'Slap in the face' — Estonia blasts Russia's low-level peace delegation in Istanbul

Russian media and officials reported approaching Ukrainian drones across multiple regions overnight on July 17, as Ukraine's military launched a wider drone attack on the western regions of Russia, including Moscow.

Russian first-person-view (FPV) drones initially struck a cargo truck, causing a fire and injuring two civilians. Soon after, as emergency workers were working on site, another Russian drone targeted the scene, injuring three emergency workers, the State Emergency Service said.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed weapons deal for Ukraine caught NATO allies off guard, with European diplomats saying they weren’t consulted ahead of the announcement, Reuters reported on July 16.

Russian forces dropped a 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) aerial bomb on a shopping center in Donetsk Oblast, killing at least two people and injuring 27 others, regional officials reported July 16.

Moscow needs to urgently raise more money as shrinking oil and gas revenues and a worsening economic outlook continue to strain the federal budget, a senior Russian lawmaker warned on July 16.

"Today, I have already signed documents to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine regarding Denys Shmyhal as the new defense minister," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

German-Ukrainian defense technology company Quantum Systems has acquired a 10% stake in Frontline, a Ukrainian defense robotics firm, Quantum Systems announced in a press release on July 16.

The proposed package doubles the current Ukraine Facility budget of 50 billion euros, which was approved in February 2024 and runs through 2027.

In a statement, the local affiliate — known as White Phoenix — praised its "comrades" for the July 10 killing of the colonel. Sources in the counter-terrorism field consider the group's claim credible, the Guardian reported.

Ukraine's parliament approved a Hr 412.4 billion ($9.8 billion) increase in defense spending in the first reading, Ukraine’s Finance Ministry announced in a press release on July 16.

The Kyiv Independent's Deputy Chief Editor Oleksiy Sorokin spoke with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa during her visit to Kyiv on July 15, following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of his deal with NATO to arm Ukraine and his threat to impose severe sanctions on Russia if it doesn't reach a peace deal with Ukraine within the next 50 days.

"Many statements have been made, many words of disappointment have been spoken, but we want to hope that pressure is being exerted on the Ukrainian side," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Lilia Averianova, the mother of late MiG-29 pilot Andrii "Juice" Pilshchykov, told Suspilne that investigators came to the Kharkiv apartment on July 11 and demanded entry, threatening to break down the door.