Russian President Vladimir Putin used his August 22 speech at the United Russia Party Congress to further establish United Russia as the war party, thus setting conditions to use the party’s inevitable victory in the upcoming State Duma elections as evidence that the Russian people support a protracted war in Ukraine while further solidifying the party’s pro-war stance as a central part of Russia’s informal state ideology. * Putin framed Russia’s ongoing combined strike campaign against Ukraine as a victory to the Russian public in order to offset Russia’s lack of tactical success on the battlefield and present Russia as having the capability to formulate kinetic responses to Ukrainian actions. * Putin acknowledged the effects of Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russia’s fuel infrastructure and emphasized the need to improve Russia’s air defense systems. * Putin reiterated his continued unwillingness to engage in any meaningful peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces continued their long-range strike campaign against Russian port, oil, and dual-use logistics infrastructure. * Russian forces launched an unspecified number of ballistic and quasi-ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles, and 271 drones against Ukraine overnight. * Ukrainian forces recently advanced in central Kostyantynivka, northeast of Oleksandrivka, and west of Orikhiv.
Russian forces conducted a series of missile and drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of August 21 to 22.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported on August 22 that Russian forces launched an unspecified number of ballistic and quasi-ballistic missiles, including Iskander-M and S-400 missiles, and three Kh-31/Kh-59 cruise missiles from Kursk and Bryansk cities; Belgorod Oblast; and the Black Sea.[66]
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces also launched an unspecified number of Banderol-type loitering munitions and 217 Shahed- (of which over 50 were jet-powered) and Gerbera-type strike drones and Parodiya-type decoy drones from the directions of Kursk and Oryol cities; Millerovo, Rostov Oblast; Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai; occupied Donetsk City; and occupied Hvardiiske, Crimea.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed three Kh-31/Kh-59 cruise missiles, six Banderol-type loitering munitions, and 182 Shahed- and Gerbera-type strike drones; that drones and missiles struck 41 locations; and that debris fell on 12 locations. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces struck residential, postal, industrial, gasoline, energy, and port infrastructure in Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Odesa, and Zaporizhia oblasts.[67]
Russian forces continue to target Ukrainian railway infrastructure.
Russia struck a railway facility in Kyiv's Darnytsia district with ballistic missiles, killing a foreman, Ukrzaliznytsia reported. The Odesa railway was also targeted during the attack. In Rozdilna, the station building was heavily damaged. #Ukraine
Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) CEO Oleksandr Pertsovsk reported on August 22 that Russian forces struck a railway enterprise in Kyiv City and a train station hall in Odesa City on the night of August 21 to 22, killing one employee.[68]
Geolocated footage published on August 22 shows Russian Geran (Shahed) drone strikes against two locomotives near Mykolaivka, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and a third locomotive near Barvinkove, Kharkiv Oblast.[69]
Zelensky says 16 people were killed and 130 injured, including 23 children, in Russia's strike on a shopping center in Kryvyi Rih. Overnight, ballistic strikes damaged railway infrastructure in Kyiv, killing one person, while an FPV drone hit a city minibus in Zaporizhzhia, injuring three. #Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on August 22 that the August 21 Russian double-tap strike against a shopping center in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, caused a 9,000 square-meter fire, killed 16 people, and injured 130, including 26 children.[70]
Putin said in his August 22 interview that Ukrainian long-range strikes inflict casualties and cause “economic damage.”[10]
Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs President Alexander Shokhin stated on August 20 that Ukrainian drone strikes reduced Russia’s oil refining capacity by 25 to 30 percent and degraded mineral fertilizer and chemical production.[11] Shokhin noted that Ukrainian strikes against logistics infrastructure, such as Wildberries, affect both domestic and export-oriented Russian markets.
