Units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces liberated the village of Kindrativka in the Khotin territorial community of the Sumy Region from Russian invaders.
As a result of Russian strikes on communities in the Dnipropetrovsk Region on July 27, a man was injured, homes and enterprises were damaged, and fires broke out.
US-German software company Auterion will send 33,000 AI-powered drone “strike kits” to Ukraine before the end of the year under a new Pentagon contract, the Financial Times reports.
The announcement comes as peace talks remain stalled and Russia steps up its aerial campaign, modernizing its Shahed drones to cause as much damage as possible and scaling up their production. Ukraine has been scrambling to find an answer as these massed swarms increasingly breach air defences.
Auterion’s Chief executive Lorenz Meier said the new commitment was “10 times in scale” compared to previous deliveries:
“So we’ve shipped thousands and we’re now shipping tens of thousands,” Meier told the FT, describing the expansion as “unprecedented.”
How the Skynode “strike kits” work
Auterion’s Skynode miniature computers — which come with a camera and radio — can transform manually controlled drones into “AI-powered weapons systems” that cannot be jammed. These systems can track a moving target from as far as 1km, according to Meier.
Ukraine’s mobile air defense gun team. Photo: General Staff
Part of Pentagon security assistance
The new $50 million contract with the Pentagon is part of US security assistance to Ukraine, Meier said. It is not part of a separate “mega-deal” that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is discussing with US President Donald Trump.
Meier highlighted Auterion’s co-operation with Ukrainian drone production:
“It’s basically acknowledging that the battle-hardening that has happened in Ukraine of drone products is relevant. That it’s a way to support Ukraine, but it’s also technology that … NATO countries want to get their hands on.”
Escalating Russian drone strikes
Russia’s air campaign has intensified in recent weeks, with Ukrainian officials reporting that swarm attacks now breach defenses more often. Strikes are hitting targets at roughly three times the usual rate.
Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian companies producing interceptor drones are struggling to expand production:
“So far, they have only manufactured individual units, and they lack the money for this,” adding that the total cost of scaling up domestic drone production stands at $6 billion.
Ukrainian soldies stand near a downed Shahed kamikaze drone
Future of AI-driven warfare
Auterion, which has offices in Virginia and Munich, sees Ukraine as a testing ground for next-generation drone technology.
“What we are providing is leapfrogging what’s on the battlefield right now, which is to go to AI-based targeting and swarming,” Meier said, adding that humans would always select the targets.
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.
We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.
Become a patron or see other ways to support.
On July 27, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed bill 12374-d on amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine regarding strengthening the institutional capacity of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA), and improving asset management mechanisms.
The decisions of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) approved by the president on July 27 regarding new sanctions affect over 90 companies involved in the extraction of rare metals used to manufacture engines and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the aggressor state.
Ukraine's experience in resisting Russia's full-scale invasion highlights a rapid shift from manned combat systems to unmanned platforms. However, the need to safely transport military personnel remains as critical as ever, according to defense industry expert Hennadii Khirhii.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a detailed conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, focusing on Ukraine's defense needs, particularly strengthening air defense capabilities and increasing drone production.
Despite ongoing provocations by Russian forces on the Novopavlivka axis, their attempts to cross the administrative border between Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions continue to fail.
Ukraine endured another night of Russian drone attacks that left destruction in several oblasts. Civilian buildings, warehouses and public infrastructure were hit as waves of Shahed drones struck Kharkiv, Sumy, and Poltava.
Russian forces use long-range explosive drones to attack Ukrainian civilians every night. Last night, Ukraine shot down most drones, but some struck their targets, and downed drone debris caused more damage.
Kharkiv under repeated night strikes
In Kharkiv, residents spent another night under fire as explosions shook the city. Authorities confirmed that Russian forces attacked with ten Shahed-type drones. These drones struck the Kyivskyi district, where one hit a civilian enterprise that has not operated for years. Other strikes caused fires in a detached house in Kyivskyi district and in another building near the city. Mayor Ihor Terekhov later clarified that one of the attacks landed in a suburb rather than in Shevchenkivskyi district.
Emergency services reported that fires caused by the strikes were extinguished during the night. In Malodanilivska community, debris from drones set a 500 square meter production and storage building on fire. There were no injuries in Kharkiv during this latest wave.
