Russia launched a fresh wave of attacks on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, sparking fires in parts of the city, officials said, as the air alert was sounded in the early hours today.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the capital's military administration, said two storage areas were hit and set on fire in the Holosiivskyi district just outside the city centre.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said drone debris had hit the ground in an open area in an eastern suburb and cars had been set ablaze. Reuters witnesses reported several explosions in the city.
Six people were injured elsewhere in a town outside Kharkiv, its regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
The attacks came just hours after Russian president Vladimir Putin vowed emphatic retaliation to Kyiv's recent long-range attacks on refineries, tankers and terminals that have caused widespread fuel shortages.
“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful,” Putin told a meeting with pro-Kremlin activists yesterday.
Read MoreLindsey Graham’s death deprives Ukraine of a key ally who had Trump’s ear, experts say
Putin ‘will never make peace in Ukraine’ – Here’s the reason why
Is there a way out of Vladimir Putin’s forever war?
UK joins 90 billion euro EU loan to Ukraine
Key Points
- Russia strikes Kyiv with missiles and drones in fresh wave of attacks
- Zelensky says Ukraine will need 300 Patriots in winter to face Russia's aggression
- Putin shows no signs of Russia backing down in attacks on Ukraine
- UK agrees deal to join EU Ukraine Support Loan scheme
- Ukraine and allies vow to protect Europe from ballistic missiles
Ukraine's allies call for direct peace negotiations with Russia
07:19 , Arpan RaiUkraine and its allies gathered in Paris yesterday for the Coalition of the Willing summit have called for direct peace negotiations with Russia for a “just and lasting peace” in war-hit nation.
“We reiterate our call, in that context, for an immediate and complete ceasefire in Ukraine and for the resumption of direct negotiations,” a statement by the prime minister Keir Starmer’s office said yesterday.
It added: “We support the proposal for a direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia - with active US and European participation - to bring about a ceasefire starting from the line of contact and support further meaningful negotiations, based in particular on the following parameters,” adding that the talks need to be held with Ukraine and Europe.
“No arrangements regarding European interests and security can be negotiated without Europeans. Elements of any negotiation related to the EU and Nato would need the consent of the EU and its Member States and Nato Allies respectively,” the statement said.
Why Lindsey Graham’s death is bad news for Ukraine
07:07 , Arpan RaiSenator Lindsey Graham’s sudden death has removed a “vital diplomatic buffer between Washington and Kyiv”, experts have said, complicating support for Ukraine at a vital juncture of the war with Russia.
Jaroslava Barbieri, a Research Fellow at the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, told the Independent that Graham has been a critical voice in US foreign policy when it comes to support for Ukraine.
The Republican senator for South Carolina was one of few vocally pro-Ukraine voices in the Republican Party. He used his leverage in the Senate to lobby for military aid to Ukraine dating back to Russia’s initial illegal invasion of Crimea in 2014, per CNN.
Lindsey Graham’s death deprives Ukraine of a key ally who had Trump’s ear
Ukraine says it hit 105 Russian vessels in 8 days
06:39 , Arpan RaiUkrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to the Crimean Peninsula between 6 July to 13 July, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.
The vessels included tankers, dry cargo ships, a ferry and tugboats, Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app.
The campaign is part of a broader Ukrainian effort to isolate the Crimean Peninsula, which is enduring its worst fuel crisis since it was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, and disrupt Russian logistics.
Crimea is a key rear base for Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine.
Kremlin rejects Paris meeting which seeks Putin on the negotiating table
06:34 , Arpan RaiKyiv and its European backers want to press home Ukraine’s recent successes and compel Putin to negotiate an end to the fighting, although Moscow has shown no willingness to compromise despite peace efforts by the Trump administration.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will closely follow the Paris meeting but dismissed its aspirations.
“This is a coalition of warmongers,” Peskov said.
“They are driven by the profound delusion that it’s possible to inflict a strategic defeat on our country, so this is a coalition of the deluded, a coalition of those who incite the war.”
Ukraine’s advances in drone technology have given it an edge recently, analysts and Western officials say. Its strikes on supply routes behind the front have robbed the Russian army of momentum and made its progress slow and costly, they say.
Ukrainian nationals injured in Iran missile strikes on UAE vessel
06:00 , Arpan RaiAt least one Indian crew member was killed and eight others including Ukrainian nationals were wounded when two Emirati oil tankers were struck by Iranian cruise missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates ministry of defence said on Tuesday, in the latest escalation in the strategic waterway.
Of the eight wounded, four were seriously injured. Six of the wounded were Indian nationals and two were Ukrainian nationals, the ministry said.
The ministry said the tankers, the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, were targeted in the southern lane of the strait while in Omani territorial waters. The dead crew member was aboard the Mombasa, it said.
Ukraine to produce French missiles and orders war planes, Macron says
05:40 , Arpan RaiFrench president Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France would allow Ukraine to produce French-made cruise missiles, precision guided bombs and air defence interceptor missiles after Kyiv ordered next generation Franco-Italian air defence systems and Rafale fighter jets.
