“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.

Satellite imagery has confirmed a successful Ukrainian strike on the Krasnozavodsk Chemical Plant in Russia’s Moscow Oblast. The facility one of the key objects producing thermobaric munitions and explosive components for Shahed kamikaze drones.

The strike occurred on 7 July. Local residents reported loud explosions and a fire at the site. Ukraine’s General Staff later confirmed that units from the Drone Systems Forces, in coordination with other elements of the Defense Forces, carried out the attack.

According to the General Staff, the plant had been manufacturing not only flares, powder charges, thermal decoys, and gas generators, but also the thermobaric warheads used in drone strikes on Ukrainian cities.

The CyberBorosno project has analyzed satellite images and concluded that one of the plant’s production buildings, likely used for assembling explosive munitions, was hit.

The plant underwent modernization in 2017, expanding its capacity to produce thermobaric weapons for Russian security forces, including the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

On the same day, Russian air defense reportedly downed drones not only in Moscow Oblast, but also over many other oblasts. According to their data, 20 drones flew over Belgorod Oblast, 14 over Kursk, and nine over Lipetsk.

Eight were reported over both Bryansk and Voronezh oblasts, and seven over the Black Sea. Three drones each appeared over Novgorod, Tver, Tambov, and Leningrad oblasts. Two more were intercepted over Oryol Oblast, and one each over Vladimir Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, and occupied Crimea.

The United States will resume shipping Patriot air-defense missiles to Ukraine, US Pres. Donald Trump said on Saturday. “They’re going to need them for defense,” Trump said of the missiles. “They’re going to need something because they’re being hit pretty hard.”

Trump’s comments came a few days after news broke that a top US official, potentially US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, unilaterally froze the transfer of as many as 30 Patriot missiles that were already en route to Ukraine.   

The Pentagon confirmed shipments of “defensive” weapons would resume.

Trump reversed the aid freeze one day after Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities endured one of the biggest Russian air raids in the 41 months since Russia widened its war on Ukraine. Not coincidentally, Trump spoke to Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin around the same time—a conversation Trump said left him “unhappy.” 

“He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people—it’s no good,” Trump said.

Russian forces launched 550 drones and missiles on Friday, according to the Ukrainian air force.

539 were Shahed drones. The raid also involved seven ballistic missiles and four cruise missiles. Ukrainian forces “neutralized” 478 of the munitions, the air force claimed. 268 Shaheds were shot down and another 208 flew off course, likely owing to Ukrainian radio jamming. The Ukrainians also downed two of the cruise missiles.

The ballistic missiles apparently got through, however. Those are the targets the Patriots are supposed to intercept. 

After losing some launchers and radars to Russian missiles, Ukraine still has at least seven full Patriot batteries. The PAC-2 version of the Patriot missile weighs 900 kg, ranges as far as 160 km and costs $4 million per round. The Patriot is one of the few air-defense systems in the world that can reliably shoot down incoming ballistic missiles, which might travel thousands of meters per second—too fast for less sophisticated air defenses.

The Franco-Italian SAMP/T can also hit ballistic missiles, but Ukraine has just two SAMP/T batteries. And the Eurosam consortium builds Aster missiles for the batteries at a startling low rate: just 300 or so. By contrast, US missile-maker Lockheed Martin is completing nearly 1,000 Patriots annually.

Low missile inventory

How many of those missiles made their way to Ukraine is a secret. But it’s worth noting that the single shipment Hegseth or some other official froze included 30 missiles. And Germany has, for months, been trying to scrape together the financing to replace 100 Patriots it wants to donate to Ukraine from its existing stocks, adding to the 350 or so it has already sent. 

It’s possible that, in the two years since Ukraine received its first Patriot batteries—entire batteries or parts of them have come from the United States, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Norway and Romania—the Ukrainian air force has also received around 1,000 missiles for those batteries.

The air force has fired some Patriots at Russian warplanes as part of elaborate surface-to-air ambushes, but tends to save them for strictly defensive missions swatting down ballistic missiles barreling toward Kyiv and other cities. 

It might take more than one Patriot round to intercept a single Russian missile. The Ukrainian air force claimed it shot down 22 Russian ballistic missiles in June. That may have required 50 Patriot missiles. 

