Ukrainian drones hit 15 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov overnight, including seven tankers, Ukraine's drone forces commander said on Monday.
That brings the total number of vessels struck in the past eight days to 105, Robert Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app.
Reuters reported that shipping through the trade route has been suspended as of last week due to the Ukrainian attacks and sources said transit remained restricted on Monday. It is the route for a quarter of Russia’s grain exports.
It follows a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow that killed at least three people and injured five according to governor Andrei Vorobyov.
Air defence units downed 81 drones over the region overnight, he added on Monday.
Volodymyr Zelensky said officials who allowed weapons warehouses to operate in a residential area outside Kyiv where explosions killed 10 people had been identified and would “be held accountable”.
Western allies will seek to secure more air-defence commitments for Ukraine when they meet in Paris today, as shortages have left it increasingly exposed to Russian ballistic missiles, despite recent shifts in momentum on the battlefield.
Key Points
- Ukrainain drone attacks force Russia to halt shipping in Sea of Azov
- Ukrainain drone attacks force Russia to halt shipping in Sea of Azov
- Russia's FSB claims it foiled attempted large-scale Ukrainian drone strike
- Russia uses Japan's help for tech in Ukraine war
- Video shows moment Russian strike hits sending people to seek cover
Russian attack on cargo ship kills three crew, Ukrainian officials say
12:30 , Maira Butt
A Russian attack on a Togolese-flagged civilian merchant vessel killed three crew and injured five, Ukraine's deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on Monday.
The vessel was reportedly carrying mineral fertilisers, and was moored in the Odesa region at the time of the attack, regional governor Oleh Kiper said.
Putin ‘will never make peace in Ukraine’ – Here’s the reason why
12:00 , Maira Butt
Vladimir Putin’s growing unpopularity in Russia means he cannot afford to end the war with Ukraine, as he will be lynched by his own people, one of the president’s greatest personal enemy in the West has warned.
Sir Bill Browder told The Independent’s World of Trouble podcast: “If he does a peace deal, he’ll lose power. If he loses power, then he’ll get strung up from a lamp post.”
The anti-corruption campaigner, who once ran the biggest investment fund in Russia, has fought against Putin for nearly two decades
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:
Putin ‘will never make peace in Ukraine’ – Here’s the reason why
What is the Coalition of the Willing?
11:30 , Maira Butt
The meeting in Paris of the so-called Coalition of the Willing brings together more than 30 countries supporting Ukraine, was expected to include around 25 heads of state and government.
The notably high number of leaders appeared to be a demonstration of long-term commitment to Ukraine and a warning to Russia, as Moscow tests Europe's resilience.
“Everyone in the world sees that Ukraine needs more air defence, more protection of life,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday on social media after the latest overnight attacks across Ukraine.
It is led by leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Ukraine.
Kremlin says it is closely following meeting of 'Coalition of the Willing'
11:03 , Maira Butt
The Kremlin has said that it will be closely following a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing which is set to take place in Paris on Monday.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the group as a pro-Ukrainian bloc that wants the war with Ukraine to continue.
The Coalition includes leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Ukraine.
Ukrainian drones hit 15 more Russian vessels in Sea of Azov, Ukraine commander says
10:37 , Maira Butt
Ukrainian drones hit 15 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov overnight, including seven tankers, Ukraine's drone forces commander said on Monday.
That brings the total number of vessels struck in the past eight days to 105, Robert Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app.
Comment: The West is preparing for the wrong post-war Russia
09:54 , Maira Butt
Whenever and however the war in Ukraine ends, it will leave Russia more constrained at home, but more likely to cause disruption beyond its borders.
This matters because too much Western thinking about Russia still rests on one of two assumptions: that sustained pressure will eventually force Moscow to moderate its behaviour, or that the system is heading towards collapse. Both assumptions misunderstand the nature of the pressures building inside Russia.
These pressures are not new and did not begin with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The West is preparing for the wrong post-war Russia
Watch: Emergency restoration work under way in Ukraine's Sumy after latest Russian airstrikes
09:13 , Maira Butt
Editorial: Is there a way out of Vladimir Putin’s forever war?
08:41 , Maira Butt
How will it ever end? This has been one of the questions hanging over the war in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin launched his all-out invasion, aimed at taking Kyiv and subjugating the entire nation, in February 2022.
Sir Bill Browder has a plausible answer. In an exclusive interview with The Independent’s Sam Kiley on the World of Trouble podcast, President Putin’s great enemy said: “I don’t believe you are ever going to have Putin signing a peace treaty. I don’t think the war is ever going to end officially, but I can imagine it is going to grind down to a low level, potentially even totally quiet front, in the same way as North and South Korea did.”
Is there a way out of Vladimir Putin’s forever war?
