Russia has started using a new drone tactic in Ukraine. Russian Shahed kamikaze drones have begun performing complex maneuvers mid-flight in an apparent attempt to evade Ukrainian interceptor drones, according to electronic warfare expert Serhii Beskrestnov, also known as Flash.
Ukrainian interceptor drones are the country’s most advanced weapon for defending against Russian drones. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has set a clear goal for domestic manufacturers: ensure the capacity to deploy at least 1,000 such interceptors daily to protect Ukrainian cities and military targets.
“Shaheds have started executing a set of complex in-flight maneuvers aimed at reducing the effectiveness of our aerial interceptor drones,” explains Beskrestnov.
According to him, the Russian military has long been preparing to counter Ukrainian interceptors, and this new drone approach is only the beginning.
Despite the new threat, the expert assures that Ukraine is actively improving its own interception technology.
In the first half of 2025, 6,754 civilians in Ukraine were killed or injured, the highest number for a six-month period since 2022, the UN reports. In July alone, Russia launched at least 5,183 long-range munitions at Ukraine, including a record 728 drones on 9 July. Kyiv and the port city of Odesa have been hit hardest in recent weeks.
“We will keep working on countering their tech with ours. You didn’t really think the enemy would abandon its most widespread weapon so easily, did you?” the expert says.
Shaheds remain one of the main threats to Ukraine’s rear, making the development of interceptor drones a key component of defense. As the situation shows, the air war is entering a new phase, the one where each side upgrades its unmanned systems in real time.
Despite escalating fighting and a humanitarian catastrophe, the UN has received only 34% of the planned $2.6 billion for aid to Ukraine in 2025, reveals UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya, UkrInform reports.
In the first half of 2025, Russia killed or injured 6,754 civilians in Ukraine, the highest number for a six-month period since 2022. After a surge in Russian attacks on civilians following each US peace effort, President Donald Trump gave Russia a 50-day ultimatum to strike a peace deal with Ukraine. However, the attack continue.
“Without immediate funding, even priority programs may be shut down,” she warned during a UN Security Council meeting.
The UN has already launched its 2025–2026 winter response plan, which targets the 1.7 million Ukrainians left in high-risk areas.
Since the last Security Council meeting on 20 June, the humanitarian situation has significantly worsened, Msuya said. In the first half of 2025, the number of civilian casualties increased by nearly 50% compared to last year.
Currently, 13 million Ukrainians need assistance, but due to a funding shortfall, only 3.6 million have received it.
Access to Russian-occupied regions remains extremely limited, Msuya emphasized. This makes it impossible to provide basic aid to millions of civilians.
Russia is transforming occupied Ukrainian regions into military bases. Moscow troops use Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts to build up combat units, establish fortified positions, and organize logistics hubs. Meanwhile, from occupied Crimea, Russian forces are launching missiles and drones at other Ukrainian cities.
She stressed that Ukrainians cannot depend on donor fatigue or delay, urging UN member states to act without hesitation.
Earlier, Euromaidan Press reported that Ukrainians suffer from dehydration and violence in Donetsk. The city’s residents under the Russian occupation face catastrophic water shortages, with no supply to homes for up to three days at a time.
Military expert Roman Svitan said that the Russians destroyed the Khanzhonkivske Reservoir in 2022. The pumps capable of moving millions of tons of water were completely demolished. This water sustained all of Donbas, all the way to Mariupol.
Russia is wiping out Ukrainian cities daily. In the first half of 2025, 6,754 civilians in Ukraine were killed or injured, the highest number for a six-month period since 2022, says Miroslav Jenča, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas, UkrInform reports.
After a surge in Russian attacks on civilians following each US peace effort, President Donald Trump gave Russia a 50-day ultimatum to strike a peace deal with Ukraine. He warned that failure to comply would trigger harsh economic sanctions, including tariffs of around 100% not only against Russia itself but also against countries purchasing its energy resources.
Daily shelling of Ukrainian towns and villages with missiles and drones has only intensified, he said during a UN Security Council meeting. June saw the highest monthly civilian casualty count in three years.
In July alone, Russia launched at least 5,183 long-range munitions at Ukraine, including a record 728 drones on 9 July. Kyiv and the port city of Odesa have been hit hardest in recent weeks.
Even Ukraine’s western regions, once considered relatively safe, are no longer spared from massive aerial attacks.
