Ukraine war map: How Russia's drone strike strategy is evolving
advertisementData reveals a consistent upward trend in the number of drone and missile strikes across March, April, May, and June 2025, indicating an escalation in the intensity of the conflict during these months. On July 9, Russia launched 728 drones and 13 missiles in a single day — the largest airstrike since the war began in February 2022.
Ground reports analysed by the American non-profit Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and other publications also indicate Russia's intensified offensive over the past 30 days. ISW assesses that Russian forces seized a total of 498.53 square kilometers in May 2025 and 466.71 square kilometers in June 2025.At this pace, Russia is advancing by just 15 square kilometres a day — roughly the size of Delhi's international airport. So far, it already controls 113,888 square kilometres of Ukraine's total 603,000 square kilometres.
To capture the remaining 80% of Ukraine, experts say it would take another 89 years at the current pace. However, Russia's rate of advance has changed during the war, depending on several factors — such as how many offensives are active on different parts of the front, the time of year and weather conditions, and the strength and supplies of both Russian and Ukrainian forces.Meanwhile, citing two US officials, Reuters reported on July 9 that the United States has resumed military aid deliveries to Ukraine, including shipments of 155mm artillery shells and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets.
Following the July 4 attack, Russia launched another large-scale missile and drone strike on the night of July 9–10 that heavily targeted Kyiv City, resulting in civilian casualties and significant damage to civilian infrastructureadvertisementThe Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 397 Shahed-type strike drones and decoy drones from the directions of Bryansk, Kursk, and Oryol cities; Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai; and Millerovo, Rostov Oblast – of which about 200 were Shahed-type drones.The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces shot down 178 total projectiles, including 164 drones, all eight Iskander-M ballistic missiles, and all six Kh-101 cruise missiles, and that 204 drones and missiles were "lost" or suppressed by Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) systems. Ukrainian officials reported that the main targets of the Russian strike series were Kyiv City and Kyiv Oblast and that Russian strikes also damaged Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad, and Kharkiv oblastsA Russian military blogger linked to the Kremlin said that Russian forces are using new strike tactics by launching large attacks focused on one or two main cities. According to the blogger, Ukraine's air defences can't handle such large and concentrated attacks. Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Colonel Yuriy Ihnat added that Russia is launching drones and missiles from different directions and heights, making it harder for Ukraine to defend against them.advertisementSuch strike packages increase Ukraine's dependence on Western air defense systems like the U.S. Patriot, as well as support for developing and producing its own interceptor drones.To protect its cities, Ukraine will require both domestic and partner-provided air defense systems integrated into a unified defense network.- EndsMust Watch
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News18
a few seconds ago
- News18
There should be no double standards: India on EU sanctions
New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) India does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in response to the European Union announcing fresh punitive measures on Russia, especially on its energy trade. The European Union (EU) has announced a new package of sanctions aimed at Russia over its war against Ukraine. It also named India's Vadinar Refinery in which Russian energy firm Rosneft has a major stake. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures. The 18th package of sanctions included measures largely aimed at curbing the revenues of Russia's oil and energy sector such as an import ban on refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil. The EU's foreign and security policy chief Kaja Kallas said on social media that the 27-member bloc had approved 'one of its strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date". The new sanctions include a lower oil price cap, the designation of the 'biggest Rosneft refinery in India", and measures aimed at 105 more shadow fleet ships. 'We have noted the latest sanctions announced by the European Union," Jaiswal said. He said India is a 'responsible" actor and remain fully committed to its legal obligations. 'The government of India considers the provision of energy security a responsibility of paramount importance to meet the basic needs of its citizens," he said. 'We would stress that there should be no double standards, especially when it comes to energy trade," he added. PTI MPB ZMN (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 18, 2025, 22:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Mint
30 minutes ago
- Mint
Nayara refinery to be hit hard by EU sanctions on Russian oil
New Delhi: In measures targeting Russia's ability to raise revenues from its oil and energy sector in the midst of war with Ukraine, the European Union (EU) on Friday unveiled sanctions on the Rosneft-owned Nayara Energy's 20 million-tonne refinery in Vadinar, Gujarat, and lowered the price cap on Russian oil by 15% to $47.6 per barrel from $60. It also imposed sanctions on more 'shadow fleet ships', which are largely used for moving crude oil from Russia. Kaja Kallas, EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy said in a post on social media platform X that the 27-nation grouping has also agreed to ban financial transactions related to Russia's Nord Stream gas pipeline. Late on Friday night, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs, said in a statement: 'We have noted the latest sanctions announced by the European Union. India does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures. We are a responsible actor and remain fully committed to our legal obligations." The development is expected to hit Nayara hard, especially its exports of petroleum products. Nayara is one of only two Indian companies, the other being Reliance Industries, which exports petroleum products from the country, since only private companies are allowed to export petroleum products. India's exports of petroleum products rose 3.4% in volume terms to 64.7 million tonnes in FY25, compared to 62.6 million tonnes in FY24, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. To be sure, while Nayara has the largest private sector retail fuel network of the country with about 6,500 fuel bunks, its share of the domestic market is small considering around 90,000 petrol pumps in India–a market dominated by state-owned companies. Meanwhile, according to reports, Rosneft is also looking at selling its stake in its subsidiary. In March, The Economic Times reported that Russia's Rosneft, which owns 49.13% stake in Nayara Energy, is looking to exit the Indian venture, as due to sanctions, the Russian company has not been able to repatriate earnings from Nayara Energy in the past few years. 