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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
World
Arpan Rai and Alex Croft

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russian soldier opens fire on comrades in Crimea and 17 killed in Putin’s bombardment of Kyiv

A Russian soldier opened fire on his colleagues in Sevastopol, a city in Russian-controlled Crimea, killing one and injuring another, before killing three, according to Moscow-installed authorities.

Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said the soldier has been detained, and there is not yet any information on the motive behind the attack in the village of Khmelnytske on Tuesday.

According to the BBC, the civilian victims were two men, aged 71 and 59, and a 64-year-old woman.

It came before at least 17 people were killed and 42 others wounded as Russia pummeled Ukraine’s capital region with ballistic missiles and drones overnight in one of the deadliest attacks this year, officials said.

Ukraine’s emergency service also reported fires at multiple locations in Brovary, Bucha and Fastiv districts.

Russia reciprocated Ukraine’s attacks on its logistics hub Wildberries as large warehouse fires burned in the city of Brovary and the villages of Velyka Dymerka, Kvitneve and Peremoha.

Air raid alerts were sounded for more than an hour across the capital of three million, where the military administration said seven sites were hit in an assault that began after midnight.

Key Points

  • Russian soldier opens fire killing three civilians and one colleague in Crimea
  • Death toll in attacks on Kyiv rises to 17 - Zelensky
  • Russia strikes Kyiv region to avenge attacks on warehouses
  • North Korean missile unit deploys in Russia for Ukraine war, Kyiv says
  • In photos: Smoke shrouds Kyiv as major attack rips through Ukraine capital
  • Why Ukraine is targeting Russia’s ‘Amazon’ Wildberries with major strikes

Russian soldier opens fire killing three civilians and one colleague in Crimea

09:25 , Alex Croft

A Russian soldier in Crimea opened fire and killed four people - one colleague and three civilians - in an apparent random gun rampage.

The soldier first opened fire on his colleagues, killing one and wounding another.

An official said the solider then turned his weapon on civilians, killing three, in the village of Khmelnytske.

According to the BBC, the victims were two men, aged 71 and 59, and a 64-year-old woman.

Three other people were wounded, said Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of the Sevastopol region. He said the attacker had been arrested.

Read more here:

Russian soldier opens fire killing three civilians and one colleague in Crimea

Death toll in attacks on Kyiv rises to 17 - Zelensky

08:57 , Alex Croft

The death toll of Russia’s strikes on Kyiv has risen to 17, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said in a post on social media.

Another 44 were injured after Moscow launched 24 ballistic missiles, 4 Zircon/Oniks missiles, and another 115 drones at Ukraine overnight.

“The main targets of the attack were warehouse facilities belonging to civilian businesses,” he said.

“There were also strikes on infrastructure and a railway station. These facilities had nothing to do with the war – a brewing company, construction materials warehouses, and civilian logistics facilities.”

Russia launches 28 missiles and 115 drones overnight

08:40 , Alex Croft

Russian forces have attacked Ukraine with 28 missiles and 115 drones of overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

Anti-ship missiles were launched from the Kursk and Rostov regions, with other types of missiles fire from Bryansk and Kursk, it said in an update on Facebook.

"As of 08:30, [Ukrainian] air defence forces had destroyed or jammed 98 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas and other types of drones in the country's north, south and east,” the Air Force said.

“Hits by missiles and 17 UAVs have been recorded at 26 locations and the fall of downed aerial assets (debris) at six locations."

“The attack is ongoing, as several enemy drones are still in Ukrainian airspace. Please observe safety measures."

Watch: Russian strike on Odesa transport facility injures 10 as firefighters battle blaze

08:21 , Alex Croft

War of attrition hits new phase, says Zelensky’s aide

08:01 , Arpan Rai

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s president on defence technology development, said the war of attrition has entered a new phase.

“The enemy is attacking everything indiscriminately — retail warehouses, food storage facilities, logistics hubs, enterprises, building materials warehouses,” he said on Facebook.

One of the companies that came under heavy fire overnight was the Epicentr, one of Ukraine’s largest retail and construction chains.

