Kyiv has secured record-breaking aid at the latest international summit in Italy. During the fourth and largest Recovery Conference in Rome, Ukraine signed nearly 200 agreements and memorandums totaling €11 billion in support, says First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko.

“The Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 in Rome was the most extensive yet, both in terms of participants and the quality of agreements. Over 6,000 participants from 70 countries, around 200 agreements signed, worth approximately €11 billion,” Svyrydenko states.

One key outcome was the launch of the largest European investment fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction, with four countries and major European development banks pledging support.

Under the Ukraine Investment Framework, a new aid package worth over €2 billion was announced. The Netherlands committed an additional €500 million over 10 years, while Switzerland pledged close to €5 billion in assistance.

Defense industry cooperation was also a central focus of the summit, with discussions on localizing production, creating joint ventures, and sharing technologies.

Among the major industrial initiatives:

• NovaSklo signed an agreement to build a float glass plant
• Bila Tserkva industrial park will launch a new factory in cooperation with the Italian company Gualapack
• The Ukrainian Ministry of Economy signed a €188 million agreement with UNIDO for joint ventures with Japan

Ukraine also focused on new employment programs for women, initiatives to support female entrepreneurship, and commitments to modernize labor legislation.

The conference took place amid an escalation of Russian attacks on Ukraine. Recently, Moscow began launching over 700 drones in a single night, targeting Ukrainian cities. Therefore, the focus of the conference extended beyond reconstruction and included defense. 

Ukraine’s allies prepare real countermeasures against Russian terror at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome. On 10–11 July in Italy, the Ukraine Recovery Conference brought together a broad and high-level international delegation of over 6,000 to 8,000 participants from around 70 countries and 100 government delegations.

Key outcomes of bilateral meetings in Rome:

• Patriot Systems. Palisa says a dialogue with the US regarding the purchase and transfer of ten air defense systems to Ukraine is ongoing, including at the presidential level. Germany is already prepared to fund two systems, and Norway another one. Once the manufacturer gives formal confirmation, other European partners are expected to join as well.
• Joint defense production. Ukraine discussed cooperation and investment in scaling up domestic drone production with the prime ministers of Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands, as well as with the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
• Interceptor drones. According to Palisa, this topic came up in nearly every meeting as “everyone understands the importance of technological solutions in modern warfare.” Ukraine is working to attract large investments to boost the production scale.
• The UK–Ukraine agreement. At the conference, Britain and Ukraine signed a 19-year agreement that unlocks financing for over 5,000 Thales missiles for air defense systems.
• Increased payments for Ukrainian soldiers. Palisa says EU leaders are responding positively to this matter. Ukraine will seek solutions together. 

Not all decisions and agreements were announced publicly. Some remained classified due to the risk that Russia could exploit this information.

Also, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference, the “Coalition of the Willing” met. Around 30 key countries and partners participated, including French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who joined remotely via video.

For the first time, US representatives took part: Special Presidential Envoy Keith Kellogg, and Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal. They are co-authors of the bipartisan Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 (S.1241), which aims to increase sanctions pressure on Russia.

Kyiv to set up gunpowder production in US after Rome recovery conference

The main idea of the bill is to impose 500% tariffs on imports into the US from countries that continue to purchase Russian energy resources, such as oil, gas, uranium, and other raw materials. The goal is to economically isolate Russia and force countries around the world to stop supporting its war machine.

Exclusives

Russian troops beware: use thermal camo correctly, or get droned. Russian troops are wearing heat-trapping thermal blankets to hide them from Ukraine’s lethal infrared-sensing night drones—but they’re wearing them all wrong. And it’s getting them killed.

Ukraine quietly unleashed its top tank brigade—now drones lead, infantry fights, and tanks wait. Ukraine’s tank brigades are disappearing. The army is getting new heavy mechanized brigades that are better for the infantry-first fighting.

European court makes history: Russia guilty of Ukraine human rights violations since 2014 and plane downing MH17. The European Court of Human Rights recognized Russia’s actions as a “targeted campaign to destroy the Ukrainian state as a subject of international law.”

Ukraine’s perfect German missiles never miss—but Russia’s drone factories never sleep. Ukraine is getting 2,000 new German IRIS-T air-defense missiles. Against endless Russian drones, it still might not be enough.

Military

ISW: Moscow’s drone strategy now targets morale more than military value. Even failed strikes help feed Russia’s psychological war, the think tank assesses.

NYT: Putin believes Ukraine’s collapse is near — and he’s acting like it. Despite Trump’s frustration, Kremlin insiders say Putin sees no reason to stop his full-scale invasion.

Lithuania tracks fake Russian Shahed from Belarus—NATO jets scrambled. Russia’s Gerbera styrofoam drone entered Lithuania from Belarus then crashed. Vilnius failed to identify it.

