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Ukraine war briefing: Disastrous drone expo’s organiser appears in Kyiv court
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Tehran summons Ukrainian envoy over the attack, which it says killed one sailor and wounded another.Tehran has accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, causing an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another.Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to protest what it described as a “hostile and criminal” attack on Saturday, state news agency IRNA reported.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemslist 1 of 2Ukraine’s long-range strikes prompt new Russian threat against Europelist 2 of 2Can Russia serve as an economic lifeline for Iran amid the Hormuz blockade?end of listThe ministry claimed the attack had been acknowledged by the Ukrainian leadership and said it reflected Kyiv’s continued “irrational and hostile approach” towards Iran. It warned Iran would defend its national interests.It also described the incident as a violation of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter and said it could further inflame and expand the Russia-Ukraine war.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also discussed the matter in a phone call with the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, his office said in a statement.Araghchi strongly condemned Ukraine’s military attack on the vessel in the Caspian Sea, and reportedly “called for a firm response from the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, and the international community, and for the perpetrators and supporters of this criminal act to be held accountable”, according to the statement shared on Telegram.‘Pressure’“The Iranians are not really happy with [the attack], while they’re also dealing with a US blockade on the southern coast,” said Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran.He explained that the attacks on Iran’s northern coast are “putting extra pressure” on Iran’s maritime trade.In its condemnation, Iran’s Foreign Ministry reiterated that Tehran has never intervened in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.The incident came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in a post on X that Kyiv had achieved “very strong results” with long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea, hitting “vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship.” He did not identify the commercial vessel named by Tehran as a target.Zelenskyy separately alleged that Russia had been passing satellite imagery of Gulf states and US military sites to Iran. He said surveillance on July 19 and 20 covered airbases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.Iran and Ukraine have been at odds since 2022, when Iran sold Russia the Shahed drones that Moscow has since adapted and launched in their thousands at Ukrainian cities.Kyiv says it has shot down more than 44,000 of the Iranian-designed drones since Russia’s invasion.Ukraine has also offered its drone interceptors and expertise to governments in the Gulf that have come under Iranian attack during the US-Iran war, deploying anti-drone specialists to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Russia has carried out a wave of ballistic missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, killing four people and wounding at least 36, officials say.Three people were killed and 20 injured in the eastern city of Kharkiv, while one person died and 16 were hurt in the capital Kyiv.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the raid on Kyiv as "one of the most massive ballistic attacks" on the capital since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.Meanwhile Ukraine has continued its assault on Russian sites. Three Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea were hit, as well as facilities in the southwestern Stavropol region, Zelensky said.A number of areas in the Kyiv region were hit overnight. The Ukrainian military said air defences in the capital had shot down 18 out of 41 missiles. The systems also intercepted 108 drones.Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said a postal terminal in the city suburbs had been attacked, with three men aged between 24 and 62 killed. Three of the injured were in a serious condition.In a Telegram message, Zelensky said in the past week Russia had "used about 1,450 strike drones, more than 1,640 guided bombs and 99 missiles of various types against Ukraine".Zelensky also posted on Telegram about Ukrainian strikes."SBU [security service] units hit three oil depots in the Stavropol region simultaneously, while units of our Armed Forces struck another fuel-sector facility in the same region," he said. "Precise hits on three Russian 'shadow fleet' tankers were recorded in the Black Sea. I thank every one of our units that is helping to spread the realisation within Russia that this war must be brought to an end."The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries Kazakhstan's Caspian oil to Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, said its terminal had been hit.It said two tankers were damaged, prompting oil loading operations to be suspended. There were no injuries or oil spills.Stavropol's governor said a drone attack had caused a fire in an industrial park.The latest strikes on Kyiv involved a range of Russian weapons systems, including Iskander and hypersonic Zircon missiles, as well as 125 drones, the Ukrainian air force said.On Sunday Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said both residential and non-residential buildings had been damaged, including a supermarket and a dormitory.Firefighters have been battling blazes at two warehouses. Ukraine's emergencies ministry said a logistics hub in Bucha district near Kyiv had been hit, with two people injured.The overnight strikes came after Ukraine sent drones to destroy two warehouses belonging to Russia's biggest online retailer, Wildberries, killing eight people and causing major fires.Seven deaths and 25 injuries occurred at a facility in the city of Tambov, about 295 miles (475km) south-east of Moscow. One death and 37 injuries occurred at another Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal near the capital.On Saturday, Zelensky said Ukraine's operations were in response to "Russian strikes on our civilian infrastructure and on our cities and communities".Wildberries is often described as the Russian equivalent of Amazon. The RWB group, which combines Wildberries with advertising company Russ, was valued at about $12.6bn (£9.3bn) by Forbes Russia in 2026.Ukraine has recently intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russia's critical energy infrastructure, causing widespread fuel shortages. Earlier this month, Kyiv said nearly 43% of Russia's oil refining capacity had been "disabled" as a result.The BBC has not independently verified this figure.Ukraine says Russian oil and gas facilities are legitimate targets as Moscow relies heavily on fossil fuel exports to finance its full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.But Russia has also stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities, prompting Kyiv to seek increased supplies of ballistic missile interceptors from its European allies."Protection against ballistic missiles is our constant and top priority right now," Zelensky said o
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Ukraine war live: Kremlin says top engineer at nuclear reactor killed in drone attack The Independent The political leadership has been informed: The chief engineer of the NPP has been killed EADaily Ukrainian drone attack kills top engineer at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant TRT World Russia says Ukrainian drone kills chief engineer at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Taylorville Daily News Grossi commented on the murder of the chief engineer of the Zaporozhye NPP EADaily
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