Ukraine-Russia war – live: Drone attack on Putin’s forces inside Russia after boats forced from Crimea port

Ukrainian attacks triggered a fire at a factory producing electrical devices and wounded at least six people in Russian areas bordering Ukraine overnight, local governors said on Tuesday.

A drone attack on a factory in the town of Korenevo in Russia‘s Kursk region caused the fire which was extinguished by morning and no one was harmed.

One person was injured when a drone dropped an explosive device on a house elsewhere in the region, interim governor Alexei Smirnov said.

Images published on his Telegram channel showed the factory’s roof engulfed in flames against the night sky. The interior was reduced to charred wreckage.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border said four people were injured by Ukrainian shelling. In the Voronezh region, one person was wounded in a drone attack, local governor Alexander Gusev said.

It comes as a Ukraine official said Vladimir Putin has withdrawn the last Russian naval patrol ship from its base in Crimea- a victory for Kyiv’s sustained campaign against Moscow’s naval infrastructure on the occupied peninsula.

“The last patrol ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation is bolting from our Crimea just now. Remember this day,” Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said.

Key Points

• Ukraine attacks on factory wound six in Russian border regions

• Trump’s vice president pick JP Vance spells disaster for Kyiv, EU official says

• Ukraine says Russia’s last naval patrol ship has left Crimea

• Zelensky says Ukraine ready to work with Trump if he wins

• Pentagon defends ban on Kyiv from targeting Russia with long-range weapons

Ex-NATO chief George Robertson to lead a UK defense review, says China among 'deadly' challenges

15:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Former NATO leader George Robertson will lead a review of Britain’s military strategy to counter what he calls the “deadly quartet” of China, Iran, Russia and North Korea.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the strategic defense review on Tuesday as one of his first major acts after taking office on July 5. Starmer who leads a center-left Labour Party government, has promised to end the shrinking of the U.K.’s military seen during 14 years of Conservative Party rule.

Starmer also says he will increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP from its current level of about 2.3%, but has not set a deadline. He said spending would be “responsibly increased” to bolster Britain’s “hollowed-out armed forces.”

Ex-NATO chief George Robertson to lead a UK defense review, says China among 'deadly' challenges

Ukraine struggles with heatwave as power cuts leave millions without air conditioning

14:27 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

On some evenings, Ukrainian mother Margaryta Zakharchuk wanders around her neighbourhood in the sweltering heat waiting for the electricity to come back on so she can take the lift to her 12th-floor apartment.

“We walk around outside until 10 o’clock so we don’t need to climb up with two kids,” she said.

Zakharchuk, 43, is among the millions of Ukrainians struggling amid a record heat wave compounded by regular power cuts that make household appliances like air conditioning units and refrigerators useless.

Ukraine struggles with heatwave as power cuts leave millions without air conditioning

IMF starts talks in Kyiv as Ukraine seeks to plug 2024 budget gap

14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

An International Monetary Fund team began talks with Ukrainian officials on Tuesday as Kyiv looks for ways to increase revenue streams for the war-ravaged economy and plug its 2024 budget deficit, officials said.

The meetings in Kyiv, the IMF said in a statement, will “focus on the authorities’ fiscal policy plans for the remainder of 2024 and the medium term.”

The IMF has already released $3.078 billion to Ukraine this year under its $15.6 billion Extended Fund Facility program.

More than 28 months since Russia‘s full-scale invasion, the government faces a budget gap of between 400 billion hryvnias ($9.8 billion) and 500 billion hryvnias for this year, said Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the parliament budget committee.

Officials and analysts say the government plans to cover its budget deficit this year by raising taxes and increasing domestic borrowing.

“The IMF mission starts this week,” Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker from the Holos party, said on the Telegram messaging app. “I think after that there will be news from the government on budget changes and tax increases.”

Russian general staff chief sets new targets in eastern Ukraine

13:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The chief of Russia‘s general staff, Valery Gerasimov, thanked Russian forces on Tuesday for taking over the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region, the RIA news agency cited Russia‘s defence ministry as saying.

Gerasimov, who visited the war zone, then set new targets for the troops in the area, it said, without providing any details.

Malta's Metsola wins second term as EU Parliament chief,

13:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Roberta Metsola, a Maltese lawmaker from the centre-right European People’s Party, easily won a second term on Tuesday as president of the European Parliament and she appealed for a more inclusive politics to help combat polarisation.

Metsola, who in 2022 became the first woman in 20 years to head the European Union assembly, has emerged as a strong supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia and its bid to join the EU. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sent his congratulations.

Some 562 EU lawmakers out of the 623 who took part in Tuesday’s vote backed her reappointment to the mainly ceremonial role for a further two and a half years, the largest margin of victory ever for a president of the European Parliament.

“Polarisation in our societies has led to more confrontational politics, even political violence,” Metsola, 45, told the assembly.

“We need to move beyond this zero-sum thinking that has excluded people, that turns people away,” she said.

Metsola urged the European Parliament to remain a strong supporter of Ukraine, the rule of law, and women’s rights, while preparing to add new countries to the EU.

In his message of congratulations, Zelenskiy wrote on X: “I greatly appreciate President Metsola’s personal involvement in supporting Ukraine, as well as her unwavering commitment to protecting people and upholding our European way of life.”

Metsola was the first leader of an EU institution to visit Kyiv following Russia‘s February 2022 invasion.

