A Romanian F-16 fighter destroyed a marine drone hundreds of meters from the Neptun Deep offshore gas extraction project, in the latest incident involving the NATO member country on the border with Ukraine. The Minister of Defense declared it. The drone was "laden with explosives" and did not come from Ukraine, Defense Minister Radu Miruta said on Facebook. "There is an ongoing campaign of threats aimed at dividing our EU. This is a hybrid war," declared European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
New massive Russian attack on Kiev during the night, the toll is 15 dead and 40 injured according to Ukrainian president Zelensky who asks to receive "adequate anti-ballistic defense" from the allies and accuses: "The Russians had prepared for a long time with the aim of causing as much damage as possible to civilian infrastructure".
The attacks provoked security reactions in neighboring NATO member states: air defenses were activated in Poland, while Romanian radar systems detected air targets near the Ukrainian border, causing two Spanish fighter jets engaged in NATO missions to take off.
Moscow reports that Ukrainian forces launched 726 drones last night over 18 Russian regions, over occupied Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Russia is ready to collaborate with the USA for a complete normalization of bilateral relations. This was stated by the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in an interview with the newspaper Izvestia. “As agreed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during negotiations in Manila on July 23, we are ready to further cooperate with US partners, seeking to move to a substantive discussion on our priorities, the achievement of which should be key to a complete and successful normalization of bilateral relations,” Zakharova said. Since the launch of the dialogue on eliminating "elements of friction" in February 2025, bilateral meetings have been held regularly through the channel of the Foreign Ministry and the State Department in order to resolve the numerous problems accumulated in Russian-American relations, he added. "We continue to firmly reiterate the need to move from important, but technical, issues relating to the activity of diplomatic missions to concrete objectives, such as the return of seized Russian diplomatic assets and the resumption of direct flights," Zakharova said. "Despite the progress made in restoring the full operation of the embassies, the work of our embassy and consulates general has not yet fully resumed due to the complexity of the negotiation process and the divergences in approach. As regards the logistics of the meetings on the 'critical points', we do not make them public based on an informal agreement with the Americans and we believe it is important to conduct the dialogue in a discreet manner. We can only say that the date of the next contact is being evaluated", he concluded.
"There is an ongoing threat campaign that is destabilizing our citizens and aiming to divide our EU. This is a hybrid war." The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen declared this via social media, referring to the naval drone loaded with explosives destroyed this morning by the Romanian armed forces near the Naptun Deep offshore gas extraction platform, in the Black Sea, and attributed to Russia by the Romanian authorities. "The founding mission of our EU is to preserve peace. Today this also means having the ability to discourage provocations and aggression", continues the leader of the EU executive, recalling the European plan to mobilize up to 800 billion euros for military preparation. “With the European Drone Defense Initiative and the Eastern Flank Watch, we are scaling up production in Europe to provide the capabilities that Member States need. This way we can respond to emerging threats with speed, unity and determination,” concludes von der Leyen.
“Today, Romania destroyed a naval drone carrying explosives near its Neptun Deep platform in the Black Sea. An escalating campaign of threats is underway, upsetting our citizens and seeking to divide our Union. This is hybrid warfare.” The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, writes this on X. "The founding mission of our Union is to preserve peace. Today, this also means having the ability to deter provocations and aggression. Our Readiness 2030 agenda is mobilizing up to 800 billion euros. With the European Drone Defense Initiative and Eastern Flank Watch, we are increasing production in Europe to provide the capabilities that Member States need. So we can respond to emerging threats with speed, unity and determination", he adds.
War is "a profound failure to live in the image and likeness of God, to respect life and to care for the land entrusted to us. It is not only a political failure, but also a moral and spiritual one. Rooted in distorted desires and a misuse of human freedom and power, war stands as a counter-witness to the Gospel of peace". The Pope states this in the message for Care of Creation Day. "The true tools for building peace are not weapons of destruction, but rather truth, dialogue, patience, goodness, justice, mercy, understanding, care and love."
With night attacks against Ukraine, Russia violated the airspace of Moldova and Romania, testing NATO's resolve. This was stated by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. ''These are not isolated incidents. They are part of Russia's deliberate and systematic terrorist attacks. The aggressor state is increasingly testing the determination of NATO and its partners, violating the sovereignty of neighboring states and deliberately extending the risks posed by its war well beyond Ukraine,'' said Kiev's head of diplomacy. Sybiha then announced that she will collaborate with the Romanian and Moldovan foreign ministers "for a stronger and more effective regional response to Russia's cynical attempts to widen the war that it itself started". According to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, ''our collective response must be stronger than Russia's attempts to test our unity and determination. The security and stability of the entire region are at stake''.