According to official UN data, at least 13,580 civilians have been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, including 716 children. Another 34,115 people have been injured.
“There is no safe place in Ukraine today,” said Jenča.
He stressed that international law clearly prohibits attacks on civilians and that the UN strongly condemns all such assaults.
German company Hensoldt AG says it has received an order worth € 340 million to supply Ukraine’s air defense forces with TRML-4D and SPEXER 2000 3D MkIII radar systems. These radar systems have already been in use in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
The announcement came amid Russia’s escalated attacks on Ukraine. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 232 civilian deaths and 1,343 injuries in June 2025, marking the highest monthly casualty toll in three years as Russian forces launched ten times more missile strikes and drone attacks than in June 2024.
“Our high-performance radars are urgently needed by Ukrainian air defence,” says Hensoldt CEO Oliver Dörre, emphasizing that the company is proud to supply systems that are “critically important for protecting civilians.”
TRML-4D radars are based on advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array technology. They can simultaneously detect and track up to 1,500 targets within a radius of up to 250 km, including drones, aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles.
Their fast response time and ability to operate under complex conditions make TRML-4D systems essential in providing precise countermeasures against Russian aerial attacks.
SPEXER 2000 3D MkIII systems are designed for the automatic detection and classification of ground, maritime, and low-flying aerial targets. They are integrated into the Rheinmetall Skyranger 30 air defense gun system, which provides close-range and very short-range protection.
The system is based on the wheeled armored Boxer vehicle, equipped with a combat module featuring a 30mm Swiss Oerlikon KCA gun firing 1,200 rounds per minute. Optionally, it can be fitted with a launcher for two FIM-92 Stinger or Mistral missiles, according to Militarnyi.
The gun’s ammunition includes a wide range of shells, including airburst rounds with radio fuses. The total ammunition load consists of 252 30mm shells. The vehicle is equipped with five antennas, providing full 360-degree coverage.
It also features the Rheinmetall FIRST passive target acquisition system, which excels at detecting small targets. Since it emits no radar signal, the system can operate without being detected by enemy electronic intelligence.
The system is a part of Germany’s NNbS program, a new short-range air defense “umbrella” for the Bundeswehr, meaning Ukraine is receiving the best from NATO’s arsenal.
On 25 July, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi met with the newly appointed Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Alexis Grinkevich, in Kyiv.
The American general of Belarusian descent succeeded General Cavoli as commander of NATO forces on 4 July 2025. During Senate hearings, Grinkevich openly stated that he believed in Ukraine’s victory over Russia.
Major General Andrii Hnatov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Curtis Buzzard, Head of NATO’s Security Assistance Mission, also joined the comprehensive discussion.
During the talks, Syrskyi emphasized that Russia has already mobilized the maximum of its human and material resources in an attempt to break through. However, despite the pressure, Ukraine retains conventional capabilities to destroy offensive groupings.
“Our allies fully understand the scale and complexity of the tasks facing the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” he said.
The parties discussed the expedited transfer of new air defense systems purchased for Ukraine by European allies.
“We are grateful to President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for the swift delivery of these systems. They are already on their way,” Syrskyi stressed.
The systems in question are Patriots, a key Ukrainian defense against ballistic missile strikes. As of now, Kyiv has eight batteries, six of which were operational in May. The new deliveries could increase the total to 13.
The deliveries were announced by US President Donald Trump after Russia began launching massive attacks on Ukraine, right after any conversations he or US representatives had with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented 232 civilian deaths and 1,343 injuries in June 2025, marking the highest monthly casualty toll in three years as Russian forces launched ten times more missile strikes and drone attacks than in June 2024.
Trump also revealed a new aid model: the US will produce weapons for NATO and Ukraine, while European partners will foot the bill. Ukraine will receive modern missiles and military equipment, critically needed at this stage of the war.
Ukrainian military intelligence cyber specialists have carried out a powerful operation against Russian authorities in occupied Crimea. According to RBC-Ukraine’s intelligence sources, the cyberattack lasted several days and paralyzed the entire digital infrastructure of the occupation administration.
Russia is transforming occupied Ukrainian regions into military bases. Moscow troops use Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts to build up combat units, establish fortified positions, and organize logistics hubs. Meanwhile, from occupied Crimea, Russian forces are launching missiles and drones at other Ukrainian cities.
