Russia and Ukraine continue strikes as Iran condemns attack on Iranian vessel in Caspian Sea

Attack comes as Trump appears to retreat further from commitment to allow Ukraine to manufacture its own Patriot air defense interceptors. What we know on day 1,620Kyiv was once again under attack by ballistic missiles early on Saturday as Donald Trump retreated further from a promise to let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot air defence interceptors. At least four people were ⁠killed, Kyiv’s military administration said, while the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said more than a dozen were wounded in the ⁠Russian ​attack. More than a ‌dozen explosions reverberated through the city, and residents were warned to stay in shelters.The attack comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges Trump and other US officials to help Ukraine gain permission from tech titan Elon Musk to use satellite internet service Starlink for guiding strikes inside Russia. Zelenskyy made the request directly to Trump during an Oval Office meeting this week, according to one person familiar with the matter. He also reportedly told lawmakers later on Capitol Hill that he wanted Starlink’s help. Trump did not commit to Zelenskyy’s request. Musk allows Starlink use within Ukraine, including Russian-occupied areas, but restricts it inside Russia.During a cabinet meeting at Camp David, Trump told reporters that handing over the underlying Patriot technology was “a hard thing” to do. Ukraine’s Zelensky had met Trump earlier this week and said Trump had agreed to license the production of Patriot missiles to Ukraine. Asked whether he was ready to grant Kyiv a licence to build Patriots domestically – something he had suggested at a Nato summit in Turkey just this month – Trump said: “We have not agreed to that. We’re talking about it, but it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology.” Giving away the weapons carried its own risks, he added: “People that you give that technology [to], they can some day turn on you. You know that is possible.”Several thousand Ukrainians rallied in central Kyiv on Friday, angry about Zelenskyy’s decision to ⁠oust the defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov. Fedorov is ​widely credited with driving military innovation during Ukraine’s war with Russia. But having taken charge of the wartime ministry in January, he was dismissed in a surprise government reshuffle ⁠in mid-July. Since then, Ukrainians have been gathering next to the presidential office, pushing for Fedorov to be reinstated as he refused to accept another government post.Russia’s main grain lobby group warned on Friday that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian ships and ports could shut down grain exports via the Black Sea, pushing up ⁠prices and causing hunger in ⁠Africa and the Middle East. Russia, the ​world’s largest wheat exporter, and Ukraine, also a large agricultural exporter, have been attacking each other’s facilities and vessels in the Black Sea area in recent weeks, driving wheat prices higher. The disruption to shipping in the Black Sea ⁠caused by Ukrainian attacks “poses a direct threat to global food security”, Russia’s Union of Grain Exporters and Producers told Reuters.Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian online retailer Wildberries amount to “acts ⁠of terrorism” against civilians, affecting millions of people in Russia and other countries, the company’s founder ⁠and CEO, Tatyana ⁠Kim, ​complained on Friday. Ukraine has attacked more than a dozen Wildberries sites since 18 July in ⁠a bid to disrupt the operations of the company, a vendor to the Russian war effort and linchpin of Russia’s consumer economy. Continue reading...

Nearly 400 Drones Target Moscow Overnight, With Zelensky In Washington Seeking To Sway Trump Ukraine's long-range drone attacks on Russian territory have long become a nightly thing (as have Russian drones and missiles on Ukraine territory), but it has become clear that these attack waves have grown in volume and effectiveness. On Tuesday Russian officials are newly acknowledging another massive attack wave on the Moscow region, describing that nearly 400 drones were inbound on the capital overnight.  Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin indicated that 390 drones had been tracked by anti-air defense systems across the wider Moscow region since Monday night, but said that "most" of them were intercepted - with no forthcoming reports of casualties.  One regional report cited some damage in residential and business areas, however: In the village of Vaulovo, a private house caught fire in the “Dubrava” dacha community, and a dacha house was damaged in the “Romashkino” community in the village of Dubna. No one was injured. A warehouse belonging to the logistics company 3PL caught fire in the village of Koledino in Podolsk, outside Moscow, following the attack, the independent Telegram channel Astra reported, citing photos and video from witnesses. A nearby Wildberries warehouse is operating “as normal,” the company reported. Drones impacted other regions of Moscow, however, and left at least 19 people in the Belgorod region injured. The high rate of injuries was due to an intercity bus being struck. Ukraine has continued targeting Wildberries warehouses and logistics hubs (the major Russian online retailer which is comparable to Amazon) - an escalating trend since July 18. So far nearly a dozen facilities have been hit across Moscow and the surrounding region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, Voronezh, Tambov, Krasnodar, Stavropol Krai, and Crimea.. Crimea meanwhile continues to struggle to keep the lights on and gas supplies available for the population. Regional reports