Romania wants to build drones with Ukraine, but production is delayed until 2026 due to lack of military funding. Digi24 reports that Romania’s Defense Ministry wants to launch a joint drone-manufacturing project, but no funds are available this year to begin construction or procurement.

Romania wants to build drones with Ukraine, but budget delay blocks start

Romania wants to build drones with Ukraine, aiming to manufacture UAVs inside Romania and eventually export them to other European countries. Digi24 reports that the Romanian Ministry of Defense has confirmed it is set to negotiate with officials from Kyiv. The two sides aim to establish a co-production plan for drones, following models already used by Ukraine in partnerships with Denmark and Norway.

According to Digi24, the business plan is not complex: Romania would purchase the technical specifications of drones that Ukraine has developed during its war experience. Those designs, proven in combat, would serve as the base for production inside Romania.

The proposed facility would likely be located in Brașov, Transylvania. Romanian and Ukrainian engineers would cooperate on-site to assemble the UAVs. Most of the drones would enter service with the Romanian army, but many would also be intended for sale across Europe, per the reported plan.

Factory plan awaits funding, likely in 2026

Despite alignment on the concept, the project faces a major obstacle: Romania currently lacks the funding to implement it. Digi24 notes that while Ukraine is willing to move forward and eager to secure income from such cooperation, Romania cannot commit to payments this year.

The next opportunity to fund the drone partnership would come with Romania’s 2026 defense budget. Until then, the joint production initiative remains in the planning phase.

Ukrainian pilots to gain greater chances in the sky due to Paris’s support. After an hour-long meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on 18 July, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that France is ready to continue training Mirage fighter jet pilots on its own territory.

“I want to specifically highlight our agreement on Mirage pilot training: France is ready to accept additional pilots for training on additional aircraft,” said Zelenskyy.

Among other key issues was the strengthening of Ukraine’s air defense system. The two leaders discussed the supply of missiles for modern SAMP/T systems and the launch of a joint project to fund interceptor drones. Zelenskyy noted that relevant decisions will be prepared at the level of both countries’ defense ministries.

The Ukrainian president also thanked France for its active role in promoting the EU’s 18th package of sanctions and confirmed that Kyiv and Washington are working together so that “Russia feels truly global pressure.”

The EU agreed on a new package after the bloc’s ambassadors reached consensus on restrictions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy. Malta and Slovakia reportedly lifted their vetoes after receiving critical assurances. 

The new Russia sanctions package will include a formal ban on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said the bloc would also reduce the oil price cap as part of efforts to cut the Kremlin’s war revenues.

They paid the highest price for Ukraine’s freedom. British journalist Colin Freeman, in his book The Mad and the Brave, told the stories of foreign volunteers who joined Ukraine’s International Legion, writes The Telegraph.

Freeman compares the influx of volunteers who rushed to aid Ukraine in the early weeks of the all-out war to the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 when thousands from around the world fought fascism.

He portrays a variety of individuals, from veterans of the Syrian war against ISIS to adrenaline seekers and those fleeing heartbreak.

One striking story is that of British combat medic John Harding, who joined the Azov Battalion in 2018. He disproved Russian propaganda about “national extremists” and endured the horrors of the battle for Mariupol, the siege of Azovstal, and months of torture in captivity.

Another hero is Briton Christopher Perryman, a veteran of wars in Iraq, Somalia, and Bosnia, who left behind a young son to fight the Russian aggressor.

Perryman believed he had no moral right to abandon millions of Ukrainian parents in distress, given his extensive military experience. Sadly, he was killed by artillery fire at the end of 2023.

After more than three years of war, the fates of foreign volunteers vary: some died, some cope with PTSD, and others continue fighting alongside Ukrainians.

Earlier, Euromaidan Press published a story about a former paramedic from Colombia, known as Miguel, who came to Ukraine intending to serve as a combat medic. However, due to the language barrier, he was assigned to the infantry.

Despite this, he never abandoned his mission. Every day on the front line, he saves the lives of his comrades. He is learning Ukrainian by singing Chervona Kalyna, the country’s patriotic anthem, and surviving tactics against Russian artillery. 

The International Fencing Federation seeks to bring back athletes who support or take part in the killing of Ukrainians. Over 440 fencers from 40 countries have signed an open letter to the organization, urging it to reinstate strict background checks for Russian and Belarusian athletes, Reuters reports.

Russia’s war has killed over 500 Ukrainian athletes, including children. Nearly 500 sports facilities have been partially or completely destroyed in Russian attacks. 

“By removing comprehensive background checks, the FIE risks allowing individuals whose affiliations or actions conflict with the values of neutrality and non-violence to compete under a neutral status,” the athletes stated in the letter, published by the Global Athlete movement.

Elite fencers voiced their opposition to the International Fencing Federation’s decision to replace screening procedures with a formal declaration of neutrality.

Putin’s “neutral” athletes cheer Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine — but FIFA can’t wait to get them back

“The FIE’s decision contradicts the core principles of fencing, respect, integrity, and fair play, and deviates from the approach originally taken by the international sporting community,” the letter reads.

The Ukrainian Fencing Federation has warned it may pursue legal action, as some admitted Russian athletes hold military ranks. The European Fencing Confederation also condemned “the lack of independent verification in the eligibility process for so-called neutral athletes.”

Last week, the organization claimed that its position “underscores the Federation’s commitment to peace, fairness, and the global unity of sport.” But many athletes and federations see this as a cover for bringing aggressors back into international sports.

Ukrainian Olympic champion Olga Kharlan, who was disqualified in 2023 for refusing to shake hands with a Russian opponent, says that such International Fencing Federation policies could destroy fencing’s presence in the Olympic program.

Zelenskyy installs ex-defense minister Umierov to run Security Council
The man once in charge of defense now oversees war tech, arms deals, and talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Rustem Umierov to lead the country’s National Security and Defense Council. He takes over the Security Council after stepping down as defense minister in a wartime Cabinet reshuffle, and will now oversee arms deals, tech coordination, and peace negotiations.

Umierov replaces Lytvynenko in key wartime reshuffle

Zelenskyy signed the decree appointing Umierov secretary of the Security Council on 18 July, according to the presidential website. He replaces Oleksandr Lytvynenko, who had held the position since 26 March and is now reportedly being considered for an ambassadorial role in Serbia, Forbes reports, citing a government source speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Yuliia Svyrydenko was appointed Prime Minister, with new ministers named across the government. Zelenskyy emphasized that the new cabinet must ensure Ukraine’s defenders have confidence in reliable supply, and that boosting internal economic potential would support that goal.

Weapons, tech, and coordination now fall under Umierov

In a post on X, Umierov confirmed his appointment and outlined his top priorities in his new role.

“Coordination and control of the security and defense sector,” he wrote, adding that an audit will be conducted on the implementation of decisions made by the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

He pledged to coordinate all arms deliveries, joint production, and sensitive international defense partnerships.

“I remain in constant dialogue with our international partners,” he said, referring to critical yet discreet defense agreements.

Umierov also stated he would fully restore the operation of the Technological Command Post to accelerate front-line modernization and battlefield tech innovation. One of the primary missions now under his oversight is the synchronized execution of orders across all components of Ukraine’s defense system.

Umierov to run Security Council and peace track

Umierov’s responsibilities also include overseeing the negotiation track.

“Ukraine consistently advocates for a just peace — and we are working to achieve it in close coordination with our allies,” he wrote.

RFE/RL reports that Zelenskyy met with Umierov on 18 July to discuss the new leadership tasks. Among the key priorities mentioned by the president was “more dynamics” in implementing the agreements with Russia reached during the second summit in Istanbul.

Zelenskyy also tasked Umierov with continuing weapons coordination with Ukraine’s partners, fully implementing all supply agreements, and advancing new projects for joint arms production and defense manufacturing facilities on partner territory.

According to the president’s office, Umierov is expected to strengthen the format of the technological headquarters, enforce decisions delayed in execution, and ensure full compliance across the defense and security sectors.

Russia is “burning the candle at both ends” economically as top bankers quietly brace for bailouts amid a growing Russian debt crisis, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on 17 July. While the Kremlin pretends its economy is stable amid the ongoing protracted invasion of Ukraine, structural fractures continue to widen beneath that illusion.

Russian bankers brace for fallout as loans go unpaid

Bloomberg reported on 17 July that senior executives at several of Russia’s largest banks have quietly discussed the possibility of requesting government bailouts. This comes as non-performing loans — debts that are late or unpaid — continue to rise in 2025. Documents reviewed by Bloomberg show that three systemically important Russian banks may need to recover funds lost to bad credit.

Russian banks have already seen non-performing loans grow by 1.2% this year. Forecasts suggest the rate could increase from the current 4% to as high as 6–7% by 2026. While ISW cannot independently verify these figures, it notes mounting signs of concern within the financial sector. 

Central Bank Chairperson Elvira Nabiullina has dismissed fears of a banking crisis, claiming that reserves totaling eight trillion rubles (around $102.5 billion) are sufficient to cushion any shocks. However, ISW assesses that the Central Bank is likely unwilling to bail out major banks outright — a decision that could spark liquidity problems or even bank failures, directly undermining Russian President Vladimir Putin’s narrative of economic resilience.

War-driven spending pressures the economy

ISW argues that the Kremlin is worsening the growing Russian debt crisis by expanding military spending while relaxing monetary policy to support short-term growth. Since 2022, the government has boosted one-time payments and salaries to attract military recruits and reinforce its defense industrial base. These high payments are necessary due to sustained battlefield losses and the challenge of attracting volunteers.

As defense wages rise, civilian industries struggle to retain workers, pushing up prices across service sectors. Labor shortages now impact both economic growth and war production. ISW maintains that Russia cannot indefinitely sustain these payouts or replace troops lost at current rates without a general mobilization — a step Putin has avoided.

Inflation appears tamed — but only on paper

On the surface, the Russian Central Bank reports success in reducing inflation. Bloomberg noted that in June 2025, the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of inflation fell to 4%, matching the Bank’s target. The drop is attributed in part to a temporarily strong ruble, which lowered the cost of imported goods and helped suppress input costs and inflationary pressures for companies.

However, the Central Bank acknowledged that official annual inflation still stands at 9%. The SAAR is a short-term measure and does not reflect deeper economic trends. ISW argues that this data masks the real problems. Two complicating factors — the fading effect of ruble strength and rising service costs — are expected to slow progress in bringing inflation under control.

Contradictions threaten long-term stability

The think tank concludes wrote:

“Russia is effectively burning the candle at both ends by simultaneously loosening monetary policy to stimulate short-term growth, while expanding fiscal expenditure to feed the military effort.”

This path is likely to deepen the country’s macroeconomic instability, erode the value of the ruble, and diminish consumers’ ability to cope with rising costs. Behind the Central Bank’s controlled narrative, ISW sees rising stress in Russia’s economic foundation — a crisis building quietly but steadily.

Germany will deliver Patriot missiles to Ukraine “very shortly,” following US President Donald Trump’s NATO agreement to increase weapons aid. The delivery, part of a Europe-funded supply plan, could make the system operational in Ukraine within weeks, according to Germany’s leader.

Germany finalizing Patriot missile transfer with NATO

According to Politico, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed during a 17 July press conference in the UK that Ukraine will receive Patriot air-defense systems “very shortly, very soon.” He stressed that Kyiv urgently needs deep strike capability and that additional support is on the way. According to Merz, defense ministers are now finalizing logistics to fulfill the delivery.

Politico reports that the announcement followed Trump’s new NATO deal earlier this week. The plan allows European countries to send weapons to Ukraine now and buy replacements from the US.

NATO and Germany already preparing transfer

Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Allied Air Command leader, said on 17 July that preparations for the Patriot transfer were already under way.

Trump stated on 14 July that part of the Patriot system would arrive “within days,” though others have raised questions about the exact timeline. Merz later clarified that the capability could be active in Ukraine within weeks.

Amid the Russian “human safari,” a drone attack on Kherson’s rabbi Yossef Itzhak Wolff left his family unharmed after a Russian FPV drone slammed into their vehicle near the regional capital. The strike occurred while the rabbi, his wife, and their young daughter were inside the car. Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Azman reported the incident on 17 July.

Drone strike targeted rabbi’s family in moving vehicle

On 17 July, Moshe Azman wrote on X that “two hours ago” a Russian FPV drone attacked the car of the Chief Rabbi of Kherson, Yossef Wolff. He stated that the drone hit the car at the entrance to Kherson, with the rabbi, his wife, and their daughter inside at the moment of impact.

Azman said he had just spoken with Rabbi Wolff, and emphasized the survival as a “very great miracle.” According to the post, the drone entered the car “at a very high speed.” No one was injured in the explosion.

Explore further

The UN confirmed what I saw in Kherson: Russia is hunting civilians for sport

Video shows damage to SUV after direct strike

Azman shared a video recorded by Rabbi Wolff showing his Toyota Land Cruiser, which sustained significant damage. In the video, Rabbi Wolff says:

“A drone got into our car and exploded, but incredibly we are alive.”

Yossef Itzhak Wolff has served as Chief Rabbi of Kherson and the oblast since 1998 and is also chairman of the Board of the Kherson Jewish community.

Moscow’s “human safari” continues

Also on 17 July, Russian forces struck an ambulance in Kherson Oblast. The strike hit a medical team en route to a call in Zymivnyk. The vehicle was damaged, and two medics — a 49-year-old medical assistant and a 65-year-old paramedic — were injured.

And this morning, 18 July, Russian forces killed a man in the village of Veletenske in Kherson Oblast’s Bilozerka community. According to oblast head Oleksandr Prokudin, around 09:00, a Russian drone struck a local resident born in 1990 as he rode his bicycle. He sustained fatal injuries.

Exclusive

“A completely new kind of war lies ahead” so Ukraine must outhink Russia by 2027, says Zaluzhnyi. Ukraine’s survival depends on revolutionary strategy, not traditional firepower, Valerii Zaluzhnyi writes

Ukraine’s MaxxPro trucks drop troops in 20 seconds—because drones don’t need more. Just reaching the front in Ukraine is now as deadly as holding it—thanks to drones that strike in seconds. Ground robots could be part of the answer.

“Just 16 people”: Ukraine’s new wartime cabinet is now smaller than many startups. Parliament approved a downsized government lineup on Wednesday, streamlining wartime leadership without altering the political balance of power.

Ukraine is going green during war, so why is EU’s program funding fossil fuels?. Ukraine has been building wind farms and solar plants while dodging Russian missiles. Meanwhile, the EU’s €50 billion program meant to help? It’s funding more gas and diesel generators than renewable energy.

Military

Russian attack on Polish factory in Ukraine regarded as possible message to Warsaw after Kyiv’s aid meeting in Lublin

. The strike injured workers and halted production.

Top Kremlin’s mouthpiece warns of “preemptive strikes,” but denies any plans to attack Europe. Tensions soar as Moscow accuses West of full-scale war, while insisting no invasion of NATO countries is planned.

Lithuania to Belarus: Stop letting Russian war drones cross into NATO skies. The Gerbera UAV’s illegal flight triggered diplomatic escalation in Vilnius.

One Telegram message promised romantic date for Ukrainian soldier — next almost killed him. A Ukrainian soldier was lured into a deadly FSB assassination plot masked as a date.

Russia’s chemical attacks in Ukraine top 10,000, Kyiv reports. Kyiv’s top chemical defense official confirms that toxic attacks began as early as 2014.

Intelligence and technology

Switzerland’s Patriot air defense systems delivery delayed by US — Ukraine’s urgent need takes priority amid rising civilian deaths. Switzerland’s planned deliveries between 2026-28 are pushed back while Ukraine faces intensifying Russian aerial terror.

Ukraine gets 850,000 Czech shells in 2025, but new government may freeze further shipments, despite Russia’s aid boost from North Korea

. Czechia’s ammo program powers Ukraine’s defenses, but opposition forces vow to shut it down if they win the vote.

NYP: Trump eyes ‘mega deal’ to swap drones with Ukraine for American weapons. Washington may soon fly battlefield-proven Ukrainian UAVs while Kyiv stocks up on US arms.

Ukraine’s new Magura W6P naval drone won’t kamikaze—but it can patrol 1000 km. Magura W6P trades strike missions for longer range and smarter sea reconnaissance.

Forbes: Ukraine’s anti-drone dome over Kyiv is growing—and Moscow feels it. Thousands of interceptor drones are being deployed under Ukraine’s Clear Sky program, forming an expanding shield against Russian drone attacks.

Zelenskyy demands reshuffled cabinet boost local arms from 40% to 50% on the frontlines. The president gave ministers six months to ramp up local arms production for the battlefield.

Ukraine launches AI startup battle, backed by German Defense Ministry, to outpace Russia’s war machine. Germany aids Ukraine’s cutting-edge startups to turn ideas into weapons.

Berlin denies Trump’s claim that Patriots are en route to Ukraine. Germany’s Defense Ministry says it has no knowledge of any Patriot systems being shipped out.

Reuters: Trump promised Patriots for Ukraine—Europe got the invoice

. Kyiv awaits air defenses while NATO allies scramble to decide who pays and who sends.

International

As Trump threatens sanctions on buyers of Russian oil, India prepares to switch suppliers to avoid fallout. India eyes alternatives in Guyana, Brazil, and Canada.

EU will try again to choke off Putin’s war machine with 18th sanction package this week, after Slovakia blew whole plan apart. Brussels stalls its 18th sanctions package as Slovakia demands Russian gas guarantees, leaving Moscow room to maneuver.

ISW: Moscow rolls out recycled lies and nuclear bluster to split NATO and halt US aid for Ukraine. The Kremlin also demands Kyiv be pushed into talks, casting Moscow as the would-be peacemaker.

Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania form new alliance to counter Putin’s weaponized historic narratives amid war of attrition. The Lublin Triangle responds to Moscow’s historical distortions with facts.

Axis of Evil’s show of force: China deploys 58 warplanes to Taiwan’s borders amid major defense drills. Beijing and Moscow ramp up pressure on neighboring countries.

Humanitarian and social impact

“He said we deserve genocide”: Journalists unmask Russian “Dr. Evil” torturer of Ukrainian POWs. A stunning investigation by Radio Free Europe identifies Illia Sorokin, a Russian prison medic who brutalized captured Ukrainian soldiers with electric shocks, rubber batons, and degrading humiliation.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine gives Moscow-aligned church ultimatum to cut Russian ties. The directive transforms three years of independence claims into legal requirements.

Russian banks seek Kremlin bailouts as inflation soars and potatoes disappear. As war spending drains the economy, Russia’s banks are struggling—and now looking to Moscow for help.

Yulia Svyrydenko becomes Ukraine’s first female PM in 15 years — don’t mistake it for change. Parliament confirmed Yulia Svyrydenko as Prime Minister, but with martial law still in place, critics say power in Ukraine remains concentrated in the president’s office.

The EU has agreed on a new Russia sanctions package, with ambassadors reaching consensus on the bloc’s 18th sanctions round targeting key sectors of the Russian economy, Suspilne reports. Malta and Slovakia reportedly lifted their vetoes after receiving critical assurances, clearing the way for formal adoption at the EU Council’s meeting later today, 18 July.

Malta and Slovakia lift vetoes, clearing way for approval

According to Suspilne, Malta withdrew its objection after receiving written guarantees from the European Commission. The country wanted confirmation that the proposed oil price cap would not strengthen Russia’s shadow fleet, a concern tied to Malta’s large shipping sector.

Pro-Russian Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced earlier on Facebook that Slovakia had also dropped its veto. His government received EU guarantees related to gas prices and supply stability. Fico, however, underlined that Slovakia would never support ending Russian gas imports after 1 January 2028.

Both countries had previously blocked consensus on the package, which was introduced by the European Commission in June. 

Package includes pipeline bans and price cap changes

The new Russia sanctions package will include a formal ban on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said the bloc will also reduce the oil price cap as part of efforts to cut the Kremlin’s war revenues.

Kallas called the deal “one of the strongest” sanctions packages yet, noting it is designed to shrink Russia’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine. She also confirmed that the EU will continue to increase the costs of aggression for Moscow.

Germany and Sweden requested that the package be placed on the Council’s agenda under “Other business.” Once the General Affairs Council formally approves it, the sanctions will become legally binding.

Shadow fleet, banks, and drone tech also targeted

The package includes sanctions on 105 ships from Russia’s shadow fleet and on the entities enabling their operations. A registry of ship flags will be introduced to identify and track these vessels, which are used to obscure the origin of Russian oil.

In addition, 22 Russian banks will face new financial restrictions aimed at cutting their access to international funding. Brussels will also ban the export of European technologies used in Russian drone production.

Kallas confirmed that Chinese banks helping Russia evade restrictions are among the foreign entities targeted. The EU plans to limit their ability to support Russian financial transactions that bypass sanctions.

Rosneft refinery in India and indoctrination networks included

For the first time, the EU will sanction a foreign-based refinery—India’s largest Rosneft facility—due to its role in processing and moving Russian oil. The package also targets individuals and organizations involved in indoctrinating Ukrainian children in Russian-occupied territories.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys welcomed the agreement, stating that the combination of shipping, energy, and financial measures would ensure Russia remains on track to lose access to “blood money.” He also urged the US Senate to pass its own Russia sanctions legislation to align with EU efforts.

Last night’s Russian drone strike, including 35 one-way attack and decoy drones, killed a railway worker and injured several more civilians in three Ukrainian regions as the Shahed drones hit homes and infrastructure across three oblasts. 

Ukrainian air defenses intercept 11 drones, but 18 strike targets

Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Moscow’s forces launched 35 unmanned aerial vehicles, including 29 Shaheds and multiple decoy drones, from the directions of Russia’s Millerovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk. The attack began around 21:30 on 17 July and continued into the early hours of 18 July.

Air defense units reportedly destroyed 11 drones over Ukraine’s northern and eastern regions. Six decoy drones disappeared from radars or were suppressed by electronic warfare.

Railway worker killed in Dnipropetrovsk oblast

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a Russian drone strike kills a railway worker and injures two others. The head of the oblast administration, Serhii Lysak, confirmed that drones hit communities in Pavlohrad and Synelnykove districts. A 52-year-old man was killed in the Verbkivska and Bohdanivska areas, and two men aged 38 and 40 were wounded. A fire broke out at a local transport facility, which was later extinguished.

Ukrzaliznytsia added that a drone also struck an electric locomotive. The train operator was killed, and his assistant was wounded but remains in stable condition.

Three Shahed drones were downed over the oblast by Ukrainian air defenses.

According to Lysak, a small FPV kamikaze drone also targeted Nikopol. The aftermath is still under investigation.

Elderly man injured in Zaporizhzhia oblast

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian drones struck Andriivka village in the Zaporizhzhia district. According to oblast head Ivan Fedorov, nine Shahed drones hit the area, injuring a 79-year-old man. Fires erupted at non-residential buildings and several structures were destroyed.

Four civilians wounded in Kharkiv oblast

In Kharkiv Oblast, Russian drones targeted the city of Chuhuiv. Mayor Halyna Minaieva reported that four civilians were wounded. The strike damaged residential buildings, a family doctor’s office, and an educational institution.

Ukraine can win the war against Russia, but only by building “national resilience” systems and embracing asymmetric technological warfare rather than hoping for traditional military breakthroughs.

That’s the strategic roadmap from Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to Britain, in a foreword that consolidates his strategic thinking developed over the past year.

Writing for journalist Roman Romaniuk’s upcoming book “What Will Be Used to Fight World War III?”, Zaluzhnyi argues that victory depends on adapting to a new kind of warfare that makes conventional operations increasingly impossible.

“The key to our victory is not just resilience, but decisive and timely responses,” Zaluzhnyi writes. But those responses must target infrastructure protection and technological capabilities, not territorial gains.

His analysis explains why current fighting has devolved into World War I-style stalemate—and why that’s actually creating Ukraine’s path to victory.

Why breakthrough operations won’t work

The precision weapons era that dominated warfare from the 1970s through 2022 has ended. Electronic warfare now blocks most guided munitions. Battlefield reconnaissance drones make troop movement lethal. The result is a grinding stalemate where neither side can achieve major territorial gains.

“When robots began to appear massively on the battlefield, they made any movement of soldiers impossible,” Zaluzhnyi explains. “We couldn’t move forward towards the Russians, and the Russians, accordingly, couldn’t move forward either.”

This isn’t temporary. Zaluzhnyi predicts the technological factors creating this deadlock will persist until around 2027, when new navigation systems and autonomous weapons restore the possibility of offensive operations.

The war is shifting toward “the remote dismantling of a nation’s capacity to resist” through systematic infrastructure attacks rather than front-line advances.

The new victory formula

Rather than lamenting this shift, Zaluzhnyi sees opportunity. Ukraine’s survival strategy becomes its victory strategy: build systems that can withstand remote warfare while developing asymmetric capabilities to target Russian infrastructure.