It began with a powerful DDoS assault that took down the occupiers’ government services. While panic spread in Crimea and technicians scrambled to identify the source of the outage, Ukrainian hackers had already infiltrated the electronic accounts of the so-called “authorities.” And that was just the beginning.
The Ukrainian Defence Intelligence has gained access to the occupiers’ key digital systems:
In just two days, over 100 terabytes of classified information were downloaded. Among the documents were files marked as top secret, including data on military facilities and logistics for supplying Russian troops.
After completing the operation, HUR specialists destroyed all the occupiers’ administrative servers, at both regional and district levels. These structures have effectively lost access to their documents, databases, and internal communications.
“So much data was extracted that we’ll soon uncover plenty of sensational details about Russian crimes in Crimea. Special thanks for the assistance goes to the deputy minister of health of the occupation government, Anton Lyaskovsky,” an intelligence source told RBC-Ukraine with irony.
Moscow has already labeled the operation as “elements of hybrid warfare.” Meanwhile, the so-called “Ministry of Internal Policy” of Crimea has admitted that some services remain offline. However, the true scale of the destruction is only beginning to come to light.
She returned to the hell of war, haunted by the life she couldn’t save. A vehicle of the chief military nurse of the Ukrainian 95th Air Assault Brigade’s medical company, Nataliia Vysotska, was hit on a mine, while evacuating a wounded soldier from the front line.
Over 70,000 women serve in Ukraine’s Armed Forces, with more than 5,500 deployed directly to the front lines.
Only two of the four crew members survived in the blast. Nataliia suffered severe injuries: fractures to her pelvis, leg, and spine. She was classified with a second-degree disability. However, she went back to the front.
“I still remember—we didn’t make it to that wounded soldier… Every mission is a trial,” Nataliia recalls.
It wasn’t her first wound. In 2022, she had already sustained shrapnel injuries to her stomach and leg during a shelling, and quickly returned to duty. But the mine explosion proved especially devastating, physically and emotionally. Treatment, rehabilitation, the loss of comrades, and the feeling of unfinished duty. Through it all, one thought kept her going: to return.
“At war, there’s no time to recover after losing a brother-in-arms… You must hold yourself together to remain a professional,” she says.
Recently, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded Nataliia Vysotska the Order of Princess Olga, 3rd Class, an honor recognizing strength, resilience, motivation, and loyalty. But for her, the most important thing is being by her comrades’ side.
“Maybe life has more trials ahead, but I’ll stay as long as I can be of use… When our team manages to save a soldier’s life, that’s what matters. That’s our victory!” she adds.
Earlier, the Ukrainian forces reported that a hundred women who served prison sentences had already joined the ranks of the army. They now fight alongside men, both on the frontlines and in communications, logistics, and medical units. Upon completion of their military service, the court will reconsider their case, and the service may be taken into account as a mitigating factor during sentencing.
Masked men appeared at anti-corruption demonstrations in Kyiv Thursday evening, carrying inflammatory signs targeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally—exactly 24 hours after Ukrainian intelligence warned that Russia would deploy provocateurs to exploit the crisis.
The timing wasn’t coincidental. Defense Intelligence had warned Wednesday that “Kremlin agents are actively studying the internal situation” to weaponize protests against the law that subordinates Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The incident unfolded around evening as legitimate demonstrators wrapped up their third day of protests against Law No. 12414. What happened next looked like textbook destabilization.
Masked individuals emerged with signs reading “Ukraine is not Kvartal! Ukrainians are not slaves!” “Killers of democracy traitors of Ukraine,” and “Heroes are dying for Ukraine and these two are destroying it!”—directly targeting Zelenskyy and his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, according to footage captured by a Euromaidan Press correspondent.
Legitimate protesters had focused on defending institutions: “Hands off NABU and SAP!” and “The lost generation wants democracy.” These newcomers turned it into a vitriolic attack on the country’s leadership.
Why target Zelenskyy and Yermak specifically? The anti-corruption law represents broader concerns about power centralization during wartime.
When investigators began targeting Zelenskyy’s closest associates—including Oleksiy Chernyshov, the only Cabinet minister invited to Zelenskyy’s COVID birthday party, and business partner Tymur Mindych from Kvartal 95—the response was to subordinate the investigators rather than allow the process to continue.
