Daily Briefing

Key Takeaways

• Russia struck Kyiv with up to 30 ballistic missiles overnight July 31–August 1 — the second major attack in 48 hours — killing 9 people and wounding 28, including 4 children, across Darnytskyi and Solomyanskyi districts.
• Ukraine launched a ~400-drone and cruise missile counterstrike targeting Russian logistics and energy deep inside Russia, hitting the Lukoil-Volgograd refinery, Nizhnekamskneftekhim plant in Tatarstan, Wildberries warehouses, and the Zuyivska thermal power station in occupied Donetsk.
• Trump refused Zelensky's request for 300 Patriot interceptors and declined to facilitate Starlink access over Russian territory to target ballistic missile launchers, deepening Ukraine's air defense crisis.
• Poland summoned the Russian ambassador after a Russian missile fell on Polish territory — a significant NATO escalation signal corroborated by 6 sources.
• Zelensky publicly disclosed ~50,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed and ~400,000 wounded since the full-scale invasion began, one of the most candid official casualty admissions to date.