Ukraine confirms strikes on oil refinery in Russia’s Tatarstan – as it happened
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8h agoUkraine's military confirms its strikes on oil refinery in Russia's Tatarstan
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military has confirmed it hit the Taneko oil refinery in Russia’s Tatarstan region overnight, adding that a fire was recorded at the facility, Reuters reported.
Key events
3h ago
Closing summary
4h ago
Russia developing its Starlink-like system 'faster than expected,' top Ukrainian official says
4h ago
Nine victims of oil refinery strike were at hostel
4h ago
Estonia's government loses majority
4h ago
UK, France brace for fifth heatwave of the summer
5h ago
Seven Uzbek citizens among 13 killed in Ukrainian drone attack on Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan
6h ago
Drought continues to affect Vistula, Rhine, Danube rivers
6h ago
Drones strike Russian industrial facility in Siberia
6h ago
UN Security Council to discuss Ukrainian prisoners of war
8h ago
Ukraine's military confirms its strikes on oil refinery in Russia's Tatarstan
8h ago
Frederiksen and Meloni sign joint statement on tackling irregular migration and 'protecting' Europe's 'Christian cultural heritage'
9h ago
Russia criticises 'terrorist' attack on Nizhnekamsk, opens criminal investigation
9h ago
Russian central bank tells banks to provide support to businesses hit by attacks on warehouses
10h ago
Up to 50,000 North Korean soldiers expected to be deployed in Russia, Ukraine says
10h ago
Five dead after Russian attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv region
10h ago
Morning opening: 12 killed, 39 injured as Ukraine steps up attacks on Russian oil refining facilities
Closing summary
Jakub Krupa
And, on that note, we will be closing the blog for today.
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Ukraine’s military has confirmed it hit the Taneko oil refinery in Russia’s Tatarstan region overnight (12:08) as part of its campaign to raise the Russian cost of continuing the war against Ukraine (10:08, 12:08).
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13 people were reported dead with 39 injured after strikes on Nizhnekamsk in Russia’s Tatarstan region, including seven Uzbek citizens (14:54, 16:12).
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Russia criticised the strike as a “terrorist attack” and opened a criminal investigation (11:08).
In other news,
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Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni released a statement vowing to protect Europe’s “Christian cultural heritage,” ramping up their rhetoric on irregular migration (11:43).
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Several European countries continued to battle the impact of extreme temperatures and droughts affecting key rivers, including the Rhine, the Danube, and the Vistula (14:27), as the UK and France brace for the fifth heatwave of the summer (15:43).
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Estonia’s ruling coalition lost its majority after two MPs leaving their parties (15:52).
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Russia developing its Starlink-like system 'faster than expected,' top Ukrainian official says
Separately, it is emerging that Russia is rolling out its own version of the Starlink satellite internet system faster than expected and plans to have nearly 300 satellites in orbit by 2027, according to a Ukrainian intelligence official quoted by Reuters.
SpaceX’s Starlink network, which operates in Ukraine but not Russia, has given Kyiv a major advantage in drone operations and battlefield communications.
Russian forces had been using grey-market Starlink terminals in Ukraine until Kyiv successfully lobbied SpaceX to disable them earlier this year, one of several factors that shifted battlefield momentum in Ukraine’s favour.
In an interview with Ukrainian media outlet RBC-Ukraine, Maj Gen Vadym Skibitskyi said Russia currently has 16 satellites in its Rassvet system.
“They have already begun launching it much faster than originally planned,” said Skibitskyi, who is the deputy head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence service.
“Once Russia deploys a full satellite constellation, the system will operate like Starlink. Discussions are already underway on how to counter it,” he said.
Nine victims of oil refinery strike were at hostel
We are now getting a bit more details from Russia about the attack on oil refinery in Tatarstan.
Nine out of 13 victims of the drone attack on Russia’s Nizhnekamsk on Monday were in a hostel at the time of the strike, Russian news agency RIA reported, citing the press office of the head of the region.
Seven Uzbek citizens were killed in the attack in Russia, the Uzbek consulate in Kazan said earlier, Reuters said (14:54).
Estonia's government loses majority
There also some political news from the Baltics, where Estonia’s governing coalition lost its majority today, after two MPs left their parties.
The move leaves the government with 50 seats in the 101-seat parliament.
Prime minister Kristen Michal acknowledged the impact of the resignations, saying his administration will need to “seek compromises” to function.
He said his government will “hold the line so that Estonia is securely defended, our prosperity turns to growth, nature remains clean, and our vision is future-oriented,” public broadcaster EER reported.
The next parliamentary election needs to be held by March 2027.
UK, France brace for fifth heatwave of the summer
In other continental news, the UK and France are preparing for another – fifth! – heatwave of the summer, with temperatures in high 30s and up to 40C in parts of the two countries.
For the latest on this, you can follow our blog here:
Germany will devote more resource to its anti-drone police unit, the government has said, just days after an explosives-laden unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was found in a strategically important airport.
Last week a UAV was defused after it was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport, a key hub for military equipment transports.
AFP reports interior minister Alexander Dobrindt labelled the incident a “hybrid attack scenario” potentially involving a “foreign power”. Berlin now plans to double personnel in the federal police anti-drone unit to 300.
Seven Uzbek citizens among 13 killed in Ukrainian drone attack on Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan
AP is quoting Russian authorities who have issued an updated casualty count after the Ukrainian drone strike on the petroleum hub of Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan. It is now said that it killed 13 people and wounded 75 others.
At the same time Reuters has issued a newsflash the Uzbek consulate has said that seven of those killed were Uzbek citizens.
The Ukrainian military said it hit an oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk, which is about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) east of the Ukrainian border. The city has a population of about 240,000.
Tatarstan’s head, Rustam Minnikhanov, has declared a day of mourning, and claimed a child was among those killed.
Adding to the list of concerns across Europe over the heatwave and risk of fires, Greece has reported a new fire near Athens.
AFP reports hundreds of crew have been dispatched in a bid to halt it spreading. More than 10,000 hectares of pine forests were left blackened by a blaze that broke out 10 days ago northwest of the capital.
Drought continues to affect Vistula, Rhine, Danube rivers
In other news, extreme temperatures and droughts in large parts of Europe are causing further disruptions.
Western Europe experienced its warmest June-July period on record, with heat and drought fuelling extreme wildfires across the region, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said, as reported by Reuters.
“Climate change is increasingly bringing the kinds of hot and dry conditions that favour large, high-intensity wildfires in southern Europe while extending the fire season northwards,” Laurence Rouil, director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, said in a statement.
The Vistula, Poland’s longest river, fell on Monday to match its record low in Warsaw, the national meteorological institute IMGW reported.
“We are currently recording a water level of 102 centimetres,” matching a record set on Friday, IMGW hydrologist Dariusz Witkowski told AFP.
Across the border, a German industry group that parts of the Rhine river could soon become unnavigable as water levels drop further due to soaring summer temperatures and low rainfall.
Last week, ING warned that record low water levels in the Rhine could shave 0.3% off Germany’s GDP growth this year (Europe Live).
Meanwhile, Romania said its only working nuclear reactor can operate for a further nine days after it redirected the flow of the drought-hit Danube river to supply the turbines with water, Reuters reported.
We are now getting some pictures showing the scale of destruction in Kharkiv after a Russian strike on a multi-story residential building there killed five people (10:11).
