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The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Rescuers and municipal workers stand outside a damaged apartment building after a Russian missile attack in Lviv, Ukraine, on July 30, 2026. (Maria Derhachova / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images)
Ukraine hits one of Russia’s largest Lukoil-owned oil refineries, General Staff confirms. A fire was reported on the refinery’s grounds following the attack, according to the General Staff.
Ukraine gets 3.9-billion-dollar EU tranche to buy drones, missiles, jets. The allocated funds will help finance the procurement of drones, including long-range jet-powered models, as well as missiles and Gripen fighter jets, according to the European Commission.
‘Almost nothing remained’: Russian missile kills at least 6 family members in Ukrainian village. Six members of the family have been confirmed killed, with rescuers still searching for any remains of the other five as of 6 p.m. local time.
Assault regiment commander ordered troops to fire on retreating comrades, media investigation alleges. The 225th Assault Regiment — which had fought as a battalion in Chasiv Yar before helping lead the lightning incursion into Kursk Oblast in 2024 — is one of the largest units of the Ukrainian military, having been expanded to at least 15 battalions.
North Korean missile likely used in Russian strike that killed 6 family members in Ukraine, Zelensky says. “The alliance between the Moscow scumbags and the deranged regime in North Korea exists for the sake of missiles, North Korean troops on our borders here in Europe, and killing our Ukrainian children,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
Wildberries facilities, oil refineries reportedly struck in Russia. Multiple Wildberries facilities and oil refineries were reportedly hit in Russia’s Volgograd, Tatarstan, and Krasnodar regions overnight on July 31.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Heartbreak in Ukrainian village as Russian missile kills at least 6 family members
In key developments on July 30, a Russian missile killed at least six members of a family in a Ukrainian village; Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed an attack on Russia’s largest Lukoil-owned refinery, Ukrainian drones reportedly struck additional Wildberries warehouses in Russia; and more.
Image: President Volodymyr Zelensky / Telegram
Russia’s defense giant quietly launches new cryptocurrency despite EU sanctions
A cryptocurrency associated with Russia’s state defense corporation has quietly launched just as the European Union targets Russian crypto markets with further sanctions. Blockchain data reviewed by Kyiv Independent suggests that ruble token RubX, announced by Rostec last year, soft-launched on July 17.
Image: Sefa Karacan / Anadolu / Getty Images
Human cost of war
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,444,810 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The figure includes 1,360 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.
In other news
Russian propagandist Xenia Fedorova faces deportation from France. French authorities said that her “conduct undermines the fundamental interests of the state,” and her continued presence on French territory “therefore constitutes a particularly serious and immediate threat to public order.”
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Opinions and insights
Putin likes his worst option in Ukraine.
“If Russian President Vladimir Putin were to make a clear-headed assessment of the state of his war with Ukraine, he would seek a ceasefire. But his head apparently is not clear, because all signs point to him pursuing some kind of escalation,” writes Carl Bildt, former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden, in this op-ed.
Image: Alexander Kazakov / Pool / AFP / Getty Images
International response
US envoys Witkoff, Kushner expected to visit Kyiv in August, media reports. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to visit Kyiv in the second half of August, a senior correspondent for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) reported on July 30, citing sources familiar with the plans.
Warsaw to consider providing Ukraine with additional Patriot missiles after suspected Russian missile falls in Poland. In the early hours of July 30, sirens blared in the Poland’s Lublin region, F-16 fighter jets were scrambled, and an explosion was reported after an “unidentified object,” later described by Tusk as likely a Kh-101 cruise missile, strayed into Polish territory amid a larger Russian mass attack on Ukraine.
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