Romania has shot down a third Russian done in its airspace as the Nato member’s president called the breaches “intolerable”.
An F-16 fighter jet pilot shot down a Russian drone over the Black Sea, the defence ministry said on Sunday.
President Nicusor Dan called the breach “inadmissible and intolerable” as it follows two earlier violations in the last 72 hours. The country shares a 650km (400 mile) border with Ukraine. Nato said the incident is under investigation.
Moscow is now stepping up attacks on Ukrainian ports across the Danube River with Kyiv also coming under attack by Russian ballistic missiles, according to the military.
Vladimir Putin is looking to bring an additional 30,000 North Korean troops in Russia’s war on Ukraine, claimed Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Since June, preparations have been under way in Russia’s Voronezh region to receive them,” the Ukrainian president said in a nightly address on Saturday without offering evidence.
Earlier, twelve people were killed, including five children, in an overnight drone attack on a holiday camp in a Russian-held part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-installed local authorities said on Saturday, accusing Ukraine of deliberately attacking civilians.
Read MoreZelensky’s new military chief wins widespread approval after surprise sacking
Russia says it won’t stop attacks on Black Sea shipping despite Indian protest over sailor deaths
Key Points
- Romania shoots down third Russian drone in Nato airspace
- Fire reported overnight at Russia's Engels air base – report
- Putin preparing to send more Russians to war, says Zelensky
- 12 dead in drone attack on holiday camp in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia
- Tehran summons Ukraine diplomats over Caspian Sea attack
Watch: Zelensky warns Putin is preparing to send more Russians to war
19:00 , Rebecca WhittakerThe 'rockets and feathers' effect: Inflation eases but grocery bills do not
18:30 , Rebecca WhittakerEconomics has a term for what U.S. grocery prices have done in recent years: rockets and feathers.
Rockets, because the cost of food eaten at home zoomed up in the aftermath of the pandemic. Feathers, because once prices rise, they’re slow to come down.
That’s been frustrating for Americans hit with the sharpest increase in grocery prices in 50 years. While food price inflation peaked in 2022, when prices jumped 11.4%, prices have not reversed course. An acceleration in flation after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran has prolonged the aggravation.
Read more here:
The 'rockets and feathers' effect: Inflation eases but grocery bills do not
Pictured: Firefighters work at a shopping mall in Ukraine which was hit by a Russian drone strike
18:00 , Rebecca Whittaker
Watch: Firefighters tackle blaze after Russian troops strike petrol station in Ukraine's Sumy region
17:30 , Rebecca WhittakerRecap: Romania shoots down third drone in three days
17:00 , Rebecca WhittakerRomania has shot down a third drone in three days after it breached the country’s airspace.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan called the incidents “inadmissible and intolerable."
“A new drone was shot down this morning, at 10:13, by an F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, over the territorial waters of Romania, in the Sulina–Chilia area,” Dan wrote in a post on X.
The day before, a drone that crossed from Ukraine into Romania was downed in an “unpopulated area” near the border, according to a Facebook post by Dan.
On Friday, a drone was shot down near Padina, northeast of the Romanian capital, Bucharest.
It's too early to comment on reported US-Ukraine air ceasefire talks, says Russia
16:30 , Rebecca WhittakerRussia has said it is too early to comment on reports that the US and Ukraine are discussing a possible halt to aerial attacks as part of efforts to end the war.
"We do not know how credible these reports are or where they come from. These are newspaper reports and nothing more. Therefore, it is premature to comment on them at this stage," the Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as sating.
A Ukrainian source told Reuters that Ukrainian and US officials had discussed a proposal for an air ceasefire to present to Russia as part of a new push to revive peace talks aimed at ending the conflict triggered by Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The source said Ukraine had approached Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past with offers of a ceasefire, which had been turned down.
However, some officials believe that pressure on Russia's economy from ongoing Ukrainian drone and missile strikes may soften Putin's stance.
Peskov said Russia's response to any new peace initiative would depend on whether it aligns with Moscow's interests.
"We have heard statements that some new formulas may be possible. We still need to learn more about them," Peskov said.
"And, over time, some formulas or proposals will probably be put forward. What happens next will depend on how closely they correspond to our interests."
2 dead in Ukraine from Russian attacks, 4 more in Russian-held area hit by Ukrainian drones
16:00 , Maira ButtRussian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv early on Sunday, setting off fires and wounding at least three civilians, while attacks on other parts of Ukraine later killed at least two people, local officials reported.
The strikes come as Ukraine’s successful drone attacks have stalled the Russian army’s advances in an expanded campaign inside Russia that has been causing fuel shortages and piling pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
In Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, Kremlin-installed authorities said a Ukrainian drone strike had killed four civilians in the city of Horlivka. According to Ivan Prikhodko, the city’s Russian-appointed mayor, the city had been under fire since the early hours of Sunday.
