Ukraine
Azerbaijan’s assets hit by Russian attack on Ukraine
Azerbaijan summoned Russian Ambassador Mikhail Yevdokimov on July 6 and handed him a protest note over a July 5 drone strike on a fuel station belonging to SOCAR, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic, in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, Reuters reported. The Foreign Ministry said the recurrence of such attacks “indicates the deliberate nature of these attacks.” Two Shahed drones struck the SOCAR station in the village of Nechaiane, around 30 kilometers from Mykolaiv on the road to Odesa, at 19:16 and 19:33 on July 5, Ukrainska Pravda reported. The strikes damaged the station’s administrative building; no injuries were reported. Baku said the attack was not isolated, citing earlier strikes on a SOCAR gas compressor station and an oil depot in Odesa, as well as damage to Azerbaijan’s embassy in Kyiv and honorary consulate in Kharkiv, Reuters reported. The ministry called on Russia to meet its Vienna Convention obligations. Russia…
Ukraine Launches Large-Scale Drone Incursion Against Moscow
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 430 drones flew toward the Moscow region overnight from July 6 to July 7, in what TASS calculations described as one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital area in two years, Kyiv Post reported. Sobyanin said most drones were intercepted on “distant approaches,” with 36 destroyed closer to Moscow. Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defences downed 452 Ukrainian drones across Russian regions overnight. Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports operated under coordinated restrictions, while Zhukovsky airport suspended flights entirely. The reported wave followed two escalations on July 6. Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv and the surrounding region; Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said the Kyiv city death toll had risen to 19 by July 7, with search-and-rescue under way in Darnytskyi district, while Kyiv Oblast separately reported eight dead, Euromaidan Press reported. The same day, Ukrainian drones struck the Omsk refinery, Russia’s…
Russia Scrambles Su-57 to Hunt Ukrainian Drones Over Omsk
A Russian Su-57 fighter was photographed over Omsk during a Ukrainian drone strike on the city's oil refinery, Russia's largest, on July 6, according to the Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+, a claim not yet independently corroborated by wire services or Russian officials. The same channel reported that Russia also scrambled an A-50U airborne early warning and control aircraft. If true, that raises a real question: why commit a large-area radar platform, designed to manage an entire air battle, to intercepting a handful of drones headed for one city? One plausible answer is a gap in ground-based radar coverage over Siberia, a region that has never needed dense air-defense infrastructure because no threat had ever reached it. That remains speculative, but it's the kind of gap this sighting, if confirmed, would point to. Whatever flew that day, it didn't work. Ukrainian drones struck the ELOU-AVT-11 primary crude distillation unit at the…
Vance Says Russian Gains Are Now ‘Close to Zero’ as NATO Summit Nears
US Vice President JD Vance said Russia’s ability to make further gains through offensive operations in Ukraine has become “vanishingly small” and “close to zero,” crediting Kyiv’s use of drones and surveillance technology with helping create conditions to end the war, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing an interview with The Sunday Times. Vance said modern battlefield visibility has made holding ground and wearing down Russian forces more effective than large-scale offensives. He contrasted that with Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive, which he described as a strategic and tactical failure. The remarks come as Washington prepares for NATO summit diplomacy in Ankara and follow a more Ukraine-favourable tone from President Donald Trump in recent days. Reuters reported that Zelenskyy described his July 4 call with Trump as “very good,” called for “American resolve” to help end the war, and said the two leaders agreed to continue their discussion at the NATO summit in Turkey.…
Gazprom to Form Mobile Fire Groups From Reservists to Guard Gas Facilities From Drones
Russia’s Gazprom has reached an agreement with the Defence Ministry to form mobile fire groups tasked with defending gas infrastructure, including against drone strikes, according to internal company documents reported by Echo and cited by The Moscow Times on July 5. Neither Gazprom nor the Defence Ministry has publicly confirmed the arrangement. Under the reported plan, volunteers would join Russia’s mobilisation reserve rather than active military service, combining civilian employment with periodic training. Applicants would undergo medical screening, vetting and two months of preparation before deployment, according to the reports. Their principal task would be patrolling and guarding gas-supply facilities, with possible assignment to other critical infrastructure in the region where each contract is signed. The report fits a broader pattern of decentralised protection for Russian industrial and energy sites following repeated Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russian territory. Reuters reported in May that Russian business leaders had asked President…
Germany to Provide NATO’s Largest Single Share of Ukraine Support Pledge, Pistorius Says
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Berlin will supply the largest individual national contribution to a NATO military-support pledge for Ukraine set to be endorsed at the alliance’s Ankara summit on July 7–8. “Germany’s share will certainly be the largest individual amount,” Pistorius said, according to ZDFheute, which cited Reuters. Reuters reported that NATO leaders are expected to pledge €70 billion in military assistance for Ukraine in 2026, with at least an equivalent level of support in 2027, under draft summit language approved by ambassadors but still awaiting final approval by leaders. The figure requires context. Tagesschau reported that the pledge applies to European NATO members and Canada and totals €140 billion across 2026 and 2027. The sum includes around €30 billion per year from EU loan-backed military assistance and roughly €40 billion per year in bilateral support. It is therefore a financing framework built largely on existing instruments, not…