The law effectively places NABU and SAPO under the Prosecutor General’s control, ending a decade of institutional independence. The protesters aren’t calling for Zelenskyy’s removal—they want the law repealed while maintaining effective war leadership. Most Ukrainians still oppose holding elections while fighting Russia. Their primary concern remains winning the war.
That’s precisely what makes this moment valuable to Moscow. The Kremlin hopes to exploit these real institutional tensions to destabilize Zelenskyy’s government entirely.
Witness Mladena Kachurets documented the evening’s events. The suspicious activity began about 10 minutes before an air raid alert—perfect timing for dramatic effect.
“Masked individuals gathered the remaining protesters around them and delivered some kind of recorded speech,” she wrote. Multiple distractions played out simultaneously. While media focused on MP Maryana Bezuhla giving comments, “behind her was a verbal altercation between two young men, drawing part of the attention away.”
Then came the crescendo. When the air raid alert sounded, “the masked individuals demonstratively lit flares—an impressive picture, you’ll agree.”
Ukrainian Defense Intelligence issued their warning 23 July. The provocateur incident materialized 24 July. The prediction proved remarkably accurate—the agency had specifically warned that Russian intelligence services were “attempting to destabilize Ukraine amid the anti-corruption crisis.”
The provocateurs’ work didn’t end with the flares. Multiple Russian media outlets, starting from TASS, quickly fabricated coverage, with headlines like “Protesters in Kyiv called Zelenskyy and Yermak ‘traitors of Ukraine'” appearing the next day.
They cited Strana.ua, a pro-Russian media outlet that Ukraine sanctioned in 2021, as their source without providing actual links to any such article. Strana indeed reported on the event, on their Telegram channel, using a video by UNIAN with a comment presenting this as legitimate sentiments of the protesters.
The catch is that Ukrainian media, sensing Russian hybrid warfare operations from a mile away, either did not report on the men or reported them as provocateurs. Even the opposition 5 Kanal tweeted the video with a comment “provocative action” and followed up with a comment from the organizers that dismissed the burned Yermak and Zelenskyy portraits as a “provocation.”
The UNIAN video that Strana.ua shared the video with this comment: “At a protest in Kyiv, a group of planted provocateurs are lighting flares to the sound of air raid sirens. It looks like these uninvited guests are clearly and openly staging a photo op. Makes you wonder who needs this footage besides Russian propaganda—and who’s pulling the strings?”
As Ukrainian media turned out to be immune to this Russian propaganda narrative, so Russian media used the Strana socket outlet to create the illusion of Ukrainian domestic coverage validating their narrative—that Ukrainians don’t support their leadership, are happy to be invaded, and become a Russian vassal state.
What unraveled in the backyard of the President’s Office in Kyiv on 24 July was a classic Russian influence operation. Its aim was to fabricate a virtual reality inside the heads of Russians to validate the propaganda narratives driving Russia’s war—that Ukrainians want this, because they don’t support Zelenskyy anyway.
The inflammatory signs calling Zelenskyy a “dictator” and “traitor” now circulate in Russian information space—manufacturing evidence that Ukraine is fragmenting internally to validate Moscow’s narrative that its invasion “liberates” Ukrainians from their government.
We’ve seen multiple examples of how these operations work in the Surkov Leaks, a collection of Vladimir Putin’s gray cardinal Vladislav Surkov, who worked to destabilize Ukraine from within after the Euromaidan revolution with hybrid warfare means. So far, it appears that the operation has influenced solely Russians, as the incendiary narrative of “down with the dictators” proved too radical for Ukrainians.
But that doesn’t mean that the Kremlin won’t keep trying and finding other ways to mess with the minds of Ukrainians—and anybody else gullible enough to fall for the Kremlin’s information warfare.
But here’s what actually happened to the supposed “dictator”: within three days of signing the controversial law, Zelenskyy submitted corrective legislation under intense public pressure.
“We heard the street,” he admitted, promising new legislation to restore anti-corruption agency independence. Parliament has scheduled July 31 to vote on the bill—though passage isn’t guaranteed.
Protesters haven’t declared victory yet. They’ve vowed to keep demonstrating until the corrective law actually passes and institutional independence is genuinely restored. The danger to democratic institutions was real, and vigilance remains essential.
But that’s precisely the point. The provocateur operation aimed to show Russians that Ukrainians reject their leadership and welcome “liberation.” Instead, it captured something different: a democracy under stress but still functioning. Public pressure forced a presidential retreat. Protests work. Institutions push back. Citizens stay engaged.
