Tuesday, July 8. Russia's War On Ukraine: News And Information From Ukraine
Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 1,230.
Russian Attacks on Ukraine and War Developments
Late on July 3 and into the early hours of July 4, Russia battered Ukraine with more than 500 drones and missiles in the most intense aerial attack of the war, surpassing the previous record set just days earlier on June 29. Russian forces deployed 539 drones and decoys, the highest number simultaneously dispatched to date, along with 11 missiles directed at Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Ukraine's Air Force intercepted 268 drones and two cruise missiles, as well as electronically jamming an additional 208 drones; however, none of the nine ballistic missiles were downed. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported two people killed and at least 24 injured.
In addition to massive overnight barrages, Russian daytime attacks killed at least 20 civilians across Ukraine on July 5-7. The embattled eastern Donetsk region suffered the heaviest losses, where systematic Russian shelling killed 12 residents and wounded 26 others. In northeastern Kharkiv oblast, or province, Russian strikes killed four people and injured 96 others; meanwhile, the governor of the southern province of Kherson reported four residents killed and 22 others injured.
The situation in the city of Kherson, is further exacerbated by daily Russian drone strikes that seem to deliberately target civilians. International advocacy group Human Rights Watch, released a detailed report documenting at least 45 drone attacks aimed at civilian targets in Kherson, which lies on the western bank of the Dnipro River, within close range of occupying Russian forces that control the eastern bank. The organization found evidence that Russian military operators using First Person View (FPV) drones could discern that they were targeting civilians, which would make the attacks deliberate and constitute crimes against humanity.
In total, Russia has rained more than 22,500 drones and decoys and 753 missiles down on Ukrainian cities since the beginning of 2025. Compared to the second half of 2024, Russian drone deployment has tripled, while missile launches declined by a quarter. Relative to 2023, Russia's drone production has surged more than twentyfold; missile output, by contrast, has remained largely stagnant.
Russia is using its escalating drone attacks to try and degrade Ukraine's mobilization efforts, Ukraine's Ground Forces have said following recent Russian strikes on military recruitment centers. Most recently, Russian drones hit recruitment centers in the major cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, wounding 14 military personnel. This follows a series of similar strikes across the country, including a July 3 drone hit on recruitment offices in the central Poltava region, which killed two people and injured 47 other victims. Ukrainian officials report that Russia's campaign began earlier this year, initially involving sabotage attempts and bomb threats against enlistment centers.
Even as Russia unleashed its biggest attack on Ukraine to date on July 4, Ukraine in turn used drones to strike an airfield and other targets inside Russia. In an effort to limit Russia's ability to carry out attacks, Ukraine attacked Borisoglebsk military airfield, in Russia's Voronezh region on Ukraine's eastern flank, striking a warehouse containing glide bombs,. Much further afield, in the city of Cheboksary, more than 700 miles east of Moscow, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said it successfully attacked a factory that manufactures critical components for guided weapons.
Ukrainian Government Reshuffle
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed replacing Kyiv's ambassador to Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump during a July 4 phone call. Among those reportedly under consideration to replace Oksana Markarova, who has been in her post since November 2020, are Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and Energy Minister German Galushchenko.
However, earlier reporting by Forbes Ukraine yielded a slightly different list of three primary candidates: Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi, Deputy Chief of Staff Ihor Zhovkva, and Defense Minister Umerov. Sources cited Tochytskyi as the front-runner due to his close ties to Zelenskyy's aide Andriy Yermak and his long diplomatic resume, which includes experience working in the U.S.
Appointing a new ambassador, however, might weaken Ukraine's diplomatic efforts in Washington amid strained relations with the Trump administration, which abruptly halted arms shipments to Kyiv, including badly needed Patriot missiles, which are in chronic shortage. The new envoy will likely need to spend considerable time building connections with officials in the current administration at a critical moment for the country.
Even bigger changes to the Ukrainian government might be coming. According to Britain's weekly The Economist, a major government reshuffle in Ukraine appears imminent. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will likely be replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, another politician viewed as close to Andriy Yermak. Svyrydenko had been among candidates being considered for the prime minister position last year, but the move was postponed. Now President Zelenskyy is reportedly preparing to consider her appointment again.
Culture Front
2000 Meters to Andriivka, a documentary by Oscar- and Pulitzer-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov, opens in U.S. theaters later this month. The international trailer was released on July 7 and the film is premiering on July 25 in New York. It opens a week later in Los Angeles, before a national box office rollout; it is slated to air on PBS's Frontline later this year. The documentary captures Ukrainian soldiers and their deadly fight to retake occupied Andriivka, a village in eastern Ukraine, during a failed 2023 counteroffensive. Blending frontline footage, bodycam video, and personal stories, the documentary provides a gut-wrenching glimpse into the brutal, raw reality of warfare.
Chernov, who directed 20 Days in Mariupol, a documentary about Russia's siege of Mariupol and the first Ukrainian film to win an Oscar, said of the evolving nature of the conflict in Hollywood news site Deadline: 'It's much more roboticized, it's much more inhuman, and the weapons even more precise. And it's all about drones now.' Even after gaining international recognition, Chernov continues to document the war. Together with co-producer and cinematographer Alex Babenko, he is already working on his next film, which will capture the next phase of the war, shaped by drones and increasingly automated weapons.