The math is unforgiving. It’s possible Ukraine has already fired 1,000 Patriots—meaning it has practically no missiles in reserve. The Ukrainians launch the missiles almost as fast as they take delivery of them.

Unless and until Europe can expand production of Aster missiles or Ukraine can develop its own long-range air-defense system, the Patriots are the Ukrainians’ main defenses against the most damaging Russian munitions. When Trump said “they’re going to need them,” he wasn’t exaggerating. 

Last night’s Russian drone assault injured at least nine civilians. The injured included the elderly and the young across Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts overnight 6 July 2025. Residential buildings, a kindergarten, vehicles, garages, and power lines were among the affected targets. Additionally, Russia targeted another military draft office.

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, more than 150 drones were launched from Russian territory and temporarily occupied Crimea. Ukrainian air defenses neutralized 3/4 of them. 

In Kyiv Oblast, kindergartens and homes hit, elderly woman trapped under rubble

Kyiv Oblast’s Vyshhorod district faced widespread destruction as Shahed drones damaged multiple apartment buildings, six detached homes, and a preschool. Local authorities reported that windows and doors were shattered, facades were punctured, and outbuildings were set on fire.

In Novi Petrivtsi, a Russian drone strike destroyed the home of Nina Ivanivna, a disabled 87-year-old woman.

“They pulled me out of bed… I can barely move. So they carried me out on a stretcher, out into the street,” the woman told Suspilne.

Rescuers managed to evacuate her from under rubble.

In total, four people were injured in Kyiv Oblast, including a 35-year-old man with shrapnel wounds and two elderly residents — a 75-year-old man and a 79-year-old woman — both suffering acute stress reactions, local officials said.

In Kharkiv, toddler and woman injured in nighttime attack

Kharkiv experienced drone explosions across at least three city districts — Shevchenkivskyi, Kyivskyi, and Novobavarskyi — starting at 01:06 on 6 July 2025. Authorities confirmed injuries to a 46-year-old woman hit by flying glass and a girl initially reported as 2.8 months old but later clarified to be two years old. Both suffered stress-related symptoms, according to Kharkiv Oblast head Oleh Syniehubov.

The drone assault damaged 14 residential buildings, a sports complex, a dental clinic, two shops, a café, and multiple civilian vehicles.

In Mykolaiv, Russian drone assault injures two civilians

In Mykolaiv, Russian drones struck the city during the morning hours, injuring two people. According to Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych and Oblast head Vitalii Kim, a 31-year-old woman was hospitalized in moderate condition, and a 35-year-old man received medical assistance on site.

At least ten residential buildings were damaged, along with a bank and a food establishment. The attack also affected port infrastructure and warehouse buildings, causing damage to power grids. In Koblevo’s Rybakivka village, 13 one-family homes and several resort buildings were hit, including a post office and a store. Fires broke out but were extinguished by emergency services.

Zaporizhzhia: 90 or nearly 90-year-old woman injured

In the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, six Shahed drones struck various targets, destroying a home, outbuildings, and damaging a business, farm, and storage facilities. Fires spread over 1,000 square meters, according to the State Emergency Service.

Officials reported that an elderly woman was injured during a strike on the village of Yurivka. Different sources listed her age as either 89 or 90. She received medical care after suffering injuries in the destroyed residential area.

Russia strikes another Ukrainian enlistment center

In addition to targeting homes and civilians, Russia continued its apparent pattern of attacking military recruitment infrastructure. On 6 July 2025, a Russian drone hit the district territorial enlistment center in Kremenchuk, according to Ukraine’s Ground Forces cited by Suspilne. No casualties were reported, but the impact damaged the draft office and a nearby residential building.

This was the third such attack in one week. On 3 July, drones struck recruitment buildings in Poltava, killing two and injuring over 50. On 30 June, a drone exploded near a draft center in Kryvyi Rih. 

Air Force response and ongoing threat

Ukraine’s Air Force reported that overnight on 6 July 2025, beginning at 20:30 on 5 July, Russian forces launched a combined attack consisting of four S-300 surface-to-air ballistic missiles from Kursk Oblast and 157 strike UAVs — mainly Shahed-type drones and decoy drones — from multiple locations, including Shatalovo, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, as well as Hvardiiske and Chauda in occupied Crimea.

