
'A powerful secondary explosion' — Ukrainian drones destroy Russian ammunition depot in Donetsk Oblast, SBU says
Unconfirmed videos posted to social media show a fire already burning followed by a large explosion and shockwave.
Unconfirmed videos posted to social media show a fire already burning followed by a large explosion and shockwave.
Major General Mikhail Gudkov also led a brigade involved in combat operations against Ukraine. His death reportedly occurred during a Ukrainian attack on a Russian command post.
Ukraine's Air Force reported that Russia used 52 drones launched from several directions, including Oryol, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk. Air defenses destroyed 40 of them, including 22 shot down and 18 jammed electronically.
According to Ukraine's Land Forces, the attack occurred around 9 a.m. local time. One of the strikes caused a fire at the Poltava conscription office, a local military facility.
The shipment includes over two dozen PAC-3 Patriot missiles, more than two dozen Stinger air-defense systems, Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, and over 90 AIM air-to-air missiles intended for use with Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets, according to U.S. administration and congressional officials cited by the Wall Street Journal.
The number includes 1,000 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
In a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump about the reported halt of air defense deliveries, Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, requested an emergency briefing from the White House and Pentagon on the shipments.
Videos posted on social media purportedly show massive explosions near the reported ammunition depot, located just east of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk.
Key developments on July 2: * As Russia ramps up missile attacks, US halts promised air defense shipments to Ukraine * North Korea to send up to 30,000 more troops to aid Russia's war against Ukraine, CNN reports * Ukraine denies another Russian claim of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast breakthrough, says small incursion repelled
"The pace is quite decent, good," Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and former president, said.
According to Bloomberg, some European allies hope the Trump administration will soften or reverse the decision.
Amid stalled peace talks, Russia is increasingly attacking Ukrainian cities with cluster munitions, banned by international organizations for the indiscriminate damage they cause to civilians. The civilian casualty toll in Ukraine in 2025 rose by 37% compared with the same period last year, mostly due to Russia’s use of
The halting of deliveries of air defense missiles from the U.S. will lead to“major casualties among civilians,” a deputy commander in Ukraine’s air defense told the Kyiv Independent. Politico reported on July 1 that the U.S. Defense Department (DOD) had halted shipments of some weapons previously
The plant produces Tor and Osa air defense systems, as well as Harpy-type attack drones.
"When it comes to Ukraine, in the short term, Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
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 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.
Russia's full-scale invasion may have turned Ukraine into the world's largest minefield. As of March 2025, Ukraine’s mine-affected land spans an estimated 139,000 square kilometers — or 23% of its territory — covering more ground than all of Greece and posing an immense threat to civilian life and recovery efforts.
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.
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."
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.
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.
The number includes 1,110 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
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.
"The occupiers use the capacity of this refinery to supply fuel and lubricants to Russian military units involved in the armed aggression against Ukraine," the General Staff reported on July 1.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, eight years after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula and led an armed aggression in Ukraine’s east.
In February 2014, almost immediately following the end of the EuroMaidan Revolution in Ukraine, Russia swiftly moved to annex and occupy Crimea. Within months, Russian proxy forces took control of parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
By the start of 2022, Russia had amassed nearly 200,000 troops on Ukraine’s border. At 4:50 a.m. on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a speech that Russia was to carry out “a special military operation.” Within minutes, missile strikes were launched on Ukrainian cities and the full-scale invasion had begun.