Two people were injured in a Russian missile attack on Kyiv early Wednesday, while a separate strike on the southern port of Odesa left 10 injured, because apparently peace is overrated. This brings us to day 1,596 of the war, but who's counting?

Ukrainian drones have been busy too, attacking a dozen tankers from Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" over the past two days that were delivering fuel to Crimea. Kyiv's military said they struck eight sanctioned vessels in the Sea of Azov, each with a deadweight of about 7,000 metric tons, and later hit two more. Nothing like a little maritime vigilante justice to start the week.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made yet another pitch for NATO membership, arguing that his country's armed forces are highly experienced and would boost the alliance's defense capabilities. He highlighted Ukraine's ability to strike deep inside Russia and hit oil refineries, noting that Ukraine's forces are "eliminating" an average of 30,000 Russian troops every month. "Frankly, we take no pride in this," Zelenskyy said, because who enjoys pointing out that they're killing 30,000 people a month?

Zelenskyy is set to meet with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Ankara. Trump, ever the diplomat, said he had spoken to both Zelenskyy and Russia's Vladimir Putin before the NATO summit about ending the war. "I think they both want to make a deal. It's too bad it took so long … Something's going to come out," Trump said, because vague statements are his specialty.

Meanwhile, Ukraine signed three more "drone deals" with Denmark, Estonia, and the Netherlands, sharing its expertise gained from over four years of war. Ukraine has developed a highly sophisticated drone industry after having only limited expertise when Russia invaded in February 2022. The deals typically involve Kyiv providing blueprints for drone technology in exchange for royalties, investments, and other military hardware. Because nothing says "peace" like an international drone-building consortium.

Finally, Ukraine's foreign ministry denounced as "troubling" the International Olympic Committee's decision to lift the Russian Olympic Committee's suspension, urging countries to maintain restrictions on Russian participation and state symbols. "Under this flag an unprovoked war is continuing in Ukraine," the ministry said, because sports and war apparently go hand in hand.