Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
Poland said that a flying object that crashed and exploded in rural eastern Poland overnight was identified as a Russian military drone carrying some explosives (13:04, 15:33, 16:37, 17:12, 18:08).
No injuries were reported in the explosion, with some damage to local buildings.
As authorities continue to investigate the incident, Poland’s foreign minister confirmed plans to send a protest note to Russia (16:33).
The incident highlighted that Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine posed an on-going risk for European and Nato countries, the foreign ministry’s spokesperson said (17:25).
Earlier,
Nato military leaders had a “great, candid” discussion on next steps in planning security guarantees and support for Ukraine, after their online meeting on the back of Monday’s White House summit (12:55).
But Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the meeting, criticising what he saw as “clumsy” attempts by Europe to change Trump’s position on Ukraine, and claiming no constructive proposals were fielded during the talks (13:13).
The UK government has adopted new sanctions on entities linked with alleged Russian “attempts to avoid sanctions by exploiting Kyrgyz financial systems and crypto network” (15:36).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Poland’s deputy defence minister Stanisław Wziątek just told TVN24 the Polish authorities suspected “maybe not with absolute certainty, but with a very high probability” that the drone involved in the incident overnight was a Russian-made Gerbera decoy drone with a Chinese engine, which “exploded in the air.”
If confirmed, it would make it the same model which last month was reported to be involved in a similar incident in Lithuania.
Poland plans to send protest note to Russia over exploding drone incident, foreign ministry says
Poland’s foreign ministry spokesperson Paweł Wroński has just confirmed that Poland will send a diplomatic protest note to Russia in response after a drone believed to be Russian exploded in eastern Poland in early hours of the morning.
Speaking to TVN24, he said:
“Of course, we are aware – as has already happened in the past – that Russia generally does not admit [responsibility for] anything produced by it falls on to our territory, because these drones are in fact saturated with parts from all over the world.
This time there is one more important matter, another element of diplomatic activity with broader significance. Namely, we will of course inform our allies about the entire case and present all other instances of violations of Polish airspace.
Why is this important? In recent talks concerning the cessation of the war, there was an argument this is not just a war taking place on the periphery of Europe, but a situation that threatens not only Ukraine, but also Europe, including Nato states covered by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
And so here we have visible proof that Poland’s airspace is also endangered by this war, that something could happen, something could explode, it is unsafe, people could die, and the security of an allied state of the North Atlantic Alliance is at risk.”
Polish army believes drone that exploded in eastern Poland was launched from Russia
Speaking alongside the minister, general Dariusz Malinowski, Deputy Commander of Armed Forces Operational Command, indicated it was believed the drone that exploded in Poland was launched from Russia.
He said the view was based on intelligence as “we don’t have a 100% percent certainty that it was … this specific drone, although we do know the locations from which these types of drones are launched, and they are located on Russian territory.”
Malinowski added it wasn’t clear if it was a deliberate violation of Poland’s airspace or a malfunction of a drone targeting Ukraine.
He revealed that it was a military drone propelled by a Chinese-produced engine.
“I’ll say one thing that is certain: Russia will never admit to this. Just as it hasn’t admitted to any of the eight incidents in Moldova, three incidents in Romania, three in Lithuania, two in Latvia, or the one drone incident in Bulgaria,” minister Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Poland blames Russia for overnight drone incursion
Poland’s deputy prime minister and defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has just confirmed that the drone that exploded in Poland overnight is believed to be linked to Russia.
“Russia is once again provoking Nato countries following drone incidents that have taken place in Romania, Lithuania, Latvia,” he said.
“This is happening at a particularly important moment, when discussions about peace are ongoing. This is happening at a time when there is hope that the war initiated by Russia — a war against the Ukrainian state, but also a war threatening the security of Nato countries — has a chance to come to an end.”
Updated
Poland's foreign minister condemns 'another violation' of Polish airspace after drone explosion overnight
Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski responded to the overnight drone incident in eastern Poland (15:33) saying on X that “another violation of our airspace from the East confirms that Poland’s most important mission within Nato is the defence of its own territory”.
Sikorski said there would be a formal protest “against the perpetrator,” without naming the country believed to be behind the incident.
Separately, Sikorski’s spokesperson, Paweł Wroński, was reported by Reuters as saying that the object that exploded overnight in a cornfield in eastern Poland was a Russian version of the Shahed drone.
