Key developments on July 11-12: * Russian guided bomb attack on Sumy kills 5, including child, injures 32 * 'Expressly prohibited' — Ukraine's largest defense firm illegally stored weapons near civilian targets in Vyshneve, Zelensky says * Ukraine says it eliminated 14 more Russian shadow fleet vessels overnight * Ukraine PM's resignation stuns lawmakers as potential successors emerge Russian forces struck civilian infrastructure in the northeastern city of Sumy with three guided aerial bo

During a meeting with Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal on July 12, President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed the need to take additional "more decisive" steps to protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure and emphasized the importance of robust winter preparedness plans for communities and regions.

Yulia Svyrydenko, who replaced former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in July 2025, will now take on a new role leading cooperation with Ukraine’s key partners, Zelensky announced on social media.

Once promoted by the Kremlin as a symbol of Russia’s resurgence and a premier tourist destination, the peninsula now faces mounting pressure from Ukrainian drone strikes targeting military infrastructure, logistics, and supply routes.

Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said that his team had destroyed 10 tankers and four ferries, bringing the total number of destroyed Russian shadow fleet vessels to 90 units this week alone.

Russia attacks over the last day have killed at least five people and injured 35 others across the country, mostly frontline regions in the south and east of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials reported on July 12.

The Republican senator from South Carolina was recently in Kyiv, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 10 to discuss strengthening Ukraine's air defense and progress on a Russian sanctions bill in the U.S.

The number includes 1,320 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Ukraine's military reportedly struck a major Russian oil refinery in the city of Syzran in Samara Oblast overnight on July 12, Russian Telegram media channels reported.

Since the media outlets' last update in mid-June, the names of 2,890 Russian soldiers have been added to the list of casualties.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 11 that he is preparing changes to Ukraine’s “diplomatic efforts” to accelerate weapons deliveries from allies, as Ukraine's stockpile of Patriot air defense missiles has run dry.

Stanislav Luchanov, commander of Ukraine's 155th "Anne of Kyiv" brigade, has been charged with the kidnapping and murder of two civilians in Kyiv Oblast. Several other brigade members have been detained in connection with the crime, the military said.

"It is our shared duty to honor the memory of each victim with dignity," the Ukrainian embassy said on July 11, Poland's National Day of Remembrance for victims of the Volyn massacres.

"There are designated locations in Ukraine for storing weapons and ammunition — all of which are specified to be located away from residential buildings," Zelensky said on July 11.

Two of the bombs struck a busy area of the city, with one hitting near a road and a public transport stop, where a 13-year-old girl was killed, according to the Sumy regional police.

A Russian photographer with ties to Kremlin-backed media has been shortlisted for one of Germany's leading photography awards for his series on occupied Mariupol, raising concerns about how Russian narratives are reaching Western audiences through major cultural institutions. Since 1979, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award has honored photographers from all over the world whose work captures humanity's relationship with the environment. The photos in Valery Melnikov's series "Open Wounds" portray de

The Ankara NATO summit held the facade of transatlantic unity, produced significant practical outcomes in defense-industrial cooperation, and brought greater clarity to sustained support for Ukraine. The central question, however, was left unresolved: the trajectory of continuing American disengagement from European security, and the terms and timetable on which Europe is to assume the resulting burden. U.S. disengagement remains opaque The summit did not alter the direction of U.S. force re

In a letter dated July 10, the organization said it "cannot agree" with Grossi's comments, arguing that they do not adequately reflect the scale of the risks created by the plant's personnel shortage.

According to Brovdi, Ukrainian drones hit 21 tankers, four tugboats, two dry cargo vessels, and one specialized vessel, recording 73 successful strikes during the overnight operation.

Russia launched 12 missiles overnight, including six Iskander-M and S-400 ballistic missiles, four Kh-59 and Kh-69 cruise missiles, and two Kh-31 anti-radiation missiles, alongside 121 attack and decoy drones, Ukraine's Air Force said.

Russia launched 12 missiles, including six ballistic missiles, alongside 121 attack and decoy drones, Ukraine's Air Force reported.

The number includes 1,490 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

A Russian airstrike struck civilian infrastructure in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia on July 10, killing one person and injuring at least 29 others, regional governor Ivan Fedorov reported.

"He became a symbol of the unbreakable Ukrainian spirit and the embodiment of personal responsibility to the nation, the state, and future generations," National Bank Governor Andriy Pyshnyy said during a press briefing.

Ukraine's active defense operations reduced the pace of Russia's territorial advances by more than half during the first six months of 2026, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on July 10.

The sanctions package " would give tools to President Trump to help end this war," U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on July 10.

The targets included 10 tankers, one dry cargo ship, one ferry, and one sea tug. He said all of the tankers had been identified as belonging to Russia's "shadow fleet" and were under international sanctions, Brovdi said.

The meeting will bring together at least 25 heads of state and government to renew the push for a ceasefire and peace talks, according to the Elysee Palace

Located roughly 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory in Krasnodar Krai, the refinery is among the largest in southern Russia, producing nearly 6.6 million tons of fuel annually.

Moldova is set to receive 100 million euros ($114 million) from the EU to bolster its air defenses, two officials told the Kyiv Independent.

The Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv in early July 2026 were the largest such state terrorist attacks to date against civilian infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital. Yet, these acts by the Kremlin do little to change the overall picture of the war. In contrast, the recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and elsewhere have altered the global perception of the Russia-Ukraine war. This is especially true for ordinary Russians and observers outs

We visited a prisoner-of-war camp in western Ukraine to speak directly with Russian POWs captured on the battlefield.