“Ukraine – Russia”

To many observers they will appear dehumanising and offensive. To many Ukrainians, however, they are a brutal reminder of the fate that awaits Russian soldiers who take part in Vladimir Putin’s invasion, as well as a potent propaganda weapon.

Over the past year and a half, videos of kamikaze drones chasing Russian service personnel to their deaths have become a distinctive genre on social media. They are the brainchild of Robert Brovdi, the head of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces and founder of “Magyar’s Birds”, named after his call sign.

CALGARY — More than 308,000 Ukrainians entered Canada through a special federal program, but immigration officials expect many will eventually leave the country and return home once conditions improve.

A Department of Immigration briefing note obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter said Canada remains committed to providing Ukrainians and their families with temporary refuge while the war continues.

Ukraine has launched one of its largest drone attacks since the start of the war, causing a fire at a distribution warehouse near Moscow and killing at least six people overnight, according to Russian authorities.

Russia’s defence ministry said it had shot down 822 drones, while the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, reported that 600 drones were launched towards the capital’s region, of which 201 were destroyed.

It was the biggest air raid on the Russian capital in two years, the mayor told the Tass news agency, although the rapid recent expansion of Ukraine’s drone’s capability could mean it was the largest attack wave since the start of the war in 2022.

❗️Mega jackpot: Ukrainian drones struck the Wildberries logistics hub in Koledino, Moscow region, triggering a large fire that engulfed the roughly 250,000 m² complex. Koledino had long been one of Wildberries’ largest and most important logistics centers. The company’s other… pic.twitter.com/sTeVYPhdsC

— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) August 16, 2026

A woman has been accused of assassinating a former Ukrainian submarine commander who defected to Russia.

Robert Mansurovich Shageev, who was wanted for high treason by Kyiv, is believed to have been the target of the attack.

A woman identified as 32-year-old Margarita Reut was arrested in Sevastopol in Crimea on suspicion of carrying out the bombing on behalf of Ukrainian special services.

Volodymyr Zelensky has asked the US to sell him 10 per cent of its Patriot missiles to help Ukraine intercept Russian strikes.

Kyiv is suffering critical shortages of the defensive weapons, which are the only systems in its arsenal capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missiles.

“This year we have two and a half less interceptors than we had in 2025,” the Ukrainian president said in an interview with CNN. “Russia has two times more ballistic missiles per month than they had before.”

North Korea is preparing a massive troop surge to help its ally Moscow in its war on Ukraine, with up to 50,000 North Koreans to be deployed in Russia, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In late July, the Ukrainian leader said Russia wanted to bring in another 30,000 North Korean troops, before adding this weekend that Pyongyang decided to have between 30,000 and 50,000 North Koreans deployed on Russian territory. He did not specify if this number included the North Korean troops already taking part in the conflict.

Russia is increasingly relying on ballistic missiles for its attacks on Ukraine — precisely the weapons that Ukraine’s armed forces depend heavily on Western support to ward off.

However, the crucial US-produced Patriot interceptor missiles are often in short supply.

In other Ukraine news …

Ukrainian economic migrant on receiving $3K CAD per month

“My Airbnb costs $2,000CAD a month!” pic.twitter.com/FcOGBvbLjt

— Jungle Journey (@JnglJourney) August 26, 2025

h/t Hermes

American intelligence experts believe Russia was behind an attack on a German airport last week with a drone laden with explosives, US media have reported, as Berlin remained silent on the likely culprit.

Last week’s security emergency prompted the interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, to break off his summer holiday in Italy and rush to the scene in the eastern city of Leipzig, as he spoke of a “new level of danger” for Germany.

Dobrindt called the incident, in which a quadcopter with semtex plastic explosives attached was found next to a Ukrainian cargo plane at the major shipping and military hub, part of a “professional hybrid threat scenario” by a well-equipped foreign actor.

In a sparsely furnished four-room apartment on the 18th floor of 9a Hrushevskoho Street, Kyiv, several well-connected businessmen are discussing deals involving some of Ukraine’s most powerful politicians and officials. Meanwhile, anti-corruption investigators are listening in via a concealed bug. The contents of the 1,000 hours of conversation that they record are shocking. They reveal large-scale war profiteering among President Zelensky’s inner circle. In one case concerning the state nuclear company, Energoatom, contractors were forced to pay an extra 10-15 percent in kickbacks in order to avoid contracts being blocked or canceled.

Nearly 16,000 foreign volunteers from at least 72 countries are currently serving in Ukraine’s Defence Forces, Ukraine’s Military Ombudsman Olha Reshetilova has said, Euractiv reports.

Speaking at a meeting with the heads of Ukraine’s foreign diplomatic missions, Reshetilova said that almost 40% of those volunteers come from Latin American countries.

She said the government is working to establish mechanisms to safeguard the rights and legitimate interests of foreign servicemen throughout their military service.

The armed drone found at Leipzig airport on Wednesday may not have exploded, but the fact that it got inside the perimeter, close to Ukrainian cargo planes, raises obvious concerns for the security of international aviation.

Though the identity of the culprits is unknown, the initial evidence points firmly towards a Russian-orchestrated plot. It is the first time that a drone with explosives has been found in Europe far from the Ukrainian border.

More … Germany news: Search for second drone after Leipzig incident

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has shared a video on social media of a drone hunting down a man in southern Ukraine, saying it showed an instance of a Russian “safari” attack against civilians.

The video shows the drone pursuing a street vendor on a city street in the Kherson region. The man moves away from the drone hovering above, before it chases him as he runs around a white van. Eventually, the drone swoops down on him and explodes on impact.

The man escaped with multiple shrapnel wounds, concussion and trauma, a doctor said.

Human Safari in Kherson

Russian troops practice controlling FPV drones on Ukrainian civilians.

Footage filmed today shows a Russian drone deliberately hunting a vegetable seller who clasps his hands in a pleading gesture.

Fortunately, the man survived but sustained injuries. pic.twitter.com/uPIhZCHdp0

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 4, 2026

Donald Trump has backed off a promise to let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot air defense interceptors, telling reporters that handing over the underlying technology was “a hard thing to give away” during a cabinet meeting at Camp David.

The retreat, billed by the White House as “something different” for the cabinet to experience together, was the first such meeting at the presidential compound of Trump’s second term.