“The development of technology, along with the demographic and economic situation in the coming years, is likely to favour a war of attrition,” he writes.

Ukraine’s advantage lies in adapting faster to this reality than Russia.

The victory formula requires three elements:

1. National resilience infrastructure: Power grids, transportation networks, and government systems designed to function under constant attack. Ukraine has already begun this transformation out of necessity.
2. Asymmetric technological capabilities: Cheap, scalable autonomous systems that can target high-value Russian assets at minimal cost. Ukrainian innovation in drone warfare exemplifies this approach.
3. Information warfare defense: Protecting public morale and mobilization efforts from Russian psychological operations designed to erode resistance.

“War strategy will focus not so much on capturing territory as on depleting the enemy’s resources and capabilities, creating chaos and ultimately eroding the nation’s capacity to resist,” Zaluzhnyi explains.

Why Ukraine can win this way

Ukraine’s advantages in attritional warfare are real but require strategic focus. The country has already demonstrated superior “tactical application and technological support” compared to Russia’s numerical advantages.

Ukrainian forces achieved decisive victories in 2022 using precision weapons like Javelin anti-tank missiles, HIMARS rocket systems, and Neptune anti-ship missiles that destroyed Russia’s Black Sea Fleet flagship.

But these successes came before electronic warfare created the current deadlock.

The next phase requires different tools. Autonomous drone swarms that can overwhelm air defenses. Cyber capabilities targeting Russian critical infrastructure. Most importantly, resilient systems that allow Ukraine to function while Russian infrastructure degrades.

“Large-scale attacks by autonomous swarms of cheap precision drones using entirely new navigation channels will destroy not only frontline personnel, weapons, and military equipment, but also the enemy’s critical economic and social infrastructure,” Zaluzhnyi predicts.

But if Ukraine builds proper resilience systems, this becomes a contest Ukraine can win.

The timeline factor

Zaluzhnyi’s analysis carries urgency. By 2027, technological advances will restore the possibility of massive conventional operations using “totally ruthless” autonomous weapons.

“Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies continue to develop at a rapid pace,” he writes.

“For the first time ever, human involvement will be fully or partially removed not only from the process of control, but also from decision-making about target engagement.”

The window for building resilience systems and asymmetric capabilities is narrowing. But Ukraine has already demonstrated what’s possible. The challenge is scaling successful innovations while protecting the infrastructure that keeps the country functioning.

Help Ukraine win the war through developing technology, like Zaluzhnyi says: support the David vs. Goliath defense blog to support Ukrainian engineers who are creating innovative battlefield solutions and are inviting you to join us on the journey.

Our platform will showcase the Ukrainian defense tech underdogs who are Ukraine’s hope to win in the war against Russia, giving them the much-needed visibility to connect them with crucial expertise, funding, and international support. Together, we can give David the best fighting chance he has.

Join us in building this platform—become a Euromaidan Press Patron. As little as $5 monthly will boost strategic innovations that could succeed where traditional approaches have failed.

Western implications

Zaluzhnyi’s framework has implications beyond Ukraine. Most NATO countries couldn’t handle the scale of attacks Ukraine endures regularly. “In October alone, Ukraine faced over 2,000 air threats, including drones and missiles,” he noted recently. “Few NATO countries could counter such an onslaught without exhausting their air defense systems.”

Western militaries remain focused on expensive legacy systems that become vulnerable in massive conflicts. Meanwhile, the real military revolution is happening in cheap, scalable, autonomous systems that Ukraine pioneered out of necessity.

“Half of winning is knowing what it looks like,” Zaluzhnyi concludes, quoting military strategist Sean McFate. “Brains are more important than brute force.”

Ukraine’s path to victory lies not in outgunning Russia, but in out-thinking it. Building systems that can survive what’s coming while developing capabilities Russia can’t match.

The war of attrition isn’t something Ukraine must endure—it’s something Ukraine can win.

A video Ukrainian forces circulated online recently graphically depicts how little time a vehicle can linger along the front before it attracts the lethal attention of tiny, explosive first-person-view drones. 

A Ukrainian mine-resistant, ambush-protected armored truck—an MRAP—speeds up to the front to drop off fresh troops and supplies and pick up troops whose rotation is over. 

The MRAP idles for literally seconds before the first Russian drone barrels in. The vehicle suffers at least one drone impact as it speeds away. Fortunately for the Ukrainian crew and passengers, the MRAP’s thick armor absorbs the worst of the blast.

That harrowing experience is now ubiquitous. And it’s getting worse as both sides deploy more and better FPVs, including unjammable fiber-optic models and FPVs fitted with artificial intelligence that can steer them toward their targets.

“Bing on the front line is not good, and it’s mostly because of drones,” explained Andrew Perpetua, an independent open-source intelligence analyst in the United States. 

“Artillery and air strikes don’t help, but I would imagine the drones are doing the bulk of the damage right now, especially with regards to doing troop rotations, [delivering] supplies—like, any sort of driving a vehicle,” Perpetua added. “It’s not great. Especially if you’re going along a highway or any sort of major road, you’re getting hit.”

David Kirichenko, a Ukrainian-American war correspondent, has experienced dangerous rotations firsthand during his many trips to the front line since Russia widened its war on Ukraine 41 months ago.  “If you go too slow trying to avoid a mine, you can more easily get hit by a drone or any other Russian weapon system such as artillery,” Kirichenko said.

“Or if you drive too fast” to avoid the drones, he added, “you’d more easily drive over a mine. So it’s just a very dangerous game of kind of randomness of how you might die when you’re driving out.”

The peril doesn’t end when the road does. Braking to drop off and load troops and materiel, a truck might halt for mere seconds—or never fully stop at all. “The vehicle drives up and I mean, it’s: the doors open and it all happens just in a flash. Like all the supplies pop out, you hop out and you just got to run for cover,” Kirichenko said.

He recalled one drop-off where the drones were already overhead and waiting as the vehicle’s doors opened. “It’s just an extremely dangerous mission that I’ve witnessed firsthand.”

Drones as thick as flies

The sheer number of FPVs all along the front—both sides now build millions of the tiny drones every year—means it’s never safe anywhere within the roughly 30-km range of the best FPVs (which might benefit from other drones relaying their radio signals) or the bigger hexacopter bomber drones. 

Ominously, the drone kill zone is expanding as the drones improve—and fast. “At first, it was like, you know, the last 5 km were kind of the issue,” Perpetua said. “And then it became, like, the last 10, the last 15. And now it’s like the last 30. And it’s just going to keep going up.”

“I think over the course of the next few months, probably like six to eight months, we’re going to see it [the drone kill zone] go out to like 50 or 60 km” in either direction from the line of contact, Perpetua predicted.

He claimed Ukraine would benefit more from the extended drone kill zone. “The farther out you go, I think Ukraine will have the advantage because Ukraine has just simply better drones,” Perpetua said. “Russia is mostly relying on their fiber-optic drones” which range just 10 km or so. “I think Ukraine has much better long-range drones that don’t rely on fiber-optics—and that use more advanced connectivity” via wireless radio.

But Ukrainian commanders aren’t assuming better drones and a wider kill zone will definitely favor Ukraine. Kirichenko noted more Ukrainian units deploying more ground robots for more different tanks inside the kill zone—all in an effort to safeguard Ukraine’s most precious resource: its infantry.

“The more that you can get ground robots through those very dangerous missions of getting resupplies, handling your logistics,” Kirichenko said, “the more that you can save your human soldiers.”

Explore further

A Russian drone found the toughest armor on the battlefield—and lost

Ukraine’s State Service on Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) has issued Metropolitan Onufriy an ultimatum: prove your church actually left Moscow or face dissolution.

The directive gives the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP) until 18 August 2025 to produce formal documents severing ties with Russia’s Orthodox Church. Three years after claiming independence, Ukrainian investigators found the church remains canonically subordinate to Moscow through multiple mechanisms—governing documents, institutional structure, and liturgical requirements.

The timing? Two weeks after Ukraine stripped Onufriy’s citizenship for allegedly hiding his Russian passport since 2002, and one week after DESS found that his church is still affiliated with Moscow.

What Ukraine actually wants

The State Service (DESS) isn’t asking for vague promises. They want Metropolitan Onufriy to provide decisions from the UOC MP’s highest governing bodies confirming the church’s exit from Russian structures. He must publicly reject any appointments to Russian church bodies and prepare an official statement terminating all connections with Moscow.

Can he do it? That depends on whether the UOC MP’s governing documents actually allow such independence—something the recent state investigation suggests they don’t.

The DESS investigation found multiple indicators of continued Russian control. The UOC MP still cites the 1990 Gramota (Charter) from then-Patriarch Alexy II as its constitutional foundation, which explicitly states the church is “connected through our Russian Orthodox Church.” The church must still commemorate the Moscow Patriarch in liturgy, have its statutes approved by Moscow, receive holy chrism from Russia, and ensure Ukrainian bishops participate in Russian church councils as obligated members.

Each requirement demonstrates canonical subordination that contradicts independence claims.

What the commission found

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church says it left Moscow. Documents say otherwise.

The Moscow test: when push comes to shove

Want to know if the UOC MP really left Moscow? Look at what happened when Russia started grabbing Ukrainian dioceses.

Since 2022, Russian authorities unilaterally transferred three UOC MP dioceses in occupied territories to direct Moscow control—Crimea, Rovenky, and Berdiansk. The UOC MP leadership’s response? Silence.

When 33 UOC MP bishops condemned these seizures in October 2024, did their church’s governing bodies support them? No. Complete silence again.

This stands in stark contrast to protests and condemnation when UOC MP parishes defect to join the rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

It shows that the UOC MP can resist when it chooses to. It just doesn’t choose to resist Moscow.

Legal machinery grinding forward

This ultimatum represents the practical implementation of Ukraine’s August 2024 law banning Russian-affiliated religious organizations. The legislation gave religious groups nine months to sever Russian connections—a deadline that’s already expired.

Theologian Cyril Hovorun, who has closely followed the law’s development, argued it’s “not primarily about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, nor is it about banning it outright” but rather about forcing the UOC MP to “get out of this deadlock it’s put itself in” with Moscow.

DESS will now compile a list of religious organizations connected to the banned Russian Orthodox Church structure. That potentially affects the UOC MP’s approximately 8,000 parishes serving millions of faithful.

Religious scholar Yuriy Chornomorets, who participated in earlier expert evaluations, told Euromaidan Press that “the conclusions use only facts; therefore, its findings are impossible to counter.”

The UOC MP has filed a lawsuit against Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers over the investigation. They consistently maintain they severed ties with Moscow after Russia’s February 2022 invasion. Ukrainian investigators? They concluded these claims lack any documentary foundation.

Explore further

“Not about banning.” Theologian unpacks Ukraine’s new anti-Russian church law

What’s Moscow’s stake?

The UOC MP represents 23% of the Russian Orthodox Church’s parishes worldwide—the largest concentration outside Russia itself. It remains Moscow’s sole surviving pillar of influence in a Ukraine that has otherwise severed all connections to Russia since 2022.

The church’s ideological power runs deep. The fantasy of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus as “Holy Rus” united against the “satanic West” forms the theological cornerstone of Putin’s war.

Ukraine’s Intelligence Directorate previously reported that under the guise of “religious cooperation,” the Russian Orthodox Church functions as an instrument of hybrid influence aimed at destabilizing Ukraine.

The citizenship revocation of Onufriy serves as legal theater. The real drama unfolds in courtrooms where the UOC MP’s survival hangs in the balance.

Explore further

Anatomy of treason: how the Ukrainian Orthodox Church sold its soul to the “Russian world”

Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says India is ready to meet its oil needs from alternative sources if Russia’s supplies are affected by secondary sanctions, Reuters reports.

US President Donald Trump has recently warned that countries continuing to buy Russian oil could face 100% tariffs if Moscow does not agree to a peace deal with Ukraine within 50 days. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has also stated that due to the new economic measures, countries, including India, could suffer losses if continue business with Mooscow. 

At the same time, India emphasizes energy security as a priority and says it will make decisions based on market conditions. The head of the Indian Oil Corporation, A.S. Sahni, has stated that if Russian supplies are restricted, the company will revert to traditional import schemes used before the war in Ukraine, when Moscow’s export was lower than 2%. 

So far, some large private refineries, such as Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, continue to purchase significant volumes of Russian oil, which led to an increase in imports from Russia in the first half of 2025.

Despite the restrictions the West has already imposed on Moscow, the Kremlin continues to use its “shadow” fleet. It includes a large group of oil tankers, many of which are old and poorly maintained. 

Earlier, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence said a powerful explosion occurred in the engine room of Russia’s  Vilamoura tanker on 27 June, while it was en route from the Libyan port of Es-Zuwaytina.

It was located about 150 km northeast of Libya’s territorial waters and was carrying approximately 1 million barrels of crude oil. The tanker sailed under the Marshall Islands flag.

The Swiss Ministry of Defense reports that the US is delaying deliveries of Patriot air defense systems ordered by Switzerland due to priority support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

In 2022, Switzerland ordered five Patriot systems, which were planned for delivery between 2026 and 2028. However, on 16 July 2025, the US officially announced a revision of delivery priorities due to the urgent need to replenish armaments for countries supplying weapons to Ukraine.

According to Defense Express, the contract included the delivery of 17 launchers and a stock of 70 GEM-T surface-to-air missiles, five AN/MPQ-65 radars, six MIDS-LVT data distribution systems, and five AN/MSQ-132 command posts.

Additionally, in November 2022, the US State Department approved the supply of 72 PAC-3 MSE missiles and related equipment to Switzerland worth $700 million.

Switzerland will receive the systems from later production batches, resulting in delivery delays. Meanwhile, Germany has increased its aid to Ukraine by transferring an additional two Patriot systems.

The delay currently has no specific timeline, and it is unclear whether it will affect deliveries of the PAC-3 MSE guided missiles, which the US promised to provide Ukraine earlier than Switzerland last year.

The Czech Ministry of Defense has announced a significant increase in artillery ammunition deliveries to Ukraine in 2025 under its weapon initiative. It combines NATO countries’ donations with direct ammunition sales through a government-led program that has earned the confidence of international partners, Reuters reports. 

Czechia formed a special team for Ukraine, which together with private companies, scours global markets for surplus ammunition stockpiles and new production lines. Ammunition batches are offered to donor countries, which decide individually what to finance.

Director Ales Vytecka of the Czech Defense Ministry’s AMOS international cooperation agency says 850,000 shells have already been delivered in 2025 to Ukraine, including 320,000 of NATO-standard 155 mm rounds. These figures are approaching last year’s total of 1.5 million shells, 500,000 of which were 155 mm.

Despite the opposition party’s threats to shut the program down after elections, Vytecka stresses that transparency is maintained to the extent allowed by security considerations. He added that the 29% increase in donor contributions compared to 2024 is a clear vote of confidence in the program’s effectiveness.

Donor nations, including Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark, choose which deliveries to fund, and all procurement offers are subject to audit in their respective jurisdictions.

A drone deal between Trump and Ukraine could bring Kyiv’s battlefield-proven UAVs into American hands, and more US-made weapons to Ukraine. The New York Post reports that President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are considering what’s being called a “mega deal.” 

Kyiv offers frontline drone experience for US weapons

In an exclusive interview with the New York Post, Zelenskyy revealed that his latest discussions with Trump centered around an exchange of drone technology and weaponry. Under the proposed agreement, Ukraine would sell its combat-hardened drone systems to the United States. In return, Washington would sell Ukraine a significant array of American weapons.

“This is really a mega deal, a win-win, as they say,” Zelenskyy told the NYP. “The people of America need this technology, and you need to have it in your arsenal.”

Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is ready to share its knowledge gained from over three years of fighting against Russia’s full-scale invasion. According to him, this experience could help both the US and European partners adapt to modern warfare. Zelenskyy said that parallel talks were also ongoing with Denmark, Norway, and Germany.

Ukraine’s drones reshape modern warfare

The possible drone deal between Trump and Ukraine builds on Ukraine’s rapid evolution into a drone warfare powerhouse. Ukraine was the first to start using FPV drones as precision weapons against Russian equipment and personnel. Additionally, Ukraine also developed the long-range naval kamikaze drones, which sank multiple Russian navy’s ships. Kyiv’s long-range aerial drones reach as far as 1,300 km into Russia. In May, a Ukrainian marine drone destroyed a Russian Su-30 fighter jet over the Black Sea, using onboard air-to-air missiles.

One of the most dramatic operations, dubbed “Operation Spider Web,” saw 117 Ukrainian drones launched simultaneously deep inside Russia. They took out dozens of Russian irreplaceable strategic bombers at four separate bases.

Explore further

First battlefield capitulation to robots: Ukrainian drones force Russian surrender and seize fortified position (video)

US drone tech lags behind, experts warn

While Ukraine surges ahead, US defense officials and military experts have warned that the US is falling behind in drone warfare. The New York Post notes that American troops lack the experience to effectively operate UAVs or defend against them. Trent Emeneker, a project manager at the Defense Innovation Unit, told the New York Times, 

“We all know the same thing. We aren’t giving the American war fighter what they need to survive warfare today.”

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has recently issued a new order to “cut red tape” on domestic drone production.

At least three of Russia’s largest banks are reportedly exploring bailouts from the Kremlin, Bloomberg News revealed in a report cited by The Telegraph. Borrowers across the country are increasingly unable to repay loans, exposing rising financial fragility in the war-weary economy.

The request for state support marks a new phase in Russia’s economic troubles, where years of war-related spending, sanctions, and labour shortages are colliding with falling revenues and rising inflation.

Officials have instructed banks to restructure their books to disguise the scale of bad loans, but that tactic is running out of road. As The Telegraph reports, the government may soon need to intervene more directly to stabilize the sector.

Economy strained by war, sanctions, and inflation

Though Russia’s economy officially grew 4.3% in 2024, much of that expansion was driven by military spending—one in every three roubles spent by Moscow now goes to the armed forces.

Behind the headline growth, key indicators point to a downturn. Business activity has dropped to its lowest level since the 2022 invasion began, and Goldman Sachs forecasts just 0.5% GDP growth in 2025. The private sector is weakening, labour shortages persist, and inflation has entered double-digit territory, driven by soaring food prices. Even potatoes are now in short supply, The Telegraph notes.

Oil revenues drop, currency under pressure

Russia’s critical oil revenues have plunged by a third compared to last year, with prices falling from $85 to $67 a barrel and access to international markets limited. The Bank of Russia’s 20% interest rate has failed to tame inflation, while high state payments to soldiers are further straining public finances.

Goldman Sachs also expects the rouble to depreciate by up to 30% against the US dollar this year, which would raise import costs and drive inflation higher still.

Global isolation could deepen

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on US imports from countries trading with Russia unless President Vladimir Putin agrees to a deal on Ukraine. If enacted, this could further isolate Russia’s economy from global trade networks.

As The Telegraph puts it, “The banks are quietly bracing for the worst.” With key sectors under strain and financial institutions now seeking state support, Russia’s economic resilience may be wearing thin. However, it remains unclear whether these challenges pose a critical threat to the Kremlin’s ability to sustain its war in Ukraine.

“Putin’s criminal war is approaching our borders,” the Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has emotionally declared after the strike on Barlinek. On 16 July, a Russian drone attack on Ukraine damaged the Polish company Barlinek in the city of Vinnytsia.

As a result of the strike, two employees were hospitalized in serious condition, suffering from numerous burns. 

“Russian drones struck the Barlinek group’s factory in Vinnytsia. The factory director just told me this was done deliberately from three directions. There are wounded, two of them with severe burns,” Sikorski wrote on X.

Barlinek is a global manufacturer of wooden flooring, supplying products to 75 countries across 6 continents. The company also produces sports flooring, skirting boards, and biofuel pellets and briquettes for fireplaces. The Vinnytsia factory was opened in 2007.

Ukrainian emergency services and representatives of the Polish consulate were working on the attack site.

The Polish Foreign Ministry has informed a Russian diplomat that the products of the Polish company Barlinek in Ukraine serve civilian purposes. Therefore, Russia’s strike on the company’s factory in Vinnytsia violates international law and may have legal consequences in the future, UkrInform reports.

Paweł Wroński, the Polish Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, says that the bombing of the Barlinek factory could be connected to the meeting of the Ukrainian, Polish, and Lithuanian foreign ministers of the Lublin Triangle in Lublin.

Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania form new alliance to counter Putin’s weaponized historic narratives amid war of attrition

The main objective of these annual meetings, established in 2020, is to strengthen mutual military and cultural ties between the three countries and to support Ukraine’s integration into the EU and NATO.

Barlinek’s CEO, Wojciech Michałowski, reports that the attack severely damaged the factory. Production at the facility will be suspended for at least six months.

Schemy, a project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has identified a Russian prison medic responsible for crimes against Ukrainian soldiers held at Penal Colony No. 10 in Mordovia. His cruelty was so extreme that Ukrainian prisoners nicknamed him “Dr. Evil.”

Journalists have gathered testimonies from more than 150 former captives who recognized “Dr. Evil” in photos and videos. He turned out to be 34-year-old Illia Sorokin, a father of two and employee at Medical Unit No. 13 of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSVP). He had previously listed his workplace publicly on social media, visited occupied Crimea, and participated in 9 May parades wearing Soviet uniforms with a St. George ribbon.

Pavlo Afisov, a Ukrainian marine from the 36th Brigade, said that Sorokin used a stun gun, forced Ukrainian prisoners to crawl, jump, and sing Russian songs.

“He derived aesthetic pleasure from seeing you bent over in front of him, hands raised, with nothing on you, eyes closed. Yet he would kick you between the legs, hit you in the gut, strike your liver, beat you with a rubber baton and a stun gun. He even said that people like us deserve genocide,” the soldier recalled. 

Another soldier, Oleksandr Savov, confirmed the abuse and the denial of medical care. Sorokin was approached concerning the mental health of Ukrainian prisoner, Volodymyr Yukhymenko, who was brutally beaten and later died. A Ukrainian forensic examination found multiple fractures, hemorrhages, and pneumonia.

Despite Sorokin’s denials of responsibility, Tetiana Zhuravliova, a personnel officer at Medical Unit No. 13, confirmed his involvement. She said that Sorokin is currently serving in the Russian army, using the callsign “Doctor” and collecting supplies, equipment, medicine, and camouflage nets for his unit.

Ukraine’s parliament approved a broad slate of ministerial appointments, finalizing a sweeping Cabinet reshuffle that began earlier in the day with the elevation of Yulia Svyrydenko to the post of Prime Minister. Svyrydenko, who served as deputy to Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak in 2020–21, is widely viewed by political analysts as closely aligned with him.

While new officials are stepping into top roles, the balance of power remains firmly centralized. With elections suspended under martial law and political life dominated by Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s executive branch continues to operate with little political competition. The reshuffle marks an internal realignment of trusted figures—not a shift in direction or control.

Shmyhal moves to defense as ministries merge

Among the most significant changes, former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has been appointed Minister of Defense, with support from 267 lawmakers. A trained economist with no prior defense experience, Shmyhal takes over as Ukraine ramps up domestic arms production to meet wartime demands.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed him to increase the share of Ukrainian-made weapons used at the front to 50% within six months, up from the current 40%.

In tandem, the Ministry for Strategic Industries, formed in 2020 to oversee defense-related manufacturing, has been dissolved and absorbed by the Defense Ministry. Its former head Herman Smetanin will return to lead Ukroboronprom, Ukraine’s state defense conglomerate.

Economy ministry gains power under Sobolev

Prime Minister Svyrydenko, previously Ukraine’s economy chief, has consolidated control over the economic bloc. The Ministry of Economy will now absorb the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and the Ministry of Environmental Resources, recreating a short-lived “super ministry” model used in 2019–20.

Oleksiy Sobolev, a former deputy economy minister and head of Prozorro.Sale, now leads the Ministry of Economy. Prozorro.Sale is a state-run electronic auction system used for the transparent sale of public assets, including state property and insolvent bank assets.

The merger, however, has drawn sharp criticism from agriculture groups, who argue the sector is too important to be subordinated. They warn that agriculture generates 15% of GDP, accounts for 60% of foreign currency inflows, and is vital to economic resilience.

Unity ministry scrapped after corruption probe

The newly created Ministry of National Unity, which existed for just six months, has been formally dissolved. Its head Oleksiy Chernyshov was recently charged in a high-profile corruption case and released on 120 million UAH bail ($3 million).

The ministry had long faced skepticism due to its vague mission and limited practical output. Its functions are expected to be absorbed by the Ministry of Social Policy or one of its agencies.

