Key events
Over the weekend, Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine and Russia were preparing a prisoner exchange that would see 1,200 Ukrainian troops return home, following talks in Istanbul in July.
His comments came after an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot near the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi ignited a raging fire, as the two countries traded strikes at the end of one of the deadliest weeks in Ukraine in recent months.
‘Every day of delay results in loss of our people,’ Zelenskyy says as he says Russian army attacks first respondents and wants to ‘kill everything alive’
President Zelenskyy also called for more pressure on Russia, as he posted a video of drone strikes on what he said were first responders and medics arriving to help after attacks.
“Deliberate FPV [first person view] drone strikes on first responders and medics arriving to help after attacks – all of this is typical for every city or community within reach of Russian drones. The Russian army simply kills everything that is alive,” he warned.
Zelenskyy said that “the world has enough power to stop this and protect people.”
He added:
“We count on strong decisions from the United States, Europe, and the world regarding secondary sanctions on Russian energy trade and Moscow’s banking sector.
Ukraine looks forward to the implementation of every agreement on strengthening defense that has been reached with its partners.
Every day of delay results in the loss of our people.”
Morning opening: Shush
Jakub Krupa
Andriy Yermak, the most senior aide to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seemingly enjoys the silence from Russia following Donald Trump’s decision to move two nuclear submarines in response to provocative comments from the country’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev.
“The moment American nuclear submarines appeared, … [he] suddenly went silent. Russia understands only one thing: strength,” he said.
Expect Kyiv to keep making similar representations this week, before US special envoy Steve Witkoff visits Russia “Wednesday or Thursday” for further talks ahead of Trump’s 8 August deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
On Friday, there were no signs that Vladimir Putin was willing to change his mind, as he repeated that the Russian “conditions certainly remain the same,” even as he claimed that he nominally supported “a lasting and stable peace.”
With things getting quiet elsewhere as we hit peak holiday season, this could be the main focus this week.
I will bring you all key updates from across Europe here.
It’s Monday, 4 August 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.