Three killed and five injured in Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow region
08:16 , Arpan Rai
At least three people were killed and five injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow Region, governor Andrei Vorobyov said this morning.
Air defence units downed 81 drones over the region overnight, he added.
Russian ambassador to Paris to be summoned over alleged cyber campaign
08:00 , Arpan Rai
France will summon the Russian ambassador to Paris in the coming days over an alleged cyberhacking campaign conducted by Russia against European countries including France, foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday.
“We are going to publicly condemn a widespread cyber campaign carried out by Russia against at least 10 European countries," Barrot told BFM TV.
Germany funds 50,000 strike drones for Ukraine – report
07:49 , Arpan Rai
Germany is funding 50,000 attack drones for Ukraine, a source familiar with the matter said, in an order that marks one of the biggest known purchases of drones for Kyiv by a Western government.
The attack drone order involves Shrike first-person-view (FPV) drones made by major Ukrainian manufacturer SkyFall and equipped with software from US defence technology firm Auterion designed to autonomously track and hit moving targets in the final phase of the flight.
Auterion CEO Lorenz Meier confirmed the size of the contract, adding that it was worth about €90m (£76.6m) and was funded by a European country.
A version called Shrike 10-F produced by SkyFall with UK company Skycutter recently topped the leaderboard in the first round of a Pentagon-run competition as part of a $1.1 billion initiative to buy hundreds of thousands of one-way attack drones.
Auterion said its software was being used in several entries in the competition.
Meier said Auterion was helping to supply a total of 100,000 drones for Ukraine this year in partnership with different hardware makers, funded by several Western governments.
Meier told Reuters some of the drones had already been delivered to Ukraine's government with the rest due for dispatch this year.
SkyFall confirmed Germany's involvement, but said the company could not comment on the details of the purchase.
Germany's defence ministry declined to comment, citing operational security.
Russia's FSB claims it foiled attempted large-scale Ukrainian drone strike – report
07:30 , Arpan Rai
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday that it had foiled an attempted series of large-scale Ukrainian attacks using drones against military infrastructure facilities, defence industry enterprises, and military personnel, Interfax reported.
No EU agreement on 21st Russian sanctions package yet, Kallas says
07:15 , Arpan Rai
EU countries have no agreement yet on their broad 21st package of sanctions against Russia, but might agree on Monday to add 250 Russian individuals and entities to their sanctions list, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
“We are hoping that we get 250 listings agreed... this is the biggest number of listings we have done so far," Kallas said before a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels.
"When it comes to the 21st package, there are still some open questions," she added.
Ukrainain drone attacks force Russia to halt shipping in Sea of Azov
06:57 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s increasing attacks on Russian oil infrastructure has forced the officials to suspend their operations.
Robert Brovdi, Ukraine’s drone forces chief said his units had hit 10 tankers and four ferries on Saturday to Sunday overnight, as well as a major oil refinery in the city of Syzran. There had been several strikes on electricity substations in occupied Crimea, he added.
A Ukrainian drone struck a tanker as it was entering the Azov-Black Sea Canal, Yury Slyusar, governor of Russia's Rostov region, said on Sunday.
The fire caused by the attack has been brought under control and there was no risk of an oil spill because the vessel was empty, Slyusar said on messaging app Telegram, adding that there were no casualties.
The Ukrainian military has recently attacked more than 40 Russian tankers in the Sea of Azov as part of what Ukraine describes as a campaign aimed at disrupting fuel supplies to Russian forces and isolating Moscow-occupied Crimea.
Three killed and five injured in Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow region
06:48 , Arpan Rai
At least three people were killed and five injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow Region, governor Andrei Vorobyov said this morning.
Air defence units downed 81 drones over the region overnight, he added.
Russia uses Japan's help for tech in Ukraine war – report
06:17 , Arpan Rai
Russia’s banned spies, which faced the international wrath in their deployed countries, have started turning up in Japan and using their technology, according to a report by The New York Times.
The spies kicked out of the western nations following the full-scale invasion launched by Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Japan’s weak espionage laws and sought-after technology industry has made it lucrative for Russia to operate a part of its war effort through the country.
At least 90 per cent of Russian missiles and drones include Japanese components, said the Ukrainian government in its new estimates.
Russia is also operating its 20th Directorate, a military intelligence unit, which has unit officers pretending to be diplomats or business people holding important positions as they purchase or steal combat technology to introduce it to Russia, said former and serving members of five Western intelligence agencies, the report added.
Allies to muster more air defence aid for Ukraine as battlefield momentum shifts
05:37 , Arpan Rai
Western allies will seek to secure more air-defence commitments for Ukraine when they meet in Paris today, as shortages have left it increasingly exposed to Russian ballistic missiles, despite recent shifts in momentum on the battlefield.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will be joined by at least 25 leaders for a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, part of broader efforts that include putting together a common position that could be taken to Russia, and security guarantees to support any eventual peace deal.