It said in a statement on Facebook that “in minutes, Russian missiles destroyed what the company had built over decades.”

One employee was killed and three others were wounded. Russia hit two of the company’s key logistics hubs.

A direct hit also destroyed the production floor of its ceramic tile factory, forcing the company to halt manufacturing there and shift production abroad, with full recovery expected to take up to two years, the company said.

Epicentr also voiced support for other Ukrainian businesses damaged in the attack, saying it understood “how many years of work, effort, faith and daily responsibility stand behind every enterprise.”

North Korea sends missile unit to Russia as Putin tries to exploit Ukraine weakness

07:38 , Arpan Rai

A North Korean missile unit has been sent to Russia, set to be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine.

Russia has fired scores of North Korean ballistic missiles at Ukraine since late 2023, but the deployment of North Korean missile forces would be an expansion of the already extensive military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Andrii Cherniak of Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence said Russia planned to base the missile unit of around 90 North Korean personnel in the western Russian region of Voronezh, within its 112th Missile Brigade.

Ukraine is very short of high-end air defences and Russia has tried to exploit this by using more ballistic missiles, which are particularly hard ⁠to shoot down.

North Korea sends missile unit to Russia as Putin tries to exploit Ukraine weakness

14 killed as Russia strikes Kyiv region to avenge attacks on warehouses

06:57 , Arpan Rai

Russian strikes around Ukraine's capital of Kyiv killed fourteen people, injured 27 and damaged warehouses overnight, emergency service officials said on the Telegram messaging app.

Air raid alerts lasted for more than an hour across the capital of 3 million, where the military administration said seven sites were pummelled in an assault that began after midnight.

Authorities said one person died, 24 were injured and buildings damaged in several areas of Kyiv.

“There may still be people under the rubble,” mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram ⁠after rescuers pulled two people from the ruins of a warehouse near ​the ⁠city centre that was destroyed in ‌the attack.

“Search and rescue operations are proceeding." An ambulance driver was among the 24 injured, four of them still in critical condition, he ‌added.

US presses on with Ukraine Patriot missile talks, sources say, despite Trump's doubts

06:41 , Arpan Rai

The US is pressing ahead with talks on allowing Ukraine to make Patriot interceptor missiles, which Kyiv urgently wants to defend against Russian attacks, even after president Donald Trump cast doubt on such a deal, four sources familiar with the discussions said.

The discussions include an option for Ukraine to build some components for final assembly elsewhere in Europe, the sources added. Kyiv ⁠has been seeking more PAC-3s, the newest type of Patriot missile and one of the few weapons capable of downing the ballistic missiles Russia has been launching into Ukraine in growing numbers.

During a meeting with Zelenskiy in Ankara, Turkey, last month, Trump said the US would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture PAC-3s in a boost for Kyiv.

But last week, Trump appeared to reverse course after what two of the sources described as a challenging meeting with Zelensky at the White House.

He told reporters that the US had not agreed to letting Ukraine build Patriot missiles and the US must be “very careful about letting somebody build them.”

Washington's envoy to Nato, Matthew Whitaker, is now leading the push to reach an agreement and traveled to Kyiv last month to discuss the issue and assess options with Ukrainian officials and weapons industry executives, the four sources said.

“No order was given to halt the discussions,” one of the sources said, adding that talks continued with US arms makers, military officials and others.

Russia says it hit logistic hubs in Kyiv and nearby region

06:10 , Arpan Rai

Russia has hit logistic hubs and supply centres in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv and the surrounding region, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram, claiming that those were used for military purposes.

It has also hit three cargo vessels near the ‌Black Sea ​port of ‌Odesa, ⁠it said.

Firefighters work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv region (Reuters)
Firefighters work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv region (Reuters)

North Korean missile unit deploys in Russia for Ukraine war, Kyiv says

06:00 , Arpan Rai

A North Korean missile unit has begun deploying to western Russia and could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine, an official at Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.

Andrii Cherniak of Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence said Russia planned to base the missile unit of around 90 North Korean personnel in the western Russian region of Voronezh, within its 112th Missile Brigade.

