Fire burns after a Ukrainian drone strike on a warehouse of the Russian online retailer Wildberries in Koledino, outside Moscow, July 20, 2026

Wednesday’s Coverage: Zelensky Replaces Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi

UPDATE 0733 GMT:

The European Union’s members have agreed a 21st set of sanctions on Russia over Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The agreement overcame weeks of divisions over elements of the package. The technical work will now be concluded, and ‌a written procedure for adoption will ‌be launched this afternoon.

The EU has blacklisted another 32 Russian banks as well as crypto firms and oil trading platforms. The price cap on Russian maritime oil exports has been frozen. Measures have been adopted against vessels helping “Russia’s shadow fleet”, and a ban on Russian combatants entering the EU is being implemented.

However, Greece’s objections have blocked a ban on European companies shipping Russian gas to customers outside the bloc. Athens argued that vessels could just re-register abroad.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted:

UPDATE 0723 GMT:

Ukraine’s air defenses downed 154 of 168 drones and two of six missiles fired by Russia overnight.

Seven UAVs and four missiles hit nine locations.

UPDATE 0656 GMT:

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for 35 minutes in the Philippines capital Manila on Thursday.

The two men spoke on the sidelines of the annual gathering of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Neither the US nor Russia shared details of the meeting. Rubio told reporters before the session that his primary focus would be on potential paths to ending the war in Ukraine.

The Secretary of State said in May that he did not foresee a US return to brokering Ukraine-Russia talks as there had been “no progress”. Moscow has maintained its maximalist demands, including Ukraine’s surrender of all of the Donetsk region and the rest of the country being kept weak without meaningful security guarantees.

Rubio modified that position on Wednesday, saying the US remained open to helping end the conflict “if that opportunity presents itself”.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone on Wednesday with Donald Trump’s envoys, real estate developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Zelensky hailed “a good and important conversation about how to intensify diplomacy and bring peace closer”: “Peace is needed — a dignified peace — and Ukraine has been ready for it for a long time.”

Earlier in the day, Zelensky hosted the US Ambassador to NATO, Matt Whitaker, to discuss potential deliveries of Patriot air defense missiles and the pending US-Ukraine drone deal.

UPDATE 0624 GMT:

Seeking the reinstatement of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, protesters have called for a rally on Friday evening outside the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv’s Ivana Franka Square.

Demonstrations successfully pressed Zelensky to replace military commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, whose dispute with Fedorov prompted the President to dismiss the Defense Minister on July 15.

Zelensky reportedly offered Fedorov the post of Deputy Prime Minister overseeing technological innovation, but the former Defense Minister has said he will only accept a return to his post.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine has continued its strikes on Russia’s oil refineries and logistics hubs, constraining fuel supplies and causing billions of dollars of damage.

The NS-Oil Refinery in the Ulnavoysk region, around 650 km (400 miles) inside Russia, is the latest to be set on fire. It has a production capacity of 600,000 tons of crude per year.

An oil pumping station was hit in the Bashkortostan Republic, sending thick black plumes of smoke over the town of Tuymazy.

Ukraine struck two more warehouses of Russia’s largest online retailer Wildberries, the third set of attacks within a week. Logistics hubs in the Krasnodar and ​Stavropol ‌regions in southwest Russia were targeted.

Wildberries has estimated its losses at around $4.3 billion, including 13% of warehouse infrastructure.

Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi, Ukraine’s incoming military commander-in-chief, posted:

The President of Ukraine has set clear objectives for us: to continue and ⁠intensify offensive operations in all domains, to plan new operations behind enemy lines, to develop our military and its technologies, and to build up ​the capabilities of the armed forces of Ukraine.