diff --git a/kopf/_cogs/aiokits/aioadapters.py b/kopf/_cogs/aiokits/aioadapters.py
index 948a646c..8416d9be 100644
--- a/kopf/_cogs/aiokits/aioadapters.py
+++ b/kopf/_cogs/aiokits/aioadapters.py
@@ -1,11 +1,16 @@
 import asyncio
 import concurrent.futures
 import threading
-from typing import Any, Optional, Union
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Optional, Union
 
 from kopf._cogs.aiokits import aiotasks
 
-Flag = Union[aiotasks.Future, asyncio.Event, concurrent.futures.Future, threading.Event]
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    concurrent_Future = concurrent.futures.Future[Any]
+else:
+    concurrent_Future = concurrent.futures.Future  # Python<=3.8
+
+Flag = Union[aiotasks.Future, asyncio.Event, concurrent_Future, threading.Event]
 
 
 async def wait_flag(
diff --git a/kopf/_cogs/structs/references.py b/kopf/_cogs/structs/references.py
index 3782754f..1e788398 100644
--- a/kopf/_cogs/structs/references.py
+++ b/kopf/_cogs/structs/references.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 
 # A namespace specification with globs, negations, and some minimal syntax; see `match_namespace()`.
 # Regexps are also supported if pre-compiled from the code, not from the CLI options as raw strings.
-NamespacePattern = Union[str, Pattern]
+NamespacePattern = Union[str, Pattern[str]]
 
 # A specific really existing addressable namespace (at least, the one assumed to be so).
 # Made as a NewType for stricter type-checking to avoid collisions with patterns and other strings.
diff --git a/kopf/_core/engines/peering.py b/kopf/_core/engines/peering.py
index 75f66502..3dbc87d9 100644
--- a/kopf/_core/engines/peering.py
+++ b/kopf/_core/engines/peering.py
@@ -303,8 +303,8 @@ async def touch_command(
 ) -> None:
 
     await asyncio.wait({
-        insights.ready_namespaces.wait(),
-        insights.ready_resources.wait(),
+        asyncio.create_task(insights.ready_namespaces.wait()),
+        asyncio.create_task(insights.ready_resources.wait()),
     })
 
     selectors = guess_selectors(settings=settings)
diff --git a/kopf/_core/intents/callbacks.py b/kopf/_core/intents/callbacks.py
index 90111688..bc19992f 100644
--- a/kopf/_core/intents/callbacks.py
+++ b/kopf/_core/intents/callbacks.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
     ActivityFn = Callable[
         [
             NamedArg(configuration.OperatorSettings, "settings"),
-            NamedArg(ephemera.Index, "*"),
+            NamedArg(ephemera.Index[Any, Any], "*"),
             NamedArg(int, "retry"),
             NamedArg(datetime.datetime, "started"),
             NamedArg(datetime.timedelta, "runtime"),
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@
 
     TimerFn = Callable[
         [
-            NamedArg(ephemera.Index, "*"),
+            NamedArg(ephemera.Index[Any, Any], "*"),
             NamedArg(bodies.Annotations, "annotations"),
             NamedArg(bodies.Labels, "labels"),
             NamedArg(bodies.Body, "body"),
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 619d8e32..915c2288 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ freezegun
 import-linter
 isort
 lxml
-mypy==1.5.1
+mypy==1.8.0
 pre-commit
 pyngrok
 pytest>=6.0.0