say power was knocked out for the city of Feodosia overnight, after an electric substation was struck. Ukraine's President Zelensky has been highlighting the 'success' of the country's drone capabilities to Western backers, and is expected to carry the same message to Washington this week. Israel shared "intelligence" with Trump to encourage war on Iran, and now Zelensky is attempting the same move with "intelligence" that promotes more belligerence against Russia. Biden's Ukraine proxy war and Trump's Iran regime change war are increasingly converging. https://t.co/fV3vbQBcSJ — Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) July 27, 2026 He also urgently wants more missiles, both offensive and defensive, after President Trump vowed to allow Ukraine licensing to produce its own Patriot systems - which in reality would likely be a years-long process to just get off the ground. Zelensky has touched down in Washington, where he is attending Sen. Lindsey Graham's - and he will also be hosted at the Oval Office for a Trump meeting. He says he has new intelligence and a compelling case for Washington to increase its involvement on Kiev's side. Tyler Durden Tue, 07/28/2026 - 10:40

Romania summons Russian ambassador after shooting down three drones; Zelenskyy to meet Andy Burnham in UK. What we know on day 1,615Ukrainian and US officials have discussed a proposal to offer Russia an air ceasefire, the Reuters news agency has reported, citing a Ukrainian source. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to meet Donald Trump, the US president, in Washington on Tuesday. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on ⁠Sunday that Russia considered it premature to comment on any such ceasefire proposal. “We do not know how credible these reports are or where they come from. These are newspaper reports and nothing more. Therefore, it is premature to comment on them at this stage,” the Interfax news agency quoted Peskov as saying. “We have heard statements that some new formulas may be possible. We still need to learn ​more about them … What happens next will depend on how closely they correspond to our interests.”Romania said it was summoning Russia’s ambassador after the Nato member’s military shot down a third drone in as many days. A Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down the drone over the Black Sea, five minutes after it entered the country’s airspace, said Romania’s defence minister, Radu Miruță. The foreign minister, Oana Țoiu, condemned “repeated violations”. The Romanian president, Nicușor Dan, said that according to an investigation, a drone shot down on Friday was a “Shahed model used by the Russian Federation in its war of aggression against Ukraine”. Investigations into drones shot down on Saturday and Sunday continued, he said.The Golden Leo, an international cargo vessel, sank off the coast of ⁠Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa on Sunday, a week after Ukrainian ⁠officials said ⁠it ​had been struck by Russian forces. Nine ⁠crew members were killed in the ​attack while eight ‌were evacuated to safety. The ‌ship had left the ‌port of Chornomorsk with a cargo of corn when it was shelled by Russian forces on 19 July. Russia’s defence ministry ⁠said on Sunday that its forces had ⁠struck Ukrainian ⁠ports ​and shipping. Russia claimed the container terminal ‌at Chornomorsk, near ‌Odesa, handled “military cargoes”.Russia launched seven ballistic missiles and 136 drones at Ukraine overnight into Sunday, the Ukrainian air force said. In the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, a Russian drone hit ⁠a supermarket, killing two people – including a nine-year-old child – and wounding 25, emergency services said. In the eastern city of Kharkiv, one person was killed and 16 others required medical attention ‌after a daytime drone attack, said the mayor, Ihor Terekhov. A glide bomb attack killed one person and wounded six in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, said the regional governor, Ivan Fedorov.In Kyiv, a fire broke out on the seventh and eighth floors of a multi-storey apartment block in a central district after ‌a missile attack, said the mayor, Vitali Klitschko. Three people were wounded. In Sloviansk, Donetsk region, the national oil and gas company Naftogaz said two of its employees died in a Russian attack while trying to help residents affected by an earlier strike.Russia said ⁠areas of Ukraine ​under Moscow’s control had also come under attack, with four people killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Horlivka. Twelve ⁠people, including two children, were ⁠injured ⁠in drone ​attack on ⁠the Russian city of Belgorod, close ⁠to ​Ukraine’s ‌border, regional authorities ‌said early on Monday. Ukraine denies targeting civilians.Volodymyr Zelenskyy will become Andy Burnham’s first overseas visitor as prime minister, in a visit that Burnham said underlined Britain’s “unwavering” backing for Ukraine, Peter Walker writes. Less than two weeks after Keir Starmer travelled to Kyiv for the final foreign visit of his prime ministership, Zelenskyy will on Monday join Burnham at a naval base where Ukrainian forces have been receiving training. According to statistics released by No 10, since Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, total UK support for the country has totalled £25bn, including £16bn in military assistance.Burnham and Zelenskyy are due to discuss joint projects including Stone Cloak, an electronic jammer for which the UK has shared the intellectual property, allowing Ukraine to use the system immediately to prevent Russia shooting down Ukrainian drones. Since being proven on the Ukrainian frontline, the jammers are due to be fitted to new UK weaponry, including cruise missiles. Continue reading...