Baltic countries to leave joint power grid with Russia and Belarus

12:43 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The power grid operators of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have signed an agreement to decouple from the Soviet-era joint BRELL power grid with Russia and Belarus in February 2025, Lithuania’s energy minister said on Tuesday.

“We have always strongly known that, like we’ve become part of the European Union and NATO, so we will become part of the European power system”, Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys wrote in a post on Facebook.

The three Baltic countries, as part of the BRELL circuit, are relying on Russian operators to control frequencies and balance the grid.

Hungarian PM suggests EU leaders ‘reopen lines of communication with Russia’

12:06 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In his letter to EU leaders, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban suggested “reopening direct lines of diplomatic communication with Russia“.

He also proposed simultaneously maintaining high-level contacts with Kyiv as well as conducting talks with China “on the modalities of the next peace conference”.

On the topic of the US, Orban said Joe Biden was “making immense efforts” to remain in the electoral race, and suggested he was “not capable of modifying the current US pro-war policy.”

The Hungarian leader said a Trump victory would change the burden between the United States and the EU when it comes to financial support for Ukraine, to the disadvantage of the Europeans.

Orban has long criticised European military support for Ukraine in contrast to most allies who support Kyiv’s war effort.

“Our European strategy in the name of transatlantic unity has copied the pro-war policy of the US. We have not had a sovereign and independent European strategy or political action plan up to now,” he said.

“I propose discussing whether the continuation of this policy is rational in the future.”

Trump’s vice president pick JP Vance spells disaster for Kyiv, EU official says

11:22 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Donald Trump’s choice for his running mate is a “disaster” for Ukraine, a senior EU official has said.

Speaking to Politico under the condition of anonymity, the official’s comments reflected the bleak future in store for US-Ukraine support with JP Vance as the new candidate for vice president.

The 39-year-old Ohio senator has backed attempts by the US Republican Party to end support for Ukraine in its war against Russia since the invasion began.

In a speech at the National Conservatism conference, he criticised the decision to send Ukraine “hundreds of billions of dollars of weaponry with no obvious end in sight and no obvious conclusion or even objective that we are close to getting accomplished”.

Trump ready to act ‘immediately’ as Russia-Ukraine peace broker, Orban tells EU leaders

10:35 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is ready to act “immediately” as a peace broker in the Russia-Ukraine war if he is elected in November, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said in a letter to EU leaders.

The letter, addressed to European Council President Charles Michel and shared with all EU leaders, was drafted after Orban held talks with Trump as well as with the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and China.

“I can (...) surely state that shortly after his election victory, he will not wait until his inauguration, (Trump) will be ready to act as a peace broker immediately. He has detailed and well-founded plans for this,” Orban wrote.

Watch live: European Parliament president is elected

10:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Live: European Parliament president is elected

Russian court orders house arrest for a general in custody on fraud charges

09:27 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A court in Moscow on Monday ordered house arrest for a general in custody on fraud charges, in a ruling that represents an about-face from just weeks ago, when the same court refused to release the general from jail.

Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov was ordered to be placed under house arrest until at least Oct. 11 by the 235th Garrison Military Court.

Popov, who had commanded the 58th Guards Combined Arms Army, was arrested in May along with several top military officials, including former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, a close associate of then Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Some of these officials have been charged with bribery, while Popov has faced charges of fraud on an exceptionally large scale.

Russian court orders house arrest for a general in custody on fraud charges

Zelensky prays for ‘protection and blessings for the Ukrainian people’

08:51 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Volodymyr Zelensky said “unwavering faith in victory and a just peace for Ukraine is very important” in a post on X after visiting the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra on Monday.

Ukraine attacks on factory wound six in Russian border regions

08:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian attacks caused a fire at a factory producing electrical devices and wounded at least six people in Russian areas bordering Ukraine overnight, local governors said on Tuesday.

None of the workers were injured in the drone attack on factory in the town of Korenevo in Russia‘s Kursk region, but one person was wounded when a drone dropped an explosive device on a private household elsewhere in the region, interim governor Alexei Smirnov said.

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities on the reported attacks which Reuters could not confirm independently.

Russia‘s Defence Ministry said air defence systems destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones overnight, including one drone over the Kursk region.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the border region of Belgorod, said four people were wounded by Ukrainian shelling. In the Voronezh region, one person was wounded in a drone attack, local governor Alexander Gusev said.

Russia‘s Kommersant daily newspaper reported on Tuesday that authorities were considering evacuating people from 14 villages in the Belgorod region that were particularly close to the Ukrainian border.

Man throws grenade at Ukrainian army draft office, no one hurt, police say

08:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

An unidentified individual threw a grenade at a military draft office in the western Ukrainian town of Busk overnight, causing an explosion but not hurting anyone, police said on Monday.

The police said in a statement they were investigating the incident, which comes as Ukraine is stepping up its effort to draft civilians into the armed forces more than 28 months since Russia invaded.

Police in the western Lviv region said the explosion damaged the facade of the draft office and its windows. The individual had fled after throwing the grenade, they said.

There have been persistent cases of men fleeing Ukraine to avoid military service throughout the war. In recent months there have also been Ukrainian media reports of violence directed at draft offices and draft officers.

Asked if they were concerned, Ukraine‘s military told Reuters that maintaining public trust was an “important component of the activities of the (armed forces), without which it will be extremely difficult to achieve victory over the enemy.” (

One of Ukraine’s biggest war challenges is being tackled on the streets of Kyiv

07:32 , Arpan Rai

Seeing the military patrol handing out call-up papers on the outskirts of Kyiv, one man slipped into a nearby store. Another refused to even stop for the officers. Others, however, quietly obliged.

