Exclusive
 | Zelenskyy wanted 30,000 attack drones. One factory alone is building 36,000. Fire Point is producing 100 drones a day. Together with other plants, Ukraine may soon launch swarms to rival Russia’s 5,000 Shaheds a month. |
 | Ukraine’s blue-yellow flag marks 33 years of independence symbolism. Ukraine’s blue and yellow colors trace back to 1256 when Prince Danylo Halytskyi created Lviv’s coat of arms – beginning a 767-year journey through persecution, space missions, and wartime victories. |
 | Kostyantynivka’s new morning routine: turn on the gas. Nothing. Russians are 3 miles away. Hours of bombing today destroyed gas lines. The postal service fled, saying it was “too dangerous”. |
 | The film showing how Russia’s killer drones turned Ukraine into a human safari. “A fantastic horror movie… our reality” |
 | Russia lost a brigade near Dobropillya—more brigades are coming. Russia is rushing additional brigades into the salient northeast of Pokrovsk. Can the Ukrainian 1st Azov Corps sustain its counterattack? |
 | Ukraine’s Black Widow ground drone carries six FPVs—costs less than a single Javelin missile. The carrier launches drones in pairs—one strikes, the other films the kill. The unusual feature lets operators confirm destruction before a follow-up attack. |
 | Kamyshin built Ukraine’s arsenal sixfold—now he says Europe must pay to unlock it. “We need money,” said the man whose industry delivers weapons faster than traditional European suppliers. |
Military
Ukrainian drones partially sink Moscow’s arms ship 640km deep inside Russia. The Caspian Sea attack on Port Olya 4 disrupts Iranian weapons deliveries that fuel daily Shahed strikes on Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine hits Russia’s most dangerous high-tech formation in Donetsk Oblast. The destruction of Rubicon’s command post may restore Ukraine’s drone advantage after the unit inflicted hundreds of vehicle losses in Kursk.
Five Russian divers tried to lift a Ukrainian drone in Novorossiysk bay — they never surfaced again. The sea drone detonated during the recovery attempt, killing Russia’s elite sabotage group instantly.
Ukraine drones turned Russia’s Druzhba oil lifeline into fire — second hit in Bryansk’s Unecha this month (video). A late-night strike engulfed the Unecha pumping station in flames, disrupting a hub key to Moscow’s oil exports to Hungary and Slovakia.
Intelligence and technology
War-torn Ukraine develops cruise missile Europe’s industry сouldn’t build, says Austrian expert. The 1,150kg warhead missile enters mass production in January alongside 3,000 monthly FP-1 drones, though effectiveness depends on penetrating Russian air defenses through coordinated swarm attacks.
Ukraine’s gamified drone app raises $24K from 45 сountries on launch day. The app’s gamification features allow civilian donors to adopt military call signs and track their contributions to specific drone strikes.
International
Zelenskyy rejects China as peace guarantor after Beijing supplies 90% of weapons components to Russia. Beijing’s $125.8 billion trade partnership with Moscow and weapons component supplies contradict its claims of neutrality.
Zelenskyy: Russians are doing everything to prevent the US-Ukraine-Russia meeting from taking place. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for international sanctions to compel Russia into peace negotiations, arguing that partners must “help ensure at least a minimal productive position from the Russian side.”
Ukraine gets $ 4.7 bn EU aid for Independence Day but loses $ 1.2 bn over stalled reforms. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the $ 4.7 billion transfer to Ukraine “evidence of our firm commitment.”
Rutte in Kyiv promises Ukraine “no repeat of Budapest Memorandum” with dual security guarantees. The commitment aims to establish deterrence mechanisms that the failed 1994 Budapest Memorandum couldn’t provide, though questions remain about whether theu can contain Putin’s territorial ambitions.
Humanitarian and social impact
Kremlin to Washington: your businesses are targets too. Two Kalibr missiles slam into a US-owned electronics plant in western Ukraine, injuring 12.
Two days of fire in Mukachevo, 21 wounded — ISW says Russia hit US-owned Flex plant to scare off US and EU investors. Moscow stockpiled missiles and drones for the attack ahead of Putin’s meeting with Trump in Alaska, the think tank says.
Political and legal developments
Ukrainian suspected of undermining Nord Stream denies charges and refuses extradition. A Ukrainian man arrested in Italy over the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions displayed a three-finger trident gesture in court Friday while denying charges and refusing extradition to Germany
New developments
Two Ukrainians win gold at the 2025 world canoe sprint championships. From European runners-up to world champions in two months – Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan and Iryna Fedoriv completed their ascent to the top of international canoe sprint racing with victory in Milan.
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