Ukraine
Ankara Missile Deals Aim to Close NATO’s Firepower Gap
NATO’s Ankara summit produced a series of missile-production deals designed to ease pressure on U.S. factories and push Europe toward a more durable defence-industrial base.The most immediate track concerns air defence. Reuters reported that the United States is moving closer to European co-production of Raytheon’s AIM-120 AMRAAM missile and plans to establish a European maintenance facility for Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3 interceptor, used in Patriot air-defence systems. Both missiles are in high demand because of Ukraine’s need to defend against Russian air attacks.The AMRAAM initiative involves Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Britain, according to Reuters. The Wall Street Journal reported that Raytheon and NATO partners are seeking to qualify European suppliers for key AMRAAM components, expanding the missile’s production footprint in Europe. Idle State: A live AIM-120 interceptor locked into the wingtip launcher rail of a multirole fighter jet. Source: mtcurado / Getty ImagesThe PAC-3 plan is more…
Ukraine Strikes Russian Shadow Fleet Tankers
Ukraine said it struck Russian shadow fleet tankers in the Sea of Azov, targeting a fuel route used to supply occupied Crimea and Russian forces in southern Ukraine.Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said drones hit eight tankers overnight on July 6–7, after two vessels were struck a day earlier. The tankers, each with a deadweight of about 7,000 metric tons, were carrying fuel from Taganrog to occupied Crimea, according to Reuters.The attack points to a widening Ukrainian effort to pressure Russia’s maritime logistics, not only its front-line positions. The Sea of Azov has become a key supply corridor for Russian forces because it connects Russian ports with Crimea and occupied parts of southern Ukraine, Reuters reported.Kyiv describes the targeted vessels as part of Russia’s shadow fleet – the opaque network of tankers used to move fuel and oil despite sanctions and maritime restrictions. Reuters has reported, however, that only two of…
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…
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…
Russia Hits Kyiv With Missiles and Drones Days After Deadliest Strike of the Year
Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight on July 6, killing at least 11 people and injuring at least 46 in the capital, just four days after the deadliest strike on the city this year, Reuters reported. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 68 missiles and 351 attack and decoy drones, with Kyiv as the primary target, according to The Kyiv Independent. The barrage included 23 ballistic missiles, 39 cruise missiles and six anti-ship missiles. Ukrainian air defences shot down 37 missiles and 326 drones, but Reuters reported that none of the ballistic, super- or hypersonic missiles were intercepted. The attack heavily damaged civilian areas. Residential buildings were hit in the Podilskyi, Obolonskyi, Holosiivskyi and Darnytskyi districts of Kyiv, including a building in Podilskyi district that was partially destroyed between its fifth and ninth floors. The Kyiv Independent also reported damage to homes, businesses and other…
