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Zelenskyy Urges Allies to Tighten Sanctions Amid Russian Attacks

4:03 PM ETConfirmed

World Desk

In Short: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on allies to tighten sanctions against Russia following a series of strikes that caused gridlock in Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on allies to tighten sanctions against Russia following a series of strikes that caused gridlock in Kyiv.

Zelenskyy urged allies to prevent Russia from sourcing components for its arsenal, as Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine faced attacks around the clock.

The city of Kyiv was particularly affected, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko reporting that Russian aerial attacks forced the partial closure of three bridges over the Dnipro River.

Klitschko said Russia was “tearing Kyiv apart” and that the city should now be on a war footing.

European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc was working on new proposals to tighten sanctions enforcement and implement new measures.

US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping Russian sanctions package into law, targeting Putin, Russian banks, financial institutions, and the energy and defence sectors.

The Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Poltava, and Rivne regions also came under attack, with at least four people reported wounded.

Ukraine’s military responded with overnight attacks on Russia, hitting a Lukoil facility in Volgograd and an oil dispatch station in Samara, causing fires at both sites.

Ukrainian forces also targeted airfields, industrial sites, and other facilities in several Russian regions, including in the Black Sea.

Traffic chaos gripped Kyiv after Russian drone attacks overnight closed key bridges, with long lines of stationary cars and buses gridlocked on main roads.

Kyiv’s Southern Bridge and Paton Bridge, key routes for cars and public transport across the Dnipro River, were closed in both directions.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on allies to tighten sanctions against Russia following a series of strikes that caused gridlock in Kyiv.
• Zelenskyy urged allies to prevent Russia from sourcing components for its arsenal, as Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine faced attacks around the clock.
• The city of Kyiv was particularly affected, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko reporting that Russian aerial attacks forced the partial closure of three bridges over the Dnipro River.
• Klitschko said Russia was “tearing Kyiv apart” and that the city should now be on a war footing.
• European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc was working on new proposals to tighten sanctions enforcement and implement new measures.
• US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping Russian sanctions package into law, targeting Putin, Russian banks, financial institutions, and the energy and defence sectors.
• The Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Poltava, and Rivne regions also came under attack, with at least four people reported wounded.
• Ukraine’s military responded with overnight attacks on Russia, hitting a Lukoil facility in Volgograd and an oil dispatch station in Samara, causing fires at both sites.
• Ukrainian forces also targeted airfields, industrial sites, and other facilities in several Russian regions, including in the Black Sea.
• Traffic chaos gripped Kyiv after Russian drone attacks overnight closed key bridges, with long lines of stationary cars and buses gridlocked on main roads.
• Kyiv’s Southern Bridge and Paton Bridge, key routes for cars and public transport across the Dnipro River, were closed in both directions.

What's still developing

• Zelenskyy, who has persistently called for additional help to boost Ukraine’s air defences during Moscow’s concentrated air campaign, noted that supply chains for such weapons trail through Europe, the United States, China and Japan.
• Elsewhere in Ukraine on Friday, Russian strikes targeted a kindergarten in Kherson, a grocery store in Kharkiv and apartment buildings in Kramatorsk and Sumy, Zelenskyy said.
• Russian authorities in the Black Sea port town of Tuapse said an enterprise was damaged by drone debris, but they did not provide details.
• He noted that the Russians hit a monastery with an FPV drone in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, killing one member and wounding four.
• UPDATE 0710 GMT: Ukraine’s air defenses downed 101 of 138 drones launched by Russia overnight.
• The removal of Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman was necessary for the EU to extend the sanctions for 36 months rather than the originally planned 12.
• The election is the first national vote during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• In Zaporizhzhia city and the surrounding region in the southeast, eight people were wounded amid attacks on a shopping mall, an educational institution, and residential buildings.
• Data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, or CREA, shows that China accounted for 50% of Russian crude exports between December 2022 and August 2026, followed by India at 37%.
• Turkey and the European Union each accounted for 5% during the same time period, although Russian energy exports to the EU have been decreasing.
• The bill, passed by the US House of Representatives earlier this week, gives Trump broad powers to levy tariffs of up to 100% on the top five purchasers of Russian oil and gas – most significantly China and India.
• The bill is named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Ukraine's staunchest defenders in Washington before his death on 11 July.

Sources

• Al Jazeeralink
• EA WorldViewlink
• Warpbeatlink
• BBClink
• Kyivpostlink
• Turkiyetodaylink
• Thediplomaticinsightlink
• NPRlink
• Themoscowtimeslink
• Timesofisraellink
• Newscordlink
• Nypostlink
• Washingtonstandlink
• Warpbeatlink
• WarpBeat — background on Russian Attacks Kill 9, Wound 56 Across Ukraine link
• public domain / DVIDS — video link