• After officials from more than 40 countries, excluding Russia, met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for peace talks over the weekend, Kyiv called the discussions "productive" while Moscow deemed them part of the West's "futile, doomed efforts" to make the Global South support Ukraine. Topics included Ukrainian air defense, infrastructure protection, and grain exportation. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• A potential silver lining for peace was that China, who didn't attend previous talks in June, did send a delegation this time and suggested it would take part in a third round of talks—those could be a precursor to a meeting of heads of state. However, the talks didn't result in a formal declaration. New York Times (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• Meanwhile, the UK says that due to Ukraine's air defense system, Russian pilots have been limited mostly to supporting land operations in territory it already holds. While it has dropped adapted free-fall bombs into Ukrainian territory, the British Ministry of Defense (MOD) says it does so "without decisive operational effect." Business Insider (LR: 3 CP: 4)
• According Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hannah Maliar, Russia used nearly 500k munitions on the Eastern front last week alone, with more than 9k instances of shelling, up from 8k the week prior. She added that Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region is where Moscow is focused on regaining ground it lost last fall. CNN (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• On the other side, French Pres. Emmanuel Macron has now provided Ukraine with "long-range missiles," two of which were signed by Zelensky and reportedly used to strike two bridges connecting the Crimean Peninsula to Russia’s Kherson Region. The British-made missiles, known as Storm Shadows, are air-launched and can fire 250 km (155 miles). RT (LR: 3 CP: 1)
• Meanwhile, Kyiv alleges a former military store saleswoman tried to develop a list of upcoming times and locations of Pres. Zelensky's trip to the Mykolaiv region to assassinate him. She also allegedly tried to "identify the location of electronic warfare systems and warehouses with ammunition" for a "massive new airstrike." The Telegraph

Pro-establishment narrative:

• It's time for the US to bolster Ukraine's military with the latest drones. It's already proven capable of withstanding Russia's superior airforce without such assistance, so Kyiv would be a true force to be reckoned with if given the proper drone technology. As China is likely to begin sending its own drones to Moscow, the US could absolutely send upwards of 500k drones without depleting its own arsenal. Ukraine has shown its capabilities on the defensive, so now it's time to arm them with the tools for a devastating offensive operation.
  Wall Street Journal (LR: 3 CP: 5)

Pro-Russia narrative:

• What the West provides to Ukraine and tells the world about the war has little influence on how well Kyiv can actually perform in the face of Russia's superior military. Even if Western allies send new air defense systems, Russia — as it has done with Ukraine's old arsenal — will continue to destroy them, whether they're deployed to the front lines or closer to Kyiv. The US, for all its talk, will never engage directly with Moscow, which means Ukraine will remain a defenseless proxy for Washington.
  RT (LR: 3 CP: 1)

Nerd narrative:

• There's a 50% chance the size of Ukraine's army will be at least 250K as a result of ceasefire or treaty negotiations with Russia, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)