Key developments on Aug. 1: * Pokrovsk became Russia's main target after Kharkiv push failed, Zelensky says * Russia suffers big losses but has 'minor gains' on eastern front, Syrskyi says * Ukraine received 6 F-16s from Netherlands, The Times reports * Defense Ministry to purchase Ukrainian-made unmanned ground vehicles * Russian shelling kills mother,
"(Ground-based kamikaze drones) are an important component of our defense strategy, as they can effectively perform tasks to defeat the enemy," Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov said.
Russia attacked Ukraine overnight on July 25 with 38 Shahed-type drones, targeting the port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast. Three drones were lost after crossing the border with Romania.
China adjusted its export controls on military drones amid growing criticism from the U.S. and its allies over support for Russia's war efforts in Ukraine.
Russia used a significant number of so-called "distracting drones" designed to probe air defenses rather than destroy targets in its mass attack on Ukraine on July 31, said Andrii Yusov, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) spokesperson.
Ukraine has the production capacity to produce more than 3 million drones a year, but requires financing from foreign partners, Deputy Strategic Industries Minister Hanna Hvozdiar said on July 30.
Ukrainian air defense shot down 9 of the 10 Shahed-type attack drones launched by Russia overnight on July 29, as well as one Kh-59 missile, the Air Force reported.
Russia is now launching a new type of cheaply-made drones to identify air defense systems and act as decoys, Andrii Cherniak, a spokesperson of Ukraine's military intelligence, told Reuters in an interview published on July 26.
One of the Shahed-type attack drones struck a residential dormitory in the city of Nizhyn in Chernihiv Oblast, injuring one person overnight, regional Governor Vyacheslav Chaus reported. Earlier in the evening a nationwide air raid siren was issued.
Czechia joined the drone coalition for Ukraine led by Latvia and the U.K. after its delegation signed a memorandum of understanding during the NATO summit in Washington, the Latvian Defense Ministry announced on July 22.
The parties may cooperate in training, logistics, and overhaul of tactical unmanned aircraft systems used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including the long-range drone ScanEagle by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, according to the memorandum.
Riga has prepared a batch of more than 500 drones to be sent to Ukraine, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said on July 22. Earlier this month, Riga announced it would send more than 2,500 combat drones of different types to Ukraine in July, worth 4 million euros ($4.3 million).
"It is very important to ensure that in all key directions, we have the means to inflict maximum losses on the enemy," Zelensky said.
Russian forces also launched three Iskander-M ballistic missiles and two Kh-59/69 cruise missiles overnight on July 21, the Air Force reported.
The Millerovo military airfield's technical-operational unit and its fuel and lubricant warehouse were damaged in the attack, according to satellite imagery compiled by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
The low altitude of the drone shot down in Kyiv indicates that it was a kamikaze drone, but it does not resemble the Shahed-136, Defense Express reported on July 20.
Russia's Rostov Oblast was targeted by a drone attack overnight, Governor Vasily Golubev claimed on July 20.
Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko claims he withdrew troops from the Belarus-Ukraine border to “de-escalate.” Four Russian kamikaze drones entered Belarusian airspace over the past week. NATO warns that deepening military integration between Russia and Belarus undermines regional stability and alliance defenses. Media reports of disturbances at the Belarus-Poland border linked
“In terms of the number of drones, we are clearly not losing, and we may have even surpassed (Russia)," said Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Vadym Sukharevskyi.
A large explosion was heard in Kyiv on the evening of July 17, with preliminary reports suggesting a Russian Shahed drone targeted the capital.
On July 13, another Russian Shahed kamikaze drone targeting Ukraine veered off course and flew more than 350 kilometers over Belarusian airspace, following a similar incident two days earlier.
According to Bryansk Oblast Governor Alexander Bogomaz, drones were intercepted over the region's Sevsky, Pogarsky, Braskovsky, Zlynkovsky, and Trubchevsky districts.
"According to our information, it was SBU drones that (caused the explosion) at the facility where various brands of gasoline and diesel fuel with a total volume of 12,500 cubic meters were stored," an intelligence agency source told the Kyiv Independent on July 13.
The Belarusian Hajun monitoring group reported it had flown 250 kilometers "over Gomel and Zhlobyn, entered the Mogilev region, and then the Minsk region." It also said a Belarusian Mi-24 helicopter and Su-30 fighter jet were scrambled to intercept the drone before it "presumably flew to Vitebsk."
The Netherlands will allocate 20 million euros (nearly $22 million) to purchase first-person view (FPV) drones for Ukraine within the drone coalition, the Dutch Defense Ministry announced on July 10.
Russian forces regularly target emergency workers, often in double-tap missile strikes.
Under the memorandum of understanding, which was signed amid the NATO summit, the Netherlands, the U.K., Latvia, New Zealand, and Sweden have already pledged €45 million ($41 million). More donations are anticipated.
Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian oil refinery sites have caused the volume of Russia's oil refining to fall by around 17%, a NATO official reportedly told journalists in Washington on July 9.
"Romanov" appears to have been at the scene of an earlier drone strike and was filming rescue services in the area.
Key developments on July 5: * F-16s will challenge Russia's aerial dominance over Black Sea, Ukraine's Navy chief says * Latvia to send over 2,500 drones to Ukraine in July, ministry says * Orban says Kyiv and Moscow's positions on peace 'are very far apart' * Stoltenberg hopes Ukraine will join NATO within
Riga will send more than 2,500 different types of combat drones to Ukraine this month, worth 4 million euros ($4.3 million), the Latvian Defense Ministry announced on July 5.
Russian air defense reportedly shot 10 drones over Rostov Oblast, causing a large fire, Governor Vasily Golubev reported on July 5.
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