Massive Russian strikes, the Omsk Oil Refinery ablaze, a shortage of Patriot missiles: a roundup of the main events by Vladimir Orlov
Volodymyr Orlov provided an overview of key military, political, and economic developments in Ukraine—including massive shelling, retaliatory strikes on Russian territory, air defense challenges, and new government decisions.
Massive terror against the civilian population. On the night of July 6, Russian troops carried out a large-scale attack, launching 68 missiles and more than 350 drones. The main strike targeted Kyiv, as well as the Kyiv, Odesa, and other regions. As a result of strikes on residential neighborhoods, logistics facilities, hospitals, and schools, there have been fatalities and dozens of injuries. According to the host’s assessment, Russia is pursuing three objectives: exerting psychological pressure on Ukrainians, creating a propaganda “victory” for the Russian domestic audience amid internal economic problems, and forcing Ukraine to spend resources on recovery rather than development.
A symmetrical response from the Defense Forces. Ukraine is responding to Russian shelling with deep strikes on the enemy’s strategic targets. Among the targets hit are: the Omsk Oil Refinery (the largest in Russia, located 2,500 km from the border, which has already caused fuel shortages in the Novosibirsk region), the Yaroslavl Oil Refinery, and the oil terminal in the port of Vysotsk in the Leningrad region. In the Sea of Azov, two tankers carrying fuel for occupied Crimea were struck. In addition, UAVs attacked construction sites at the Kursk NPP-2 in Kurchatov, and in the Bryansk region, an S-400 air defense missile system—which had been firing ballistic missiles at Kyiv—was destroyed.
Shortage of missiles for air defense. Although Ukrainian air defense forces are destroying about 90% of attack drones and nearly all cruise missiles, ballistic missiles remain a serious problem. Due to a shortage of interceptor missiles for the Patriot systems, some ballistic targets are reaching their objectives. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leadership of relevant ministries are negotiating with nearly 40 countries regarding the temporary transfer of missiles from their immediate stockpiles, with a commitment to return an equivalent number once new batches are manufactured.
Disputes over preparations for winter. A conflict has erupted between Kyiv’s leadership and the government. The capital’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, accuses the state of failing to fulfill its financial promises (in particular, regarding the allocation of 10 billion hryvnias and the 50/50 co-financing program) and demands that the National Security and Defense Council be convened. The government, however, claims that the funds have been allocated, but Kyiv has not provided the necessary project proposals. Overall, the country’s multi-year resilience plan is estimated at 280 billion hryvnias (77 billion hryvnias are allocated for 2026). Currently, about 40% of the work has been completed: Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Cherkasy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions are leading the way, while Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kyiv are lagging significantly behind, which could lead to personnel decisions.
New rules for retaining employees. The Ministry of Community and Territorial Development has updated the criteria for identifying critically important enterprises. For companies managing apartment buildings, the minimum staffing requirement has been increased from 5 to 10 people. Vehicle inspection stations and construction expert organizations are now required to regularly demonstrate their actual operations. Driving schools have completely lost their eligibility for retention status. Instead, manufacturers of heating boilers and radiators can now obtain this status, underscoring the government’s focus on ensuring readiness for the upcoming heating season.
Source: UA.News YouTube channel
Subscribe to the UA.News YouTube channel, the official channel of a team of independent and unbiased media professionals and journalists.