Reuters says Trump activates drawdown powers for the first time to arm Ukraine. Sources told Reuters the $300 million aid, not yet finalized, may include medium-range guided rocket launchers and air defense interceptors.

As of 10 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: 1030580 (+920)
    • Tanks: 11011 (+11)
    • APV: 22972 (+3)
    • Artillery systems: 30140 (+38)
    • MLRS: 1437 (+3)
    • Anti-aircraft systems: 1193
    • Aircraft: 421
    • Helicopters: 340
    • UAV: 44781 (+324)
    • Cruise missiles : 3445 (+6)
    • Warships/boats: 28
    • Submarines: 1
    • Vehicles and fuel tanks: 54656 (+81)

Intelligence and technology

NATO allies test German AI drone as Ukraine already destroys Russian equipment with it. German company Helsing designed the HX-2 AI drone as Europe’s answer to Russia’s Lancet loitering munition.

Storm Shadow returns: MBDA restarts SCALP missile Ukraine used to hit Russian command. France signals fresh production in 2025; Militarnyi hints Ukraine could receive new deliveries.

Reuters: Trump resumes GMLRS rocket and 155mm artillery deliveries to Ukraine after Russia’s largest airstrike. The US resumed weapons shipments to Ukraine after a brief pause. On Tuesday, Russia launched more than 740 drones and missiles in a single night.

Zelenskyy asks Trump’s Ukraine envoy Kellogg for US missiles – Trump calls Patriot systems “very expensive”. As Russian strikes intensify, Ukraine is pressing its case directly to Trump’s circle, while questions linger over the price of protection.

International

UK is ready for Ukraine peacekeeping mission—if there’s ever peace to keep. British troops would help enforce an agreement that remains out of reach.

US restarts shipments of rockets and shells to Ukraine — munitions already on the way. Washington sources confirm that guided rockets and artillery shells are once again flowing to Kyiv.

Germany is ready to buy US Patriots—Trump undecided. Chancellor Merz says Berlin can fund extra systems for Ukraine, but Washington hasn’t finalized anything.

Netherlands pledges € 300 million for Ukraine recovery projects amid Russia’s aggression. Russia has spent three years targeting Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, making economic assistance essential for the country’s survival.

The Atlantic: Trump’s erratic weapons policy leaves Ukraine flying blind. Ukrainian officials say unpredictability from Washington may prove more damaging than lost weapons.

Humanitarian and social impact

Ukraine’s sleepless nation: 80% trapped in chronic stress from nightly Russian attacks. Millions of Ukrainians maintain economic activity despite “fatigue, tension and despair” from Russian constant bombardment of civilians, Ukraine’s First Lady told international partners in Rome.

Russia’s war against Ukraine prompts Czechia to train teenagers in combat skills to strengthen national defense. Czech Army General announced the initiative aims to expand national reserves while introducing young people to military service amid Russia’s security threat.

Russia strikes Kyiv for 10 hours—two women killed including 22-year-old metro police officer (updated). Explosions were heard citywide as homes, schools, and hospitals sustained blast damage.

Political and legal developments

Russian intelligence paid Ukrainian teenager and her mom for arson attacks in Odesa. Russian operatives target financially vulnerable civilians who burn military vehicles to cause damage and demoralize the population in Ukraine.

Frontline report: Russia’s running out of oil money—so a Moldovan fraud king built a fake crypto boom. With oil profits down 30%, Russia’s betting on a crypto scheme run by Ilan Shor — a fugitive oligarch, convicted fraudster, and Kremlin-backed power broker in Moldova.

Other developments

Russian propagandists shift stance on Trump, call him “Bidenized” after Putin criticism. Earlier, the US president said “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin.”

Read our earlier daily review here.

The European Commission is discussing with EU member states various options to cover Ukraine's budget deficit for next year, which could range from $8 billion to $19 billion, the Financial Times reported on July 8.

International partners have provided Ukraine with over $39 billion for its wartime economy so far this year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced.

The financial hole in Ukraine's budget is linked to reduced U.S. support and the lack of prospects for a swift ceasefire with Russia that Europe had hoped for, the Financial Times reported.

A senior EU official told the publication that many of Ukraine's partners had previously counted on a peace deal in 2025, but are now forced to revise their funding plans.

This includes the European Commission, which has already adjusted spending from Ukraine-related funding streams.

Without support from Western partners, Kyiv would face a budget deficit of $19 billion in 2026, according to the Financial Times. However, even if additional international financing for the wartime economy can be secured, a gap of at least $8 billion would remain.

To support Ukraine's budget, Europe is considering providing military aid in the form of off-budget grants that would be recorded separately as external transfers but would count toward NATO member countries' national defense spending targets.

One EU diplomat told the Financial Times that military support for Ukraine is viewed as a contribution to the defense of all of Europe.

In a document for G7 countries reviewed by Financial Times, Kyiv proposed that European allies co-finance Ukrainian forces, framing this as a service to strengthen continental security.