While men may be coming round to Ukraine’s ramped-up mobilisation drive to replenish troop numbers more than 28 months since Russia’s invasion, they are less eager to fight than before, said a draft officer, who uses the call sign “Fantomas”.

“Now, as far as I know, most of the queues [at draft offices] are people who want to obtain some sort of exemption [from fighting],” said the 36-year-old, who was accompanied by Reuters on a recent draft patrol in the Ukrainian capital.

The combat veteran is on the frontlines of the effort to redouble the draft despite waning public enthusiasm for wartime service as military analysts describe regenerating troop manpower as one of Kyiv’s central battlefield challenges.

Read more about Ukraine’s mobilisation drive here:

One of Ukraine’s biggest war challenges is being tackled on the streets of Kyiv

Congress asks White House to disclose if Russia is sharing US weapons insight with China

07:03 , Arpan Rai

A bipartisan US congressional committee urged the White House to disclose details on whether Russia was sharing insight with China on how to defeat US weapons used on the battlefield in Ukraine.

In a letter to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the House of Representative’s select committee on China warned that Russia’s battlefield adaptations to undermine certain US weapon systems are “likely to proliferate” to China, including Russian electronic warfare countermeasures to US precision munitions.

“We should anticipate and indeed operate under the assumption that Russia is passing information about vulnerabilities or counters to American and allied weapons systems to the PRC (People’s Republic of China),” the committee’s Republican chair John Moolenaar and ranking Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi wrote.

The lawmakers cited media and think tank reports about China’s support for Russia’s military industries and the “alarming levels of Russian adaptation” that have undermined the effectiveness of several unspecified US weapons systems.

They asked Mr Sullivan to assess Russia’s ability to mitigate and counter US weapons deployed in Ukraine, and the extent to which Moscow had shared “lessons learned” with China, as well as any Chinese military efforts to mirror Russian military innovations.

What to know about the growing number of treason and espionage cases in today's Russia under Putin

07:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Treason cases were rare in Russia 30 years ago, with only a handful brought annually. In the past decade and especially since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, however, the number has soared, along with espionage prosecutions.

They are ensnaring citizens and foreigners alike. Recent victims range from Kremlin critics and independent journalists to veteran scientists working with countries that Moscow considers friendly.

One rights group counted over 100 known treason cases in 2023, with probably another 100 that nobody knows about.

What to know about the growing number of treason and espionage cases in today's Russia under Putin

Zelensky pleads for more F-16 fighter jets to protect Ukraine

06:00 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for Western nations to send more Patriot air defence systems and F-16 fighter jets to protect the country from Russian missile attacks.

After months of calls from Kyiv, the first F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine and will be flying sorties this summer, the White House confirmed at a Nato summit in Washington earlier this month.

Mr Zelensky welcomed the package, without saying exactly how many jets it will be made up of.

About 85 of the combat aircraft have been committed to Kyiv, but many will take a significant amount of time to reach the battlefield. Ukraine has suggested it needs as many as 128 F-16s to properly battle the aerial superiority of Moscow.

Zelensky pleads for more F-16 fighter jets and air defences to protect Ukraine

Ukraine needs 25 Patriot air defense systems and more F-16 warplanes, President Zelenskyy says

06:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine needs 25 Patriot air defense systems to fully defend its airspace and protect the entire country from Russian missile attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, adding that he also wants Western partners to send more F-16 warplanes than those already pledged.

In his first news conference since returning from a trip to the United States, Zelenskyy said he is ready to work with Donald Trump if he wins November’s election. “I am not afraid” of that prospect, Zelenskyy said, adding he is convinced that most Republicans support Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Zelenskyy said on Sunday he was “appalled” by the attempt to assassinate Trump and wished him a speedy recovery.

Ukraine needs 25 Patriot air defense systems and more F-16 warplanes, President Zelenskyy says

Ukraine says Russia’s last naval patrol ship has left Crimea

05:37 , Arpan Rai

Russia’s last naval patrol ship has left occupied Crimea, “most likely” to be based elsewhere, the Ukrainian navy says after a concerted military campaign against Putin’s bases on the Black Sea peninsula.

Vice-Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa, Ukraine’s navy chief, told Reuters earlier this month that Russia had been forced to rebase nearly all its combat-ready warships from occupied Crimea.

“The last patrol ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation is bolting from our Crimea just now. Remember this day,” Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said on Facebook.

Asked to clarify whether this was a permanent move, Pletenchuk told Reuters: “Most likely, this is a transition between bases”, adding that Moscow did not usually send ships to the open sea for no reason. He said the vessel’s designation was Project 1135.

Though it has no major warships at its disposal, Ukraine has used missiles and naval drones to inflict significant damage to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which has long been headquartered in Sevastopol on the peninsula seized by Moscow in 2014.

Russian authorities have not responded to requests for comment in the past about Ukrainian claims of advances in the Black Sea.

Kyiv has destroyed or damaged 27 Russian naval vessels, Neizhpapa said. In May, Ukrainian authorities said they had destroyed the last Russian warship armed with cruise missiles that was stationed on the peninsula.