UK adopts sanctions alleging Russian attempts to evade sanctions through Kyrgyz financial systems, crypto networks
Meanwhile, the UK has adopted new sanctions cracking down on what it said were “Russia’s attempts to avoid sanctions by exploiting Kyrgyz financial systems and crypto network.”
The new sanctions target eight people or entities allegedly involved in the practice.
The UK government said:
With sanctions continuing to bite, Russia has turned to the Kyrgyz financial sector to channel money through opaque financial networks, including through the use of cryptocurrencies. These networks have created a convoluted scheme to evade sanctions imposed by the UK and its partners.
Today’s action closes in on the Kyrgyzstan-based Capital Bank, and its director Kantemir Chalbayev, which Russia uses to pay for military goods. Sanctions also hit the Grinex and Meer cryptocurrency exchanges, the infrastructure behind a new rouble-backed cryptocurrency token A7A5, which has moved $9.3bn on a dedicated crypto exchange in just four months and is specifically designed as an attempt to evade western sanctions.
Keeping up the pressure on Russia’s war machine is vital to reinforcing President Trump’s efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine and force Putin to engage in meaningful talks. It is also a crucial step for security in the UK and beyond.
Updated
A military forensic expert investigating the drone incident in Poland (13:04) has provisionally confirmed the presence of explosives, the regional prosecutor confirmed just now.
Speaking at another press conference, prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz also confirmed that at the scene of the incident there is a blast hole of about 5-6m radius, 50-60cm deep.
He said that the probe continues, with more experts expected to join the investigation today as the authorities try to find out the origins of the drone and what explosives it carried.
We should hear more about this during the day, with the Polish defence ministry planning a press conference at 3.30 BST (4.30 CEST), and the prosecutor provisionally promising another briefing around 6-7pm local time (5-6 BST).
UK to offer troops to defend Ukraine’s skies and ports in Pentagon talks
The head of the British armed forces will tell his American counterparts the UK is prepared to send troops to defend Ukraine’s skies and seas but not to the frontline with Russia, as planning intensifies for a postwar settlement.
Tony Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, will on Wednesday attend meetings at the Pentagon designed to finalise what 30 different countries are willing to commit to Ukraine’s national security.
Radakin is expected to confirm the UK will provide soldiers to help with logistical support and training, but not deploy them close to Russia.
Officials had been talking about deploying as many as 30,000 troops to protect Ukrainian sites, but that has been scaled back amid opposition from some European countries.
One British official said: “Wednesday is a really important moment. Nothing happens in Washington without the president giving the green light, so Trump giving his support to security guarantees on Monday kickstarted a lot of activity.”
Another said Radakin would echo the pledges made last week by John Healey, the defence secretary, who said Britain was willing to deploy troops to Ukraine “to secure the safe skies, safe seas and to build the strength of the Ukrainian forces”.
They said ministers envisaged this as meaning logistical and training support rather than sending battalions of frontline troops who could end up in combat.
Turkey's Erdoğan tells Russia's Putin he backs peace talks on Ukraine
Elsewhere, Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan earlier today.
The Turkish president’s office said that Erdoğan backed the effort to establish a permanent peace in Ukraine, Reuters reported, with AFP noting he supported the involvement of “all parties.”
Erdoğan also told Putin he was closely following developments related to the process, and that Turkey had strived for a just peace since the beginning of the war, it said.
The latest update from Poland comes via the Polish Press Agency, PAP, with sources in the country’s defence ministry saying it was most likely a military decoy drone without a warhead.
I will keep an eye on this for you.
Updated
Security discussions on Ukraine without Moscow are 'road to nowhere,' Russian foreign minister Lavrov says
Russia is in favour of reliable security guarantees for Ukraine but it hopes the United States understands that discussing security issues without Russia is a “road to nowhere”, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
The US has an increasingly clear understanding of the “root causes” of the Ukraine crisis, Lavrov added.
In further quotes, carried by Reuters, Lavrov also criticised what he saw as “clumsy” attempts by Europe to change Trump’s position on Ukraine, warning that the bloc was only trying to “aggressively escalate the Ukraine situation.”
He also claimed that Europeans did not field any “constructive” ideas in their meeting with Trump.
Updated
Preliminary finding on explosion in Poland says it was military drone, prosecutor says
A regional prosecutor in Poland said that the initial assessment is that the object which exploded overnight in eastern Poland was a military drone.
Speaking at a press conference, prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz said authorities could not yet confirm the origin of the drone, with forensic experts expected to arrive on scene shortly to lead the probe. It is believed that the drone was struck by explosive materials it carried.