Pyongyang has already ⁠sent a new batch of 40 KN-23 and KN-24 missiles and personnel to ​Russia, ⁠but the configuration of the deployment and total number of missiles will be finalised at top-level talks next month, he said.

Russia expects the deployment to involve 120 North Korean ballistic missiles and six launchers, he said. It is not clear what precise role ⁠the North Koreans would play in Russian missile operations.

The deployment described by Cherniak appears to coincide with Russia last week firing its first two North Korean missiles at Ukraine since last August.

Rob Lee, a ‌senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based think tank, said the North Korean resources were a significant threat for Kyiv.

In photos: Smoke shrouds Kyiv as major attack rips through Ukraine capital

05:47 , Arpan Rai

Fire and smoke rises from a warehouse destroyed during massive Russian ballistic missile and drone strikes on the outskirts of Kyiv (AFP/Getty)
Fire and smoke rises from a warehouse destroyed during massive Russian ballistic missile and drone strikes on the outskirts of Kyiv (AFP/Getty)
A damaged logistics hub of the Ukrainian online retailer, Rozetka, after it was struck during a night of Russian missile and drone attacks in the Kyiv region (Reuters)
A damaged logistics hub of the Ukrainian online retailer, Rozetka, after it was struck during a night of Russian missile and drone attacks in the Kyiv region (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the sky at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the sky at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv (Reuters)

Death toll rises in Kyiv as 14 killed in Russian ballistic missiles attack

05:36 , Arpan Rai

Russian strikes killed ⁠fourteen people, injured another ⁠27 ​and ⁠damaged ⁠a number ​of ⁠warehouses ‌in the region surrounding ‌Ukraine's capital ‌of ⁠Kyiv overnight, the emergency service said in a ‌Telegram ​post.

Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with waves of ballistic ⁠missiles in the early hours today, triggering fires in a 20-storey apartment block and other buildings, the city's mayor said.

Smoke rising from a warehouse destroyed during massive Russian ballistic missile and drone strikes next to a residential building on the outskirts of Kyiv (AFP/Getty)
Smoke rising from a warehouse destroyed during massive Russian ballistic missile and drone strikes next to a residential building on the outskirts of Kyiv (AFP/Getty)

Mayor says 184 drones targeted Moscow area yesterday

05:09 , Arpan Rai

A total of 184 Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow and the surrounding area throughout the day on Tuesday, the city's mayor said.

Sergei Sobyanin, ⁠writing on the Telegram ⁠messaging app, said that ​count ⁠was registered ‌between 8.30am to 10pm.

Most of the drones had been intercepted some distance from the capital, he said, with 18 destroyed on approach to the city.

Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow ‌have become ​a common occurrence ‌in recent ⁠months. On rare ⁠occasions, drones have damaged ‌buildings ​in the ‌city.

Why Ukraine is targeting Russia’s ‘Amazon’ Wildberries with major strikes

05:02 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine launched a wave of drone strikes deep into Russia this week, hitting a major logistics hub belonging to e-commerce Wildberries in the Ryazan region.

Ukrainian drones struck two more warehouses belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries overnight on Thursday, sparking fires at both sites, the company and a regional official said.

Ukraine has attacked about a dozen Wildberries sites since July 18 in a bid to disrupt the operations of the company, a linchpin of the consumer economy that is often described as Russia's answer to Amazon. Kyiv accused the firm of helping to bolster Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

According to Data Insight analyst Sergei Semko, goods destroyed by strikes on Wildberries warehouses in Moscow and Tambov regions alone were worth up to an estimated $2.9bn.

Why Ukraine is targeting Russia’s ‘Amazon’ Wildberries with major strikes

Russian shipping firm suspends Black Sea orders after Ukrainian drone attack

04:51 , Arpan Rai

Russian logistics and shipping group FESCO has suspended accepting new shipment requests via the Black Sea after a Ukrainian drone attack on one of its vessels, the company said on Tuesday.

Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, which owns FESCO, said earlier that the vessel Yanina was damaged by Ukrainian seaborne drones and sank in the Black Sea overnight from Friday to Saturday.

