Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk meet in Lublin, Poland, July 30, 2026
EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Putin Under Pressure to Halt Invasion?
Thursday’s Coverage: US House Passes Russia Sanctions Bill
UPDATE 1344 GMT:
Six civilians have been murdered and 34 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.
Air defenses downed 69 of 93 drones — 46 of which were jet-powered — and three of the Banderol and Dan-T cruise missiles. Strikes were recorded at 13 locations.
In the Zhytomyr region in western Ukraine, two people were killed and two injured in a strike on an industrial zone near the city of Korosten.
In the Kherson region in the south, one person was slain and nine wounded.
The latest Russian strike on a train killed a 40-year-old man and injured seven people in the Kharkiv region in the northeast.
In the Donetsk region in the east, one person was murdered and six wounded.
Casualties were also reported from the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa regions.
UPDATE 1320 GMT:
A closed-door security briefing for French President Emmanuel Macron and other senior officials at the Presidential Élysée Palace has been described as “worrying, even very serious”.
Fabrice Roussel said the prospect of a rapid resolution to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the US War on Iran is no longer seen as realistic, and there is a risk of prolonged instability.
He says Macron told participants that the situation is expected to worsen and persist.
UPDATE 0647 GMT:
The Trump Administration is poised to approve Germany’s transfer of 10 Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine.
The State Department confirmed the permission in a notification to Congress.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk is visiting Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Friday, warning of Russia’s hybrid warfare across Europe.
Tusk told the Polish Parliament on Thursday that the Russians are planning strikes with drones or rockets on Ukraine’s supporters including Poland. Moscow will pretend the attacks are “accidental” to “paralyze or at least weaken the motivation of NATO countries” to defend the attacked state.
There is a real risk that drones or other types of projectiles will enter the territory of one or several countries on the eastern flank and even cause destruction….
If anyone dares to attack us, they will face a resolute response from us and our allies.
Defying the Russians, Tusk announced his overnight travel plans. Leaders and officials usually maintain secrecy until arrival in Kyiv.
The Russians have struck trains in Ukraine near the Polish border. An attack earlier this week was on a train just behind those of former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US Gen. David Petraeus, and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt.
A drone struck a gasoline station near the border on Thursday.
Tusk said he and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will discuss defense against Russia’s new jet-power drones and further sanctions against Moscow.
The Prime Minister said Russia is not ready for any talks “without the total capitulation of Ukraine” as “they are convinced the winter will be tragically critical”. He noted that Poland delivered energy when Ukraine’s infrastructure was attacked last winter; however, if border crossings are destroyed, it will be much harder for Warsaw to offer such help this winter.
Slovakia’s pro-Kremlin Prime Minister Robert Fico also said he would be in Kyiv. He has claimed Europe is closer than ever to a large-scale war and declared that politicians must strive for peace.
Fico is an opponent of aid to Ukraine, but Slovakia’s arms industry has supplied artillery shells supplied to Kyiv.
On Friday the European Union will disburse €3.3 billion to by Ukraine for the purchase of missiles and drones, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
