Residents take cover from Russian bombing of Sumy city in northeast Ukraine, July 12, 2026

Sunday’s Coverage: Kyiv Hits Key Russian Oil Refinery

UPDATE 0646 GMT:

Europe imported a record amount of liquefied natural gas from Russia’s leading project in the first half of 2026.

EU purchases from Yamal LNG, controlled by Russia’s privately-owned Novatek, was 9.89mn tonnes in the six months. That was an increase of 18% over the same period last year.

The purchase was almost all of the Siberian facility’s output. European countries may have paid as much as €6 billion for the shipments.

The main buyers were France, Belgium, and Spain, which imported 3.6 million, 2.9 million, and 2.7 million tons respectively.

An EU ban on long-term imports of Russian LNG is supposed to take effect on January 1, 2027. Pipeline gas will be prohibited later in the year.

UPDATE 0628 GMT:

Ukraine reportedly struck two oil depots in the Stavropol Krai in southwest Russia overnight.

The Mikhailovskaya oil depot in the village of Mikhailovsk was set ablaze, while the oil depot in the nearby village of Vyazniki was attacked.

Stavropol Krai Governor Vladimir Vladimirov confirmed that a fire broke out in an “industrial area” in Vyazniki.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Five civilians were murdered, including a 13-year-old girl, and 43 injured by three Russian guided aerial bombs on Sumy city in northeast Ukraine on Sunday.

Two bombs struck a busy area of the city. Two hit near a road and and a public transport stop, where the teenager was killed. A third bomb struck an infrastructure facility.

Five of the wounded are in serious condition.

Authorities have launched a war crimes investigation.

Sumy is around 30 km (19 miles) from the border. It avoided being overrun in the first weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022; however, it has remained within range of Russia’s bombs and artillery, as Russian forces have tried to seize territory in the region along the border.