Ukraine war latest: Putin calls for Crimea fuel subsidies as Ukraine once again hammers shadow fleet

Key developments on July 9:

• Putin calls for Crimea fuel subsidies as Ukraine once again hammers shadow fleet
• 'No evidence' of Kyiv's involvement in Nord Stream sabotage, Ukrainian prosecutors say
• Sham Russian court sentences Ukrainian marine commanders to life imprisonment for Mariupol defense
• Russian attacks kill at least 12, injure 100 across Ukraine as NATO allies pledge new defense aid

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on his government to provide subsidies for people living in Russian-occupied Crimea as fuel prices continue to soar amid Ukraine's ongoing campaign to cut off logistics to the peninsula.

Speaking on July 8, Putin called on the Finance Ministry to provide payments "as quickly as possible" as "citizens shouldn't feel a burden" from the escalating crisis, Russian state media reported.

Ukraine has ramped up long-range attacks across Russian-occupied territories and inside Russia in recent weeks, inflicting a domestic fuel supply crisis in the country.

Crimea has been particularly hard hit, with the peninsula under an effective siege by Ukrainian drones targeting logistics routes and electrical infrastructure. In addition to soaring fuel prices, many areas have faced blackouts.

On the same day Putin spoke, the Russian government announced it would ban the export of diesel fuel until at least the end of the month, according to Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti.

The Russian proxy governor in Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, on July 8 said a "colossal effort" involving the military was underway to alleviate the crisis but the situation "hasn't yet returned to normal."

"Sevastopol, for example, receives only a third of its daily (fuel) needs on average," he added.

Adding to the Kremlin's woes, Ukraine's drone campaign this week began targeting Russian shadow fleet tankers being used to transport fuel to Crimea with devastating results.

Over the course of three nights, Ukrainian long-range drones struck 35 tankers, cargo ships, and "special vessels" in the Sea of Azov, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces Commander Robert Brovdi, known by the callsign "Madyar," reported on July 9.

'No evidence' of Kyiv's involvement in Nord Stream sabotage, Ukrainian prosecutors say

Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office has not established Ukraine's involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, prosecutors said on July 9, adding that the investigation and evidence collection are still underway.

The statement comes a week after Germany's federal prosecutor filed charges against a Ukrainian national suspected of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. The suspect is Serhii Kuznietsov, Ukrainian veteran who was extradited to Germany in November 2025.

Ukrainian law enforcement is investigating the case as part of criminal proceedings into Russia's war against Ukraine and other alleged offenses. Investigators are reviewing information related to the pipeline sabotage and interviewing witnesses.

"At present, no evidence has been established indicating the involvement of the Ukrainian state, its authorized institutions, or officials in these unlawful acts, or that they issued, on behalf of Ukraine, any orders, directives, instructions, or other commands to carry out the sabotage of the pipelines," the statement read.

"Ukraine is ready to assist in establishing the full truth about the circumstances."

Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office acknowledged the German federal prosecutor's indictment in the Nord Stream sabotage case and said it continues to cooperate with the relevant German authorities.

The prosecutors said the charges against Kuznietsov shouldn't be interpreted as proof of his guilt.

"A person's guilt can only be established by a court verdict," they added.

Sham Russian court sentences Ukrainian marine commanders to life imprisonment for Mariupol defense

Russian occupation authorities in Donetsk Oblast have sentenced two Ukrainian marine commanders and two deputies to life imprisonment in a high-security penal colony, Russia's Investigative Committee said on July 8.

"Ukrainian commanders and their subordinates have been convicted of the murder of 93 people and the shelling of residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Mariupol," Russia's Investigative Committee wrote in a post on social media.

The Ukrainian city of Mariupol was laid siege to by Russian forces in the early days of the full-scale invasion. Russian forces destroyed 90% of the civilian homes in Mariupol. Russian forces damaged every single hospital in Mariupol. Russian forces bombed the Mariupol theater where civilians were sheltering, killing 600 people. The siege by Russian forces killed at least 22,000 people in Mariupol, though the true death toll may never be known as Russian occupation authorities are destroying mass graves where victims were buried.

Those sentenced are Colonel Volodymyr Baraniuk, commander of Ukraine's 36th Separate Marine Brigade, his deputies Dmytro Karmiankov and Vitalii Yaroshenko, and 501st Marine Battalion commander Mykola Biriukov.

All were involved in the defence of Mariupol, with Baraniuk being made a Hero of Ukraine for his actions.

Russian attacks kill at least 12, injure 100 across Ukraine as NATO allies pledge new defense aid

Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 12 people and injured 100 others overnight on July 9, regional authorities said.

The attacks came as Ukraine left the summit with an allied pledge of $80 billion in defense aid for 2026 and an apparent green light from U.S. President Donald Trump to produce critically needed Patriot missiles.

Overnight, Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 94 attack drones, Ukraine's Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 72 drones, while both ballistic missiles and 19 drones struck 13 locations. Debris from downed targets was also recorded at four locations.

In Kharkiv Oblast, Russian attacks killed three people and injured 50 others, including four children, aged 3, 12, 16, and 17, over the past day, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

In Kherson Oblast, Russian attacks killed at least five people and injured at least 29 others over the past day and into the morning of July 9, according to local authorities.

Governor Oleksandr Prokudin initially reported three people killed and 19 injured over the previous day. Attacks continued into the morning, with Russian forces repeatedly targeting civilians in and around Kherson.

At around 7:30 a.m., an FPV drone struck a car in the city's Dniprovskyi district, killing a man and a woman. A series of attacks later injured at least 10 more people, including a 16-year-old boy.

At around 2:14 p.m., authorities reported another Russian drone strike on a minibus in central Kherson, saying civilians had been injured. The number of casualties was still being clarified.

Russian attacks killed four people and injured seven others in Donetsk Oblast, Governor Vadym Filashkin said.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian attacks injured eight people, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.

Russian attacks across Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injured five people over the past day, according to local authorities.

Russian shelling injured a 56-year-old man in Sumy Oblast, local authorities said.