Drone strikes on Sumy damage public buildings
In Sumy, Russian forces attacked several times on 26 July. The assault damaged the building of the Oblast Administration, a detached house across from it and a café. One of the strikes knocked out power to a local water supply facility. Later that evening, drones targeted the city again, striking the Kovpakivskyi district and wounding three civilians. According to Sumy Oblast head Oleg Hryhorov, all injured were hospitalized. Local police said a wounded 43‑year‑old man was in moderate condition.
Suspilne reported accounts from a mother who said a fragment from an explosive device dropped from a drone hit her son’s phone, saving him life.
On 27 July, Sumy came under another drone attack. This time, windows in homes and non-residential buildings were shattered, but there were no reported casualties.
Damage from debris in Poltava oblast
Poltava oblast also faced damage from falling drone wreckage overnight on 27 July. Acting head of the Oblast Military Administration Volodymyr Kohut reported that debris from intercepted drones fell in Poltava and Kremenchuk districts. Four single-family homes and three farm buildings were damaged, but no one was injured.
Ukraine’s air force on the scale of the attack
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched 83 drones, including Shahed and decoy types, from Russian territory and occupied Crimea starting at 22:30 on 26 July.
Air defenders used aviation, surface-to-air missile units, electronic warfare systems and mobile fire teams to repel the attack. By 10:30 on 27 July, air defenses had destroyed or suppressed 78 of the drones.
Five drones hit targets in three locations, and debris from destroyed drones fell in two other areas, according to the report.
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.
We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.
Become a patron or see other ways to support.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) titled "On the Application of Personal Special Economic and Other Restrictive Measures (Sanctions)."
Ukrainian defense manufacturer UkrArmoTech has presented its domestically developed armored vehicles — Gyurza-02 and Tisa — at the IDEF 2025 International Defense Industry Fair in Istanbul.
On Sunday, drone attacks in Russia's Leningrad region led to the temporary suspension of airport operations, while local residents reported disruptions to mobile internet service.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to discuss ways to end Russia's war against Ukraine with U.S. President Donald Trump during the American leader's brief visit to Scotland.
A railway power substation in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast burned after a night drone raid that caused explosions and a massive blaze near Zhutovo station. The strike cut electricity to rail lines, and forced flight restrictions across the area.
The drone attack has been part of Ukraine’s campaign to deteriorate Russian military logistics and production. The railway substation in Volgograd oblast is located about 500 km from the frontline in a rear area that supports the movement of military supplies. Russia’s supply chains rely heavily on rail transport across long distances. However, a nearby oil depot could have also been an original target of the assault.
Drone strike cripples Volgograd railway power substation
Explosions erupted in Volgograd Oblast overnight on 27 July, including near a railway electrical substation in Oktjabrskiy district. Russian authorities confirmed that drones attacked the facility and admitted that debris knocked out power in the railway’s contact network at Zhutovo station. Governor Andrei Bocharov said no one was injured during the strike.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that air defenses allegedly shot down nine drones over the region. Despite these claims, Telegram channels published videos showing a large fire near the railway and a flash that appeared to be the moment of impact.
Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported that the substation supplies power to railway lines close to a fuel depot, and the fire started after the strike.
Exilenova+ also published photos showing damage to a building near the railways, and said that “also during the night, a technical building at Zhutovo station was attacked. Privolzhskaya Railway reported train delays due to falling UAV debris at Zhutovo station in Volgograd oblast.”
The attack led to a temporary shutdown of flights from Volgograd Airport. Restrictions remained in place from 00:40 to 07:30 local time as the damage was contained and power was restored to the rail network.
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.
We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.
Become a patron or see other ways to support.
The Ukrainian government will spend $172 million buying vehicles, parts, training, maintenance and other services for the Ukrainian air force’s US-made Hawk air-defense batteries.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the ability of Ukraine to provide for its own defense,” the State Department noted.
The Hawk is becoming one of the most important air-defense weapons in Ukraine’s arsenal. Not because it’s particularly new: the Homing All the Way Killer missile dates from the late 1950s, making it a full generation older than Ukraine’s best air-defenses, its US-made Patriots.
No, the Hawk best attributes are its simplicity, reliability and—most importantly—abundance. A new facility in the US state of Oklahoma has been refurbishing thousands of the Hawk system’s 5-m missiles.
