The situation 1262 – August 30, 2025

• The Kremlin appears to have launched a coordinated informational effort posturing military strength on the battlefield in order to shape Western thinking and falsely portray a Russian victory as inevitable.
• The Kremlin's presentation of territorial gains statistics ignores the significant losses that Russia is incurring and the gradual, creeping nature of Russia's advances — painting an incomplete picture of Russian performance on the battlefield.
• Russia launched another large-scale combined drone and missile strike against Ukraine on the night of August 29 to 30 — the third combined strike with over 500 drones and missiles since the August 15 US-Russia summit in Alaska.
• The Kremlin appears to be setting conditions to demote a senior Kremlin official who reportedly advised Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent months to end the war in Ukraine.
• Ukrainian forces continue to strike Russian military and energy infrastructure in Russia
• Russian Investigative Committee Chairperson Alexander Bastrykin will stay in his current position for another year following reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin was considering moving Bastrykin to a new position.
• An unknown assailant shot and killed former Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Chairperson Andriy Parubiy in Lviv City on August 30.
• A Russian servicemember recently murdered an elderly Ukrainian civilian in the Pokrovsk direction.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk and Novopavlivka, and Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Velykomykhailivka.

The full update of the Russian offensive 1262 is available on UNDERSTANDING WAR