Of the 157 drones launched, 117 were neutralized: 98 shot down by air defenses and 19 suppressed or lost due to electronic warfare. Drone impacts were confirmed in 19 locations across northern, eastern, central, and southern Ukraine. Debris from downed drones also fell on two additional sites.

The Air Force’s summary did not mention two Kinzhal ballistic missiles launched the previous day. No casualties or damage were reported from those strikes, but it remains unclear whether the missiles were intercepted or missed their targets.

“Let’s hold the sky! Together — until victory!” the Air Force wrote on its official Telegram channel.

Update 17:00:

As of 15:00, Russian drone attacks killed one person and injured five others in Kherson Oblast, the local military administration reported. Additional strikes injured one man in Sumy Oblast and another in Zaporizhzhia.

Authorities confirmed that on 5 July, a Russian drone struck a car carrying a displaced family near the village of Odnorobivka, Kharkiv Oblast, just 8 km from the Russian border. An eight-year-old boy was killed. His four-year-old brother sustained severe injuries, their father was moderately wounded, and the mother suffered an acute stress reaction, according to Zolochiv hromada head Viktor Kovalenko. The family had previously relocated from nearby Stohniï during the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion and were visiting relatives when the attack occurred. The injured child and father were hospitalized in Kharkiv.

The Security Service of Ukraine has found Chinese-made components in the debris of Iranian Shahed drones used by Russia to strike Kyiv.

According to an official statement, the Russian-modified Shaheds contained launch parts marked with the name of Suzhou Ecod Precision Manufacturing Co., Ltd. These drones were used in an overnight attack on Kyiv on 4 July.

“These components, specifically catapult launch mounts, were recovered from the drones that Russian forces used to attack the capital,” the SBU stated, releasing photographic evidence.

A criminal case has been opened, with the strike on Kyiv classified as a war crime.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has pointed to the symbolic irony: “We found a component of the Shahed-136/Geran-2 in Kyiv, manufactured in China and delivered quite recently, while just the day before, the Russian strike damaged the building of China’s Consulate General in Odesa.”

To the minister, this illustrates how Putin has drawn third countries into his war.

“North Korean troops, Iranian weapons, Chinese manufacturers — this is what Ukraine is fighting against,” said Sybiha. 

The Ukrainian foreign minister has emphasized that global security is interconnected: “Security in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific region is inseparable. This is not a competition for attention.”

He has called on the US and the international community to increase pressure not only on the Kremlin but also on all those supporting its war.

Ukraine’s Air Force reported that 47 Russian drones were intercepted overnight on 1 July during a major air assault involving 52 UAVs launched from multiple directions. This comes as part of an ongoing Russian escalation in daily aerial assaults, with nearly 4,800 aerial targets destroyed across Ukraine in June 2025 alone.

Overnight drone assault targets multiple oblasts

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched 52 drones — including Shahed-type strike drones and decoy UAVs — from Bryansk, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk. By 09:00 on 1 July, Ukrainian air defenses had reportedly neutralized 47 drones: 14 by firepower, and 33 suppressed or jammed by electronic warfare systems.

The attacks impacted at least three locations, with wreckage from shot-down drones falling in another, according to the report.

Fires and destruction in Zaporizhzhia

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, four Russian drone struck Zaporizhzhia city and surrounding areas, causing a fire at an industrial site and damaging detached homes. Oblast Military Administration head Ivan Fedorov reported the damage early on 1 July, noting there were no casualties in those specific strikes.

However, later in the day, authorities confirmed several civilian injuries from other Russian strikes. A 56-year-old man was injured in a Russian attack on Polohy district. Two more civilians — a 49-year-old woman and a 55-year-old man — sustained injuries in Preobrazhenska community.

In the Stepnohirsk community, Russian artillery and FPV drone attacks disrupted critical infrastructure. As a result, the area was left without electricity, internet, or mobile communication. A power crew vehicle was damaged and two workers suffered concussions, Fedorov reported. 