Pentagon defends ban on Kyiv from targeting Russia with long-range weapons

05:18 , Arpan Rai

The US is still concerned about the potential escalation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and will continue its ban on ATACMS long-range missile strikes on Russian territory, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said.

The Biden administration permits Ukraine to fire weapons into Russian territory only for the purpose of hitting back against Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack them, concerned that the broader use of American-made weaponry could provoke Russia to widen the war.

“Our long distance policy has not changed. I think it is important to understand here that we do not want to see unintended consequences, an escalation that can turn this conflict into a wider one that will go beyond the borders of Ukraine. I think this is something that we all need to consider and take very seriously,” he told Voice of America.

He went on: “However, we never in any way underestimate the threat that Russia poses to Ukraine. Therefore, we will continue to work with Ukraine so that it has everything necessary to protect its sovereign territory and its people.”

His remarks come just days after Volodymyr Zelensky emphatically pushed for the help to arrive faster and for restrictions to be lifted on the use of US weapons to attack military targets inside Russia. “If we want to win, if we want to prevail, if we want to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations,” Mr Zelensky said.

Estonian PM Kallas resigns to take up top EU diplomat job

05:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas submitted her resignation on Monday in order to take up a new job as the European Union’s foreign policy chief, the president’s office said.

Kallas, 47, has emerged as a strong critic of neighbouring Russia and what she says are its expansionist aims since she became prime minister in early 2021. She has pressed Estonia’s allies in NATO and the EU to provide unconditional support for Ukraine in its struggle to push back Moscow’s invading forces.

Under her leadership, Estonia, a small Baltic republic of 1.4 million people, has become one of the biggest donors of military aid to Ukraine on a per capita basis.

Kallas led her liberal Reform party to victory in parliamentary elections in 2019 and 2023 and has fronted the government since 2021.

The Reform party has tapped Climate Minister Kristen Michal to become Estonia’s next prime minister, pending negotiations to reconfigure the cabinet with its coalition partners, the liberal Estonia 200 and the Social Democrats.

Kallas will remain as Estonia’s caretaker prime minister until the next government is confirmed by early August, Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR said.

Her party will elect its new leader on September 8.

Zelensky says Ukraine ready to work with Trump if he wins

04:59 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is not afraid to work with Donald Trump if the Republican candidate comes to power and wins the US presidential elections.

“If Mr Donald Trump becomes president, then we will work with him. I am not afraid of it,” Mr Zelensky said at a press conference in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian leader said he believes “the majority in the Republican Party also supports Ukraine and the people of Ukraine,” as he acknowledged that wide gap of supporters between the largely supportive Democratic party and the Republicans, in which some are “more right-wing and radical”.

However, Mr Zelensky remains concerned over the political storm in Washington that could negatively impact flow of military aid to Ukraine. “We are getting back our confidence as weapons started arriving. But delivery has to speed up. Our soldiers have to learn how to use weapons. And they train abroad. And that all takes time,” he said.

Earlier this month, he told allies decisive action must be taken before the US presidential election in November to repel Russia’s offensive against his country, using an address on the sidelines of the Nato summit to press for greater support.

Zelensky wants Russia to attend Kyiv’s second peace summit in November

04:23 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky said he aimed to have a plan ready in November to enable Kyiv to hold a second international summit on his vision of peace in Ukraine, and he said representatives of Russia should attend.

“I set a goal that in November we would have a fully ready plan,” Mr Zelensky said at a press conference in Kyiv. “I think that representatives of Russia should be at the second summit.”

His remarks came shortly after he returned from a visit to Washington for a Nato summit. Ukrainian officials have said previously that Russian representatives could be invited to a follow-up summit.

At the end of June, Ukraine hosted delegations from 92 countries at a first summit in Switzerland to advance its blueprint for peace. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, was not invited to the event and dismissed it as a non-starter.

Ukraine drone attack sparks fire in Russia’s Kursk

04:16 , Arpan Rai

A Ukraine drone attack sparked a large-scale fire at a factory producing electrical devices and components in Russia’s Kursk region, the interim governor of the region bordering Ukraine said this morning.

“None of the workers were injured,” Alexei Smirnov, the governor, said on his Telegram channel.

He claimed an aircraft dropped an explosive device on the low-voltage equipment plant in Korenevo, leading to a major fire in one of the workshops.

Kursk, a few hundred kilometres from the frontline, has been attacked repeatedly throughout the war. Over the weekend, Russian air defence systems said they destroyed two drones over the western Kursk and Belgorod regions.

India seeks to boost exports to Russia after Modi trip

04:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

India is exploring ways to boost its exports to Russia, including by encouraging rupee-rouble trade and pushing Moscow to lift non-tariff barriers, New Delhi said on Monday, in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow.

Old partners India and Russia have stepped up trade since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, but the increase has been overwhelmingly one-way, dominated by India buying Russian oil shunned by traditional customers in Europe.

In a news conference, Indian trade secretary Sunil Barthwal said the government had asked Russia to consider changes to some non-tariff barriers on Indian exports of marine food products.

New Delhi is also encouraging rupee-rouble trade that has failed to take off, and would send a trade delegation, he said, without giving further details.

“When we are looking at Russia, we are looking at how both the countries can gain by better trade relationships,” he told the press conference. “We are looking at various sets of commodities for example electronics, engineering goods and other items where there can be exports.”

Putin’s forces launch 1,000 drones across frontline

03:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia launched over 1,000 drones across the frontline in 24 hours, according to Ukraine officials.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s army said Vladimir Putin’s forces attacked their troops with three missile strikes.