Zelenskyy says Iran is using Russian satellite images to help direct strikes in Middle East. What we know on day 1,614Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday condemned what it called a ⁠Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, saying it killed one sailor and ⁠injured another. Tehran called the apparent attack an act of aggression and said it would defend its national ​interests and security. Ukraine’s diplomatic representative to Iran was summoned, Iranian state media reported. Throughout ​the war in Ukraine, Kyiv has had to counter Iranian-designed drones deployed by Moscow, and it has offered its drone ⁠interception expertise to countries in the Middle East that have been attacked by Iran.Iran and Russia are two of the five countries that border the Caspian Sea and Russia maintains a powerful naval force there, making the inland body of water a platform for long‑range power projection, and a vital strategic bridge to Iran. Iran’s denunciation of the Ukraine attack on the ship coincided with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s comments that Russia was passing its satellite observations in the Middle East to Iran to enable it ‌to direct strikes in the region. Zelenskyy on Saturday said on X that Ukraine had “achieved very strong results with long‑range strikes in the Caspian Sea – including vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran”. Zelenskyy also said Russia wanted to bring ⁠in 30,000 ⁠North Korean ​troops to take part in its more than four-year-old conflict with Russia, and was ⁠already preparing to receive them. Under a mutual defence pact, North Korea sent an ⁠estimated 14,000 soldiers to Russia’s Kursk Region in ​2024 to help ‌Moscow beat back ‌a major incursion into the region by Ukrainian ‌forces. “Preparations have been under way in Russia’s ‌Voronezh region since June to receive [North Korean troops],” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, adding that the communist dictatorship was preparing ​to supply Russia with new launchers for ballistic missiles.Twelve people were killed, including five children, in an drone attack ⁠on ​a holiday camp in a Russian-held part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-installed local authorities said on Saturday, ⁠accusing Ukraine of deliberately attacking civilians. Kyiv did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Meanwhile, the ⁠Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under attack from Russian forces ⁠early on ⁠Sunday, ​with falling debris triggering fires in at least three ⁠districts, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Ukraine’s air force said Russian ⁠forces had targeted the capital with ​ballistic missiles. ‌But an ‌air alert was lifted after about ‌50 minutes and the air force rescinded its warning of missile deployment. Klitschko said one blaze had broken out on the seventh ‌and eighth floors of a multi-storey apartment block in ​a central district. There were no immediate ⁠reports of casualties.Kazakhstan’s ⁠president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, said on Saturday a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine might be ⁠reached if ⁠both sides froze the conflict and resumed negotiations. Tokayev made the remarks while meeting Vladimir Putin at a Russia-Kazakhstan forum ⁠in the Siberian city of Omsk. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the state ​TASS news agency, said Putin outlined to Tokayev in detail the state of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Zelenskyy says defence industry event should not have taken place; US influencer Laura Loomer visits Kyiv. What we know on day 1,613A Russian ballistic missile strike in Ukraine’s Kyiv region has killed 10 people and ⁠injured almost 100 at ⁠the site of ​a defence industry event that Volodymyr Zelenskyy said should never have taken place. Pictures posted online by the Ukraine Emergency Services showed teams sifting through piles of rubble at the site north of the capital, adjacent to several houses, after Friday’s attack.“Of course, the cause of this attack ⁠is Russian missiles, nothing but Russian terror,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “However, we have said a thousand ​times that under these wartime conditions, with such ‌an enemy, it is absolutely unacceptable ‌to hold any weapons exhibitions with large crowds of people, especially near residential buildings.” The event, hosted by a ‌drone manufacturers’ association, was taking place in an area a short drive from the outskirts of the capital. The acting governor of Kyiv region, Ruslan Oliynyk, said that a day of mourning would be observed on Saturday in the region.The rightwing US influencer Laura Loomer has visited Ukraine and met Zelenskyy, who says he expects to meet Donald Trump in Washington next week. In an interview with Loomer, the Ukrainian president said he would probably attend the funeral of senator Lindsey Graham and hold talks with Trump. Loomer interviewed Zelenskyy in the garden of the presidential palace in Kyiv – a remarkable move for the online provocateur who has previously minimised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amplified Kremlin propaganda to her nearly 2 million followers on social media.In the interview Zelenskyy said cooperation between ⁠Kyiv and Washington on drones would include a US factory to produce the unmanned aerial vehicles using Ukraine’s ⁠advanced technology. He said Ukraine wanted to build quickly on an initial agreement on drones clinched ⁠with Washington. Ukraine has excelled ​at drone innovation as it ‌has pursued asymmetrical warfare ‌against Russia during their four-year-old conflict, and Kyiv has shared its advances ‌with some allies.“Important technology. This is what we have. And America has great technology. Our drone deal is win-win,” Zelenskyy said. “We will build a great factory in the United States. We want to [have] lines of production.” In Washington, a source familiar with the matter said details of an agreement were still being worked out ​ahead of Zelenskyy’s talks with Trump, scheduled for Tuesday, according to a White House official.In eastern Ukraine, a Russian aerial bomb attack ⁠killed five people and injured nine in the city of Sloviansk, regional governor Vadym Filashkin ​said on Friday. He later said ​that a new Russian strike on ​the city in the evening injured 16 people and damaged residential buildings. In the northern Sumy region, a ​Russian drone strike ​killed two people, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said on Telegram. And in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, a Russian strike set fire to a shopping centre, injuring a number of people.On the Russian side, the acting governor of the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, reported on social media early on Saturday a “massive enemy drone attack” on the city of Belgorod. “Sadly, there are wounded, who have been promptly taken to hospitals,” he said. “There is damage and fires on the streets, which fire crews are extinguishing.”A wave of Ukrainian attacks on warehouses belonging to Wildberries – Russia’s largest e-commerce company and the country’s answer to Amazon – has brought the war closer to ordinary people, Pjotr Sauer writes. The strikes have destroyed billions of dollars worth of goods made, sold and bought by everyday Russians and devastated small businesses. Continue reading...

