Ukrainian drones have struck the Unecha oil pumping station in Russia’s Bryansk region, according to reports. Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un has awarded “heroic” North Korean troops who fought for Russia in the war against Ukraine. Follow the latest.
Friday 22 August 2025 07:46, UK
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has awarded North Korean troops who fought for Russia in the war against Ukraine in a ceremony, the state news agency KCNA reports.
Kim reportedly said in a speech to troops that the “liberation of Kursk” proved the “fighting spirit of the heroes”.
During the ceremony, the North Korean leader laid a flower at a memorial wall for soldiers fallen overseas, and a concert was held for soldiers returned from Russia as well as a banquet that included bereaved family members, KCNA reports.
Approximately 600 North Korean troops have been killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine out of a total deployment of 15,000, South Korean lawmakers said in April, citing the country’s intelligence agency.
Ukrainian drones have struck the Unecha oil pumping station in Russia’s Bryansk region, the commander of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces Robert Brovdi reports.
Ukrainian media reports that the strike appears to have struck a facility that pumps oil from the Druzhba pipeline.
What do we know about the pipeline?
The Druzhba pipeline is one of the biggest crude oil pipeline networks in the world.
It delivers oil from Russia to central Europe through Ukraine and Belarus.
Hungary and Slovakia are the only EU member states still receiving large amounts of Russian pipeline.
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
We’ll bring you all the latest updates throughout the day, but before that here’s all you need to know from the last 24 hours:
Watch our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett’s latest analysis…
That’s all for now of our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
We’ll be back with the latest updates soon.
Here’s everything you need to know from today’s developments, and scroll down to catch up in detail.
Overnight attack hits US business
Russia launched one of its largest overnight attacks on Ukraine last night.
Targeting the country’s west, one person was killed in Lviv, and further south, a US business was destroyed as Washington seemingly leads the push for peace.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned this attack was “deliberate” in his nightly address.
Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, said: “Russia is not only devastating Ukraine – it is destroying and humiliating American business.
“We call on President Trump to stand with American business and to confront Vladimir Putin’s campaign of destruction.”
‘A great team in sports’
In a post on social media, Donald Trump compared Ukraine to “a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense.”
It isn’t clear if Trump is suggesting he would welcome Ukraine attacking Russia more and support this by selling more offensive weaponry.
The US leader has publicly spent more time on domestic issues in recent days, after a long weekend dominated by the war in Ukraine.
He previously said the next step should be a bilateral meeting between Russia and Ukraine, but it is unclear if he is willing to take action to force Moscow to the table.
Russia plays for time
Meanwhile, Russia continued to scold European efforts to bring about peace and work out Ukraine’s security guarantees.
One guest on Sky News told us, “there is no peace process,” with Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin as they are not engaging at all in the peace process.
Similarly, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has seemingly spent the week walking back any promises the US thought they had gotten from Russia previously.
Watch his latest comments here…
Nord Stream suspect
Italian police arrested a Ukrainian man on suspicion of coordinating attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines in 2022.
The suspect, identified only as Serhii K in line with German privacy rules, has been accused of planting explosives on the pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany near the Danish island of Bornholm.
Our Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins explains all you need to know here….
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said that talks among national security advisers were ongoing.
But with Russian stalling, it isn’t clear how quickly they’ll yield results.
Watch Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett’s latest analysis here…
Ukraine’s air force has warned of more night-time attacks from Russia.
It has issued a series of warnings on its Telegram channel for a number of regions.
This includes warning of Iranian-made Shahed drones and regions such as:
Such nighttime attacks are a regular feature of the war, and some of the largest have been launched in recent months.
Two people have been killed in a Ukrainian attack on the Russian-occupied Donetsk region, a Moscow-installed official has said.
It said the missile and drone attack on the district of Yenakiyevo also injured 21 people.
Russia occupies the majority of Donetsk and according to reports is demanding Ukraine turn over the rest of it in any peace deal.
Here’s some of the latest video from Ukraine.
Kyiv hit the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery overnight in an attack.
It also attacked a fuel base in Russia’s southwestern Voronezh region, and a drone warehouse and logistics hub in Russia-occupied Donetsk.
Poland has sent a protest note to Moscow, after Warsaw said a Russian drone crashed and exploded in the east of the country yesterday.
It’s claimed a Russian drone crashed in a cornfield near the village of Osiny.
Poland’s foreign ministry has warned that the incident constitutes a violation of Russia’s obligations to respect its sovereignty.
It added that Poland considers the event to be another deliberate provocation by Russia.
We brought you the news earlier, see our 19.59 post, that Lithuania closed its airspace along its Belarus border, reflecting the tensions felt by many Eastern European nations.
“There is no peace process.”
That’s what Mark Voyger, former special adviser to the Commanding General of the US Army in Europe, tells Sky News.
He tells presenter Matt Barbet: “Neither Putin, nor his regime, are actually willing to engage in any peace activities.”
Voyger explains that Russia is buying time with its current statements, and he criticises its demand that a ceasefire shouldn’t take place, and instead a full end to the war should be sought for instead.
“It’s the most absurd and ridiculous proposition because, as we all know from from the history of, countless conflicts… you must have a ceasefire,” Voyger says.
He adds: “Then after many months, many years, sometimes you could have a real, just and fair, peace. Everything else is just a propaganda.”
Watch his full interview here…
Ukraine’s capital city is preparing for “foreign delegations”.
Kyiv’s local administration shared a message on Telegram telling residents of “security measures” and “temporary traffic restrictions” tomorrow.
They will affect central parts of the city, Kyiv said, but it isn’t clear who the visitors will be or if it’s linked to Ukrainian Independence Day on Sunday.
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