🇺🇦🇷🇺 "The avoidable Russian breakthrough laid bare Ukraine’s persistent military vulnerabilities that have long obstructed its ability to advance: lack of manpower, lack of ammunition — and at times, lack of coordination and motivation among exhausted soldiers who are often expected to hold trenches for a month or more without rotations...

'The fact we lost territory so fast, so rapidly, is because we are not adjusting to Russian tactics,' said Capt. Artem Kulachevich, 40, a drone commander in the 82nd Brigade. The Russian troops who launched the surprise assault this week were unskilled, he said, but they got past more experienced Ukrainian soldiers whose reconnaissance teams failed to detect them in tree lines...

Volodymyr, 49, a battalion commander, said his brigade has tried to hold this key part of the front line by maintaining it as “a kill zone” that protects infantry by killing the foot soldiers before they reach Ukrainian positions.

But his most urgent need, he said, is people, and as he waits for recruits, Russia is staging new offensives...

Vitalii, 46, a unit commander in the battalion, said he was hit last week by a Russian drone but had the shrapnel removed and returned to the fight because he feared abandoning his troops. His men are holding the line south of Pokrovsk, which pushed Russia to find weaknesses elsewhere. The fight has left his soldiers exhausted and in desperate need of reinforcements they just don’t have.

'We lack people,' he said, but the brigade still manages to kill about 30 Russian troops per day. If Ukraine cedes that land, he said, Russia will use the people and resources from the occupied land 'to fight against Ukraine.'

Retreat, he added, is not an option."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/08/15/ukraine-donbas-fighting-russia-summit-trump/

https://archive.is/RHRB0

🔗 Rob Lee

🇨🇳🦟🦠 — On August 16, in Xiashan District of Zhanjiang, Guangdong, the local branch of the Chinese Communist Party ordered the deployment of the People's Militia for mosquito eradication and disinfection operations.

Since the start of the month, China is seeing a massive wave of chikungunya spread in its most wet regions, with dozens of nations, specially EU, Japan and US, as well the WHO issuing warnings after the Asian country registered +7000 cases in 1 week

🔗 李老师不是你老师 (@whyyoutouzhele)

🇨🇳🦟🦠 — On August 15, in Foshan, Guangdong, due to the Chinese Government using mosquito nets for the sewer system, the entire market was flooded after the daily rain in Foshan, resulting in heavy losses.

🔗 李老师不是你老师 (@whyyoutouzhele)

🇮🇷💧📉❗️ — Iran's Water Resource Management Company says the twelve most important dams for drinking water and agriculture have less than 10% of their water storage.

Three dams have dropped to 0%.

Kaveh Madani, an Iranian expert on water management, referred to the damage as "irreversible" and not a crisis but "a state of failure."

https://fxtwitter.com/FaytuksNetwork/status/1957064145192268015

🇪🇺🤝🇺🇦🇺🇸 — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomes Trump's Article 5-like security guarantees, saying Ukraine must become "a steel porcupine, indigestible for potential invaders."

🇪🇺🤝🇺🇦🇺🇸 — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announces she welcomed Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelenskyy in Brussels on August 17, 2025 as part of the meeting for the Coalition of the willing

This afternoon, I will welcome Zelenskyy in Brussels.

Together, we will participate in the Coalition of Willing VTC.

Great to have you here, dear Zelenskyy

We continue our cooperation to achieve a just peace that respects Ukraine & Europe's vital security interests.

With the Coalition of the Willing in Brussels today, and in the White House with POTUS tomorrow

🔗 Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen)

🇫🇷🤝🇪🇺🇺🇦 — French President Emmanuel Macron on August 16, 2025 on Twitter/X:

Coordination meeting this morning with President Trump, President Zelensky, and my European partners following the meeting between President Trump and President Putin in Alaska.

At the conclusion of this meeting, we continued our discussions with my European counterparts. We are aligned in stating:

→ that it is essential to continue supporting Ukraine and to maintain pressure on Russia as long as its war of aggression continues and until a solid and lasting peace, respectful of Ukraine’s rights, has been established;

→ that any lasting peace must be accompanied by unwavering security guarantees. I welcome, in this regard, the readiness of the United States to contribute. We will work on this with them and with all our partners in the Coalition of the Willing, with whom we will meet again soon, to make concrete progress. It will also be essential to draw all the lessons from the past 30 years, in particular from Russia’s well-established tendency not to honor its own commitments.

We will continue to work closely with POTUS Donald Trump and President Zelenskyy to safeguard our interests in a spirit of unity and responsibility.

🔗 @EmmanuelMacron

🇺🇦🇺🇸🛬 — Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy announces he landed in United States for a meeting with POTUS Donald Trump and European leaders

I have already arrived in Washington, tomorrow I am meeting with President Trump.
Tomorrow we are also speaking with European leaders. I am grateful to POTUS for the invitation.

We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting.
Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East—part of Donbas—and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.

Or when Ukraine was given so called “security guarantees” in 1994, but they didn't work. Of course, Crimea should not have been given up then, just as Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022.

Ukrainians are fighting for their land, for their independence.
Now, our soldiers have successes in Donetsk and Sumy regions.

I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance.
Russia must end this war, which it itself started.

And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace. Thank you!

🔗 @ZelenskyyUa

🇺🇸❌📰 — US President Donald Trump on the media coverage of this meeting with Vladimir Putin:

The Fake News has been saying for 3 days that I suffered a “major defeat” by allowing President Vladimir Putin of Russia to have a major Summit in the United States.

Actually, he would have loved doing the meeting anywhere else but the U.S., and the Fake News knows this. It was a major point of contention! If we had the Summit elsewhere, the Democrat run and controlled media would have said what a terrible thing THAT was.

These people are sick! They even want CRIME IN D.C., and other BLUE Cities throughout our Country, but don’t worry, I won’t let that happen. Just like our now secure Southern Border (ZERO illegals in last 3 months!), our cities will be Secure and Safe, and D.C. will lead the way!

🇺🇸📞🇺🇦 — US President Donald Trump says that Zelenskyy can end the war whenever he wants, but says Ukraine will never enter NATO and won't be getting Crimea back

President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight.

Remember how it started.
No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!