Executive Summary
Over the past 24 hours, Russia escalated its terror bombing campaign against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, launching nearly 1,700 drones, over 1,630 guided bombs, and 95 missiles in a single week. A horrific daytime drone strike on a supermarket in Chernihiv killed two civilians, including a child, while overnight ballistic missile and drone attacks targeted Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, and Odesa. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to expand its deep-strike capabilities, conducting over 1,000 long-range missions this year and successfully hitting Russian logistics, defense plants, and energy infrastructure. Diplomatic tensions are rising as Romanian F-16s shot down their third Russian drone in three days, and discussions of a potential air ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia are reportedly underway with US involvement.
Key Events
- Russian daytime drone strike on a supermarket in Chernihiv kills 2, including a child, and injures 25. → link
- Zelensky reports Ukraine has conducted over 1,000 deep-strike missions this year, with a strike range now exceeding 3,000 km into Russia. → link
- Romania shoots down a third Russian drone in three days after airspace violations, summoning the Russian ambassador in protest. → link
- Ukrainian forces successfully repel a Russian mechanized assault by the 90th Guards Tank Division in the east, destroying 7 tanks and 6 BMPs. → link
- US and Ukrainian officials discussed a proposal for an air ceasefire to be presented to Russia as part of new peace talks. → link
- Russia launched 8 missiles and 136 drones overnight, targeting Kyiv with ballistic missiles and hitting an Epicentr hypermarket in Kryvyi Rih. → link
- Zelensky warns that Russia is preparing to receive an additional 30,000 North Korean troops. → link
Analysis
The past 24 hours highlight a stark asymmetry in the conflict: while Russia continues to focus heavily on terrorizing Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure, Ukraine is systematically degrading Russia's military-industrial base and logistics networks deep behind enemy lines. The repeated incursions into NATO airspace (Romania) underscore the ongoing risk of spillover. However, the reported discussions of an air ceasefire, alongside Ukraine's demonstrated ability to strike targets at ranges up to 3,000 km, suggest Kyiv is using its deep-strike campaign as leverage to force Moscow to the negotiating table. Watch for potential Russian mobilization announcements in September and the arrival of North Korean troops, which could significantly alter the frontline dynamics.
Tweet Feed
Russian Attacks on Ukrainian Civilians & Infrastructure
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-26T18:58
⚡️'No military justification' — Russian daytime drone attack on Chernihiv supermarket kills 2, including child, injures 25. Russia hit the store in the middle of the day as families were shopping for groceries. A 9-year-old girl was killed. → tweet link
@NOELreports · 2026-07-26T18:49
Russian drone strike hit a supermarket in Chernihiv, killing 2 people, including a child, and injuring 13, President Zelensky said. Russian guided bombs also hit Zaporizhzhia, killing 1 person and injuring another. Zelensky called the attacks deliberate terror. #Ukraine → tweet link
@KaterynaLis · 2026-07-26T13:37
ZELENSKYY: Overnight, russia killed 1 person and injured 9, including 2 children, in Kharkiv. It also struck a building supply hypermarket in Kryvyi Rih. Overall, russia launched 8 missiles and 136 drones at Ukraine overnight. The Kherson, Donetsk, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Chernihiv regions, as well as Kyiv, were targeted. Kyiv was hit by ballistic missiles, injuring 3 people. This week alone, russia launched nearly 1,700 drones, over 1,630 guided aerial bombs (GABs), and 95 missiles at Ukraine. More than half of the missiles were ballistic. → tweet link
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-26T09:16
⚡️ Russian attacks kill 7, injure 58 in Ukraine over past day as Kryvyi Rih hypermarket hit. Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least seven civilians and injured 58 others over the past day, regional authorities reported on July 26. → tweet link
@wartranslated · 2026-07-26T07:00
Russians struck the Epicentr hypermarket in Kryvyi Rih, a massive fire is now raging at the site, the regional military administration reports. → tweet link
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-25T22:03
⚡️Residential building struck in Kyiv as Russia launches ballistic missiles towards capital. → tweet link
@wartranslated · 2026-07-26T06:08
Russia hit Ukraine overnight with 7 ballistic missiles and 136 Shahed-type drones. Air defense shot down 110 targets, but 2 ballistic missiles and 27 drones hit 18 locations. Attack still ongoing. → tweet link
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-26T11:28
Books are not military targets, but according to the Ukrainian Book Institute, Russia has destroyed more than 1.5 million Ukrainian books in July alone. It's also part of Russia's centuries-long attempts to erase Ukrainian culture. → tweet link
Ukrainian Deep Strikes & Operations
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-26T17:24
⚡️Kyiv has developed new list of 'priority targets' for deep strikes in Russia, Zelensky says. Ukraine is now able to strike targets at a distance of over 3,000 kilometers, Zelensky said, and is working to extend operating capabilities even further. → tweet link
@NOELreports · 2026-07-26T17:03
President Zelensky said Ukraine has completed more than 1,000 deep-strike missions this year against Russian oil sites, military production, and logistics. He said Ukrainian strike range now exceeds 3,000 km and that operations will continue against updated priority targets. #Ukraine → tweet link
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-26T11:14
⚡️ Ukraine strikes Chornomornaftogaz facility in Crimea, Russian drone relay systems and logistics bridge, military says. The attacks affected facilities linked to Russian military operations, including drone control networks, transport routes, and oil infrastructure. → tweet link