By Danylo Nosov, Karina L. Tahiliani
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Forbes
8 hours ago
- Forbes
Russia Ramps Up Shahed Attacks, But Interceptors Take Them Down
Month-end figures confirm what had been obvious all through July: Russia has continued to escalate the scale of attacks by Shahed-type drones, with a record number of drones launched yet again. But a close look shows that this is not the full story. In fact, less drones got through in July than June, despite the rise in the number of attacks. It looks like Ukraine's drive to deploy interceptor drones is taking effect. The pictures of damaged apartment blocks, buildings on fire and children in underground shelters tell their own story. Russia is waging a ruthless war of terror on Ukraine's civilians, trying to crack morale with a ceaseless drone and missile bombardment. But Ukraine is fighting back. War By Numbers The Ukrainian Air Force releases daily statistics on its Telegram channel showing the number of drones launched and the number downed. The way these are reported has changed, as we will see. The total number launched in July was 6,295, up from 5,438 in June. But the rise in attacks was not reflected in the number of hits. The number that got through in July was 711, down from 760 in June. The intercept rate, the proportion of drones brought down by guns, missile, interceptors or by electronic warfare went up from 86% to 89% . In May the intercept rate was 82%. So even though more drones are being launched, rather than crumbling under the extra weight as the Russians will have hoped, the defense seems to be getting stronger. There are several caveats to go with this. Firstly, these are Ukrainian figures, and Russian supporters dismisses them as propaganda, even though they tally with observations on the ground about the size and temp of attacks. Secondly, these drones are not all Shaheds. The Iranian-designed drones, now largely made at a giant facility in Alabuga in Russia, are accompanied by smaller types including the Gerbera, Parodiya, and Italmas drones, and possibly others. These are smaller, lower-cost drones with shorter range and more vulnerable to electronic warfare and the Ukrainian Air Force used to collectively refer to them as 'decoys' even though some carry warheads. We have even seen a Shahed with a dummy wooden warhead, assumed to be gathering information about defensive systems, which would also count as a decoy. Thirdly, the Ukrainian Air Force previously reported electronic warfare and decoy losses separately, but everything is now ,lumped together so we have a less detailed picture of losses. But, as OSINT analyst Cyrus notes, there is a sharp uptick in the intercept rate after the middle of the month, which coincides with the deployment of interceptor drones. Layered Defence The mass drone attacks a layered defence. Shaheds are easy to shoot down individually, but sheer numbers makes them dangerous. U.S-supplied Patriot missiles can take them out easily, but the U.S. can only make 650 of the multimillion dollar Patriots PAC-3 a year, whereas Russia can launch more Shaheds than that – up to 728 – in one night. Defences include a nationwide electronic warfare system to confuse the drones' guidance, hundreds of mobile defence teams with anti-aircraft machine guns, anti-aitrcraft vehicles like the German-supplied Gepard, plus aircraft and helicopters. Recently the Shaheds have been flying at high altitudes, making ground-based defense less effective. More images of Ukrainian F-16s and other aircraft bristling with air-to-air missiles on combat patrols have been appearing, and video of them shooting down Shaheds. Again though, with one AIM-9X Sidewinder costing a quarter of a million dollars to shoot down a $50k Shaheds, sheer numbers are against the defenders. The idea defence is as inexpensive and easy to mass produce as the Shaheds, and Ukrainian developers have come up with a range of interceptor drones for the job. Earlier modified FPVs have been highly effective at brining down Russian reconnaissance drones. New high-performance interceptors with better range, speed and guidance are now hitting the Shaheds, at a cost of a few thousand dollars each. Types reportedly in service include the Sting made by wild Hornets, ODIN's Win_Hit and the AngryCat made by Venator Technologies, and images have emerged of unidentified types. Ukraine's diverse drone ecosystem has been working overtime to come up with solutions. Operational security means we hardly ever see images of the new interceptors in action. It is significant that a recent video of air-to-air drone hits lists 261 kills including 48 Lancet and 96 Molniya attack drones – but not a single Shahed. Understandably, there appears to be an embargo on reporting or showing such kills. All we can do is watch the numbers. Cat And Mouse This is not, as Winston Churchill might said, the beginning of the end for the drone campaign. The Russians are already working in ways of countering interceptors, including jamming, automatic evasion, and a new model of Shahed with a jet engine to outpace them. We can expect quick responses from Ukraine as they work out ways to counter the countermeasures. Ultimately the only way to stop the attacks may be to target the manufacturing facilities. But the main factory at Alabuga is huge – at over 800,000 square feet it is the size of 14 football fields – making it a difficult target for drones with small warheads without precise information about the location of vulnerable machinery. The drone war will continue. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil storage, railway and other targets are also ramping up – and the Russian defences appear considerably less effective.
