The fighting maybe going on….
But Russia IS moving to integrate parts of the territory it has taken from Ukraine….
Some of that land already had Russian influences …..
More NATO military equipment is on it’s way to Ukraine as NATO comes to reconize that Putin has THEM also in his sight….
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The Netherlands has said it will contribute €500m ($578m/£500m) to buy US military equipment for Ukraine, becoming the first Nato country to contribute to a new mechanism to supply Kyiv with American weapons. The Dutch defence minister, Ruben Brekelmans, said on X on Monday that the package would include Patriot parts and missiles. Nato’s chief, Mark Rutte, welcomed the announcement and said he had encouraged other alliance members to participate in the new mechanism, called the Nato prioritised Ukraine requirements list (Purl) initiative. “This is about getting Ukraine the equipment it urgently needs now to defend itself against Russian aggression,” Rutte – a former Dutch prime minister – said in a statement, adding that he expected “further significant announcements from other allies soon”. President Donald Trump said last month the US would provide weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, without providing details on how this would work.
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The US ambassador to Nato said he expected many more countries to announce over the coming weeks that they would participate. “We’re moving as fast as possible,” Matthew Whitaker told Reuters on Monday. Asked about a timeline for getting US deliveries to Ukraine under the new mechanism, he said: “I think we’ll see it moving very quickly, certainly in the coming weeks, but some even sooner than that. The Dutch are just the first of many.”
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the Netherlands’ decision. “Ukraine, and thus the whole of Europe, will be better protected from Russian terror,” the Ukrainian president said on X. “I am sincerely grateful to the Netherlands for their substantial contribution to strengthening Ukraine’s air shield.”
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Donald Trump’s special envoy is expected in Moscow days before Donald Trump’s deadline on Friday for Russia to make progress on ending the Ukraine war or face increased US sanctions, reports Shaun Walker. The US president said Steve Witkoff would visit Moscow on Wednesday or Thursday. When asked what message Witkoff would take to Russia and what Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, could do to avoid new sanctions, Trump: “Get a deal where people stop getting killed.” Sources in Kyiv said they expected Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, to visit the country towards the end of the week, possibly to coincide with Witkoff’s visit to Moscow.
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Ukraine said on Monday it had charged six people, including a lawmaker and a government official, for embezzling funds in the purchase of drones and jamming equipment for the military. Anti-corruption authorities said on Saturday they had uncovered a scheme offering kickbacks for purchases at inflated prices and that it allegedly involved a legislator, one current and one now-sacked official, a National Guard commander and two businessmen. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau alleged the bribes totalled about 30% of the contracts’ value and that the drone contract was worth $240,000, with an inflation of about $80,000.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had visited Ukrainian troops holding the line in the Kharkiv region bordering Russia and discussed how drones were used in fighting. “Our warriors in this sector are reporting the participation of mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and African countries in the war,” the Ukrainian president said on a social media on Monday. “We will respond.”
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Donald Trump said on Monday he would substantially raise tariffs on goods from India over its Russian oil purchases. “India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.” Trump earlier announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods starting last Friday, while New Delhi said it would safeguard its interests and called its targeting “unjustified”.
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Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery has halted around half its refining capacity since 2 August after a Ukrainian drone attack last week, three industry sources told Reuters. Two primary oil refining units at the Rosneft-operated refinery – about 180km south-east of Moscow – were stopped after the attacks, they said…..
ISW…Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 4, 2025
- Kremlin officials are slowly organizing a coordinated response to US President Donald Trump’s August 1 statement that the United States would redeploy two nuclear submarines closer to Russia.
- The Kremlin also responded to Trump’s August 1 announcement by trying to downplay Medvedev’s role in Russian decision-making in order to obfuscate the role Medvedev plays in Putin’s information efforts targeting the West.
- Russian authorities continue to intensify the use of bribery charges, including to scapegoat regional government officials responsible for Russia’s border defense and target defense industry officials and critical information space actors.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk. Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Siversk, Toretsk, and Velykomykhailivka.
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ISW…Russian Occupation Update, August 4, 2025
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Head Denis Pushilin on August 4 to discuss the ongoing Russian-created and Russian-propagated water crisis that is severely impacting parts of occupied Donetsk Oblast. The water crisis seems to be worsening despite mounting appeals to Russian leadership and Russian efforts to claim officials are effectively and efficiently responding.
- Russia is preparing to broadly impose the Kremlin-controlled MAX messaging platform on occupied Ukraine in order to gain greater control over the information space.
- Russia continues to passportize occupied Ukraine using administrative levers and coercive tools.
- Russia’s majority state-owned Sberbank is spreading its influence in occupied Ukraine as a means of integrating occupied areas into the Russian financial system.
Daily Kos grunt report for Today….