"Earlier this afternoon president (Volodymyr) Zelensky and I agreed on a roadmap between our two countries, implementing what had been agreed in principle last November regarding our bilateral defence cooperation," Macron said at a news conference following a meeting of some 25 leaders in Paris.
Macron's announcement marked the first time France has agreed to licence production to Ukraine, a move that would enable it to ramp up stocks at a time when Russia is intensifying strikes on the country.
The production centres around AASM precision-guided air-to-ground bombs, Aster air-defence interceptor missiles and SCALP, long-range air-launched cruise missiles, which Britain also produces. Macron said radar systems were also being ceded to Ukraine.
He said Zelensky had also ordered the delivery of next generation SAMP-T air defence systems, which would follow deliveries of the older version and a batch of missiles.
At least 16 Rafale warplanes would also be delivered with a view to operating in Ukraine's skies by 2028-2029, Macron said.
Macron also said Ukraine's allies had agreed to begin military exercises in countries neighbouring Ukraine as part of a plan for a multinational force that would deploy once there is a ceasefire with Russia.
Watch: Rescuers battle blaze as Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia leaves 12 injured
05:33 , Arpan RaiRussia-installed head of parts of Donetsk region says Ukrainian drones kill eight
05:19 , Arpan RaiThe Russia-installed head of parts of Ukraine's Donetsk Region under Moscow's control said Ukrainian drone attacks had killed eight people, including a family of four.
Denis Pushilin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the four people died in a strike on a village southwest of the region's main city, also called Donetsk.
Russian forces control well over 70 per cent of Donetsk Region and Moscow has called on Kyiv to abandon the rest of that region and the three others it has annexed as part of any peace deal.
Ukraine has received all such demands.
Four others died in vehicles struck by drones, he said.
Ukraine and allies vow to protect Europe from ballistic missiles
04:54 , Arpan RaiUkraine and nine other countries announced have said they were forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilising Kyiv’s experience in fighting Russia's full-scale invasion for over four years.
“Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe,” the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they recognised “the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles,” which are harder to stop than cruise missiles or drones.
“We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in the form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and neutralise future missile threats,” the statement said.
“We recognise Ukraine’s unique experience, gained through its defence against the war of aggression waged by Russia.”
The statement gave no time frame for setting up the defense system and said the plan remained open to other countries.
UK agrees deal to join EU Ukraine Support Loan scheme
04:35 , Arpan RaiPrime minister Keir Starmer signed Britain up to an EU defence loan for Ukraine on Monday, one of his last acts as the nation's prime minister to try to improve London's ties with the bloc after years of wrangling over Brexit.
Sir Keir announced the agreement, which will give British defence firms access to contracts funded by the €90bn ($102.59bn) Ukraine Support Loan, as he arrived in Paris for a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing group of Ukrainian allied countries.
"This agreement will help ensure Ukraine gets the support it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression, while backing British defence companies, supporting skilled jobs and strengthening our national security," Sir Keir said in a statement.
Putin shows no signs of Russia backing down in attacks on Ukraine
04:27 , Arpan RaiRussian president Vladimir Putin was unyielding, as he vowed emphatic retaliation yesterday to Kyiv's recent long-range attacks on refineries, tankers and terminals that have caused widespread fuel shortages.
“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful,” Putin told a meeting with pro-Kremlin activists.
European foreign ministers were meeting separately in Brussels where they discussed Ukraine’s needs and Russia’s threats to the continent.
Volodymyr Zelensky is keen to accelerate efforts with European countries to develop its air defences ahead of winter, when Russia usually intensifies its attacks to deny Ukrainians electricity, heat and water.
Ukrainian officials were in Paris to present a proposed Anti-Ballistic Program and meet with government leaders, national security advisers and defence companies who might take part, Zelensky said.
Zelensky says Ukraine will need 300 Patriots in winter to face Russia's aggression
04:26 , Arpan RaiVolodymyr Zelensky has said war-hit Ukraine will need at least 300 Patriot missile interceptors to get through the next winter.
His request came as Ukraine and nine other countries announced they were forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilising Kyiv’s experience in fighting Russia's full-scale invasion for over four years.
“We need to start preparing for next winter now. Of course, we are doing everything we can to push Russia toward diplomacy. And this is already the most difficult summer for Russia,” Zelensky said at the summit yesterday in Paris.
Ukraine can strengthen its overall position by securing a sufficient “winter package of air defence missiles,” he said.
“If we have enough protection for the winter, Russia will have far less reason to drag the war into the winter. We have calculated that this package should include 100 Patriot missiles per month – 300 missiles for the winter. Please consider this,” Zelensky said.