CNN
9 hours ago
- CNN
Kyiv apartment block strike marks the deadliest attack on Ukraine's capital since 2024
Russia War in Ukraine FacebookTweetLink The death toll from Russia's heavy bombardment of Ukraine's capital this week has risen to 31 people, marking the deadliest single attack on Kyiv in a year, Ukrainian officials said on Friday. The vast majority were killed in a single strike on an apartment block. Rescue workers have now recovered the bodies of at least 28 people from the destroyed apartment block, including five children, the State Emergency Service (SES) told CNN. At least 159 people were also wounded in the blast. 'This is the highest number of injured children in one night in Kyiv since the beginning of the full-scale invasion,' Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. More than 100 rescuers scrambled to the scene in Kyiv's western Sviatoshynskyi district, working through the night and removing more than 2,000 tons of rubble as they searched for survivors in an ongoing operation. The building was one of dozens of sites in the Ukrainian capital struck by Russian missiles and drones in the overnight attack, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's military administration. He described the strike as a 'direct hit' on the nine-story apartment building, hitting just before 5 a.m. local time Thursday (10 p.m. ET Wednesday). 'I was just sleeping. I woke up atop the rubble downstairs,' a survivor of the attack, Veronika, told Reuters news from the hospital, where she is nursing a broken leg. The 23-year-old was blown from the ninth floor of her apartment building. 'Once again, this vile strike by Russia demonstrates the need for increased pressure on Moscow and additional sanctions,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday. 'No matter how much the Kremlin denies their effectiveness, sanctions do work – and they must be strengthened.' Zelensky added that 'in July alone, Russia used over 5,100 glide bombs against Ukraine, more than 3,800 'Shaheds' (drones), and nearly 260 missiles of various types.' Russia also struck the regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv overnight into Thursday. A strike on a five-story block in the Donetsk region city of Kramatorsk, which partially destroyed the building, killed three people. That was followed by more strikes on Ukraine overnight into Friday, which killed at least three civilians and injured 27 others. This week, US President Donald Trump cited Moscow's killing of Ukrainian civilians as he shortened a window for Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a ceasefire or face greater sanctions. The Kremlin's aerial attacks on Ukrainian population centers have ramped up sharply this year, leaning heavily on cheap-to-manufacture drone swarms that are intended to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses. Drone and missile attacks are launched nearly every night, with much larger salvos now happening more regularly. The interval between large-scale salvo attacks has gone from about a month to as little as two days, according to new analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington DC-based think tank. Meanwhile, the number of munitions Russia uses in these larger scale attacks has risen from about 100 munitions several years ago to nearly 300 munitions in 2025, the CSIS analysis found. CNN's Laura Sharman and Angus Watson contributed to this report.
CNN
9 hours ago
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Kyiv apartment block strike marks the deadliest attack on Ukraine's capital since 2024
Russia War in UkraineFacebookTweetLink Follow The death toll from Russia's heavy bombardment of Ukraine's capital this week has risen to 31 people, marking the deadliest single attack on Kyiv in a year, Ukrainian officials said on Friday. The vast majority were killed in a single strike on an apartment block. Rescue workers have now recovered the bodies of at least 28 people from the destroyed apartment block, including five children, the State Emergency Service (SES) told CNN. At least 159 people were also wounded in the blast. 'This is the highest number of injured children in one night in Kyiv since the beginning of the full-scale invasion,' Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. More than 100 rescuers scrambled to the scene in Kyiv's western Sviatoshynskyi district, working through the night and removing more than 2,000 tons of rubble as they searched for survivors in an ongoing operation. The building was one of dozens of sites in the Ukrainian capital struck by Russian missiles and drones in the overnight attack, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's military administration. He described the strike as a 'direct hit' on the nine-story apartment building, hitting just before 5 a.m. local time Thursday (10 p.m. ET Wednesday). 'Once again, this vile strike by Russia demonstrates the need for increased pressure on Moscow and additional sanctions,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday. 'No matter how much the Kremlin denies their effectiveness, sanctions do work – and they must be strengthened.' Zelensky added that 'in July alone, Russia used over 5,100 glide bombs against Ukraine, more than 3,800 'Shaheds' (drones), and nearly 260 missiles of various types.' Russia also struck the regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv overnight into Thursday. A strike on a five-story block in the Donetsk region city of Kramatorsk, which partially destroyed the building, killed three people. That was followed by more strikes on Ukraine overnight into Friday, which killed at least six civilians and injured 27 others. This week, US President Donald Trump cited Moscow's killing of Ukrainian civilians as he shortened a window for Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a ceasefire or face greater sanctions. The Kremlin's aerial attacks on Ukrainian population centers have ramped up sharply this year, leaning heavily on cheap-to-manufacture drone swarms that are intended to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses. Drone and missile attacks are launched nearly every night, with much larger salvos now happening more regularly. The interval between large-scale salvo attacks has gone from about a month to as little as two days, according to new analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington DC-based think tank. Meanwhile, the number of munitions Russia uses in these larger scale attacks has risen from about 100 munitions several years ago to nearly 300 munitions in 2025, the CSIS analysis found. CNN's Laura Sharman and Angus Watson contributed to this report.
