(KYIV) – Ukraine has warned that as many as 50,000 North Korean troops are preparing to deploy to Russian territory, a significant escalation of Pyongyang’s involvement in the war that would bring the total number of foreign soldiers fighting for Moscow to a vastly expanded contingent.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the additional forces would possess 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers. One of the sites where North Korean personnel are believed to be gathering is Voronezh, the location of a Wildberries distribution centre struck by Ukraine overnight. North Korea previously sent approximately 14,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk region.
The warning came as Russia exceeded its monthly missile production targets by 10 to 20 percent, according to Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the HUR. Moscow produced 87 KH-101 cruise missiles in July, reaching 140 percent of planned output. KH-35 production hit 200 percent of the monthly target.
As of 3 August, Russia had already fulfilled its annual production quotas for Zircon and Onyx missiles, manufacturing 33 and 60 units respectively in the first seven months. Skibitsky attributed the uptick to a simplified system of technical controls for missile production and the halting of Kinzhal and KH-32 missile manufacturing, allowing funds and components to be redirected elsewhere.
The Institute for the Study of War summarised the trajectory of Russian missile launches at Ukraine: 61 missiles, including hypersonics, were fired in April; 107 in May; 134 in June; and 198 in July.
Ukrainian forces struck multiple targets inside Russia overnight. The Wildberries logistics hub in Boris, southwestern Russia, was set ablaze during an ongoing drone attack. One man was killed and two injured. The 156,000 square metre complex is considered one of the most significant warehouses, with analysts observing its proximity to border regions and the front line may make it particularly important for military and dual use goods supporting the war effort.
Footage reportedly filmed inside a warehouse in Aleksin five days after a strike there showed a scene of utter devastation, with the structure reduced to huge splinters of timber.
An oil refinery in Komsomolsk on Amur in Russia’s Far East, over 6,000 kilometres from Ukraine, also caught fire. The cause remains unclear as it lies far beyond the range of Ukrainian drones or missiles. An oil refinery in Orenburg Oblast and a petrochemical plant in Tyumen Oblast were also struck. The Tyumen facility produces 6.6 million tonnes of feedstock annually and manufactures materials considered critical to Russia’s military industrial complex, including products used in rocket and aviation fuel production and drone materials.
Russia is also accelerating development of its Rassvet satellite internet system, intended as an alternative to Starlink, with plans to deploy 292 satellites by 2027 and 924 by 2035. Progress on the initiative has been very slow.
The worst hit location overnight was Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine, where six people were killed and 19 wounded. According to Zelensky, the city was struck by North Korean ballistic missiles in what he described as a vicious attack calculated to inflict maximum damage specifically on civilian infrastructure.
Kyiv was also hit, with the administration reporting a missile damaged an infectious diseases hospital building and multiple businesses. Substations were targeted in Kherson and Kharkiv, causing power outages.
A Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet caught fire during a combat mission whilst launching an air to air missile above a city. The pilot ejected safely but the aircraft was lost.
On the ground, the situation in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, is increasingly bleak. Approximately 40,000 people remain in the city despite Russian forces being about 14 kilometres away. The city is now within artillery range. Evacuation teams conduct daily missions to rescue people with limited mobility, mostly elderly residents, from nearby settlements. The key cities of Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka are contested, and Druzhkivka is described as practically unlivable.
A Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet caught fire on Sunday during a combat mission while launching an air-to-air missile. The pilot ejected safely, but the jet was lost.
Geolocated footage published on 10 August shows Ukrainian forces operating in the west of Kramatorsk, an area where the Institute for the Study of War previously observed a Russian infiltrator presence. A Kremlin affiliated military blogger refuted recent claims that Russian forces seized the settlement east of Kramatorsk and north of Kostiantynivka, though assessments consider such claims premature. There are also reports of Ukrainian counterattacks on foot with artillery and armour support.
In Odesa, the nature of attacks has shifted. Strikes are now occurring during daytime hours rather than predictably at night. The key road route for grain exports through Palanka, the border crossing into Moldova, is being targeted. A small bridge near the town of Maiaky on the Ukrainian side has been hit, causing kilometres long traffic jams. Grain shipments are effectively halted. Ukraine is considering exporting grain by train through Moldova to Romania’s port of Constanța. The Moldovan prime minister said his country should not lose the opportunity to earn millions of euros in transit revenue.
Domestic prices for grain and oilseed crops in Ukraine have fallen by an average of 30 percent, with direct losses expected to reach between $1.5 billion (£1.18 billion, €1.37 billion) and $3 billion (£2.36 billion, €2.74 billion). The main alternative export routes remain rail, road transport and the Danube River, though low water levels on the Danube mean significant shipments are unlikely before October.
Inside Russia, the Supreme Court has barred the liberal anti war Yabloko party from standing in September’s State Duma elections. Rodina, a small pro Kremlin nationalist party, accused Yabloko of receiving undeclared Western financial support. Yabloko strongly denied the allegations. The decision means citizens opposed to Russia’s war in Ukraine now have no opportunity to vote for representatives willing to articulate that opposition. Hundreds of Yabloko supporters, mostly young people, gathered outside the courthouse to protest, shouting “Shame.”
Russia’s defence ministry has set a nationwide target of 409,000 contract soldiers for 2026, seeking to replenish forces without another politically unpopular mobilisation. The Financial Times reports increased pressure on regional officials to meet quotas. The average regional bonus payment now stands at an all time high of 1.65 million roubles ($17,160, £13,460, €15,730), according to data from regional budgets. Total new contracts in the first quarter reached 93,000, or approximately 1,000 per day.
In Hungary, former Supreme Court president András Bakker, 73, is expected to be appointed as the country’s new president. Bakker was previously removed from his position by former prime minister Viktor Orbán, a dismissal the European Court of Human Rights later ruled violated his rights to a fair trial and freedom of expression. Bakker has stated he will not serve as a rubber stamp for Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s reforms, having clashed with the government over issues including the 12 year term for MPs.
In Vienna, a sanctions evasion scheme that allegedly supplied more than $3.82 million (£3 million, €3.5 million) in restricted industrial equipment to Russian arms manufacturers has been uncovered. An unnamed company falsified end user certificates and used shell companies spanning Turkey, the UAE, Hong Kong, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Poland and Lithuania to conceal shipments. The goods were allegedly used to build military hardware, including engines for missiles and fighter jets, and were routed to firms affiliated with Rostec, the Russian state owned defence conglomerate. The company’s 28 year old Belarusian head was arrested in May and remains in custody.
Canada has sanctioned Streit Group, an armoured vehicle manufacturer headquartered in the UAE and run by Canadian Russian businessman Gurman Gutarov, over alleged ties to Russia’s military industrial complex. Foreign Minister Anita Anand said credible reports indicated Strait vehicles had been used by Russia’s National Guard. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the action, saying every company supplying technology or components to Russia’s military industrial complex must face consequences.
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