Ukraine denies Trump's claim that POW swap with Russia 'completed'

Ukraine's military reportedly launched a large-scale drone attack on Russia's Rostov Oblast overnight on July 29, striking a railway station in the town of Salsk, local officials reported.

The United States likely stationed a portion of its nuclear weapons arsenal in the United Kingdom for the first time since 2008, Bloomberg reported on July 28, as the U.S. seeks to reaffirm solidarity with European allies amid increased Russian threats.

"Indeed, peace is possible if we act strongly and decisively, and we have repeatedly said — and all partners know this — that sanctions are a key element. Russia factors in the sanctions, factors in such losses," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Explosions and fires were reported in Donetsk, followed by a blackout amid an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the occupied city just before midnight on July 28.

"We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever," U.S. President Donald Trump said.

Switzerland's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) explained that under its host-state agreement, it is obliged to facilitate the participation of official delegates in international events held on Swiss territory.

"Ukraine's Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) signed an additional Hr 158 billion ($3.8 billion) in contracts with domestic weapons manufacturers in the first six months of 2025, compared to the same period last year, the Defense Ministry announced on July 28."

Ukraine and other non-EU countries in Europe are welcome to begin negotiations to join the bloc's new IRIS-2 secure satellite communication program, European Defense and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said in an interview published July 28.

Videos and social media posts circulating online impersonate the Kyiv Independent's branding, falsely claiming that President Volodymyr Zelensky has imposed sanctions on a list of American citizens, such as Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr., Elbridge Colby, Mike Flynn, and Senator Mike Lee.

"This is a serious and unacceptable incident," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. "That message has been clearly communicated to the Russian charge d'affaires."