This week, Ukraine faced the suspension of some American military aid, launched several long-range strikes on Russia, returned dozens of Ukrainians from captivity, and concluded important agreements with Denmark and the United States.
Babel has collected the main events of the week in the world and Ukraine and tells the main story.
US halts part of military aid to Ukraine
The US Department of Defense has suspended some military supplies to Ukraine for money allocated during the presidency of Joe Biden. These include Patriot air defense missiles, precision artillery shells, Hellfire missiles, precision GMLRS systems, grenade launchers, Stinger man-portable anti-aircraft systems, and AIM air-to-air missiles.
The official reason given was that US arms stocks had been depleted too much, and the White House explained that such a decision “puts America’s interests first”. NBC News later learned that this was done despite an analysis that indicated that the suspended aid package did not pose a threat to the combat readiness of the US military.
As Politico journalists found out, the Pentagon did not warn anyone about the suspension of aid to Ukraine. This angered even Trump’s allies. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry noted that they were not informed of such a decision. European officials were “stunned” by this and asked for an explanation for the suspension of supplies.
The day after this news, President Volodymyr Zelensky and the US President Donald Trump spoke by phone. According to Axios, Trump told Zelensky that he wanted to help with air defense and promised to deal with the suspension of aid.
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On July 4, Ukraine returned Ukrainians from captivity, most of whom had been there since 2022. Among them are both civilians and military personnel who defended Ukraine in various directions: Donetsk and Mariupol regions, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson regions. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces, National Guard, State Border Service, State Special Transport Service.
Long-range strikes on Russia
Over the past week, Ukraine has repeatedly attacked military targets in the Russian rear. Hereʼs what the Ukrainian Defense Forces have done:
- struck the “Kupol” electromechanical plant in Izhevsk, where the Russians manufacture drones and anti-aircraft missile systems;
- attacked the “Energia” plant in the city of Yelets, Lipetsk region, where batteries and accumulators are produced for the Russian Armed Forces;
- They struck a Russian enterprise producing combat units for "Shahed" drones in the Moscow region;
- They struck the Borisoglebsk airfield, where the Su-34, Su-35S, and Su-30SM aircraft are based, the VNIIR-Progress warehouse and plant in Cheboksary, which produces parts for Russian drones, and the military airfield in Engels.
Babelʼs intelligence sources also reported that a main gas pipeline exploded and a water main was destroyed in the area of Vladivostok, Russia — both facilities were operating for the needs of the Russian army.
New sanctions
Ukraine has imposed new sanctions against Russia, targeting its financial schemes, including cryptocurrency ones. Among those hit by the sanctions is Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who has Russian citizenship. According to the Financial Times, Shor founded the A7A5 cryptocurrency token to help Russia circumvent sanctions. And with its help, he moved about $9.3 billion in four months. The sanctions are synchronized with partners.
The EU Council has extended sanctions against Russia for another six months, until January 31, 2026. They consist of a wide range of sectoral restrictions on trade, finance, energy, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport, and luxury goods.
Meanwhile, Slovakia has again blocked the adoption of the 18th package of sanctions against Russia.
Joint defense enterprises
Ukraine and Denmark have signed an agreement that allows Ukrainian defense enterprises to open in Denmark. A year ago, Denmark was the first to start financing weapons production by Ukrainian companies. Now it has become the first country to which Ukraine exports its own defense technologies for production, scaling up, and supply to the Ukrainian military.
Ukraine has also signed an agreement with the United States on Ukrainian-American drone production. The agreement involves several companies that will produce drones of various types this year and next.
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