Russian drones hit the factory of the Polish company Barlinek in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. The attack was reported on the X network by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. Ukrainian rescue services are on the scene and representatives of the Polish consulate are also present."Vladimir Putin's criminal war is approaching our borders," Sikorski commented on the incident.
18:55 The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the EU did not agree on the adoption of the 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions at its meeting on Wednesday. Slovakia continues to disagree with the new sanctions. Prime Minister Robert Fico rejected the guarantees offered to him in a letter by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding a complete cut-off from Russian gas supplies.
17:45 Ukraine is ready to hold further peace talks with Russia, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said today, according to Reuters. He did not give a specific date. He also repeated Kiev's call for a direct meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, which he said would be the most effective step towards achieving a ceasefire in the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for four years.
Moscow does not believe that the peace talks are deadlocked and expects Kiev to propose possible dates for a third round of direct talks between the two sides in the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week. Russia would still prefer to achieve its goals in Ukraine through peaceful political and diplomatic means, but now it has no choice but to continue military operations, Moscow says. Moscow's demands, including international recognition of the occupied Ukrainian territories and a commitment that Ukraine will not seek NATO membership, are unacceptable to Kiev.
"We are ready for such negotiations in any format and in any geographical location," said Sybiha during a visit to Lublin, Poland, where he is meeting with the foreign ministers of Poland and Lithuania.
16:54 EU crime-fighting agencies Europol and Eurojust announced on Wednesday that they had launched a coordinated international operation to dismantle a pro-Russian hacking group known as NoName057(16). It is suspected of carrying out thousands of cyberattacks against Ukraine and its allies. TASR reports this according to AFP.
The two agencies have conducted raids in 12 countries since last Saturday, arresting two people. They have also issued seven international arrest warrants, six of them for people operating in Russia.
"These actions disrupted an attack infrastructure consisting of over a hundred computer systems worldwide, with a large part of the group's central server infrastructure being taken out of service," Europol said in a statement.
According to European agencies, the NoName057(16) group is responsible for multiple attacks on critical infrastructure, including electricity suppliers and public transport systems in Europe.
16:53 The Hungarian government has initiated the European Union's sanctions list for three Ukrainian military commanders overseeing forced conscription. It did so after a member of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine's Transcarpathia region recently became a victim of this violent practice. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced this on Wednesday, according to the MTI agency.
The minister stated that the Council of Europe has confirmed that a real hunt for people is taking place on the streets of Ukraine, as the human rights organization's report also describes that those who do not want to join the army are beaten and tortured during forced conscription.
"Unfortunately, several such videos have been published in recent months. It is shocking how the Ukrainian authorities treat the people, and it is equally shocking how European political leaders turn a blind eye to this unacceptable situation," Szijjártó said.
According to him, a Hungarian man also became a victim of torture and the unacceptable practice of forced conscription."Those responsible must be found and punished, that's what we demand," the minister said, adding that Budapest is demanding that three people serving in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and in the military leadership who are managing the forced conscription be held accountable.
15:13 The Ukrainian parliament today accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The new government, led by the current Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and with Shmyhal as Minister of Defense, is to be approved on Thursday, Ukrainian media reported.
261 MPs voted in favor of accepting Šmyhaľ's resignation, none against. Four MPs abstained and 55 lawmakers did not vote. The vote was followed by applause in the parliament."The ministers are now acting ministers. Tomorrow they should appoint a new Šmyhaľ and complete this maneuvering," MP Jaroslav Železňak commented on the parliamentary debate and vote. At least 226 votes were needed to accept the prime minister's resignation.
12:34 Russian drones hit the factory of the Polish company Barlinek in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. The attack was reported on the X network by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. According to the director of the plant, it was a targeted attack. Several people were injured in the attack, with two seriously burned. This is reported by the Warsaw correspondent of TASR.
Ukrainian rescue services are on the scene, and representatives of the Polish consulate are also present."Vladimir Putin's criminal war is approaching our borders," Sikorski commented on the incident.
"Everything indicates that (the plant - TASR note) was simply a chosen target, that it was not a random attack," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Wroňski, according to the PAP agency. According to him, Minister Sikorski will decide whether Poland will take diplomatic steps in response.
Russian drones hit the factory of Barlinek Group in Winnicy. Szef zakładu told me przed chwilą że celowo, z trzech kierunków. They are wounded, including two badly burned. Działają szążby ukraińskie, tąże nasz consulat.
