Drones have attacked Sterlitamak in Bashkortostan; damage has been reported at petrochemical plants

Petrol and diesel at Ukrainian petrol stations could approach the 100 hryvnia per litre mark as early as the beginning of August 2026. This is a forecast by fuel expert Dmytro Lyushkin, and not an approved or guaranteed price.

Energoatom and Ukrhydroenergo have sold all the electricity volumes offered at the first special long-term auctions. In total, the state-owned companies sold 462,148 MWh, to be supplied between August and December 2026.

The International Monetary Fund has agreed to postpone the introduction of value added tax (VAT) for sole traders operating under the simplified tax system. Instead of January 2027, the new rules are due to come into force on 1 January 2028.

The Ukrainian government is considering replacing the current 5 per cent military levy with a special tax for post-war reconstruction. This option is included in the updated Memorandum of Cooperation between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund.

During a retrial, the Kharkiv District Administrative Court quashed a tax penalty of 4,038,423 hryvnias imposed on a business owner following an inspection of a shop in the centre of Odesa. The decision was based on irregularities in the way the inspection was arranged, rather than on a refutation of the tax authorities’ claims regarding the accounting of goods.

Production of petroleum products in Russia continues to decline. According to Rosstat, the decline in June was the sharpest since at least 2006.

The Russian Ministry of Defence claims that Russian troops have occupied the villages of Artilne in the Kharkiv region and Blahodatne in the Zaporizhzhia region. The Ukrainian command has not reported the loss of these settlements.

On the night of 22 July, personnel from the Maritime Guard of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine carried out a search and rescue operation in the Black Sea. They evacuated the crew of the bulk carrier ‘Golden Rose’, which had been struck by a Russian drone.

On the night of 23 July, several regions in Russia reported drone attacks. In the Voronezh Region, damage to warehouse buildings was reported, whilst in Kazan, local residents reported that air defence systems had been activated.

On the night of 23 July, drones attacked a facility belonging to the fuel and energy complex in the Ulyanovsk region of Russia. Local authorities reported a fire, whilst OSINT analysts have linked the attack to the ‘NS Oil’ refinery.