Newsletter 04/07/2025
A daily news digest covering important war, political, economic, and cultural topics in Ukraine
TOP
Combined attack: number of victims in Kyiv rises to 26
It has been established that on the night of July 4, Russian troops carried out a combined attack on Kyiv using UAVs, ballistic and cruise missiles. In total, two air raid alerts lasted more than 12 hours with a break.
At this time, 26 people are known to have been injured, including a 10-year-old girl with a leg injury.
Rescuers have recovered the body of a person from the rubble of a building destroyed in a massive Russian airstrike on Kyiv.
The exact number of victims is being determined.
In the Solomianskyi district, residential buildings and cars parked nearby were damaged, as well as a gas station, a college and school building, railroad tracks, and a heating station.
In the Holosiivskyi district, a medical facility was damaged.
In the Shevchenkivskyi district, windows were broken in several residential buildings, and a new building that had not yet been put into operation was also damaged.
Debris from the UAV was found in the Holosiivskyi, Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Solomianskyi districts.
Fire station and 11 SES vehicles damaged in Russian strike on Kyiv
Read also: Polish embassy consular section damaged in Kyiv attack – Sikorski
Between 18:00 on Thursday, July 3, and the morning of July 4, Russian forces launched a total of 550 aerial targets. These included:
539 Shahed-type strike UAVs and various decoy drones launched from Kursk, Shatalovo, Orel, Bryansk, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk (over 330 of them were Shahed drones);
1 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistics missile launched from the airspace over Russia’s Lipetsk region;
6 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles from the Bryansk region;
4 Iskander-K cruise missiles from the Kursk and Voronezh regions.
As of 08:00 on Friday, July 4, preliminary data indicate that 478 aerial targets were neutralized. Of these, 270 were destroyed by direct fire, while 208 were suppressed or lost due to electronic warfare measures. Specifically:
268 UAVs were shot down by firepower;
208 UAVs were neutralized through electronic warfare;
2 Iskander-K cruise missiles were intercepted.
Sky in Kyiv after night enemy attack
Russians strike Fastiv district with missiles, damage reported
In the Fastiv district of the Kyiv region, residential and industrial sectors suffered significant destruction and damage as a result of a Russian missile attack.
Ukraine brings home more prisoners in latest exchange with Russia
"Our people are home. Most of them had been held in Russian captivity since 2022. Today, our defenders who fought for Ukraine in various regions – the Donetsk region and Mariupol, the Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions – are coming back. These are warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service. And also civilians," Zelensky said.
Zelensky outlines key topics discussed with Trump: frontline, air defense, peace deal
“I had a very important and fruitful conversation with President Donald J. Trump. I congratulated President Trump and the entire American people on the US Independence Day. We – in Ukraine – are grateful for all the support provided. It helps us protect lives, safeguard our freedom and independence. We have achieved a lot together with America and we support all efforts to stop the killings and restore just, lasting, and dignified peace. A noble agreement for peace is needed,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Facilities attacked in Moscow and Rostov regions, including optomechanical plant – CCD
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, confirmed that the Azov Optomechanical Plant was struck. The facility is known for producing critical components for the Russian military, including sights, rangefinders, thermal imagers, and fire control systems for tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, naval vessels, and aircraft. It is considered a key site for assembling the “eyes” of Russian armored vehicles.
In Moscow region, factory producing combat units for “Shaheds” has been hit - AFU
As part of efforts to reduce Russia's ability to carry out air strikes, on July 4, units of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces, struck the Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry (Sergiev Posad, Moscow region of the Russian Federation).
Currently, the enterprise manufactures thermobaric warheads for Shahed-type UAVs and is an important link in the Russian Federation's armed aggression against Ukraine.
The direct hit on the target has been confirmed. A fire and heavy smoke were recorded in the area of the facility.
The results of the strike are being clarified, the General Staff noted.
Republican Wilson calls for air defense aid to Ukraine following Russian attack
Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, responding to Russia's large-scale attack, has called for the transfer of air defense systems and other weaponry to Ukraine.
"As Americans begin to enjoy the sounds of fireworks in celebration of our Nation's Independence, war criminal Putin, who is losing his pathetic war, resorts to scorched earth tactics across Ukrainian cities that predate Moscow's existence," Wilson wrote.
The congressman expressed confidence that with rapid stock assessment, the Department of Defense would advance President Donald Trump's objectives stated at The Hague to send additional air defense and approved weapons "to help stop this absolute depravity, as allies have and must continue doing at a rapid pace."