— Radosław Sikorski (@sikorskiradek) July 16, 2025
Zbrodnicza wojna Putina przeżyża się do naszych granic.
"Russia is not changing its strategy - and in order to effectively counter this terror, we must systematically strengthen our defenses: more air defense systems, more fighter jets, and more determination - so that Russia feels our response," Zelensky added.
11:13 Russia is afraid of the US, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. When Trump's envoy Keith Kellogg visited Kiev, massive Russian airstrikes stopped, he said in an interview with Newsmax.
10:53 Latvia has provided 15 Patria 6×6 armored personnel carriers to the Ukrainian armed forces. The new military aid was handed over by the Prime Minister of the Baltic country, Evika Siliňová, during a visit to Kiev. The DPA agency reported this today, citing an announcement from the Prime Minister's office and the Ministry of Defense in Riga.
"Latvian support for Ukraine does not consist only in words, but also in concrete actions," Siliņa said in a statement.
Latvia plans to deliver a total of 42 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine this year, manufactured at the Finnish manufacturer Patria's plant in Latvia. The government in Riga also wants to provide the Russian-invaded country with drones and other military equipment worth a total of 70 million euros (1.7 billion crowns) and train up to 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
AGM-158, Hellfire or JDAM? Military expert Andrej Žiarovský on possible new American weapons for Ukraine
Source: ta3
10:30 Russian and Belarusian citizens are banned from buying real estate in Finland under a new Finnish law. The law, which was approved by parliament in April, came into effect on Tuesday, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen announced on the X network. TASR reports this according to Sky News.
The move is part of Finland's efforts to strengthen its national security, according to the British station. Häkkänen called the measure"an important reform that has been delayed for too long." "In my opinion, the need for this reform has existed for a long time, even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine," the Finnish defense minister wrote.
Häkkänen added that the move aims to strengthen Finland's security and"prepare for all means of influence."
The Kyiv Independent explains that until now, Finnish authorities could only block property purchases by Russian citizens on an individual basis if the Ministry of Defense determined that the transaction posed a threat to national security. The new law simplifies and strengthens this process by introducing a blanket ban.
10:01 Russia is increasingly using chemical weapons in Ukraine with the aim of causing as much pain and suffering as possible and forcing the country to capitulate. As reported by the website Politico, this was announced on Tuesday by the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas.
The Estonian politician said after a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels that, according to German and Dutch intelligence services, Moscow has used chemical weapons on at least 9,000 occasions since the beginning of the invasion, and their use is escalating.
"As the intelligence services say, the intensity is increasing and it is very, very worrying. It shows that Russia wants to cause as much pain and suffering as possible so that Ukraine capitulates. It is really... unbearable," Kallas said. She recalled that Russia is a signatory and has ratified the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.
Kallas's comments add to concerns in the European Union, which is growing concerned about Russia's escalating attacks on Ukraine, including massive nighttime missile strikes. The situation has led US President Donald Trump to announce that he will support legislation to impose tough tariffs on Russian exports if Putin does not end the attacks within 50 days.
9:45 AM At least two people were killed and five injured in Russian drone strikes on the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, regional administration chief Oleh Synehubov said. A 68-year-old man was killed in Kupyansk, another, a year younger, in the nearby village of Prykolotne, and Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, was also hit, he added. Authorities in the cities of Vinnytsia and Kryvyi Rih also reported injuries. In Russia's Voronezh region, according to the governor of that region, Alexander Gusev, a man who ended up in a coma after Tuesday's Ukrainian drone attack died of severe head injuries.
Russia sent 401 drones against Ukraine, of which the air defense shot down 198 and another 145 were neutralized by radio-electronic warfare means, the Ukrainian Air Force said. The main targets of the Russian airstrikes were the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia and Kryvyi Rih. The Air Force admitted that 12 unspecified locations were hit by 57 drones and one ballistic missile.
At least seven people were injured in a large-scale Russian drone attack on the regional city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, said deputy head of the regional administration Natalya Zabolotna, adding that two of the injured are in serious condition.
No one was killed in the largest attack on Kryvyi Rih since the start of the war, in which the Russians used a ballistic missile and 28 drones, but a 17-year-old boy suffered abdominal injuries. Doctors are now fighting for his life, the head of the city's military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, wrote on social media. According to him, an industrial enterprise was destroyed in the attack, whose employees escaped death and injury because they were in shelters during the alarm. Several fires broke out in the city and there is damage to infrastructure. By morning, firefighters had extinguished all the fires, and electricity and water supplies had been restored, with some exceptions. According to Vilkul, the damage is being determined during the elimination of the consequences of the attack.
