Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv destroys bomber plane on raid 500 miles past border

Outrage in Ukraine as Zelensky sacks defense minister after six monthsUkraine’s Security Service has destroyed a Russian bomber plane nearly 500 miles past the Ukrainian border, Volodymyr Zelensky announced.The Tu-95 strategic plane was taken out at the Engels air base in Russia's Saratov Oblast. The Ukrainian president said on X that “the Security Service of Ukraine destroyed a Tu-95 military aircraft in Engels that had been used for Russian missile strikes against our country”.

He added: “We are defending ourselves justly and proactively. Ukraine’s Defense Forces also struck facilities belonging to Russia’s oil industry and designated targets in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.”It comes as the Central Intelligence Agency chief said Russian soldiers fighting against Ukraine survive no more than 20 to 30 minutes on the battlefield.

Speaking at a defence and innovation summit in Pennsylvania, the CIA director said: "What I would say is, our intelligence is consistent with some of the open-source reporting you may have seen in Ukraine. So the average life expectancy of a Russian recruit, right now, arriving on the battlefield in Ukraine, is estimated to be between 20 and 30 minutes."His comments came as protests erupted in Ukraine after president Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov after just six months in the role, following a dispute between the reformer and Kyiv's top general.

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He added: “We are defending ourselves justly and proactively. Ukraine’s Defense Forces also struck facilities belonging to Russia’s oil industry and designated targets in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.”Maryam Zakir-Hussain17 July 2026 23:15Russian drone attack on Mykolaiv kills two and damages three civilian vesselsA Russian drone attack on port infrastructure at Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv damaged three civilian foreign-flagged vessels, regional prosecutors said on Friday.

One of the strikes, early on Friday, killed two Ukrainian citizens who had been on board a foreign vessel, they added.Alex Croft17 July 2026 23:01Who is Mykhailo Fedorov? Everything you need to know about Ukraine’s sacked defence ministerRare wartime protests erupted in cities across Ukraine on Thursday, following the dismissal of defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov just six months after his appointment.

Fedorov, 35, is the last remaining minister to have held positions in all of Zelensky’s governments, with the tech-savvy reformer remaining close to the president since his election in 2019.Parliament is now set to vote on his replacement by Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, with it unclear as to whether Fedorov will be given another government job.His supporters pointed to his role in turning battlefield momentum in Ukraine's favour this year, through ramping up drone purchases and a crucial intervention to cut Russian units off from Starlink internet services.

Who is Ukraine’s sacked defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov? Fedorov, 35, is the last remaining minister to have held positions in all of Zelensky’s governmentsAlex Croft17 July 2026 22:01Ukraine rejects Russian accusations over attack on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plantUkraine's foreign ministry has rejected Russia’s accusations over an attack that killed the chief engineer at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.“No independent ​confirmation of ⁠the ‌Russian version or evidence of Ukraine's involvement ‌has been ‌presented, and information from Russian ⁠occupation authorities cannot be considered reliable,” the ministry said on Telegram.

It added that Russia ‌was trying ​to use ‌accusations ⁠to intimidate the ⁠international community with ‌the ​threat of ‌a nuclear incident.The attack killed an engineer at the Zaporizhzhia power plant.A firefighter works at the site of a residential area hit by a Russian air strike in Zaporizhzhia (Reuters)Alex Croft17 July 2026 21:00Starmer says UK will help fund 16 Gripen fighter jets for UkrainePrime minister Keir Starmer on Thursday pledged €300m (£254m) to help equip Ukraine ⁠with a squadron of 16 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets, making one of his final commitm