Other key appointments

In addition to the Defense and Economy portfolios, parliament approved several other high-level appointments:

• Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation since 2019 and a longtime ally of President Zelenskyy, was promoted to First Deputy Prime Minister.
• Herman Halushchenko, previously Energy Minister, becomes Minister of Justice.
• Svitlana Hrynchuk, his former deputy, is now Minister of Energy.
• Denys Uliutin, a finance technocrat, takes over as Minister of Social Policy. His appointment has faced criticism — including from MPs in the ruling party — due to his lack of experience in social welfare.
• Taras Kachka, a trade negotiator and deputy economy minister, becomes Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, replacing Olha Stefanishyna, who is slated to become Ambassador to the US.

Ministers retaining their posts

Several ministers will remain in their current positions:

• Oleksiy Kuleba – Deputy PM for Regional Development
• Ihor Klymenko – Minister of Internal Affairs
• Serhii Marchenko – Minister of Finance
• Oksen Lisovyi – Minister of Education
• Viktor Liashko – Minister of Health
• Matviy Bidnyi – Minister of Youth and Sports
• Nataliia Kalmykova – Minister for Veterans Affairs
• Andriy Sybiha – Minister of Foreign Affairs (confirmed in a separate vote)

The position of Minister of Culture remains unfilled, with deliberations ongoing.

Ukraine’s smallest cabinet on record

With the restructuring, the Cabinet now includes just 16 members, excluding the unfilled culture portfolio. By comparison, Viktor Yanukovych’s government once included 27 ministers. This makes the current lineup likely the most compact government in Ukraine’s modern history.

Whether this consolidation will improve functionality is unclear. Ukraine has seen multiple cycles of ministry mergers and divisions over the past two decades, with no lasting administrative model. For now, efficiency appears to take priority, as the government adapts its structure to wartime needs.

€50 billion sits waiting. But Ukraine’s solar revolution measures just 102 MW. And Rome just promised more money through the same broken system.

The Ukraine Recovery Conference wrapped up in Rome last week with familiar promises: €2.3 billion in new agreements, including €265 million for “energy security and green transition” and €500 million in guarantees and grants to help Ukraine’s small businesses.

But missing from the announcements was any mention of fixing the fundamental problems that keep Ukrainian communities locked out of the European Union’s flagship funding tool, the Ukraine Facility.

€50 billion Ukraine Facility shows limited renewable energy results

Let’s be clear: this facility, worth €50 billion, is a significant commitment. Pillar II, the part meant to help rebuild Ukraine’s economy and support clean energy projects, has the potential to do real good. But right now, it’s still lagging behind. There is no data, transparency, or investor confidence. Most importantly, there is no access for small and medium-sized businesses.

The money is there. But the results are harder to find. One result was a bank survey conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) with 20 banks, which showed that Ukrainian banks have issued 3,500 loans worth almost UAH 17 billion for energy projects.

It seems like a lot, however, many of the energy projects supported so far rely on diesel or gas, hardly the clean energy transformation we’ve been promised. The numbers tell the story: while solar projects received funding for 102 MW, gas-piston cogeneration units got 185 MW and diesel generators another 102 MW. Ukrainian banks financed nearly three times more fossil fuel capacity than solar power.

The scale of this shortfall becomes clear when you consider what Ukraine had before the war: approximately 9.9 GW of installed renewable energy capacity, including about 6 GW from solar power alone. Ukraine’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan aims for renewables to constitute 27% of electricity consumption by 2030, requiring a total installed capacity of 12.2 GW of solar energy.

Despite the ongoing war, Ukraine commissioned around 660 MW of new renewable energy capacities during 2022-2023, encompassing solar, wind, biogas, and small hydroelectric power plants.

Wind and solar power plants generated about 10% of Ukraine’s electricity as of 2023, with the share of clean energy produced, including large hydropower plants, reaching 20.3%—an increase from the pre-war period.

In 2024, Ukrainian state banks approved loans for the construction of 83 MW of solar power plants on the roofs of private households, which is an absolute record for the country since the implementation of such projects.

It should be noted that before the full-scale invasion, only 0.98 GW of grid-connected solar power plants had been built in Ukrainian households.

Ukraine energy funding lacks basic transparency

Citizens can’t even find a basic map showing where these 3,500 projects are located. No one knows exactly which projects have been funded, which regions are benefiting, or even how many of these projects have actually started working.

Some project details emerge piecemeal – like Mykolaiv’s 20 MW solar plants – but comprehensive data remains elusive. Citizens still can’t answer basic questions: Which oblasts received the most funding? How many small businesses applied versus how many got approved? What percentage went to Ukrainian companies versus international contractors?

These questions remain unanswered even after Rome. More basic transparency is needed, so that citizens and civil society can track where this money goes and whether it’s doing any good.

The small amount of information available in the public domain highlights that financial support for initiatives under Pillar II only started in 2025 and lacks a clear implementation schedule, despite the fact that these steps are crucial to improving Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and sustainable development in the face of current challenges.

As of today, all renewable energy projects implemented in Ukraine since 2022 are supported by leading international partners, rather than under Pillar II.

Even EU-supported analysis confirms the system’s dysfunction. A recent report by climate campaign group Razom We Stand found that there is “no comprehensive, publicly accessible database or consolidated statistical reporting” on funded projects. The report calls for establishing “a robust, transparent reporting system” – acknowledging the very transparency problems Ukrainian communities have been experiencing.

Small Ukrainian businesses shut out of EU energy funding

Then there’s the issue of who’s actually able to access these funds. Most of the financing so far seems to flow through international banks. But Ukraine’s recovery won’t come from top-down aid alone. Local businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, are the backbone of any real rebuild. And right now, they’re shut out.

• Start with the money: many grant windows under Pillar II require €1 million minimum funding, which automatically excludes smaller regional providers or community energy initiatives. Then add excessive documentation requirements—multi-part technical, financial, and environmental submissions that mirror EU-level procurement formats.
• Most materials are available only in English or bureaucratic EU-style Ukrainian, with no clear summaries for local implementers.
• There’s little structured guidance to help applicants navigate these technical procurement rules. Local governments and SMEs are left to figure out highly complex eligibility criteria on their own.
• The scoring and selection criteria remain opaque, discouraging applicants who can’t afford dedicated bid writers or consultants.

Three months after Rome, the EU announced another €1.6 billion initiative for Ukrainian SMEs, scheduled for implementation in “the second half of 2025.” The pattern continues: more announcements, delayed implementation, while Ukrainian companies wait for access.

Despite all this, and against the backdrop of this devastating war, Ukraine is pushing forward with its clean energy revolution. Andriy Konechenkov, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association, recently announced that seven new wind power plants are currently under construction in Ukraine, with a total capacity of 4 GW of projects ready for implementation.

Last month, international consulting company Boston Consulting Group predicted an increase in the share of renewable sources in the structure of Ukrainian electricity production from 15% (2022 figure) to 28% until 2040, with the potential for further growth.

Balint Silhavi, Principal of the Boston Consulting Group, said: “We expect that about 50% of new generation will be solar and wind power plants. This means that the entire energy sector will become greener and greener.”

Rome chose more billions over basic fixes

These renewable energy projects and optimistic predictions show that Ukraine is working independently to push for renewable energy rebuilding. Rome was the moment to address the systemic dysfunction keeping Ukrainian communities locked out of their own recovery funding.

Instead, the EU chose to announce more billions flowing through the same broken channels.

Ukraine needs more than big promises. We need smart, targeted support that strengthens our economy, protects our communities, and builds toward long-term energy independence through renewables. Pillar II was meant to help deliver that. Rome should have fixed the system instead of feeding it more money.

This isn’t Ukraine’s first attempt at energy transformation that foundered on bureaucratic dysfunction.

In the late 2000s, Ukraine launched regional energy service companies like UkrESCO, which proved highly successful at implementing energy efficiency and investment projects. But the state failed to support their full privatization, retaining partial ownership through state enterprise shares.

The initiative lost momentum and never scaled—despite clear demand and early success.

That example shows what happens when system-level support disappears: even strong models fail to grow. Ukraine cannot afford to repeat that mistake with Pillar II, especially not while fighting for its survival.

Rome was the chance to course-correct. Instead, the EU chose to pour more billions into a system that systematically excludes the Ukrainian actors who should be rebuilding their own country.

As EU-funded research acknowledges, “continued collaboration with the Ukraine Facility and the European Commission is essential to prioritise renewable energy sources (RES) projects.” The question is whether this collaboration will finally deliver results or produce another year of billion-euro announcements while Ukrainian communities build their energy future independently.

Maksym Bevz

Maksym Bevz is Head of Renewable Energy and Green Recovery Campaigns for Ukraine with over…

Iryna Ptashnyk

Iryna Ptashnyk is a Senior Research and Development Expert with 13 years of legal experience…

Editor’s note. The opinions expressed in our Opinion section belong to their authors. Euromaidan Press’ editorial team may or may not share them.

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As Taiwan is conducting its massive Han Kuang exercises, China has deployed a record number of warplanes and ships toward the island, UkrInform reports. In the past 24 hours, China has sent 58 military aircraft and 10 naval and coast guard vessels toward Taiwan.

Of those 58 aircraft, including fighter jets, bombers, drones, and helicopters, 45 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s air defense zones in the north, center, southwest, and east. The heaviest activity was recorded in the central and southwestern zones, home to key Taiwanese Air Force and Navy bases.

There have been no official intrusions into Taiwan’s airspace or territorial waters, but the situation is described as extremely tense. Taiwanese forces continue combat simulations as part of the extended 10-day exercises, the longest ever, involving a record 22,000 reservists this year.

Earlier, Taiwan unveiled a new naval drone, the Endeavor Manta, inspired by Ukraine’s SeaBaby and Magura drones. At 8.6 meters long, it can carry over a ton of explosives or lightweight torpedoes, another sign the island is preparing for a potential maritime attack.

Russian Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev has threatened the West with “preemptive strikes,” but added that Moscow has no intention to attack Europe, the Kremlin agency TASS reports. 

He has accused the West of waging “full-scale war against Russia,” claiming that NATO supplies Ukraine with satellite data and facilitates missile launches.

“The West has not only treachery in its blood but also a sick, outdated belief in its own superiority. Russia must act accordingly, and, if necessary, deliver preemptive strikes,” Medvedev says.

Despite this, he called information about a possible Russian attack on Europe “nonsense,” which is allegedly being deliberately spread.

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service Head Sergey Naryshkin accused NATO of escalating military activity near Russia’s borders. He warned that Poland and the Baltic states would be the first to suffer in a war between Moscow and the Alliance.

He claimed these countries were displaying particular aggressiveness. As an example, he cited Warsaw’s alleged plan to deploy around two million anti-tank mines along its borders with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast. 

Ukraine’s new Magura W6P naval drone patrols 1000 km, offering longer range and smarter sea reconnaissance, Militarnyi reports. This latest model shifts from strike operations to focus on maritime patrol and intelligence gathering. Militarnyi’s correspondent visited a closed presentation of the new maritime robotic system, recently organized by Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence agency.

Magura W6P naval drone patrols 1000 km with enhanced stability and sensors

Magura W6P replaces kamikaze capabilities with advanced reconnaissance systems and an extended operational radius from 800 km to 1000 km. Unlike its predecessor Magura v5, which reached speeds up to 50 knots, the W6P has a top speed of 36 knots and cruises at 21 knots powered by a 200-horsepower Suzuki DF200 gasoline engine. This change favors endurance over speed for longer patrols.

The drone features a unique trimaran hull with two outriggers, increasing stability at sea and reducing side rolling during waves or movement. This design also expands the deck width to 2 meters, providing space for mounting equipment such as launch containers for strike FPV drones, although the W6P itself no longer performs kamikaze attacks. The full loaded weight is 1,900 kg, including a 400 kg payload capacity.

Advanced radar, optical systems, and satellite communications enhance reconnaissance

Magura W6P is equipped with a gyro-stabilized optical station featuring day and thermal imaging channels. The drone’s onboard Furuno radar detects ships up to 30 kilometers away and large tankers up to 60 kilometers, though the low antenna height may reduce this range. Smaller boats can be detected within 7 kilometers.

Additionally, the drone uses a multichannel satellite communication system to maintain control despite enemy electronic warfare attempts.

Magura W6P part of Ukraine’s growing naval drone defense system

Ukraine’s naval forces and developers are working to integrate unmanned systems like Magura W6P into a comprehensive maritime defense network. These drones will patrol, locate, and help neutralize threats in Ukraine’s waters.

The EU may revisit the vote on its 18th sanctions package against Russia as early as 18 July after the bloc’s representatives failed to reach a consensus on Wednesday, 16 July. The deadlock stems from Slovakia’s opposition, which is tied to the European Commission’s gas policy.

“No green light today on Russian sanctions during debate with ambassadors. They may return to the issue on Friday,” reports Rikard Jozwiak from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

The proposed sanctions package reportedly includes:

A “dynamic mechanism” for pricing Russian oil, 15% below the market price, which is approximately $47 per barrel

• A ban on operations involving the Nord Stream gas pipelines,
• Sanctions against a Russian oil refinery operating in India,
• Restrictions on two Chinese banks assisting Moscow in evading sanctions,
• Measures targeting Russia’s “shadow fleet” transporting energy resources outside sanctions regimes.

Meanwhile, Estonia has warned it will block the package if the provision to lower the oil price cap is removed, ERR writes.

“We have a very clear position that the oil price cap reduction must be included in this package. We hold a very firm stance on this issue,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna says.

At the same time, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys has expressed hope that pressure on Russia will only intensify, according to Delfi. He has also announced that the country will begin its work on the next 19th sanction package after the 18th is adopted. 

“The next package should follow, and we will continue this process until the Russian war machine either chokes or shuts down due to lack of revenue,” he has noted. 

Unanimity remains the EU’s only path to advancing sanctions policy, and Russia has proven adept at exploiting this vulnerability.

Ukraine is deploying a new generation of air-defense drones—fast, lightweight, and highly maneuverable—designed specifically to intercept and destroy Russia’s Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones.

With peace negotiations stalled and Russian aerial attacks intensifying, Kyiv is turning to homegrown technology to fill a critical defense gap. Massive waves of Shahed drones have made traditional missile systems economically unsustainable, prompting the rapid deployment of tens of thousands of compact, low-cost interceptors.

What these interceptor drones are

According to Forbes tech correspondent David Hambling, Ukraine’s interceptors mark a technical leap in drone warfare, prioritizing speed, scalability, and affordability:

• Lightweight and aerodynamic: Designs include bullet-shaped quadcopters (like Wild Hornets’ Sting) and delta-wing drones, built for high-speed, high-altitude engagement.
• Vertical engagement capability: These drones can climb to intercept Shaheds flying at over 10,000 feet (≈3 kilometers)—well above the reach of ground-based machine guns.
• Radar and visual guidance: Integrated into a nationwide sensor and command system, they are coordinated to track and strike slow-moving aerial threats.
• Low cost: Priced at just $1,000 to $5,000 per unit, they’re dramatically cheaper than the $3.3 million US Patriot missiles used to counter other threats.

What Russia is saying

Even figures within Russia’s defense-industrial elite have acknowledged the growing impact of Ukraine’s interceptor efforts. Alexey Rogozin—former CEO of Ilyushin and a senior figure in Russia’s military aviation sector—wrote on Telegram that Ukraine had effectively constructed a local anti-drone network over Kyiv:

“In fact, we are talking about an urban anti-drone dome built on the mass use of small-sized interceptors,” he said, referring to the Clear Sky initiative.

Rogozin claimed that more than 500 Shaheds had been intercepted under this system. While he maintained that large drone waves could still overwhelm defenses, he conceded that the cost dynamic has shifted:

“Now it is more expensive to attack than to defend.”

However, the system is not foolproof. Despite the deployment of interceptors, Kyiv continues to experience Shahed strikes, and explosions remain a frequent occurrence. Interception rates have reportedly improved, but with systems still scaling up, real-world effectiveness remains incomplete.

Why Ukraine is using them

Russia’s Shahed drones are slow, cheap, and launched in overwhelming numbers. In June alone, Russia launched over 5,000 Shahed-type drones, including as many as 728 in a single night—far more than traditional systems like Patriots can handle.

Ukraine’s interceptors offer a cost-effective, scalable response to this flood of threats. Small, fast, and increasingly numerous, they are designed to match Russia’s production tempo.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently praised the system, stating that “hundreds of Russian-Iranian Shahed drones have been shot down this week” alone. Officials say interception rates, which had dropped due to higher-altitude attacks, are now back above 86%.

Moment a Russian Shahed drone is shot down over Odesa on Sunday morning. Some reports suggest it was intercepted by another drone. pic.twitter.com/qF5dYySMVC

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) July 11, 2025

How many are coming

According to Arsen Zhumadilov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency, the country has already signed contracts for tens of thousands of interceptor drones.

“This is what we have already contracted and will continue to contract,” Zhumadilov said in a 14 July interview with Babel. “We will definitely contract everything that the state budget can afford.”

He added that if domestic production capacity exceeds state funding, allied nations may help finance additional units to expand coverage.

Strategic impact

Ukraine’s interceptor drone program is emerging as a flexible, affordable answer to Russia’s drone warfare campaign—and potentially a model for other nations facing similar threats.

“Ukraine is massively scaling up its production of low-cost interceptor drones to stop Russia’s growing barrages of Shahed attack drones,” wrote David Hambling.

At the recent G7 summit, Zelenskyy emphasized that this technology could serve as a global solution for defending against mass drone attacks—an increasingly relevant challenge in modern warfare.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ministers to boost local arms from 40% to 50% within six months as part of a wartime strategy to strengthen Ukraine’s military self-reliance. He outlined the directive during a major speech before parliament, following the formal approval of a reshuffled Cabinet of Ministers on 17 July.

Zelenskyy tasks new cabinet with weapons overhaul

Addressing lawmakers and the new Cabinet, Zelenskyy noted:

“We are transforming the management of the defense sector and weapons production in such a way that, in six months, the share of specifically Ukrainian-made weapons available to our soldiers will significantly increase. Currently, about 40% of all weapons in the hands of our soldiers are made in Ukraine. In six months, it must be no less than 50%,” Zelenskyy said. 

He emphasized that boosting domestic arms production was essential in a global environment where attention to Russia-Ukraine’s war is being diluted by other crises.

Ministers told to audit defense deals

Zelenskyy also instructed the reshuffled cabinet to carry out a full audit of all existing defense-related agreements and commitments. These include international partnerships, production deals, memorandums, and resilience programs.

The president stressed that these agreements must be implemented “100% in the interests of Ukraine.” 

New prime minister confirmed

During the 17 July parliamentary session, lawmakers approved Zelenskyy’s nominee for prime minister, Yuliia Svyrydenko. Before the reshuffle, she served as Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

Most ministers either retained their roles or were reassigned to new posts. The president called for immediate implementation of the new government program and said results must be delivered “daily.”

Moscow’s recycled lies and nuclear bluster aim to fracture NATO and halt US aid for Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 16 July. The Kremlin is reviving old narratives, including nuclear threats and faux diplomacy, in a coordinated information campaign targeting the United States’ renewed commitment to Ukraine and NATO.

Kremlin revives nuclear threats to pressure NATO

ISW says that the Kremlin is “recycling several longstanding informational narratives, including nuclear threats, in a renewed effort to break the United States away from Ukraine and the NATO alliance.” 

On 16 July, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that all provisions of Russia’s nuclear doctrine remain active. He emphasized that nuclear powers must not “incite” non-nuclear states and warned that nuclear countries must “answer” for such incitement.

Russia had updated its nuclear doctrine in fall 2024, introducing a clause suggesting that aggression by a non-nuclear country backed by a nuclear power may be treated as a joint attack on Russia.

Blaming the West for Moscow’s war

Responding to a question about Trump’s push for increased NATO military aid to Ukraine, Peskov claimed that “Europeans maintain a rabid militaristic attitude towards Moscow.“

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov echoed this approach, stating on 15 July that Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine aims to eliminate “the threats that NATO has created” on Russia’s borders.

ISW highlights that these narratives have remained constant throughout the war and are being revived to undermine unity between the United States and Europe.

Russia casts itself as the peacemaker

Amid the Western calls to force Moscow into meaningful negotiations to end the war, Peskov  urged the international community to pressure Ukraine—not Russia, the aggressor country—into bilateral negotiations. ISW assesses this move as an effort to “falsely portray Russia as willing to negotiate while undermining Ukraine’s credibility.”

Strategy targets transatlantic unity

ISW notes that Russia is using the same “rhetorical line” that it has used throughout the war “to deter Western support for Ukraine, but has shifted its objective from preventing new support for Ukraine to reversing recent support” and to break the US from its NATO allies.

“The Kremlin is prioritizing informational campaigns aimed at undermining NATO unity and stoking discontent between the United States and its European allies in order to degrade Ukraine’s defense capabilities and achieve its longstanding war aims that amount to Ukraine’s capitulation,” ISW wrote.

Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania have agreed to establish a Historians’ Forum within the Lublin Triangle framework to deprive Moscow of any opportunity to manipulate shared history and sow discord among partners.

“We must seek understanding, resolve sensitive issues, and thus deny Moscow any opportunity to undermine our unity,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in Lublin.

On 16 July, he visited the Lublin Triangle’s conference with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys and Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. The main objective of these annual meetings, established in 2020, is to strengthen mutual military and cultural ties between the three countries and to support Ukraine’s integration into the EU and NATO.

The Ukrainian foreign minister added that the parties agreed such meetings of foreign ministers will be held regularly, at least twice a year.

Russia systematically manipulates and distorts historical facts to justify its aggression against Ukraine and to construct a narrative of the war’s “legality” and “necessity.” For instance, on 14 July, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent not negotiators, but a “historian” to the last peace talks in Istanbul.

The head of the Alliance was referring to Vladimir Medinsky, who began recounting Russian history starting in 1250 and tried to force Ukraine into capitulation. He also said that Moscow is ready to fight forever, mentioning the 21-year war against Sweden. 

In 2024, during a high-profile interview with American propagandist Tucker Carlson, Putin began the conversation with a long historical monologue in which he attempted to justify his aggression against Ukraine.

Ukraine’s parliament has confirmed Yulia Svyrydenko as Prime Minister, with 262 lawmakers voting in favor on Thursday. At 39, she becomes the first woman to lead Ukraine’s government in 15 years—and only the second in the country’s history after Yulia Tymoshenko.

But while the face has changed, the power structure remains the same. With elections suspended under martial law and political life shaped by Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s governance remains highly centralized. Svyrydenko’s appointment is seen as reinforcing the wartime system—where real decisions are made inside the Presidential Office, not by parliament or Cabinet.

Centralized power under martial law

Svyrydenko’s elevation underscores Ukraine’s current political reality: executive power concentrated in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s circle, limited institutional checks, and governance by loyal proxies.

She is viewed as a close ally of Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, widely considered one of the most powerful figures in the country.

“We don’t have a proper functioning Cabinet of ministers. Instead, we have some quasi-Cabinet of ministers headed by Yermak, who controls access to the president’s agenda and to the president himself,” said anti-corruption activist Daria Kaleniuk in Politico earlier this year.

Strong support from ruling party, opposition pushback

Svyrydenko was backed almost unanimously by Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party and several independents. Opposition factions—including European Solidarity, Batkivshchyna, and Holos—voted against or abstained, warning that the reshuffle deepens executive control.

Former President Petro Poroshenko summed up their position:

“Replacing Shmyhal, who was ‘Yermak in a shirt,’ with Svyrydenko, who will be ‘Yermak in a skirt,’ changes nothing.”

From regional official to Presidential insider

A native of Chernihiv, Svyrydenko began in regional government before rising to key roles in Kyiv. She joined the Presidential Office in 2020, and later served as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy.

She has led international negotiations on peace efforts, EU accession, and postwar recovery. In May 2025, she co-signed a US–Ukraine reconstruction agreement with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, signaling her role in Ukraine’s international outreach.

Ethics questions over teaching income

Her appointment triggered scrutiny over her income. In 2024, she reported earning over 3 million UAH (about $75,000) in six months of teaching at the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE)—more than her government salary.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency launched a probe into a possible conflict of interest, since KSE received international grants overseen by her ministry.

Svyrydenko said she taught multiple courses under separate contracts and worked outside government hours.

End of Shmyhal’s record-long tenure

Svyrydenko replaces Denys Shmyhal, who resigned after over five years—the longest serving Ukrainian PM. Sources say he has now been nominated as Defence Minister—a major shift amid war.

At the same time, it’s unclear who will replace Oksana Markarova as Ukraine’s ambassador to the US Reports suggest current Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and presidential adviser Ihor Zhovkva are among the frontrunners; no official successor has yet been confirmed.

Lithuania protests to Belarus over a Russian drone that entered from its territory and crashed just inside NATO airspace. The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry called the incursion a serious violation in an official statement on Facebook and demanded urgent explanations from Minsk.

Lithuania cites airspace violation in formal protest to Belarus

On 16 July, Lithuania summoned the acting chargé d’affaires of Belarus and handed over a diplomatic note of protest. The protest came after a Russian-made Gerbera drone illegally entered Lithuania and crashed roughly one kilometer from the border.

