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Ukraine claims drone strike on oil refinery in Russia

Al Jazeera

Video shows a massive explosion at a Russian oil facility in Novokuybyshevsk, 1,000km from the Ukrainian border. Ukraine's military says it used drones to target several sites inside Russia, including refineries, an airfield, and an electronics plant.


Ukraine and Russia strikes hit homes and oil depot near Black Sea

BBC News

A Russian missile strike has destroyed homes and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv, local officials say. At least three civilians were reported injured in the city near the Black Sea, which has been repeatedly shelled by Russian forces. Ukraine's State Emergency Service posted photos of firefighters at the scene after the missile strike. Early on Sunday a massive oil depot fire was raging near Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi - blamed by the Russian authorities on a Ukrainian drone attack. Sochi's airport in the same area - Adler district - suspended flights.


Russia's drone attacks on Ukraine hit record high in July

Al Jazeera

Russia fired more than 6,000 drones on Ukraine in July, more than any other month since it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, the AFP news agency and the Kyiv Independent reported. The drone attacks killed dozens of people and injured many more. They also damaged civilian targets, including many homes, a kindergarten and an ambulance. According to the AFP news agency, data published by Ukraine's air force showed that Russia fired 6,297 long-range drones into Ukraine last month, up by nearly 16 percent compared with June. The Kyiv Independent reported that Russia launched a record 6,129 Shahed-type drones in July, 14 times more than in the same month last year, when Russia launched just 423 drones.


Ukraine officials held in military drone corruption probe

BBC News

Zelensky's government faced an extensive backlash after introducing a bill that would strip the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, known as Nabu and Sap respectively, of their independence. The president claimed the agencies needed to be "cleared of Russian influence", and sought to give the general prosecutor the authority to decide who should be prosecuted in high-level corruption cases. Many saw the move as a step backwards for corruption in Ukraine, resulting in the largest anti-government demonstrations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in 2022. Zelensky acknowledged public anger and submitted a new bill restoring the agencies' former independence, which was voted through by parliament just nine days after the original bill had been passed. The head of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, thanked Zelensky for "hearing the public's call" regarding the powers of anti-corruption agencies and "not making a mistake".


Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,256

Al Jazeera

Kyiv's military administration warned residents of the Ukrainian capital to take shelter on Saturday night due to the takeoff of a Russian MiG-31K, the carrier of the Russian Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, in a post on Telegram. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that its team heard explosions and saw smoke coming from an "auxiliary facility" located 1,200 metres from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The Russian-installed administration of the plant said that a civilian was killed by Ukrainian shelling. A fire that broke out near the plant was brought under control, the administrators added in a post on Telegram. An elderly man was killed inside a house that caught fire due to falling Ukrainian drone debris in Russia's Samara region, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev posted on Telegram.


Ukraine drone attacks kill three in Russia, cause fire at oil refinery

Al Jazeera

Ukrainian drone strikes have killed at least three people and wounded two others overnight in western Russia, regional governors said, as a fire broke out at an oil refinery in central Russia after it was hit. One woman was killed and two others wounded in an attack on an enterprise in Penza, the region's governor, Oleg Melnichenko, wrote on Telegram on Saturday. The second death of an elderly man happened inside a house that caught fire due to falling drone debris in the Samara region, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev posted on Telegram. In the Rostov region, a guard at an industrial facility was killed after a drone attack and a fire in one of the site's buildings, acting Rostov Governor Yury Slyusar said. "The military repelled a massive air attack during the night," destroying drones over seven districts, Slyusar posted on Telegram.


Gear News of the Week: Insta360 Debuts a Drone Company, and DJI Surprises With an 8K 360 Camera

WIRED

The 360 camera company Insta360 has entered the drone market with a spin-off brand called Antigravity. This new company hasn't released a drone yet, but it's coming soon and will likely have a slightly different take from current market leaders like DJI. Antigravity's drone is expected to feature 360 cameras with 8K resolution. It will also fall under the 250-gram weight limit, meaning it won't require a license. The 360-degree camera makes sense from the company that makes our favorite 360 camera, though the usefulness of shooting straight up into the drone is questionable.


Wounded soldier escapes battlefield using e-bike delivered by drone

BBC News

This is the moment an injured Ukrainian soldier behind enemy lines made his escape using an e-bike delivered by a drone. Footage released by the Rubizh Brigade, part of the national guard of Ukraine, shows the wounded soldier, known as Tanker, receiving the e-bike by drone, which he says he couldn't ride at first. Tanker managed to ride away but only to about half-way to where he needed to go, before he hit a mine, destroying his bike, but not injuring him. His colleague Mykola watched his friend finish the rest of the journey on foot, before he reached an area where he could be evacuated.


These drones drop burning balls in the forest to control wildfires

Popular Science

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. On July Fourth, amid a cacophony of fireworks and flame-throwing propane grills, a seemingly ordinary lightning strike hit somewhere in Grand Canyon National Park. The resulting spark ignited surrounding dry vegetation, and strong winds quickly spread the flames for miles. Over the course of several weeks, that initial spark has grown into a blaze engulfing more than 100,000 acres, officially classifying it as a "megafire" and the largest wildfire of 2025โ€ฆso far. As of this writing, "The Dragon Bravo Fire" has already destroyed 70 buildings, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge.


After deadly strikes on Kyiv, Zelenskyy urges allies to seek Russia 'regime change'

The Japan Times

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday urged his allies to bring about "regime change" in Russia, hours after a Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv killed 16 people, including a 6-year-old boy. The overnight strikes reduced part of a nine-story apartment block in Kyiv's western suburbs to rubble and wounded at least 150 people in the capital, authorities said. The Russian army, meanwhile, claimed to have captured Chasiv Yar, a strategically important hillside town in eastern Ukraine where the two sides have been fiercely fighting for months.