A post on their Facebook page said: “According to information, over the past 24 hours, the enemy launched three missile strikes at the positions of our troops and settlements, with the use of four missiles, 64 air strikes (total 97 KAB), launched 1168 kamikaze drones to impress, launched 4758 shells, 79 of them - from salp-fire jet systems.”

Ukraine startups are creating an army of killing machines – AI experts are worried

02:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Struggling with manpower, overwhelming odds and uneven international assistance, Ukraine hopes to find a strategic edge against Russia in an abandoned warehouse.

An ecosystem of laboratories in hundreds of secret workshops is leveraging innovation to create a robot army that Ukraine hopes will kill Russian troops and save its own wounded soldiers and civilians.

Defense startups across Ukraine — about 250 according to industry estimates — are creating the killing machines at secret locations that typically look like rural car repair shops.

Ukraine startups are creating an army of killing machines – AI experts are worried

US journalist Masha Gessen is convicted in absentia in Russia for criticizing the military

01:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

U.S. journalist and author Masha Gessen was convicted in absentia Monday by a Moscow court on charges of spreading false information about the military and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

The Moscow-born Gessen, a staff writer for The New Yorker and a columnist for The New York Times who lives in the U.S., is a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and an award-winning writer.

Russian police put Gessen on a wanted list in December, and Russian media reported the case was based on statements they made about atrocities in the Ukrainian town of Bucha in an interview with a popular Russian online blogger.

US journalist Masha Gessen is convicted in absentia in Russia for criticizing the military

Watch: Change of government 'makes no difference' to UK's support for Ukraine, Starmer tells Zelensky

Tuesday 16 July 2024 00:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Zelensky says he aims to be ready for second peace summit in November

Monday 15 July 2024 23:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he had set a goal to have all the elements of a peace plan ready so he could hold a follow-up summit on his vision for peace in November.

Zelensky made the remark at a news conference in Kyiv.

Ukraine held a summit in Switzerland last month that was attended by representatives of 92 countries, but not Russia. Kyiv has said it could invite representatives from Russia to the next one.

Ukraine urges ICC to investigate strike on Kyiv children’s hospital as crime against humanity

Monday 15 July 2024 22:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In case you missed it...

Ukraine’s top prosecutor has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Russia over a missile strike on a children’s hospital that killed or wounded dozens of doctors and civilians.

Prosecutor general Andriy Kostin, who was in The Hague where the ICC is based, for meetings with legal officials, said the strike was worth “lifting” to the court in part because Kyiv seeks to demonstrate the systematic nature of Russia’s attack on civilians.

“For the sake of international justice, cases like the intentional attack on the biggest child hospital in Kyiv (are) worth lifting to the ICC,” he said.

Ukraine urges ICC to investigate strike on Kyiv children’s hospital

One of Ukraine’s biggest war challenges is being tackled on the streets of Kyiv

Monday 15 July 2024 21:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Seeing the military patrol handing out call-up papers on the outskirts of Kyiv, one man slipped into a nearby store. Another refused to even stop for the officers. Others, however, quietly obliged.

While men may be coming round to Ukraine’s ramped-up mobilisation drive to replenish troop numbers more than 28 months since Russia’s invasion, they are less eager to fight than before, said a draft officer, who uses the call sign “Fantomas”.

“Now, as far as I know, most of the queues [at draft offices] are people who want to obtain some sort of exemption [from fighting],” said the 36-year-old, who was accompanied by Reuters on a recent draft patrol in the Ukrainian capital.

One of Ukraine’s biggest war challenges is being tackled on the streets of Kyiv

Why China and Russia are holding joint naval drills

Monday 15 July 2024 20:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

China and Russia are conducting joint naval exercises in a military port in southern China, in another sign the two sides are deepening their strategic “partnership.”

China’s defence ministry said that Russian vessels arrived in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, for the “Joint Sea-2024” exercises in the waters and airspace around the city throughout this week.

Why China and Russia are holding joint naval drills

What to know about the growing number of treason and espionage cases in today's Russia under Putin

Monday 15 July 2024 19:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Treason cases were rare in Russia 30 years ago, with only a handful brought annually. In the past decade and especially since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, however, the number has soared, along with espionage prosecutions.

They are ensnaring citizens and foreigners alike. Recent victims range from Kremlin critics and independent journalists to veteran scientists working with countries that Moscow considers friendly.

One rights group counted over 100 known treason cases in 2023, with probably another 100 that nobody knows about.

What to know about the growing number of treason and espionage cases in today's Russia under Putin

Man throws grenade at Ukrainian army draft office, no one hurt, police say

Monday 15 July 2024 18:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

An unidentified individual threw a grenade at a military draft office in the western Ukrainian town of Busk overnight, causing an explosion but not hurting anyone, police said on Monday.

The police said in a statement they were investigating the incident, which comes as Ukraine is stepping up its effort to draft civilians into the armed forces more than 28 months since Russia invaded.

Police in the western Lviv region said the explosion damaged the facade of the draft office and its windows. The individual had fled after throwing the grenade, they said.

There have been persistent cases of men fleeing Ukraine to avoid military service throughout the war. In recent months there have also been Ukrainian media reports of violence directed at draft offices and draft officers.

Asked if they were concerned, Ukraine‘s military told Reuters that maintaining public trust was an “important component of the activities of the (armed forces), without which it will be extremely difficult to achieve victory over the enemy.”

