Volodymyr Zelensky has tasked his new top military leadership with improving mobilisation as Ukraine looks to extend its gains over Russia ahead of a potential return to talks aimed at ending the war.The Ukrainian president said on Thursday that new commander in chief Mykhailo Drapatyi and interim defence minister Yvhenii Khmara will be asked to rally troops.He also confirmed the popular former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whose dismissal last week sparked protests in 17 cities nationwide, was offered a role as vice prime minister for defence innovation. Zelensky said earlier that Vladimir Putin’s advisors increasingly blame him for Russia’s mounting losses in Ukraine. He said that Ukraine’s buoyed confidence on the battlefield is “creating a new atmosphere” around Putin, with allies losing faith in his ability to continue the four-year conflict.“A very toxic atmosphere,” Zelensky assessed. “He alone is the reason this war began and hasn’t ended. Putin alone is responsible for the losses Russians continue to suffer. His retinue understands this - they are signalling it to us and to our partners.”Zelensky’s stark assessment came as the US secretary of state conceded that there would be no quick path to a deal to end the war.No 'definitive' evidence Irish alumina exports used in Russian weapons, Irish PM saysAn Irish probe into a major alumina ​plant has found no "concrete or definitive" evidence its exports to Russia are used to make aluminium for weapons, but it has also been unable to ⁠rule it out, prime minister Micheal Martin said on Thursday.Ireland is under mounting pressure over the Aughinish Alumina plant, Europe's largest refinery of the aluminium feedstock alumina, which the facility continues to ⁠export to Russia.Dublin commissioned the ​investigation, even ⁠as it defends a European Union decision to leave the plant, which is owned by Russia's Rusal , ⁠off Russian sanctions packages. The government argues the refinery ​in ⁠southwest Ireland is strategically important ‌to EU supply chains."The investigation has not found concrete or definitive evidence linking the alumina to a weapons manufacturer ‌in Russia," Martin told a joint press ‌conference with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kyiv."That said, neither has it found definitive evidence that alumina may not be ⁠going to weapons manufacturers."Martin said the investigation is almost complete and would be shared with the European Commission once it is finalised. Holly Evans23 July 2026 23:00Dismissal of Ukraine's defence minister started a sudden transformation of the militaryIn the span of a single week, the dismissal of a Ukrainian defence minister set in motion a transformation of the country’s armed forces that replaced the old guard with a new generation of leadership.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to fire his popular defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, triggered days of public protest that quickly shifted toward the country's commander-in-chief and highlighted the growing rift over the future of Ukraine’s military.Demonstrators denounced the commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, and overwhelmingly rallied behind the departed defense minister, who has emerged as one of the country’s most influential wartime reformers with support from Ukrainians hungry for change. Protesters demanded his reinstatement. Fedorov's dismissal followed months of increasingly bitter disagreements between the two men.Read the full article here: Holly Evans23 July 2026 22:00Ukraine's acting foreign minister, ‌Andrii Sybiha, called Russian strikes on grain vessels at peak harvest a "deliberate economic and humanitarian terror".Ukraine has requested ​an urgent UN Security Council meeting for July 27 to address the matter, he ‌added on X.Vysotskyi called on producers and ⁠traders not to rush sales, saying the situation could be rapidly changing. He also ⁠pointed to alternative routes for exports via the Danube ports and so-called dry ports of the railway, saying both options have not been ‌fully utilized."A single day ​in our market has no impact on total ‌export volumes for the year. Neither does a ​week. A month has no impact either. But several months - that does have an impact," he said.Holly Evans23 July 2026 21:00I have visited Russia every year since the Ukraine war began. The mood has changedThe mood regarding the war in Ukraine has changed in recent months. Ukrainian drones have struck Russian oil infrastructure, causing fuel shortages across Russia. And the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is exuberant about finishing the war from a “position of strength”.The hope is that an economic crisis in Russia leads to social unrest and political instability, possibly resulting in the collapse of the ruling regime. This would not be an unprecedented event in Russian history. The Soviet Union rapidly unravelled amid economic and political crisis in 1991. But how likely is this scenario for Russia today?I have travelled to Russia yearly since 2022 and there has been a clear change in the mood. In 2022, it was all about survival and adapting to the new reality of sanctions and war. Over the next couple of years, there was stabilisation and growing optimism about the