A day after Ukrainian drones started hitting Ozon warehouses (they'd been targeting only Wildberries), an Ozon warehouse in southern St. Petersburg is ablaze, with the fire growing from 645k to 880k sq feet. No drone attack was reported, so the cause is a bit mysterious. t.me/paperpaper_r…
Ukraine downed or suppressed 191 Russian aerial targets overnight, including 182 drones, 6 Banderol loitering munitions and 3 Kh-31P/Kh-59 missiles. Russia launched 217 drones, more than 50 of them jet-powered, with Kyiv and Odesa regions the main targets. #Ukrainepic.twitter.com/BRiiW0DWSd
Ukraine’s long-range strike campaign has significantly reduced Russian seaborne oil and grain exports and oil refining capacity, caused fuel shortages, and degraded Russian microelectronics production.[12]
Putin acknowledged the need to improve Russia’s air defense system and expand its capabilities through coordination between state-owned enterprises and private businesses – admitting Russia’s failure to protect its vast territory against Ukrainian long-range strikes.[13]
Putin is attempting to highlight his awareness of the current domestic problemswhile assuring the Russian public that Ukraine’s 40-day strike campaign to pressure Russia to negotiate has failed to achieve its desired outcome.[14]
Putin is likely prepared to accept increasing economic hardship for Russian society, including for urban populations Putin previously sought to shield in Moscow and St. Petersburg, while pursuing his unchanged theory of victory, which rests on the premise that Russia can win a war of attrition and outlast both Ukraine’s ability to defend and Western support for Ukraine.[15]
This Norwegian-made air defense system saves lives in Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces continued their long-range strike campaign against Russian port, oil, and dual-use logistics infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials reported on August 22 that Ukrainian forces struck the Novokuibyshevsk Oil Refinery in Samara City, Samara Oblast (roughly 900 kilometers from the frontline) overnight on August 21 to 22.[19] Geolocated footage published on August 22 shows smoke over the Novokuibyshevsk Oil Refinery following Ukrainian strikes.[20] Ukrainian forces last struck the Novokuibyshevsk Oil Refinery on April 18, 2026.[21]
🔥BAVOVNA at OZON hub in Chapayevsk, 💥Novokuybyshevsk refinery, 👀Saratov and Yeysk Port, ✈️Niobium radar station and 18 warehouse for UAVs in Primorsko-Akhtarsk airfield!SUPPORT ME 💙💛✌️ buymeacoffee.com/MAKS22✌️ PayPal: [email protected]✌️ patreon.com/Maks24
Geolocated footage published on August 22 shows damage to an Ozon (another Russian analogue to Amazon and Wildberries’ main competitor) logistics center in Chapayevsk, Samara Oblast (roughly 887 kilometers from the frontline) following Ukrainian strikes, and Ozon confirmed that a drone struck the warehouse.[22] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian forces struck an unspecified logistics facility in Samara Oblast.[23] Samara Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev acknowledged on August 22 that Ukrainian forces had damaged both an unspecified industrial facility and an Ozon logistics center in Samara Oblast.[24] Several Russian sources claimed that this is the first Ukrainian strike against an Ozon facility; however, ISW observed evidence that Ukrainian forces struck an Ozon warehouse in Zelenodolsk, Republic of Tatarstan (roughly 970 kilometers from the international border) on July 31, 2026.[25]
The Ukrainian General Staff reported on August 22 that Ukrainian forces also struck the Yeysk oil-filling complex in Yeysk, Krasnodar Krai (roughly 180 kilometers from the frontline) overnight.[26] Geolocated images published on August 22 show a large smoke plume at the Port of Yeysk.[27] Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev acknowledged on August 22 that Ukrainian drones struck civilian and commercial infrastructure at Yeysk.[28]
The Ukrainian General Staff reported on August 22 that Ukrainian strikes against a drone storage and launch site in Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai, on August 20 to 21 damaged one Niobi radar station and 18 drone warehouses.[29]
Liste des raffineries russes 🇷🇺 frappées en août par l'armée ukrainienne 🇺🇦 – Au total 18 frappes contre 13 objectifs :
1er août – Oufa 2 août – Saratov/Oufa 3 août 4 août – Syzran 5 août – Oufa 6 août – Yaroslavl 7 août 8 août – Syzran/Krasnodar 9 août 10 août -… pic.twitter.com/I1uHMxdnnd
■ Engagements and casualties below average ■ Fewer losses of drones and unarmored vehicles, but substantial armored vehicle losses and three air defence systems hit ■ Officer death batch: +55, including six senior officers ■… pic.twitter.com/d5fjfZh58k
Operational update as of 10:00 p.m. on August 22, 2026, regarding the Russian invasion. In total,
197 combat engagements have taken place since the start of this 24-hour period. The enemy launched two missile strikes using six missiles, carried out 68 airstrikes, and dropped 241 guided bombs. In addition, it deployed 7,444 kamikaze drones and carried out 2,353 shelling attacks on populated areas and our troops’ positions.
In the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk sectors, the Defense Forces successfully repelled 10 enemy attacks. In addition, the enemy carried out one airstrike using three guided bombs and fired 48 times at our troops’ positions and populated areas, including three attacks using multiple-launch rocket systems.
Over the past 24 hours in the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector, the enemy launched 17 assaults on the positions of our units near Izbytske, Okhrimivka, and Volokhivka; another firefight is still ongoing.
In the Kupiansk sector today, the enemy launched two assaults on the positions of the Defense Forces in the direction of the settlement of Zagrizove.