Treason and espionage cases are rising in Russia since the war in Ukraine began

Monday 15 July 2024 17:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

When Maksim Kolker’s phone rang at 6 a.m., and the voice on the other end said his father had been arrested, he thought it was a scam to extort money. A day earlier, he had taken his father, prominent Russian physicist Dmitry Kolker, to the hospital in his native Novosibirsk, when his advanced pancreatic cancer had suddenly worsened.

The phone kept ringing and Kolker kept hanging up until finally his father called to confirm the grim news. The elder Kolker had been charged with treason, the family later learned, a crime that is probed and prosecuted in absolute secrecy in Russia and punished with long prison terms.

Treason cases have been rare in Russia in the last 30 years, with a handful annually. But since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, they have skyrocketed, along with espionage prosecutions, ensnaring citizens and foreigners alike, regardless of their politics.

Treason and espionage cases are rising in Russia since the war in Ukraine began

Ukraine needs 25 Patriot air defence systems and more F-16 warplanes, Zelensky says

Monday 15 July 2024 16:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine needs 25 Patriot air defence systems to fully defend its airspace and protect the entire country from Russian missile attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The Ukrainian leader added that he also wants Western partners to send more F-16 warplanes than those already pledged.

In his first news conference since returning from a trip to the United States, Mr Zelensky said he is ready to work with Donald Trump if he wins November’s American election.

“I am not afraid” of that prospect, Mr Zelensky said, adding he is convinced that most Republicans support Ukraine in its war with Russia.

On Sunday, Mr Zelensky said he was “appalled” by the attempt to assassinate Mr Trump, and wished him a speedy recovery.

Western support is crucial for Ukraine as it tries to beat back Russia‘s bigger and better-equipped invading army.

Mr Zelensky has proved talented at persuading friendly countries to provide ever more support, even if he does not always get what he wants immediately.

A six-month delay in military assistance from the US, the biggest single contributor to Ukraine, meant that Kyiv’s forces “lost the initiative” on the front line, Mr Zelensky said.

Ukraine startups are creating an army of killing machines – AI experts are worried

Monday 15 July 2024 15:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Struggling with manpower, overwhelming odds and uneven international assistance, Ukraine hopes to find a strategic edge against Russia in an abandoned warehouse.

An ecosystem of laboratories in hundreds of secret workshops is leveraging innovation to create a robot army that Ukraine hopes will kill Russian troops and save its own wounded soldiers and civilians.

Defense startups across Ukraine — about 250 according to industry estimates — are creating the killing machines at secret locations that typically look like rural car repair shops.

Ukraine startups are creating an army of killing machines – AI experts are worried

Ukraine says Russia's last naval patrol ship leaving Crimea

Monday 15 July 2024 14:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine‘s navy said on Monday that Moscow’s last naval patrol ship had left Russian-occupied Crimea, “most likely” to rebase elsewhere after Kyiv’s concerted military campaign to attack the Black Sea peninsula as it battles Russian invasion.

Though it has no major warships at its disposal, Ukraine has used missiles and naval drones to inflict significant damage to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which has long been headquartered in Sevastopol on the peninsula seized by Moscow in 2014.

Vice-Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa, Ukraine‘s navy chief, told Reuters earlier this month that Russia had been forced to rebase nearly all its combat-ready warships from occupied Crimea.

“The last patrol ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation is bolting from our Crimea just now. Remember this day,” Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said on Facebook.

Asked to clarify whether this was a permanent move, Pletenchuk told Reuters: “Most likely, this is a transition between bases”, adding that Moscow did not usually send ships to the open sea for no reason.

He said the vessel’s designation was Project 1135.

Russian authorities have not responded to requests for comment in the past about Ukrainian claims of advances in the Black Sea.

Scientists, a journalist and even a bakery worker are among those convicted of treason in Russia

Monday 15 July 2024 14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Over the past decade, Russia has seen a sharp increase in treason and espionage cases.

Lawyers and experts say prosecutions for these high crimes started to grow after 2014 – the year when Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula. That’s also when Moscow backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

The number of these cases in Russia spiked significantly after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, urged the security services to “harshly suppress the actions of foreign intelligence services [and] promptly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs”. The crackdown has ensnared scientists and journalists, as well as ordinary citizens.

A bakery worker is among those convicted of treason in Russia

Man throws grenade at Ukrainian army draft office, police say

Monday 15 July 2024 13:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

An unidentified individual threw a grenade at a military draft office in the western Ukrainian town of Busk overnight, causing an explosion but not hurting anyone, police said on Monday.

The police said in a statement they were investigating the incident, which comes as Ukraine is stepping up its effort to draft civilians into the armed forces more than 28 months since Russia invaded.

Police in the western Lviv region said the explosion damaged the facade of the draft office and its windows. The individual had fled after throwing the grenade, they said.

There have been persistent cases of men fleeing Ukraine to avoid military service throughout the war. In recent months there have also been Ukrainian media reports of violence directed at draft offices and draft officers.

Asked if they were concerned, Ukraine‘s military told Reuters that maintaining public trust was an “important component of the activities of the (armed forces), without which it will be extremely difficult to achieve victory over the enemy.”

Why China and Russia are holding joint naval drills

Monday 15 July 2024 13:03 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

China and Russia are conducting joint naval exercises in a military port in southern China, in another sign the two sides are deepening their strategic “partnership.”