In a post published on its official Facebook page, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry wrote that the drone had crossed from Belarusian territory into Lithuanian airspace on 10 July and demanded a prompt explanation from Minsk. It described the incident as an illegal intrusion by a Russian-made, multifunctional unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The Ministry called on Belarus to take “all necessary measures” to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again.

Explore further

Lithuania tracks fake Russian Shahed from Belarus—NATO jets scrambled

Belarus held responsible for Russian drone’s NATO incursion

Lithuania’s Secretary of National Security Kęstutis Budrys, quoted by Delfi, said Belarus is fully responsible for allowing the drone to cross into Lithuania. “This is a serious violation,” Budrys stated. He noted that the object could have been part of a UAV group used in Ukraine.

“It’s likely this drone was used in the war,” he said, suggesting the Gerbera UAV might have been part of Russia’s combat operation before it reached NATO airspace.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Belarus must explain the incident immediately and prevent any future drone violations from its territory.

Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė told LRT that authorities are still investigating the intent behind the drone’s entry.

“We can confirm it was a Gerbera,” she said. “Its use could vary — we are trying to establish why it was flown here.”

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is launching a project to ensure technological superiority on the battlefield. With support from the German Federal Ministry of Defense and the Office of Effective Regulation (BRDO), Kyiv has announced a program to develop defense startups focused on artificial intelligence technology.

The launch of K4 Startup Studio promises a new format of cooperation between the state, developers, military experts, and global mentors.

Participating teams will compete to solve four key military challenges and can also submit their own ideas. Selected startups will undergo combat testing and receive mentoring support.

After a four-month intensive program, teams will have the opportunity to attract investments or sign government contracts. The four best startups will receive grants of $250,000 each.

“We are not just adapting — we are setting trends,” emphasizes Deputy Defense Minister Kateryna Chernohorenko.

Applications are open on k4.mod.gov.ua until 15 August 2025. Developers and investors interested in battlefield-proven technologies, both Ukrainian and international, are invited to apply.

A Ukrainian soldier could have gone on a date after meeting someone on Telegram. But before the meeting, he was asked to do a “small favor,” which could have turned deadly if not for law enforcement.

 
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), together with the National Police, thwarted a terrorist attack planned by an FSB agent network. One of the plots involved a fake “romantic date” in Dnipro.

A pair of Russian agents gained the trust of the Ukrainian soldier. Through Telegram, they suggested he meet with the “sister of a fellow soldier.” Before the date, the girl asked him to pick up her brother’s belongings from her friend.

“In reality, it was an accomplice who handed the soldier a bag containing explosives,” the SBU reported.

Afterward, Russian agents tried to detonate the device remotely, but it was defused in time.

It was just one of at least five terrorist attacks planned by them inside Ukraine.

• In Kyiv, two drug addicts tried to plant explosives near a military facility. They were coordinated from a detention center by an inmate who recruited his cellmate and two more accomplices.
• In Vinnytsia, a 19-year-old individual from Zhytomyr Oblast was detained while planting explosives near an apartment building housing military families.
• In Rivne, a terrorist hid explosives inside a soldier’s service vehicle and installed a surveillance camera.

Russian intelligence recruited all perpetrators via Telegram channels advertising “easy money.” According to the SBU, each attack attempt came with promises of financial reward.

All suspects have been charged with state treason, sabotage, and terrorism. They face life imprisonment and confiscation of property.

Russia’s chemical attacks in Ukraine have exceeded 10,000 incidents since February 2023, according to Anton Honchar, chief specialist of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Directorate of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Support Command. Honchar told Ukrainska Pravda that Russian forces began using chemical weapons against Ukrainians as early as 2014–2015.

Ukrainian mobile teams specializing in chemical detection are now deployed across the front, collecting samples of grenades, contaminated gear, and aerosols. These groups work in close coordination with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Special Operations Forces. Honchar noted that over the past month alone, Ukrainian teams recorded about 760 instances of chemical weapons use by Russian troops.

Banned toxic grenades lead Russia’s battlefield arsenal

According to Honchar, 88% of Russia’s chemical attacks involve hand grenades such as the RG-Vo and K-51, both of which are banned for combat use under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). These grenades are intended for riot control, not military operations, yet Russia reportedly uses them to flush Ukrainian troops out of trenches and bunkers. Kyiv accuses Moscow of violating Article 1, Clause 5 of the CWC, which prohibits the use of toxic chemicals as weapons against enemy forces.

Another widely documented agent is chloropicrin, once used to test gas masks. Now, it’s being weaponized in improvised explosive devices or loaded into containers and dropped from drones.

Evidence collected for international prosecution

Honchar stressed that Ukraine now has the technical ability to gather battlefield samples according to international forensic standards. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) requires strict procedures to validate evidence in court. Ukraine’s field units adhere to these rules, enabling the country to pursue accountability at both the national and international level.

Explore further

Russian forces drop banned chemical irritants from drones on Ukraine

Moscow’s chemical warfare infrastructure exposed

Ukraine accuses Russia of continuing to research, produce, and distribute chemical weapons despite claiming to have destroyed its stockpiles in 2018. The OPCW had been told by Moscow that its inventory was eliminated, yet Ukraine says banned agents are being actively used. One case cited by Honchar involved Russian General Kirillov, head of the Russian Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defense Troops. According to the SBU, he was responsible for supplying banned grenades to frontline units before being eliminated in December 2024.

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Russia’s chemical weapons use in Ukraine now “large-scale,” intelligence shows

Russian units repeatedly implicated in toxic attacks

Russia’s 155th Naval Infantry Brigade has been identified as one of the units most often using chemical weapons. Kyiv says these attacks are concentrated in combat-heavy directions such as Pokrovsk, Kupiansk, and Lyman, where Russian forces attempt to force Ukrainian troops out of fortified positions.

Honchar said Russian forces prefer to use chemical weapons during spring, summer, and autumn due to better evaporation conditions, and mainly during daylight assaults when their ground offensives are most active.

Germany’s Defense Ministry has denied knowledge of any Patriot systems for Ukraine currently leaving German territory, rejecting US President Donald Trump’s public claim. SRF reports that German officials say no such delivery is underway.

Germany contradicts Trump on Patriot system shipments

A spokesperson for Germany’s Defense Ministry said they could not confirm that any Patriot systems were presently on the way to Ukraine.

“That is not known to me,” the spokesperson stated, as cited by SRF.

Explore further

Reuters: Trump promised Patriots for Ukraine—Europe got the invoice

Trump, speaking to journalists in Washington on 15 July, claimed that the first Patriot systems were already being delivered,

“They are coming from Germany,” he added without providing any further details.

Berlin’s response directly contradicts this assertion.

NATO confirms plans for rapid Patriot delivery

Meanwhile, NATO is preparing to speed up deployment of additional Patriot systems to Ukraine, SRF says. The announcement comes as the country faces some of the heaviest Russian air attacks of the war.

NATO Air Commander Alexus Grynkewich said preparations were ongoing and involved close cooperation with Germany. Speaking at a conference in Wiesbaden, he stated,

“Preparations are underway, we are working very closely with the Germans on the Patriot relocation.” He added, “The instruction I received is to withdraw them as quickly as possible.”

Allies to discuss unresolved issues in upcoming meeting

The German Defense Ministry also noted that a virtual meeting of Ukraine’s supporting nations — the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) — would be held on 21 July. The goal of the meeting is to resolve remaining questions and implement the delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine as swiftly as possible.

US President Donald Trump promised Patriot missile systems for Ukraine—but it is Europe that must now provide them, Reuters reports. NATO allies are scrambling to decide who will donate the weapons and how soon they can be delivered.

Allies caught off guard by Trump’s Patriot deal

Trump announced on 14 July that some Patriot missile systems for Ukraine should arrive “within days.” But while Kyiv prepares to receive them, European governments are facing unexpected pressure to give up their own systems, Reuters says. Meanwhile, Trump claimed that the first Patriots allegedly already were “on the way” to Ukraine.

During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump claimed that Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Canada had agreed to participate. However, high-ranking officials in at least two of those countries told Reuters they only learned of the plan when Trump made it public.

“It is my clear sense that nobody has been briefed about the exact details in advance,” one European ambassador said.

NATO to coordinate shipments under US-led framework

A NATO official said the alliance will oversee deliveries through its Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine mission in Germany. The official listed Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Finland as committed to the effort. But the exact numbers and timeline remain under discussion.

Europe pays for Trump’s pledge

While Trump takes credit for the deal, European leaders are voicing frustration.

“If we pay for these weapons, it’s our support,” said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. “If you promise to give the weapons, but say somebody else is going to pay for it, it’s not really given by you, is it?”

Germany’s defense minister said no Patriot system would arrive in Kyiv before the summer ends. Other countries—including Greece and Spain—have previously refused to part with their Patriots, calling them essential for national defense.

Logistics unclear

A US official said the Trump administration is now reviewing NATO inventories to identify potential trades. In some cases, allies might give up Patriots in exchange for earlier deliveries of other weapons or cancel pending orders under the Foreign Military Sales program.

Drone strikes hit Tula and Voronezh overnight, and reached Moscow Oblast, piercing Russian air defenses in an alleged Ukrainian UAV raids. Russia claimed to intercept 122 drones. The extent of the damage from the attack remains unclear.

Ukraine targets military infrastructure in Tula

Russian news Telegram channel Astra reports that in the early hours of 17 July, drones targeted Russian facilities in Tula Oblast. Explosions thundered in Novomoskovsk, where key military-industrial sites are located, Liga reported. In Shchyokino, Tula Oblast, local residents reported a fire breaking out after a drone attack.

According to Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+, the Azot chemical plant in Shchyokino was hit directly during the attack. The M-500 methanol production unit was reportedly damaged. The plant carried out emergency technical procedures in response. Azot is one of Tula Oblast’s key chemical industry sites, producing ammonia, methanol, and other nitrogen-based compounds used in explosives and defense-related manufacturing.

Tula Oblast head Dmitri Milyaev said that as of 06:00, the threat of more drone attacks remained active in the oblast. Later, he claimed that drone “debris” fell on the premises of an unnamed enterprise.

Ukraine pierces Russian air defenses: drone strikes hit Tula, Voronezh

Russia claims it downed 122 Ukrainian drones last night.https://t.co/LHXY6IM02z
#1-3 Tula, #4 Roslavl, by TG/Supernova+ pic.twitter.com/VBE27i8sPd

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) July 17, 2025

Drone strikes hit Voronezh

Drone strikes hit Tula and Voronezh nearly simultaneously. In Voronezh, drones reached deep into the city, with one, possible shot down by Russia’s air defenses, reportedly striking two floors of a high-rise residential building in the city’s left-bank area.

Governor Aleksandr Gusev claimed that air defenses had destroyed at least five UAVs over Voronezh Oblast, yet later acknowledged that fragments had struck a residential tower. The authorities claim four civilians were injured.

Moscow also under threat amid massive drone wave

Mayor Sergei Sobianin claimed that three drones were allegedly intercepted while attempting to enter Moscow’s airspace. Loud blasts were reported in Zelenograd. Residents described multiple explosion-like sounds during the night. The drone assault affected aviation. Departures and arrivals at Vnukovo Airport were delayed as a precaution during the strikes.

In Smolensk Oblast, local residents reported a strike on the town of Roslavl, home to a key aviation support plant under the Rostec conglomerate, according to Astra.

Russia claims 122 drones downed across 13 oblasts

Russia’s Ministry of Defense alleged that Ukrainian drones targeted at least 13 oblasts overnight, claiming 122 UAVs were shot down. According to the ministry, most drones were intercepted over Bryansk, Kursk, and Oryol oblasts. Additional UAVs were allegedly downed over Voronezh, Tula, Moscow Oblast, occupied Crimea, and several others.

He sings Ukrainian songs and stops Russian assault troops. A former paramedic from Colombia, known as Miguel, came to Ukraine intending to serve as a combat medic. However, due to the language barrier, he was assigned to the infantry.

Despite this, he never abandoned his mission. Every day on the front line, he saves the lives of his comrades. He is learning Ukrainian by singing Chervona Kalyna, the country’s patriotic anthem. 

“At first, it was tough on the front line,” Miguel says, “but over time I realized you can fight back even against artillery. You have to attack and retreat, attack and retreat. That’s how I survived.”

The hardest part, he says, is overcoming the fear in your first battle.

“That’s the problem: people go into their first fight and afterward, because of fear, decide they can’t do it. But you have to adapt,” Miguel explains.

Even without official medic status, Miguel has repeatedly provided first aid to the wounded.

“The first cases stayed with me the most, but every single one of them inspires me to keep fighting and helping people. In the Legion, we are all one family. We always support each other,” he concludes.

Earlier, the Ukrainian 47th Mechanized Brigade Magura formed a reconnaissance and strike group composed mainly of Colombian volunteers.

The company commander, known as Hamlet, personally organized the arrival of foreign volunteers, including Colombians and fighters from Peru, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Italy, and Mexico. Ukrainian state programs allow them to quickly undergo training and integrate into the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Ukrainian fighters describe Colombian volunteers as “brave and humane,” who retrieve their wounded comrades and injured Ukrainians from the frontline, and are ready to carry out essential missions.

Russia’s manpower crisis is forcing the Kremlin to rely on covert recruiting networks, where volunteer fighters in mercenary structures are seen as “expendable manpower,” according to leaked recordings cited by RFE/RL.

“Second-rate infantry” in Russia’s strategy

In a conversation leaked late last year, Russian lawmaker Aleksandr Borodai described non-army recruits as “second-rate infantry.” He said their task is to exhaust Ukrainian troops before regular Russian forces attack. In the same recording, he referred to them as “expendable manpower.”

The statement highlights how Russia increasingly treats irregular fighters — often recruited through unregulated or covert systems — as disposable assets in a war now approaching 1 million Russian casualties, according to estimates.

With the memory of the September 2022 “partial mobilization” still fresh, and public opposition strong, the Kremlin is avoiding new mandatory call-ups. Instead, it relies on shadow recruitment structures to sustain frontline numbers without triggering mass unrest.

GRU-controlled Redut and Dobrokor feed the front with mercenaries

Systema, RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit, reveals that both the Redut and Dobrokor networks are controlled by the GRU, Russia’s main military intelligence agency. The structures are designed to enlist men and women under the guise of “volunteer formations” — but operate effectively as mercenary pipelines.

Unlike Russia’s Defense Ministry contracts, which extend until Russia ends its war in Ukraine, mercenary contracts through Redut or Dobrokor have fixed terms — usually six to twelve months — and do not renew automatically.

Recruits through Dobrokor sign formal contracts and receive legal military status. Monthly pay starts at $2,600. In exchange, they cannot leave before their contract ends without risking prosecution for desertion. Mediazona reported that over 20,000 desertion cases had already reached Russian courts as of May.

Redut: cash, secrecy, and no legal existence

Redut, by contrast, operates in a legal gray zone. It does not require fitness screening, accepts people with criminal records, and allows early departure. It attracts recruits by offering cash payments, which can be hidden from creditors, courts, or ex-spouses.

However, Redut mercenaries are not legally considered military personnel. They are ineligible for state compensation, hospital treatment, or veteran status.

“From a legal point of view, you don’t exist,” a recruiter for the Nevsky unit told Systema, adding: “There’s no service, nothing: No hospitals, no rehabilitation, nothing.”

Redut also provides no gear or uniforms up front. One recruiter told RFE/RL that new fighters are given 50,000 rubles ($640) only with their third paycheck — assuming they survive that long.

Small bonuses, big risks

The Russian Defense Ministry offers up to $46,000 in signing bonuses for official contracts. Dobrokor pays far less — often $640–$1,280. Redut mercenaries get no regional bonus at all.

Despite these risks and limitations, thousands continue to join. Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev claimed over 210,000 people signed military contracts in the first half of 2025. Another 18,000 joined so-called “volunteer” formations — a term now widely used to mask informal, often unregulated mercenary service.

Janis Kluge of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs estimates the actual number of contract soldiers may be closer to 190,000.

Last night, Russia’s drones killed a civilian in Dnipro, and injured five others in another round of daily long-range drone attacks against Ukrainian residential areas, local authorities reported.

Civilian killed and five injured as Dnipro hit by Shahed drones

Russia’s Iranian-designed Shahed long-range explosive drones conducted a massive attack on Dnipro city in the middle of Ukraine after midnight on 17 July. According to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast head Serhii Lysak, the attack triggered multiple fires and caused damage to both industrial and residential infrastructure.

Public broadcaster Suspilne reported several explosions in the city throughout the night. The first were heard in Dnipro and its suburb, Samar, around 00:10, followed by repeated blasts at 00:12 and a further series at 00:23. Lysak confirmed the situation in Dnipro was “loud.” Ukrainian air defense shot down 22 drones, but some reached their targets, according to the region’s chief.

Explosions and fires were reported not only in Dnipro itself but also in the surrounding Solone and Slobozhanske communities. A private residence, greenhouse, and utility structure were damaged. Industrial enterprises also caught fire.

Nikopol and Marhanets attacked with drones and rocket artillery

Lysak says the Russian military also struck the Nikopol and Marhanets in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast communities using FPV drones, Grad multiple-launch rocket systems, and air-dropped explosives. The attacks destroyed a civilian vehicle and damaged a single-family home and a farm structure. 

Zaporizhzhia hit with bombs, drones, artillery across nine settlements

While the Dnipro strike caused civilian casualties, Zaporizhzhia Oblast endured extensive bombardment throughout the past 24 hours. According to oblast head Ivan Fedorov, Russian forces carried out six bomb attacks on Plavni, Huliaypole, Uspenivka, Novoandriivka, and Bilohiria.

In total, Russian forces launched 420 drones—mostly small FPVs—targeting nine settlements across the oblast. Five Grad rocket attacks struck Huliaypole and Novodanylivka. Russian artillery shelled seven frontline settlements 171 times. Fedorov noted that no civilians were injured in these strikes.

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Russia drops 250 bombs on Ukraine’s forest—then gets crushed by Bradleys and good old-fashioned flanking. Russia fired hundreds of KAB glide bombs at a single treeline—then retreated from Sumy anyway.

Can Ukraine’s $ 1,000 drones really beat Russia’s $ 35,000 Shaheds?. The missiles are too expensive. The interceptors are unproven. But Ukraine is betting on the math of survival.

Military

Frontline report: Trump restarts Ukraine aid after Russia’s massive 700-drone attack backfires. Ukrainian air defenses shot down over 500 incoming projectiles during Russia’s largest aerial bombardment of the war, yet the attack’s timing—during a US aid pause—may have delivered Moscow’s biggest strategic defeat.

Frontline report: Ukrainian brigade captures Russian positions after drone-only assault leaves enemy defenseless

. The Third Assault Brigade guided captured Russian soldiers directly to Ukrainian lines using an aerial drone, with no Ukrainian infantry present during the entire operation.

As of 16 JUL 2025, the approximate losses of weapons and military equipment of the Russian Armed Forces from the beginning of the invasion to the present day:

• • • Personnel: 1037460 (+1170)
    • Tanks: 11025 (+3)
    • APV: 22995 (+2)
    • Artillery systems: 30395 (+49)
    • MLRS: 1440
    • Anti-aircraft systems: 1196
    • Aircraft: 421
    • Helicopters: 340
    • UAV: 46164 (+284)
    • Cruise missiles : 3491
    • Warships/boats: 28
    • Submarines: 1
    • Vehicles and fuel tanks: 55229 (+82)

Intelligence and technology

Guardian: Ukrainian military intelligence exposes flaw in Trump’s Tomahawk missile offer. The cruise missiles require strategic bombers as launch platforms, which Ukraine lacks, according to HUR deputy chief.

Forbes: Ukraine’s new rifle ammo explodes mid-air to kill drones—and might blow up Russia’s whole strategy. Ukraine is developing a mid-air fragmenting rifle round that could make Russian drone strikes far less effective—forcing a return to costly artillery attacks.

International

First Patriot missiles for Ukraine are being shipped from Germany – Trump

. Up to 17 Patriot air defense systems are heading to Ukraine as President Trump announced a policy shift toward providing offensive weapons, including potential authorization for long-range strikes deep inside Russia.

Germany, Denmark, Netherlands plan to buy US-made Patriots, capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, for Ukraine. With Russia escalating airstrikes, European allies move to purchase US air defense systems for urgent delivery to Kyiv.

Kellogg attends Ukrainian National Guard training in Kyiv. US President’s Special Representative Keith Kellogg observed tank crew training and drone demonstrations at Ukrainian National Guard facilities on 16 July, marking his third day of high-level meetings in Kyiv aimed at advancing defense cooperation between the two countries.

Politico: France will not buy American weapons for Ukraine, citing need for Europe defense independence . Paris will not abandon President Macron’s years-long push for Europeans to strengthen their own defense manufacturing base rather than increasing reliance on American suppliers.

The Telegraph: Trump’s Ukraine strategy could work—if Europe sent more than statements. Former UK Colonel Richard Kemp says Trump’s plan to arm Ukraine and pressure Russia is falling short as Europe holds back on weapons and funding.

Europe seeks genuine US burden-sharing of arming Ukraine amid Trump’s weapons promise. Kaja Kallas argued that Washington should share financial responsibility rather than expecting European allies to fund American weapons purchases entirely.

Poland says let Russia pay for US weapons to Ukraine, not European taxpayers. Minister Sikorski backs Trump’s ultimatum and urges use of frozen Russian assets to fund Kyiv’s defense.

ISW: Putin remains silent, but Kremlin mouthpieces reject Trump’s latest war ultimatum

. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called Trump’s 50-day ceasefire deadline “”unacceptable”” while Putin has yet to officially respond to the ultimatum.

UN diplomat: Russia’s war is global catastrophe, not regional conflict. Bob Rae says Moscow’s war fueled chaos far beyond Ukraine.

Danish company reportedly helps Russians export Ukrainian grain from occupied Berdiansk. A subsidiary of Danish inspection company Baltic Control helped Russian firms export at least 172,000 tons of grain from occupied Berdiansk between March 2024 and May 2025, leaked documents obtained by Ukrainian investigators show.

Humanitarian and social impact

Italy invites Russian conductor to perform. He supports war against Ukraine while Italy declares “art above politics”. Putin’s close ally Valery Gergiev will perform at the Royal Palace of Caserta on 27 July as he was personally invited by Campania region president.

Russia drops 500-kg bomb on city center in Donetsk Oblast, kills two civilians heading home from work. The city is located close to the front line in Donetsk Oblast and suffers daily attacks.

EU says Trump’s Russia ultimatum too long as civilians die daily. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas criticized Trump’s 50-day Russia ultimatum for being too lengthy while Ukrainian civilians face daily bombardment from Putin’s forces.

Russia launches 400 drones at Ukraine: 12 people injured across Kryvyi Rih, Vinnytsia and Kharkiv

. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 198 Russian attack drones and suppressed 145 decoys.

Political and legal developments

The Telegraph: Europe plans to use frozen Russian assets to pay for Donald Trump’s $10 billion weapons package for Ukraine. Poland’s foreign minister suggested using seized Russian asset profits for Ukraine arms funding, asking EU colleagues whether it “”should be a burden shouldered by our taxpayers or the Russians.”

New developments

Texas man joins Russian army to “earn respect,” gets lied to as he is sent to front line instead of welding job. Derek Huffman’s wife is now appealing on social media for his reassignment and asking for prayers, saying he “”feels like he is being thrown to the wolves.””

Ukraine jokes about giving US envoy “Ukrainian passport” as Russia stops bombing Kyiv when Americans visit. President Zelenskyy told Newsmax that typically Russia attacks Kyiv almost every night but there was a two-night pause as Keith Kellogg had arrived, a pattern Zelenskyy attributes to Putin’s fear of America.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Italy faces internal division over an upcoming performance by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev at a state-backed music festival, with critics arguing the event risks legitimizing Kremlin propaganda while supporters defend artistic freedom.

Now, Gergiev, who has maintained close ties to Vladimir Putin since the early 1990s, is scheduled to perform at the Un’Estate da Re festival at the Royal Palace of Caserta on 27 July, according to reports from The Guardian.

The performance marks his first European appearance since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

He was dismissed from several European concerts, festivals and theaters, including Milan’s La Scala, for refusing to condemn Putin’s actions. His last Italian performance was at La Scala on 23 February 2022, hours before the invasion began.

Italy, however, just broke a continent-wide boycott of pro-Kremlin artists.

How did this happen? Vincenzo De Luca, president of Italy’s Campania region, invited Gergiev personally. De Luca argues culture “must not be influenced by politics and political logic.”

Opposition to the concert has been led by Yulia Navalnaya, widow of deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in Russian prison. 

