News
- Yacht linked to Putin moved to closed military port to shield from dronesThe 82-meter yacht Graceful, linked to Vladimir Putin by Forbes and US sanctions authorities, has been relocated to the closed military port of Severomorsk in Murmansk Oblast, according to Danish broadcaster DR, which analyzed satellite imagery and maritime traffic data.
- Russian blogger Diana Shurygina sent to pretrial detention for using mobile phone under house arrestA Moscow court ordered blogger Diana Shurygina into pretrial detention after she violated house arrest by using a mobile phone, in a case involving alleged pornography distribution.
- Russia mandates migrant workers' children leave at 18 or obtain own work patentRussia's State Duma passed a law requiring children of migrant workers to leave the country at 18 unless they obtain their own work patent, and tightening income requirements for all labor migrants.
- Russia deploys jammers to disrupt Starlink used by Ukrainian dronesRussian forces are using electronic warfare systems to jam Starlink satellite internet, disrupting Ukrainian medium-range drone operations, Ukrainian commanders and drone operators told Reuters.
- Egg prices double, buckwheat vanishes from shelves as Crimea denies shortagesAuthorities in Crimea are denying any food shortages even as egg prices have doubled and buckwheat has disappeared from store shelves, with some retailers limiting purchases of oil and grains.
- Trump promises Ukraine license to produce Patriot missilesUS President Donald Trump said he will grant Ukraine a license to manufacture missiles for Patriot air defense systems, ending Kyiv's dependence on foreign supplies.
- Russia passes AI law allowing training on copyrighted works without consentRussia's State Duma passed a law on artificial intelligence regulation in two days, permitting developers to train sovereign and national AI models on copyrighted materials without the rights holder's consent.
- NATO announces $50 billion missile program and €140 billion pledge for UkraineTwelve NATO countries, led by Britain, launched a 10-year, £37 billion deep-precision strike missile program, while the alliance pledged €140 billion in military aid to Ukraine over two years.
- Kazakhstan restricts border crossings to curb fuel smuggling as Russian crisis deepensKazakhstan has limited vehicles from neighboring countries to one entry per day and is cracking down on cars with extra fuel tanks, after a surge in illegal fuel exports amid Russia's ongoing gasoline shortage.
- Russian regions ration gasoline by license plate number as fuel crisis deepensAt least three Russian regions are restricting gasoline sales by license plate number to mitigate a fuel crisis caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries.
- Ukrainian drones strike nine tankers from Russia's 'shadow fleet' in Sea of AzovUkrainian drones struck nine tankers from Russia's so-called shadow fleet in the Sea of Azov overnight on July 8, according to the commander of Ukraine's unmanned systems forces.
- Drones strike compressor station on Blue Stream gas pipeline to TurkeyA drone attack damaged the Krasnodarskaya compressor station, a key facility on the Blue Stream gas pipeline supplying Russian gas to Turkey, Gazprom said.
- Ukrainian drones strike two oil refineries, military airfield, and two tankers in RussiaUkrainian forces overnight attacked two oil refineries in Saratov and Nizhnekamsk, a military airfield in the Voronezh region, and two tankers in the Rostov region, causing fires and casualties.
- Men claiming to be ex-Wagner fighters attack journalist filming gas station queue in YekaterinburgTwo men who said they were former Wagner Group fighters attacked a freelance journalist in Yekaterinburg after he tried to photograph a long queue at a gas station, stealing his phone and punching him in the chest.
- St. Petersburg court arrests activist deported from Turkey over anti-war graffitiA St. Petersburg court has arrested 24-year-old activist Ariadna Litvinova after she was deported from Turkey, where she had fled following the opening of a criminal case against her for anti-war graffiti.
- BBC identifies three men accused of torturing Ukrainians; they now live in RussiaThe BBC has identified three men accused by former prisoners of torturing and abusing detainees in illegal prisons on Russia-occupied Ukrainian territory, all of whom now live in Russia.
- Ukrainian drones strike eight tankers from Russia's 'shadow fleet' in the Sea of AzovUkrainian drone forces attacked eight oil tankers and two other vessels from Russia's so-called shadow fleet in the Sea of Azov overnight on July 7, causing severe damage and fires, according to the commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces.
- Ukraine strikes Belgorod gas pipeline hub, sparking fire and power outagesA Ukrainian missile attack on Belgorod overnight damaged a key Gazprom gas pipeline management facility and electrical substations, killing one person and injuring three, local officials said.
- Russian government backs sending conscripts to firefighting units amid staffing crisisThe Russian government has approved a draft law that would allow conscripts to serve in military units of the Emergency Situations Ministry's Federal Fire Service, as the agency faces a severe personnel shortage driven by low wages.
