Key developments on July 2:
- As Russia ramps up missile assaults, US halts promised air protection shipments to Ukraine
- North Korea to ship as much as 30,000 extra troops to assist Russia's battle towards Ukraine, CNN studies
- Ukraine denies one other Russian declare of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast breakthrough, says small incursion repelled
- Russia's Kupol army plant reportedly halts operations after Ukrainian drone strike
- Russia killed not less than 273 Ukrainian POWs throughout full-scale battle, prosecutors say
The U.S. Protection Division (DOD) has halted shipments of some air protection missiles and different weapons beforehand promised to Kyiv out of considerations over the dimensions of U.S. stockpiles, Politico reported on July 1, citing sources aware of the matter.
The suspension comes as Ukraine faces a scarcity of air protection munitions together with more and more intense and lethal Russian bombardments. In June 2025, Russia launched 5,337 Shahed-type drones at Ukraine, shattering its earlier month-to-month document.
Pentagon coverage chief Elbridge Colby made the choice to pause the help deliveries after conducting a assessment of U.S. munitions shares, three sources advised Politico. Colby was reportedly involved about dwindling ranges of artillery rounds, air protection missiles, and precision munitions.
Among the many objects being held again from Ukraine are Patriot air protection missiles, precision artillery rounds, Hellfire missiles, drones, and different missiles that Ukraine launches from F-16 fighter jets.
Colby made the choice in June, amid a surge in Russian mass aerial assaults towards Ukraine. The White Home later confirmed the pause.
The Pentagon's choice "was made to place America's pursuits first following a DOD assessment of our nation's army help and help to different international locations throughout the globe," White Home Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly stated in an announcement issued after Politico revealed the story.
"The power of the US Armed Forces stays unquestioned — simply ask Iran," she stated.
Since his inauguration in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has not permitted any extra army support packages for Ukraine. Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth additionally introduced not too long ago that the U.S. will cut back the whole support it sends to Ukraine in its upcoming protection funds.
In his night handle on July 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated Ukrainian and U.S. officers are working via the help situation at a "working degree," together with discussions on important air protection help.
Ukraine's Protection Ministry stated it has not obtained any formal notification of delays or cancellations however has requested pressing consultations with U.S. protection officers.
The International Ministry additionally summoned U.S. Cost d'Affaires John Ginkel, warning that "any hesitation" in army help would encourage additional Russian aggression.
The Kremlin welcomed the choice, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying, "The less weapons which might be provided to Ukraine, the nearer the tip of the (battle)."
NATO Secretary Common Mark Rutte expressed understanding of Washington's want to safeguard its stockpiles however stated, "Ukraine can not do with out all of the help it will possibly get."
The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post
North Korea to ship as much as 30,000 extra troops to assist Russia's battle towards Ukraine, CNN studies
North Korea is getting ready to set a further 25,000-30,000 troopers to affix Russian forces preventing towards Ukraine, nearly 3 times as many as have been dispatched final 12 months, CNN reported on July 2, citing undisclosed Ukrainian officers.
The recent models could arrive within the coming months and are more likely to be engaged in fight in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, together with throughout "large-scale offensive operations," in keeping with a Ukrainian army intelligence (HUR) evaluation reviewed by CNN.
The information underscores North Korea's rising involvement within the Russia-Ukraine battle and the deepening army ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.
North Korea initially dispatched round 11,000 troopers to Russia within the fall of 2024 to assist fend off a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast. In response to varied estimates, North Korean troopers suffered between 4,000 and 6,000 casualties throughout this deployment.
Ukraine's HUR additionally famous indicators that Russian army plane are being refitted to move North Korean troops from their homeland throughout Russia's Siberia, CNN reported. Satellite tv for pc imagery detected a ship concerned in final 12 months's deployment at a Russian port and a cargo plane at North Korea’s Sunan airport, in keeping with the outlet.
Estimates reported by CNN exceed these of South Korea's intelligence, which expects Pyongyang to ship a further 15,000 troopers to Russia as early as July or August.
Following his go to to Pyongyang in June, Russian Safety Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu additionally introduced that North Korea would ship 1,000 sappers and 5,000 army engineers to Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Pyongyang's help to Russia has not been restricted to troops, with North Korea being a key supply of artillery shells and ballistic missiles for Russian forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un signed the Complete Strategic Partnership Settlement in Pyongyang in June 2024. Underneath the treaty, the 2 international locations pledged to supply support to at least one one other if both is attacked.
Whereas the international locations initially denied involvement of North Korean troops within the Russia-Ukraine battle, each Putin and Kim acknowledged the deployment earlier this 12 months.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
Ukraine denies one other Russian declare of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast breakthrough, says small incursion repelled
Russian forces haven’t succeeded in crossing into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's army stated on July 2, refuting one other Russian declare of a breakthrough into the central-eastern area.
The Common Employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine dismissed Russian claims of territorial good points as disinformation and stated a latest small incursion was repelled.
In response to the assertion, a small Russian reconnaissance group managed to briefly enter the village of Dachne, positioned on the sting of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The group reportedly took photographs with a Russian flag, however Ukrainian forces"eradicated them."
Russian troops have intensified efforts to breach the executive border between Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts in jap Ukraine, however have failed to realize floor regardless of repeated assaults, the army stated.
"(Russian troops) have had no success in attaining this demonstrative objective, irrespective of what number of 'meat wave assaults' they launch with small infantry models and sabotage-reconnaissance teams," the Common Employees stated in an announcement.
