From Alaska summits to drone-killed toddlers—why this summer revealed the true cost of appeasing Putin
August 31st, 2025. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov delivers his latest performance: “We are ready to resolve the problem by political and diplomatic means but since we do not see reciprocity from [Kiev] we continue the ‘special military operation.’”
The same night, Russian missiles rain down on Ukrainian cities. The same week, footage emerges of Russian generals in a war room, maps spread before them showing not just the territories they’ve captured (incorrectly marked, as usual), but vast swaths of Ukrainian land they intend to seize—land that isn’t even part of their so-called “peace negotiations.”
This is the summer that revealed the bankruptcy of Western diplomacy and the true face of Russian “peace.”
Since my last update in July the bombings have continued with horrific precision. On July 9th, Russia attacked civilian vehicles in Rodynske, Donetsk region, killing five people. The volunteer who shared recovery footage of the victims’ bodies had no words left—just the grim documentation of another war crime.
Five days later, July 14th brought a new level of depravity. A Russian drone operator—watching through live video feed—deliberately guided his weapon toward a one-year-old baby in Kherson region. This wasn’t collateral damage. This wasn’t a missed military target. An adult human being, sitting safely miles away, chose to murder a toddler.
As one observer noted: “I don’t think people realise the extent to which Russians have dehumanised Ukrainians. There is an entire curriculum for this hate. It’s taught. I don’t know how a society comes back from this.”
The same day, Russian drones attacked a medical brigade during civilian evacuation in Sumy region. After medics arrived to provide aid following the first strike, the Russians hit again—this time targeting the ambulance directly. Two paramedics hospitalised. The message clear: even trying to save lives makes you a target. These are just some of almost daily stories.
July’s assault on a maternity ward in Kharkiv revealed Russia’s systematic campaign against Ukraine’s future. The drone strike blew out windows mid-labour. Doctors rushed mothers across the river, performing deliveries under bombardment while mothers and newborns sheltered underground.
The statistics tell the story of organised genocide:
- Russia has attacked Ukraine’s healthcare facilities over 2,000 times since the war began
- 81 attacks specifically targeted maternity units
- Ukraine now records 3 deaths for every birth—the world’s lowest birth rate and highest mortality in 2024
In Kharkiv, women now fear giving birth in hospitals. Doctors deliver babies under torchlight during power cuts. Hospitals hire psychologists to help mothers cope with the trauma. In Sloviansk, after Russian drones destroyed the main hospital, the maternity unit operates as the last functioning one in Ukrainian-held territory.
The pattern is unmistakable: FPV drones, artillery, and bombs deliberately target maternity care. This fits perfectly with Putin’s often-stated genocidal intentions.
The Alaska Summit: Red Carpets for War Criminals
August brought the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska—a diplomatic circus that granted Putin global legitimacy while offering Ukraine nothing. No ceasefire emerged. No concessions from Moscow. Ukraine wasn’t even included in discussions about its own future.
Behind the pageantry of flags and photo ops, the real business was conducted: Exxon executives secretly held talks with Rosneft about returning to Russia’s oil projects. The same day Putin met Trump, he signed a decree allowing foreign investors—including Exxon Mobil—to regain shares in Russian oil and gas ventures.
The message was clear: sanctions are theatre, business is business, and Ukraine is expendable.
Trump’s Offensive Ignorance
August 27th delivered Trump’s most offensive commentary yet: “I’m sure Ukraine thought it was going to win, but if you’re trying to beat someone 15 times bigger than you… Ukraine has gotten their ***** kicked.”
Does this man understand who invaded whom? Ukraine was sitting peacefully within its internationally recognised borders when Russia attacked. Ukraine wasn’t “looking for a fight”—it was defending its right to exist. And Russia has expended hundreds of thousands of lives for a few square metres despite getting help from North Korea and China…
The same day, a British humanitarian volunteer was killed while delivering aid. An Australian volunteer shared footage of his car being attacked by drones while evacuating elderly people from villages. These heroes die while Trump mocks their sacrifice.
International Voices of Reason
August 28th: Portugal’s president openly accused Trump of working to promote Russia’s strategic interests. Finally, a world leader willing to say what everyone was thinking.
The contrast couldn’t be starker—while Trump rolled out red carpets for Putin, Ukrainian volunteers were literally being hunted by drones for the crime of delivering food to grandmothers.