2 dead in Ukraine from Russian attacks, 4 more in Russian-held area hit by Ukrainian drones
Watch: Trump says he takes Russia's Putin and China's Xi at their word over aiding Iran
15:30 , Maira ButtOvernight Russian attack triggers fires in Ukrainian capital Kyiv
15:00 , Namita SinghThe Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under attack from Russian forces early on Sunday, with falling debris triggering fires in at least three districts, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Ukraine's Air Force said Russian forces had targeted the capital with ballistic missiles. But an air alert was lifted after about 50 minutes and the air force rescinded its warning of missile deployment.
Mr Klitschko said one blaze had broken out on the seventh and eighth floors of a multi-storey apartment block in a central district. Unofficial online channels showed fires in different parts of the city.
There were no immediate reports of casualties. Reuters witnesses said they had heard repeated explosions.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned on Friday that new Russian attacks were likely over the next 48 hours.
Americans rewire their grocery shopping routines while digesting the biggest price jump in 50 years
14:30 , Maira ButtWhat’s for dinner? Lately, at Apral Jack’s house, it’s whatever is on sale.
Jack scouts an app for deals at her local supermarket before she buys groceries. When she reaches the store, she grabs the weekly circular to look for coupons she might have missed. If the shelf prices look too high, she scratches items off her list or tries to find lower prices someplace else.
“The apples went up here, the ones I eat, so now I’m not going to get them here. I’ll go to Market Basket, where I can get them cheaper,” Jack, 50, said as she pushed a cart into a Stop & Shop near her home in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Americans rewire their grocery shopping routines while digesting the biggest price jump in 50 years
Putin preparing to send more Russians to war, says Zelensky
14:00 , Maira ButtVolodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin is "preparing the conditions for expanding mobilisation" as Russian losses mount on the battlefield, citing intelligence reports.
The Ukrainian president said in his evening address that Moscow had enlisted 221,000 people into the Russian military thus far in 2026, while sustaining nearly 225,500 losses among soldiers, including 131,000 killed and almost 93,000 wounded this year alone, the Kyiv Independent reported.
"A significant share of those wounds are severe, as frontline medical care in Russia is catastrophically poor," Zelensky said.
Ukraine is still fortifying its border with Belarus years after Russia invaded from there
13:30 , Maira ButtMore than four years after Russia launched its assault on Kyiv from Belarus, Ukraine is still fortifying the border it shares with Moscow's ally. What was once a busy crossing between the two countries is now a quiet, mine-laden stretch of land closed off to civilians.
Roads near the 1,084-kilometer-long (673-mile-long) border are covered for long distances by anti-drone netting. The surrounding landscape is dominated by rows of razor wire and concrete anti-tank barriers known as “dragon’s teeth.”
The Associated Press visited parts of the border in northern Ukraine earlier this month, following a rise in tensions between the two countries; Ukraine demanded that Belarus shut down communications relay stations Russia had installed to boost the range of its drones attacking Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine is still fortifying its border with Belarus years after Russia invaded from there
Kyiv hit with missiles; Russia and Ukraine both report civilians killed in strikes
13:00 , Maira ButtThe Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under ballistic missile attack from Russian forces early on Sunday, while other regions suffered bombardments later during the day that killed two people.
Russia, for its part, said four people were killed by a Ukrainian drone strike in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Horlivka.
Ukraine's air force said Russian forces had targeted the capital with ballistic missiles, as explosions rocked the city.
In its morning note, the air force said Russia had launched seven ballistic missiles and 136 drones at Ukraine overnight.
In the eastern city of Kharkiv, one person was killed and twelve others required medical attention after a daytime drone attack. Meanwhile, a glide bomb attack killed one person and wounded six in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, which has been under heavy bombardment in recent months.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one blaze had broken out on the seventh and eighth floors of a multi-storey apartment block in a central district after the overnight missile attack. Three people were wounded in the capital, and unofficial social media channels showed footage of fires burning.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned on Friday that Russian attacks were likely over the next 48 hours.
In pictures: Aftermath of Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia
12:30 , Maira Butt
Nato investigating Romania airspace breaches
12:00 , Maira ButtNato has said additional details of Sunday's incident were under investigation after Romanian jets shot down a Russian drone.
“The shootdowns come as Nato, Romania, and other nations actively acquire ground-based interceptors to enhance allied and national air defence capabilities,” said US Army Colonel Martin O'Donnell, spokesperson for Nato's military headquarters.
Romanian president Nicusor Dan said Romania had identified Friday's drone as a Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicle commonly used by Russian forces and investigations of those shot down on Saturday and Sunday were ongoing.
Romania's foreign ministry said it had summoned the Russian ambassador "following these repeated violations". Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan called the airspace breaches "unacceptable".
