Russia-Ukraine war updates: Latest news updates from the front line and politics

The eastern front has seen intensified fighting, with the Russian forces making slight advancements near the town of Kreminna in the Luhansk region and gains around the city of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region. Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported that the area near the town of Toretsk, 25 kilometers south of Chasiv Yar, had become a flashpoint in the past several weeks. Russian forces have focused attacks on Chasiv Yar, a strategically important city that, if occupied, might become a gateway to the broader offensive in the Donetsk region.

Russian forces have terrorized Chasiv Yar with intensified artillery shelling and air attacks since it captured the city of Avdiivka in February and recently managed to enter the Kanal neighborhood, the easternmost of the town. The Ukrainian command decided to pull back from part of Chasiv Yar because staying in the area "threatened the lives and health" of Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian Khortytsia Group of Forces Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn confirmed on July 4 during a television broadcast.

Voloshyn added that because defensive positions in the neighborhood, where Russian forces had been pushed out from in late June, were destroyed, Ukrainian troops relocated to "more protected and prepared positions." According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces continued attacking "northeast of Chasiv Yar near Hryhorivka, north of Chasiv Yar near Kalynivka, east of Chasiv Yar near Ivanivske, and southeast of Chasiv Yar near Klishchiivka."

Since slowing the Russian offensive in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region and stabilizing the front line, the Ukrainian forces have continued repelling more minor attacks of Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups. These groups recently entered the village of Sotnytskyi Kozachok on the Ukraine-Russia border twice on July 4 and June 26. Colonel Yurii Povkh, spokesperson for the Kharkiv Operational Strategic Group of Forces, stated that Russia uses cross-border sabotage raids into the Kharkiv region to distract Ukrainian forces from other more critical areas in need of protection.

The ISW experts reported, citing geolocated footage as of July 4, that Russian forces captured the aggregate plant in Vovchansk, the town 74 km northeast of Kharkiv and just 5 km off the Russian border — the change "to have likely taken place in mid-June." The satellite images also confirmed that Ukrainian forces warded off a Russian platoon-sized assault north of Kharkiv — Russians made no gains in the area. Intense combat continues within Vovchansk.

The situation remains nearly unchanged on the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Russian forces continued ground attacks near the towns of Robotyne and Krynky, which Ukrainian troops fended off. Ukraine's operational command "South" and military counterintelligence of the Ukrainian Security Service reported on July 3 that their agents struck a Russian Nebo-SVU long-range radar detection system valued at $100 million. The Russian complex, which was identified by a Ukrainian drone 70 kilometers from the front line in Ukraine's south and destroyed, could have controlled the airspace for hundreds of kilometers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeated his appeal to the Western partners for state-of-the-art air defense systems and long-range missiles after a series of Russian rocket and drone attacks on civilian buildings across Ukraine. Russian drone and rocket strikes on the east-central city of Dnipro on June 28 and July 3 killed nine civilians and injured 65. The Russian attack on the town of Vilniansk, near the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killed seven people, including two children, and wounded 31 on June 29. The border and front-line towns in the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Kherson regions have also been under constant bombing, particularly by air-guided bombs launched by Russian fighter jets.

"This week alone [last week of June, ed.], Russia has used over 800 guided aviation bombs against Ukraine. Against our cities and communities, against our people, against everything that ensures normal life," President Zelensky said in a statement. "Ukraine needs the necessary forces and means to destroy the carriers of these bombs, including Russian combat aviation wherever it is. This step is necessary."

The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) recently reported that Russia's "use of powerful air-dropped bombs and missiles in populated areas" caused more civilian casualties in Ukraine between March and May. Russian forces also tend to strike the same location within a short interval, conducting so-called "double-tap" attacks, leading to many deaths of first responders. During spring months, Russian forces killed at least 436 civilians in Ukraine and injured 1,760, according to the OHCHR agency.

On July 3, Bloomberg released a nearly hour-long interview with President Zelensky, who used this opportunity to thank Western allies, particularly the US, for their support and highlight the delays in weapons deliveries. The supplies from the US, which provided Ukraine with the most significant amount of aid, stalled in 2024 because of a held-up bill in Congress. Eventually, the United States signed a substantial $61 billion military aid package, which included the provision of advanced weaponry, such as long-range ATACMS​.

There are still concerns that they may not arrive in time to counter the Russian attacks, as Ukrainian forces are facing a shortage of ammunition and manpower. Zelensky told Bloomberg that 14 brigades still expected to receive the needed weapons, which had been approved and discussed. The Ukrainian leader added:

"This is the biggest tragedy of this war, that between the decision and real fact, we have a real long, long, long wait."

The Ukrainian president also said he would lobby for more Patriot air defense systems at the NATO summit in Washington, scheduled for July 9–11, and negotiate more security guarantee agreements, like those Ukraine has already concluded with 20 partners, including the US and Japan.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has criticized Western military aid for Ukraine since Russia unleashed its full-scale war in 2022, arrived in Ukraine on July 2 for an unannounced visit as Hungary takes its turn to lead the European Union Council. 

Besides discussing bilateral relations, in particular the issue of the ethnic Hungarian community in Ukraine, Orban called for "a quick ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine that "could be used to speed up peace negotiations." Zelensky didn't comment on Orban's proposal publicly but later posted on X that Ukraine and Hungary "discussed the path to a just, lasting, and fair peace."

While Orban, the biggest supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the EU, called for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Putin visited the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Qazaqstan, on July 4, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Putin explicitly rejected Russian participation in negotiations when discussing Ukraine and the ceasefire. Instead, he demanded Ukraine's "irreversible demilitarization" as a condition for any talks. 

"Putin is thus demanding that Ukraine effectively surrender in advance of any ceasefire," the ISW reported. Experts added that the Russian leader also rejects all possible third-party mediators when they present themselves between Ukraine and Russia and denies the legitimacy of any Ukrainian leadership, "de facto rejecting any realistic process for meaningfully negotiating a ceasefire agreement."

On June 8, 2024, Russian forces launched over 40 rockets, targeting civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. The Ukrainian capital was impacted the most, with reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of a children's hospital, well-known for treating young patients with cancer and rare diseases. Find out more about the tragedy here.