Russian officials say a Ukrainian drone attack has killed seven people working at a warehouse belonging to a major shopping website.
Governor Evgeniy Pervyshov said 25 people were also injured after Ukrainian drones slammed into a warehouse owned by Wildberries, Russia‘s largest online retailer, in the city of Kotovsk in the Tambov region, roughly 475km (295 miles) southeast of Moscow.
In a separate incident, the governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, said falling drone debris caused a fire to break out at an oil depot in the city of Noginsk.
He did not specify the damage to the facility, but said two people were injured in the city and a nearby maternity hospital had been evacuated.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s Security Service destroyed a Russian bomber plane nearly 500 miles inside Russia. The Tu-95 strategic plane was taken out at the Engels air base in Russia‘s Saratov Oblast.
Zelensky is facing mounting protests in Kyiv over the removal of a popular defence minister, with thousands gathering to demand the reinstatement of Mykhailo Fedorov, a 35-year-old tech wizard who has been partly credited with Ukraine‘s recent successes in the war with Russia.
24 injured in separate strike on Wildberries’ Moscow warehouse
Following the deadly strike on a warehouse belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer in Kotovsk, officials say another facility was also struck in the Moscow region.
At least 24 people were injured in a Ukrainian drone strike on a second Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal, a city east of Moscow, according to the governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov.
Adam Withnall18 July 2026 09:07
Zelensky moves to repair rift with key ally Poland
Volodymyr Zelensky is taking steps to repair a rift with key ally Poland over his decision to name a Ukrainian army unit in honour of World War Two fighters who killed Poles.
Zelensky chaired a meeting of senior officials on Friday devoted to relations with Poland and pledged to expand investigations into those killings by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), a pro-independence armed group, and open intelligence files.
Zelensky told the meeting that improved ties were critical in view of Poland’s considerable help to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of its smaller neighbour in 2022.
Polish president Karol Nawrocki stripped Zelenskiy of Poland’s top honour after he announced the naming plan in May.
Zelensky wrote on X after the meeting: “The priorities are clear: All of us in Europe need good neighbourly, equal, and mutually beneficial relations built on respect.
“Poland provided significant support to Ukraine after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, and we are grateful to Poland.”
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk welcomed Zelensky’s comments. “We are ready for a serious and friendly dialogue on the issues that unite us and those that divide us today,” Tusk wrote on X.
Adam Withnall18 July 2026 08:45
Seven killed in Ukrainian drone attack on retailer’s warehouse, Russia says
Russian officials say a Ukrainian drone attack has killed seven people working at a warehouse belonging to a major shopping website.
Governor Evgeniy Pervyshov said 25 people were injured after Ukrainian drones slammed into a warehouse owned by Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, in the city of Kotovsk in the Tambov region, roughly 475km (295 miles) southeast of Moscow.
“Seven people working the night shift died on the spot,” Pervyshov wrote on Telegram.
“28 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were shot down on approach. If they had achieved their goal, the number of civilian casualties could have been much higher.”
In a separate incident, the governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, said falling drone debris caused a fire to break out at an oil depot in the city of Noginsk.
He did not specify the damage to the facility, but said two people were injured in the city and a nearby maternity hospital had been evacuated.
Adam Withnall18 July 2026 08:22
Russia targets Putin critics ahead of parliament election
Russian authorities have detained a blogger who criticised President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine and fined an anti-war politician, as Moscow sends a warning signal to critics of the Kremlin ahead of September’s parliamentary election.
Although Putin maintains a near-total grip on power, he and the dominant United Russia party are under pressure in the lead-up to the vote as Russia grapples with an economic slowdown and fuel shortages triggered by Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries.
The blogger, Ilya Remeslo, was detained on Friday on suspicion of the offence of spreading false information about the Russian army, the TASS state news agency reported.
Russian news agencies said Remeslo had been detained in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, brought to Moscow and remanded in custody `by a court until September 16. RIA news agency quoted Remeslo’s lawyer, Sergei Badamshin, as saying the blogger denied the charges.