Ukraine’s democracy is imperfect and fragile—but it’s alive. The operation succeeded only in Russian information space, manufacturing the illusion of internal collapse for domestic consumption while the real Ukraine continued the messy, contentious work of democratic governance.
In 2023, a Ukrainian officer named Volodymyr shot down a Russian Su-24MR aircraft with a missile bearing the inscription: “For Artur Batiyi. A true Cossack.” It was an act of revenge for his friend, killed in a Russian assault, the Operational Command West reports.
The Su-24MR is a reconnaissance aircraft used by Russia to detect Ukrainian positions, artillery and missile systems, command posts, and military equipment.
“This was for you, and I hope you saw it,” the soldier recalls the successful strike.
His crew has destroyed over 30 targets, such as jets, a helicopter, a cruise missile, and drones.
But the most unforgettable shot was that one in March 2023.
“That day, I received the devastating news that my friend Artur Batiy had been killed… He died in an enemy mortar attack,” the air defense officer says.
Before the mission, he signed the missile and set out on the hunt with his unit.
“After we hit the target, I looked to the sky, and my first thought was, ‘I did everything I could. That was for you, and I hope you saw it,” he adds.
Before the war, Volodymyr was a student who dreamed of military service. In 2014, when his family fled occupied Donetsk, he joined the army.
Since 2020, he’s been an officer in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. His first shootdown happened at 5:30 a.m. on 24 February 2022.
“The sky turned red. The enemy was everywhere. But there was no fear, only focus,” Volodymyr says.
For his heroism, Volodymyr has been awarded the Orders For Courage of II and III class, the Medal For Military Service to Ukraine, and a badge For the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft.
His dream after victory is to visit Crimea, where he once walked with his parents “to feel that we endured and reclaimed what’s ours.”
One-third of Americans approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of the situation in Ukraine, according to a new Gallup poll that shows declining support for the president’s foreign policy approach six months into his second term.
Since his inauguration in January 2025, President Trump has pursued ending the Russia-Ukraine war by engaging in direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, seeking a ceasefire, and pressuring Ukraine to agree to terms. Trump also paused some military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine in March 2025.
Despite initial confrontations with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and criticism for sidelining Ukraine in talks, Trump later announced renewed weapons support and coordinated arms deliveries through NATO. He also claimed to impose potential sanctions on Russia if a settlement is not reached quickly.
The poll, conducted 7-21 July, found that 33% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of Ukraine, representing an eight-point decline from earlier measurements this year.
The survey began days after Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on 4 July, which addressed “tax cuts for individuals and corporations and increased spending for border security, defense and energy production.”
Trump’s overall job approval rating has fallen to 37%, “the lowest of this term and just slightly higher than his all-time worst rating of 34% at the end of his first term,” Gallup reports. The president’s rating “has fallen 10 percentage points among US adults since he began his second term in January, including a 17-point decline among independents, to 29%.”
On Ukraine specifically, partisan divisions remain stark. Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the situation at 70% – the lowest rating he receives from his party on foreign policy issues.
“Aside from the situation in Ukraine, his ratings on the other issues range from 81% to 88% within his party,” according to Gallup.
Democrats give Trump his highest marks on Ukraine compared to other issues, with 12% approval.
Among independents, no more than 36% approve of Trump’s performance on any measured issue. Ukraine ranks among the lower-rated issues for this group, though Gallup did not specify the exact percentage.
The survey shows Trump “earns the highest marks for his handling of the situation with Iran (42%) and foreign affairs (41%).” His approval ratings on other issues include immigration at 38%, the economy at 37%, and the federal budget at 29%.
Gallup reported that “apart from the situation with Iran, which was not previously measured in Trump’s second term, ratings on each of the issues are lower now than earlier this year.” The poll included approximately 750 respondents.
Ukraine has secured commitments for three Patriot air defense systems but requires 10 to adequately protect its airspace, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a meeting with journalists on 24 July
“Officially I received confirmation from Germany for two systems, Norway — one. Now we are working with Dutch partners,” Zelenskyy said, according to hromadske.
The announcement comes after German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius recently reported that Germany and the United States had agreed to transfer five additional Patriot systems to Ukraine.
According to Telegraph, Germany will provide funding for two systems under these arrangements, while Norway has promised to pay for the third. The replacement systems are expected to come through orders once promised to Switzerland.