China’s defence ministry said that Russian vessels arrived in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, for the “Joint Sea-2024” exercises in the waters and airspace around the city throughout this week.

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has increasingly turned towards China for support as the West has ramped up sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. China’s Xi Jinping is seeking to set Beijing up as a global mediator, but the bigger pull in working with Russia is likely wanting to create alliances as a bulwark against the US and the West.

Mr Xi will also see the exercises as a show of strength in the face of a number of US allies across the local region.

Why China and Russia are holding joint naval drills

Zelensky says he aims to be ready for second peace summit in November

Monday 15 July 2024 12:32 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he had set a goal to have all the elements of a peace plan ready so he could hold a follow-up summit on his vision for peace in November.

Zelensky made the remark at a news conference in Kyiv.

Ukraine held a summit in Switzerland last month that was attended by representatives of 92 countries, but not Russia. Kyiv has said it could invite representatives from Russia to the next one.

Putin’s forces launch 1,000 drones across frontline

Monday 15 July 2024 12:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia launched over 1,000 drones across the frontline in 24 hours, according to Ukraine officials.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s army said Vladimir Putin’s forces attacked their troops with three missile strikes.

A post on their Facebook page said: “According to information, over the past 24 hours, the enemy launched three missile strikes at the positions of our troops and settlements, with the use of four missiles, 64 air strikes (total 97 KAB), launched 1168 kamikaze drones to impress, launched 4758 shells, 79 of them - from salp-fire jet systems.”

One of Ukraine’s biggest war challenges is being tackled on the streets of Kyiv

Monday 15 July 2024 11:51 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Seeing the military patrol handing out call-up papers on the outskirts of Kyiv, one man slipped into a nearby store. Another refused to even stop for the officers. Others, however, quietly obliged.

While men may be coming round to Ukraine‘s ramped-up mobilisation drive to replenish troop numbers more than 28 months since Russia’s invasion, they are less eager to fight than before, said a draft officer, who uses the call sign “Fantomas”.

“Now, as far as I know, most of the queues (at draft offices) are people who want to obtain some sort of exemption (from fighting),” said the 36-year-old, who was accompanied by Reuters on a recent draft patrol in the Ukrainian capital.

One of Ukraine’s biggest war challenges is being tackled on the streets of Kyiv

US special advisor on disability rights hails The Independent’s Ukraine investigation: ‘Not an acceptable loss’

Monday 15 July 2024 11:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

An 18-month investigation by The Independent uncovering fresh evidence of potential war crimes committed by Russia against Ukrainians with disabilities is a “really important” part of “creating more awareness, more visibility” of the devastating impact of the invasion on the disability community, a special advisor to the Biden administration has said.

Read more from Bel Trew here:

US special advisor on disability rights hails The Independent’s Ukraine investigation

Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas steps down to become EU's top diplomat

Monday 15 July 2024 10:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has stepped down as the leader of the Baltic country to become the foreign policy chief of the European Union later this year.

Kallas, Estonia’s first female prime minister, handed in her formal resignation to President Alar Karis during a brief meeting at the Presidential Palace in the capital, Tallinn, on Monday.

Estonia under Kallas has been one of Europe’s most vocal backers of Ukraine following the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.

She replaces Josep Borrell of Spain, who has served as the EU foreign policy chief since 2019.

Summing up Kallas’ 3 1/2 years at the helm of the nation of 1.3 million, Karis was quoted as saying by the Baltic News Service that “it has been a time full of crises, the milestones (such as) the coronavirus, the economic recession and the war in Europe, when Russia destroyed our previous security picture with its aggression in Ukraine“.

The prime minister’s move automatically triggered the resignation of Kallas’ three-party Cabinet, made up of her center-right Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party and the liberal Estonia 200 party. It will continue as a caretaker government until the new Cabinet has been sworn in, most likely the end of July or early August.

UK prime minister to discuss Ukraine-Russia war as he hosts European leaders next week

Monday 15 July 2024 10:08 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

More than 45 European leaders will converge on Oxfordshire next week to discuss some of the most pressing generational issues facing Europe.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Europe is at the forefront of some of the greatest challenges of our time.

“Russia‘s barbaric war continues to reverberate across our continent, while vile smuggling gangs traffic innocent people on perilous journeys that too often end in tragedy.

“We cannot be spectators in this chapter of history. We must do more and go further, not just for the courageous Ukrainians on the frontlines, or those being trafficked from country-to-country, but so our future generations look back with pride at what our continent achieved together.

“I said I would change the way the UK engages with our European partners, working collaboratively to drive forward progress on these generational challenges, and that work starts at the European Political Community meeting on Thursday.”

What to know about the growing number of treason and espionage cases in today's Russia under Putin

Monday 15 July 2024 09:36 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Treason cases were rare in Russia 30 years ago, with only a handful brought annually. In the past decade and especially since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, however, the number has soared, along with espionage prosecutions.

They are ensnaring citizens and foreigners alike. Recent victims range from Kremlin critics and independent journalists to veteran scientists working with countries that Moscow considers friendly.

One rights group counted over 100 known treason cases in 2023, with probably another 100 that nobody knows about.

What to know about the growing number of treason and espionage cases in today's Russia under Putin

Ukraine urges ICC to investigate strike on Kyiv children’s hospital as crime against humanity

Monday 15 July 2024 09:01 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In case you missed it...

