These are two absolutely contradictory memorandums.
On the 1,221st day of a war that has reshaped the European order, Ukraine reached deep into Russian territory to strike the aircraft that rain destruction on its cities, while Russia answered by killing civilians and darkening the grid. The exchange captures the essential logic of this conflict: each side striking at the other's capacity and will, while diplomats in Istanbul produce contradictory documents that neither side can accept. Peace, as Putin himself acknowledged in Minsk, remains a horizon that recedes with every advance.
- Ukraine's special operations forces struck a Russian airbase 900 kilometers from the border, destroying four Su-34 bombers — the very aircraft Moscow uses to bomb Ukrainian cities — along with the maintenance facilities that keep them flying.
- Russia responded within hours, killing at least five civilians and wounding 25 more in Samar, a southeastern city now struck twice in three days, suggesting deliberate and sustained targeting.
- Energy infrastructure in the Kherson region was simultaneously hit, knocking out power to multiple settlements and signaling Russia's intent to strip Ukraine of electricity before winter arrives.
- Russian forces claimed the capture of a village in the Kharkiv region, though the fog of ground war makes such claims impossible to independently verify.
- Peace talks in Istanbul produced only what Putin called 'two absolutely contradictory memorandums,' and the Russian president declared the gap between the two sides unbridgeable — leaving the battlefield as the only active arena.
On the 1,221st day of the war, Ukraine's military announced a long-range strike on the Marinovka airbase near Volgograd, roughly 550 miles inside Russian territory. Special operations forces, working with the SBU security service, targeted four Su-34 bombers — Russia's primary aircraft for bombing raids on Ukrainian cities — as well as the maintenance facilities that service and repair them. Volgograd's regional governor confirmed the strike, noting that traffic on a nearby bridge over the Don River had been temporarily halted. Damage assessment was still underway, but the operation reflected a deliberate strategy: reach behind Russian lines and destroy not just the planes, but the infrastructure that keeps them in the air.
Russia answered with missiles. A strike on the southeastern industrial city of Samar killed at least five people and wounded 25 more, with at least four of the injured in critical condition. It was the second attack on the city in three days — Tuesday's strike had killed two and damaged an infrastructure facility — pointing to a pattern of deliberate targeting. Further south, Russian missiles hit energy infrastructure in the Kherson region, knocking out power to several settlements and prompting regional authorities to warn residents of extended blackouts. The summer timing was not incidental: destroying power plants now is preparation for leaving Ukraine in the cold and dark when winter comes.
In the east, Russia's defense ministry claimed the capture of a village in the Kharkiv region, though the claim could not be independently verified. And in Minsk, Vladimir Putin closed the door on diplomacy, dismissing the memorandums exchanged during Istanbul talks as 'two absolutely contradictory' documents with no common ground between them. Two rounds of negotiations had yielded nothing. The war, it was clear, would be settled — if it is settled at all — not at the table, but on the ground.
On day 1,221 of the war, Ukraine's military announced it had struck deep into Russian territory, hitting four Su-34 bombers at an airbase near Volgograd—roughly 550 miles from the Ukrainian border. The operation, carried out Friday by Ukraine's special operations forces working alongside the SBU security service, targeted the Marinovka base and the maintenance facilities where Russian warplanes are serviced and repaired. The Su-34 is the aircraft Russia relies on most heavily for bombing raids across Ukrainian cities and towns. Volgograd's regional governor confirmed the strike had occurred, noting that traffic on a key bridge over the Don River in the area had been temporarily halted. The Russian military offered no immediate response to the claim.
Ukraine's military said damage assessment was still underway, but the strike represented part of a broader strategy to degrade Russia's capacity to wage air war. The targeting of maintenance facilities alongside the aircraft themselves suggested an effort to compound the damage—destroying not just the planes but the infrastructure needed to keep them flying. It was a calculated move, reaching far behind Russian lines to strike at the machinery of bombardment.
Hours later, Russia answered with missiles of its own. A Russian attack on the southeastern industrial city of Samar killed at least five people and wounded 25 more on Friday. At least four of the wounded were in critical condition and hospitalized. This was the second Russian strike on Samar in three days; an attack on Tuesday had killed two people and damaged an infrastructure facility. The pattern suggested deliberate targeting of the city, though officials provided no immediate details on what had been hit or the full extent of damage.
The same day, Russian missiles struck energy infrastructure in the Kherson region to the south, near the front lines. Regional authorities warned residents to prepare for extended blackouts. The attack knocked out power to several settlements, adding to the civilian toll of the war—not in deaths necessarily, but in the grinding deprivation of basic services. Winter was still months away, but the targeting of power plants in summer signaled Russia's intent to leave Ukraine without electricity when the cold came.
In the east, Russian forces claimed to have captured the village of Nova Kruhlyakivka in the Kharkiv region, according to the Russian defense ministry via state news agency Tass. The claim could not be independently verified, part of the fog that surrounds ground operations where both sides announce victories that may or may not hold.
Meanwhile, peace remained distant. Vladimir Putin, speaking in Minsk on Friday, dismissed the latest round of negotiations. Russian and Ukrainian delegations had exchanged memorandums on ending the war during talks in Istanbul earlier in the month, but Putin saw no common ground. "These are two absolutely contradictory memorandums," he said, describing the gap between what each side demanded as unbridgeable. Two rounds of talks had produced nothing. The war, it seemed, would continue on the battlefield because the negotiating table had become a dead end.
Citas Notables
These are two absolutely contradictory memorandums.— Vladimir Putin, on the latest round of peace negotiations
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why strike an airbase so far from the fighting? What does Ukraine gain by hitting Volgograd when the war is happening in the east?
Distance is the point. Those Su-34s fly from Volgograd to drop bombs on Ukrainian cities. If you can degrade the aircraft and the repair facilities, you reduce the tonnage falling on civilians. It's not about territory—it's about attrition.
But Russia just retaliated by hitting Samar. Doesn't that mean the strike backfired?
Retaliation was always going to happen. The question is whether the cost to Russia—four bombers, maintenance infrastructure—is worth the cost to Ukraine. That's the calculus of this kind of war.
The power plants in Kherson—is that Russia preparing for winter?
Probably. Destroy the grid now, and by December there's no time to rebuild it. It's a way of breaking civilian morale without needing to take more territory.
And the peace talks? Putin says the demands are contradictory. What does that actually mean?
It means neither side is willing to give on the core issue—territory, sovereignty, security guarantees. Until one side can't fight anymore or one side decides to concede, talking won't change anything.
So this continues.
Until something breaks. Either the military situation shifts decisively, or one side runs out of will or capacity. Right now, neither has happened.