Telegraph reported that one Patriot system and a batch of PAC-3 interceptor missiles have already arrived in Ukraine, though Ukrainian authorities have not officially confirmed this delivery.
Zelenskyy revealed Ukraine’s broader air defense requirements during the briefing.
“We are now working with partners to secure these 10. We are working on the missile issue, we have missiles. We are still fighting for a production license. It’s important that a production facility is appearing in Germany. Not yet with us, but with Europeans with whom we have good relations,” he said.
The Patriot commitments are part of expanding defense cooperation between Ukraine and its allies. Zelenskyy announced on 24 July that the United States had agreed to purchase Ukrainian-made drones, with potential contracts worth $10-30 billion under discussion.
“I really want America to help us protect our sky. This is very important,” Zelenskyy said, linking the drone deal to Ukraine’s air defense needs.
The systems are urgently needed to counter Moscow’s escalating long-range strikes. The US has already sent three systems and is involved in ongoing discussions to provide up to 17 systems in total.
Ukraine’s parliament will convene on 31 July to review President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s draft law 13533, which promises to restore independence to the country’s anti-corruption agencies, according to parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The speaker said that he would propose adopting the bill immediately as a basis and in full, while supporting its urgent signing. Beyond Zelenskyy’s anti-corruption measure, parliament will also consider other “important legislative initiatives,” Stefanchuk added.
The session will come nine days after parliament passed law №12414 on 22 July, which amended the Criminal Procedure Code to make NABU and the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office dependent on decisions by the prosecutor general. Zelenskyy signed the document the same evening.
The 22 July law triggered protest actions across multiple Ukrainian cities. Amid the protests, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the heads of law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies, including the Prosecutor General.
Zelenskyy announced later he submitted the new draft law to parliament, stating it would ensure “strength for the law enforcement system” and preserve “all norms for the independence of anti-corruption institutions.”
The National Anti-corruption Bureau confirmed that Zelenskyy’s bill would restore all powers and independence guarantees for NABU and SAPO that were affected by the earlier legislation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on 24 July that the United States has agreed to purchase Ukrainian-made drones, with potential contracts worth $10-30 billion under discussion.
Ukraine has expanded its domestic drone production since the Russian invasion. The country planned to produce millions of drones annually, using a combination of mass production in factories and small-scale workshops, often repurposing commercial drone parts and innovating with battlefield experience.
Until recently, Ukraine had a ban on exporting drones abroad, focusing on domestic military use, but it is now considering or beginning to allow drone exports to its allies to support its drone industry and military partnerships.
“We have an agreement with America, with President Trump, that they will buy drones from us,” Zelenskyy told journalists during a briefing. “I have set the task for Umerov, Shmyhal and Kamyshin. They will deal with this. It is very important to prepare this contract for 10-20-30 billion dollars.”
The president has tasked National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal, and presidential advisor on strategic issues Oleksandr Kamyshin with preparing the contracts.
Zelenskyy first disclosed American interest in Ukrainian drone technology on 16 July, when he revealed discussions with President Trump about bilateral defense procurement.
“There are many drones that only we have. We are discussing this with President Trump. I told him that I really want to buy things from you that only you have. He told me that America wants to buy Ukrainian drones,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with Newsmax correspondent Shelby Wilder in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian leader framed the potential deal as part of broader defense cooperation, emphasizing Ukraine’s need for American Patriot air defense systems.
“I really want America to help us protect our sky. This is very important,” Zelenskyy said during the 16 July interview.
Ukraine urgently needs these systems to counter Moscow’s escalating long-range strikes. The US along with Germany has agreed to deliver five Patriot systems, with Germany, Norway, and other allies financing and facilitating the deliveries. The US has already sent three systems and is involved in ongoing discussions to provide up to 17 in total.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to abandon the fight against corruption amid ongoing concerns over the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies, Poland’s Foreign Ministry reported on 24 July
“We conveyed to President Zelensky that the worst thing he could do now is turn away from the fight against corruption. Ukrainians are fighting for an honest, European state,“ Sikorski said, according to the Polish Foreign Ministry.
The ministry did not specify when or how this message was conveyed to the Ukrainian president.
The Polish announcement comes against the backdrop of legislative changes that threatened to make the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) – the main anti-corruption agencies in Ukraine – dependent on the prosecutor general.