Donetsk Oblast, which has been a focus of Russia's invasion since 2014 and a significant battleground for the reason that full-scale invasion in 2022, borders the extra centrally positioned Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Russian forces haven’t entered Dnipropetrovsk Oblast territory in pressure, though they commonly strike the area with missiles, drones, and aerial bombs.
In a separate incident, two Russian troopers have been captured throughout a subsequent assault on Dachne and are actually in Ukrainian custody, the army stated. They have been detained by a unit of Ukrainian Marines and added to "Ukraine's prisoner change pool."
"Subsequently, the Russian propaganda in regards to the seizure of the bridgehead in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast shouldn’t be true. Dachne stays below the management of the Ukrainian Protection Forces," the assertion learn.
The brand new claims echo an identical incident in Might when Russian sources circulated a photograph purporting to indicate Russian troops on the border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast close to the village of Novomykolaivka.
On the time, Ukrainian officers, together with Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak, dismissed the picture as faux. The monitoring group DeepState later confirmed that the picture had been taken within the village of Troitske in Donetsk Oblast and featured a Ukrainian automobile deserted below hearth, which Russian forces later used for staged photographs.
Russian forces have not too long ago stepped up offensive operations throughout a number of sectors of the entrance line. Viktor Tregubov, spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces, stated on June 16 that Moscow had elevated assaults within the Novopavlivka sector.
Tregubov famous that the escalation close to Novopavlivka signifies an effort to breach into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. "However they’ve did not succeed," he stated in a televised handle.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov advised Russian state-controlled media on June 9 that Russian forces have been conducting operations in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast as a part of efforts to create a so-called "buffer zone" on Ukrainian territory.
These remarks adopted Russian President Vladimir Putin's Might 22 assertion that Russia was working to determine a "safety buffer zone" alongside the Ukrainian border areas of Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod.
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Russia's Kupol army plant reportedly halts operations after Ukrainian drone strike
The Kupol plant in Russia's Udmurt Republic ceased operations following a Ukrainian drone assault, impartial media outlet Astra reported on June 2, citing emergency service sources.
Positioned greater than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from the entrance line, the plant produces Tor and Osa air protection methods, in addition to Harpy-type assault drones. It’s below worldwide sanctions as a part of Russia's defense-industrial complicated.
Two drones hit their supposed targets through the strike with one flying via the home windows of 1 workshop, and the second hitting the roof of one other, inflicting an explosion and hearth. The ensuing blaze led to the collapse of 1,300 sq. meters of roofing, Astra reported.
4 workshops have been destroyed within the first constructing of the complicated, reportedly halting operations in areas chargeable for metalworking, microchip soldering, and drone manufacturing.
Udmurt Republic Governor Alexander Brechalov stated on June 1 that three folks have been killed and 45 injured within the assault, together with 35 hospitalizations and 6 in critical situation.
Astra earlier reported that no air raid siren was issued in Izhevsk forward of the assault. Residents claimed to be unable to obtain emergency alerts on account of persistent cell web outages.
Ukraine's Common Employees confirmed the strike by way of its official Telegram channel, framing it as a part of Kyiv's marketing campaign to degrade Russia's defense-industrial base removed from the entrance.
The plant was beforehand focused in a Ukrainian drone strike on Nov. 17, 2024. That assault broken gear used to supply Tor missile methods and radar parts.
Izhevsk, the capital of the Udmurt Republic, is named a middle of Russia's arms manufacturing trade and the birthplace of the Kalashnikov rifle.
The most recent assault underscores Ukraine's capability to strike deep into Russian territory.
The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak
Russia killed not less than 273 Ukrainian POWs throughout full-scale battle, prosecutors say
Ukrainian prosecutors have documented circumstances of Russian forces summarily executing 273 Ukrainian prisoners of battle (POWs), the Liga.web information outlet reported, citing an announcement from the Prosecutor Common's Workplace.
Kyiv and the UN have raised alarm over the rising variety of such circumstances, saying they level to a scientific coverage by Russia to homicide Ukrainian captives. Half of the doc circumstances have been recorded this 12 months alone.
Seventy-seven prison circumstances have been launched in reference to the killings of POWs, whereas solely two folks have been convicted, and a trial towards a 3rd particular person is ongoing. The assertion didn’t make clear whether or not the convictions have been issued in absentia.
A complete of 188 folks have been convicted of varied battle crimes, together with 18 captured Russian troopers and one civilian, who have been convicted in particular person. The remaining have been convicted in absentia.
Earlier this week, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported a case of the probably homicide of a Ukrainian POW who was apparently tied to a bike by Russian troopers and dragged alongside the street.
Ukraine's army intelligence company (HUR) stated in Might that it alone had documented greater than 150 circumstances of Ukrainian troopers being executed after surrendering to Russian forces. A number of intelligence studies recommend that Russian troopers have obtained express orders to kill prisoners of battle.
The United Nations Impartial Worldwide Fee of Inquiry on Ukraine confirmed in March rising numbers of incidents by which Russian forces killed or maimed surrendering Ukrainian troops.
A separate Ukrainian investigation can also be underway into the killing of round 50 Ukrainian POWs within the Russian-run Olenivka jail in 2022. Kyiv blamed the killings on Russia, saying Moscow's forces intentionally put Azov fighters in a separate constructing that was later destroyed.
Russia denied accountability, claiming the explosion was brought on by a Ukrainian HIMARS strike — a model UN investigators have rejected.
Though Moscow blocked an impartial investigation by denying UN screens entry, Lubinets not too long ago stated that an inside UN evaluation concluded Russia was responsible.
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The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek
