134 clashes reported on the frontline over the past day – General Staff

Source: Ukraine’s General Staff

Over the past day, August 21, a total of 134 combat engagements were recorded along the entire frontline, according to Ukraine’s General Staff update on Friday.

In the Kharkiv sector, six clashes occurred near the communities of Vovchansk and Lyptsi.

In the Kupiansk sector, there were 16 enemy attacks. Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled assaults near Petropavlivka, Synkivka, Stelmakhivka, Berestove, and in the area of Andriivka.

In the Lyman sector, the enemy launched 19 attacks, attempting to advance near Torske, Novosergiivka, Makiivka, Hrekivka, and Serhiivka.

In the Siversk sector, Ukrainian defenders repelled a Russian assault near Spirne.

In the Kramatorsk sector, the enemy attacked eight times near Hryhorivka, Chasiv Yar, and Predtechyne. The situation remains under control.

In the Toretsk sector, the enemy, supported by aviation, carried out 13 attacks near Pivnichne, Toretsk, and Zalizne.

In the Pokrovsk sector, Ukrainian forces repelled 53 assaults and offensive actions toward the communities of Panteleimonivka, Vozdvyzhenka, Zelenyi Pol, Myroliubivka, Hrodivka, Mykolaivka, Novohrodivka, Mykhailivka, and Ptyche. The heaviest concentration of attacks occurred near Novohrodivka and Mykhailivka.

In the Kurakhove sector, the Ukrainian troops fended off 16 attacks toward the areas of Heorhiivka, Kostyantynivka, and Pobieda.

In the Vremivka sector, the Russian forces attempted 2 attacks toward Vodiane.

In the Huliaipole, Orikhiv, and Prydniprovske sectors, the enemy’s activity is slowing don, with no offensive actions reported over the past day. However, the enemy continues to target Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure by all available means.

Meanwhile, no signs of enemy offensive group formations have been detected in the Volyn and Polissia sectors.

Ukrainian Defense Forces continue operations in the Kursk sector, inflicting significant losses on the occupying forces in both personnel and equipment.

In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.

During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.

Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.

On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.