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Russia’s war against Ukraine
Debris litters a sports complex after an overnight Russian bombardment on July 26, 2025 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Officials say this five-hour bombardment in the Kyivskyi district included four Russian glide bombs, two ballistic missiles, and 15 Shahed drones. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
‘Resistance inside Russia is growing’ — Su-27UB jet set alight in Krasnodar Krai, Ukraine’s HUR claims. “Resistance to the Kremlin regime inside Russia is growing,” Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said.
After being battered by Ukraine, Russia hopes to ‘strengthen’ Black Sea Fleet. “In the coming years, the Black Sea sailors will be further strengthened — with the arrival of new frigates, corvettes, aviation, marine robotic complexes,” Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia’s Maritime Collegium, said.
Ukraine reports killing Russian colonel leading assaults in Kharkiv Oblast. According to operational data by Ukraine’s Khortytsia group of forces, Colonel Lebedev was leading assault operations in the Velykyi Burluk area of Kharkiv Oblast.
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Russian drone strike damages Regional Military Administration building in Sumy. Russian forces launched a drone strike on Sumy on July 26, damaging the building of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov reported.
Ukraine ‘thwarts Russian plan for Sumy Oblast,’ Zelensky says. Ukrainian forces have pushed back Russian troops in Sumy Oblast, disrupting Moscow’s attempts to expand its foothold in the region, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 26.
Anti-corruption
How effective were Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies targeted by Zelensky, and who were they investigating? The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have investigated top officials, including Zelensky’s allies, and have widely been seen as more effective than other law enforcement agencies. However, real progress has been hampered by Ukraine’s flawed judicial system.
Our readers’ questions about Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies, answered. We offered members of the Kyiv Independent community to share their questions about a controversial bill that undermined Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions and the street protests that followed it this week.
Read our exclusives
Meet Ukraine’s EuroMaidan protesters fighting again for democracy in wartime Kyiv
Twelve years after the EuroMaidan Revolution, thousands mobilized across Ukraine again, united by a different cause. Protests erupted on the evening of July 22, just hours after Ukraine’s parliament passed a bill widely seen as an assault on corruption reform.
Photo: Anastasia Verzun / The Kyiv Independent
‘Stop fueling Russia’s aggression’ — US, China clash over Ukraine at United Nations
The U.S. urged China to stop enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine during a UN Security Council meeting, prompting a sharp rebuke from Beijing, which accused Washington of creating confrontation.
Photo: Wang Fan/China News Service/Getty Images
Orban offers Ukraine ‘strategic cooperation,’ claims EU accession would ‘drag the war’ into Europe
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban proposed “strategic cooperation” with Ukraine instead of European Union integration, arguing that Kyiv’s accession would drag the war into the heart of Europe.
Photo: Attila Kisbenedek / AFP
Ukraine’s F-16 have a new trick to avoid Russian ballistic missiles
Ukraine’s fleet of F-16 fighter jets have been given a badly-needed boost with the creation of new mobile maintenance and operations modules which will help them evade Russian ballistic missile strikes.
Photo: Come Back Alive Charity Foundation
Human cost of Russia’s war
Russian forces attack Sumy Oblast, injure 3 civilians. Russian forces launched an overnight attack on Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast on July 26, targeting civilian infrastructure and leaving three people injured.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,048,330 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The number includes 1,080 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
9 killed, 61 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 208 drones and 27 missiles overnight, targeting cities and infrastructure in multiple regions.
International response
US Senator Blumenthal warns Zelensky over anti-graft law, backs protests as ‘democracy in action.’ U.S. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal co-authored a bipartisan bill that would impose 500% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, gas, or uranium.
Pope Leo meets Russian Orthodox cleric to discuss Ukraine war. The Vatican confirmed that Pope Leo received Metropolitan Anthony, the senior Russian Orthodox Church cleric who chairs its department of external church relations, along with five other high-profile clerics, during a morning audience on July 26.
Lithuania to allocate $32 million toward joint purchase of Patriot missile systems for Ukraine. Lithuania plans to contribute up to 30 million euro ($32.5 million) toward the joint purchase of U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported on July 26.
Russia could be ready for ‘confrontation with Europe‘ by 2027, Polish prime minister says. “Russia will be ready for confrontation with Europe — and therefore with us — as early as 2027,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
In other news
Lukashenko resumes use of migrants to ‘exert political pressure’ on Europe, Ukraine’s intelligence says. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is facilitating transit primarily to Poland, with some migrants arriving from Libya directly or through Russia — pointing to coordinated efforts between Minsk and Moscow.
Ukrainian drones strike major Russian military radio factory in Stavropol, SBU source says. Ukrainian drones struck the Signal radio plant in Russia’s Stavropol Krai overnight on July 26. The plant, located around 500 kilometers (311 miles) from Ukraine-controlled territory, manufactures electronic warfare equipment for front-line aircraft and is a major part of Russia’s military-industrial complex.
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