Other support options under discussion include potentially accelerating payments from the existing $50 billion G7 loan program and reinvesting frozen Russian assets in higher-yield financial instruments that the EU allocated to help service the debt.

According to the Financial Times, two sources confirmed that the commission planned to discuss these options with EU finance ministers on July 8.

The funding issue will also be raised at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on July 10-11, dedicated to Ukraine's reconstruction needs. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will attend the event.

U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov are set to meet at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome later this week to discuss the resumption of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, Politico reported on July 7.

Following the talks between Kellogg and Umerov in Rome, Politico reported that more meetings are set to take place in Kyiv over the next two weeks.

The United States halted weapons shipments to Ukraine amid a capability review, the White House and Pentagon previously confirmed, with U.S. President Donald Trump on July 3 denying the pause.

Days later, Trump said that the United States would provide Ukraine with additional shipments of weapons amid intensified Russian attacks.

"We're gonna send some more weapons we have to them, they have to be able to defend themselves, they're getting hit very hard now," Trump said on July 7.

The halted U.S. military assistance to Ukraine could be resumed following planned high-level meetings at the conference, two people familiar with the matter told Politico.

A Kyiv meeting between Kellogg and Umerov following the Ukraine Recovery Conference was planned before the U.S. halted military assistance to Ukraine.

Kellogg's spokesperson Morgan Murphy said the meeting was "set up before news of the arms pause came to light last week."

Ukraine would like to promptly resume supplies of air defense and precision munitions, while the U.S. has signalled that the delivery of armored vehicles and engineering equipment may resume soon, the two sources said.

‘Neither side wasted time’ — Ukraine’s economy minister on minerals deal negotiations with Trump’s ‘business-oriented’ administration

Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko says her task is simple — to get the investment fund behind the closely watched minerals deal with the U.S. off the ground, and prove its detractors wrong. “There are so many criticisms from different parties that this fund is just a piece of paper we can put on the shelves — that it won’t be operational,” Svyrydenko, who is also Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, tells the Kyiv Independent at Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers on July 4, the morning

The Kyiv IndependentLiliane Bivings

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed on July 2 that some military assistance to Ukraine has been halted as the U.S. Defense Department conducts a review of foreign aid deliveries.

"This capability review... is being conducted to ensure U.S. military aid aligns with our defense priorities... We see this as a common-sense, pragmatic step towards having a framework to evaluate what munitions are sent and where," Parnell said.

Despite the Pentagon announcement, Trump did not acknowledge a halt in U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine.

"Why did you pause weapons shipments to Ukraine?" a reporter asked Trump as the U.S. president prepared to board Air Force One on July 3.

"We haven't," Trump replied. "We're giving weapons."

The Ukraine Recovery Conference is set to take place July 10-11, with leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, set to attend.

Exclusive: Ukraine pitches deepwater gas, oil refinery projects to US under landmark minerals deal

Projects Kyiv has submitted to the U.S. for consideration as part of a profit-sharing deal for Ukraine’s resources include a shelf and deepwater project and an oil refinery that comes under frequent attack by Russia, Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko told the Kyiv Independent in an interview published on July 7. After months of hard-fought negotiations around the investment agreement — known more widely as the “minerals deal” for its focus on Ukraine’s critical minerals — the two sid

The Kyiv IndependentLiliane Bivings

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will enable Ukrainian banks to provide up to 900 million euros ($1.05 billion) in new loans by sharing credit risks, the EBRD announced in a press release on July 7.

The loans will target companies in agribusiness, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transport and logistics, as well as energy security projects.

The mechanism will be announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Rome on July 10-11. This represents the largest risk-sharing facility implemented in Ukraine since the war began, according to the EBRD's press release.

Due to destructive Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, the EBRD will also focus on supporting distributed generation and renewable energy projects.

Russian forces have damaged most of Ukraine's thermal power plants and about 30% of power stations, disrupting nearly two-thirds of the country's total electricity generation, the bank says.

The EU, together with other EBRD donors, has developed plans to de-risk renewable energy investments to attract more private capital, which they will announce at the URC.

Nearly one-third of EBRD's wartime financing to Ukraine — 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) — has gone to the energy sector. This includes support for state-owned electricity transmission and gas companies, as well as financing for hydropower and small-scale distributed generation.

In a pre-URC press release, the EBRD also expressed interest in supporting the development of a natural graphite deposit in Ukraine following the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement. Graphite is a strategic material used in batteries and defense applications.

The bank will launch the second phase of digitizing Ukraine's paper-based geological data archive to make information about mineral deposits more accessible, the EBRD reports.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the EBRD has invested over 7.2 billion euros ($8.4 billion) in Ukraine's economy.

Zelensky, Trump discussed replacement of Ukraine’s US ambassador, source says

Oksana Markarova has held the post since April 2021, and played a central role in coordinating U.S. military and financial support during the early phases of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy