News about war, defense and frontline in Kyiv region and Ukraine
Russia struck Kyiv with a combined attack overnight on July 2, with drones paving the way for a wave of ballistic and cruise missiles. By morning, 11 deaths were confirmed, 56 injured, and there are missing persons.
On the night of July 2, drones struck the AVT-6 primary processing unit at Lukoil-Nizhegorodsky Oil Refinery — the same facility that was shut down following a strike in March 2024. Simultaneously, a railway bridge in Luhansk region was damaged, which occupiers use to transport logistics to the front.
The European Commission has transferred the first defense tranche under a 90-billion-euro Ukraine Support Loan, with the entire sum designated exclusively for Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles. The scheme is innovative: funds go directly to procurement from domestic manufacturers rather than into the state budget.
Two women — an unemployed woman from Sumy region and a former confectioner from Sevastopol who was recruited through debt — acted separately from each other and nearly blew up a ZSU military vehicle in the pedestrian zone of Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The first one made a bomb following a video instruction from Russia, the second was supposed to install it — but the Security Service of Ukraine detected a GPS tracker on the vehicle before the operation could be executed.
# Heatwave pushes consumption up by 25%, combat damage leaves 5 regions without power, storms knock out electricity in 8 more. Hourly blackouts from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. are not an emergency measure, but a calculation of the deficit.
Fire Point company has completed the first flight tests of the FP-7 and is approaching test launches of the FP-9 with a range of 855 kilometers. But between "flies" and "strikes" lies a bureaucratic route that the state is already trying to shorten.
Political analyst Oleg Lisny breaks down three signals indicating a rift between the Kremlin's public statements and the actual state of affairs: exaggeration of military advances, the failure of negotiations in Anchorage, and fuel shortages within Russia.
The DBR conducted dozens of interrogations, identified the deceased through DNA analysis, and officially denied rumors about ejection. The cause of the crash has not yet been named — decryption of the flight data recorder is still ongoing.
Ukraine's defense forces struck Russian critical infrastructure overnight on June 28, targeting facilities ranging from oil refineries to railway logistics in occupied Crimea.
Colonel Kononnikov was found dead on June 28 — less than a month after being appointed brigade commander. The cause of death has not been officially established.
During the night of June 28, fragments of a shot-down Iskander fell in Kyiv's Darnitsky district near a multi-story residential building — residents were evacuated, two people were injured. The intercepted missile remains dangerous even after being shot down.
Systematic attacks by Ukrainian drones on oil refineries have reduced gasoline production in Russia by 25% — Moscow has officially confirmed for the first time the connection between strikes and the fuel crisis.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has publicly warned that Russia may stage a false-flag attack on its own territory to obtain a formal pretext for striking an alliance member country. He cited the Nazi provocation that triggered World War II as a historical precedent.
Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko explains why the liberation of Crimea depends on developments in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions — and how strikes on logistics are changing the equation.
# Organization Verified Over 340 Damaged Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Sites, But Official Statements Don't Name Attack Perpetrators. Culture Minister Berezhna Demands Change in This Practice — Backed by Solid Diplomatic Logic An organization has verified more than 340 damaged cultural heritage sites in Ukraine, yet its official statements refrain from identifying who carried out the attacks. Culture Minister Berezhna is calling for a change in this practice — and there is substantial diplomatic reasoning behind her position.
# Fire Point Drones Strike Russian Targets with 60% Hit Rate, New Ballistic Missile Unveiled Fire Point company's FP-1 and FP-2 drones account for up to 60% of strikes against targets on Russian territory, according to company co-founder Denys Stielman, speaking at Eurosatory-2026. The event also marked the public debut of the FP-9 ballistic missile, which boasts a range of up to 850 kilometers.
After meeting with G7 leaders and a separate conversation with Trump, Ukraine received promises regarding air defense, energy support, and reconstruction. However, there is a licensing gap between promises and actual deliveries.
# Strikes on Oil Refineries Become Systemic Pressure: Krasnodar, Rostov, Occupied Mariupol—Queues and Rationing Everywhere. But the Key Question Is Whether the Crisis Reaches Front-Line Logistics Faster Than Moscow Can Retool Supply Chains.
After phone calls with Putin and a personal meeting with Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago, Trump announced that the United States is focusing on ending the war. But it is precisely where a deal is "almost" reached that the main stalemate is hidden.
The Cabinet of Ministers has launched a two-year experiment involving three types of contracts with fixed terms and deferrals depending on the number of combat missions. For the first time, the state is providing a written commitment: serve your term — go home.
After a nighttime strike on the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Svyrydenko climbed onto the scorched roof and announced urgent funding from the reserve fund. But there is a difference of years of restoration work between "allocating funds" and "restoring."
Washington and Tehran have agreed on the text of a document, but the verification mechanism is empty. For Ukraine, this means both a diversion of Western attention and new risks of pressure to negotiate with Russia.
# English Translation On the night of June 15, a rocket attack on the Dovzhenko Film Studio burned down Ukraine's oldest costume collection — Cossack costumes, props from "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors," and three million clothing items. What survived World War II did not survive this attack.
On the night of June 15, a kamikaze drone hit the altar section of the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The restoration of the iconostasis was only completed last year — now it is under threat due to damage to the upper part of the building.
On the night of June 15, a Russian strike damaged the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra — a UNESCO-protected site and a monument protected under the Second Protocol of the Hague Convention. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is initiating international procedures, demanding specific actions rather than statements.
# Translation During the night of June 15, in one of Russia's largest strikes on Kyiv, the building of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court on Beresteysky Prospect was damaged. Despite broken windows and ongoing repair work, the court announced that all hearings would proceed as scheduled.
Occupied Crimea faced the summer of 2026 with a shortage of gasoline and food supplies — a consequence of systematic destruction of logistics. Tourists who arrived in their own vehicles cannot leave. Authorities introduced rationing coupons, but they offer no relief.
Europe is ramping up defense budgets at an unprecedented pace, but three-quarters of purchases go outside the EU. Meanwhile, Ukraine has increased its defense-industrial capacity 55-fold over three years — and now Brussels is studying this experience as the only real alternative to structural dependence.
# Defense Ministry Launches Deferment Accumulation System: Minimum Six Months After Any Contract, Maximum Years Considering Full Combat Service Since 2022 The Ministry of Defense has introduced a deferment accumulation system with a minimum deferment of six months following any contract, and a maximum extending years if counting full combat service dating back to 2022. Alongside this measure, the first discharges from service for the most experienced personnel are expected by the end of 2025.
Damage to ferries and bridges complicates supply lines for occupation forces. Military analyst Oleg Zhdanov registers first signs of fuel shortage — but there is a critical difference between "complications" and "encirclement."