Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv bombs 15 more Russian ships on key trade route

Emergency restoration work under way in Ukraine's Sumy after latest Russian airstrikesUkrainian drones hit 15 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov overnight, including seven tankers, Ukraine's drone forces commander said on Monday.That brings the total number of vessels struck in the past eight days to 105, Robert Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app.Reuters reported that shipping through the trade route has been suspended as of last week due to the Ukrainian attacks and sources said transit remained restricted on Monday.

It is the route for a quarter of Russia’s grain exports. It follows a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow that killed at least three people and injured five according to governor Andrei Vorobyov. Air defence units downed 81 drones ‌over ​the ‌region overnight, he ⁠added on Monday.

Volodymyr Zelensky said officials who allowed weapons warehouses to operate in a residential area outside Kyiv where explosions killed 10 people had been identified and would “be held accountable”.Western allies will seek to secure more air-defence commitments for Ukraine when they meet in Paris today, as shortages have left it increasingly exposed to Russian ballistic missiles, despite recent shifts in momentum on ⁠the battlefield.RecommendedPutin will never make peace in Ukraine because it will ‘ruin him’Ukrainian prime minister to step down as Zelenskyy announces government reshuffleIs there a way out of Vladimir Putin’s forever war?

The West is preparing for the wrong post-war RussiaRussia strikes Kyiv with missiles and drones in fresh wave of attacksRussian forces ⁠attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with missiles in the early hours today, triggering fires in widely separated districts of the city, senior ⁠officials said.The air alert in the city was lifted after about 50 minutes. No casualties were reported.

Tymur Tkachenko, head ​of ⁠the capital's military administration, ‌said two storage areas were hit and set on fire in the ‌Holosiivskyi district just outside ‌the city centre.Mayor Vitali Klitschko said drone debris had hit the ground in an open area in an eastern suburb and cars had been set ablaze. Reuters witnesses reported several explosions in the city.

In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, Russian drones struck residential and other areas, injuring 11 people, emergency services said.A drone attack ‌in a town ⁠outside Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city in ⁠the northeast, injured six people, Kharkiv regional governor ‌Oleh Syniehubov ​said on Telegram.File: Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv (Reuters)Arpan Rai14 July 2026 03:53Comment: Inside the Andy Burnham security pact which could reshape Britain’s futureThere is a widespread view that Andy Burnham cannot negotiate a significantly better relationship with the European Union without breaking Labour’s manifesto commitments.

If that were true, it would be a serious problem, since forging a closer partnership with the EU is one of the most important things that the UK’s next prime minister could do.Fortunately, there is a way to cut a deal that is good for Britain while also respecting Labour’s promises not to rejoin the bloc, its single market or its customs union, at least until the next general election. The solution is to create a bold security pact covering far more than defence.

But first, Burnham will have to take the British people on a journey. Although a big majority think Brexit was a mistake, they do not yet regard it as one of the country’s most pressing problems.Inside the Andy Burnham security pact which could reshape Britain’s futureThe next prime minister faces a dangerous world and a weakened Britain.

A bold defence agreement with Europe could restore the influence the country has lost, says former InFacts chair Hugo DixonMaira Butt14 July 2026 03:00Russia uses Japan's help for tech in Ukraine war – reportRussia’s banned spies, which faced the international wrath in their deployed countries, have started turning up in Japan and using their technology, according to a report by The New York Times.The spies kicked out of the western nations following the full-scale invasion launched by Russian president Vladimir Putin.Japan’s weak espionage laws and sought-after technology industry has made it lucrative for Russia to operate a part of its war effort through the country.

At least 90 per cent of Russian missiles and drones include Japanese components, said the Ukrainian government in its new estimates.Russia is also operating its 20th Directorate, a military intelligence unit, which has unit officers pretending to be diplomats or business people holding important positions as they purchase or steal combat technology to introduce it to Russia, said former and serving members of five Western intelligence agencies, the report added.Maira Butt14 July 2026 02:00Comment: The West is preparing for the wrong post-war RussiaWhenever and however the war in Ukraine ends, it will leave Russia more constrained at home