The Hawk is a medium-range surface-to-air missile. Each missile, fired by a three-round launcher, ranges around 48 km. The missile homes in on energy from a ground-based radar reflecting from the airborne target. The Ukrainian air force cited “experts” claiming the Hawk is 85% accurate, which is consistent with much newer missiles.
As a bonus, newer versions of the Hawk could be compatible with another, more modern missile system that Ukraine also uses: the US-Norwegian National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS.
Norwegian firm Kongsberg—builder of the NASAMS—has developed a new digital command post for Hawk batteries that borrows its main components from NASAMS. That raises the possibility that the Ukrainian air force might, with some effort, be able to combine its NASAMS and Hawk batteries into a single force using the same radars and command posts.
A Hawk launcher. Ukrainian defense ministry photo.
Medium-range stalwart
The Hawk was NATO’s standard medium-range SAM for decades until the advent—in the 1980s—of the Patriot, which ranges three times as far and boasts a much more sophisticated seeker. Raytheon manufactured many thousands of Hawk missiles. Decades later, many of those missiles are still sitting around in various military warehouses all over the world.
Given the dire shortage of Patriot missiles—Lockheed Martin produces no more than 600 a year for all the dozens of countries that use them—those old Hawk missiles have become a priceless commodity. So far, Spain, The Netherlands and the United States, possibly with a little help from Taiwan, have donated enough radars and launchers for Ukraine to deploy maybe four batteries, each with multiple radars and launchers.
But a new US Army facility in Oklahoma, officially opened in February, is gathering up, reconditioning and possibly upgrading thousands of old missiles for those four batteries.
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant cuts ribbon on HAWK Missile Test Facility. Photo: dvidshub.net
The Army had already inspected 2,751 missiles from US stockpiles by the time the new Theater Readiness Monitoring Facility opened, “a monumental achievement that underscores the scale of the operation,” according to the ground combat branch.
Hundreds more missiles were inbound from Ukraine’s foreign allies. “In addition to servicing missiles from the US, the new facility has also received 825 missiles and other equipment donations from six countries, further demonstrating the global importance of the Hawk system in air defense,” the Army stated.
It’s possible, even likely, that most of those missiles have made their way to Ukraine. The recent US sale of Hawk equipment to Ukraine is just the latest in a series of US-Ukrainian deals associated with the missile system.
Of all the many diverse American and European air-defense systems Ukraine uses to defend its cities, the Hawk batteries might have the most ammunition. How many more missiles the Oklahoma facility can find for Ukrainian batteries is unclear. But it’s worth noting Raytheon built 40,000 of the missiles—and only a few countries have ever used them in anger. Ukraine being the latest.
Explore further
Ukraine just solved the hardest math problem in modern air defense – with a 1970s German gun
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.
We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.
Become a patron or see other ways to support.
Over the past 24 hours, on July 26, Ukrainian forces engaged in 153 combat clashes with Russian invading forces, with the most intense fighting taking place on the Pokrovsk axis, where Ukrainian defenders repelled 63 enemy assaults.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) has released unique footage showing the work of its medical service specialists on land, in the air, and at sea.
In Russia, particularly along routes to the Kaliningrad region, which has no direct land connection to the rest of the country, transit costs have significantly increased following the imposition of Western sanctions.
Ukrainian forces confirmed that a russian colonel killed in Kharkiv fighting was taken out while directing attacks near the border. The Operative-Strategic Group of Forces Khortytsia, a Ukrainian military command on the eastern front, said Col. Lebedev, commander of the 83rd motorized rifle regiment of the 69th motorized rifle division, died as he tried to push assaults forward in the Velykyi Burluk direction.
The Velykyi Burluk direction is the most recent Russian attempt to invade Kharkiv Oblast from across the northern border. After a limited breakthrough, Russian forces managed to hold a strip of ground only a few kilometers deep, just to the west of the Kupiansk front. They have been trying to expand that foothold and stretch Ukrainian defenses, but their advance has stalled from the start. A 15 July report by the Institute for the Study of War noted that Russian military bloggers claimed advances west and south of Milove and renewed attacks around Velykyi Burluk near Milove.
