Exclusive: Russia defenceless in the Mediterranean & Crimea's ‘highway of death’ under constant drone attack

Day 1,638.

Today, as Russia is accused of yet another incursion into Nato airspace, there are reports of a major Ukrainian drone attack on occupied Crimea. Kyiv is apparently seeking approval – again – from Elon Musk, this time to use Starlink in strikes on Russian missile launchers. Meanwhile, Russia is defenseless in the Mediterranean for the first time in a decade. We speak to the Telegraph journalist who got the scoop. Plus, a bizarre twist in the story of the suspected Nord Stream saboteur - and which American music artist is set to perform in St Petersburg in October? Finally, we catch up with occupied territories expert Dr Jade McGlynn on her recent trip to eastern Ukraine.

Contributors:

Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.

Sophie O’Sullivan (Telegraph journalist).

Tom Cotterill (Telegraph defence editor). @TomCotterillX on X.

Jade McGlynn (Research fellow, King’s College London). @DrJadeMcGlynn on X.

Producer: Rachel Porter

Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan

Social Producer: Anita Blay

Studio Director: James England

Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley

Created by David Knowles

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest

CONTENT REFERENCED:

If you’re interested in sponsoring Dom’s upcoming defence event, email our colleagues at events@telegraph.co.uk

Ukraine’s Logistics Targeting Raises Questions for Russia’s Rear Defences (RUSI)

https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/ukraines-logistics-targeting-raises-questions-russias-rear-defences

‘Highway of death’: the Ukrainian drone campaign menacing Russian logistics (The Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/11/highway-of-death-the-ukrainian-drone-campaign-menacing-russian-logistics

Ukraine seeks Elon Musk’s help to hit Russian missile launchers (Financial Times)

https://www.ft.com/content/ff536e6e-dc56-45e3-b5e0-2dfb28148cb6?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Ukraine Planned to Swarm Moscow Airports With AI-Guided Drones (Simon Shuster for The Atlantic)

https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/08/ukraine-moscow-airports-ai-drones/688337/

Coalition of the Willing to hold Independence Day meeting in Kyiv (Kyiv Independent)

https://kyivindependent.com/coalition-of-the-willing-to-hold-independence-day-meeting-in-kyiv/

Russian publishers reportedly cut print runs after Ukrainian strikes on Wildberries warehouses, where their books are stored (Meduza) https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/08/21/russian-publishers-reportedly-cut-print-runs-after-ukrainian-strikes-on-wildberries-warehouses-where-their-books-are-stored

The cheap submarine-detection kits set to expose Putin’s invisible force (Tom Cotterill for The Telegraph)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/08/21/cheap-submarine-detection-kits-expose-russia-navy-ships-war/

Russian widows hire clairvoyants to contact husbands killed in war (The Telegraph)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/08/17/russian-widows-hire-clairvoyants-to-contact-husbands-killed/

To hear Francis answer the question about Russian missile launchers in our last Q&A, on August 13th:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbf1PD2Xjhs&t=1890s

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Russia 'defenceless' in the Mediterranean for first time in war
• Ukraine hits Moscow’s supply lines to Crimea

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