economy’s ability to adapt. However, by 2026 there was talk of an economic recession, even before the current fuel shortages hit.Read the full analysis here: Holly Evans23 July 2026 20:00What is Wildberries, the latest target of Ukraine's attacks? Wildberries was launched in 2004 by Tatyana Kim, a teacher and a young mother at the time, focusing at first on selling clothes.Since then, the platform with its distinct purple logo has become an industry leader and household name in Russia, allowing big and small businesses alike to sell their goods to customers across the country by storing, shipping and delivering their inventory. In April, Forbes Russia estimated Kim's fortune at $8.1 billion.The marketplace features all sorts of goods -– clothes, books, cosmetics, toys, appliances, household items, sports gear and much more. There’s an “E-Pharmacy” page and a travel section where users can book plane tickets or hotels.Wildberries signage outside a pickup point in Moscow (Reuters)Last year, Kim said the company had more than 200 facilities totaling over 5.2 million square meters (55 million square feet), with plans to expand in 2026, including planned warehouses in Belarus and Kazakhstan, where Wildberries already operates.Kyiv says the stricken facilities supplied Russia’s militaryWhile Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not name Wildberries directly, he has said the facilities his country attacked were involved in supplying gear and various technical components to the Russian military.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that “it is not the case” and accused Kyiv of continuing to “strike civilian targets.”Holly Evans23 July 2026 19:00Shipowners halt calls at Ukraine's Black Sea ports over strike fearsShipowners halted vessel arrivals at Ukraine's Black Sea ports due to ⁠intensified Russian strikes, Kyiv said, as President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Moscow might escalate attacks in order to block the country's main corridor for grain exports. In recent weeks, Russia has pummelled logistics and port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region with missiles and drones. On Sunday, a missile strike on a ship carrying corn killed 10 people, mostly ⁠foreigners, Ukrainian officials said."Yesterday... not a single ship entered ​the ⁠port," Zelenskiy told reporters on Thursday. "They've been hitting all the ships. They're going to step this up."Russia struck 28 civilian vessels and killed 21 people from June 20 to ⁠July 20, according to Odesa regional prosecutors cited by local media. Shipowners — wary of the attacks — have ​temporarily ⁠suspended vessel arrivals meant to pick up ‌agricultural products at the ports, Ukraine's agriculture minister Taras Vysotskyi said on Wednesday.Holly Evans23 July 2026 18:00Ukraine ramps up attacks on vessels around Crimean peninsula Ukraine has also increased attacks on vessels, mostly carrying fuel, in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, in an expanding campaign aimed at isolating Russia-occupied Crimea and undermining Moscow's key revenue sources. On Wednesday, Russia introduced a temporary nighttime ban on vessel movements in and out of Novorossiysk port, its biggest port by volume that handles up to one third of its grain exports.A live view in a monitor shows a Ukrainian strike of a drone towards a fuel tank in Crimea on 8 July (Reuters)Holly Evans23 July 2026 17:00Ousted defence minister Fedorov says he will not take another post in Ukraine's governmentUkraine's ousted defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, ⁠said on Thursday he would not accept any other ⁠position ​in ⁠the government, despite ⁠having been offered alternative ​roles ⁠by President ‌Volodymyr Zelensky."No other role ‌carries the actual ‌authority to combat procurement ⁠corruption, complete the army's transformation, plan and execute asymmetric operations against the enemy," ‌Fedorov, whose dismissal ​last ‌week rare ⁠wartime street ⁠protests, said in a ‌statement ​sent ‌to reporters.Holly Evans23 July 2026 16:30Russia's oil and gas revenue seen up 60% in JulyRussia's state oil ​and gas revenue, which accounts for around a fifth of total budget income, is seen rising by 60 per cent ⁠in July from the same month a year ago thanks to the increase in global oil prices, Reuters calculations showed on ⁠Thursday.A steep rise ​from ⁠profit-based tax proceeds on oil production for the second quarter has ⁠also contributed to the overall year-on-year revenue ​rise. Russia, ⁠the world's third-largest ‌oil producer and exporter after the United States and Saudi Arabia, relies heavily ‌on oil and gas sales, ‌which help finance its military campaign in Ukraine.Oil and gas tax revenue for January to ⁠July is still likely to decline by 11 per cent from the same period in 2025, to 4.9 billion roubles.The finance ministry is due to publish its estimates for July on August 5.Holly Evans23 July 2026 16:00EU's top diplomat congratulate's Miliband's appointment as foreign secKaja Kallas congratulates Ed Miliband as the new foreign secretary of the UK.She says they discussed support for Ukraine, freedom of navigation, the Middle East and the broader political landscape in Manila today, ahead of the ASEAN Regional Forum.James Reynolds23 July 2026 15:30