Ukraine's '40-day campaign' to break Russia continues as Kyiv suffers huge attack & shadow fleet drones spy on Europe's nuclear warheads

Day 1,588.

After Russia unleashes one of its deadliest attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens more, Dom reports on a city that knew the assault was coming hours in advance. He then examines a major new report alleging that Russia’s shadow fleet has been used not only to evade sanctions, but potentially to launch drones targeting military bases and civilian airports across Europe, raising profound new questions about the Kremlin’s hybrid war against the West. Later, Dom, Adelie and Francis answer your questions in the first edition of our new regular postbag segment.

Contributors:

Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.

Producer: Phil Atkins

Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan

Social Producer: Tom Steed

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley

Created by David Knowles

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest  

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Listen to ‘Ernstfall: What if Russia Attacks NATO? Inside a German Wargame’ (featuring dubs from Francis Dearnley and James Rothwell): – 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ernstfall-what-if-russia-attacks-nato-inside-a/id6785429115 

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/033GHuBrh6zwl1mq4TVeY6?si=-RApaIauQXaQhD5tgzhD_g&nd=1&dlsi=50aee65f40c4451b 

Eighteen killed in massive Russian attack on Kyiv (The Telegraph)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/02/ukraine-war-russia-attacks-kyiv-drones-missiles/ 

Russia’s UAV Campaign Over Europe (International Institute for Strategic Studies)

https://www.iiss.org/research-paper/2026/06/russias-uav-campaign-over-europe/ 

Russian drones spy on nuclear weapons in Britain (The Telegraph)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/02/putin-shadow-tankers-drones-nuclear-weapons-russia-nato/ 

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, July 1, 2026 (Institute for the Study of War)

https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-july-1-2026/

Sanctioned Russian billionaire retains control of Aughinish parent company, Sweden finds (Irish Times)

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026/07/01/sanctioned-russian-billionaire-retains-control-of-aughinish-parent-company-sweden-finds/

Russia buys gasoline from India to tackle shortages, sources say (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-buys-gasoline-india-tackle-shortages-sources-say-2026-07-01/

Russia shuts railway border crossings with Finland, Estonia and Latvia (Politico)

https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-suspends-railway-border-crossings-finland-baltic-neighbors/ 

How likely is the use of nuclear weapons by Russia? (Chatham House)

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/03/how-likely-use-nuclear-weapons-russia

Russia’s Nuclear Signaling in 2026 and Implications for European Security (DGAP) 

https://dgap.org/en/research/publications/russias-nuclear-signaling-2026-and-implications-european-security

Nuclear Signaling since the beginning of the full-scale invasion (Ukraine: The Latest, February 3rd)

https://podcasts.apple.com/gr/podcast/putin-waits-until-kyiv-hits-20c-before-knocking-out/id1612424182?i=1000747895284

Postcards of the Front:

https://postcardstothefrontcanada.com/

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.

Thumbnail image credit: Vlada.UA

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Ukraine's '40-day campaign' to break Russia continues as Kyiv suffers huge attack
• Shadow fleet drones spy on Europe's nuclear warheads

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