Ukraine’s top prosecutor has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Russia over a missile strike on a children’s hospital that killed or wounded dozens of doctors and civilians.

Prosecutor general Andriy Kostin, who was in The Hague where the ICC is based, for meetings with legal officials, said the strike was worth “lifting” to the court in part because Kyiv seeks to demonstrate the systematic nature of Russia’s attack on civilians.

“For the sake of international justice, cases like the intentional attack on the biggest child hospital in Kyiv (are) worth lifting to the ICC,” he said.

Tom Watling reports:

Ukraine urges ICC to investigate strike on Kyiv children’s hospital

Scientists, a journalist and even a bakery worker are among those convicted of treason in Russia

Monday 15 July 2024 08:33 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Over the past decade, Russia has seen a sharp increase in treason and espionage cases.

Lawyers and experts say prosecutions for these high crimes started to grow after 2014 – the year when Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula. That’s also when Moscow backed a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

The number of these cases in Russia spiked significantly after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, urged the security services to “harshly suppress the actions of foreign intelligence services [and] promptly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs”. The crackdown has ensnared scientists and journalists, as well as ordinary citizens.

A bakery worker is among those convicted of treason in Russia

China, Russia start joint naval drills, days after NATO allies called Beijing a Ukraine war enabler

Monday 15 July 2024 08:06 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

China and Russia‘s naval forces on Sunday kicked off a joint exercise at a military port in southern China on Sunday, official news agency Xinhua reported, days after NATO allies called Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war in Ukraine.

The Chinese defense ministry said in a brief statement forces from both sides recently patrolled the western and northern Pacific Ocean and that the operation had nothing to do with international and regional situations and didn’t target any third party.

The exercise, which began in Guangdong province on Sunday and is expected to last until mid-July, aimed to demonstrate the capabilities of the navies in addressing security threats and preserving peace and stability globally and regionally, state broadcaster CCTV reported Saturday, adding it would include anti-missile exercises, sea strikes and air defense.

China, Russia start joint naval drills, days after NATO allies called Beijing a Ukraine war enabler

From basement to battlefield: Ukrainian startups create low-cost robots to fight Russia

Monday 15 July 2024 07:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Struggling with manpower shortages, overwhelming odds and uneven international assistance, Ukraine hopes to find a strategic edge against Russia in an abandoned warehouse or a factory basement.

An ecosystem of laboratories in hundreds of secret workshops is leveraging innovation to create a robot army that Ukraine hopes will kill Russian troops and save its own wounded soldiers and civilians.

Defense startups across Ukraine — about 250 according to industry estimates — are creating the killing machines at secret locations that typically look like rural car repair shops.

From basement to battlefield: Ukrainian startups create low-cost robots to fight Russia

Complaints in Moscow over poor security amid successful Ukrainian attacks

Monday 15 July 2024 07:27 , Arpan Rai

Officials and military bloggers in Russia are complaining about poor security around critical infrastructure in areas away from the war frontline, just days after a Ukrainian drone strike successfully hit an oil depot, the Institute for the Study of War said.

It cited footage from Russian sources over the weekend of two security guards armed with anti-drone guns seemingly watching a Ukrainian drone strike the oil depot without attempting to shoot down the drone and criticised the security guards for not defending the depot, the Washington-based think tank said in its latest assessment.

This has sparked Russian officials to draw comparisons with a robust defence system from Ukraine against Russia’s Shahed drone strikes.

“Russian sources alleged that Russian authorities have attempted to absolve themselves of responsibility for Ukrainian drone strikes by ordering Russian facilities to hire their own security and questioned why the Russian government has not organised mobile fire groups similar to Ukraine’s mobile fire groups that defend against Russian Shahed-136/131 drone strikes,” it said.

The ISW added that Russian milbloggers have routinely complained about the Russian government’s inability to address and repel Ukrainian strikes against Russian infrastructure.

Ukraine starts new PR drive to bring in more recruits for army

Monday 15 July 2024 07:10 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine has launched a new drive to boost recruitment to its armed forces, unveiling a set of billboards telling potential soldiers it offers an opportunity to “be yourself”.

One of the billboards reads, “Summer, UAV,” showing a soldier operating a drone from a beach chair as his boots rest on the sand. Another from the Khartia Brigade promises: “We guarantee 60 days of preparation,” reported The Guardian.

Manpower has long been an issue for Kyiv’s military as it fights a much larger and better-equipped foe. The problem has grown more acute in recent months, prompting authorities to introduce stricter measures for draft evaders.

In May this year, president Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law allowing some convicts to join the armed forces as it battles to hold the line against Russian offensives in Ukraine’s northeast, east and south.

Ukraine has already lowered the draft mobilisation age from 27 to 25. The upper limit is 60.

Ukrainian military says ‘hottest situation’ around Pokrovsk

Monday 15 July 2024 06:30 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine has said its forces are facing the “hottest situation” along the frontline in the Pokrovsk area in eastern Donetsk region.

Intense Russian attacks have surged in the area, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.

“The enemy has already attacked our positions 35 times today in the areas of Novooleksandrivka, Vozdvizhenka, Progress, Lozuvatskyi, Novoselivka Pershoya and Yasnobrodivka … The situation remains tense near Novooleksandrivka, Novoselivka Persha and Progress, where six clashes are still ongoing. Our defenders restrain the enemy,” it said.

Russian forces continued offensive operations near Chasiv Yar yesterday but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline, said The Institute for the Study of War.