The highway between Kherson and Mykolaiv tells the story of Russia’s true intentions. Russian drones now continuously hunt civilians on the only main highway out of the city. The road is littered with burnt-out cars. Authorities had to close the highway for people’s safety.
This is siege warfare in the 21st century—not conquering territory, but trapping and terrorising civilians until they break.
While the world fixated on Alaska summits, Russia’s sabotage campaign across Europe intensified:
- Mid-air sabotage: Russia targeted two planes carrying the head of the EU and Germany’s military chief while they were airborne
- Naval threats: Large-scale searches for Russian submarines threatening US aircraft carriers off Norway
- Recruitment networks: Russians recruiting migrants across Europe to carry out attacks on European soil
- Cyber warfare: Continued hacking attacks across multiple countries, including the US and Australia
- Infrastructure attacks: Russian agents setting fires in Polish warehouses storing supplies for Ukraine
The truth is simple: Russia is already at war with us. Despite Putin’s growing friendship with Trump, he has never backed down from his stated aim to destroy the West.
August brought the UN Human Rights Council’s latest documentation of Russian war crimes. The report detailed systematic sexualised torture in occupied Ukrainian territories:
- Men and women beaten with electric shocks, including on genitals
- Severe beatings, simulated drowning, and execution threats
- “Extensive, well-documented” practices of sexual assault, rape, and rape threats by Russian military
These documented cases represent only a small fraction of the systematic brutality. Yet somehow, we’re still expected to believe Putin is interested in “diplomatic solutions.”
Russian state media doesn’t hide the genocidal intent. Anton Krasovsky, chief of Russian-language broadcasting for Russia Today, declared on air:
“[Ukrainian children] should have been drowned… Just drown those children… Whoever says that Russia occupied them, you throw them in the river… Shove them right into those huts and burn them up… [Ukraine] is not supposed to exist at all.”
A quote from a Russian military telegram channel reveals the strategy: “If we won’t bomb schools, maternity wards and civil buildings, we won’t win this war. Only by killing civilians will we provide enough pressure to make Zelensky capitulate. Russia’s army reputation is at stake.”
This is not a war of conquest—it’s a campaign of extermination.
Estonia, having lived under Russian occupation, understands the stakes. A former Estonian Prime Minister warned: “If the war in Ukraine does not end with the complete destruction of Russia and a new Nuremberg trial, a predator that has tasted blood will be left to roam freely in the forest.”
Countries that have experienced Russian rule know what Ukraine faces: not just occupation, but erasure.
Throughout this summer of horrors, Western voices continued pushing for “peace negotiations.” But what peace looks like under Russian terms became crystal clear:
- No NATO troops in Ukraine
- No security guarantees that don’t include Russian veto power
- Handover of Ukrainian land to give Russia a foothold for future conquest
- No direct meetings with President Zelensky
In other words everything Russia needs to complete it’s ‘stated goals’ of the erasure of Ukraine.
Ukraine offered an unconditional ceasefire. Russia loudly and clearly refused any ceasefire.
The security guarantees Russia proposed? Only ones in which Russia and China have veto power—meaning Ukraine’s attackers would control who’s allowed to defend it.
Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk explained the reality: “Putin openly said that there is no Ukrainian nation, there is no Ukrainian language, there is no Ukrainian culture. Ukrainians have to be either re-educated as Russians or killed. And for 10 years we have documented how these words have been converted into horrible practice.”
A headline in a Russian state-approved commentary read: “There is no other option—no one should remain alive in Ukraine.”
We are witnessing genocide in real time. And too many in the West still don’t get it: Russia doesn’t want to control Ukraine—it wants to erase Ukraine as a nation entirely.
As summer 2025 draws to a close, one truth emerges clearly: History will remember this not as the summer of peacemaking, but as the season when the world’s most powerful democracy chose appeasement over justice.
Trump will be remembered not as a peacemaker, but as the worst president in modern history—one who rewarded genocide, legitimised aggression, and tried to trade away a nation’s freedom for his own ego while welcoming a war criminal on a red carpet.
The consequences of this betrayal extend far beyond Ukraine. When you reward genocide, it becomes a strategy. When you trade land for “peace,” you lose both. And when you legitimise the targeting of toddlers with drones, you lose something essential about what it means to be human.
The Ukrainian people know what they’re fighting for.
The question is: Do we?
Support organisations working directly with those on the ground. Share the truth. Reject disinformation. Because Ukraine’s fight for survival is ultimately a fight for the values we claim to hold dear.
