Victory Chronicles-DAY 1259

Russia is undertaking its largest military rearmament since the Soviet era that seeks to prepare for a direct confrontation with NATO by 2030, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told media outlet “Moseichuk+.”

According to him, the Kremlin plans to pour more than $1.1 trillion on military modernization of its armed forces as part of this effort. He foresees a sweeping mobilization of Russia’s political, economic, and social systems toward a future large-scale war.

“The number one task […] is to prepare the Russian Federation for war with NATO by 2030. All these actions and budgets are directed toward that goal,” Budanov said.

As part of this buildup, Russia has already established two new military districts, in Moscow and Leningrad, and plans to form new divisions, brigades, and military units.

“Russia aims to undermine the current security and economic order. To achieve this, Moscow is expanding its presence in Africa, primarily through proxy forces such as the Wagner PMC and the ‘African Corps,’ while also supporting authoritarian regimes and terrorist groups worldwide,” Budanov said.

Nordic nations pledge nearly $500 million for U.S. arms to Ukraine through NATO. Sweden, Norway and Denmark will jointly contribute about $486 million to a NATO-coordinated initiative aimed at accelerating the delivery of U.S.-made weapons to Ukraine, the Norwegian government announced Tuesday.

The funds will support the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a new mechanism to fast-track weapons and military equipment Ukraine urgently needs. The initiative focuses on bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses, including with additional missiles for the Patriot surface-to-air system.

Norway will initially provide 1.5 billion Norwegian kroner (about $145 million), while the total combined Nordic package will reach approximately 5 billion kroner ($486 million). The Netherlands previously funded a similar PURL package, and more are expected to follow.

Each aid package is expected to be worth around $500 million and may include munitions, air defense components, and other critical systems. NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe will oversee coordination, logistics, and equipment upgrades. Details of the shipments remain classified for security reasons.

Russian drone strike on rail hub kills 2 in eastern Ukraine. Two people, including a railway worker, were killed and at least 10 others were injured—among them two children—after a Russian drone attack on the city of Lozova in Kharkiv Oblast early Monday, according to Ukrainian officials.

The overnight strike, which began around 2:30 a.m., targeted rail infrastructure with more than 30 Iranian-made Shahed-type drones, known in Russia as “Geran-2.” Fires broke out across the city, damaging the train station, residential buildings, and an energy facility.

Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) said a duty mechanic was killed on site, and four of his colleagues were wounded. A woman later died in the hospital. Rescue workers reported fires in at least six buildings, including the rail terminal’s roof.

Drones spark fire at Russian railway hub in Rostov region. A series of drone strikes hit Russia’s Rostov region overnight on Aug. 5, igniting a fire at the Tatsinskaya railway station and causing localized power outages, according to Russian officials and local media.

Residents reported hearing more than 10 explosions across multiple towns, including Millerovo, Belaya Kalitva and Tatsinskaya. The main impact reportedly struck the Tatsinskaya station, a regional rail hub, where a fire broke out following the attack.

Drone strikes inside Russian territory have become more frequent in recent months as Ukraine increases its long-range operations targeting military infrastructure and logistics nodes.

Key Takeaways:

• Kremlin officials are slowly organizing a coordinated response to US President Donald Trump’s August 1 statement that the United States would redeploy two nuclear submarines closer to Russia.
• The Kremlin also responded to Trump’s August 1 announcement by trying to downplay Medvedev’s role in Russian decision-making in order to obfuscate the role Medvedev plays in Putin’s information efforts targeting the West.
• Russian authorities continue to intensify the use of bribery charges, including to scapegoat regional government officials responsible for Russia’s border defense and target defense industry officials and critical information space actors.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk. Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Siversk, Toretsk, and Velykomykhailivka.

• Reuters: Putin unlikely to agree to Trump’s ultimatum to end war in Ukraine
• Trump says Putin will stop killing if oil prices fall by US$10 per barrel
• Ukrainian forces report on Kherson situation and refute claims of “Russian sabotage groups infiltrating city”
• Russia’s oil and gas revenues plummeted by almost a third in July
• European Commission: 18th sanctions package against Russia to take effect this week