"The ballistic missiles launched by (Russian president) Vladimir Putin are deliberately targeting civilian zones and June was one of the most murderous (months) since the start of the war," foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with Ouest-France newspaper on Sunday.
Russia says it only attacks targets of military relevance and denies targeting civilians.
Briefing reporters, a French presidency official said the focus would be anti-ballistic-missile cooperation ranging from sourcing more US Patriot interceptors and advancing the deployment of the Franco-Italian SAMP-T air defence system to looking at how the European and Ukrainian defence industries can develop alternatives.
One option under consideration was for different European nations to cooperate on a system that would complement SAMP-T and/or Patriot and give Ukraine a significant role in production.
Ukraine is critically low on munitions for its systems and has been largely unable to down ballistic missiles, which travel at several times the speed of sound, over the past month.
It has pleaded with allies for more supplies and has also pushed Europe to work with it on its own anti-ballistic air defence system.
As Russia's strikes have increased, Kyiv has also intensified drone attacks inside Russia, targeting oil facilities and weapons production to undermine Moscow's economic ability to press on with its war.
Watch: Video shows moment Russian strike hits sending people to seek cover
05:00 , Arpan Rai
CCTV footage from a coffee shop in Sumy showed the moment a Russian strike hit and people crouched on the floor as explosions were heard nearby.
Five people were killed and at least 30 injured when glide bombs hit the north eastern city of Sumy on Saturday, mayor Artem Kobzar said on Telegram.
Ukraine's prime minister steps down as Zelensky announces government reshuffle
03:57 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko has stepped down as president Volodymyr Zelensky announced fresh changes to Ukraine's government, saying he had offered a new and important position to the former premier.
Zelensky, who has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited, has periodically reshuffled his government in an effort to bring fresh momentum to his administration.
Svyrydenko, who has served as Ukraine’s economy minister, was named prime minister in July 2025 at the age of 39 after playing a lead role in securing a mineral agreement between Ukraine and the United States, seen as an important way of tying US interests to Ukraine’s security.
In a statement on social media, Svyrydenko said she was “proud to have had the honour of leading the government during one of the most difficult periods in Ukraine’s modern history.” She also said she had discussed “next steps” with Zelensky, but did not provide further details.
“I remain ready to serve the Ukrainian state and carry out every task aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s position, defending our national interests and bringing a just peace closer,” she said.
Comment: The West is preparing for the wrong post-war Russia
03:00 , Harriette Boucher
The West has long assumed pressure would force Russia to moderate or collapse. Both assumptions misunderstand how the Kremlin responds to weakness, says senior policy adviser Dan Sleat
The West is preparing for the wrong post-war Russia
02:00 , Harriette Boucher
International leaders from NATO allies, Ukraine, and Israel have paid tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham, remembering him as a steadfast friend, partner, and advocate for trans-Atlantic relations.
The Republican senator was a consistent presence on the global foreign policy stage, particularly during president Donald Trump's tenure. Senator Graham had recently visited Ukraine, and just days before, he announced an agreement with the Trump administration to advance a package of sanctions against Russia.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky noted Graham's ten visits to Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion, stating, "He was here with our people when it was most needed." Zelenskyy added, "Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer."
Netanyahu and Zelenskyy unite to honor Lindsey Graham after his death
Ukraine destroyed 14 Russian vessels overnight
01:00 , Harriette Boucher
Ukraine says it destroyed 14 Russian vessels overnight on Sunday as it looks to wipe out its shadow fleet.
Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said that his team had destroyed 10 tankers and four ferries.
He said a Russian tanker, tugboat, cargo ship, or other vessels in the Azov Sea were hit every 112 minutes during the week, Kyiv Independent reported.
Russia says four killed in Ukrainian drone attack on Russian-controlled Enerhodar
Monday 13 July 2026 00:00 , Harriette Boucher
Four people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian-controlled town of Energodar.
Alexei Likhachev, head of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said on Sunday that a further four were injured.
Enerhodar, home to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, fell to Russian forces within weeks of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Watch: Zelensky needs weapons ‘much more quickly’ as Kremlin missile attacks kill seven
Sunday 12 July 2026 23:00 , Rebecca Whittaker
Comment:The 3 signs a desperate Putin is about to lash out against Europe
Sunday 12 July 2026 22:00 , Rebecca Whittaker
Ukraine issued an urgent alert for more Patriot missiles and, misguided or not, Vladimir Putin is convinced he is on the brink of victory, writes Robert Fox
Read more here:
The 3 signs a desperate Putin is about to lash out against Europe
