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Morning Headlines
The Kyiv Independent: Russia launched another mass missile and drone attack against multiple Ukrainian cities overnight on July 9, with the far-western city of Lutsk coming under the heaviest attack of the war.
CNN: Trump told a private gathering of donors last year that he once sought to deter Putin from attacking Ukraine by threatening to “bomb the shit out of Moscow” in retaliation, according to audio provided to CNN.
AP News: Europe’s top human rights court is set to rule Wednesday on Russia’s actions in the war in Ukraine, including human rights violations during the full-scale invasion and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
The Kyiv Independent: The European Union is considering establishing a fund for Ukraine worth 100 billion euros in the next seven-year EU budget, Bloomberg reported on July 8.
The Kyiv Independent: Trump is considering sending Ukraine an additional Patriot air defense system, a move that would mark his administration's first major weapons transfer to Kyiv, WSJ reported on July 8.
AP News: Four European intelligence officials told AP they’re worried the risk of serious injury or even death is rising as untrained saboteurs set fires near homes and businesses, plant explosives or build bombs.
The Insider: The Russian propaganda group Storm-1516, known for disseminating fake news online, has begun impersonating real journalists by publishing articles under their names on fabricated news sites.
ISW: Russian advances in northern Sumy Oblast slowed between late May and early June 2025, and Ukrainian forces began counterattacking and regaining territory in mid-June.
More News
Reuters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he ordered an expansion of contacts with the United States to ensure critical deliveries of military supplies, primarily air defence.
AP News: Trump’s decision to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine came after he privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials for announcing a pause in some deliveries last week — a move that he felt wasn’t properly coordinated with the White House.
Reuters: A sacked Russian official who was found dead with a gunshot wound in a park outside Moscow was implicated in an official investigation into the embezzlement of funds for strengthening the border with Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent: The village of Dachne in the southern part of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast appears to be contested, according to the Finnish Black Bird Group open-source intelligence collective.
Reuters: Trump said on Tuesday he had approved sending U.S. defensive weapons to Ukraine and was considering additional sanctions on Moscow, underscoring his frustration with Putin over the growing death toll in Russia's war with Ukraine. "We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin. ... He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," Trump said.
Reuters: Russian companies are successfully using netting, gold, and cryptocurrency to facilitate international payments, the head of Russia's financial watchdog told Putin on Tuesday.
Reuters: Russia's Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, will soon have the power to create a network of pre-trial detention centres under its own jurisdiction, according to a bill passed by the lower house of parliament.
IPHR: A new investigative report by International Partnership for Human Rights, the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission, and Hunterbrook Media exposes how microelectronic components produced by Western companies remain present in Russian SU-34 and SU-35 fighter jets — aircraft repeatedly used in attacks against Ukrainian civilians.
The Guardian: The United States only has about 25% of the Patriot missile interceptors it needs for all of the Pentagon’s military plans after burning through stockpiles in the Middle East in recent months.
Bloomberg: Mol Nyrt., the Hungarian oil company that’s faced criticism for maintaining strong reliance on Russian energy, sees a pipeline from the Ukrainian port of Odesa as its best bet at diversification (archive).
BBC: Three men have been found guilty of an arson attack on a London warehouse linked to Ukraine on behalf of Russian mercenary group Wagner.
The Kyiv Independent: Putin signed a decree on July 7 'permitting' foreigners to serve in the Russian army during periods of mobilization, expanding military recruitment efforts.
RFI: The Ukraine Recovery Conference takes place in the Italian capital on Thursday and Friday, with the goal of mobilising investments -- notably private sector funds -- for Kyiv as it faces its fourth year of war.
Politico: Ukraine’s top diplomat Andrii Sybiha announced a major shakeup in the foreign ministry on Tuesday, including the creation of a small department focusing on “unfriendly countries.”
The Kyiv Independent: Striletska Bay near Sevastopol, once a key base for Russian warships in occupied Crimea, is now nearly empty and used primarily for mooring tugboats and small patrol craft, the Atesh partisan group reported on July 8.
Reuters: Ukraine asked the global chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague on Tuesday to investigate the alleged use of banned toxic munitions by Russia against its forces.
Axios: Trump promised to immediately send 10 Patriot interceptors to Ukraine — fewer than had been planned in the paused shipment — and help to find other means of supply.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S. has been informed by President Volodymyr Zelensky that she is to be dismissed, a source in the President's Office confirmed to the KI on July 8.
worth mentioning
Setup artists: How Russia’s FSB stages arson attacks to send inconsequential “terrorists” to prison
OCCRP: Top Trump adviser Sergio Gor was born in the Soviet Union
Russians set record for transfers to foreign brokers amid market uncertainty
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