- Russian forces have taken the heavily-fortified, strategically-located city of Chasov Yar west of Bakhmut;

- Russian forces are continuing the encirclement of Pokrovsk, another heavily-fortified, strategically-located city in the Donbass region;

- Russian missile and drone strikes continue to grow in scale, frequency, and efficacy as military industrial production increases and gaps in Ukraine’s Western-supplied air defenses continue to expand;

- The US continues its policy of attempting to freeze (not end) the conflict, as it tasks Europe with increasing resources to extend the conflict for as long as possible as the US pivots to the Middle East and Asia Pacific region;

- The Trump administration is continuing the Biden administration’s policy of attempting to deny Russia energy revenue - a policy US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in February 2025 publicly affirmed would continue under the Trump administration;

- The US is attempting to pressure India and China which continue to purchase large amounts of Russian energy exports;

References:

CNN - Russia’s summer offensive is turning into an escalating crisis for Ukraine (July 31, 2025):

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/30/europe/russias-summer-offensive-ukraine-analysis-latam-intl

Newsweek - JD Vance Tells Tim Dillon US Needs Weapons To Fight China, Not Russia (Oct. 28, 2024):

https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-tim-dillon-taiwan-priority-over-ukraine-1975851

Newsweek - JD Vance Floats Donald Trump Deal To End War in Ukraine (Sep. 2024):

https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-floats-donald-trump-deal-end-russia-ukraine-war-1953302

Guardian - Ukraine war briefing: Top Trump aide accuses India of financing Russian war by buying oil (August 4, 2025):

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/04/ukraine-war-briefing-top-trump-aide-accuses-india-of-financing-russian-war-by-buying-oil

Kyiv Independent - 'His economy stinks,' — falling oil prices could force Putin to end war, Trump says (August 5, 2025):

https://kyivindependent.com/his-economy-stinks-falling-oil-prices-could-force-putin-to-end-war-trump-says/

Opening Remarks by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Feb. 12, 2025):

https://www.defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech/Article/4064113/opening-remarks-by-secretary-of-defense-pete-hegseth-at-ukraine-defense-contact/

RAND Corporation - Extending Russia (2019):

https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR3000/RR3063/RAND_RR3063.pdf

NYT - The Spy War: How the C.I.A. Secretly Helps Ukraine Fight Putin (Feb. 2024):

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/25/world/europe/cia-ukraine-intelligence-russia-war.html

NYT - The Partnership: The Secret History of the War in Ukraine (March 2025):

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/29/world/europe/us-ukraine-military-war-wiesbaden.html

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