EU extends economic sanctions against Russia for another six months

Ukraine is entering a more challenging phase of the war, during which attacks on economic and logistical infrastructure may have an impact on people’s daily lives. In particular, temporary disruptions to the supply of certain goods cannot be ruled out.

The US Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, discussed with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the supply of missiles for the Patriot systems, the production of these missiles in Ukraine and a forthcoming drone deal.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has confirmed that the European Union has agreed on a 21st package of sanctions against Russia.

UNESCO has added Chersonesos of Taurica, in the temporarily occupied Crimea, to the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin has arrived in Kyiv, where he will hold talks with Ukraine’s leadership. One of the key topics will be support for Ukraine during Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Almost 45 per cent of Poles believe that Poland provided too much military aid to Ukraine following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. At the same time, over a third of those surveyed described the level of support as adequate.

On the night of 5 July, at the Rakowicki Cemetery in Kraków, unknown individuals stole a bronze bas-relief from the gravestone of the Ukrainian writer, poet and public figure Bohdan Lepkyi. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has described the incident as a deliberate provocation aimed at worsening Ukrainian-Polish relations

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has urged the Polish delegation not to agree to any new financial commitments regarding Ukraine during the NATO summit. According to him, Warsaw is already spending significant resources on supporting Kyiv and defending the European Union’s eastern border

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has stated that Ukraine is seeking ways to ease tensions in its relations with Warsaw. According to him, this is indicated by signals following talks between the two countries’ foreign ministers

У Європейському парламенті розглянуть поправки до звіту про прогрес України на шляху до членства в Європейському Союзі, які стосуються Волинської трагедії, діяльності Української повстанської армії (УПА) та історичного примирення між Україною і Польщею.

Businesses continue to face systemic abuses by the Economic Security Bureau: despite court rulings in favour of business owners, ESBU detectives are in no hurry to return seized property, and in some cases are seizing equipment and documents in defiance of a direct ban by the investigating judge. Lawyer Denys Tereshchenko spoke about this on social media. His colleagues from various law firms confirm that the problem is systemic in nature.

On 23 July, Ukraine received a second tranche of around $690 million from the IMF under the new four-year programme.

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 Central Research Institute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is developing a closed artificial intelligence system called ‘Marichka’, which will analyse the situation on the battlefield and suggest possible courses of action to commanders. The decision-making process, which currently can take up to 12 hours, is set to be reduced to a few minutes.

Over the course of a week, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched drone strikes against around 10 per cent of the total logistics infrastructure of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online marketplace, and put 8 per cent of the company’s warehouses out of action.

The Security Service has uncovered a further six instances in which Russia used depleted uranium munitions during attacks on the Chernihiv region.

Ukrainian developers have already created laser systems capable of shooting down FPV drones and are working on ways to neutralise ‘suicide drones’. Over the next two to three months, the Ukrainian Armed Forces expect to receive new means of countering aerial targets.

54 companies in Ukraine have already joined the private civil defence initiative and have been authorised to carry out the relevant activities.