U.S.-mediated talks since last year have failed to deliver results. Both Russia and Ukraine have intensified their strike campaigns, notably against the capitals of both countries. However, this doesn't mark the end of diplomacy. Ukraine, in particular, is seeking to leverage its battlefield advantage into a deal – potentially even this year. This private briefing will explore the following questions: * Who is actually driving Ukraine's negotiating strategy, what factors are driving their thi

At least 25 leaders are expected to attend today's summit, which is set to focus on addressing Ukraine's critical air defense shortages amid escalating Russian ballistic missile attacks.

On July 11, Ukraine's General Staff announced that Luchanov and other members of the brigade had been charged with illegal detention and intentional murder. The military initially said Luchanov had abandoned his unit without authorization during the investigation and was at large.

The package of support was agreed hours after a Russian overnight attack in which a Russian drone crashed in Moldova, and is 20 million euros ($23 million) more than officials were expecting Chisinau would receive.

"Every time we make a sanctions pact, it gets a little harder," said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

In the "first combat mission of this type known," a Ukrainian sea drone delivered a ground drone to Russian-held territory on the Kinburn Spit, Ukraine's 123rd Territorial Defense Brigade said on July 13. "A ground-based robotic complex was delivered to the enemy shore by an unmanned sea platform, landed on the occupied territory and used to perform a combat mission," the brigade said in a post on social media. "This is a new approach to war, where the most dangerous tasks are performed by a m

A Russian strike hit a civilian cargo vessel flying the Togolese flag while it was unloading mineral fertilizers at the port of Odesa on July 13, killing three crew members and injuring five others, Ukraine's deputy prime minister for restoration and minister for communities and territories development, Oleksii Kuleba said.

The cross-border incident came as Russia launched three Kh-59/69 guided missiles and 134 attack and decoy drones overnight, Ukraine's Air Force said.

The new sanctions are part of the EU's largest-ever package of measures, and the first time Romania has proposed specific restrictions against Russia.

The Kyiv Independent has launched Old Patterns, New Stories, a new merchandise collection built around Ukraine's centuries-old tradition of embroidery. The collection brings together two collaborations: a limited-edition vyshyvanka created with Ukrainian embroidery brand Gaptuvalnya, and three illustrated pieces created with Kyiv-based illustrator Kateryna Stepanishcheva, who works under the name myfabstory. Both collaborations draw on traditional embroidery motifs from Kyiv Oblast, reimagined

The number includes 1,600 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Between January and June, EU countries paid an estimated 5.96 billion euros ($6.82 billion) for Yamal LNG cargoes, the NGO Urgewald reported.

Ukraine struck an oil depot in southern Russia's Stavropol Krai, and explosions were heard in Moscow Oblast as air defenses were engaged overnight on July 13, monitoring channels reported.

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.

Ukroboronprom dismissed two officials on July 12 following an investigation into a deadly explosion at one of its ammunition depots during a Russian attack on the Kyiv suburb of Vyshneve.

Key developments on July 11-12: * Russian guided bomb attack on Sumy kills 5, including child, injures 43 * '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.

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.