Russian prosecutors issued warnings that companies may have their assets seized for pulling out of Russia, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing its sources. Additionally, they may arrest corporate leaders that criticize the government.
Toma Istomina is the deputy chief editor of the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked for the Kyiv Post from 2017-2021, first as a staff writer, later taking editor roles. For co-founding the Kyiv Independent, Toma was selected as one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe in 2022. She holds a master’s in international broadcasting from Taras Shevchenko University.Read more
U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg denied that he agreed to "work on" halting Ukraine's drone attacks on Russia, contradicting Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko's claim.
The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sat down with Michael McFaul, an academic and former U.S. ambassador to Russia (2012–2014), to discuss the state of the Ukraine-Russia peace process following U.S. President Donald Trump’s failed effort, the threat of U.S. disengagement, and a congressional bill introducing new sanctions against Russia and its trading partners supporting its war machine.
The SBU said it had established that Metropolitan Onufrii, also known by his secular name, Orest Berezovskyi, voluntarily received Russian citizenship in 2002 and failed to inform Ukrainian authorities of the fact.
According to the statement, a small Russian reconnaissance group managed to briefly enter the village of Dachne, located on the edge of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The group reportedly took photos with a Russian flag, but Ukrainian forces "eliminated them."
The fresh units may arrive in the coming months and are likely to be engaged in combat in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, including during "large-scale offensive operations," according to a Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) assessment reviewed by CNN.
Grammarly, a company with Ukrainian roots, announced its intent to acquire AI email writing app Superhuman as part of its expansion into an AI productivity platform, the company said in a press release on July 1.
In a statement, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said it is working to verify the current status of all elements in the agreed aid packages and has requested a phone call with U.S. defense officials for further clarification.
"The fewer weapons that are supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end of the... (Russia-Ukraine war)," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"We must very seriously discuss the suspension of Russian television channel broadcast in the territory of Armenia," Armenian Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan told reporters, according to Armenpress.
Ukraine warned that "any delay or hesitation in supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities will only encourage Russia to continue war and terror, rather than pursue peace."
"Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies — and which advance American interests — will be administered by the State Department," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Russia has the capacity to launch as many as 500 Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones at Ukraine in a single attack, but doing so on a daily basis is not possible, Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said on July 2.
According to the Berdiansk Municipal Military Administration, Russia's Federal Subsoil Resources Agency (Rosnedra) has announced plans to explore and possibly develop gas fields such as the Morske, Pivnichno-Kazantypske, and Skhidno-Kazantypske deposits.
Seventy-seven criminal cases have been launched in connection with the murders, while only two people were convicted, and a trial against a third person is ongoing.
Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 114 Shahed-type and decoy drones overnight from multiple directions, as well as four S-300 missiles. Air defenses shot down 40 drones, while 39 disappeared from radars or were intercepted by electronic warfare.
A person claiming to be a Russian officer said he had received an order to open fire at an aerial target last December that turned out to be an Azerbaijani airliner, Azerbaijani news outlet Minval reported on July 1, citing audio and written statements it had received.
Russian forces likely executed another Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW), Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on July 1, referring to a recent video that appears to show the captive tied to a motorcycle and dragged along a road.
Lukashenko said the deployment of advanced weapons systems to Belarus would serve as a tool for maintaining domestic stability. "I’m confident that even those of our supporters who don’t yet understand this will come to realize it — without a war."
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also cited the Taurus missile system’s complexity, saying it requires at least six months of training — something Germany has not yet agreed to begin.