Previously a pro-Kremlin figure, Remeslo published a manifesto that went viral on social media in March entitled “Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin”. He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he spent about a month. TASS said he could receive 10 years in prison if convicted.
Separately, Boris Nadezhdin, a politician who attempted to run against Putin in the 2024 presidential election on an anti-war ticket, was fined 1,000 roubles ($13) for displaying “extremist symbols”. While the amount was symbolic, the case was among a series of steps against Nadezhdin that could signal more serious consequences if he continues to criticise the government on sensitive issues, including what he described this week as the “completely senseless fratricidal war”.
The 63-year-old, a liberal member of parliament from 1999 to 2003, was designated a week ago as a “foreign agent”, a Soviet-era label carrying connotations of spying that bars him from political office. He was detained and questioned on Monday, and later forbidden to leave Russia. The Kremlin says strict censorship laws are needed to keep Russia united during what it calls an existential confrontation with the West.
Adam Withnall18 July 2026 07:43
Protests held in Kyiv over removal of popular defence minister
Protesters in Kyiv yesterday called for the dismissal of Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, after president Volodymyr Zelensky’s removal of a popular defence minister sparked outrage and demands for a more modern approach to warfare.
Several thousand people gathered outside the presidential office for a second day after Mykhailo Fedorov, a 35-year-old tech wizard who has been partly credited with Ukraine’s recent successes in the war with Russia, was not reappointed in a surprise government reshuffle.
A 27-year-old protester named Andriy, a combat medic who lost his lower limb, came with a cardboard sign saying: “Can not stand. Will not stay silent”.
“Syrskyi had conflicts not only with the defence minister, but also with brigade and corps commanders. If he stays, we will simply be ineffective,” said Andriy, whose brother died on the battlefield.
“We could simply lose this war, we could lose,” he added.
Zelensky provided little explanation for the reshuffle and said he had to step in since the rift between Syrskyi and Fedorov was so deep they won’t sit at one table.
Adam Withnall18 July 2026 05:37
Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports
Russia attacked two Ukrainian Black Sea port cities on Friday, killing three people, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow intensifies pressure on Ukraine’s key trade routes.
A Russian drone attack on port infrastructure at the southern city of Mykolaiv damaged three civilian foreign-flagged vessels, regional prosecutors said.
One of the strikes, early on Friday, killed two Ukrainians on board a foreign vessel, they added.
Another man was killed in a Russian attack on Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest seaport, local officials said.
Odesa Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said a later Russian strike hit a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel in one of the Odesa region ports, damaging the vessel, triggering a fire and injuring four of its 17 crew members.
The entire crew was evacuated, Kiper said on Telegram.
Adam Withnall18 July 2026 04:36
Ukraine destroys TU-95 bomber in Russia’s Engels, Zelensky says
Ukraine has destroyed a strategic Tu-95 bomber in Russia’s Engels airbase, about 800 km (497 miles) from the Ukrainian border, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.
Mr Zelensky said in a post on X that the military plane was used by Russian troops for missile strikes on Ukraine.
“We are defending ourselves justly and proactively,” he said.
Watch: Kyiv will win this war, Starmer says in farewell trip to Ukraine
Russian forces strike 24 vessels used by Ukrainian military over past week – Moscow
Russian forces have struck 24 vessels used by the Ukrainian military over the past week, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday.
It said these included 14 dry cargo ships, three ferries, two container ships, a tanker, a crane vessel, a floating dock, and two boats.
Ukraine and Russia both carried out missile and drone attacks this week on vessels in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, a zone vital for grain exports, triggering a rise in global wheat prices.
Kyiv destroys bomber plane on raid 500 miles past border
Ukraine’s Security Service destroyed a Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber at the Engels air base in Russia’s Saratov Oblast, nearly 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the Ukrainian border, Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
The Ukrainian president said on X that “the Security Service of Ukraine destroyed a Tu-95 military aircraft in Engels that had been used for Russian missile strikes against our country”.
He added: “We are defending ourselves justly and proactively. Ukraine’s Defense Forces also struck facilities belonging to Russia’s oil industry and designated targets in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.”
Maryam Zakir-Hussain17 July 2026 23:15NewerOlder