Over the past day, Russian forces conducted 403 attacks on 13 settlements in the oblast. These included four airstrikes on Hulyaipole, Novoandriivka, and Verkhnya Tersa, 271 drone attacks (mostly FPV), and 122 artillery shellings. Kamyanske, Hulyaipole, Shcherbaky, Novodanylivka, Mala Tokmachka, Charyvne, and Preobrazhenka were among the hardest hit.

Drone attacks in Dnipropetrovsk target farms

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, overnight drone strikes hit farming enterprises in the Pokrovska and Velykomykhailivska communities of Synelnykove district. According to Oblast head Serhii Lysak, fires broke out, destroying and damaging vehicles and agricultural machinery. No injuries were reported.

Further attacks in Nikopol district included artillery shelling and FPV drone strikes targeting the district center as well as Myrivska and Chervonohryhorivska communities. An unused building was damaged, with no casualties.

Air Force details June results

Ukraine’s Air Force disclosed that in June 2025, air defense forces destroyed 4,758 aerial targets, including:

• 2,453 Shahed-type strike drones
• 659 reconnaissance drones
• 1,479 drones of other types
• 93 Kh-101/Kh-55SM cruise missiles
• 27 Iskander-K cruise missiles
• 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles
• 12 Kalibr cruise missiles
• 13 Kh-59/69 guided missiles
• 8 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles

In addition, Ukrainian aviation conducted 895 sorties in May, including approximately 580 for fighter cover and over 220 for fire missions and air support.

Air Force aviation also reported destroying 646 aerial targets in June and conducting precision strikes on command posts, logistics hubs, and concentrations of enemy troops and equipment.

Russia deploys new deadly drones in its war against Ukraine. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reveals that Moscow forces have used a new type of drone, “Chernika” or “Blueberry,” in the city for the first time.

Russia already has over 11,000 of these drones in two models: Chernika-1 and the more powerful Chernika-2. This new weapon is comparable in destructive power to the Molniya drone but has a different design. In the latest strike, several cars were damaged in a garage cooperative, Defense Express reports. 

Russia shatters 50,000 windows in Kharkiv as aid for recovery dries up

Ukrainian anti-air FPV drones have effectively countered the dangerous Chernika-2, shooting down three of these drones so far. However, due to their reliance on communication links, these drones remain vulnerable to electronic warfare systems, which Russia also actively employs.

Still, most of the Russian attacks on Kharkiv are carried out by Shahed drones.

Over the past week, four people have been injured in these strikes, including a child. Explosions were recorded in the Nemishlyansky, Kyivsky, and Industrial districts, causing damage to residential buildings and civilian enterprises.

The duration of air raid alerts in Kharkiv was 33 hours less than the regional average, emphasizes Terekhov. This is the result of coordinated efforts by the military, air defense forces, and analysts at the Situational Center.

The Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone—rebranded by Russia as the Geran-2—has become a central weapon in Moscow’s drone campaign against Ukraine, Forbes reports. Its low cost, long range, and substantial payload have made it a cornerstone of Russia’s evolving military strategy.

While Ukraine initially grew increasingly effective at countering these drones, Russia has recently scaled up production of upgraded Shahed variants, posing a growing threat to Ukrainian air defenses. Analysts warn that if these new drones overwhelm existing systems, the remnants of civilian life in Ukrainian cities could face renewed devastation.

Ukraine’s early success against Shahed drones

Ukraine’s air defense strategy initially kept Shahed drones largely at bay. On 25 January 2025, the Ukrainian Air Force reported intercepting all 61 drones launched in a single wave—15 jammed, 46 shot down.

The success stemmed from a layered system: electronic warfare systems jammed low-flying drones, MiG-29 jets and Mi-24 helicopters intercepted at higher altitudes, and mobile machine-gun teams engaged drones nearing urban areas.

Russia enhances the Shahed: Tougher and more lethal

Russia’s recent drone modifications have made the Shahed a tougher adversary. As Forbes defense correspondent Vikram Mittal reports, engine compartments are now armored, and fuel tanks have been moved from the wings into the drone’s core, reducing the likelihood of a single hit disabling the craft.

