Ukraine marked the 35th anniversary of its independence on August 24. The leaders of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Romania, Moldova, and Luxembourg traveled to Kyiv for the occasion, as did Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, on his first official visit to Ukraine.

Smoke over an Ozon warehouse in Makhachkala. August 24, 2026. Screenshot from a video on social media / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA For a third straight night, Ukraine’s military has struck warehouses belonging to the Russian online marketplace Ozon. The first drone strike, overnight on August 22, targeted the company’s warehouse in Chapaevsk (Samara region); the building caught fire and several people were injured. Ukrainian forces attacked a warehouse in Orenburg overnight on August 23.

Государственный департамент США снял с Сирии статус государства — спонсора терроризма. Министерство финансов США, в свою очередь, сняло санкции с « Хайят Тахрир аш-Шам », говорится в официальном заявлении ведомства. Сирия находилась в этом списке с декабря 1979 года. В конце июня 2025-го президент США Дональд Трамп подписал указ об отмене санкций против страны, введенных в 2004 году. Он также поручил госсекретарю Марко Рубио пересмотреть статус Сирии как государства — спонсора терроризма.

Sergey Bobylev / Sputnik / ProfimediaA Russian serviceman prepares to launch a Molniya-2 drone A Russian drone guided entirely by an experimental artificial intelligence system killed three civilians in Zaporizhzhia, according to an article in The New York Times (NYT). Russian drones attacked a gas station on July 6, killing a 19-year-old university student and two men, ages 41 and 48.

Russia’s Supreme Court — the country’s highest court of general jurisdiction — has ruled that a school unlawfully refused to let a student continue his education after ninth grade. “Successfully completing a general education is not grounds for expulsion,” the court said in its explanation. The complaint came from Valentina Berseneva, a resident of the Sverdlovsk region, whose son was denied enrollment in the 10th grade because the school organizes those classes around specialized tracks.

The oil refinery in Perm has halted operations following a Ukrainian drone attack, two industry sources told Reuters. The sources said repairs could take up to two weeks. Ukrainian forces struck Perm with drones on the morning of August 21. Journalists later reported smoke rising over the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez plant. The sources confirmed to Reuters that the attack caused a fire at the refinery.

Британский актер Кит Харингтон сыграет преподавателя защиты от темных искусств Златопуста Локонса в новом сериале «Гарри Поттер» от HBO, пишет Deadline. Его персонаж появится во втором сезоне шоу. В начале августа источники Deadline и Variety сообщали, что на роль Локонса утвердили Николаса Холта («Люди Икс», «Безумный Макс: Дорога ярости», сериал «Великая»). Однако впоследствии актеру пришлось отказаться от съемок из-за слишком плотного графика.

Authorities in Russia have opened a treason case against Svetlana Golovatenko, a Russian citizen who lived in Ukraine for more than a decade, after she flew to Moscow to renew her documents. Golovatenko was born in the town of Severoonezhsk, in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region. For more than 10 years, she lived in Kyiv, where she worked as a manicurist and pedicurist. She held a Ukrainian residence permit. Her parents and brother live in Russia.

Dmitry Menyaev, a 21-year-old who was born in Russia and moved to Georgia in 2022, was found dead in his apartment in Batumi on August 15, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Russian service . It’s unclear when Menyaev died. He worked remotely and was last seen online on Telegram on August 3. Emergency responders forced open the door after neighbors complained of a strong smell. According to RFE/RL, Menyaev had undergone a gender transition.

Former Pussy Riot member Rita Flores (real name Margarita Konovalova ) said she began cooperating with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in 2023, helping the agency gather information on contemporary artists and political activists, including members of Pussy Riot. Flores described her work for the FSB in an interview with defense attorney Dmitry Zakhvatov, who helped her leave Russia. The outlet Port published both a video and a written summary of the interview.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree allowing the authorities to place critical infrastructure facilities under temporary management when their owners fail to protect them from security threats, including Ukrainian drone attacks. The decree defines “critical infrastructure facilities” as sites in the fuel and energy sector, electric power, industry, and communications, as well as utility, transportation, and logistics infrastructure.

Update. Say Agency, the company organizing the concerts, told the St. Petersburg news outlet Fontanka that the shows will go ahead and that it plans to sign a contract for them on August 27. The Gazprom Arena stadium in St. Petersburg said on August 24 that the venue had not signed any rental agreement for concerts by the rapper Kanye West, also known as Ye, and that the event would not take place as a result.

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov placed third with 16% support in an unpublished poll on a hypothetical presidential election in Ukraine, according to The Economist , which has seen the results. The magazine said the poll was conducted before a video address in which Fedorov called for elections in Ukraine. The magazine did not specify exactly how the question was worded. The poll showed incumbent President Volodymyr Zelensky leading the field with 21%.

Finland has deported 155 Russian nationals since the start of 2026, Chief Superintendent Janne Lepsu of Finland’s National Police Board told the Russian-language outlet Vot Tak — up from more than the 104 people expelled in the first nine months of 2025. Finnish authorities sent 90 of the deportees to Russia and another 65 to other countries. Of the 155, 17 were deported under escort.

Верховный суд РФ признал незаконным отказ школы в предоставлении дальнейшего обучения ученику после девятого класса. «Успешное завершение общего образования не является основанием для отчисления», — говорится в разъяснении суда. Жалобу в Верховный суд подала жительница Свердловской области Валентина Берсенева. Школа отказала ее сыну в обучении в 10-м классе, объяснив это тем, что в 10-х классах обучение происходит по профильным направлениям.