Putin lifts recent deposit restrictions from foreign national and firms' Russia-based branches

04:43 , Arpan Rai

Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a decree exempting bank deposits held by foreign citizens and Russian-registered branches of overseas companies from recently imposed restrictions that had effectively frozen the funds.

Moscow introduced special "Type C" bank accounts in 2022 that serve as a financial blockade against what Russia deems "unfriendly countries" – nations that imposed sanctions on the Kremlin over its military operation in Ukraine.

Funds belonging to ​foreign ⁠investors, major Western corporations, ‌and institutional funds are directed into these accounts and effectively frozen.

From 1 June, 2026, bank deposits of foreigners from unfriendly countries were also frozen in the special Type C accounts.

However, according to the new amendments, those restrictions on bank deposit withdrawals will no longer apply to foreign individuals, or to deposits made by branches, permanent representative offices, and other structural units of foreign companies, provided they are registered within the Russian Federation.

Under the decree, ​these categories of foreign depositors ‌are permitted to freely ⁠manage their funds and withdraw ruble equivalents ⁠that were credited to Type-C accounts between 1 ‌June, 2026, ​and the document’s ‌effective date on 4 August, 2026.

One killed and 22 injured in Russian attacks on Kyiv

04:15 , Arpan Rai

Russian forces attacked ​the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with waves of ballistic missiles in the early hours today, killing one person, injuring 22 and severely damaging buildings in several districts of the city of ⁠3 million people.

The city's military administration said seven sites had come under attack in the assault that began after midnight. Air raid alerts for Kyiv remained in place for more than an hour.

Mayor ⁠Vitali Klitschko ​said ⁠one warehouse building had been destroyed near the city centre and rescue teams had pulled two people from ⁠the ruins.

"There may still be people under the rubble," he wrote. "Search and rescue operations are proceeding." He said an ambulance driver was among the injured.

Klitschko said the attack triggered fires in warehouses and storage areas, but initial reports that a 20-storey apartment building was ablaze proved to be inaccurate. A large fire broke out on the city's outskirts, he said, and debris from a fallen missile had ⁠landed next to a residential building.

The city's military administration also said the attack triggered an ammonia leak, which was being tackled by emergency crews. Reuters witnesses said explosions had been heard throughout the city.

Klitschko said air defence units had gone into action to repel the assault. In the surrounding Kyiv region, another person ‌was killed and 21 other people injured, local authorities said ​on Telegram.

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv (Reuters)

Wildberries warehouse in Russia's Tula region on fire after drone attack

04:11 , Arpan Rai

A warehouse of top online Russian retailer Wildberries in Russia's Tula region caught fire after a Ukraine drone attack that injured one person, regional governor Dmitry Milyayev said on Telegram this morning.

He ‌said two industrial ⁠facilities in the Novomoskovsk and Uzlovaya areas and two apartment buildings in ‌another part ​of the ‌Tula region ⁠were also ⁠damaged.

Russian soldier opens fire killing three civilians and one colleague in Crimea

03:59 , Arpan Rai

A Russian soldier in Crimea opened fire and killed four people - one colleague and three civilians - in an apparent random gun rampage.

The solider first opened fire on his colleagues, killing one and wounding another.

An official said the solider then turned his weapon on civilians, killing three, in the village of Khmelnytske.

According to the BBC, the victims were two men, aged 71 and 59, and a 64-year-old woman.

Three other people were wounded, said Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of the Sevastopol region. He said the attacker had been arrested.

There was no information on the motive for the attacks.

Russian soldier opens fire killing three civilians and one colleague in Crimea

The real worry for Ukraine’s allies as beach strike on Russian civilians marks a shift in the war

02:00 , Holly Evans

The gentle splash of breaking waves on a resort beach and the laughter of children having innocent fun gives way to the screech and crack of an explosion. Seven people dead – three of them are children.

This was the scene on Monday in the Russian Black Sea town of Gelendzhik where, even if every adult killed and all 40 of those injured were wide-eyed fans of Vladimir Putin and part of his war machine, the children were innocent.

It was the sort of attack that, if carried out by Russia against Ukraine, would have sparked international outrage and allegations of war crimes by targeting civilian areas.