“How is it possible that in the summer of 2025, three years after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Valery Gergiev, Putin’s accomplice and a person included on the sanctions lists of several countries, was suddenly invited to Italy?” Yulia Navalnaya wrote in La Repubblica on 15 July.

The venue matters too. Gergiev will perform at the Royal Palace of Caserta—a UNESCO World Heritage site and former Bourbon palace. The festival bills his appearance as a summer season highlight.

Ruslan Shaveddinov, longtime Navalny aide, told The Guardian the performance “would serve to normalise Putin’s regime in the eyes of the civilised world.”

He argued that providing a platform for Kremlin figures at prestigious European festivals constitutes “a huge gift to Moscow.”

What’s Italy’s defense? Cultural Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano insists “art must remain free” while simultaneously warning the concert risks “sending the wrong message” amid current tensions.

The concert remains scheduled despite the controversy, with Italian authorities yet to announce any changes to the festival program.

Explore further

From blacklist to spotlight: Russian opera stars return to European stages despite Ukraine war boycott

France will not participate in a new initiative allowing European countries to purchase American weapons for Ukraine, according to French officials familiar with the matter, Politico reports.

The decision reflects Paris’s long-standing position that Europeans should strengthen their own defense industrial base through domestic procurement rather than relying on US suppliers.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz positioned his country as a central player in the initiative, with Rutte noting that Germany is “massively” invested in the plan, according to Politico. German officials privately claim the initiative originated as a German idea, driven by their assessment that Trump’s stated “disappointment” with Russian President Vladimir Putin created an opportunity for enhanced cooperation.

The procurement arrangement represents what German officials describe as a strategic workaround designed to address Trump’s hesitation about directly increasing military aid to Ukraine.

A German government adviser told Politico the strategy “would enable the US administration to increase the pressure on Russia and strengthen its support for Ukraine, while at the same time allowing it to remain one step behind the Europeans.”

European leaders calculated that Trump, who views international relations through the lens of financial transactions, would be more receptive to weapons transfers if Europeans purchased them, allowing the US to profit from the sales. The approach also provides Trump political cover with isolationist elements within his movement who oppose direct American involvement in Ukraine’s defense.

On 15 July, President Trump announced that the first Patriot air defense missiles destined for Ukraine are already being shipped from Germany with an aim to bolster Ukraine’s air defense capabilities amid intense Russian missile and drone attacks on civilians. 

Meanwhile, Rutte identified four Nordic countries along with the United Kingdom and Netherlands as supporting the weapons purchase plan. However, France’s absence from this list reflects broader European divisions over defense procurement strategy.

Two French officials confirmed to Politico that Paris will not join the US weapons buying initiative, citing President Emmanuel Macron’s consistent advocacy for building European defense industrial capacity through local procurement. France’s position is further complicated by budgetary constraints as the government attempts to reduce spending and address its significant deficit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded positively to the announcement, writing on social media platform X that “we appreciate the readiness to provide additional Patriots, and the US, Germany, and Norway are already working together on this.”

Earlier, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas emphasized the need for the United States to share the financial burden of supplying weapons to Ukraine, pointing out that promising weapons while shifting the cost to others is not true support.

Explore further

Germany, Denmark, Netherlands plan to buy US-made Patriots, capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, for Ukraine

Donald Trump’s new Ukraine strategy—arming Kyiv while demanding Europe fund it—is drawing sharp debate. But according to former British Army Colonel Richard Kemp, it’s exactly the right move.

Writing in The Telegraph, Kemp says Trump has “correctly adjusted his policy” in response to Vladimir Putin’s refusal to negotiate. His critics, particularly in Europe, “would be more convincing if they had their own realistic proposals, but they do not,” Kemp argues.

“Put their money where their mouth is”

At the heart of Trump’s plan is a demand: the US will send weapons, but Europe must pay.

Kemp calls this “sheer genius, at least as a concept,” adding that it “forces the EU countries and Britain to put their money where their mouth is.”

The move also taps into American frustration over continued US funding of the war. “It ought to play well to American voters,” Kemp writes.

Patriots and priorities

Trump’s plan includes sending Patriot missile systems to shield Ukrainian cities from increased Russian attacks. These may come from US stockpiles or NATO reserves.

But Germany is hesitating. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said delivery could take months—a delay Kemp sees as telling.

“Despite the continent’s supposed insistence that it is prepared to do whatever it takes to help Ukraine win,” Kemp writes, Europe is still slow to act.

Zelenskyy to Trump: “Give us the tools”

In a recent call, Trump reportedly asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy whether Ukraine could hit Moscow and St. Petersburg. Kemp likens Zelensky’s response to Churchill: “Give us the tools and we will finish the job.”

Kemp stresses that while air defenses are important, long-range weapons and the freedom to use them would have a far greater effect on Putin.

“Smouldering military bases… might well” force a rethink in Moscow, he argues.

Targeting Russia’s economy

Trump has also proposed secondary tariffs on countries doing business with Russia. Kemp believes this economic pressure could be effective, but says EU leaders are reluctant.

When EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called Trump’s 50-day peace deadline “very long,” Kemp responded bluntly:

“Perhaps Kallas… should immediately impose EU secondary tariffs, rather than shouting criticism from the sidelines?”

“A chance of success” – if Europe steps up

Kemp concludes that Trump’s new strategy has “a chance of success”, but only if Europe gets serious. Otherwise, he warns, it will remain a US-led effort.

“Do they really want to help Ukraine win its war, or do they just want America to do it for them?”

A 500-kilogram aerial bomb crashed into Dobropillia’s busiest commercial area in frontline Donetsk Oblast on the evening of 16 July. Two people died. Twenty-seven others were wounded.

The bomb struck near the store precisely when workers were heading home, according to Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets. The timing and location suggest the strike was designed to maximize civilian casualties in a crowded area.

“Russians again deliberately struck where it’s always crowded—at a shopping center in the city center,” said Vadym Filashkin, head of Donetsk Regional Military Administration.

The pattern is clear: maximum civilian casualties in minimum time.

Russian strike damages stores and apartments

The blast shredded 54 commercial establishments and damaged 304 apartments across 13 residential buildings. Eight cars were destroyed. A two-story store burst into flames, covering 250 square meters before emergency crews extinguished it.

Rescuers pulled a dead woman from the rubble hours after the initial strike. Search teams believe more bodies remain buried.

Civilians flee Donetsk Oblast amid escalating attacks

About 22,600 people remain in Dobropillia despite the escalating attacks. But 980 residents fled the city this month alone, Filashkin reported.

How many attacks have they endured? Thirty-eight separate bombardments since July began. That’s more than one attack per day.

Ukraine also banned civilian traffic between Kramatorsk and Dobropillia just one day before the bombing. The reason: Russia increased FPV drone attacks along that route, making travel too dangerous for civilians.

US President’s Special Representative Keith Kellogg visited training facilities of Ukraine’s National Guard on 16 July, according to the National Guard’s press service.

The American delegation, accompanied by National Guard Commander Brigadier General Oleksandr Pivnenko, observed the preparation of Ukrainian guardsmen, their equipment, and modern battlefield technologies. The delegation was presented with tank and combat vehicle crew training, simulator work, as well as drones and robotic systems.

According to National Guard officials, Kellogg noted the courage of Ukrainian fighters and high quality of training, emphasizing that Ukraine’s experience is valuable for armies of other countries.

The visit represents the third day of Kellogg’s mission to Kyiv, following meetings with top Ukrainian officials on 14-15 July. During his previous days in the capital, Kellogg met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss pathways to peace between Ukraine and Russia, as well as ways to bring the war to a conclusion.

The special representative also held discussions with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov about joint projects for localizing production of air defense systems and other weapons in Ukraine and Europe. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky, Chief of Main Intelligence Directorate Kyrylo Budanov, and Chief of General Staff Andriy Hnatov briefed Kellogg on Russia’s plans and preparations for a more large-scale war with NATO.

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha discussed with Kellogg ways to expand defense cooperation between Ukraine and the United States. “Despite what Russian propaganda claims, Russia is not winning, and Ukraine is not losing this war,” Sybiha noted during their meeting.

Kellogg also met with British Armed Forces Commander Admiral Tony Radakin during his Kyiv visit. The American official stated that America and European allies continue working toward achieving lasting peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The special representative’s visit coincided with several large-scale air raid alerts on July 14 and 15, related to Russian MiG-31K aircraft that can carry hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.

A Danish company’s Russian subsidiary is facilitating grain exports through the occupied Berdiansk port, helping ship at least 172,000 tons of grain between March 2024 and May 2025, according to an investigation by Slidstvo.Info and KibOrg.

The investigation reveals that “Baltic Control Novorossiysk,” registered in Russia, provides cargo hold inspection and draft survey services at Berdiansk port, which Russia has controlled since March 2022. The company’s parent organization, Baltic Control, operates from Denmark and positions itself as a leading global inspection and certification firm established in 1980 with over 50 offices worldwide.

IT specialists from KibOrg obtained documentation related to the occupied Berdiansk port’s operations. Analysis by Slidstvo.Info journalists found Baltic Control mentioned dozens of times in correspondence between Russian companies regarding grain shipment preparations.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion began, information about Baltic Control’s Russian operations disappeared from the Danish company’s website. However, when journalists contacted the central office in Denmark seeking contact details for the Russian branch, they received the phone number of “Baltic Control Novorossiysk” director Alexander Shalimov.

Speaking to a journalist who presented herself as a manager from a Polish company, Shalimov confirmed his firm’s inspection services in Berdiansk port.

“I’ll tell you this – we are the only ones located in Berdiansk. All the rest are visitors. This is a very significant nuance. So you will see quality throughout the entire loading process, operatively,” Shalimov said during the call.

When a Slidstvo.Info journalist called Shalimov and identified himself as Ukrainian media, Shalimov denied working in Berdiansk and refused to answer follow-up questions.

Neither the Danish Baltic Control nor the Russian “Baltic Control Novorossiysk” responded to written inquiries from journalists.

International law attorney Kateryna Rashevska told Slidstvo.Info that the Danish Baltic Control’s involvement in grain exports from occupied Zaporizhzhia region territories could be considered complicity in Russian crimes.

The investigation documents Russian companies’ systematic use of the occupied port for grain shipments, with Baltic Control’s subsidiary providing crucial inspection services that enable these operations to proceed.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Washington should “share the burden” of arms deliveries to Ukraine rather than expecting European allies to fund American weapons purchases.

“We welcome President Trump’s announcement to send more weapons to Ukraine, although we would like to see US to share the burden. America and Europe are working together,” Kallas said after a Brussels meeting of EU foreign ministers on 15 July.

NATO maintains that Europe now contributes the majority of weapons flowing to Ukraine, countering Trump’s characterization of burden distribution. 

According to Kallas, “If you promise to provide weapons but say someone else will pay for them, then you’re not actually providing them.”

Trump also offered to supply Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles as part of a broader $10 billion NATO-backed military aid package.

However, Ukrainian military intelligence noted that Ukraine lacks the necessary launch platforms such as strategic bombers or combat ships to effectively deploy these missiles. 

Previously, Trump had emphasized supplying only defensive weapons and was cautious about escalating the conflict with Russia. However, growing frustration with Russian President Putin’s rejection of peace efforts and intensifying Russian attacks on civilians appears to have changed his stance.

American Derek Huffman thought he’d found the perfect solution. Move his family from Texas to Russia for “traditional values.” Join the military for fast-track citizenship. Work as a welder, not a fighter.

Instead, he’s heading to Ukraine’s front lines after three weeks of training despite assurances he would serve in a non-combat role.

American wanted to earn respect in Russia via military service

The 46-year-old father of three joined what’s called Tim Kirby’s “American Village” project earlier this year. Kirby, an American media personality living in Russia since 2006, promotes Putin’s agenda to disaffected Americans. The Huffmans documented their journey on social media, appearing in Russian propaganda videos while crowdfunding their new life.

In May, Derek joined the Russian military without prior military experience, expecting to work as a welder. His wife DeAnna explained that Derek was “told he would not be training for two weeks and going straight to the front lines. But it seems as though he is getting one more week of training, closer to the front lines, and then they are going to put him on the front lines.”

Derek’s motivation for enlisting was primarily to secure expedited citizenship for his family, rather than the longer traditional migration process. He also cited the signing bonus and his desire to earn respect in his new country.

“I don’t want anyone here in Russia to say that we don’t belong here, so if I go put my body on the line for Russia, I defend the country, our new country, I’ve earned our place here,” Derek stated in a video filmed last month.

Now his family asks for prayers as he’s being sent to frontlines

Russian recruiters made specific promises. First, Derek would work as a war correspondent. Then as a mechanic in a repair battalion, using his welding skills. No combat role.

Here’s what actually happened: Derek joined a unit of foreigners getting rushed training in Russian before deployment to Ukraine’s front lines.

DeAnna described the situation in her social media appeal, saying Derek “feels like he is being thrown to the wolves right now, and he is kind of having to lean on faith.”

She added that the family is “hoping that he can be utilized for his skills and not be used just as a fighter.”

The deployment also created financial strain for the family. Derek and his unit members were reportedly required to “donate” 10,000 rubles for their own supplies, consuming a substantial portion of his paycheck. DeAnna reported receiving no pay or bonus after one month of Derek’s service.

Can the family reverse this? DeAnna is petitioning unnamed public figures and asking for prayers to get Derek reassigned to a non-combat role.

How many foreign nationals died fighting for Russia? 

Derek isn’t the first American to discover Russia’s military promises don’t match reality. In April 2024, Michael Gloss, the 21-year-old son of a CIA executive, was killed fighting for Moscow in Ukraine.

Despite his American intelligence family background and past idealism focused on humanitarian goals, Michael had become deeply disillusioned with the US and sought to “fight against America,” embodying a radical anti-establishment mindset.

Explore further

The CIA official’s son hated America so much he died for Putin. Meet the man who tracked down Michael Gloss

His recruitment exposed glaring security failures in the Russian military, which neglected to thoroughly vet family ties even for high-profile figures. 

The BBC Russian Service and Mediazona conducted a joint investigation, confirming the deaths of 523 foreign nationals from 28 countries who fought for Russia in Ukraine.

A significant portion of these foreign fighters were Central Asians, with Tajikistan (72 deaths) and Uzbekistan (66 deaths) having the highest numbers, many of whom were recruited from Russian penal colonies by groups like Wagner in exchange for sentence cancellation.

Nepal also saw high casualties, with 70 confirmed deaths and about 50 more missing. Other countries with reported casualties include Egypt, Sri Lanka, and the United States.

Around 1,000 North Korean soldiers have also been killed, with additional wounded and missing, fighting alongside Russian forces primarily in the Kursk border region.

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Ukrainian forces capture two Cameroonians who say Russia tricked them into fighting. They signed for 1 million rubles

The Russian air force recently dropped 250 glide bombs on a single treeline near Andriivka in Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast, potentially making that roughly 3-km-long copse the most bombed place on Earth at the time.

It didn’t help. The Russian regiments and brigades the air force was supporting with its intensive—some might say “insane”—aerial bombardment have been defeated and forced to withdraw from the area.

The Russian KAB glide bombs, which range 25 miles or farther under pop-out wings and satellite guidance, rained down as a trio of Russian units—the 22nd and 30th Motor Rifle Regiments and 40th Marine Brigade—were “really struggling near Kindrativka,” just outside Andriivka three miles south of the border with Russia, according to analyst Moklasen.

A week ago, the Russians were in danger of being surrounded and cut off from their supply lines and reinforcements. Instead, they retreated last weekend, marking the latest setback for the 50,000-strong Russian force in Sumy.

Shortly after drone-harried Ukrainian forces retreated from western Russia’s Kursk Oblast in mid-March, bringing to an abrupt end a controversial seven-month Ukrainian incursion, Russian units including the 22nd and 30th Motor Rifle Regiments and 40th Marine Brigade counterattacked—and crossed into Sumy.

But they counterattacked on foot, bringing with them virtually zero combat vehicles. While far from unusual as the Russians hold back their surviving armor, the Sumy operation underscored the risks that accompany infantry-first tactics. 

Having lost more than 20,000 armored vehicles and other heavy equipment, the Russians made a deliberate decision in recent months to pull back their surviving armor—and send regiments and brigades into battle on foot or on motorcycles.

The shift to infantry and bike tactics preserves a vanishing resource (armored vehicles) by replacing it with an abundant resource (infantry and bikes). With generous cash bonuses sometimes equaling three years of pay, the Kremlin has managed to recruit 30,000 fresh troops a month—enough to replace the roughly 30,000 troops who are killed or wounded in Ukraine every month.

The downside is apparent in Sumy. “It certainly becomes much harder to achieve any sort of … call it a big and beautiful breakthrough,” explained Ukrainian-American war correspondent David Kirichenko.

Worse for the Russians, heavier Ukrainian units have been able to defeat lighter Russian units in some sectors, even though the Ukrainian formations are desperately short of trained infantry—and the Russian formations have infantry in abundance. 

Sumy face-off

The Ukrainian 79th and 95th Air Assault Brigades and the 225th Assault Regiment, equipped with German-made Marder and US-made Stryker and Bradley fighting vehicles, faced off against the vehicle-less 22nd and 30th Motor Rifle Regiments and 40th Marine Brigade in Sumy.

If the Russians had an advantage, it was in the air. Despite heavy losses in the 41 months since Russia widened its war on Ukraine, the Russian air force still has 10 times as many warplanes as the Ukrainian air force has—and many more glide bombs. 

For years, the Russians have been dropping around 100 KABs a day all along the 1,100-km front line. In recent weeks, many of those KABs fell on that isolated treeline in Sumy. It’s possible the Ukrainian 79th and 95th Air Assault Brigades and the 225th Assault Regiment had positioned infantry or artillery in the treeline. It’s also possible the Russians simply believed the Ukrainians had placed forces under those trees.

In any event, the Russians bombed and bombed with what Moklasen described as an “insane” number of KABs. How many, if any, hit anything of value is unclear. Ukrainian jamming can throw the KABs off course.

Shrugging off the bombardment, mechanized Ukrainian troops flanked the de-mechanized Russians near Kindrativka last week. The Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies noted Ukrainian counterattacks in Sumy that could “complicate the enemy’s advance and threaten the encirclement of Russian troops operating in Andriivka.”

But the Russians escaped just in time, fleeing northeast and straightening the Russian line in Sumy. The end result, however, is that the Russians control less of Sumy now compared to a week ago. Even a record number of glide bombs pummeling a tiny fragment of forest hasn’t been able to reverse the Russians’ declining fortunes in the oblast.

Explore further

Russians pounded one tiny spot in Ukraine with 250 bombs—still lost

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy observed that Russia has refrained from bombing Kyiv during the recent visit of Trump’s Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, interpreting this pattern as evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin fears America.

Kellogg arrived in Kyiv on 14 July for a week-long visit, during which he met with the Ukrainian president. Zelenskyy noted that the capital experienced no massive bombings for two consecutive nights following the envoy’s arrival.

“This is a very interesting example: there were no heavy attacks this night and the previous night, too,” Zelenskyy told Newsmax correspondent Shelby Wilder in an exclusive interview.

He suggested this absence of strikes demonstrates that Russia deliberately targets civilians under normal circumstances but refrains when American officials are present.

The Ukrainian leader said citizens have begun joking about the phenomenon, suggesting they should give Kellogg a Ukrainian passport to keep him in the country permanently and encourage more frequent American visits to reduce Russian bombing.

Zelenskyy argued this behavior pattern reveals Putin’s calculations regarding escalation with the United States.

“He intimidates, blackmails, creates tension, but does not go for a full escalation” when Americans are present, according to the president’s assessment.

“Putin is afraid of America. I’ve been saying this all along, and I’ve also told the president,” Zelenskyy stated, expressing confidence in this conclusion.

Russia reportedly rejected Trump’s threats with severe economic tariffs unless Moscow agrees to a cease-fire in the next 50 days, with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stating that “any attempts to make demands, especially ultimatums, are unacceptable to us.”

Zelenskyy also drew contrasts between the current and previous US administrations’ approaches to the war, which began full-scale in February 2022 under President Joe Biden’s tenure.

“President Biden was not able to end this war. I am confident that President Trump can do it,” he said.

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The Telegraph: Europe plans to use frozen Russian assets to pay for Donald Trump’s $10 billion weapons package for Ukraine

If the United States were to transfer long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, they would be difficult to deploy, as Ukraine does not have strategic aircraft from which to launch them, according to a Ukrainian military intelligence official.

Major General Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR, told reporters that Tomahawk missiles are “not easy to use” and require either combat ships or strategic bombers as launch platforms.

“We don’t have any strategic bomber aircraft,” he acknowledged, according to The Guardian.

The deployment reality emerged as Ukraine waits for details about Trump’s 14 July promise of “billions of dollars” in military aid. Speaking alongside NATO’s Mark Rutte, Trump announced a “very big deal” where European allies would buy American weapons and ship them to Ukraine.

But what exactly did Trump promise? Even Ukrainian intelligence isn’t sure.

“We don’t know exactly,” Skibitskyi admitted about Trump’s offer of “17 Patriots.” The number could mean interceptor missiles, launch stations, or complete battery systems.

Ukraine currently operates six functioning Patriot batteries. Each system includes six launchers. Germany promised two systems, the Netherlands one more. That’s 18 launchers across three batteries—close to Trump’s figure of 17.

“Seventeen is a huge number if we are talking about batteries,” Skibitskyi said. “If it’s launchers, that’s possible.”

Tomahawk missiles can reach Moscow

The discussion of Tomahawk missiles stems from a 4 July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during which Trump asked if Ukraine could strike Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Zelenskyy replied: “Yes, absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.” However, Trump stated on Tuesday that Ukraine should not target Moscow.

Ukraine strikes deep inside Russia to stop the relentless bombing of its cities. By hitting airfields, weapons factories, and drone launch sites, Ukraine aims to cripple Russia’s ability to launch the massive missile and drone attacks that have killed record numbers of Ukrainian civilians.

The precision cruise missiles have a range of 1,600 kilometers (994 miles) and are capable of reaching the Russian capital. Previous Ukrainian requests for Tomahawks were rejected by the Biden administration, and the Trump administration has not agreed to provide them.

How important are these missiles to Ukraine? Important enough that Zelenskyy included them in the classified section of his Victory Plan. When media reports revealed this detail, Zelenskyy expressed frustration, stating that “this means there is nothing confidential between partners.”

The Washington Post reported earlier that Trump was considering providing long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. However, the US has decided not to do so for now.

Ukraine needs approval for deep strikes inside Russia with western weapons

Despite the deployment challenges, Skibitskyi emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s ability to conduct strikes deep inside Russia against military targets. He said discussions continue with Washington about lifting restrictions on ATACMS missiles, which have a 300-kilometer (186 miles) range and are currently limited to use in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine rather than Russian territory.

“It’s very important for us to get approval from the US to use long-range missiles,” Skibitskyi said. “We want to destroy and to disrupt, in accordance with NATO procedure.”

The Washington Post reported on 15 July that the Trump administration was likely to allow ATACMS to be used inside Russia at full range and was considering sending additional missiles.

Why does range matter? Russia moved its strategic bases beyond 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Ukraine’s border. Ukrainian kamikaze drones can reach them but carry only 50 kilograms of explosives compared to ATACMS’ 500-kilogram payload.

Following Trump’s announcement, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands expressed interest in participating in the plan for Europe to purchase US weapons for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy also described having a “really good conversation” with Trump about achieving “lasting and just peace” and stopping Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities.

Russia says it doesn’t care about Trump’s threats

Politicians in Kyiv have welcomed the improved relations with the US, though some expressed frustration that US tariffs and secondary sanctions on Russia have been postponed again, with Trump setting a 50-day deadline.

Meanwhile, Russian officials dismissed Trump’s threats, with former president Dmitry Medvedev writing on X that “Russia didn’t care” about what he called Trump’s “theatrical ultimatum.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not publicly responded, reportedly evaluating how to shape the narrative to avoid escalation in September.

Ukraine is deploying a newly developed counter-drone rifle round, designed to be fired from standard NATO 5.56 mm rifles such as the M4 and CZ Bren. As Forbes reported, the rounds break apart mid-flight into five fast-moving pellets, creating a shotgun-like spread capable of downing drones at up to 50 meters.

This innovation comes amid a major Russian summer offensive, where small, low-cost drones are central to identifying and targeting Ukrainian defensive positions.

Brave1 demonstrates the new rounds in action

On 30 June, Ukraine’s military tech initiative Brave1 released a video showing soldiers shooting down a small drone using the new ammunition. While technical details were not disclosed, Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi confirmed the rounds are already in limited frontline use.

When fired in rapid bursts, the rounds mimic a shotgun blast—dramatically improving the chances of hitting fast, low-flying drones.