According to Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, there is no information yet on the damage or number of injuries in the metropolis. Klitschko said that the attacks were repelled by air defenses.
Machine gun as an outdated weapon? Ukrainians use it to mow down Russian drones
A video from Ukraine's 28th Mechanized Brigade shows a tactical response to threats from Russian drones, highlighting the effectiveness of machine guns in eliminating them. This approach contrasts with the claim by a Russian strategist that machine guns are becoming obsolete due to the development of drone technology, as reported in a recent analysis by Business Insider. Source: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
8:55 Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to continue attacking Ukraine until the West accepts his peace terms, three unnamed sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters. Putin is undeterred by threats from US President Donald Trump and could expand his territorial claims as Russian forces advance in Ukraine.
8:50 NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Tuesday warned Brazil, China and India of very strong secondary sanctions if they continue to trade with Russia, Reuters reported.
6:00 American weapons are already on their way to Ukraine. On Tuesday evening local time (Wednesday night CEST), according to Reuters, United States President Donald Trump announced this. He also said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would pay for all American weapons and that the United States would not send any troops to Ukraine. Ukraine has been resisting a Russian invasion since February 2022. Trump has been trying to mediate a ceasefire and peace talks in recent months. While Ukraine has repeatedly agreed to an unconditional ceasefire, Russia has not acceded to this American proposal.
Trump said, according to Reuters, that some Patriot missiles are already being sent to Ukraine."They're coming from Germany," he said. On Monday, he said that European countries would be able to use the newly purchased weapons to replace those they send to help Ukraine in their stockpiles.
Ukrainian UJ-26 drones attacked deep in occupied Crimea
Exclusive footage of the combat deployment of Ukrainian UJ-26 Bober drones. The Ukrainian attack targeted key Russian military assets, such as the Pantsir-S1 air defense system, several radar systems, and a Su-30 fighter jet./Source: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
Trump threatened Russia on Monday with a 100 percent tariff if it doesn't reach an agreement to end the war with Ukraine within 50 days. The White House said secondary sanctions would hit countries that buy Russian oil. Trump also said he was very unhappy with Russian President Vladimir Putin's approach. Trump told reporters he had not spoken to Putin since the sanctions were announced on Monday.
Trump's statements about possible US sanctions were described as serious by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday. According to Peskov, Kiev sees the decision to supply weapons to Ukraine, which will be paid for by European countries, as a signal to continue the war. Russia has repeatedly said it is ready to negotiate a peaceful solution, but if it fails to achieve its goals through diplomacy, Moscow says the war will continue.
Germany, Britain, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada, among others, want to participate in arming Ukraine by financing American weapons, NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Monday. On the other hand, the Czech Republic will not join this initiative, as Prime Minister Petr Fiala told the Publico server on Tuesday. He said that the Czech Republic will focus on other ways to help Ukraine.
According to the Financial Times (FT), Trump asked his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in a private conversation whether Ukraine would be able to strike Moscow if the United States provided Kiev with long-range weapons. According to the FT, the White House chief urged Ukraine to intensify strikes deep inside Russian territory. The White House denied the newspaper's information about inciting attacks on Russia.
On Tuesday, Trump said Zelensky should not attack Moscow and that Putin should agree to a ceasefire within the deadline."If we don't have a deal after 50 days, it's going to be very bad," he said.
When asked by reporters whether Trump was now on the side of Ukraine, the US president replied that he was not on any side. He then declared that he was on the side of humanity."I want to stop the killing," he said.
6:00 At least two people have been killed in Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine near Kupyansk, local authorities said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The attacks also targeted Kharkiv and Kiev, among other cities.
Drones were used to kill people near Kupyansk, which has been under Russian attack for months. The head of the Kharkiv regional administration, Oleh Synehubov, said that at least 17 explosions rocked Kharkiv during the 20-minute drone strike, injuring three people.
The head of the military administration of Kryvyi Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, said the Russians had used drones and missiles against the industrial city. The widespread attack cut off electricity and water supplies and authorities reported an unspecified number of injuries.
According to Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, there is no information yet on the damage or number of injuries in the metropolis. Klitschko said that the attacks were repelled by air defenses.
Russia attacks Ukrainian cities almost every night, deploying hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles and rockets of various types. Ukraine also sends drones into Russian territory, mainly targeting industrial and military infrastructure. It claims that its intention is to weaken the fighting capacity of the neighboring country, which has been waging an offensive war against it for four years.
