Ukraine War News Today - Top Stories and Breaking Updates from Kyiv Post

Key updates Zelensky: Ukraine Expects 30,000 Russian Occupiers to Be ‘Eliminated’ in August Why Putin Chose the Kurils Now – and What It Means for Ukraine US Backs Japan After Putin’s Visit to Disputed Kuril Islands Ukraine is reinforcing the Sloviansk and Kostiantynivka directions as Zelensky sets a 30,000-troop August attrition target. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine expects at least 30,000 Russian troops to be “eliminated” in August as Kyiv reinforces the Sloviansk and Kostiantynivka directions. “I expect that now, in August, there will be no fewer than 30,000 eliminated occupiers,” Zelensky said in his evening address on Friday, Aug. 14. Putin’s first visit to the disputed Kuril islands deepens tensions with Japan and shows how Moscow is linking its war against Ukraine to a broader confrontation in the Indo-Pacific. Relations between Moscow and Tokyo have sharply deteriorated since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Japan joined Western sanctions and became one of Kyiv’s key Asian supporters. Moscow, in turn, suspended peace-treaty talks and programs allowing former Japanese residents to visit the disputed islands Tokyo calls its Northern Territories. The US ambassador to Japan said Washington recognizes Tokyo’s sovereignty over islands visited by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Aug. 13. Japan summoned Russia’s ambassador in response, while Moscow insisted the islands are part of Russian territory and not a matter for discussion with foreign states. The US has condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the disputed Kuril Islands, saying it recognizes Japan’s sovereignty over the Northern Territories. Putin visited the Kuril Islands for the first time in his 26-year tenure on Thursday, Aug. 13, drawing fresh attention to the decades-long territorial dispute with Japan that traces back to the Soviet Union and World War II.