For those wondering on how these bullets work: please check the article by United 24 Media. https://t.co/hEH0i1G40I https://t.co/YNWyENL3PD

— BRAVE1 (@BRAVE1ua) June 30, 2025

Every soldier, one magazine

Brave1 stated that production is ramping up, with the goal of supplying each soldier with one magazine of the counter-drone rounds. The design lets soldiers quickly swap magazines without switching weapons, a critical advantage under fire.

“It effectively gives each soldier the capability of a shotgun without the added burden,” writes Forbes’ tech correspondent Vikram Mittal.

Responding to Russia’s evolving drone strategy

Russia has increasingly relied on small FPV drones to scout and strike Ukrainian positions. These drones are often cheap, short-lived, and designed to evade electronic warfare systems, including fiber-optic tethered models that are immune to jamming.

Ukraine’s electronic warfare coverage is incomplete, making direct-fire solutions like the new rounds essential for soldier-level defense.

Shifting the tactical balance

According to Mittal, the rounds could disrupt Russia’s current drone-heavy tactics. If Ukrainian troops are able to shoot drones down consistently, Russian forces may have to revert to artillery strikes—which are less precise, reveal their position, and consume more resources—or risk high-casualty direct assaults without aerial support.

“These rounds may break the cat-and-mouse cycle of electronic warfare and drone evolution,” Mittal notes.

Standardized for NATO, ready for scale

The rounds have already been codified under NATO standards, signaling Ukraine’s intent to mass-produce and distribute them across the front. This marks a shift from high-tech jamming systems toward simple, kinetic, soldier-level solutions.

While success still depends on rapid visual and acoustic detection, Forbes notes that frontline footage shows soldiers often spot drones in time to react, sometimes even outrunning FPV drones.

A turning point in drone warfare

When the war began, Ukraine used large Bayraktar TB2 drones to target armored vehicles. Today, the battlefield is defined by small, inexpensive drones targeting dispersed troops. Ukraine’s new rifle rounds could force yet another evolution in drone tactics—one that returns more power to individual soldiers on the ground.

Europe is considering using profits from nearly €200 billion of frozen Russian Central Bank assets to fund President Donald Trump’s $10 billion weapons package for Ukraine, The Telegraph reported on 15 July.

Trump confirmed on 14 July a new military assistance package that would provide Ukraine with “billions of dollars” worth of weaponry, funded and distributed by European NATO allies. Trump said the package includes up to 17 Patriot air defense systems.

The proposal to use frozen Russian assets to fund President Donald Trump’s $10 billion weapons package emerged during EU foreign ministers’ discussions in Brussels on 15 July, marking the first formal talks since Trump announced the NATO-coordinated arms deal.

Diplomatic sources told The Telegraph that ministers asked how Trump’s plan would work, though detailed information had yet to be shared with European capitals.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the deal involves NATO buying American air defence systems, missiles and ammunition before delivering them to Kyiv. At least eight member states have signed up to the scheme, announced during Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Rutte on 14 July.

“It is widely considered that NATO’s support mission for Ukraine – Nsatu – will play the lead role in coordinating purchases of American weapons and their eventual delivery to Kyiv,” a NATO official said.

The plan involves a central NATO-controlled fund topped up by European allies and Canada, which would purchase items from a Ukrainian government “shopping list” of American weapons.

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski suggested the EU’s contribution could come from frozen Russian asset profits. “Should it be a burden shouldered by our taxpayers or the Russians,” he told colleagues, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Brussels had been developing its own weapons purchase fund using seized assets, but directing money toward Trump’s scheme is viewed as more efficient for maintaining US support for Ukraine. Contributing to the American plan would also count toward NATO’s 3.5 percent defense spending target.

During the 14 July meeting, Trump threatened “severe tariffs” against Russia if it doesn’t make peace within 50 days. He described Putin as “a tough guy” and said he was “angry” at the Russian leader for not being “nice.”

First deliveries of Patriot air-defence batteries are expected in Ukraine within days, though details about long-range missiles remain to be finalized by the White House.

Day 1239

On 15 July, the biggest news comes from the United States.

After weeks of record-breaking Russian strikes, President Donald Trump has reversed course and resumed US military aid to Ukraine. The decision ended a three-week pause that had delayed critical defense systems just as Ukraine’s air defenses were being pushed to the limit.

That peak was reached just days ago, when Russia launched its largest aerial attack of the war so far. Over 700 drones and missiles were fired in a single night, primarily targeting energy facilities, airbases, and ammunition stockpiles.

Russian state media claimed the attack was a coordinated operation to dismantle Ukraine’s war effort, but most of the actual damage was inflicted on civilian infrastructure. Several Ukrainian airfields suffered minor damage, but many of the intended military targets were either missed or intercepted. Ukrainian air defense claimed to have shot down over 500 incoming projectiles, including nearly every Shahed drone. While some ballistic and cruise missiles slipped through, the scale of destruction fell far short of what the Kremlin had likely intended.

And that miscalculation may have backfired. The original reason the US paused military aid was to open space for de-escalation and preserve its own shrinking stockpile of interceptors. But Russia’s response was to escalate, not slow down. As you remember from a previous report, Russia is dramatically increasing drone and missile output, aiming to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses and outlast Western patience.

But by unleashing the biggest strike of the war just as talks stalled, the Kremlin made clear that its goal is not negotiation, it is devastation. The strategy seems to have convinced President Trump that further delay would only invite more bloodshed. Moscow’s aggression ultimately ended the pause, forcing the decision back onto the table.

What followed was a rapid green light for aid shipments, with renewed focus on US patriot systems. These systems are not designed to intercept drones; they are used against ballistic and cruise missiles, including Iskander-M, Kinzhal, Kalibr, and other high-speed threats. While Patriots are among the most capable interceptors in the world, the challenge is industrial; the US currently produces around 550 Patriot missiles per year, and is working to double that output by next year.

In recent strikes, Russia has only needed a few missiles per wave to break through. With Ukrainian air defenses already stretched thin, it is the ballistic and cruise missiles that do real damage, hitting power grids, command hubs, and airbases with precision.

That is why having enough Patriots matters, because when even one slips through, it can knock out a power station or command node. But Russia is also expanding its missile production. The real race is between how many advanced missiles Russia can fire and how many interceptors Ukraine’s allies can supply in time. If that ratio tips the wrong way, critical infrastructure will fall, and Russian air dominance will grow.

For now, the US still holds the edge in quality and output. NATO countries are scaling up their production lines, while Ukraine is adapting its defenses by blending cheaper systems like Gepards and laser-guided short-range interceptors with high-end Patriots. But the problem is volume: if the US sends 100 interceptors and Russia fires 150 cruise or ballistic missiles, Ukraine can only defend so much. The new aid package is not just about blocking the next attack; it is about buying enough time and firepower to shift the ratio before winter sets in.

Overall, Russia’s strategy is ruthless, but far from subtle: escalate pressure, trigger delays in Western support, and then exploit the gap with concentrated firepower. But this time, the sheer scale of the offensive may have backfired. By striking while the West was still hesitating, Moscow may have overplayed its hand and pushed Washington and its allies to recommit more forcefully. For Ukraine, it is a temporary lifeline, but also a warning, as long as Russia can launch, no pause in aid will ever hold for long.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that it should not be Europe, but Russia itself, using its frozen assets, that pays for American weapons for Ukraine. He made this comment in response to the new US and NATO initiative to rearm Kyiv, PAP reports.

“I asked my fellow foreign ministers: Who should pay for American equipment? Should it be European taxpayers, or, in my opinion, should the aggressor pay for it using its frozen funds?” Sikorski said following a meeting of EU foreign ministers. 

He voiced support for Trump’s new plan with a 50-day deadline: if Russia does not end the war within this period, the US will impose tough sanctions on Moscow and its partners.

“We hope that this 50-day window before potential US sanctions is a time to increase pressure on the Russian Federation so that it finally comes to its senses,” the Polish foreign minister emphasized.

Sikorski also noted his approval of Washington’s new stance on the war, adding that he is pleased the US president has now reached the same conclusions that EU countries had drawn earlier.

Earlier, Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief, said that the timeline of a 50-day ultimatum to Putin for Ukraine peace talks is too long, as civilians die daily.

Also, Trump did not clarify what would happen if Russia refuses to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine. Meanwhile, the deadline coincides with the timeframe reportedly shared by Putin during a recent conversation, in which he stated that Moscow plans to escalate military operations in eastern Ukraine. This effectively gives Putin 1,5 months to continue killing Ukrainian civilians.

Kremlin officials dismissed US President Donald Trump’s 50-day ultimatum for a Ukraine ceasefire while Russian President Vladimir Putin remained silent on the demands, the Institute for the Study of War reported on 15 July, citing Russian Telegram channels, controlled by Kremlin.

During a 14 July Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump threatened “severe tariffs” if Russia doesn’t make peace within 50 days but declined to specify how far he would escalate if Putin increases pressure. Trump also called Putin “a tough guy” and said he was “angry” at the Russian leader for not being “nice.”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS on 15 July, according to the ISW, that Russia views “especially ultimatums” as “unacceptable.” Ryabkov said Russia’s position is “unshakable” and Moscow will continue pursuing war aims militarily if the US and NATO ignore Russian demands.

Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev posted that “Russia didn’t care” about Trump’s “ultimatum.” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed confidence Russia will cope with US tariffs, as Moscow is already “coping” with prior sanctions.

Putin has yet to officially respond and is likely attempting to identify narratives that could convince Trump not to follow through with tariffs in September 2025, according to ISW.

Trump announces $10 billion Ukraine aid

Trump announced a $10 billion military package for Ukraine including Patriot missiles and air defense weapons. NATO countries will purchase the weapons from the US and transfer them to Ukraine.

The package may authorize Ukraine to use 18 long-range ATACMS missiles at full 300-kilometer range, enabling strikes on Russian military bases and supply depots previously out of reach.

Trump considered sending Tomahawk cruise missiles – the same weapons used against Iranian targets last month. “If fired from Ukraine, these could hit Moscow and St. Petersburg,” the Washington Post reported. Tomahawks aren’t included in current deliveries but could be deployed later.

Trump’s announcement followed his disappointment with Putin’s unwillingness to pursue ceasefire talks. Putin told Trump during their 3 July call that Moscow plans to escalate operations in eastern Ukraine within 60 days, “securing the full administrative borders of occupied Ukrainian oblasts.”

“Trump is really pissed at Putin. His announcement tomorrow is going to be very aggressive,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told Axios.

Russia’s war has triggered a tsunami of crises, says Bob Rae, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and Canada’s Permanent Representative to the UN. Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine has sparked a global food crisis, mass displacement, and setbacks in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, UkrInform reports.

Rae notes that the war has sharply increased food prices for billions of people, endangered food security, and caused large-scale forced migration both within Ukraine and beyond its borders. This poses a serious challenge to the international community, which must ensure that people’s basic needs, especially access to affordable food, are met.

According to Rae, Russia’s effect on the global economy has been consistently negative. Even though inflation is beginning to ease, its effects remain deeply felt in many countries.

The diplomat likens the war’s impact not to “ripples on the water” but to a tsunami, so vast is the scale of the invasion’s consequences on a global level.

At the same time, he emphasizes that despite all challenges, Ukraine remains strong: its economy is holding, and its people continue to resist. Rae expresses hope that international support would remain as resilient as Ukraine itself.

President Donald Trump announced on 15 July that Patriot air defense missiles destined for Ukraine are already being shipped from Germany, marking a significant acceleration in military aid delivery to Ukraine.

“They’re already being shipped,” Trump told journalists at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, when asked about Patriot missiles and other weapons that NATO allies will purchase for Ukraine. The missiles are “coming in from Germany and then replaced by Germany,” he explained.

The announcement comes as part of a broader military assistance package that Trump confirmed on 14 July would provide Ukraine with “billions of dollars” worth of weaponry, funded and distributed by European NATO allies. Trump said the package includes up to 17 Patriot air defense systems.

“In all cases, the United States gets paid back in full,” Trump emphasized. “NATO’s going to pay us back for everything. In some cases, we’re going to be paid back by countries of the European Union directly. We’re always getting our money back in full.”

Ukraine needs more air defence systems to defend its citizen and infrustructure from Russian attacks that included more than 700 missile and drone strikes on some days last week.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the arrangement “completely logical” during an Oval Office meeting with Trump on 14 July. According to Rutte, Trump called  him on 10 July to say he had decided Ukraine should receive “everything necessary for self-defense,” but wanted Europeans to pay for it.

The initiative has attracted interest from Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada, Rutte noted.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on 14 July that Germany cannot provide Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense systems as the country has only six left from its original stock of 12. Pistorius reportedly planned to discuss US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth a proposal he made last month allowing Germany to purchase two Patriot systems from the US specifically for Ukraine

Beyond the Patriot systems, the military assistance reportedly may include authorization for Ukraine to use its 18 long-range ATACMS missiles at their full 300-kilometer range, enabling strikes on military bases, airfields, and supply depots deep inside Russia that are currently out of reach.

Trump also considered sending Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine – the same weapons used against Iranian targets last month. The Washington Post reported that “if fired from Ukraine, these could hit Moscow and St. Petersburg, and they were included in discussion as late as Friday.” However, the Tomahawks are not included in the current delivery list, though they could be deployed later if Trump seeks additional leverage.

These decisions represent a significant policy shift from Trump’s previous stance of providing only defensive equipment. The announcement followed Trump’s expressed “disappointment” with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Putin’s unwillingness to move towards a ceasefire and Russia’s escalating attacks on Kyiv and other cities.

During a phone call on 3 July, Putin reportedly told Trump that Moscow plans to escalate military operations in eastern Ukraine within the next 60 days, “securing the full administrative borders of occupied Ukrainian oblasts.”

Trump also threatened to impose “severe tariffs” against Russia if it doesn’t make peace within 50 days. During the meeting with Rutte, Trump described Putin as “a tough guy” and said he was “angry” at the Russian leader for not being “nice.”

Trump confirmed he has not spoken to Putin since announcements made on 14 July.

Russia launched a massive overnight attack on Ukraine using an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 400 drones of various types, targeting primarily Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv, and Vinnytsia, according to Ukraine’s Air Force Command.

Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 198 Russian drones and suppressed an additional 145 decoy drones, the Air Force reported. One ballistic missile and 57 drones struck targets in 12 locations, with debris from intercepted drones falling in two additional areas.

The attack originated from multiple Russian positions including Shatalovo, Bryansk, Kursk, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, as well as Chauda in occupied Crimea. 

The Russian military regularly attacks Ukrainian oblasts with various types of weapons. Russia’s leadership denies that the Russian army has been conducting targeted attacks on the civilian infrastructure of Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, schools, kindergartens, energy and water supply facilities.

Vinnytsia bears heavy casualties

Vinnytsia suffered the most significant impact, with strikes against industrial and civilian infrastructure. About eight people are injured, Nataliia Zabolotna, deputy head of the Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration, said.

The attack damaged industrial facilities, with firefighters successfully containing a blaze at one site while continuing operations at another. Four residential buildings in the Vinnytsia Oblast sustained damage, with one house receiving substantial destruction.

“In total, Vinnytsia Oblast was attacked by 28 UAVs today, of which approximately 18 targets were destroyed,” Zabolotna said.

Kryvyi Rih industrial facility destroyed

Kryvyi Rih faced a combined assault involving both the ballistic missile and 28 kamikaze drones, resulting in the destruction of an industrial enterprise and widespread power outages. A 17-year-old boy suffered severe abdominal injuries in the attack, Governor Serhii Lysak said.

Kharkiv enterprise targeted

In Kharkiv, Russian drones struck a civilian enterprise in the Kyiv district, causing a large-scale fire and injuring three people, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. The attack also resulted in a fire at an apartment building in Kramatorsk.

Exclusive

The Shaheds come at midnight. Ukraine is betting $ 1,000 drones can stop them.. They’re cheap, fast, and unproven—and they might be the only thing standing between civilians and a 90kg warhead.

One river stands between Russia and Ukraine’s fortress city Pokrovsk. Ten Ukrainian brigades could soon be forced to abandon Pokrovsk—the Donbas fortress they’ve defended for over a year.

Military

Frontline report: Ukrainian brigade captures Russian positions after drone-only assault leaves enemy defenseless

. The Third Assault Brigade guided captured Russian soldiers directly to Ukrainian lines using an aerial drone, with no Ukrainian infantry present during the entire operation.

Russia reports drone attack: casualties in Voronezh, Energia plant targeted. Smoke billowed over the Energia defense plant in Yelets early on 15 July after overnight drone attacks struck three Russian oblasts, with officials reporting 55 intercepted UAVs and multiple casualties in Voronezh city center.

Intelligence and technology

Ukraine plans massive minefields along 3,000-kilometer border with Russia and Belarus. Temporary Ottawa Convention suspension allows Kyiv to counter Russian infantry squads.

Germany, Denmark, Netherlands plan to buy US-made Patriots, capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, for Ukraine. With Russia escalating airstrikes, European allies move to purchase US air defense systems for urgent delivery to Kyiv.

Trump announces Europe will pay for US weapons sent to Ukraine

. US President Donald Trump announced a new arrangement with European NATO allies where America will manufacture weapons for Ukraine while European countries provide the financing, alongside authorization for Patriot air defense system transfers.

Trump asks Zelenskyy why Ukraine hasn’t hit Moscow, considered Tomahawk missiles. President Trump has shifted from diplomatic outreach to military pressure on Vladimir Putin, asking Ukraine’s leader why he hasn’t hit Moscow and suggesting strikes on St. Petersburg amid releasing a $10 billion weapons package.

International

After Trump announes plan to arm Ukraine, Xi calls to deepen Russia–China strategic partnership. He also said the two countries must unite Global South nations to form “a more just international order.”

EU says Trump’s Russia ultimatum too long as civilians die daily. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas criticized Trump’s 50-day Russia ultimatum for being too lengthy while Ukrainian civilians face daily bombardment from Putin’s forces.

Ukrainian spy chief Budanov warns Kellogg: Putin’s war goals stretch into next decade—and NATO is target

. Ukraine’s top intelligence official says Moscow’s ambitions go far beyond Ukraine’s borders.

US NATO ambassador warns Putin: “If you want war we will arm Ukraine”. Ambassador Matthew Whitaker claimed that Moscow faces a choice between peace negotiations and facing a better-armed Ukrainian military paid for by NATO allies.

“Russia didn’t care”: Kremlin mocks Trump’s tariff threat amid silence on next moves in case of Moscow’s refusal to end war in Ukraine. Lacking enforcement details, the US ultimatum is branded empty.

Humanitarian and social impact

Ukrainian female journalist sentenced to seven years in Russian jail urges EU to act as guards force prisoners to stand for hours in freezing cold. She also endures nights without sleep.

Russian overnight attacks on Sumy and Donetsk injury 5 people, including 14-year-old girl

. A 14-year-old girl was hospitalized with glass fragment wounds after Russian forces launched three missile strikes against Shostka in Sumy Oblast on 15 July, hitting a hospital and sparking a fire.

Political and legal developments

Ukraine charges three Russian commanders for killing 20 people in Chernihiv’s shop queue in 2022. Ukraine accuses Colonel Kurygin and two commanders of ordering a rocket barrage that targeted innocent civilians.

Fifty Ukrainian NGOs rise in defense of Ukrainian top anti-corruption fighter Shabunin, charged with draft dodging and fraud. Activists call the case against Shabunin “politically motivated” and warn it risks silencing democracy.

Read our earlier daily review here.

The Ukrainian capital has new rituals. At midnight, Kyiv moms drag their camping gear and babies to the nearest metro station, where they try to catch a few hours of Z’s while Russia pummels killer drones into apartment buildings all night. Others take the risk of the “bathroom shelter.“

The Iranian-designed Shahed drones whirr like lawnmowers but screech when diving on their final descent, too fast for missiles to intercept. Hiding behind two walls of the bathroom doesn’t guarantee survival if it’s a direct hit—your entire apartment will likely be vaporized.

While NATO countries study drone threats in war games, Ukraine is finding the answer to a riddle nobody has solved yet—how to counter swarms of cheap, mass-produced, deadly drones if the missiles needed to down them are ten times as expensive.

Russia says it will soon be launching up to 1,000 of these $35,000 Iranian-designed drones each night. They’ve gotten too upgraded to be shot down by gunfire, too high-flying for mobile air defenses. The West can’t produce enough interceptor missiles to match this volume, and even if they could, the cost would be prohibitive.

Is this the end of the war—will Russia terrorize Ukrainian civilians into accepting the Kremlin’s enslaving conditions?

How it feels

My bomb shelter is a bathroom floor

Not so fast, said President Zelenskyy in Rome last week. Ukrainian engineers have cracked something no NATO country has figured out: how to hunt these drones cheaply.

“We will shoot down everything. Scientists and engineers have found a solution. This is the key. We need finances. And we will raise it.”

Hours earlier, those same swarms had just finished a 10-hour bombardment of Kyiv with 400 drones and 18 missiles, leaving two people dead, 16 wounded, and apartment buildings burning across Ukraine’s capital.

Russia’s bureaucracy finally finds its groove

The pattern is consistent throughout the entire war. Ukraine is nimble with decentralized innovation. Russia’s bureaucracy moves slowly, but eventually overpowers with sheer numbers. Numbers of bodies thrown into the trenches. And now, numbers of Shaheds rammed into apartment buildings.

Putin called for 1.4 million drones annually in 2025—ten times Russia’s 2023 production. At the Alabuga facility in Tatarstan, Russia aims to build 6,000 drones by summer 2025 using Iranian blueprints and Western electronics that somehow keep trickling through sanctions.

The plan is working. Russia quintupled its Shahed campaign from 200 launches per week in September 2024 to over 1,000 weekly by March 2025. Experts warn Moscow could launch over 1,000 Shaheds daily by the end of 2025.

The upgraded Shaheds are nastier than the originals. Russian engineers reprogrammed them to approach at 2,800 meters altitude—beyond the reach of mobile air defenses—then dive at targets traveling 600 km/h while carrying 90-kilogram warheads, double the original payload.

Explore further

Shahed drones now dive like missiles—and Ukraine can’t shoot fast enough

Russian forces now target one or two cities at time instead of deploying 500 drones nationwide, flying at altitudes above 2km to stay out of reach of machine guns, Counteroffensive.Pro reported.

For months, the pendulum swung Russia’s way. Civilian casualties reached record levels—June 2025 alone saw 232 civilians killed and 1,343 wounded from drone attacks.

“Another night hunched over mobile phones in the dark,” reported Al Jazeera’s correspondent from Kyiv, describing how residents track incoming threats while “listening for that change in pitch that a Shahed engine makes when it goes into its terminal descent.”

What NATO discovered it couldn’t do

NATO has been trying to solve the same problem with typical Western approaches: expensive, complex systems designed by committee.

• The Pentagon’s most ambitious counter-swarm test in June 2024 successfully defended against up to 50 attacking drones using eight different weapon systems.
• The UK just tested radio frequency weapons against multiple drone targets simultaneously—but only at ranges up to one kilometer.

But when 400 Shaheds converge on Kyiv simultaneously from multiple axes, even a perfect grid of 1-kilometer defense bubbles would get overwhelmed by the sheer numbers attacking each sector at once. NATO’s September 2024 exercise showcased over 50 counter-drone technologies, yet Ukrainian officials who attended warned that defending European cities against drone swarms would be “near impossible.”

Ukrainian creativity strikes back

Then Ukrainian engineers did what they do best: find a cost-effective solution no Western country could crack.

The breakthrough came from Ukraine’s decentralized innovation ecosystem. Sixteen companies developed interceptor drones costing as little as $1,000 each—a fraction of Western missile costs. The budget Сhaika costs just 39,900 UAH ($950) on the Brave1 marketplace, while Sky Defenders’ ZigZag interceptor costs 128,000 UAH ($3,000), still dramatically cheaper than $430,000 IRIS-T missiles.

Ukrainian interceptors achieved a 70% kill rate against Shaheds in optimal conditions—nearly double the 35-40% success rate of traditional mobile fire groups using machine guns. Over 100 strike drones have been destroyed by Ukrainian interceptor drones as of March 2025.

The “Clean Sky” program intercepted 550 Russian drones during pilot testing, with one remarkable night operation destroying 33 enemy aircraft.

Three developers told Counteroffensive.Pro the minimum requirements:

• speed over 200 km/h (regular FPV flies at 120 km/h),
• ability to climb to 6 km altitude, terminal guidance systems,
• warheads between 600-1200 grams.

“The bigger the target, the bigger the warhead needed for more precise detonation. Because you can hit a wing, but it will only tear it off and not destroy the target itself,” Olha Bihun, CEO of Anvarix, told Counteroffensive.Pro.

Ukraine’s approach creates a budget version of Israel’s Iron Dome concept. Where Iron Dome uses $40,000-$100,000 interceptor missiles against cheap rockets, Ukraine deploys $1,000-$5,000 interceptor drones against $35,000 Shaheds. The economics look promising—but proving they work at scale remains the challenge.

