19/08/2026 – 13:21Ukraine’s ousted defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov calls for wartime elections
Ukraine’s recently dismissed defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for wartime elections in a bombshell address on Tuesday evening, stating that the wartime nation faced a crisis of governance and lashing out at wartime corruption.
The law in Ukraine prohibits the holding of elections during wartime.
Fedorov’s call, delivered in a video address posted on Youtube, is the first such demand by a major Ukrainian political figure since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
19/08/2026 – 13:28Yevhenii Khmara appointed new defence minister of Ukraine
Ukraine’s parliament approved the appointment of Yevhenii Khmara as new defence minister on Wednesday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky nominated Khmara, whom he had earlier appointed as acting minister, after the ousting of Mykhailo Fedorov in July.
The appointment was backed by 312 lawmakers, with 226 needed for a majority.
19/08/2026 – 13:27Zelensky dismisses deputy head of presidential office amid corruption probe
President Volodmyr Zelensky dismissed deputy head of the presidential office Iryna Mudra on Wednesday, according to the decree published on the presidential website.
There was no reason given for the dismissal.
Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies said earlier in the day that they had uncovered a group, including a deputy head of the office, under suspicion of money laundering.
19/08/2026 – 13:27Ukraine parliament approves reappointment of Andrii Sybiha as foreign minister
Ukraine’s parliament approved the reappointment of Andrii Sybiha as foreign minister on Wednesday.
The appointment was backed by 266 lawmakers, with 226 needed for a majority.
19/08/2026 – 13:26Russia claims control of another village in eastern Ukraine
Russian forces have captured the settlement of Vodianske in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report.
19/08/2026 – 13:25Another suspect in Nord Stream case arrested in Croatia, German prosecutors say
Germany’s federal prosecutors office said on Wednesday that another suspect had been arrested related to explosions damaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic sea.
In its statement, the office identified the Ukrainian national only as Vladimir Z., adding he was arrested in Pula, Croatia, by local police forces who acted on a European arrest warrant.
19/08/2026 – 13:24Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies say they uncovered laundering group including a presidential official
Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies said on Wednesday they had uncovered a group including a presidential official that had laundered 150 million hryvnias ($3.35 million) used to pay for bail in an energy corruption scheme.
The NABU and SAPO agencies said in a YouTube video the group comprised a deputy head of the presidential office, a former lawmaker, heads of the management and supervisory boards of a state-owned bank and others.
They did not name the individuals, in accordance with Ukrainian law.
19/08/2026 – 13:21Russia says it downs 453 Ukrainian drones overnight
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that it had downed 453 Ukrainian drones overnight over various regions.
19/08/2026 – 13:21Drone causes fire in industrial area in Russia’s Ufa, official says
Authorities were trying to put out a small fire after a drone fell in an industrial area in the city of Ufa in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, the republic’s head Radiy Khabirov said on the messaging app Telegram.
Khabirov added that one of the drones hit an apartment building and a few cars in Ufa, an oil refining hub, leaving one person injured.
19/08/2026 – 13:21Ukraine anti-graft agencies investigate group involving presidential officials
Ukraine’s anti-graft agencies said on Wednesday they were carrying out an operation to uncover a “criminal organisation” which was run by current and former lawmakers, and involving high officials from the presidential office.
The agencies did not give the details of the investigation, but said more information would come soon.
19/08/2026 – 13:21Russia and Ukraine swap 103 prisoners of war each
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 103 prisoners of war each, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Russian Ministry of Defence.
The two sides have traded thousands of POWs at intervals throughout the four and a half year conflict, while remaining far apart on terms for any peace deal.
19/08/2026 – 13:21Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s Kherson bus kills four, governor says
A Russian drone attack on a bus in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson killed four people on Wednesday morning, the regional governor said.
A further four women were wounded in the attack and have been taken to hospital, Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app. He posted blurred photos of a yellow bus with bloodied steps and shattered windows.
19/08/2026 – 13:21
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