Seven attempts by the invaders to advance were repelled in the Lyman sector in the areas of Shyikivka, Kopanok, Novoselivka, Drobysheve, and Lyman.
In the Sloviansk sector, the Defense Forces successfully halted five attempts by the invaders to advance near Kryva Luka, Zakitne, Mykolaivka, Rai-Oleksandrivka, and Ozerny.
Two enemy assaults were recorded in the Kramatorsk sector in the areas of Yurkivka and Tykhonivka.
In the Kostiantynivka sector, the Defense Forces repelled 22 enemy assaults near Kostiantynivka, Illinivka, Mykolaipillia, Novoselivka, and Stepanivka.
A total of 15 attacks were repelled in the Pokrovsk sector. The occupiers attempted to advance in the areas around the settlements of Shakove, Kucheryv Yar, Novyi Donbas, Shevchenko, Bilytske, Myrne, Serhiivka, Udachne, and Molodetske. Two firefights are ongoing.
According to preliminary estimates, 29 occupiers were killed and 16 wounded here today; two artillery systems, four vehicles, two pieces of specialized equipment, one drone command post, and 27 enemy shelters were destroyed. Two artillery systems, three vehicles, one piece of specialized equipment, three UAV control centers, and 92 enemy shelters were damaged. A total of 400 UAVs of various types were destroyed or neutralized.
Our defenders repelled three attacks by the occupiers in the Oleksandrivka sector near Andriivka-Klevtsove and Nechaivka.
Six attacks by the occupiers were recorded in the Huliaipole sector near the settlements of Vozdvyzhivka, Rivne, Dobropillia, Dolynka, and Verkhnia Tersa; one attack is ongoing.
In the Orikhiv sector, our defenders repelled two enemy attacks in the Pavlivka area.
Today, no enemy assaults were recorded in the Dnipro sector.
In other sectors, there were no significant changes in the situation.
Let’s defeat the enemy and bring our Victory closer! Glory to Ukraine!
NEW: President Putin used his August 22 speech at the United Russia Party Congress to further establish United Russia as the war party. 🧵(1/7)Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 22, 2026: bit.ly/UkrWar082226Other Key Takeaways:
❗️🇺🇦Ukrainian An-196 “Lyuty” drone carrying a pair of compact “Katran” cruise missiles during pre-launch preparation.The missiles were first publicly presented at the end of last month. It is claimed that they can carry a warhead of up to 20 kg, reach a maximum speed of up to 500 km/h,
Putin claimed in an August 22 interview that Russia’s intensified combined strike campaign against Ukraine disrupts Ukraine’s domestic defense industrial base (DIB) and supports Russia’s frontline forces.[5] Putin attempted to falsely portray Russia’s strike campaign as a direct response to Ukraine’s intensified long-range strikes since March 2026, despite Russia conducting a deliberate and consistent strike campaign against Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure since February 2022.[6] Putin highlighted the effects of Russia’s combined strike campaign against Ukraine, likely in an effort to offset Russia’s lack of any meaningful tactical successes and mounting socio-economic issues that even Putin himself cannot effectively conceal from the Russian public.
Putin continues preparing Russian society for a prolonged war in Ukraine despite incremental and gradual battlefield advances and mounting personnel losses.
Putin falsely said in the interview that Russian forces continue advancing in all directions of the frontline at an increased pace.[7] Russian forces have, in fact, lost control of 27.09 square kilometers in August 2026 so far, not counting areas into which Russian troops may have infiltrated (but do not doctrinally control), according to the evidence that ISW has observed. Russian forces have seized or infiltrated 8.52 square kilometers in August 2026 so far at an average rate of 0.39 square kilometers per day. Russia’s rate of advance has been steadily declining since January 2026.[8] The Ukrainian General Staff’s reports of Russian casualties indicate that Russian forces suffered around 29,120 casualties from July 31 to August 22, 2022 – an average of 1,074 casualties per square kilometer of territory seized.[9] Putin’s lies about these fictional battlefield gains are likely meant to sustain Russian support for the war and willingness to make additional sacrifices for the supposed victory toward which Putin claims to be leading his people.
✈️🇺🇦 Su-25 is still early to retire: aircraft are increasing their capabilities, we are mastering new types of weapons, the Su-25 will still show itself, we have ideas, developments, we have surprises for the Russians, — commander of the aviation Dyakiv
Breaking news: Iran reportedly warned the Trump administration of activating sleeper cells if attacked. The State Department advises U.S. citizens to exercise caution worldwide. What do you think this means for us? Let’s discuss. #tiktok#foryou#fyp#viral#greenscreen
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