Ukraine appeared under Russian massive attack, explosion occurred at Omsk refinery - Monday brief

Russia's largest attack: Air Force reveals details of attack on Ukraine and air defense response

On Monday, August 26, Russian forces launched a massive combined strike on Ukraine's critical infrastructure. A total of 236 enemy air attack weapons were detected, according to Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force.

The Russian forces launched a massive combined strike on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, particularly targeting the fuel and energy sector, using various types of air, ground, and sea-launched missiles.

The Air Force's radar troops detected and tracked 236 enemy air attack systems, including 127 missiles and 109 strike drones.

Ukrainian defenders managed to shoot down 102 missiles and 99 attack drones.

Seven people were killed and 47 others injured in a massive Russian attack on Ukraine.

Read more about the consequences of the massive shelling of Ukraine in RBC-Ukraine material.

Russia's Omsk oil refinery engulfed in flames after powerful explosion

A massive explosion has occurred at the Gazpromneft-Omsk refinery in Omsk. The plant is located 2,000 kilometers away from the border with Ukraine, according to 112 Telegram channel.

A strong explosion and fire engulfed the AVT-11 unit. Eyewitnesses say that the explosion was heard in several parts of the city.

“The fire area is 1000 square meters. There are 15 fire brigades at the scene. The enterprise was not evacuated,” the statement said.

Two people were injured in the fire at the Omsk oil refinery and were treated on the spot, the company's press service said.

Negotiations for Trump-Harris debates stalled: Politico reveals reason

Negotiations for a debate between Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her opponent Donald Trump have stalled, Politico reports.

According to the news agency, back in June, President Joe Biden's team agreed with Donald Trump's team that microphones during the debates would only be turned on for the person who was speaking.

However, after Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic candidate, her team introduced new conditions, requiring that microphones remain on throughout the entire debate.

Meanwhile, Trump's team expects the debates scheduled for September 10 to follow the rules agreed upon with Biden's team.

Trump himself hopes the debates will follow the same rules as in June but said "It doesn’t matter to me, I’d rather have it probably on."

Ukraine comments on Telegram messaging app fate after its founder arrest

In a commentary for RBC-Ukraine, Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, said that the future of Telegram depends on the actions of the platform's founder Pavel Durov, who was recently detained in France. If he makes the right decisions, the messenger can become safer.

As for the situation in Ukraine, Kovalenko warns against hasty decisions to ban Telegram. He emphasizes that Ukrainian intelligence also uses the messenger's functionality to obtain useful information.

White House responds to Zelenskyy's call to lift restrictions on strikes against Russia

The United States will continue to discuss with Ukraine the issue of lifting restrictions on long-range strikes against Russia. The dialogue will take place in a private format, this was stated by John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council of the White House, according to journalist Alex Raufoglu on Twitter (X).

Kirby was asked to comment on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent call to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons for strikes on Russian territory.

"But as I've said many, many times, we'll keep the conversations with the Ukrainians going, but we're going to keep it private," Kirby added.

He also mentioned that he could not speak about any changes in US policy on this issue.