- London court denies Nord Stream operator €579 million insurance payout, citing Ukraine war exclusionA London High Court judge ruled that damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines resulted from the war in Ukraine, triggering an exclusion clause in the operator's insurance policies.
- Russian governor who urged no panic over fuel runs out of gas on highwayVologda region governor Georgy Filimonov, who hours earlier urged residents not to panic-buy fuel, was left stranded on a highway bypass after his official car ran out of gas.
- Kadyrov 'reluctantly' agrees to run for another term as Chechnya's leaderRamzan Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya since 2007, said he is 'not happy' about running in the upcoming election but will do so 'forcedly' after United Russia unanimously nominated him.
- Russian Urals crude crashes to $41.66, lowest since before Middle East warThe price of Russia's flagship Urals crude fell to $41.66 per barrel in early July, the lowest level since before the outbreak of the Middle East conflict, according to Bloomberg.
- Ukrainian drones strike Russia's largest oil refinery, 2,500–3,000 km from borderUkrainian drones attacked the Omsk oil refinery, Russia's largest, located roughly 2,500–3,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, according to Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channels.
- Yekaterinburg city hall declares 'Last Address' memorial plaques illegalThe Yekaterinburg city architecture department issued non-binding guidelines that deem unauthorized the installation of small memorial plaques commemorating victims of political repression, citing aesthetic and readability concerns.
- Ukraine confirms strikes on Yaroslavl refinery and Vysotsk port; Crimea loses powerUkraine's Security Service confirmed it carried out drone strikes on a refinery in Yaroslavl and an oil terminal in Leningrad Oblast, while Crimea was left without electricity after attacks on energy infrastructure.
- Russian missile strike on Kyiv kills 11, wounds 46A Russian missile attack on Kyiv overnight killed 11 people and wounded 46, including five children, Ukrainian officials said.
- Gazprom creates mobile fire teams to defend against drones, offers employees 200,000 rubles monthlyRussian energy giant Gazprom has signed a contract with the Defense Ministry to create mobile fire groups to patrol and protect gas supply facilities from drone attacks, offering employees 200,000 rubles per month in compensation.
- Turkey deports anti-war activist Ariadna Litvinova to Russia, where she is detained at Moscow airportTurkey deported 24-year-old anti-war activist Ariadna Litvinova to Russia on July 4, and she was detained upon arrival at Moscow's Vnukovo airport, according to the human rights project Prison Lawyer and the outlet Vot Tak.
- Russia's fuel crisis to end 'well before September 1,' lawmaker says as shortages spreadA Russian lawmaker says the acute phase of the country's fuel crisis will end within weeks, even as shortages have been reported in at least 88 of Russia's 89 regions and imports from Belarus hit a record high.
- Putin calls Trump 'dear Donald' in first published Independence Day telegramVladimir Putin released the full text of his congratulatory telegram to Donald Trump on the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, marking the first time the Kremlin has published such a message.
- Fuel crisis shuts most gas stations in Russia's Novosibirsk regionAuthorities in Russia's Novosibirsk region acknowledged that a significant portion of gas stations are closed due to a fuel shortage, with long queues forming at those still operating.
- Police storm St. Petersburg nightclub over alleged monkeypox infections and 'LGBT propaganda'Russian security forces raided the Cabaret nightclub in St. Petersburg on suspicion of 'LGBT propaganda' and after reports of monkeypox infections among patrons.
- Ukrainian drones strike oil terminal and power plant in St. Petersburg and Belgorod, leaving city without powerRussian authorities reported a massive Ukrainian drone attack overnight on July 4, with 389 drones intercepted over 18 regions, annexed Crimea, and the Azov and Black Seas.
- Russian court sentences 12 neo-Nazi group members to up to 25 years for plotting to kill RT editorA Russian military court sentenced 12 members of the neo-Nazi group National Socialism/White Power to prison terms ranging from 6 to 25 years, finding two of them guilty of plotting to assassinate RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan.
- Russia designates literary critic Galina Yuzefovich, Proekt journalist, and video project ROMB as 'foreign agents'Russia's Justice Ministry added literary critic Galina Yuzefovich, Proekt journalist Yekaterina Arenina, civil society program director Inna Berezkina, and the video project ROMB to its register of 'foreign agents.'
- Russia to import jet fuel from Japan via South Korea amid domestic shortageRussia will import at least 200,000 barrels of jet fuel from Japan in the first half of July, shipping it via South Korea to circumvent logistical hurdles, as Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries and rising prices create a domestic fuel crisis.
- No day without drone-related flight restrictions at Russian airports since mid-MayRussian airports have not operated a single day without drone-threat restrictions since mid-May 2026, according to an analysis by Meduza.