Read the full analysis here:

The real worry for Ukraine’s allies as beach strike on civilians marks shift in war

Russian forces attack Ukrainian capital Kyiv with ballistic missiles, officials say

01:00 , Holly Evans

Russian forces attacked the ⁠Ukrainian capital Kyiv with waves of ballistic missiles early on Wednesday, officials said.

The city's ⁠military ​administration, writing ⁠on Telegram, said warehouse buildings had ⁠been set ablaze in ​two ⁠districts.

"The danger remains ‌high," the administration's post said.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko ‌said on Telegram ‌that emergency crews had been dispatched to the scene ⁠of one strike in a northern suburb. He said air defence units were in action to repel the assault.

Russian fuel tanker convoy hit by Ukrainian forces travelling to Crimea

Wednesday 5 August 2026 00:00 , James Reynolds

The US army has used up “virually all” of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its five-month war with Iran, according to three people familiar with the data, raising concerns about the military's readiness for future conflicts.

The missiles are principally the Army's surface-to-surface weapons, known as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM). Two sources told Reuters the pre-war stockpiled were almost entirely depleted.

The long-range munitions – which cost more than $1 million each – are an important part of the military's arsenal, allowing accurate strikes from a safe distance.

US ATACMS (Lockheed Martin)
US ATACMS (Lockheed Martin)

US-supplied ATACMS have played a key role in the war in Ukraine, allowing Ukrainian forces to attack targets inside Russia. The PrSM is a newer, more advanced generation that will replace the ATACMS, which have a shorter range.

The dramatic rundown in precision, long-range missiles means US President Donald Trump may have to rely more on riskier, piloted bombing missions if he relaunches large-scale attacks on Iran.

Three people familiar with the matter expressed concerns that the falling missile supplies could limit the US ability to deter adversaries, including Russia and China.

Russian shipping firm suspends Black Sea orders after Ukrainian drone attack

Tuesday 4 August 2026 23:00 , James Reynolds

Russian logistics and shipping group FESCO has suspended accepting new shipment requests via the Black Sea after a Ukrainian drone attack on one of its vessels, the company said on Tuesday.

Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, which owns FESCO, said earlier that the vessel Yanina was damaged by Ukrainian seaborne drones and sank in the Black Sea overnight from Friday to Saturday.

In pictures: Mourners attend funeral of young volunteer killed in Russian strike

Tuesday 4 August 2026 22:00 , James Reynolds

Relatives and friends mourn at the coffin of Vitalina
Relatives and friends mourn at the coffin of Vitalina
 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)
 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

Recap: Putin accused of war crime after drone hunts down market vendor in grim ‘human safari’

Tuesday 4 August 2026 21:00 , James Reynolds

Ukraine accused Russia of committing a war crime on Tuesday after widely-shared footage appeared to show a drone chasing down and wounding a civilian market vendor in Kherson.

Footage released by Ukrainian police shows the drone pursuing an unidentified man around a van being used as a street stand before exploding after he dives for cover behind the vehicle. Police said the vendor, a man in his 50s, survived but suffered shock and shrapnel injuries.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the “barbaric Russian war crime” demands international condemnation and justice. He claimed the pilot would have been aware they were targeting a civilian, branding them a “sadist”.

President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned what he called the ‘drone safari’, saying that that Russia had deliberately hunted down a man selling vegetables. He said “the world must see” the video and “every piece of evidence that Russia has gone mad and that its soldiers take pleasure in killing and abusing civilians”.

“Without pressure on Russia, the dismantling of its capacity for aggression, and real security guarantees, it is simply impossible to imagine the world being able to coexist with this evil,” he wrote in a post on X.

Ripped from home and sent to Russia: The story of Ukraine’s children

Tuesday 4 August 2026 20:00 , James Reynolds

Exclusive: An extraordinary new documentary gives Ukrainian children the chance to tell their own stories of war, forced deportation from their homes and survival.

Their testimony lays bare the devastating human cost of Russia’s invasion, reports Mark Hollingsworth:

Ripped from their families and sent to Russia: The tragic story of Ukraine’s children

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