A Ukrainian court has remanded in custody the organiser of a weapons exhibition that was struck by a Russian ballistic missile, killing at least 11 people. Vasyl Goncharuk, head of the Armada weapons industry association, appeared in a Kyiv court on Tuesday, limping and stating he sustained light injuries in the attack. Prosecutors charged him with negligence leading to loss of life, alleging that he invited more than 300 people, including military personnel, state representatives, and business figures, without official authorisation and provided only a small shelter. The event was publicly promoted on social media.
Zelenskyy condemns drone display
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone display, organised by Goncharuk, “certainly should not have been taking place there”. Russia’s defence ministry confirmed it struck the site during “a demonstration of Ukrainian and foreign-made” drones near Kyiv on Friday. Agence France-Presse reported seeing homes in ruins and victims in body bags after the attack. Previous incidents of Russian attacks on openly held Ukrainian military gatherings have also triggered outcry and resignations.
Russian drone attacks on Moscow region
Meanwhile, a Wildberries warehouse in the Koledino district of Moscow was reportedly on fire on Tuesday morning after being hit by drones. The distribution complex for the Amazon-like chain had been targeted previously. A steel factory in Chekhnov, Moscow oblast, was also hit, according to the Kyiv Independent. The Russian regional governor, Andrei Vorobyov, said an apartment building in Chekhov was damaged. Drones targeted other areas including Podolsk, Domodedovo, and Kolomna.
US military drone production lags behind Ukraine
The Pentagon official tasked with building a domestic drone industry said on Monday that the US was still far behind Ukraine’s production capabilities. Travis Metz, chief operating officer of the Defense Innovation Unit, told Reuters that Ukraine would produce 6 million to 7 million small first-person-view attack drones this year – roughly 500,000 a month. By comparison, the Pentagon’s $1.1 billion programme will have ordered just under 200,000 altogether by February. However, Metz predicted the US would catch up and lead the sector. The Pentagon insists military drones must be made with US parts to foster “a wholly domestic” supply chain. None of the drones from 19 companies competing in an August test event may contain banned parts like Chinese-made motors or battery packs. “It’s an increasingly difficult thing,” Metz said. Ukrainian companies competing in the test, called Gauntlet II, are required to localise production in the US as a condition of future orders.
Zelenskyy visits Washington, meets Trump
All 100 members of the US Senate have been invited to a meeting on Tuesday evening with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s president will be in Washington for the funeral of the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a strong supporter of Ukraine. A Senate aide said voting might also begin during Zelenskyy’s visit on a bill to impose sanctions on Russia that Graham championed. Zelenskyy is due to meet on Tuesday with Donald Trump.
UK provides jamming technology to Ukraine
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Zelenskyy in his first meeting with another world leader since becoming prime minister. “It is intended to send a very clear message,” Starmer told him. “We are with Ukraine 100%, I am personally with you 100%, and I will honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full.” Starmer said Britain was providing new jamming technology, known as Stone Cloak, to Ukraine that would “help them to hit their targets and help save Ukrainian lives”. Zelenskyy posted that he was “grateful” to Britain for “today’s decision to provide Ukraine with electronic warfare technologies” that would “certainly be useful on the battlefield”.
Romania expels Russian diplomat over drone violations
Romania’s foreign ministry said it had expelled a diplomat at Russia’s embassy after repeated violations of its national airspace by drones. Romanian F-16 fighter jet pilots have shot down three drones in as many days. The Russian ambassador was shown drone fragments that Romanian authorities identified as a Russian “Shahed model”. Two people were hurt in May when a drone smashed into an apartment building in the Romanian city of Galati near the border with Ukraine.
Ukraine strikes Russian export terminal and oil facilities
Ukraine struck a Russian export terminal in the Rostov region, as well as oil facilities in the Yaroslavl and Udmurtia regions, Zelenskyy said on Monday. “Last night, our long-range sanctions were effective in the Rostov region. An export terminal approximately 250km (155 miles) from the frontline was hit,” he posted. “Deep strikes also targeted oil facilities in the Yaroslavl region and the Udmurt Republic, which is 1,300km from Ukraine’s state border.” Five people were reported killed in Russia’s Rostov region bordering Ukraine. Russian forces meanwhile struck three Ukrainian ports, including fuel loading and storage facilities at the port of Odesa, the defence ministry in Moscow said on Monday.
Russian strikes kill seven in eastern Ukraine
Russian strikes on frontline localities in eastern Ukraine killed seven people and injured more than 20 on Monday, officials said. Prosecutors in the Donetsk region said three people died in two areas near the contested city of Kostiantynivka. A fourth person was killed near Kramatorsk, a heavily defended “fortress” city considered critical to Ukraine’s defences. Prosecutors said a total of 18 people were injured throughout Donetsk region. In Ukraine’s adjacent Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Oleksandr Hanzha said three people were killed and six wounded in more than 50 drone and artillery attacks on five districts. Two people died near the town of Nikopol and one person was killed near the town of Synelykove. Over the border in Russia’s Belgorod region, a Ukrainian drone struck a building, killing one person and injuring two.
US aid spending plan extends to 2029
Donald Trump’s administration has told members of Congress it will not finish spending $400 million in aid to Ukraine until fiscal year 2029, even as Kyiv runs critically low on weapons. Democrats and some of Trump’s fellow Republicans have criticised the Pentagon for sitting on aid for Kyiv that members of both parties pushed through last year. In May, the Pentagon sent a letter to lawmakers outlining its spending plan. It covers $200 million for weapons, ammunition and explosives, $99.9 million for vehicles, spares and equipment, and $100 million for services such as transportation of defence articles to Ukraine. The funds still have not been put to use.