Some drones now deploy submunitions mid-flight, extending their damage radius and lowering the need for precise targeting.

One Ukrainian commander, quoted on social media, said: “You don’t even hear them fall, and then 20 minutes after the flight, an explosion occurs.”

Evolving tactics: Dual-altitude launches and lancet support

Beyond hardware, Russia has changed how Shaheds are used. Launching drones in dual-altitude pairs—one low, one high—allows the lower drone to mask the other from radar detection, improving strike success.

Meanwhile, Russia is pairing Shaheds with Lancet drones, which act as loitering munitions targeting Ukraine’s counter-drone teams. By knocking out interceptors first, Shaheds are more likely to reach their destinations.

25 June attack reveals shift in momentum

On 25 June 2025, Ukraine reported that only 52 of 71 drones were intercepted—32 shot down, 20 jammed. The remaining 19 drones hit their targets, a sharp increase compared to earlier in the year.

“This trend… reflects a shift in both technology and tactics,” Mittal wrote in Forbes, suggesting Russia’s changes are beginning to erode Ukraine’s defensive edge.

Ukraine responds with countermeasures and counterstrikes

In response, Ukrainian forces are upgrading radar systems to detect paired drones more effectively. Field units may also receive heavier-caliber rifles and vehicle armor to withstand Lancet attacks.

In a more offensive move, Ukraine recently targeted a Shahed production facility, aiming to slow the flow of drones at its source.

Drone warfare: The iterative arms race

As Vikram Mittal of Forbes writes, the Shahed drone’s evolution reflects the dynamic nature of this conflict: “Ukraine will adjust its defenses, Russia will continue to evolve its drones and tactics in turn.”

The drone war now embodies a larger arms race—not just in firepower, but in adaptation. Each new modification, tactic, or countermeasure feeds a rapid cycle of innovation on both sides of the front line.

Shaheds have become a daily mass terror, but it is only getting worse. Russia has ramped up production to 90 Shahed drones per day, and that number is expected to exceed 100 soon, according to Oleg Katkov, Editor-in-Chief of Defense Express, Kyiv 24 Channel reports. 

He emphasizes that the production involves simple, manual assembly at two sites — Alabuga and Kupol in Izhevsk.

“These are basic workshops… manual work involving gluing and assembling from ready-made components, which are being massively imported from China. And supplies from Iran are still ongoing,” the expert explains.

According to Katkov, Russia is betting heavily on Shaheds because, unlike missiles, these drones can be mass-produced using readily available parts.

In response, Ukraine has stepped up the use of anti-aircraft drones and mobile fire teams as part of its air defense system.

“Of course, we can’t cover the entire country with drone-based air defense. But we can do what we’ve been doing since the start of the invasion, protecting cities, facilities, and directions locally. That’s where we’re heading,” says Yurii Ihnat, Head of Communications for Ukraine’s Air Force.

Previously, Katkov reported that Ukraine’s defense forces’ maximum Shahed interception rate stands at 90%. He noted that this is a very strong result, but it still cannot guarantee full safety.

On 22 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin honored the memory of those who died in battles with Nazi regime and few hours later launched a massive strike on Kyiv. According to the latest data, at least nine people were killed, including an 11-year-old girl. The body of her mother had been found earlier. 

Kyiv services have been cleaning the rubble from the building for hours since early morning. One of the victims was found in the afternoon. 

“Another victim of Russian terror. Rescuers have recovered the body of the ninth victim of the enemy strike. The search operation continues,” says Timur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.

Russia has targeted Kyiv and the surrounding region with 159 Shahed drones, 16 ballistic and cruise missiles, likely exported from North Korea. Ukraine has recorded impacts in six districts. Some of them have been intercepted — but not all. In the region, one of the targets hit a hospital. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that such strikes have become possible due to “a coalition of killers”, meaning Russia, Iran, and North Korea. 

“Everyone in countries bordering Russia, Iran, and North Korea should ask themselves whether they could protect lives if this coalition of killers survives and continues spreading terror,” he has emphasized.

He also noted that during his visit to the UK today, he would discuss with partners a new model of collective defense, which would protect the nations from their threats.