Trump: ‘We will grant Kiev a licence to produce Patriot missiles.’ Russian missiles strike the capital and other cities: 6 dead
“The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic missiles. Stay in the shelters!” wrote Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Russia launches electronic jamming operations against Starlink to disrupt medium- and long-range drones in Kyiv
Key points
“We will grant you a licence to produce Patriot missiles.” This was stated by US President Donald Trump, addressing the leader of Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky, directly during joint remarks on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara. “That is what we will do,” he added, explaining that this would mean Zelensky could not “complain that they are not being supplied to him”. “We will grant him a licence so that he can produce them entirely independently, so there will be no complaints” from the Ukrainian side, Trump concluded.
Trump, speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit, went on to compare Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky to “two children in a playground who don’t like each other and start fighting. Sometimes you have to let them fight, and fighting is tough”. For the US president, both Kyiv and Moscow are therefore ready to end the war: “We’ve made a lot of progress over the last two weeks,” Trump reiterated when meeting Zelensky, adding that “there will certainly be a meeting with Putin, and Zelensky will meet him too; I hope it happens soon”. However, it is unlikely that Moscow will welcome Trump’s promise to grant Ukraine a licence to manufacture Patriot missiles – “a defensive weapon I like” – with much enthusiasm; this is a commitment that Zelensky has been pressing for for years.
Moscow condemns NATO’s ‘irresponsible decisions’ on Ukraine
Russia has strongly criticised the commitments made by NATO towards Ukraine during a summit in Turkey – including billions of euros in defence aid – describing them as “irresponsible” and further accusing European states of preparing “for an armed conflict with Russia”. In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the Alliance’s member states of making “irresponsible decisions that could lead to disaster” and of focusing on the “militarisation of the European continent”.
Gazprom: Ukraine has struck the Blue Stream gas pipeline
Russian ballistic missiles are striking Ukrainian cities. And drones from Kyiv are targeting strategic Russian infrastructure. Whilst Kyiv is assessing the damage and casualties caused by the missiles launched by Moscow, the Russian energy giant Gazprom reported this morning a drone attack on the Krasnodarskaya compressor station, part of the Blue Stream gas pipeline infrastructure that supplies Turkey. “We believe that the Kyiv regime is constantly demonstrating aggression and a propensity for terrorist acts against targets within the critical international energy system,” commented Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. “On 7 July, at 19:51 local time, the Krasnodarskaya compressor station, which forms part of the infrastructure for the supply of Russian gas via the Blue Stream pipeline, was attacked by remotely piloted aircraft,” a statement read.
Russia launches electronic jamming operations against Starlink to disrupt medium- and long-range drones in Kyiv
According to Reuters, Moscow’s countermeasures to the latest Ukrainian attacks are not limited to missile strikes, but also include the deployment of powerful electronic jamming systems targeting the Starlink satellite communications network to disorient Ukrainian medium- and long-range drones. Attacks using medium- and long-range drones have given Ukraine an advantage on the ground in recent months, destroying Moscow’s rear lines. Russian anti-drone systems are positioned near military sites and densely populated areas. One such system, the Volna Kupol Garant, can jam Starlink coverage across an area of 20 square kilometres. The Ukrainian military has detected as many as ten of these and has begun targeting them.