Russian Attack On Arms Expo Near Kiev Kills 10, Just After Zelensky Hosts Raytheon Execs Russia just escalated against Western backers of Ukraine in a big way. On Friday a major Russian missile strike was carried out in Kyiv Oblast where representatives of Ukraine's defense industry had gathered for a demonstration event. These types of defense tech gatherings occur semi-frequently, are somewhat secretive, and typically involve American and European defense companies demonstrating new weapons systems, particularly in the realm of drone warfare. These events also sometimes involve the Ukrainians showing off their own advancing capabilities to international customers. Handout image of defense expo strike aftermath. So bottom line is that in targeting the event, Russia is strongly signaling it is willing to strike locations known to potentially have Western officials present. It may be lashing out after the US reportedly agreed (tentatively at least) to give Ukraine licensing rights to produce its own Patriot missile defense shield. The Friday ballistic missile strike near the Ukrainian capital killed 10 people and injured almost 100 others. The timing is interesting given the attack came a mere day President Volodymyr Zelensky met nearby with with senior representatives of Raytheon, the US company that produces Patriot air defense systems. Raytheon has yet to provide public comment or confirm whether any of its representatives were at the event. The Thursday delegation was headed by Raytheon Vice President Joseph DeAntona. Zelensky in a meeting with a delegation Raytheon in Kiev on Thursday. Handout via Ukrainian Presidential Press Service Zelensky has said an investigation is underway amid public outrage, given the gathering seemed to lack legitimate operational security and secrecy, and seemed to be 'out in the open'. It was a rare daytime attack, but the precise location has not been disclosed by local authorities. But the event was reportedly openly advertised on social media. Some details have been revealed via local media: According to Ukrainska Pravda portal, a site on which a technology event took place has been targeted by a Russian attack. It has been confirmed by the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry that Russian forces carried out a missile strike on a site in Kyiv Oblast where representatives of Ukraine’s defence industry had gathered. It was a practical demonstration event, Defense Demo Day & Defense Expo Critically Protected, organized by ARMADA, Association of Manufacturers of Unmanned Systems and Associated Technologies. As stated by the organizers, the purpose of the event was to present comprehensive solutions for protecting critical infrastructure from modern aerial threats. "An investigation will establish who made the decision to hold the event... and whether the risks were properly assessed under martial law," prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko announced in the aftermath. 🇷🇺💥🇺🇦 Russian missiles struck the "Armada" arms exhibition in Kapitanovka, Kiev region, held on the grounds of the "Civil Safety Academy" shooting range. The event showcased small arms, drones, and combat gear for Ukraine's military and defense industry — vendors, buyers, and… pic.twitter.com/TCJjZ1yX08 — DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) July 24, 2026 Previously explosions were widely reported in the capital area, and residents were called on to stay in shelters as air defense systems were operating. "A rescue operation is currently under way in the Kyiv ⁠region following a Russian missile strike," Zelensky further announced on Telegram. Acting ‌governor of Kyiv region Ruslan Oliynyk affirmed that a ballistic missile ‌strike hit a private training ground while defense expo events were ⁠taking place. Just the day prior at the presidential office... Met with a Raytheon team led by Vice President Joseph DeAntona. Raytheon is a very strong defense company, and Ukraine has long been using its equipment to protect our people from vicious Russian attacks. I am grateful for the company’s readiness to take our partnership to an… pic.twitter.com/zPqXdQp5ig — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 23, 2026 Al Jazeera's Audrey MacAlpine is in the Ukrainian capital, and she has pointed out: "It’s quite irregular for Russian attacks, especially ballistic ones, to take place during the daytime hours so this marks something new." Tyler Durden Fri, 07/24/2026 - 12:00