Anti-Shahed strategy still a work in progress

But intercepting Shaheds isn’t like shooting down tanks with FPV drones.

Operator training takes six months, Taras Tymochko of the Come Back Alive Foundation told Counteroffensive.Pro, but Ukraine has very few training centers, forcing experienced units to spend time teaching new operators instead of focusing on interceptions.

The economics get messier under real combat conditions. While a single $2,000 interceptor against a $35,000 Shahed sounds like a winning trade, operators often need multiple attempts. Counteroffensive.Pro found that five interceptors are sometimes required to down one Shahed—suddenly that’s $10,000-$25,000 per successful intercept.

Operational challenges compound the complexity. Ukrainian electronic warfare systems meant to jam Shaheds also interfere with interceptor communications, creating coordination nightmares between different units with different equipment. Counteroffensive.Pro reported the average wait time for radar stations from Ukrainian producers reached 13 months, up from six months just half a year ago.

Weather remains a formidable enemy: rain and snow significantly degrade performance, with moisture damaging electronic components. Strong winds above 10 m/s affect flight stability, while cold temperatures reduce battery performance by up to 50%.

Current deployment covers only frontline regions and Kyiv, leaving major cities like Kharkiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia vulnerable. Despite interceptor successes, civilian casualties continue mounting. Falling debris from successful intercepts creates additional casualties: a drone intercepted above Kyiv can still fall on an apartment building, killing those beneath.

Technology is Ukraine’s chance to win the war. This is why we’re launching the David vs. Goliath defense blog to support Ukrainian engineers who are creating innovative battlefield solutions and are inviting you to join us on the journey.

Our platform will showcase the Ukrainian defense tech underdogs who are Ukraine’s hope to win in the war against Russia, giving them the much-needed visibility to connect them with crucial expertise, funding, and international support. Together, we can give David the best fighting chance he has.

Join us in building this platform—become a Euromaidan Press Patron. As little as $5 monthly will boost strategic innovations that could succeed where traditional approaches have failed.

Ukraine pioneers asymmetric warfare solutions at global scale

Ukraine faces what no NATO country has solved: how to defend sleeping cities against hundreds of simultaneous drone attacks designed to terrorize civilians into political submission.

Russia’s nightly Shahed campaigns aren’t random terror. They’re a calculated military strategy to force Ukrainian mothers into metro stations with their babies, to exhaust entire populations, to break morale until Ukraine accepts Moscow’s political demands.

Every intercepted drone above Kyiv isn’t just a military victory; it’s a family that gets to sleep in their own bed.

Throughout Russia’s invasion, Ukraine keeps pulling this off: finding cheap and effective solutions that redefine how wars are fought:

• When Russia’s Black Sea Fleet dominated Ukrainian waters, Ukraine developed naval drones that forced the entire fleet to retreat from Sevastopol.
• While Western capitals worried about escalation, Ukraine trucked in dirt-cheap drones to destroy Russian bombers right in their bases in Operation Spiderweb.

Explore further

“Kill a navy for the price of a car”: Ukraine’s drones drove out Putin’s fleet from the Black Sea — then turned on his fighter jets

Now, with Shahed swarms, Ukraine is inventing the rules for hunting cheap attack drones with even cheaper interceptors.

NATO allies are watching closely. Iranian proxies are already copying Russian tactics. The technology being tested over Kyiv tonight could be protecting London, Berlin, or Washington tomorrow. Ukraine isn’t just defending itself; it’s developing the playbook for asymmetric drone warfare that every major city will eventually need.

Can Ukraine scale innovation faster than Russia scales terror?

The crucial test: can Ukraine’s decentralized creativity scale to match Russia’s industrial bureaucracy?

In 2024, Ukraine’s drone industry operated at only 37% capacity due to lack of government contracts. However, the recent $4 billion in G7 funding secured for interceptor manufacturing could turn that around.

Component shortages plague the industry. Defense Express noted that interceptor drones require expensive night vision cameras to catch Shaheds, which are typically launched in dark hours, driving up costs compared to regular FPV drones.

Russian forces adapted faster than Ukraine could scale defenses. New Shahed variants feature rear-facing cameras for evasion, programmed evasive maneuvers when detecting interceptors, and enhanced warheads carrying 90kg payloads. Russia launches dense formations of 10-15 drones simultaneously, mixing decoy drones with armed Shaheds to deplete defenses.

In previous cycles, Ukraine innovated, Russia adapted and scaled, forcing Ukraine to innovate again. But interceptor drones represent something different—a technology that demands both innovation and industrialization.

Can Ukrainian engineers prove they can master mass production too? The answer determines whether families in Ukraine sleep safely in their beds or pack camping gear for another night underground. Ukraine must win at Russia’s own game: turning clever ideas into industrial reality fast enough to counter a terror campaign designed to break civilian morale and force political submission.

Ukraine aims to strengthen the defense of over 3,000 kilometers of its border with Russia and Belarus. Roman Kostenko, Secretary of the Parliament Committee on National Security, says that to achieve this, Kyiv is seeking a temporary suspension of the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines, UkrInform reports. 

The Ottawa Convention bans anti-personnel landmines worldwide. Since 1999, it has drawn 164 countries committed to destroying their mine stockpiles and clearing contaminated land, as mines can cause severe injuries and deaths among civilians. However, given that Ukraine has the right to protect itself, the government temporarily suspended its participation in the treaty.

“Considering the over 3,000 km border with Russia and Belarus, it is necessary to create a minefield at least several dozen kilometers wide, a preventive defense,” Kostenko explains.

Anti-personnel mines are effective, low-cost, and straightforward means of holding positions and creating denial zones for enemy infantry. They can demoralize the adversary and significantly complicate their movements and operations.

Kostenko emphasizes that fortifications without mine barriers are often ineffective.

“The enemy bypasses them. They are not always built in the right places. Fortifications must be guarded or be part of a combined system with mine barriers. One without the other does not work,” he says. 

According to him, the use of anti-personnel mines will allow Ukraine to rapidly defend positions and significantly enhance the country’s defensive capabilities.

Six months ago, Lithuania and Finland also withdrew from the Ottawa Convention. Now, they are preparing to start the domestic production of anti-personnel landmines to supply their militaries and Kyiv. This decision reflects growing European concerns that Russia’s military ambitions may extend beyond Ukraine. China and the US never signed the document.

A Ukrainian female political prisoner has spoken out about brutal torture in Russian captivity. Journalist Iryna Danylovych has appealed to the European Parliament, asking to pay attention to the terrible conditions in Russian Women’s Colony No. 7 in Zelenokumsk, Zmina reports. 

Danylovych’s relatives have delivered the appeal to Pina Picierno, the Vice-President of the European Parliament. 

The Ukrainian woman describes the colony as “an endless hell.” At night, the Russians never turn the lights off, making it impossible to sleep even with a blindfold. Every day, loud equipment operates in the barracks for several hours, which is especially difficult for her due to chronic ear inflammation, which goes untreated there.

Prisoners are also forced to stand outside for hours in cold and bad weather.

The journalist calls on the European community and Russian Ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova to intervene in the situation.

Before her arrest, Iryna defended the rights of medical workers in Crimea and reported on violations in healthcare. In 2022, she was abducted by FSB agents, held in a basement without a lawyer, and later sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of possessing explosives.

Earlier, 22-year-old Ukrainian soldier Valentyn Marynych came back home from 36 months in Russian captivity. He said Russian troops beat him with rebar, bricks, knuckledusters, belts, fists, and boots during regular runs through crowds of occupiers. 

Ukraine has charged three Russian commanders suspected of ordering the rocket attack on a residential area of Chernihiv with Grad multiple launch rocket systems in 2022. The attack killed 20 people and wounded 28, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported.

The Prosecutor General’s Office, together with the Security Service of Ukraine, has identified Colonel Oleg Kurygin, a commander of the 35th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian 41st Army, as well as two subordinates, Major Ramis Zagretdinov and Captain Timur Suleymanov, who were responsible for battalion tactical groups.

On the morning of 16 March 2022, they ordered a massive strike on the residential area using unguided rockets, despite the absence of any nearby military targets. At that time, civilians were standing near a shop buying groceries.

“Russian military personnel were aware they were using weapons against civilians. This was a deliberate attack on the civilian population,” the Prosecutor General’s Office emphasizes.

Under international law, such actions constitute a war crime. The commanders are charged with violations of the laws of war, combined with the intentional murder of a group of persons by prior conspiracy.

The documentation of war crimes was conducted by the public organizations Truth Hounds and Global Rights Compliance.

According to the investigation, Kurygin personally gave the order to shell using high-explosive fragmentation ammunition, and his unit temporarily controlled the border areas of Chernihiv Oblast in 2022.

During a recent meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing, Chinese leader Xi Jinping stated that China and Russia must “deepen their strategic partnership.”

The meeting took place the day after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and US President Donald Trump gathered in Washington, where both sides pledged greater support for Ukraine.

On 14 July, the American leader announced the delivery of 17 Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv and a new agreement with NATO under which allies will pay for US weapons for Ukraine. Trump also issued an ultimatum: Russia will face 100% tariffs if it doesn’t end the war within 50 days.

At the meeting with Lavrov, the Chinese president claimed that the two countries must strengthen mutual support and unite Global South nations to form “a more just international order.”

Xi emphasized that the foreign ministries of both countries must implement the agreements reached between him and Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, and enhance cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

“The SCO has become an influential regional organization that plays a major role in the stability of Eurasia,” the Chinese leader stressed.

The SCO was founded in 2001. Its mission has evolved from counterterrorism to broader economic and political cooperation. The organization currently unites 10 countries and is headquartered in Beijing.

China is Russia’s largest trading partner and has provided Moscow with economic support that has helped it withstand Western sanctions.

Xi and Putin have met dozens of times and signed a “no-limits partnership” in February 2022, less than three weeks before Putin sent troops into Ukraine, according to Ukrainska Pravda. 

This year, Putin and Xi signed another agreement to further deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a senior EU diplomat that China “cannot accept” a Russian defeat in the war against Ukraine, arguing that such an outcome would allow the US to shift its foreign policy focus toward Beijing.

Europe is preparing billions of dollars to deter Russian ruler Vladimir Putin. Denmark and the Netherlands have agreed to join US President Donald Trump’s new plan for jointly financing American weapons for Ukraine, including Patriot air defense systems, EurActiv reports. 

The agreement, which was announced on 14 July in Washington, provides that European NATO allies will purchase air defense systems from the US, including Patriot systems, and deliver them to Kyiv. Germany has already proposed purchasing at least two batteries.

“This is an appeal to all other European NATO members. They all need to open their wallets,” emphasized German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

According to him, Ukraine urgently needs to strengthen its air defense, as Russia escalates its attacks whenever peace is discussed.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has also confirmed that the country is “absolutely ready” to join the program, with details still being finalized. His Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, has said the Netherlands is “positively inclined” to participate.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stated that the scheme would allow Ukraine to receive weapons from existing stockpiles, which would then be replenished with new purchases from the US. However, systems like the Patriot are scarce in Europe, and not all countries are willing to part with them.

In addition to the three countries, Canada, Norway, Sweden, and the UK are also considering joining the program. Final funding amounts and the list of weapons will be determined in the coming weeks. 

Day 1237

On 14 Jule, there is a lot of news from the Borova direction. 

Here, the Ukrainian Third Assault Brigade conducted a groundbreaking operation by employing FPV drones alongside ground-based kamikaze drones to attack fortified Russian infantry positions. This forced the Russians into panic and allowed the Ukrainians to recapture territory without even setting their foot on the ground.

The Ukrainian Third Assault Brigade, now the leading formation within Ukraine’s Third Army Corps after recent restructuring, operates in the Borova direction and is frequently deployed in offensive operations across the entire sector. Renowned for its battle-hardened capabilities, the brigade works closely with local units, demonstrating exceptional planning, tactical precision, and advanced assault methods that set the standard for modern warfare.

This status was recently confirmed through an unprecedented achievement: they executed the world’s first successful assault entirely using air and ground drones, capturing Russian-held positions without deploying infantry.

During the assault, FPV drones first struck enemy fortifications, causing severe damage and panic among the defending troops. Following this, unmanned ground vehicles loaded with powerful explosives moved toward the already battered Russian dugouts. As the first drone, loaded with anti-tank mines detonated, the Russian soldiers became aware of the imminent death threat and quickly created a makeshift cardboard sign to signal their surrender. With no Ukrainian soldiers physically present to engage, the enemy troops found themselves defenseless against this innovative, drone-only offensive.

After their surrender, the surviving Russian soldiers were guided by an aerial drone directly to Ukrainian lines, where they were taken prisoner without resistance.

Shortly afterward, Ukrainian infantry calmly entered and secured the captured positions, including nearby forested terrain, without firing a single shot or spilling a drop of Ukrainian blood. Officers from the Third Assault Brigade emphasized the significant tactical value of this operation, highlighting that the positions had previously resisted conventional assaults by neighboring Ukrainian units. The success achieved solely through drone warfare marked a crucial turning point.

The tactical logic behind the combined use of aerial and ground drones is straightforward but effective. While aerial drones excel in reconnaissance, target identification, and precision strikes, ground-based UGVs offer complementary capabilities due to their higher payload capacity, improved concealment, and ground-level approach.

Ukrainian ground drones, many of them affordable and domestically produced, can carry significantly heavier explosives compared to airborne drones, making them ideal for breaching reinforced enemy positions or performing destructive assaults from a new unexpected perspective. Additionally, ground drones provide versatile battlefield support; beyond offensive roles, they serve as evacuation vehicles, resupply carriers, or even remote-controlled mining platforms.

Ukraine’s latest advancement, the ground drone Termit, illustrates these capabilities effectively, being a highly mobile, tracked robotic system capable of carrying up to 300 kilograms. Its low-profile, tracked chassis ensures smooth operation across various terrains, and its powerful battery enables several hours of continuous, remote operation over substantial distances. This versatility allows it to function as a kamikaze system, a medical evacuation device, a combat module carrier, or a resupply unit. Such technologies increase Ukraine’s tactical flexibility and significantly reduce the exposure of infantry to lethal threats on the frontline.

The Third Assault Brigade continues to lead innovation in warfare, marking a distinct evolution in combat operations. Although drones had been extensively utilized before for softening enemy positions, reconnaissance, and support tasks, successfully capturing enemy-held territory exclusively through drone technology represents a new era in ground combat operations. Given Ukraine’s ongoing manpower constraints and the critical need to minimize human casualties, drone-driven assaults offer invaluable advantages.

Overall, the revolutionary Ukrainian drone-only assault likely marks a cornerstone moment in modern warfare history that will continue shaping its future. It underscores Ukraine’s commitment to continuous technological innovation under extraordinary wartime pressures. Ukrainian military developers and engineers are tirelessly working to enhance drone and robotic capabilities, seeking innovative solutions to counteract Russia’s numerical superiority and evolving battlefield threats.  

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.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that the timeline of the President Trump’s 50-day ultimatum to Putin for Ukraine peace talks is too long as civilians die daily.

Trump announced on 14 July that the US would impose 100% tariffs on Russia’s trading partners unless Putin agrees to end the war within 50 days. Speaking with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump called these “secondary tariffs” and described them as “very severe.”

“On the one hand, it is very positive that President Trump is taking a strong stance on Russia. On the other hand, 50 days is a very long time if we see that they are killing innocent civilians, also every day,” Kallas said, according to The Telegraph.

US President Donald Trump expressed earlier his disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin following revelations that Moscow plans to escalate military operations in eastern Ukraine within the next 60 days.

“I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there,” Trump told reporters.

The statement comes after Putin reportedly informed Trump during their 3 July conversation that Russia intended to continue offensive operations until it secured the full administrative borders of occupied Ukrainian oblasts.

Following the statemens, Trump also announced on 14 July a new military assistance package for Ukraine totaling $10 billion, which includes Patriot missiles, air defense weapons, and artillery.

The proposed tariffs fall short of a bipartisan Senate bill seeking 500% tariffs on Russian oil importers.

Trump and Rutte unveiled a NATO-funded weapons program for Ukraine. “We’re gonna make top-of-the-line weapons, and they’ll be sent to NATO. NATO may choose to have a certain number of them sent to other countries,” Trump said.

Rutte said Ukraine will receive “massive numbers of military equipment, both for air defense, but also missiles, ammunition, etc.” Germany and Norway voiced readiness to purchase three Patriot batteries for Ukraine delivery.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy thanked Trump for the weapons decision. 

The military assistance package will help Ukraine to defend its citizen and infrustructure from Russian attacks that included more than 700 missile and drone strikes on some days last week.

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, passed alarming information to US Presidential Special Representative Keith Kellogg during their meeting in Kyiv. Russia is preparing for a major war, not only against Ukraine but also against NATO. 

The meeting was also attended by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Chief of the General Staff, Andrii Hnatov, and other intelligence officials. The American side was briefed on an updated assessment of the operational situation and the Kremlin’s plans for 2036.

“The Kremlin’s imperial ambitions are not limited to Ukraine. They encompass all of Europe. However, with US support, we are capable of stopping Russia and nullifying its military potential,” Budanov emphasized.

The head of the intelligence agency thanked the US for its assistance and stressed, “Russia respects only strength,” and that only through strong resistance can Ukraine achieve a true and lasting peace.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump, frustrated by fruitless “pleasant talks” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine, issued an ultimatum to Moscow. He said that if the Kremlin doesn’t reach a peace agreement within 50 days, the White House will impose 100% tariffs on Russia. This effectively gives Putin 1,5 months to continue killing Ukrainian civilians. Trump also did not clarify what would happen if Moscow refuses to sign any deal with Kyiv. 

Later, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev openly mocked Trump’s statements, saying the Kremlin is indifferent to Washington’s new threats.

US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said in a Fox News interview on 15 July that the US President Trump has sent a very clear message to Vladimir Putin.

“We’re giving you a chance for peace, but if you want war, we will arm Ukraine,” US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker added, outlining the administration’s dual approach of diplomatic outreach paired with military support.

This comes as the United States announced it will continue supplying weapons systems to Ukraine while European allies and Canada cover the costs. Trump announced on 14 July a new military assistance package for Ukraine totaling $10 billion, which includes Patriot missiles, air defense weapons, and artillery.

The centerpiece of the weapons package involves Patriot air defense systems, with the US allowing NATO member states operating these systems to transfer them to Ukraine from their stockpiles in exchange for American replacements. The plan encompasses 17 Patriot systems in total.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Trump for the decision to provide air defense systems, stating that every effort must be made to force Russia to end the war.

Germany plans to contribute two Patriot systems to Ukraine, though German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius indicated delivery may face delays.

Whitaker framed the weapons deliveries as a direct message to Moscow. “We gave you a chance for peace. President Trump is a peacemaker. But if you want war, we will arm Ukraine — and Europe will pay for it,” he said.

Senator Lindsey Graham announced on July 13 that a “record flow of weapons” would begin arriving in Ukraine in the coming days to strengthen its defense capabilities. 

During a 14 July White House press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump threatened to impose 100% “secondary tariffs” on Russia if a peace deal in Ukraine is not reached within 50 days.

US President Donald Trump announced that America will manufacture weapons for Ukraine, with European countries covering the costs. The US will also authorize the transfer of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine.

Trump disclosed these details during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington.

The revelation comes as Trump announced a new military assistance package for Ukraine totaling $10 billion, which includes Patriot missiles, air defense weapons, and artillery.

Trump specified that some European NATO members may purchase weapons from the US for themselves while transferring equipment from their own stockpiles to Ukraine. He named Germany among such countries.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on 14 July that Germany cannot provide Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense systems as the country has only six left from its original stock of 12. Pistorius reportedly planned to discuss US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth a proposal he made last month allowing Germany to purchase two Patriot systems from the US specifically for Ukraine.

The US President also said that countries possessing Patriot air defense systems can send them to Ukraine and receive replacements from America. Trump indicated the US can now allow a country with 17 Patriot systems to send “most of them” to Ukraine.

“We have one country that has 17 Patriot systems ready for shipment, a large number of these 17 will go to the battlefield. This can be done quickly,” Trump added.

The specific country Trump referenced remains unclear. Among European nations, Germany operates the most Patriot systems with 12 units.

Trump also stated he expects a deal to end the war within the next 50 days. Otherwise, the US will impose 100% tariffs against Russia.

The German government previously indicated readiness to purchase additional Patriot air defense systems from the United States and transfer them to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is prepared to buy ten Patriot air defense systems from the US for $15 billion, with some European partners potentially assisting with financing.

Ukraine needs more air defence systems to defend its citizen and infrustructure from Russian attacks that included more than 700 missile and drone strikes on some days last week.

US President Donald Trump, frustrated by fruitless “pleasant talks” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine, has issued an ultimatum to Moscow. The Kremlin responded by saying that Russia doesn’t care.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has openly mocked Trump’s statements, saying the Kremlin is indifferent to Washington’s new threats. According to him, Trump’s threats are theatrical in nature, and Europe had expected more.

“Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care,” Medvedev wrote on X. 

On 14 July, the American president also said that the new tariffs would target Kremlin allies, though he did not specify which countries he meant. Notably, China is the largest sponsor of Russia’s war in Ukraine, while North Korea supplies over half of Russia’s ammunition and military personnel in exchange for technology.

Trump also did not clarify what would happen if Russia refuses to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine. Meanwhile, the 50-day deadline coincides with the timeframe reportedly shared by Putin during a recent conversation, in which he stated that Moscow plans to escalate military operations in eastern Ukraine within the next 60 days. This effectively gives Putin 1,5 months to continue killing Ukrainian civilians.

Putin reportedly told Trump during their 3 July conversation that Russia intended to continue offensive operations until it secured the full administrative borders of the occupied Ukrainian oblasts.

Russia currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including most of Luhansk Oblast, two-thirds of Donetsk Oblast, and parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts. Moscow illegally declared the annexation of all four regions after sham referendums, despite not fully controlling any of them. At present, Russia has fully occupied only Crimea.

President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy why Ukraine hadn’t struck Moscow and suggested the country should increase pressure on Vladimir Putin by targeting both the Russian capital and St. Petersburg, the Washington Post reported on 15 July.

The exchange occurred during a conversation last week between the two leaders, according to a source cited by the newspaper. When Trump questioned why Ukraine hadn’t hit Moscow, Zelenskyy responded: “We can if you give us the weapons.”

“Trump said Ukraine needed to put more pressure on Putin, not just Moscow but St. Petersburg, too,” the Washington Post reported, citing a source familiar with the discussion.

The revelation comes as Trump announced a new military assistance package for Ukraine totaling $10 billion, which includes Patriot missiles, air defense weapons, and artillery. NATO countries will purchase these weapons from the United States and transfer them to Ukraine.

The military assistance reportedly may also include authorization for Ukraine to use its 18 long-range ATACMS missiles at their full 300-kilometer range, allowing strikes on military bases, airfields, and supply depots deep inside Russia that are currently out of reach.

Trump also considered sending Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine – the same weapons used against Iranian targets last month. “If fired from Ukraine, these could hit Moscow and St. Petersburg, and they were included in discussion as late as Friday,” the Washington Post reported. However, the Tomahawks are not included in the current delivery list, though they could be deployed later if Trump seeks additional leverage.

These decisions mark a significant policy shift from his previous stance of providing only defensive equipment.

The announcement came after US President Trump expressed his disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Putin’s unwillingness to move towards a ceasefire and Russia’s escalating attacks on Kyiv and other cities. Putin reportedly said Trump during their phone call on 3 July that Moscow plans to escalate military operations in eastern Ukraine within the next 60 days, “securing the full administrative borders of occupied Ukrainian oblasts.”

“Trump is really pissed at Putin. His announcement tomorrow is going to be very aggressive,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Axios.

Trump also threatened to impose “severe tariffs” against Russia if it doesn’t make peace within 50 days. During Oval Office meeting on 14 July with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump described Putin as “a tough guy” and said he was “angry” at the Russian leader for not being “nice.”

When asked how far he would be willing to escalate if Putin decides to increase pressure, Trump declined to answer directly.

“Don’t ask me a question like that, ‘How far?'” Trump responded. “I just want to get the war settled.”

The military assistance package will help Ukraine to defend its citizen and infrustructure from Russian attacks that included more than 700 missile and drone strikes on some days last week.

Vitalii Shabunin, Ukraine’s top anti-corruption activist and head of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center, has been charged in a controversial criminal case. The State Bureau of Investigation has accused him of evasion of military service and misuse of a vehicle intended for the military, sparking a public outcry and allegations of political persecution, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty writes. 

According to investigators, Shabunin allegedly “systematically evaded” military service during martial law and illegally used a vehicle imported as humanitarian aid for the Armed Forces, including for personal travel in Kyiv. They claim the vehicle was never officially registered for military use.