We need to start preparing for next winter now. Of course, we are doing everything we can to push Russia toward diplomacy. And this is already the most difficult summer for Russia. Our long-range operations and mid-range strikes will continue. We will strengthen them.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 13, 2026
And one of… pic.twitter.com/aia1zuMKcz
Russia strikes Kyiv with missiles and drones in fresh wave of attacks
03:53 , Arpan RaiRussian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with missiles in the early hours today, triggering fires in widely separated districts of the city, senior officials said.
The air alert in the city was lifted after about 50 minutes. No casualties were reported.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the capital's military administration, said two storage areas were hit and set on fire in the Holosiivskyi district just outside the city centre.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said drone debris had hit the ground in an open area in an eastern suburb and cars had been set ablaze. Reuters witnesses reported several explosions in the city.
In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, Russian drones struck residential and other areas, injuring 11 people, emergency services said.
A drone attack in a town outside Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city in the northeast, injured six people, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram.
Comment: Inside the Andy Burnham security pact which could reshape Britain’s future
03:00 , Maira ButtThere is a widespread view that Andy Burnham cannot negotiate a significantly better relationship with the European Union without breaking Labour’s manifesto commitments. If that were true, it would be a serious problem, since forging a closer partnership with the EU is one of the most important things that the UK’s next prime minister could do.
Fortunately, there is a way to cut a deal that is good for Britain while also respecting Labour’s promises not to rejoin the bloc, its single market or its customs union, at least until the next general election. The solution is to create a bold security pact covering far more than defence.
But first, Burnham will have to take the British people on a journey. Although a big majority think Brexit was a mistake, they do not yet regard it as one of the country’s most pressing problems.
Inside the Andy Burnham security pact which could reshape Britain’s future
Russia uses Japan's help for tech in Ukraine war – report
02:00 , Maira ButtRussia’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.
Comment: The West is preparing for the wrong post-war Russia
01:00 , Maira ButtWhenever 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
In pictures: Coalition of the Willing met in Paris
Tuesday 14 July 2026 00:01 , Maira Butt
Editorial: Is there a way out of Vladimir Putin’s forever war?
Monday 13 July 2026 23:00 , Maira ButtHow 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?
Watch: Emergency restoration work under way in Ukraine's Sumy after latest Russian airstrikes
Monday 13 July 2026 22:00 , Maira ButtLindsey Graham’s death deprives Ukraine of a key ally who had Trump’s ear, experts say
Monday 13 July 2026 21:00 , Maira ButtSenator Lindsey Graham’s sudden death has removed a “vital diplomatic buffer between Washington and Kyiv”, experts have said, complicating support for Ukraine at a vital juncture of the war with Russia.
Jaroslava Barbieri, a Research Fellow at the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, told the Independent that Graham has been a critical voice in US foreign policy when it comes to support for Ukraine.
The Republican senator for South Carolina was one of few vocally pro-Ukraine voices in the Republican Party. He used his leverage in the Senate to lobby for military aid to Ukraine dating back to Russia’s initial illegal invasion of Crimea in 2014, per CNN.
Lindsey Graham’s death deprives Ukraine of a key ally who had Trump’s ear
Ukraine's Kernel suspends port operations after Russian attacks
Monday 13 July 2026 20:00 , Daniel KeaneUkraine's top grain exporter Kernel Holding said on Monday it had halted operations at Chornomorsk port due to a series of Russian attacks as Moscow intensifies pressure on key Ukrainian trade routes.
Russian missile and drone attacks between Friday and Sunday, described by Kernel as some of the largest wartime strikes, damaged grain, sunflower oil and meal storage and transshipment infrastructure, the company said.
Kernel, a major Ukrainian grains and oilseed producer, said the timing for restoring operations was uncertain.
Putin ‘will never make peace in Ukraine’ – Here’s the reason why
Monday 13 July 2026 19:00 , Maira ButtVladimir 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
Nato condemns Russia's 'malicious cyber activities'
Monday 13 July 2026 18:30 , Maira ButtNato allies on Monday said they condemned cyber activities by Russia, which the alliance said were aimed at sabotaging infrastructure and government entities.
"We strongly condemn Russia's persistent malicious cyber activities, leveraging its cyber ecosystem to target allies and NATO partners," the alliance said in a statement.
"These activities constitute a threat to allied security. We call on Russia to stop these destabilising activities, which disregard agreed international norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace."
The EU on Monday broadened sanctions against Russia to include individuals and entities seen to be contributing to Russian cybercrime.
Russia summons German ambassador and accuses Berlin of supporting Ukrainian attacks
Monday 13 July 2026 18:00 , Daniel KeaneRussia's Foreign Ministry said on Monday it had summoned Germany's ambassador in Moscow and accused Berlin of supporting Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Russia through military cooperation and arms supplies to Kyiv.
The ministry told the ambassador that it considered Germany's increasing support for Kyiv unacceptable.
It cited military cooperation agreements, direct weapons supplies and joint projects to develop drones, missiles and other weapons that Moscow says are being used in attacks on civilian infrastructure in Russia.
Ukraine and Russia have both stepped up their attacks on each other's infrastructure in recent weeks. They both deny targeting civilians.
