Putin’s War Russia-Ukraine July 2026-

25 July
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy: Russia wants to bring in 30,000 North Korean troops to conflict
(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said ​on Saturday that Russia wanted to bring ‌in 30,000 North Korean troops to take part in its more than four-year-old conflict and was already preparing ​to receive them.
Under a mutual defense ​pact, North Korea sent an estimated 14,000 ⁠soldiers to Russia’s Kursk Region in 2024 to ​help Moscow beat back a major incursion into ​the region by Ukrainian forces.

19 July
Russia Batters Kyiv in One of the Largest Missile Assaults of the War
On Saturday, Ukraine hit two warehouses in Russia in strikes that killed at least eight people and injured 62.
(NYT) The attack was part of a broader barrage across Ukraine that included at least 41 missiles and 125 drones of various types, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement.
The sustained campaign aimed at Kyiv has coincided with Ukraine’s own increasingly successful targeting of Russian oil and gas facilities — which has prompted fuel shortages across the country — to take the war closer to Russia. Over the weekend, Ukraine expanded that campaign, striking two warehouses belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries.
Russian authorities said at least eight people were killed and 62 injured in the strikes.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that the warehouses functioned as “major logistics facilities” that had been used to “supply sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment.”
Ukraine also continued its campaign to isolate Crimea…targeting facilities across the peninsula and ships in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. The effort is aimed at both driving up the cost of the war for Moscow and undermining its ability to sustain its occupation forces in southern Ukraine..

17 July
Putin Likes His Worst Option in Ukraine
Carl Bildt
(Project Syndicate) Faced with a quagmire in eastern Ukraine and escalating Ukrainian attacks within Russia, Vladimir Putin must either seek a ceasefire or pursue some form of escalation. With all signs pointing to him embracing the latter alternative, the situation could worsen dramatically for everyone, but especially for him.
Since his August 2025 meeting with US President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Putin has been seeking to persuade the United States to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into a deal that would leave Russia in control of the areas it has already stolen—a little less than 20% of Ukraine’s territory—as well as handing over the sliver of the Donetsk region that Ukraine still holds.
It is worth remembering that prior to the Anchorage meeting, Trump had the support of both Ukraine and the Europeans in seeking an immediate ceasefire. But after talking to Putin, he suddenly abandoned his pursuit of a ceasefire and instead accepted Putin’s demand for Donetsk. The Europeans naturally rushed to shield Zelensky from the pressure that Putin and Trump would try to apply on him, and political talks to end the fighting stalled. It was Trump—suckered once again by Putin—who prolonged the war.
…the real game changer may be Ukraine’s effort to sever the supply chains linking Crimea to Russia. The Ukrainians have been unremittingly striking freight trucks traveling through the occupied land corridor in eastern Ukraine, the bridge and ferries that cross the Kerch Strait, and ships attempting to deliver supplies via the Sea of Azov. This campaign has already complicated matters for the Kremlin, and it could prove politically catastrophic if Russian control over Crimea becomes seriously contested.

16 July
‘A Million Men With Kalashnikovs Are Dangerous’
David French newsletter
A Q & A With Kori Schake, senior fellow and director of foreign and defense policy studies, the American Enterprise Institute, about the Russia-Ukraine war
(NYT) The war in Ukraine has transformed.
In February, when I spoke to Michael Kofman, a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about the course of the war, he said something counterintuitive: “Time is not on Russia’s side.”
Russia is much bigger than Ukraine. It has a much larger population and a much larger defense industrial base. History teaches us that wars are often won by the side that can bring more men and more resources to the field of battle.
But time has passed since that conversation, and Kofman has proved to be correct. The war is not going well for Russia. But how badly is it going, really? And does potential defeat make President Vladimir Putin even more dangerous?

6 July
Ukrainian drones strike Russia’s largest oil refinery
Omsk oil refinery, hit by Ukrainian drones, is located in Siberia, more than 2,500 km from the front line.
(Politico Eu) Videos of a large fire and clouds of smoke billowing from the plant were shared by Ukrainian and Russian social media channels. It was unclear how much damage the refinery had sustained.
The Gazprom-owned oil refinery, located in Siberia, more than 2,500 kilometers away from the front line, processes more than 22 million tons of oil per year — around 10 percent of the total oil refined in Russia.
The attack was allegedly carried out by new FP-1 drones, built by Ukrainian firm Fire Point, which are capable of reaching distances of up to 2,700 kilometers. Fire Point’s CEO, Denys Shtilierman, posted a video of the attack on X, saying: “Omsk Refinery meets the new FP1.”
Since the spring, the Ukrainian military has intensified strikes on oil refineries producing gasoline, diesel and jet fuel in Russia. As a result, fuel shortages are being reported in many regions of the country.