Russian colonel killed in Velykyi Burluk sector clashes
The Ukrainian command reported late on 26 July that defenders destroyed the officer who had led storming operations aimed at widening Russia’s small foothold west of the Kupiansk front. The command’s report mentions only the last name of the eliminated colonel, Lebedev.
Earlier, Oleksii Rozumnyi from the 13th brigade of the National Guard unit Hartiia said Russian forces are using these border attacks to pull Ukrainian reserves into the area. According to him, the occupiers have shifted tactics since the time of the Kursk offensive. They now focus more on logistics strikes and use drones equipped with fiber optics to hit deep, sometimes almost reaching Kharkiv city.
Escalating fighting east of Vovchansk
Reports also describe heavy clashes east of Vovchansk — a border town further west of Velykyi Burluk, where Russian troops have tried to break through Ukrainian defenses and move in the direction of Velykyi Burluk.
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.
We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.
Become a patron or see other ways to support.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated medical workers on their professional holiday and expressed his gratitude to all medical workers for saving Ukrainians in the face of full-scale war with Russia.
Over the past day, the city of Kharkiv and six other settlements in the Kharkiv Region were hit by enemy strikes. Civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged and destroyed.
The total combat losses of Russian troops in manpower from February 24, 2022, to July 27, 2025, reached about 1,049,250 people, including 920 invaders eliminated in the last 24 hours.
Drone operators and mortar gunners from the Scorpion unit of the Hart Brigade of the State Border Guard Service near Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region destroyed an excavator, an MT-12 Rapira cannon along with an armored personnel carrier, a warehouse with engineering equipment, a Russian vehicle, and neutralized six invaders.
Ukraine receives Patriot air defense systems, and it’s just the beginning. The US and its allies have provided the systems under a new scheme in which European nations foot the bill for American weapons supplied to Kyiv, The Washington Post reports.
US-made Patriot air defense systems are the only weapons in Ukraine that are capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
Two more is on the way
Germany has already deliveredthree Patriots. One more is under discussion with the US, while Berlin has pledged to help provide a total of five.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has confirmed this during a meeting of Ukraine’s allies, without going into further detail.
In the first half of 2025, 6,754 civilians in Ukraine were killed or injured, the highest number for a six-month period since 2022, the UN reports. In July alone, Russia launched at least 5,183 long-range munitions at Ukraine, including a record 728 drones on 9 July. Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and the port city of Odesa have been hit hardest in recent weeks.
Ukraine aims for ten systems
Kyiv is aiming to receive ten Patriots under the new arrangement. Some batteries could even come from outside NATO. For instance, Switzerland has agreed to redirect five systems it had previously ordered to Ukraine, and will receive its own later.
Under the new scheme, Ukraine will also receive advanced radars, electronic warfare systems, drone interceptors, and artillery platforms, according to two informed officials.
Long-range missiles? Germany says no, the US still weighing options
Meanwhile, the issue of long-range weapons remains unresolved. Germany has already ruled out supplying Taurus cruise missiles. The US has not provided a clear signal. NATO officials are not ready to confirm that such transfers will not happen in the future, despite US President Donald Trump’s refusal.
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.
We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.
Become a patron or see other ways to support.
Ukrainian writer, poet, and soldier Serhii Zhadan is convinced that the Russian war has changed the Ukrainian language—its lightness has disappeared, replaced by pain.
. Vladimir Putin’s assurance that no 18-year-olds would fight in Ukraine has been contradicted by a BBC investigation documenting 245 deaths of teenage contract soldiers since Russia eased enlistment rules in April 2023.
. Hungary’s Viktor Orban rejected Ukraine’s European Union membership bid 25 July, instead proposing “strategic cooperation” while describing Kyiv as destined to remain a “buffer state” bordering Russia
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.
We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.
A performance by the Mariia Zankovetska National Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater opened the 29th International Shakespeare Festival in Gdańsk (Poland) and played to two sold-out audiences.
The long list for the 2025 Ossolineum Polish Poetry Translation Prize includes books by five Ukrainian authors—Iya Kiva, Maksym Kryvtsov, Dmytro Lazutkin, Iryna Vikirchak, and Vasyl Stus—as well as an anthology of poetry by Ukrainian female poets.
On July 26, there were 122 clashes between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Russian invaders on the frontline, most of them in the Pokrovsk sector, where the Russians attempted to attack 55 times.
Connexion