The drone’s wreckage will be carefully collected and checked in a laboratory, he said.
Trusiewicz said the authorities couldn’t confirm what triggered the explosion, with investigators also looking at a potential crash with high-voltage power lines.
He said he couldn’t rule out that the drone arrived from abroad.
The prosecutor also provisionally ruled out two of the earlier suggestions it could be a smuggling or a civil drone (12:32).
Nato military chiefs to discuss Ukraine, security guarantees today
Nato’s military chiefs are meeting (virtually) this afternoon to discuss the latest on Ukraine including eventual security guarantees that could be provided in case of a peace arrangement.
The meeting is set to being at 2.30pm CEST (1.30pm BST), with only few details publicly available.
But the focus is expected to be on taking forward what was discussed at the Monday’s White House summit with US president Trump, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy and numerous European leaders.
Separately, on Tuesday evening top US officer Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with European military chiefs on the “best options for a potential Ukraine peace deal,” a US defence official told AFP.
Poland investigates exploding 'object' discovered overnight with three hypotheses
We are getting a bit more detail on that object that exploded overnight in a field in eastern Poland (10:14), with authorities investigating three theories of a Russian or smuggling drone or an act of sabotage.
The incident took place in the village of Osiny, some 120 km from the Ukrainian border and 100 km from the Belarusian border.
The blast, captured on some CCTV cameras in the area, shattered windows in nearby homes, but nobody was injured, PAP news agency reported. Police officers found burnt metal and plastic debris at the site, it added.
The Rzeczpospolita newspaper claimed the object was identified as a Russian drone Shahed, regularly deployed by Russian forces against Ukraine.
Poland’s deputy prime minister and defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said it was most likely a drone of some sort, but was cautious about prejudging the investigation.
“The entire incident is being verified.
The three hypotheses: a drone that is Belarusian, Russian, or a drone used for smuggling, or an act of sabotage that could have taken place on Polish territory, none of these possibilities should be ruled out.”
Kosiniak-Kamysz compared the situation to recent incidents when Russian drones flew into Lithuania and Romania.
Updated
It’s Jakub Krupa here, taking over from Charlie Moloney.
Good morning or afternoon, depending on where you are.
I will guide you through the rest of the day in Europe.
Emerging market stocks and currencies fell on Wednesday due to uncertainty over a potential deal to end the Ukraine war, with attention moving to the Jackson Hole symposium of central bankers for clues on the path of US interest rate cuts.
Long-dated maturities of Ukraine’s international dollar bonds were down between 0.6 cents and 0.9 cents, easing from five-month highs following President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s meetings in Washington as Russia launched its biggest air assault on Ukraine for weeks.
Hopes of a peace deal had buoyed Ukraine’s bonds in recent sessions, but investors are waiting to see more details.
“There hasn’t really been that much progress on Ukraine this week, despite European leaders hailing a ‘breakthrough’,” said ING’s Global Head of Markets Chris Turner.
“Let’s see whether any more details emerge about the level of support the U.S. is prepared to offer Europe in defending Ukraine, and also whether President Putin is prepared to accept European boots on the ground in Ukraine.”
Russia’s rouble firmed 0.8% against the dollar and Ukraine’s hryvnia dipped 0.1%.
Pope Leo has asked Catholics and other religious faithful to observe a day of fasting and prayers for peace in Ukraine and other war-torn countries on Friday, August 22.
“As our Earth continues to be wounded by wars in the Holy Land, in Ukraine, and in many other regions ... I invite all the faithful to live the day of August 22 in fasting and prayer,” the pontiff said during his weekly audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.
Leo suggested the faithful could ask God to “grant us peace and justice and to wipe away the tears of those who suffer because of the ongoing armed conflicts.”
A former US deputy assistant secretary of defence has said Donald Trump could leave Ukraine like “Germany after World War One” without a millitary.
Jim Townsend, told Times Radio the US president needs to decide whether he wants Ukraine to be a “frontline for European security” or a “buffer zone”.
“If he is talking about Ukraine as a buffer state, that means it could be neutral it could be something that is not going to have a major millitary in it.
“He’s not going to allow Ukraine to have much of a military. It’s almost like Germany after World War One under the Versailles treaty where Germans were limited in terms of what their millitary looked like”, he said. “If that’s what Putin has in mind and that Trump has agreed well that’s not going to be a host of a security guarantee force at all, if they’re just a buffer.”
"He's not going to allow Ukraine to have much of a military. It's almost like Germany after World War One."
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) August 20, 2025
Donald Trump needs to decide whether he wants Ukraine to be a "frontline for European security" or a "buffer zone", says Jim Townsend. pic.twitter.com/ga0oQozbnN
Zelenskyy says Russia struck gas distribution station in Odesa region
Ukraine’s president said on Wednesday that Russia had struck a gas distribution station in the southern region of Odesa.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X: “Last night, a drone strike on Okhtyrka in the Sumy region injured 14 people. A family with wounded children – 5 months, 4 years, and 6 years old – sought assistance after the attack. In Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, a glide bomb strike damaged five apartment buildings, and at least three people still remain under the rubble. The rescue operation continues.
“There was also a treacherous strike on a gas distribution station in the Odesa region. Shelling also targeted the Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions. In total, more than 60 drones and a ballistic missile were used.
“All of these are demonstrative strikes that only confirm the need to put pressure on Moscow, the need to impose new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy is fully effective,” Zelenskyy added.
Last night, a drone strike on Okhtyrka in the Sumy region injured 14 people. A family with wounded children – 5 months, 4 years, and 6 years old – sought assistance after the attack. In Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, a glide bomb strike damaged five apartment buildings, and at… pic.twitter.com/TWRPo4Po6F
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 20, 2025
An object which fell and exploded in a cornfield in eastern Poland may have been a component of an old propeller engine, the Polish army said on Wednesday, adding that there had been no violation of Poland’s airspace from Ukraine or Belarus. Police had earlier announced that an unidentified object had fallen in a field in the village of Osiny in eastern Poland’s Lublin province, which borders Ukraine.
“...after conducting preliminary analyses of radar system records, no violation of Polish airspace was recorded last night from either Ukraine or Belarus,” the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said on X.
“The information about the discovery of an object, which, according to preliminary assessments, may be a component of an old propeller engine, has been forwarded to the Air Operations Center Air Component Command.”
The blast shattered windows in several homes, but nobody was injured, PAP news agency reported. Police officers found burnt metal and plastic debris at the site, it added. Air raid sirens rang out for about an hour over the border in Ukraine’s Volyn and Lviv regions from around 0900 GMT, according to messages from its military posted on Telegram. There were no reports of air attacks in those regions, their governors said.
W odniesieniu do informacji o znalezieniu szczątków obiektu na terenie powiatu łukowskiego, informujemy, że po przeprowadzeniu wstępnych analiz zapisów systemów radiolokacyjnych, minionej nocy nie zarejestrowano naruszenia polskiej przestrzeni powietrznej ani z kierunku Ukrainy,… pic.twitter.com/DUcE5kIDWy
— Dowództwo Operacyjne RSZ (@DowOperSZ) August 20, 2025
Shares of defence-linked companies dropped 1.5% in early trade. In the previous session, these stocks suffered their worst day in more than a month, pressured by news of a potential Ukraine-Russia summit, as hopes for de-escalation reduced demand for military-related assets.
Russia launched 15 drones in an assault on the Okhtyrka area in the early hours of Wednesday, local prosecutors said on the Telegram messaging app.
The children injured in the attack on Odesa, which struck a residential neighbourhood in the town, were aged 5 months, 4 years and 6 years, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X.
Overall, Russia launched a total of 93 drones and two missiles to attack the country overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, adding it downed 62 drones and one missile, and recorded hits at 20 locations.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Services reported a “massive drone strike” on the southern region of Odesa, saying one person was wounded and a large fire erupted at a fuel and energy facility.
Officials of the Izmail district in the Odesa region said port infrastructure in the city was damaged.
Seven is a biblical number, a number dear to ancient Rome, and the number of Cristiano Ronaldo’s lucky jersey. Perhaps it is also now going to be the answer to Henry Kissinger’s (probably apocryphal) question: what number do I call when I want to talk to Europe? Maybe the answer is seven, like the number of leaders sitting at the table in Washington on Monday alongside Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It’s difficult to say at this stage whether anything good will come from the impromptu White House summit, but European leaders showing up as a group in support of Ukraine was a first. This seven-member format – Nato, the European Commission, France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Finland – truly spoke with one voice. They did so on a crisis, Ukraine, over which they have sometimes been bitterly divided throughout the past three and a half years (remember Emmanuel Macron’s early concern not to “humiliate” Vladimir Putin?). Yet Ukraine is also the dossier over which European leaders have converged and yielded the greatest impact during the same timeframe: from the 18 sanctions packages the EU has imposed on Russia and the opening of EU accession negotiations for Ukraine, to the supply of weapons to Kyiv.
