This live blog is no longer being updated. You can follow all of FRANCE 24’s latest coverage of the Ukraine war by clicking here. Bonne nuit!
Wimbledon: Ukrainian and Russian competitors face off in tennis match
At the Wimbledon tennis open Ukrainian competitor Marta Kostyuk did not shake hands with her Russian opponent Anna Blinkova after their second round match on Thursday.
Kostyuk won the match in three sets.
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk pictured in the foreground with Russia’s Anna Blinkova at the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. © Marko Djurica, Reuters
Trump wants ‘senseless killing’ to end in Ukraine, says US official
President Donald Trump wants a peace deal to end the “senseless killing” in Ukraine, a US official has said.
“President Trump has a humanitarian heart and wants this war settled so the senseless killing ends,” the US official told AFP in response to a query on the Russian attack.
“The President and his team have worked very hard to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, and he remains optimistic that we’ll ultimately get a peace deal done.”
Trump said before his return to office last year that he could solve the Ukraine war within 24 hours, but US efforts to broker a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv have so far failed.
The US leader has railed against the cost of military aid for Kyiv and famously berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in February 2025.
In contrast Trump has taken a largely friendly tone towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, although he has shown growing frustration with Putin’s refusal to end the war.
UN chief ‘strongly condemns’ heavy Russian attack on Kyiv
The head of the United Nations has condemned Russia’s heavy air attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and demanded a ceasefire.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns the overnight missile and drone attacks”, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
“Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure wherever they occur are a clear violation of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately. The Secretary General reiterates his appeal for … a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire.”
Zelensky urges decision to speed up air-defence aid for Kyiv at NATO summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday called on allies to discuss speeding up air-defence aid for his war-torn country at the NATO summit in Ankara next week after Russian strikes killed 21 people in Kyiv.
“In the coming days, there will be a NATO summit and other meetings, and this – air and missile defence – must be one of the key outcomes,” Zelensky said in his daily address.
Ukraine’s attacks forcing ‘Russians to realise the war is really happening’
Red Cross Kyiv aid warehouse ‘destroyed’ by Russian strikes
The Ukrainian branch of the Red Cross has said that its key warehouse was “destroyed” by Russian overnight strikes, with around $2 million worth of humanitarian aid lost.
“The Ukrainian Red Cross humanitarian warehouse has been destroyed as a result of a large-scale attack on Kyiv,” the charity said on Facebook, adding: “In total, 320,000 units of humanitarian relief items and equipment, with an estimated value of more than UAH 79 million ($2 million), have been lost.”
European regional director of the charity, Birgitte Bischoff Ebbsen, shared a photo of the destroyed warehouse on social media.
European allies have filled most NATO defence gaps left by US, top commander says
European NATO allies have largely filled the gaps left by the United States in the alliance’s defence plans, NATO’s top commander has said, adding the bloc was looking at workarounds to address the remainingshortfalls in a few areas.
“Most may not know – although there was some reporting overnight about this – that in a matter of weeks, European allies have largely filled the gaps left by US reductions to the NATO Force Model,” NATO’s top commander, US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, told Reuters.
“And in those few areas where they haven’t, where they do not currently have a like capability to replace, we are looking at alternate capabilities with matching effect.”
Russian strike burns 800,000 books, Ukrainian publisher says
A Ukrainian publishing house, whose portfolio includes books by George Orwell and Barack Obama, said Thursday it had lost around 800,000 books in the deadly Russian strike on Kyiv.
“As a result of Russia’s nighttime attack, the central warehouse of our logistics partner … where our books were stored was destroyed,” BookChef Publishing, one of the largest publishers in Ukraine, said on Telegram.
“Most of the print run – approximately 800,000 books – has been lost,” the publisher added.
The company said no one from its staff was harmed in the attack.
Zelensky: Ukraine will ‘definitely’ retaliate for deadly Russian attack on Kyiv
President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed Thursday to retaliate for Russia’s deadly strikes on the Ukrainian capital, as he visited an apartment block partially destroyed in the attack.