On 24 July, Zelenskyy submitted a bill to parliament containing provisions to ensure NABU and SAP independence. This move followed mass protest actions – the first since Russia’s full-scale invasion began – and extensive criticism from Ukraine’s Western partners, who warned of risks to European integration and financial support.
In response to the backlash, Zelenskyy, together with law enforcement agencies, has already prepared and submitted a new bill on “strengthening the independence of anti-corruption agencies.”
The legislative changes followed extensive searches of NABU and SAPO employees.
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Roman, also known as Peugeot, a fighter from the machine gun company of Ukraine’s 21st National Guard Brigade, lived through a brutal ambush on the Pokrovsk front in Donetsk Oblast. His group had almost no ammunition while Russian forces stormed them from three directions.
Pokrovsk is an important railway and road hub in Donetsk Oblast, which opens access for the further advance of Russian troops into Ukraine. The city is regarded as a “gateway to Donbas.”
Roman completed his mandatory military service in Sevastopol. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion, he didn’t hesitate to enlist.
“Started from our city, then we went to the Kherson and Donetsk fronts. Got around a bit,” he recalls.
He was stationed across from the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant when it was blown up.
“A wasteland appeared there… just islands left. A massive catastrophe,” he says.
The destruction exposed lake bed sediment containing more than 90,000 tons of dangerous heavy metals, a toxic cocktail that had been quietly accumulating on the reservoir floor since 1956.
On 26 March, Roman’s armored vehicle was hit by a Russian FPV drone on the Pokrovsk axis.
FPV drones have an advantage because they operate on analog or fiber-optic channels, which makes it difficult to intercept or jam them. They oftern fly at low altitudes of 20–50 meters, where they are hard to detect or shoot down.
“We had to abandon the vehicle and walk,” he continues.
Later, he was assigned to reach a buried position and dig out comrades trapped under debris.
Under shelling, five soldiers hid in a single trench.
“The enemy was trying to storm from three sides. That’s when drone operators saved our lives,” Roman says.
The UAVs struck back at the enemy, giving the fighters a chance to survive.
In the woods, eight Russian soldiers encountered Roman’s five-man group. The Ukrainian defenders were left with “only two magazines for five of us.”
However, drone operators not only repelled the attack but also dropped extra ammunition. Despite heavy fire, the group crossed 13 kilometers of open terrain and made it out alive.
“I can say with confidence — I eliminated the enemy and sent several more to ‘the 300s’,” Roman adds.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump that Moscow plans to escalate military operations in eastern Ukraine during its summer offensive.
As of now, Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including most of Luhansk Oblast, two-thirds of Donetsk Oblast, and parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts.
Day 1247
On 24 July, there is a lot of news from the Sumy direction.
Here, after Russian commanders forced their soldiers into a bloodbath in the fields, the result of a larger Ukrainian strategy in play began to bear its fruits. With fresh reserves stationed too far from the frontline to reinforce, Ukrainians executed a beautiful pincer maneuver that pushed Russians back from yet another settlement, as the Russian Sumy offensive seems to have reached a complete stall.
As you remember from a previous report, after weakening Russian positions through precise airstrikes, Ukrainian forces launched successful multi-directional counterattacks, prominently retaking Andriivka in a swift maneuver. The goal behind Ukraine’s push is clear: disrupt Russia’s forward momentum, slow down their offensive, and exploit the resulting vulnerabilities. By preserving their combat power for only surgical strikes and inflicting maximum damage on Russian units, Ukrainian commanders are carefully taking the initiative and systematically weakening enemy forces.
Determined to regain the initiative themselves, Russian commanders immediately ordered repeated counterattacks to recapture Andriivka. However, evidently based on faulty intelligence, Russian troops appeared unaware that Ukrainian forces had already fully secured the settlement, mistakenly expecting to meet and support Russian forces on the ground. As a result, these Russian assaults quickly devolved into catastrophic failures.
Geolocated footage revealed fields surrounding Andriivka littered with Russian casualties and burning motorcycles, clear evidence of the heavy price paid for their reckless and misguided attacks. Not only did these fruitless assaults drain Russian manpower, but they also achieved no real gains, compounding Russia’s operational predicament.