@NOELreports · 2026-07-26T13:50
A spontaneous memorial appeared at the entrance to the Avitek plant in Kirov after the Ukrainian missile strike. Residents brought flowers to honor employees killed in the attack. The plant is part of Russia’s military-industrial complex, and local posts described the dead as skilled defense-industry specialists. #Ukraine → tweet link
@NOELreports · 2026-07-26T13:06
Footage shows a burning fuel tanker on a Russian train transporting fuel toward Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. According to the report, the train was struck by a Ukrainian strike drone while carrying fuel intended for Russian forces in the occupied territories. #Ukraine → tweet link
@Osinttechnical · 2026-07-26T06:26
Ukrainian attack drones continued to target Russian-occupied Crimea overnight, hitting at least one major substation and power plant. The power situation has become catastrophic in Crimea, with only hours of electricity available every few days for vast parts of the peninsula. → tweet link
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-26T15:46
⚡️Wildberries hides military goods in search results after Ukrainian strikes hammer warehouses. When users enter the search query "everything for the SVO"—the Kremlin's euphemism for the war in Ukraine —the site now replies "No suitable products found." → tweet link
@wartranslated · 2026-07-25T20:14
Satellite imagery shows destroyed Wildberries warehouses in Nevinnomyssk, Saint Petersburg, and Shushary, according to Dnipro Osint. → tweet link
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-26T04:31
⚡️Ukraine strikes Iranian vessel used for military cargo transport in Caspian Sea. → tweet link
@FaytuksNetwork · 2026-07-25T22:52
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine struck a cargo vessel carrying military supplies between Iran and Russia on Saturday in the Caspian Sea. → tweet link
Frontline & Battlefield Updates
@wolski_jaros · 2026-07-26T11:48
Pierwszy korpus Azowa podaje że 22 lipca siły rosyjskie ze składu 8 i 41 armii oraz 90 Gwardyjskiej Dywizji Pancernej podjęły nieudaną próbę pokonania ukraińskiej obrony. [Translation: 1st Azov Corps reports that on July 22, Russian forces from the 8th and 41st Armies and the 90th Guards Tank Division made an unsuccessful attempt to break through Ukrainian defenses.] Mimo 4 godzinnego ataku Rosjanie zostali odparci tracąc: 3 pojazdy saperskie, 7 czołgów, 6 BMP, 47 lekkich pojazdów, 2 MLRSy, około 150 wyeliminowanych żołnierzy. → tweet link
@Osinttechnical · 2026-07-26T03:01
Donetsk Oblast, a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 Fulcrum drops a 500-pound JDAM-ER glide bomb into a Russian ammunition dump. → tweet link
@NOELreports · 2026-07-26T07:16
Russian losses per 26/07/26 reported by the Ukrainian general staff. +1440 men, +9 tanks, +6 ACVs, +70 artillery, +1 MLRS, +1450 UAVs, +8 GRCs, +1 cruise missile → tweet link
@NOELreports · 2026-07-26T07:19
Ukraine’s Air Force said it intercepted or suppressed 110 Russian aerial targets overnight, including one Kh-59/69 cruise missile, five Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, and 104 drones. It reported impacts from two ballistic missiles and 27 drones at 18 locations. #Ukraine → tweet link
@Osinttechnical · 2026-07-26T14:47
Southern Ukraine, a burning Russian train dumps flaming fuel from its tank cars after a Ukrainian drone strike. → tweet link
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-25T19:07
⚡️Russia preparing to receive additional North Korean troops, Zelensky says. "Russia wants to bring in another 30,000 North Korean troops," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on July 25. → tweet link
Geopolitics, Diplomacy & NATO Border Incidents
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-26T12:07
⚡️ Romania shoots down third drone in three days as tensions rise over Russian airspace violations. The drone was shot down over Romanian territorial waters in the Sulina–Chilia area of the Danube Delta, near the border with Ukraine. → tweet link
@NOELreports · 2026-07-26T12:53
❗️Romania summoned Russia’s ambassador over the drones shot down after violating Romanian airspace. Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu said the incursions into NATO and EU airspace are unacceptable and that Bucharest’s protest will be based on the investigations. #Europe → tweet link
@NOELreports · 2026-07-26T11:59
❗️US and Ukrainian officials discussed a proposal for an air ceasefire that would be presented to Russian authorities as part of a new round of peace talks, Reuters reported, citing a source. Some officials believe the economic pressure created by sustained Ukrainian drone and missile strikes could soften Putin’s position and make Moscow more receptive. #Ukraine → tweet link
@wartranslated · 2026-07-26T11:44
Ukraine welcomes Tokayev’s call on Putin to end the war, FM Sybiha says. Kyiv proposed freezing the front line for diplomatic talks, but the Kremlin continues to reject the move. → tweet link
@wartranslated · 2026-07-26T16:21
Putin claims he gets "all the info" on the war by reading news feeds and watching bloggers, while once again asserting Ukraine will "sooner or later" lose its western territories. → tweet link
@NOELreports · 2026-07-26T16:15
🤣🤡Putin claimed Russia “did not start the war” and that Moscow was responding to Ukraine’s actions, repeating one of the Kremlin’s central narratives about the conflict. #Russia → tweet link
@KyivIndependent · 2026-07-25T22:57
⚡️'Putin preparing to send more Russians to war' — Zelensky warns of mobilization, reveals figures showing Russian losses exceed recruitment. → tweet link
@Maciej_Korowaj · 2026-07-25T22:59
CYTAT DNIA [...] "[...] Konflikt na Ukrainie zakończy się dopiero wtedy, gdy sami odczują ten sam ból, jaki odczuwamy my, gdy zniszczone zostaną ich rafinerie i centra logistyczne. Wtedy decyzje w Europie będą podejmowane zupełnie inaczej, a nawet, jak sądzę, przez zupełnie inne osoby [...]." Andriej Bezrukow, Profesor MGIMO, pułkownik SWR → tweet link