Romania shoots down third Russian drone in Nato airspace
11:33 , Maira ButtRomania has shot down a third Russian done in its airspace as the Nato member’s president called the breaches “intolerable”.
An F-16 fighter jet pilot shot down a Russian drone over the Black Sea, the defence ministry said on Sunday.
President Nicusor Dan called the breach “inadmissible and intolerable” as it follows two earlier violations in the last 72 hours. The country shares a 650km (400 mile) border with Ukraine.
"The drone was shot down safely, at a distance of 12 km NE of Sulina, in national airspace, above territorial waters," the ministry said in a statement.
Intern arrested in Belgium on suspicion of spying inside Nato military headquarters
11:00 , Maira ButtA Canadian woman was arrested and accused of espionage while working as an intern in the operational headquarters of the Nato military alliance, Belgian authorities said Saturday.
Belgium's Federal Prosecutor's Office said it launched an espionage investigation after being tipped off by Nato’s security services. Authorities then detained “a Canadian citizen of Chinese origin” Friday, a day after raiding the suspect's home and workplace inside Nato's vast operational command centre.
“She is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organisation,” the prosecutors said in a statement.
Intern arrested in Belgium on suspicion of spying inside NATO military headquarters
Russia says it captures Shevchenko in Ukraine's Donetsk region
10:40 , Maira ButtRussian forces have captured the settlement of Shevchenko in Ukraine's Donetsk region, Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday.
Ukrainian Air Force says Russian forces targeting Kyiv with ballistic missiles
10:30 , Maira ButtThe Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under attack early on Sunday, and Ukraine's Air Force said Russian forces were targeting the city with ballistic missiles.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said falling debris had triggered fires in at least three districts.
Reuters witnesses said they had heard repeated explosions.
Watch: Zelensky warns Putin is preparing to send more Russians to war
10:00 , Maira ButtIn pictures: Aftermath of Russian attack in Kyiv
09:30 , Maira Butt
Iran says Ukrainian attack on vessel in Caspian Sea killed sailor
09:00 , Maira ButtIran's Foreign Ministry condemned on Saturday a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, saying it resulted in an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another.
Throughout the war in Ukraine, Kyiv has had to counter Iranian-designed drones deployed by Moscow. Kyiv has offered its drone interception expertise to countries in the Middle East that have suffered strikes from Iran.
Tehran described the attack on its vessel as an act of aggression and said it would defend its national interests and security, while accusing Kyiv of seeking to expand the war in Ukraine.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine's chargé d'affaires in Tehran to convey its protest over what it described as a "hostile and criminal" attack, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported.
The Iranian denunciation coincided with comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Kyiv had noted Russia was passing on its satellite observations in the Middle East to Iran to enable it to direct strikes in the region.
Zelensky had earlier said that Ukraine's forces struck a Russian warship and vessels used for transporting Iranian-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea.
Russian satellites helping Tehran direct strikes in Middle East, says Zelensky
08:30 , Maira ButtPresident Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Russia was passing on its satellite observations in the Middle East to Iran to enable it to direct strikes in the region.
“Since the beginning of July, we have recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and US military facilities located there. These images subsequently appear in Iran,” Zelensky said in comments on X.
“At the same time, there is a clear correlation between Russia’s satellite imagery of these sites and Iranian strikes – both before the attacks, in preparation for them, and afterward, to assess the damage inflicted.”
Ukraine’s petrol stations are the latest target for Putin’s drones: ‘When I see something... I run for my life’
07:58 , Maira ButtGet off the forecourt now,” shouts Dima, 65, an attendant at a petrol station on the main road into Pavlohrad, in Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region.
As the air raid siren wails, he points to an app on his phone tracking Russian drones — now an essential tool for those working on the country’s increasingly dangerous petrol station forecourts. An arrow is moving across the screen.
“It’s a Russian Geran-3 drone heading in our direction,” he says. “They missed us yesterday, but they are coming back for another try. You must leave immediately.”
Russia has intensified its assault on Ukraine’s retail fuel network over the past month, striking ordinary roadside stations across the east and south of the country.
Ukraine’s petrol stations are the latest target for Putin’s drones
Fire reported overnight at Russia's Engels air base – report
07:00 , Namita SinghA fire was from reported Russia's Engels-2 military airfield in Saratov Oblast overnight, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Eyewitnesses reported a large fire at the air base and published footage of smoke and flames at the site, which is home to Russia's strategic aircraft, including the Tu-95 long-range bomber, the news outlet said.
Putin preparing to send more Russians to war, says Zelensky
06:30 , Namita SinghVolodymyr Zelensky warned, citing intelligence reports, Vladimir Putin is "preparing the conditions for expanding mobilisation" as Russian losses mount on the battlefield.
The Ukrainian president said in his evening address Moscow enlisted 221,000 people into the Russian military thus far in 2026, while sustaining nearly 225,500 losses among Russian soldiers, including 131,000 killed and almost 93,000 wounded this year alone, the Kyiv Independent reported.
"A significant share of those wounds are severe, as frontline medical care in Russia is catastrophically poor," Zelensky said.
12 dead in drone attack on holiday camp in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia
06:00 , Namita SinghTwelve people were killed, including five children, in an overnight drone attack on a holiday camp in a Russian-held part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-installed local authorities said on Saturday, accusing Ukraine of deliberately attacking civilians.
Kyiv did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the war launched by Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Nineteen people were wounded in the attack on the resort area of Kyrylivka, located on the coast of the Sea of Azov near the town of Melitopol, said Russian-appointed governor Yevgeny Balitsky.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Ukrainian drones carried out the attack on "sleeping people" at the camp. She denounced "inhuman crimes", also referring to an attack on a factory in Russia's Kirov region on Thursday which killed six people.
A video posted online of the holiday camp showed shattered buildings, burned-out cars and a pile of rubble next to a swimming pool.
Balitsky said crews from Russia's Emergencies Ministry had extracted two survivors, including a child, and recovered another body from the rubble. He added that rescue operations had been completed.
"The enemy saw and understood who it was targeting," he said on the Telegram messaging app.
Tehran summons Ukraine diplomats over Caspian Sea attack
05:26 , Namita SinghIran's foreign ministry condemned on Saturday a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, saying it resulted in an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another.
Throughout the war, Kyiv has had to counter Iranian-designed drones deployed by Moscow. Kyiv has offered its drone interception expertise to countries in the Middle East that have suffered strikes from Iran.
Tehran described the attack on its vessel as an act of aggression and said it would defend its national interests and security, while accusing Kyiv of seeking to expand the war in Ukraine.
The Iranian foreign ministry summoned Ukraine's chargé d'affaires in Tehran to convey its protest over what it described as a "hostile and criminal" attack, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported.
The Iranian denunciation coincided with comments by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Kyiv had noted Russia was passing on its satellite observations in the Middle East to Iran to enable it to direct strikes in the region.
Recap: Eleven people killed in attacks on holiday camps
03:00 , Rebecca WhittakerEleven people have been killed in attacks on holiday camps in the partly Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian-installed local authorities said on Saturday.
The strikes followed a major Russian attack on Friday near Kyiv that killed at least 10 people and wounded around 100 others.
Four children were among 11 people killed in the attack on the resorts in Zaporizhzhia, Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed regional head, said, adding that 16 others were wounded.
Romania shoots down suspected Shahed drone in its airspace for first time
02:00 , Rebecca WhittakerRomania shot down a foreign drone in its airspace on Friday in the first interception of its kind, amid growing concern over UAVs straying into Nato territory.
An F-16 fighter jet shot down the drone near the town of Padina, in the east, at around 11am after it entered the country’s airspace, officials said, adding that an investigation was underway.
Read more here:
Romania shoots down suspected Shahed drone in its airspace for first time
Watch: Wildberries: Huge fires as Zelensky launches new attacks on Russian warehouses
01:00 , Rebecca WhittakerUkraine’s petrol stations are the latest target for Putin’s drones: ‘When I see something... I run for my life’
Sunday 26 July 2026 00:00 , Rebecca WhittakerWith Ukraine’s petrol stations a key target for Russian drones, customers are advised to spend no more than 10 minutes filling up. Those working on these deadly forecourts tell Harry Stourton in Pavlohrad, eastern Ukraine, how they take their lives in their hands every day they go to work.
Read more here:
Ukraine’s petrol stations are the latest target for Putin’s drones
Recap: Romania shoots down second drone in two days
Saturday 25 July 2026 23:00 , Rebecca WhittakerRomania’s defense ministry said its forces had “safely shot down” a drone that breached its airspace in an “unpopulated area” near the Ukrainian border.
The drone was “shot down by a Romanian pilot from an F-16 aircraft,” President Nicușor Dan said in a post on Facebook.
It came after a drone was shot down around Padina, northeast of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on Friday.
Watch: Firefighters tackle blaze after Russian troops strike petrol station in Ukraine's Sumy region
Saturday 25 July 2026 22:00 , Rebecca WhittakerPictured: Attack on Russia’s Wildberries warehouses
Saturday 25 July 2026 21:01 , Rebecca WhittakerThree people were injured during a fire at a warehouse operated by Russian online retail giant Wildberries in the Leningrad region, near St. Petersburg on Friday.
Governor Alexander Drozdenko attributed the fire to a Ukrainian drone attack.
Wildberries confirmed it had ceased operations at two regional logistics sites and evacuated staff from its Crimea warehouse.