'Petroleum product exports from Nayara's refinery to Europe would be impacted by the sanctions. Europe has been a major buyer of these products. Further, the likely talks of a stake sale by Rosneft also may be impacted," said Shashi Mathews, partner at law firm CMS Induslaw. However, he added that refiners should be able to navigate the price cap, as they have been already operating with the $60 price cap for the past few years. 'It's an evolving situation, it needs to be seen how this builds. The implementation of sanctions on the shadow fleet and the price cap would be key. Impact on supplies will raise prices," said Prashant Vasisht, senior vice president and co-group head, corporate rating, Icra. A statement by the Council of European Union said: 'The bloc will ban the import of 'refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and coming from any third country – with the exception of Canada, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States – thereby preventing Russia's crude oil from reaching the EU market through the back door." Queries sent to Nayara and Rosneft remained unanswered till press time. Experts said the move may close an emerging market for India. Europe is a key market for Indian petroleum products along with South East Asia and the US. In a report in December 2024, S&P Global Commodity Insights had said: 'Europe is increasingly turning out to be the brightest market for Indian oil products exporters that have capitalized on the shortages of diesel and other fuels due to geopolitical tensions and are shipping plentiful cargoes, a trend that is set to spill over to next year." It had noted that refineries in India have ramped up exports to Europe and the Mediterranean since Europe and the UK banned Russian diesel in 2023. The report added that Reliance Industries is the largest products exporter to Europe. Kallas, who is also the vice-president of the European Commission, said on X that the EU is standing firm.'We're cutting the Kremlin's war budget further, going after 105 more shadow fleet ships, their enablers, and limiting Russian banks' access to funding. For the first time, we're designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India." According to the EU statement, the latest sanction on 105 vessels takes the total vessels under sanction to 444. These vessels will be subject to a ban on port access and on the provision of a broad range of services related to maritime transport. 'Full-fledged sanctions (asset freezes, travel bans, bans on providing resources) target Russian and international companies managing shadow fleet vessels, traders of Russian crude oil and a major customer of the shadow fleet – a refinery in India with Rosneft as its main shareholder," said the council's statement. 'With today's package, the EU is curtailing Russia's energy revenues through a number of different measures. The EU is lowering the price cap for crude oil from $60 to $47.6 per barrel, to align it with current global oil prices and is introducing an automatic and dynamic mechanism to modify the oil price cap and ensure that this price cap is effective. Oil exports still represent one third of the Russian government's revenues," said the EU statement. Experts said the sanctions on shadow fleet ships may impact supply of Russian crude and lift prices. On Friday, global crude prices increased about 1%. At the time of writing, the September contract of Brent on the Intercontinental Exchange was at $70.16 per barrel, higher by 0.92% from its previous close. Similarly, the August contract of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on the NYMEX rose 1.13% to $68.30 per barrel. With US President Donald Trump warning of sanctions on countries that import Russian oil, Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri had said on Thursday while addressing an energy conference in New Delhi that India is not worried about any such penalties and will navigate any eventuality as there is enough supply in the market. Trump recently said the US could impose 100% tariffs on Russia and 'secondary tariffs" on countries importing its oil—mainly China and India—if Moscow didn't agree to a deal to end the Ukraine war in 50 days. Responding to a question on India's likely measures in case secondary sanctions were imposed on Russian oil imports, Union minister Puri said: 'My own view is the price of oil will come down. It will come down only because there is more oil available in the international market. There is more oil coming on the global market from the western hemisphere. I mean countries such as Brazil, Guyana and Canada. They're not even OPEC+ members. I'm not worried at all. If something happens, we'll deal with it." He added that India felt 'no pressure" and had enough supply options to ensure uninterrupted availability even in turbulent times. On Thursday, the ministry of external affairs responded to a recent remark by NATO secretary general Mark Rutte's wherein he had warned of secondary sanctions against countries buying Russian oil. Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, sanctions-hit Russia has emerged as the top supplier of oil to India, accounting for about 36% of India's total oil imports. In February 2022 when the war started, it accounted for just 0.2% of India's total oil imports.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Kremlin Says Trump Ukraine Pressure Wont End US-Russia Talks
The Kremlin said on Friday that it did not believe that a tougher stance US President Donald Trump has adopted towards Russia over its war in Ukraine means the end of US-Russia talks aimed at reviving their battered ties. Trump unveiled his new position on Monday, setting a 50-day deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine or face sanctions. He also promised more missiles for Kyiv, a move the Russian Foreign Ministry sharply criticised on Thursday. Asked on Friday if Trump's statements meant that negotiations aimed at reviving ties between Moscow and Washington would now end, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We assume that this is not what it means. Of course, these are different issues. One issue is the question of the Ukrainian (peace) settlement. The other issue is our bilateral relations." Peskov said many "irritants" and problems still needed to be resolved in order to improve ties with Washington, which he said were "in a deplorable state." He called efforts to change the situation time-consuming and difficult. Moscow's dialogue with Washington appeared to improve after Trump retook office in January, but Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with President Vladimir Putin over conditions the Kremlin chief has attached to any potential ceasefire. Russia and Ukraine held two rounds of peace talks in Turkey earlier this year, which yielded an agreement to exchange prisoners and soldiers' remains. But no date has yet been set for a third round of talks, and the warring sides remain far apart on the terms of any ceasefire or eventual peace settlement.