The US president may be helping Putin to destroy the west, but his vanity is causing Europeans to speak with one voice on Ukraine, Fabrizio Tassinari writes.
Over dinner on Monday, a simple barbecue of meat and roasted vegetables, the soldiers of Ukraine’s 150th reconnaissance and strike battalion have other things on their mind. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the White House and Donald Trump has just promised to give Ukraine “very good protection”.
When this development is passed on to the group around, one of the soldiers pipes up “From who?” and laughs, such is the uncertainty about who the US really supports. But in reality the troops are not following the news closely. After three and half years, the war has its own momentum, technology and schedule.
Near Dobropillia new trenches are visible, drone attacks continue and there is no sign of the fighting easing. Ukrainian frontline troops are sceptical of ceding land, writes Dan Sabbagh near Dobropillia. Read the full report here:
Updated
After a week of historic summits on the future of Ukraine, will the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have to trade land for peace? Diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour reports.
Anton Levsiushkin grew up in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. It is a seaside city. “Swimming, windsurfing, kitsesurfing”, he tells Helen Pidd, “anything a human being can do in water, we did it”.
Sofiia Rozhdestvina is from a little farther north, in Donetsk. It’s a place, she explains, famed for its roses and its football club, Shakhtar Donetsk. Her family had their surname inscribed on a few of the stadium seats.
So is the three-year war in Ukraine close to an end? And what will it mean to Ukrainians like Anton and Sofiia if it is?
Updated
At least 14 people, including a family with three children, were wounded in an overnight Russian attack on Ukraine’s northern region of Sumy, Ukraine’s prime minister said on Wednesday.
“Russia continues to manifest its fears through acts of pure terrorism across Ukraine, once again targeting the homes of families and their sleeping children,” Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X.
Russia continues to manifest its fears through acts of pure terrorism across Ukraine, once again targeting the homes of families and their sleeping children.
— Yulia Svyrydenko (@Svyrydenko_Y) August 20, 2025
Among the regions targeted overnight was Okhtyrka in Sumy region, where a residential neighborhood was hit. Thirteen… pic.twitter.com/QkbZjK3evL
Russia launched a “massive drone strike” on the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa, injuring one person and causing a large fire at a fuel and energy facility, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Wednesday.
Administration of the Izmail district in the Odesa region said on social media that port infrastructure in the city was damaged.
Russia’s air defence units destroyed 42 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s RIA news agency reported on Wednesday, citing data from the Russian defence ministry.
Donald Trump says US may provide air support as part of peace deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine
The US president, Donald Trump, said on Tuesday his country may provide air support to back a Ukraine peace deal. Trump ruled out putting US troops on the ground in Ukraine, but said he might provide air support as part of a deal to end Russia’s war in the country. It comes a day after Trump pledged security guarantees to help end the war at an extraordinary White House summit. The path to peace remained uncertain as the US and allies prepared to work out what military support for Ukraine might include.
“When it comes to security, (Europeans) are willing to put people on the ground. We’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably … by air,” Trump said in an interview with the Fox News “Fox & Friends” program.
Nato military leaders were expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss Ukraine, with US Gen Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expected to attend virtually, officials told Reuters.
Also:
Putin has said Russia will not tolerate troops from the Nato alliance in Ukraine. He has also shown no sign of backing down from demands for territory, including land not under Russia’s military control, after his summit with Trump on Friday in Alaska.
Later, in an interview with radio host Mark Levin, Trump characterised his negotiating style in trying to end the war as “probably instinct more than process.”
Following Monday’s meeting, Russia launched its biggest air assault in more than a month on Ukraine, with 270 drones and 10 missiles launched, the Ukrainian air force said. The energy ministry said the strikes caused big fires at energy facilities in the central Poltava region, home to Ukraine’s only oil refinery.
Oil is flowing to Slovakia again via the Druzhba pipeline, the Slovak economy ministry said late on Tuesday, after a Ukrainian drone strike on an oil pumping station in Russia’s Tambov region cut off supplies. Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, a key conduit for generating money for Kremlin’s war efforts, with oil and gas sales accounting for a quarter of Russia’s total state budget proceeds.
Updated
