Daily Briefing

Key Takeaways

• Russia struck Kyiv overnight with ballistic missiles, killing 2 and wounding 6 in Darnitsky and Svyatoshynsky districts; Russian MoD claimed targets were drone production facilities and Odesa/Pivdenny port infrastructure.
• Ukraine's largest cabinet reshuffle of the war: Zelensky replaced popular Defence Minister Fedorov with former National Police chief Igor Klymenko, triggering protests in Kyiv and other cities — political fallout rests squarely on Zelensky after the earlier departure of chief of staff Yermak.
• Ukrainian drones struck Engels-2 strategic bomber airbase in Saratov Oblast overnight, causing fires; a separate drone strike killed the chief engineer of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, prompting Rosatom to notify the IAEA.
• Greece is blocking the EU's 21st sanctions package over an LNG shipping ban that would harm Dynagas; EU ambassadors have postponed negotiations to at least 22 July, keeping the oil price cap at $44.10/barrel.
• UK PM Starmer arrived in Kyiv on 16 July; Bloomberg reports the UK plans to deliver a pared-down ballistic missile to Ukraine in 2027, adding to a dense week of European solidarity visits including von der Leyen, and the presidents of Romania, Moldova, and Serbia.