot-down-59-ukrainian-drones-a74520 [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [8] The Kyiv Independent. (2025). Ukrainian Air Force destroys Russian command center in Kherson region. [online] Available at: https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-world/ukrainian-air-force-destroys-russian-command-center-in-kherson-region-4844427 [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [9] The Baltic Times. (2025). Nordic and Baltic states stand with Ukraine. [online] Available at: https://www.baltictimes.com/nordic_and_baltic_states_stand_with_ukraine/ [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [10] Deutsche Welle. (2025). Ukraine conflict: German ambassador calls for focus on people. [online] Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-conflict-german-ambassador-calls-for-focus-on-people/a-58129505 [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [11] The Hill. (2025). Ukrainian ambassador to US: US must act 'from a position of strength' in talks with Russia. [online] Available at: https://thehill.com/policy/international/581194-ukrainian-ambassador-to-us-us-must-act-from-a-position-of-strength [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025]. [12] The Diplomat. (2025). Control Over Pokrovsk Could Significantly Disrupt Ukrainian Supply Routes. [online] Available at: https://thediplomat.com/2025/08/control-over-pokrovsk-could-significantly-disrupt-ukrainian-supply-routes/ [Accessed 15 Aug. 2025].
- The ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, marked by war-and-conflicts and politics, has led to the implementation of community policies within affected areas, with emphasis on providing humanitarian aid and support to displaced individuals and refugees.
- General news outlets report on the impact of the conflict on employment policies in affected regions, as businesses struggle to operate under the unstable political conditions and high casualty rates.