Russian difficulties intensified further amidst the ongoing Ukrainian strike campaign targeting rear-area troop concentrations, command posts, and logistical hubs. These strikes not only inflicted substantial casualties on Russian forces but also forced Russian commanders to position their reserve forces further from the immediate area of operations. However, with these reserves stationed away from watchful Ukrainian drone reconnaissance, Russian forces are also unable to respond swiftly to rapidly unfolding events on the frontline, playing right in the hands of Ukrainian commanders. Following the devastating losses and bloodbath in the fields around Andriivka, Russian units near the frontline faced a critical manpower shortage, and lacked immediate reinforcements to stabilize their weakening positions.
Recognizing this window of opportunity and the vulnerability of the Russians, Ukrainian forces acted decisively. With Russian reserves either dead in the fields or stationed too far to provide timely reinforcements, Ukraine pressed its advantage, launching coordinated air, drone, and HIMARS missile strikes against known Russian troop concentrations in Kindrativka. Ukrainian drones methodically hunted down and eliminated Russian infantry clusters, while precise HIMARS strikes obliterated remaining fortifications and munitions stores with devastating effect. Airstrikes with AASM Hammer bombs ensured no immediate reinforcements could move forward safely, effectively neutralizing major resistance within Kindrativka itself and limiting the possibility of surviving Russian troops finding cover within the ruins.
With organized resistance in Kindrativka decisively broken, Ukrainian commanders rapidly executed a lightning assault to retake the town. Swiftly deploying units to sever Russian reinforcement routes in a pincer maneuver, Ukrainian forces prevented any additional enemy units from reaching Kindrativka and helping the entrenched but scattered Russian soldiers holed up in the town. Simultaneously, Ukrainian assault teams penetrated the settlement, systematically sweeping through houses and basements, clearing the area of remaining Russian holdouts. Within hours, Ukrainian troops secured Kindrativka, facing minimal opposition and establishing full control over the strategically significant village.
Overall, the recapture of Kindrativka represents an important milestone in Ukraine’s wider strategy to halt the Russian offensive into the Sumy region. By reclaiming this key border settlement, Ukraine significantly disrupted Russian logistics and troop rotations, effectively sabotaging Russia’s goal of establishing drone and artillery fire control over the regional capital, Sumy. By exploiting Russian vulnerabilities created by previous strikes, Ukraine has carefully engineered tactical breakthroughs, forcing Russia into unsustainable losses and operational confusion. The strategic success in Kindrativka showcases Ukraine’s ability to leverage precision firepower and agile maneuver warfare, systematically dismantling Russian advances while creating opportunities for further counteroffensive actions.
In our regular frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
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He could leave the war, but he refused. Ukrainian soldier Andrii, 24, from Poltava, is a father of three and a fighter in the drone battalion of Ukraine’s 128th Mountain Assault Brigade. He has pulled over a thousand vehicles off the battlefield: tanks, BMPs, APCs, self-propelled guns, and trucks during his service in the army.
Young men in Ukraine aged 18–24 are not subject to mandatory mobilization into the Armed Forces. The official conscription age begins at 25.
“I’m staying here because I don’t want the Russians to reach my home,” says Andrii, explaining his motivation.
Andrii’s journey began as a conscript and led him to become an FPV drone operator. Initially, he served as a mechanic-driver of a BREM-1 evacuation vehicle, working right on the front lines, under shelling and rain, just 250 meters from the enemy.
“When my comrades jumped off the armor to hook up a vehicle, artillery hit us. One was killed. I survived because I was behind the controls,” he recalls.
For his exceptional courage, Andrii was awarded the Order “For Courage,” 3rd class. Recognized as one of the top mechanics in the Armed Forces, he was sent to Germany to train on the German Bergerpanzer-2 armored recovery vehicle, based on the Leopard tank.
The German instructor was stunned by how experienced and skillful the young Ukrainian soldier was.
“You’re an excellent mechanic-driver. I’ve never let anyone use 4th gear on this vehicle — you’re the first,” he says.
It was a moment where Ukrainian bravery and mechanical precision earned deep trust across allied lines.
Today, Andrii operates a fiber-optic FPV drone, navigating into enemy dugouts and capturing every detail. He was trained by Officer Andrii Zadorozhnyi, a hero who was killed in April.
His wife and children wait for him at home. His daughter often calls him right at the front line.
“Ah, you’re in a trench again! When are you coming home?” she asks.
But Andrii answers firmly, “My home is just 200 kilometers from the enemy. I’m doing what I have to do.”
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