Saturday, August 16, 2025

LATE NIGHT PHONE CALL

 Coordination of Ukraine’s joint positions with all partners continues. . .

Presidents of Ukraine and the United States Discussed the Meeting in Alaska in a Bilateral Format and Then Together with European Leaders

16 August 2025 - 12:40

Presidents of Ukraine and the United States Discussed the Meeting in Alaska in a Bilateral Format and Then Together with European Leaders

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone call with President of the United States of America Donald Trump. 
  • The leaders first spoke in a bilateral format for almost an hour, after which a conversation took place that was joined by European leaders.
The participants of the conversation included: 
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff, 
President of France Emmanuel Macron, 
President of Finland Alexander Stubb, 
Federal Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, 
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer, 
President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Giorgia Meloni, 
President of Poland Karol Nawrocki, 
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, 
President of the European Council António Costa, and 
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible for the sake of genuine peace.

 

The U.S. President informed about his meeting with the Russian leader in Alaska and the main points of their discussion. 
 
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The Head of State noted that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation. 
  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that he supports Donald Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, since the most important and sensitive issues can only be discussed at the level of leaders, and such a format is suitable for this.

The Presidents of Ukraine and the United States agreed to discuss all details more thoroughly during their meeting in Washington on Monday, August 18.  

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Donald Trump for the invitation.
The Head of State noted that it is important that European partners, together with the United States, be involved at every stage to ensure a reliable security architecture for Ukraine. 
  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the positive signals from the American side regarding participation in these guarantees, which were also discussed during the conversation.

Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Washington on Monday | LiveNOW from FOX

 
 
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Before Zelenskyy's visit to Washington: leaders of the "coalition of the willing" to hold a video meeting tomorrow 

Before Zelenskyy's visit to Washington: leaders of the "coalition of the willing" to hold a video meeting tomorrow

Kyiv • UNN
August 16 2025, 06:32 AM • 8874 views 
 
Leaders of the "coalition of the willing" will hold a video conference on Sunday before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington. The meeting will be co-chaired by Macron, Merz, and Starmer.

We have successes in extremely difficult areas near Dobropillia and Pokrovsk: Zelenskyy held a meeting of the Staff

 

Kyiv • UNN

 • 14377 views

President Zelenskyy held a meeting of the Staff, where the situation at the front was discussed. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are having success in the Dobropillia and Pokrovsk directions, destroying the occupiers.

Report by Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. Front, defense of positions, current information on the intentions and movements of the Russian army. We are defending our positions along the entire front line and for the second day in a row we have successes in some extremely difficult areas in Donetsk region – in the direction of Dobropillia and Pokrovsk 

- Zelenskyy reported.

The head of state separately noted units of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine "Azov", units of the 7th Corps of airborne assault troops, units of the 38th Separate Marine Brigade named after Hetman Petro Sahaidachny, as well as units of our 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar".

Ukrainian military stopped the enemy's advance in the Pokrovsk direction: seven settlements cleared15.08.25, 21:26 • 110514 views

The destruction of the occupiers who tried to infiltrate our positions continues. There is an important replenishment of the exchange fund for Ukraine with Russian military personnel. The Commander-in-Chief also reported on the actions of our units in Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. I am grateful to all soldiers for their resilience 

- the President emphasized.

Addition

The President of Ukraine coordinated positions with Trump and European leaders on achieving peace. Ukraine insists on ending killings, releasing prisoners, and returning children.

 
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CARTOON CAROUSEL The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. 
Edited by Matt Wuerker.
IF YOU'RE NOT AT THE TABLE, YOU'RE ON THE MENU 
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BACK TO JACKSON HOLE via Larry Summers" Pressure on the Fed Meets Economic Softness

Dynamics of Embryo Implantation in The Laboratory | Provided by Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia

https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2025/human-embryo-implantat.jpg

Human embryo implantation recorded in real time for the first time

Confocal microscopy image of a nine-day-old human embryo. Specific proteins and cellular structures have been colored in the image: OCT4 (green), which is related to embryonic stem cells; GATA6 (magenta), which is associated with early tissue formation; DAPI (blue), which marks the DNA in the nuclei; and phalloidin (red), which reveals the actin cytoskeleton. The scale bar corresponds to 100 µm. Credit: Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)

Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in collaboration with the Dexeus University Hospital have captured unparalleled images of a human embryo implanting. This is the first time that the process has been recorded in real time and in 3D.

The work is published in the journal Science Advances.

Failure of the implantation process in the uterus is one of the main causes of infertility, accounting for 60% of spontaneous abortions. Until now, it had not been possible to observe this process in humans in real time, and the limited available information came from still images taken at specific moments during the process.

"We have observed that human embryos burrow into the uterus, exerting considerable force during the process. These forces are necessary because the embryos must be able to invade the uterine tissue, becoming completely integrated with it. It is a surprisingly invasive process. Although it is known that many women experience and slight bleeding during implantation, the process itself had never been observed before," explains Samuel Ojosnegros, principal investigator of the IBEC's Bioengineering for Reproductive Health group and leader of the study.

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Video of a human embryo. The first half shows the process of cell compaction in the embryo. The second half shows the embryo invading the platform. Credit: Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)

To advance during implantation, the embryo releases enzymes that break down the surrounding tissue. However, it is also known that force is required in order to penetrate the underlying layers of the uterus. This is filled with collagen, a rigid protein that also forms tendons and cartilage.

"The embryo opens a path through this structure and begins to form specialized tissues that connect to the mother's blood vessels in order to feed," adds Ojosnegros.

The research team's results reveal that exert traction forces on their environment, remodeling it.

"We observe that the embryo pulls on the uterine matrix, moving and reorganizing it. It also reacts to external force cues. We hypothesize that contractions occurring in vivo may influence embryo implantation," explains Amélie Godeau, a researcher in the Ojosnegros group and co-first author of the study. Thus, effective embryo invasion is associated with optimal matrix displacement, highlighting the importance of these forces in the implantation process.

Improving our understanding of the implantation process could have a significant impact on , embryo quality and the time taken to conceive through assisted reproduction.

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01:43
Credit: Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)

A platform for studying implantation in the laboratory

To carry out the study, the IBEC research team developed a platform that allows embryos to implant outside the uterus under controlled conditions.

This enables real-time fluorescence imaging and analysis of the embryo's mechanical interactions with its environment. The platform is based on a gel composed of an artificial matrix formed by collagen, which is abundant in uterine tissue, and various proteins necessary for embryo development.

Experiments were carried out with both human and mouse embryos to allow comparison of the two implantation processes. When the mouse embryo comes into contact with the uterus, it exerts forces to adhere to its surface.

The then adapts by folding around the embryo, enveloping it in a uterine crypt. In contrast, the human embryo moves inward and penetrates the uterine tissues completely. Once there, it begins to grow radially from the inside out.

"Our platform has enabled us to quantify the dynamics of embryo implantation and determine the mechanical footprint of the forces used in this complex process in real time," concludes Anna Seriola, IBEC researcher and co-first author of the study.

Journal information: Science dvances  
Provided by Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia

More information: Traction force and mechanosensitivity mediate species-specific implantation patterns in human and mouse embryos, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr5199

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