Pope Leo meets Russian Orthodox cleric to discuss Ukraine war

As another sign of deepening bilateral relations, Russia is set to launch direct passenger flights from Moscow to Pyongyang on July 27, marking the first air connection between the two capitals in decades.

Russian forces launched an overnight attack on Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast on July 26, targeting civilian infrastructure and leaving three people injured, local authorities reported.

The Vatican confirmed that Pope Leo received Metropolitan Anthony, the senior Russian Orthodox Church cleric who chairs its department of external church relations, along with five other high-profile clerics, during a morning audience on July 26.

According to operational data by Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, Colonel Lebedev was leading assault operations in the Velykyi Burluk area of Kharkiv Oblast.

Russian forces launched a drone strike on Sumy on July 26, damaging the building of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov reported.

Lithuania plans to contribute up to 30 million euro ($32.5 million) toward the joint purchase of U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported on July 26.

"Resistance to the Kremlin regime inside Russia is growing," Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.

"In the coming years, the Black Sea sailors will be further strengthened — with the arrival of new frigates, corvettes, aviation, marine robotic complexes," Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia's Maritime Collegium, said.

"Russia will be ready for confrontation with Europe — and therefore with us — as early as 2027," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

Russia opened a new front in Sumy Oblast in early June, capturing around a dozen border villages.

U.S. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal co-authored a bipartisan bill that would impose 500% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, gas, or uranium.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is facilitating transit primarily to Poland, with some migrants arriving from Libya directly or through Russia — pointing to coordinated efforts between Minsk and Moscow.