Asked by reporters whether Ukraine would retaliate, Zelensky replied: “Definitely”.
© Valentyn Ogirenko, Reuters
Belarus sentences political journalist to to 3.5 years in prison
A court in Belarus has convicted a journalist and sentenced him to 3 1/2 years in prison in the latest step against free speech in the country, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reported.
Kiryl Pazniak, 49, who hosted a popular political show on YouTube, has been convicted on the charges of discrediting Belarus and forming an extremist organization, the group said — accusations widely used by authorities to stifle critical voices. Pazniak has also been ordered to pay a fine, roughly equivalent to $8,500.
Belarusian journalist Kiryl Pazniak, 49, has been sentenced to prison. © Belarusian Association of Journalists via AP
Pazniak was arrested in September 2025. His ex-wife Elena said he has fallen seriously ill behind bars, suffering from pneumonia and COVID-19, and was placed in a prison hospital in serious condition.
He has been designated a political prisoner by human rights defenders.
Russian strikes kill 21 in biggest ever attack on Kyiv, mayor says
The death toll from Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv has risen to 21, the state emergency services said, as Mayor Vitali Klitschko described onslaught as the “enemy’s most massive attack on the capital”, without elaborating.
Zelensky says Ukraine, US negotiators spoke on Wednesday
Russia fired nearly 600 drones and missiles at Kyiv overnight, Ukraine says
Russia fired 496 drones and 74 missiles – including hard-to-intercept ballistic projectiles – between late Wednesday and early Thursday, according to the Ukrainian air force.
It said it shot down 48 of the missiles and 476 drones.
Some 52,000 people including 4,500 children packed into underground stations to shield themselves from the barrage – the highest number in recent years, according to the Kyiv metro.
People shelter inside a metro station in Kyiv on July 2, 2026. © Alina Smutko, Reuters
Liberal Russian politician is detained in Moscow
A member of Russia’s liberal Yabloko party, which opposes the war in Ukraine, has been detained in Moscow in connection with alleged donations to a banned organisation, the party said in a statement.
Elena Perepelitsa, 60, was detained eight days after Yabloko’s deputy leader Maxim Kruglov was convicted of spreading lies about the Russian army and jailed for seven years.
Yabloko, once a leading liberal force in the post-Soviet period, now holds only a handful of seats in regional parliaments and none at national level.
In Russia’s tightly controlled political system, it is unlikely to win seats in the elections for the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, set to take place in September this year, but its participation gives it a platform for anti-war views the authorities have sought to curb.
Ukrainian drone injures two aboard Belarusian tourist bus travelling through Russia
A Ukrainian drone attack has injured two people travelling aboard a tourist bus from the Belarusian capital Minsk to the Russian Black Sea resort town of Anapa, Russian state media reported.
The government in Russia’s Bryansk region, on the borders of Ukraine and Belarus, told Sputnik Belarus news agency that two drivers suffered minor injuries in the attack, which occurred at the Krasniy Kamen border crossing between Russia and Belarus.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
In photos: Emergency workers respond to massive Russian attack on Kyiv
Rescuers and medical workers in Kyiv carry an injured person found under debris of an apartment building hit by a Russian missile and drone strike. © Stringer, Reuters
A drone view shows rescuers working at the site of a private house damaged during overnight Russian missile and drone strikes. ©Valentyn Ogirenko, Reuters
Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged during overnight Russian missile and drone strikes ©Valentyn Ogirenko, Reuters
Death toll in Kyiv rises to at least 18, following Russian attack
The death toll in Kyiv following Russian attacks on the city overnight has risen to 18, emergency services said.
City officials said that more than 90 people, including children, paramedics and drivers at an ambulance station, were wounded and that some people were still trapped inside damaged residential buildings.
Kyiv mayor announces day of mourning for victims of attacks
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has announced a day of mourning in Kyiv for Friday. He said that damage was recorded across the entire city of about 3 million people, with some buildings heavily damaged.