"Armed with cheap Iranian and North Korean weapons, Putin delights in fire bombing sleeping families and will continue his imperialist perversions until he is stopped," Wilson added.
War
Dozens of Russian 'Shaheds' shot down by interceptor drones today – Zelensky
During Russia’s overnight attack, dozens of Shahed drones were shot down by Ukrainian interceptor drones.
According to the President, interceptor drone production is being rapidly scaled up, and drone operators are undergoing special training.
As previously reported by Ukrinform, on June 17, during the G7 summit in Canada, President Zelensky announced that Ukraine is working on the development of Shahed interceptor drones to protect its cities and has requested international funding for the initiative.
Sybiha on Russian attack: Kyiv was attacked by drones with Chinese components
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that following the Russian attack, a component of an UAV manufactured in China was found in Kyiv, while the Chinese Consulate General in Odesa sustained damage.
Read also: Chinese components found in Russian 'Geran' drones – SSU identifies manufacturer
Ukraine becomes first to use helicopters to hunt drones at scale
Ukraine’s army aviation has become the first in the world to systematically use helicopters to intercept enemy drones, particularly during air attacks involving Shahed loitering munitions.
“This is our own know-how. No one else in the world has used helicopters in such a systematic way against drones. And this experience is already attracting interest from NATO partners,” emphasized Lieutenant Colonel Mykola Liubarets, a 1st class pilot and Hero of Ukraine..
Russia used largest number of drones in single attack – Air Force spokesperson
Frontline update: 148 clashes in past day, nearly third in Pokrovsk sector
46 children remain in forced evacuation zone in Donetsk region
Enemy struck Kramatorsk with rocket artillery, two wounded
Russian strike causes blackout at Zaporizhzhia NPP — Minister Halushchenko
Defense
Ukrainian defense companies to launch production in Denmark
Ukraine and Denmark have signed an agreement enabling Ukrainian defense industry manufacturers to export their technologies abroad.
Denmark would be the first country to which Ukraine exports its defense technologies for production, scaling, and delivery to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Politics
Beijing fears Russia's defeat due to nuclear arsenal risks – Chinese expert
China does not want Russia to be defeated in the war against Ukraine — not only out of concern over growing U.S. pressure on Beijing, but primarily due to fears about losing control over Russia’s nuclear arsenal and the potential global threats that could result.
Sybiha convenes MFA meeting on reclaiming Ukraine’s share of former USSR foreign assets
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha held a special meeting at the MFA with colleagues to discuss reclaiming Ukraine’s rightful share of the former USSR’s foreign assets.
Trump’s spiritual advisor on Russian attack: World must not be silent
Macron, Starmer to co-chair video conference on Ukraine in the UK
Economy
Russia loses appeal in case over Oschadbank’s seized assets in Crimea
On July 1, 2025, the Paris Court of Appeal supported the position of Oschadbank JSC, having rejected Russia’s appeal and upheld the decision of the Paris Arbitration Tribunal, dated November 26, 2018, ordering Russia to compensate the bank for losses following the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea.
Society
Israel to provide additional humanitarian aid to Ukraine
On July 3, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar informed the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, that he had instructed his ministry to provide Ukraine, through MASHAV (Israel's national aid agency within the Foreign Ministry), with an aid package that will provide drinking water systems to serve hundreds of thousands of people in areas affected by Russian bombings.
"The aid package will be allocated from the Foreign Ministry's budget. It will consist of a number of water systems, each of which will be able to supply water for tens of thousands of people. The drinking systems will be installed in Ukraine's eastern provinces, an area where infrastructure was damaged by Russian bombings and the population suffers from water shortages," the statement said.
Crime
SBU detains two Russian agents preparing strikes on Kramatorsk
In the Donetsk region, Ukraine's SBU State Security Service has detained two more Russian agents who were preparing missile and aerial strikes on Kramatorsk.
"To recruit this agent, Russian intelligence operatives used her son — a militant fighting against Ukraine on the eastern front as part of Russian occupation forces. The woman's main task was to locate backup command posts and fortified positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the area around the frontline city," the statement said.
She also relayed information to Russian forces about the impact and aftermath of previous strikes.
The second agent, also a local resident, was working for Russia's military intelligence agency (commonly known as the GRU). She was first noticed by the aggressor's services due to her anti-Ukrainian posts in a pro-Kremlin group on the Russian social network Odnoklassniki.
There, she was approached by the group's administrator — a career GRU officer — who offered her money in exchange for cooperation.
Acting on his instructions, she walked around frontline areas, identifying locations of Ukrainian troop deployments and marking their coordinates on Google Maps.