Ukrainian forces liberated the village of Zeleny Hai in western Donetsk Oblast on August 21st, marking their third village recapture in five days, as confirmed by multiple sources including GeoConfirmed and UAControlMap. Simultaneously, satellite imagery from August 20-21 shows storage units at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Rostov Oblast, Russia, were hit by Ukrainian strikes, with fires still active two days later, according to zarGEOINT. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed anger over Ukraine's strikes on the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Hungary with crude oil, calling the attacks "very angry" in a message to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as reported by Magyar Nemzet. Ukrainian forces from the 1st Battalion of the 37th Marine Brigade presented the Ukrainian flag in Zeleny Hai, located at 48.06839, 36.65014, on August 21st. This military action follows Russian 36th motor rifle regiment's withdrawal and movement east across the Mokri Yaly River in Donetsk Oblast. In parallel, Ukraine is reportedly matching Russia's "Shahed" drone production, manufacturing 3,000 FP-1 long-range drones monthly, which have a range of up to 1,600 km and a lower cost per unit compared to Russian drones, according to vanguardintel. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on August 22nd that Ukraine has withstood the full-scale war for 1,276 days, attributing this to patriotism and the effectiveness of its people and warriors. He emphasized the need for strong security guarantees from peace-seeking partners. Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski has reportedly responded to Hungary regarding the pipeline attacks. Additionally, intelligence claims that a Ukrainian GUR naval drone explosion in Novorossiysk Bay on August 21st killed five Russian naval divers during an operation to recover the drone, as reported by The Kyiv Independent and NOELreports. Russian nationalist Dmitry Dyomushkin commented on the war, stating that Russian military claims of Ukraine's imminent exhaustion are unfounded, given the extensive material and financial support Ukraine receives from 55 countries. He also noted the low quality of Russian personnel at the front and that the war has not become a public concern in Russia. Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan announced Bucharest's readiness to provide its military bases as part of security guarantees for Ukraine, though Romania will not send troops. The Romanian defense ministry highlighted its air force infrastructure as a key NATO hub on the alliance's eastern flank.
