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Ukrainian Drones Batter Russian Oil Facilities, Set More Oil Tankers Ablaze

Smoke rises after what the Ukranian authorities say was during a strike as Ukrainian UAVs hit a Russian dark fleet tanker at a location given as Sea of Azov in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on July 7, 2026. Commander of Unmanned Aerial Systems Force/Handout via REUTERS
Smoke rises after what the Ukranian authorities say was during a strike as Ukrainian UAVs hit a Russian dark fleet tanker at a location given as Sea of Azov in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on July 7, 2026. Commander of Unmanned Aerial Systems Force/Handout via REUTERS
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Ukrainian Drones Batter Russian Oil Facilities, Set More Oil Tankers Ablaze

Smoke rises after what the Ukranian authorities say was during a strike as Ukrainian UAVs hit a Russian dark fleet tanker at a location given as Sea of Azov in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on July 7, 2026. Commander of Unmanned Aerial Systems Force/Handout via REUTERS
Smoke rises after what the Ukranian authorities say was during a strike as Ukrainian UAVs hit a Russian dark fleet tanker at a location given as Sea of Azov in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on July 7, 2026. Commander of Unmanned Aerial Systems Force/Handout via REUTERS

Ukrainian drones on Thursday hit more Russian oil facilities and set two oil tankers ablaze in the Sea of Azov, a day after US President Donald Trump pledged to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture the Patriot air defense systems.

Ukraine's strikes on oil refineries and other infrastructure across Russia has triggered a widespread fuel crisis with gasoline shortages and fuel rationing reported in multiple regions and drivers waiting for hours to fill their tanks.

Early Thursday, a Ukrainian drone strike triggered a fire at an oil depot in the city of Tver in western Russia, according to acting regional Gov. Vitaly Korolyov.

And in the southern Stavropol region, Gov. Vladimir Vladimirov said oil reservoirs has been set ablaze by Ukrainian drones in Vyazniki. The Associated Press quoted him as saying that the authorities ordered the evacuation of residents of several apartment buildings near the facility as the fire expanded.

In the Sea of Azov, Ukrainian drones set two oil tankers ablaze, according to Rostov Gov. Yuri Slusar, who said that one of the ships was still burning and the crews were evacuated.

The attack was the latest in a series of strikes on oil tankers in the area in recent days, part of Ukraine efforts to cut fuel supplies to Russia-occupied Crimea.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 73 Ukrainian drones from late Wednesday until early Thursday.

Ukraine's Air Force said that Russia fired 94 long-range strike drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine last night. While 72 drones were jammed or intercepted, 19 drones and both missiles inflicted damages at 13 locations, it said.

During Wednesday's meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Türkiye, Trump said the US will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot air defense systems to counter missile attacks from Russia in their more than four-year war, a huge coup for Kyiv which has long requested the technology.

The tone of their meeting was a markedly different from an earlier, acrimonious encounter at the White House in February 2025 when Trump berated Zelenskyy.

On Wednesday, he praised the Ukrainian leader’s willingness to reach a deal to ending the war, saying he has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective.”

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World

Trump Steps Back from Proposal for Hormuz Fees

A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Steps Back from Proposal for Hormuz Fees

A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump stepped back from a proposal to charge a 20% fee to guard the Strait of Hormuz as part of the conflict with Iran, saying on Tuesday he would instead seek investment deals in the region.

US forces had carried out waves of attacks for ‌the third night ‌in a row after Tehran said it had ‌closed ⁠the strait, prompting Trump ⁠on Monday to reinstate a blockade of Iranian shipping and propose the fee.

But just a little under five hours before the fee had been due to come into effect at 2000 GMT, Trump said the strait was open to all shipping traffic except that of Iran.

Oil futures prices pared their ‌gains after the post after rising earlier on Tuesday.

The worsening attacks had increased doubts that a memorandum of understanding signed last month would lead to a permanent halt in the war, which has disrupted global energy supplies ‌and raised fears of a rise in inflation globally.

Iran had hit back by attacking ⁠Jordan with ballistic missiles while Bahrain said it had fended off an Iranian aerial attack. Jordan said it had shot down four ballistic missiles and explosions were heard in Manama, Bahrain's capital.

Before the war, about a fifth of global oil and gas traffic passed through Hormuz daily. If the US were to impose a 20% fee, it could generate around $240 million a day.

The UN shipping agency said it opposed any fees for straits used in international navigation and that there was no legal basis for introducing mandatory tolls on strait transits.

World

Ebola Outbreak is at Least Double the Formal Tally, WHO Says

FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
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Ebola Outbreak is at Least Double the Formal Tally, WHO Says

FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa
FILED - 20 May 2019, Democratic Republic of Congo, Beni: FILE PHOTO - An Ebola nurse at the CTE ALIMA BENI Ebola Treatment Centre cares for a child suspected of having Ebola. Photo: Kitsa Musayi/dpa

The true number of Ebola cases in Congo is at least double, and possibly four times, ‌the official tally, ‌the World ‌Health ⁠Organization's emergencies chief said ⁠on Tuesday.

"We think, with some of our support and ⁠modelling, the ‌scale of ‌the outbreak is ‌at least ‌2-4 times the number of cases we are finding," ‌Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Executive Director ⁠of ⁠the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, told reporters in Geneva after a visit to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Reuters.

World

Ukraine Downs 5 Russian Ballistic Missiles as Kyiv Looks to Harden Air Defenses

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Downs 5 Russian Ballistic Missiles as Kyiv Looks to Harden Air Defenses

Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 11, 2026. (Reuters)

Ukrainian air defenses intercepted five ballistic missiles launched by Russia in a raft of overnight attacks, Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday, though other missiles and drones got through and hit the capital Kyiv.

It was the first time in almost two weeks that Ukraine claimed to have downed Russian ballistic missiles, which are harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles.

Ukrainian air defenses likely used the US-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile system that is the most effective way of countering ballistic missiles, but ammunition for it has been in short supply amid the Iran war.

In Kyiv, the attack caused fires at two warehouses, while a school was also damaged, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the attack targeted military manufacturing facilities in the Ukrainian capital that produce long-range missiles and drones.

Moscow wants to choke off Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia that have caused critical fuel shortages, frustrating the public and, Western analysts say, hindering the Russian army’s advance on the front line inside Ukraine.

Ukraine’s air force said one ballistic missile and 25 drones struck 17 locations, while falling debris was reported in 10 locations.

Ukraine urgently needs to improve its air defense shield as another winter looms. Much of the country is at the mercy of Russian missiles that, since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor, have hammered the power grid.

In an important step forward for Kyiv’s air defense effort, nine other countries joined Ukraine in a coalition announced Monday to build a shared ballistic missile shield for Europe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system.

Zelenskyy was still in Paris on Tuesday where he attended France’s annual Bastille Day celebrations.

President Donald Trump said at the NATO summit last week that the US will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot systems itself. However, Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce, so it will be at least a few years before any Ukrainian-made systems are ready to deploy.

Ukraine, meanwhile, kept up its long-range onslaught on Russian targets, especially oil facilities.

In the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, the attack caused a fire at the Afipsky Oil Refinery that was later put out, local authorities said.

Unconfirmed media reports said an oil refinery in the city of Salavat in the Bashkortostan region, some 1,400 kilometers (900 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was also hit by the attack. Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov confirmed an attack on an industrial area in Salavat, but didn’t specify what was hit.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula and the Azov and the Black seas.