- Putin's trust rating posts record weekly drop since start of warVladimir Putin's trust rating fell 3.4 percentage points in a week to 73.3%, the sharpest weekly decline since the start of the war, according to a VTsIOM poll.
- Novorossiysk runs out of gasoline at all filling stations, city imposes limits and launches online mapAll gas stations in the Russian port city of Novorossiysk ran out of gasoline on July 3, prompting the city to introduce purchase limits and an online map tracking fuel availability in real time.
- Ex-head of Russia's aviation agency arrested on fraud chargesAlexander Neradko, who led Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) for 14 years, was detained on charges of large-scale fraud committed by an organized group.
- Ukrainian strike on Belgorod kills woman, knocks out power and waterA Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian city of Belgorod on July 3 killed a civilian woman and caused widespread power and water outages, local authorities said.
- Russia allows gasoline with Euro-3 sulfur levels until end of 2026The Russian government has authorized the sale of gasoline with sulfur content up to 150 mg/kg, matching the Euro-3 standard from 2000–2005, until December 31, 2026, as a preventive measure against fuel market instability.
- Password 'Government': Officials in four Russian regions skip fuel queuesOfficials in at least four Russian regions are being served out of turn at gas stations amid a fuel shortage caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries.
- Ex-St. Petersburg police officer who led protest detentions gets suspended sentence for beating shop ownerA former St. Petersburg police officer who oversaw detentions at opposition protests was handed a suspended 3.5-year prison sentence for beating a shop owner with his fists and head, a court ruled.
- Forbes journalist Sergei Mingazov dies at 57 while facing retrial over Bucha repostsSergei Mingazov, a Forbes journalist who was convicted and later faced a retrial for reposting content about the Bucha massacre, has died of cancer at age 57.
- Wildberries hikes seller fees up to 20 percentage points, citing fuel crisisWildberries will raise commissions for sellers by up to 20 percentage points starting July 7, blaming the increase on rising fuel costs and the broader economic situation.
- Russian strike kills 13 in Kyiv, nearly 90 wounded in massive overnight attackRussia launched a massive combined missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight, killing 13 people and wounding about 90, with Kyiv declaring July 3 a day of mourning.
- Germany charges Ukrainian ex-officer over Nord Stream pipeline sabotageGerman federal prosecutors have charged a Ukrainian national, identified as former army officer Serhiy Kuznetsov, with orchestrating the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
- Ukrainian drone strike on Lukoil refinery kills one, wounds fourA Ukrainian drone attack on a Lukoil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast killed one person and injured four others overnight on July 2.
- Russian strike on Kyiv kills 13, wounds over 80A Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight killed 13 people and wounded more than 80, Ukrainian authorities said.
- Ukraine's top commander says Russian offensive from Bryansk region toward Chernihiv is most likely scenarioUkrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said an offensive by Russian forces from the Bryansk region into Chernihiv is the most likely next phase of the war.
- Russia begins importing gasoline from India as domestic refineries struggle after Ukrainian drone strikesRussia has started buying gasoline from India, with two tankers carrying 30,000–40,000 metric tons each already en route, as a fuel shortage caused by Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries forces Moscow to seek supplies abroad.
- Banks in four ex-Soviet states impose fees on cash ruble depositsAt least eight banks in Belarus, along with lenders in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, have introduced commissions of up to 5% on cash ruble deposits or suspended the service altogether, as Russia tightens cross-border currency controls.
- US lifts export restrictions on powerful Anthropic AI models after two-week banThe U.S. Commerce Department has allowed Anthropic to restore public access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models, which were blocked for foreign users since mid-June.
- Russia closes seven rail border crossings with Finland, Estonia, LatviaRussia has temporarily suspended movement of people, vehicles, and goods through seven railway border checkpoints on its borders with Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, effective July 1.
- Russia's seaborne crude oil exports hit record 4.13 million barrels per day, but revenue fallsRussia's seaborne crude oil exports reached a record 4.13 million barrels per day in the four weeks to June 28, the highest since the invasion of Ukraine, but lower prices meant weekly revenue dropped to $1.9 billion, the lowest since March.
- Russia stops publishing gasoline price data after record 20-year surgeRussia's state statistics service will stop publishing weekly data on consumer prices for gasoline and diesel fuel, after prices posted their largest weekly increase in 20 years.
- Six-month-old infant killed as drone crashes on house in Russia's YegoryevskA six-month-old infant died after a drone crashed into a private home in the town of Yegoryevsk, Moscow region, during a Ukrainian attack on a space communications center in Dubna.
- Russia's fuel crisis drives taxi drivers off the roadTaxi drivers in several Russian regions are reducing shifts and refusing long-distance trips due to gasoline shortages and rising fuel prices, according to industry participants.