Aug 17, 2026, 10:00 AM UTC

Cross-border hostilities between Ukraine and Russia have escalated with deadly strikes reported on both sides of the frontier.

In Russia's Belgorod region, a Ukrainian missile strike killed six people and injured four others. Concurrently, drone attacks struck commercial infrastructure in the Moscow and Leningrad regions, igniting fires at warehouses, leaving five dead and multiple people wounded. A separate drone incident on a Black Sea beach in Krasnodar Krai caused seven fatalities and injured dozens.

Meanwhile, Russian bombardments targeted Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. Strikes on Kyiv left nine dead and more than 30 injured, while overnight attacks also hit port facilities in the Izmail district of Odesa. Heavy fighting continues along frontline sectors in eastern Ukraine alongside reports of new military deployments near the northern border with Belarus.

Sources: France24, Mediazona, Point, The Insider, Радіо Свобода

The ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 2,000 fatalities, with confirmed cases climbing past 4,300, according to public health authorities and the World Health Organization. Health officials note that the crisis is expanding at an unprecedented rate, recording approximately 50 deaths and nearly 100 newly confirmed infections daily.

Containment operations in the epicenter of Ituri province remain heavily impaired by armed militia violence and widespread civilian displacement. The situation is further complicated by the Bundibugyo virus strain driving the epidemic, for which no approved vaccines or targeted medical treatments currently exist. Over 700 patients remain in isolation units as international health agencies urge immediate interventions to curb community transmission.

Sources: Canarias7, Expresso, Expresso das Ilhas, La Vanguardia, RTP (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal).

Further details have emerged regarding the covert departure of US President Donald Trump from the July NATO summit in Ankara. According to media reports citing US publications, Trump initially boarded Air Force One in front of cameras before slipping away inside an airport catering container to reach an alternative military transport bound for the United Kingdom. Air Force One was used as a decoy to mitigate assassination threats from Iran, leaving travelling journalists and certain White House personnel unaware of the switch.

Separately, reports indicate Trump has also sought aesthetic modifications to new US Navy aircraft carriers, challenging established naval designs.

Sources: Deník N, Ekonomický deník, Hospodářské noviny, Respect, Seznam Zprávy.