"Every Russian ballistic missile is an act of barbarism. And every interceptor delivered to Ukraine is an act of humanity and saves lives." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha declared this on "With these horrible war crimes, Putin wants to demonstrate complete impunity," continued Sybiha, who once again urged international partners to supply interceptor missiles and air defense systems to Ukraine without delay. “Every delay is measured in human lives,” he added, specifying that “we know our partners who can help and we know what they can provide.”
"Exposing the corrupt actions of an official, regardless of the position he holds, demonstrates that the State has effective anti-corruption bodies and is absolutely intolerant towards corruption. Investigations are underway and we will see the judicial consequences. But the action demonstrates that Ukraine is proceeding with the utmost firmness and with effective decisions. There are suspicions, there is an immediate political reaction and subsequent procedural actions." Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelensky's advisor, said this in an interview with the newspaper 'La Repubblica', adding that "anyone who participates in the political process has the right to make statements, not only Fedorov, but the obstacles to the electoral campaign have increased. Russia attacks city centres, it is impossible to guarantee the security of the elections. And the ban provided by law is still in force".
Ukrainian forces launched 726 drones last night over 18 Russian regions, occupied Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense, adding that all the aircraft were intercepted. Mayor Serghei Sobyanin specified that 250 unmanned aircraft were launched towards the Moscow region, where no deaths or injuries were reported. In Crimea, the Tass agency writes, restrictions have been imposed on the supply of electricity following the damage caused by the attacks. Overall, there were three injured: two in the Belgorod region, where a car was hit, and one in the Ulyanovsk region.
Moscow admitted to having carried out a "massive attack" with missiles and drones last night on Kiev and its region, but said that it had only targeted military targets or targets of military interest. The Ministry of Defense reports that in the Ukrainian capital, among other things, a plant of the Fire Point group which produces components for attack drones and Flamingo missiles, a site of the state aeronautical company Antonov specialized in the production of manned and unmanned aircraft and an ammunition depot where "M-900 thermobaric aerial bombs, anti-tank mines and ammunition for Baba-Yaga type drones" were stored. In the Kiev region, adds the Russian ministry, a fuel depot in Brovary and a transport and logistics center of the Zammler group which "dealt with the storage and distribution of dual-use goods, including for the production of long and medium range drones, robotic complexes and electronic warfare systems" were hit.
"Rescue teams have been working all night on the sites affected by the Russian attacks. It was a large-scale attack: the Russians had prepared for a long time, combining different types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, with the aim of causing as much damage as possible to civilian infrastructure. Damage was recorded in Kiev and the region, as well as in the Odessa and Chernihiv regions." So on X the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. "In the capital, residential buildings were damaged, including a skyscraper whose upper floors were destroyed, as well as a children's hospital and a school. Rescue and assistance operations are still ongoing. At the moment, we know that the Russian attack caused the death of 12 people in Kiev and one person in the region. My condolences to all the families and loved ones of the victims. About 40 people were injured." "In the Odessa region - the Ukrainian president continues - the enemy carried out a drone attack against a border crossing with Moldova; in the Chernihiv region, it targeted the gas infrastructure. I thank all the rescuers, doctors, police officers and emergency services operators who provided help to the population from the first moments".
The attacks on Kiev last night also provoked security reactions in neighboring NATO member states. The Polish military command said it had mobilized aircraft and activated air defenses to protect Polish airspace, particularly in areas bordering Ukraine. The Romanian Defense Ministry said radar systems detected air targets near the Ukrainian border overnight, prompting the take-off of two Spanish fighter jets engaged in NATO missions and a Romanian Air Force helicopter. The ministry added that a drone entered Romanian airspace near Galati before crashing in an uninhabited area in Tulcea county.
Poland scrambled military aircraft and raised its air defense alert level, launching "defensive air operations" after attacks by Russian forces in Ukraine. The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces made this known on social media, specifying that the operations concern in particular the areas on the border with Ukraine. "Military aviation began operating in Polish airspace. Land-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems were placed on alert," it was reported. The command specified that the measures adopted have an exclusive preventive nature and are aimed at increasing security in the areas of the country most exposed to risks of conflict contagion.
The current toll from the massive Russian attack on Kiev last night is 12 dead and 32 injured. The mayor of the Ukrainian capital Vitaliy Klitschko updated the data on Telegram. Of these, at least 7 in the Solomyansky district. The mayor has ordered city mourning for tomorrow. The mayor gradually gave several updates on the effects of the attack throughout the night and early morning: in the Solomyansky district, he reported, the upper floors of a 9-story residential building collapsed and caught fire. Some people were trapped in another residential building. Some areas of the Sviatoshynsky and Solomyansky neighborhoods in the capital remained without electricity. In the Darnytsky district, non-residential buildings and warehouses were damaged. In the Svyatoshynskyi district, the destruction of non-residential buildings and the burning of some warehouses were recorded. Also in the Solomyanskyi district, a school and the premises of a children's hospital were damaged. Windows at a medical facility were shattered and several cars burned in the area. The fire has been put out. Some garages were also damaged.