He has been charged under two articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code:

• Part 4, Article 409 — evasion of military service under martial law
• Part 2, Article 190 — large-scale fraud

The maximum penalty is up to 10 years in prison. 

Shabunin’s response

The activist has denied all allegations and called the case politically motivated. He published a photo of his military ID issued on 25 February 2022, the day after Russia’s full-scale invasion began.

He says he served on the front lines with Ukraine’s Armed Forces from the first days of the war, first near Kyiv, then in eastern Ukraine. After combat duty, he joined the Ministry of Defense to work on logistics reform and digital projects, including the Delta situational awareness system, according to the BBC.

In February 2025, he was transferred to a border guard unit in Kharkiv Oblast, a move he links to retaliation for his outspoken criticism of the government.

Civil society reacts: “An attack on free speech and democracy”

More than 50 non-governmental organizations, human rights groups, and civic organizations have appealed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, and the State Bureau of Investigation’s Head, Oleksii Sukhachov, demanding that the investigation be dropped.

In their joint statement, they warned that the case is either a sign of gross incompetence or deliberate pressure on a government critic. Shabunin continued his anti-corruption work while in uniform, publicly opposing the sabotage of reforms and poor governance and defending the independence of Ukraine’s anti-graft institutions, Deutsche Welle reports.

Olena Shcherban, deputy director of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center, has called the case an attempt to destroy an organization that has fought for transparency for years. It could also be a broader crackdown on independent activists, a dangerous precedent for democracy under martial law.

Exclusive

Ukraine built a belt of fortress cities to stop Russia. Now the southernmost link is about to break. Ten Ukrainian brigades may have to abandon Pokrovsk—the Donbas fortress they’ve defended for more than a year.

Military

Russia masses 100,000 troops to crush Ukraine’s defenders in Donetsk’s crucial battle. While Kostiantynivka holds, Moscow’s brutal summer offensive surges forward, threatening to sever Ukraine’s eastern front.

Belarusian Mi-24 helicopter shoots down Russian drone flying to Ukraine. At least three Russian drones were operating in Belarusian airspace when local air defense forces destroyed one “Gerbera” strike drone during what became a 600-projectile assault on Ukrainian cities, intelligence sources confirm.

Ukraine destroys thermobaric weapons facility that fed drone strikes on its cities, satellite images confirm

. A 7 July strike lit up the Krasnozavodsk Chemical Plant, a core supplier of Shahed drone explosives.

For first time, Estonian troops test US-supplied HIMARS in drills denounced by Russia as “provocation”. Estonian rocket artillery fired precision strikes from Saaremaa island in a bold first exercise, triggering threats from Moscow.

Intelligence and technology

US to sell nearly $10 billion in weapons to NATO allies supplying Ukraine. From Patriots to artillery, American equipment will flow through Europe to the Ukrainian front lines.

Trump announces 17 Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine to shield cities from Russian air terror. First launchers could arrive within days.

Ukraine’s next weapon could be US-made JASSM — and it might arrive just in time. As Russia masses troops for a brutal push eastward, Trump looks to arm Ukraine with one of the most powerful missiles in the American arsenal.

Ukraine’s drone face Rubikon, Russia’s deadly new unit targeting drone operators

. Ukraine races to develop drones that can fly and fight themselves, moving operators far from frontline danger.

ISW: Russia fortifies select airbases after Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb. Russia has begun emergency construction of protective bunkers at key military airbases after Ukraine’s 1 June drone operation destroyed 41 strategic aircraft worth over $7 billion, satellite imagery reveals.

German defense giant Rheinmetall secures €70 billion order for 7,000 armored vehicles to equip Bundeswehr amid Russia’s war. CEO Papperger reveals massive industrial surge fueled by Russia’s war, promising tens of billions in revenue and thousands of new jobs.

“We definitely can’t give any more” – Pistorius on sending Patriots to Ukraine. Germany depleted half its Patriot air defense arsenal through transfers to Ukraine and Poland. Germany Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to seek US approval for purchasing replacement systems specifically for Kyiv.

Trump to announce “aggressive” Ukraine weapons plan, reportedly including Patriots. President Donald Trump to announce a new weapons package for Ukraine that could include long-range missiles capable of reaching Moscow, sources tell Axios, marking a dramatic escalation after Vladimir Putin told Trump he planned a 60-day offensive to capture more Ukrainian territory.

International

Europe launches new €500 million flagship fund for Ukraine after Russian attacks

. Reconstruction won’t wait for the war to end.

Ukrainian defense chiefs warn Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy: Russia gearing up for war not just with Kyiv. Ukraine delivers a stark warning to the US general under fire.

Trump and NATO unleash billions in weapons for Ukraine as Putin faces 50-day ultimatum. Air defense batteries and missile systems are already on the move as the West accelerates pressure on Moscow.

Trump says US to impose 100% tariffs on Russia if war doesn’t end in 50 days. The White House sharpens its economic arsenal to force Russia to the peace table.

Zelenskyy, Kellogg meet in Kyiv to shape next phase of US–Ukraine ties after Russia launched 5,000 drones in June. As Ukraine endures one of its deadliest bombardment waves, new US support is pledged, with Patriots, drones, and sanctions to follow.

Frontline report: NATO warns commercial aviation crash could trigger military response to Russian jamming. Alliance officials have indicated that casualties from GPS interference would be treated “not as an accident but as a deliberate escalation,” potentially leading to direct strikes on Kaliningrad’s electronic warfare installations or a surge in advanced weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

Putin tells Trump Russia will escalate Ukraine offensive within 60 days as US president calls Kremlin leader disappointing

. Vladimir Putin informed Donald Trump during their 3 July phone call that Russia intends to continue offensive operations until securing full administrative borders of occupied Ukrainian oblasts.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russian attacks kill 6 people, injure 30 people over past day. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 61 of 136 Russian drones during a nighttime barrage that nevertheless killed four civilians and injured 14 others across three oblasts.

Political and legal developments

Zelenskyy offers Svyrydenko to become Prime Minister amid major executive overhaul. Ukraine’s government faces a major reshuffle as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko to head the government, while current Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal may move to lead the Defense Ministry.

Read our earlier daily review here.

Three Russian oblasts came under drone attacks overnight on 15 July, with officials reporting strikes in Lipetsk, Voronezh, and Rostov oblasts.

The attacks targeted industrial facilities and urban areas, leaving multiple casualties and damage in their wake.

In Lipetsk Oblast, Governor Igor Artamonov confirmed that “a UAV fell on the territory of an industrial zone” in Yelets, where one person was injured. According to the Telegram channel ASTRA, footage shows smoke rising from an industrial zone near the Energia plant. The channel reported that “what exactly is burning is still unknown,” though this facility has been targeted by drone attacks on multiple occasions.

The Energia plant specializes in manufacturing chemical current sources, with products “widely used in various sectors, including the defense industry, civil aviation, maritime transport, and the energy complex.”

Voronezh Oblast Governor Alexander Gusev reported that air defense forces “detected and destroyed 12 unmanned aerial vehicles” over Voronezh city and three districts. 

According to the governor, about 16 people were injured in downtown Voronezh after a downed drone crashed, while “several apartments in high-rise buildings (glazing, facades and balconies), private houses in the suburbs and in one of the districts” sustained damage.

Rostov Oblast Governor Yuri Slyusar claimed his oblasts’s air defenses shot down UAVs in the Verkhnedonskoye district, saying there were “no damage or casualties.”

Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced it had intercepted and destroyed 55 drones over Voronezh, Belgorod, Lipetsk, Rostov, and Kursk oblasts, as well as over the Black Sea. 

The overnight strikes represent a continuation of attacks on Russian territory that have intensified since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Ukraine has not confirmed its involvement in the attacks. However, Ukrainian officials have emphasized earlier they are conducting operations to weaken Russia’s rear military bases to reduce the aggressor’s offensive potential.

The Energia plant in Yelets previously suffered a drone attack on 3 July, which forced the facility to halt operations indefinitely. Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed the strike on the plant, which produces chemical power sources for military and civilian applications.

Russian forces injured five people, including a 14-year-old girl in its attacks on Sumy and Donetsk oblasts overnight on 15 July, according to regional authorities.

The Russian military regularly attacks Ukrainian oblasts with various types of weapons. Russia’s leadership denies that the Russian army has been conducting targeted attacks on the civilian infrastructure of Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, schools, kindergartens, energy and water supply facilities.

Russian forces launched multiple missile strikes against the Shostka community in Sumy Oblast during the night of 15 July, according to Sumy Oblast Military Administration head Oleh Hryhorov.

Around 1:00 am, Russian three missile strikes on Shostka in Sumy Oblast targeted a medical facility, which caught fire following the attack, the State Emergency Service reported.

The strike injured a 14-year-old girl who sustained glass fragment wounds while running to shelter. The child was hospitalized and is receiving necessary medical care, according to regional authorities.

“The enemy (Russian army) deliberately targets civilian infrastructure. Peaceful residents and children suffer,” Hryhorov said.

Beyond the hospital, the attack damaged several multi-story buildings, private houses, and non-residential premises.

The July 15 attack follows a pattern of recent Russian strikes on the Shostka community. On the evening of 12 July, Russian forces hit the area with drones, sparking fires in non-residential buildings. Earlier that day, a Russian guided aerial bomb strike killed two residents of a village in the Sumy Oblast.

In Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces struck Rodynske with Smerch multiple rocket launcher systems at 00:30 on 15 July, injuring four civilians in residential areas.

Two men aged 37 and 53, along with women aged 54 and 69, were hospitalized with blast injuries, closed rib fractures, shrapnel wounds, lacerations, multiple abrasions, and concussion, according to regional authorities.

The attack also damaged apartment buildings and outbuildings.

Across Ukrainian oblasts, Russian forces killed at least five people and injured at least 53, including four children, over the past day, according to regional authorities.

Donetsk Oblast saw the heaviest casualties, with two civilians killed in Kostiantynivka and Myrnohrad, Governor Vadym Filashkin said. Nine others were injured across the region, including four in Rodynske, three in Pokrovsk, and two in Hannivka.

In Sumy city, 12 people were injured, including a 14-year-old girl. Three Russian drones “deliberately targeted” a university, injuring five staff members and a 19-year-old student, according to authorities.

Kherson Oblast recorded two deaths and 18 wounded, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a 63-year-old woman was injured in the Nikopol district, while drone strikes on Dnipro damaged a high-rise building, six houses, and a school, Governor Serhii Lysak said.

Two people were injured in Zaporizhzhia Oblast‘s Polohy district, according to Governor Ivan Fedorov.

In Kharkiv Oblast, a 57-year-old woman died and nine people were injured, including two children, during attacks on Kharkiv city and nine other settlements, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

On July 14, Russian attacks killed six people and injured 30 others across Ukraine.

Russian forces launched 136 Shahed-type strike drones and decoy drones from multiple directions overnight. Air defense units shot down 61 drones across northern, eastern, and central oblasts, while 47 decoy drones were lost or suppressed by electronic warfare systems.

The American foreign policy takes an unexpected turn as the US ramps up arms supplies to NATO for Ukraine. President Donald Trump has announced a sharp increase in arms shipments to European allies, intended for eventual transfer to Ukraine, a dramatic reversal of his earlier stance on the war, Axios reports. 

According to a well-informed source, the first wave of deliveries will see the US sell roughly $10 billion worth of weapons to NATO partners for Ukraine. 

“The supplies ultimately bound for Ukraine include missiles, air defense weaponry and artillery shells,” the report writes. 

This marks a fundamental shift in Trump’s stance towards Ukraine, as he initially refused to take sides and insisted on providing only defensive weapons to avoid escalating the war. 

In addition, he issued a stark ultimatum to Moscow: Russia has 50 days to agree to a peace deal, or face 100% tariffs. Journalists note that such a move could significantly impact global oil markets.

A White House official told Axios that Moscow must agree to a ceasefire during that time to avoid harsh sanctions and tariffs.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, for his part, reiterated that Ukraine seeks peace. He noted that the Alliance, which would pay for Kyiv’s weapons, would now assess what the country specifically needs. After that, NATO will properly structure military aid packages. The country will gain access to a wide array of weapons, including missile defense systems and ammunition.

Ukraine to receive record-breaking financial aid package from EU and partners for recovery, energy, air defense, and agriculture. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has announced multi-billion euro agreements reached during the Ukrine Recovery Conference in Rome.

Among them is the creation of a new European Flagship Fund worth €500 million, set to launch in 2026 with a focus on energy and infrastructure investment.

In addition, under the Ukraine Facility, agreements have been signed for:

• €1.8 billion in loan guarantees,
• €580 million in grants,
• and blended financing mechanisms.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, commenting on the deal, stated that the EU aims to unlock up to €10 billion in investments to “rebuild destroyed homes, reopen hospitals, support businesses, and ensure energy security.”

Switzerland has committed €5 billion for economic recovery efforts.

The European Investment Bank is providing Ukraine with:

• €134 million for transport infrastructure,
• and a €200 million loan to Ukrhydroenergo (with the first €120 million tranche) to help restore hydropower plants.

Separately, the UK is offering a $2.3 billion loan for Ukraine’s air defense needs. The funds will be used to procure weapons and defense materials from the UK. The loan has a 19-year term with a 6-year grace period.

Ukrainian farmers will also receive €50 million in grant aid.

Shmyhal added, “We’ve reached an agreement with the Council of Europe Development Bank to fund €100 million in housing certificates under the eRecovery program, and an additional €200 million loan to support internally displaced persons.”

US officials have been briefed. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov reveals that during the visit of Keith Kellogg, the US presidential envoy, to Kyiv, the Ukrainian side shared alarming intelligence on the Kremlin’s plans.

The Ukrainian defense minister says that Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Chief of the General Staff, Major General Andrii Hnatov, Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, and other intelligence officials held a briefing for the US side.

According to Umerov, Ukrainian officials explicitly warned their American counterparts: Russia is preparing for a large-scale war, not only against Ukraine, but also against the North Atlantic Alliance.

“They presented the operational situation, assessed enemy plans, and informed about Russia’s preparations for a broader-scale war,” the minister states.

Umerov describes the conversation with Kellogg as “substantive and candid,” focusing on achieving a lasting and just peace. Key topics included continued defense support, joint defense projects, and the localization of air defense and drone production in Ukraine and Europe.

He also notes that Ukraine has a “unique combat experience, especially in the field of drones, and we are ready to share it,” with the US, adding that some of the defense projects could be financed using frozen Russian assets.

On 14 July, US President Donald Trump confirmed the conclusion of a new agreement with NATO that provides for the delivery of a powerful military aid package worth billions of dollars to Ukraine, UkrInform reports. 

According to the American leader, some of these systems would arrive within days. Countries that currently possess Patriot systems have agreed to send them to Ukraine in exchange for new US deliveries. Trump said the systems have a full set of batteries intended to bolster Ukraine’s air defense.

He emphasized that the weapons would be financed by NATO allies, not American taxpayers. 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, for his part, reiterated that Ukraine seeks peace.

During his meeting with President Trump at the White House, he said it is vital to provide Ukraine with everything necessary to defend itself from Russia. He called the decision for Europeans to pay for Ukraine’s aid entirely logical.

Rutte added that the agreement is the result of the Alliance summit in The Hague, where NATO members committed to gradually increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP, continuing to support Ukraine, and expanding defense production.

He noted that NATO would now assess what Ukraine specifically needs so that the alliance can properly structure military aid packages. Ukraine will gain access to a wide array of weapons, including missile defense systems and ammunition.

In his view, the US president’s decision will allow weapons to reach Ukraine at an accelerated pace.

At the same time, Rutte remarked that in light of the latest news from Washington, if he were in Russian ruler Vladimir Putin’s place, he would reconsider his approach to negotiations with Ukraine.

The new agreement is the result of a series of talks following Trump’s disappointment over Russia’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire. He also threatened Russia with tough secondary tariffs if negotiations fail within 50 days. 

The US is ready to hit the Kremlin with tariffs if peace isn’t reached soon. President Donald Trump has announced that he will impose strict secondary tariffs on Russia and its allies if a peace agreement on Ukraine is not reached within the next 50 days, UNIAN reports. 

He believes the proposed 100% tariff restrictions could serve as a decisive lever of pressure on Moscow.

In addition, Washington will supply Ukraine with 17 Patriot air defense systems, some of which are expected to arrive within days. The countries that agreed to transfer the systems will receive replacements from the US The coordination of deliveries will be overseen by Matthew Whitaker, the US representative to NATO, in cooperation with the Alliance.

Trump has also agreed with the EU on a joint program to supply weapons to Ukraine. Production will remain US-based, but the financial burden will fall largely on EU countries.

The US president has also recognized the bravery of the Ukrainians resisting Russia’s massive strikes on a daily basis. According to Trump, Russia continues targeting civilian infrastructure, not just military targets, destroying cities, power grids, and residential areas, posing a long-term humanitarian crisis for Ukraine’s population.

He has also voiced disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin, from whom he had expected a readiness for a ceasefire two months ago. However, the Kremlin has continued its aggressive course, prompting the US to prepare a powerful economic response.

Earlier, reports emerged that Trump was considering providing Ukraine with powerful air-launched JASSM cruise missiles.

With a range of up to 370 km, a 450 kg warhead, and high-precision targeting, the JASSM could change the dynamics of Ukraine’s defense capabilities, especially amid Russia’s summer offensive.

The US is taking an unprecedented step to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses. President Donald Trump has announced that 17 Patriot surface-to-air missile systems will soon be transferred to Ukraine, RBC-Ukraine reports. 

Some of them are expected to arrive within days. He made the statement during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

According to Trump, the Patriot systems will be provided by a partner country that won’t be needing them, and the US is already arranging their rapid delivery.

Last week, the US president confirmed that Patriots would be sent to Kyiv and that European allies would cover their cost.

The announcement comes amid continued Russian attacks and could prove to be a key factor in reinforcing Ukraine’s air defense capabilities in the coming weeks. In June alone, Moscow launched 330 missiles and 5,000 drones on Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has documented 232 civilian deaths and 1,343 injuries the same month, 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.

The surge demonstrates Moscow’s strategic shift toward terrorizing populations across practically every Ukrainian region as Russian military casualties exceed one million, forcing reliance on terror tactics against defenseless civilians rather than battlefield advances.

Earlier, reports emerged that Trump was considering providing Ukraine with powerful air-launched JASSM cruise missiles.

With a range of up to 370 km, a 450 kg warhead, and high-precision targeting, the JASSM could change the dynamics of Ukraine’s defense capabilities, especially amid Russia’s summer offensive.

US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering providing Ukraine with powerful air-launched JASSM cruise missiles, according to Military Watch Magazine.

These missiles, capable of being launched from F-16 fighter jets, would significantly boost Ukraine’s ability to strike strategic targets deep behind Russian lines.

With a range of up to 370 km, a 450 kg warhead, and high-precision targeting, the JASSM could change the dynamics of Ukraine’s defense capabilities.

Only four countries operate this advanced weapon system, including Poland, which purchased 110 JASSMs for its F-16s. The US had previously denied such exports to allies like South Korea, underscoring the technology’s sensitivity.

Trump has already expressed support for delivering Patriot air defense missiles to Kyiv and hinted at broader arms transfers. 

Today, the Russians are receiving reinforcements for the start of the second wave of their summer offensive. Moscow concentrated 100,000 troops in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast from the overall 700,000-strong Russian grouping.

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. Moscow illegally declared the annexation of the four oblasts as Russian following sham referenda in late 2022, while not fully controlling them.

Ukraine is strengthening its alliance with the US amid escalating Russian attacks. On 14 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Keith Kellogg, US presidential envoy, to discuss concrete steps toward peace, with a focus on enhancing air defense, expanding joint weapons production, and increasing sanctions pressure on Russia.

“We are grateful to the US president for all his messages and truly firm decisions to resume support. We’ve made some very positive decisions for both our countries,” Zelenskyy said.

The talks came against the backdrop of intensified Russian assaults, over 330 missiles, 5,000 drones, and 5,000 aerial bombs launched in June alone, making air defense a top priority during the meeting.

Key topics included:

• Strengthening Ukraine’s air defense systems
• Joint drone production
• Direct US purchases of Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles
• Joint weapons procurement with European partners

Zelensky also emphasized the importance of new US sanctions legislation, particularly the bipartisan bill by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, which has already gained support from more than 80 senators.

He thanked Keith Kellogg for his visit, US President Donald Trump, and the American people for their continued support.

Estonian troops have conducted their first live-fire exercise with HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems following four months of training, ERR reports.

Following the exercise, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, accused the Baltic states of “provocative actions.” He stated that Russia, as a Baltic state, will defend its interests in the region.

“Russia is a Baltic state that intends to firmly defend its legitimate interests in the region. The fact that many countries are engaging in provocative actions there is an obvious reality,” Peskov said.

Six HIMARS systems were ordered from the US after Naryshkin’s claims. They were officially delivered to the Estonian Defence Forces at the Ämari air base. The US-funded delivery is part of a broader security assistance package aimed at strengthening NATO’s eastern flank.

Lithuania and Latvia have also purchased HIMARS systems. Vilnius acquired eight launchers, while Riga signed an agreement to receive six systems by 2027, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The first live-fire drills took place on 11 July. According to the Estonian Defence Forces, the rockets were launched from the shores of Saaremaa island and hit sea targets 15 kilometers away in under a minute.

“In fact, we didn’t do much damage to the sea since these were training rounds without warheads. As for accuracy, I can say we can hit a bucket from a very long distance,” said Sergeant Margus Oras of the rocket artillery unit.

HIMARS systems are capable of launching precision-guided munitions that support integrated fire missions and can strike point or area targets at distances exceeding 300 kilometers.

The maximum firing range potentially allows Estonia to target areas near the Russian border, including in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast, New Voice reports. According to local reports, Estonia now not only has artillery forces but its own missile forces as well.

The latest update from the Ukrainian Deep State analysis group is an “emergency call,” according to one mapper. Russian troops may be close to securing a lodgement on the western side of the Kazennyi Torets River near the village of Razyne, just east of the fortress city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.

If significant Russian forces can cross the river and march west from Razyne, they could put pressure on the supply lines into Pokrovsk, the southernmost chain in a belt of fortified cities stretching north toward the border with Russia. 

The Ukrainian troops in and around Pokrovsk—some or all of no fewer than 10 brigades—would surely evacuate the ruined city rather than risk starvation and encirclement. But that would hand Russia its biggest victory in months, albeit an extremely costly one.

Russian field armies have been fighting their way toward Pokrovsk ever since the fall of Avdiivka, 40 km to the west, back in the spring of 2024. Tens of thousands of Russians have been killed or wounded, but strong recruitment in Russia means fresh troops keep coming. 

Pokrovsk is a hard target, however—and stiff Ukrainian defenses halted the Russian advance directly on the city as long ago as February. Instead of directly attacking Pokrovsk, the Russians pivoted. Attacking east and west of the city, they’ve slowly closed a territorial pincer around it. Today, Russian troops are just a few miles east of the main north-south road into Pokrovsk—and also a few miles south of the main west-east road into the city.

Now the Russian Center Operational Grouping is at a literal and proverbial crossroads. The grouping’s commanders face a choice. They can attempt to surround Pokrovsk from the northeast—or from the west.

Neither is easy, but both are possible. “Envelopment of Pokrovsk from the northeast would require the enemy to advance significantly toward Rodynske”—4 km to the north—“seize it, and establish a strong defensive area there to enable attacks on Pokrovsk,” the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies noted.

“Other possible courses of action for the enemy could include an advance north of Udachne or Kotlyne to sever the [west-east] M30 highway,” CDS added.

Attacking from the east

It’s in the east where the Russians are making the most progress—and where they may choose to concentrate forces for further gains. The main obstacle, besides the Ukrainian 17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade, 38th Marine Brigade and 142nd Mechanized Brigade, is the narrow Kazennyi Torets River. “In order to advance west of Razyne, Russian forces would need to force the Kazennyi Torets River at several locations, which could present an obstacle to their advance,” CDS explained. 

Deep State’s update indicates the Russians may soon cross the river, if they haven’t already done so. Their success “directly depends on the combat capability of the involved units,” CDS stated. Those units include the 39th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, the 150th Motorized Rifle Division and the 110th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade.

The 39th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade has led several of the most successful Russian assaults along this axis since the fall of Avdiivka.

For Ukraine, the consequences of a Russian march west of Razyne could be serious as Russia’s wider war on the country grinds into its 41st month and the Kremlin continues to enjoy a huge manpower advantage. “If the command of Ukrainian defense forces fail to stabilize the situation on this direction in the near future, then Ukraine’s military-political leadership should prepare for the opening of the Pavlohrad operational direction,” according to CDS. 

The city of Pavlohrad lies 60 km west of Pokrovsk. It’s safe right now, but that could change fast if and when Pokrovsk falls.