Ukraine has struck three Russian oil refineries nearly 1,600 kilometres beyond enemy lines, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
The attacks deal a fresh blow to Vladimir Putin as repeated strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure inflict damage on Russia’s economy and oil industry.
In a social media update, the Ukrainian president his troops also sank a sanctioned Russian container ship, Yanina, sailing under the Russian flag and with a capacity of more than 100,000 tons, and hit other targets in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
“Our targets are consistently defined facilities that sustain the war effort,” Mr Zelensky said.
It comes after Russia pounded Kyiv with ballistic missiles, killing at least 10 people and injuring 28 others in the second such intense barrage in a week.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district was partially destroyed, trapping people inside. The first and second floors of the building partially collapsed.
More than a dozen explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital, sparking fires across the city and causing power outages in some areas.
Russia lost more than 42,000 troops last month 2026 record, claims Kyiv
The Ukrainian military has claimed Russia lost more troops in July than any other month so far this year, with 42,860 either wounded or killed.
In a post on Facebook, Kyiv’s General Staff listed Moscow’s troop casualties as follows:
- • January: 31,710
- • February: 26,090
- • March: 31,960
- • April: 32,980
- • May: 33,760
- • June: 39,290
- • July: 42,860 (record number for 2026)
Russia’s total personnel losses over the first seven months of the year totals at 238,650, the General Staff said.
IAEA says Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has lost off-site power
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday that Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had lost off-site power for the 23rd time since the military conflict began.
The cause of the latest off-site power loss, which lasted nearly two hours, is not yet known, the IAEA said.
Kyiv strikes three oil refineries 1,600km deep inside Russia – Zelensky
Ukraine hit the infrastructure of three Russian oil refineries in the Bashkortostan region, nearly 1,600 kilometres from the border, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
Mr Zelensky said on the Telegram app that his troops also sank a sanctioned Russian container ship, Yanina, sailing under the Russian flag and with a capacity of more than 100,000 tons, and hit other targets in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
“Our targets are consistently defined facilities that sustain the war effort,” Mr Zelensky said.
Pictures show damage after Russian attack near Ukrainian embassy in Lithuana
Lithuania’s embassy in Kyiv was damaged on Saturday after two Russian missiles struck nearby, the Lithuanian foreign ministry said.
No injuries were reported, but the blasts shattered the embassy’s windows, damaged solar panels and scattered debris across the grounds, a ministry spokesperson said, according to TRT World.
Shweta Sharma1 August 2026 15:15
Russia claims attacks on Ukrainian military targets
Russia’s defence ministry has claimed that its overnight missile strikes targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial infrastructure rather than civilian sites.
Without evidence, it claimed that it hit radio-electronics factories in Kyiv that it claims manufacture components for Ukrainian missiles and drones.
It claimed to have struck a facility allegedly producing electronic warfare (EW) equipment, including systems designed to jam the guidance of precision weapons.
Also, “two dry cargo ships were struck yesterday while transiting the sea south of Odessa; they were delivering military cargo to one of Ukraine’s ports,” the military said.
However, Ukrainian officials reported damage to residential neighbourhoods. Images from the capital showed a residential complex engulfed in flames as emergency crews responded to the strikes.
Shweta Sharma1 August 2026 14:45
‘It’s getting worse’, residents describe rising Russian attacks
Liudmyla Nakonechna, 64, who is undergoing cancer treatment, said she was woken up by loud explosions at 1.30am tonight.
“I ran into the corridor and was standing there when the bathroom door was blown off its hinges and struck me in the leg,” said Nakonechna, who was in a basement shelter where she was taking cover as a second air alarm sounded for another wave.
“I heard the sound of shattering glass. My balcony was covered in glass and it was completely blown apart, while the windows in my bedroom were also blown out.”
Nakonechna had not taken cover in a shelter since Russia’s full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, but the stress became too much, she said.
“It’s getting worse by the day,” Nakonechna said. “Whereas before there was an attack once every two weeks, or maybe once a week, now it happens practically every day. It is incredibly hard to bear this psychologically.”
Shweta Sharma1 August 2026 14:15
Latest picture capture damage and destruction across Ukraine
Russia slammed Ukrainian cities with missile and drone attacks on Saturday, killing nine people and causing damage to residential buildings.
A five-story residential building in the city’s Solomianskyi District was damaged by falling debris and a fire broke out.
Rescue workers evacuated 35 people from the upper floors of the building and two people died, with eight reported injured, including two children, according to Ukraine’s state emergency service.
In the Darnytskyi District of Kyiv, seven people were killed and another 14 injured after the attack caused fires and damage to houses, vehicles, an administrative and non-residential building, the emergency services said.
Elsewhere, emergency workers extinguished a fire in a non-residential building in the capital’s Shevchenkivskyi district.
Shweta Sharma1 August 2026 13:45
Zelensky says latest attacks show Ukraine’s need for Patriot missiles
President Volodymyr Zelensky has pressed the US and other Western partners regarding Ukraine’s need for more Patriot anti-ballistic missile defence systems to counter aerial attacks from Russia.
“Every package of ballistic missile interceptors saves the lives of our people. And every night without them results in more casualties,” he wrote on X following the latest attacks.
The Ukrainian leader late Friday said he spoke to US vice president JD Vance and discussed a meeting with president Donald Trump earlier this week in Washington, which Zelensky described as “positive and productive.”
“The Russian air strikes on our country continue and air defence, specifically interceptors for Patriot systems against ballistic missiles, remains a top priority,” Zelensky said on Friday in a post on Telegram.
Adam Withnall1 August 2026 13:15
Lithuania’s embassy in Kyiv damaged by missile strike
Lithuania’s foreign minister says the country’s embassy in Kyiv was damaged when missiles struck nearby overnight.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had launched a “massive strike” against “Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities and logistics centres in Kyiv.”
Adam Withnall1 August 2026 12:45
Nine dead across two Kyiv districts in intense Russian barrage
More details are emerging on the impacts across Kyiv from Russia’s overnight missile and drone attack.
A five-story residential building in the city’s Solomianskyi District was damaged by falling debris and a fire broke out. Rescue workers evacuated 35 people from the upper floors of the building and two people died, with eight reported injured, including two children, according to Ukraine’s state emergency service.
In the Darnytskyi District of Kyiv, seven people were killed and another 14 injured after the attack caused fires and damage to houses, vehicles, an administrative and non-residential building, the emergency services said.
Elsewhere, emergency workers extinguished a fire in a non-residential building in the capital’s Shevchenkivskyi district. There was no additional information about earlier reports by the district mayor that people were trapped in another residential building.
Damage to commercial and residential buildings was reported in two other city districts.
Adam Withnall1 August 2026 12:15NewerOlder