Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian drones strike Russian plant 1,300km from border, SBU source says
Key developments on July 1:
- ‘With surgical precision’ — Ukrainian drones strike Russian plant 1,300km away, SBU source says
- Russian missile strike on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kills brigade commander, injures 30 people, Zelensky says
- Ukrainian forces hit Russian command post in occupied Donetsk Oblast, General Staff says
- Zelensky signs ratification of Special Tribunal on Russian aggression
- Russian Su-34 aircraft crashes during training flight, pilot dies, media reports
Ukrainian drones struck a major Russian military plant in the city of Izhevsk, over 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from Ukrainian-held territory, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent on July 1.
The SBU source said the agency’s long-range drones targeted the Kupol plant in Russia’s Udmurt Republic on the morning of July 1. At least two drones struck production and storage facilities, starting a fire at the site, according to the source.
The facility produces Tor and Osa air defense systems, as well as Harpy attack drones for the Russian military, and is under international sanctions as part of Russia’s defense-industrial complex.
"With surgical precision, the SBU continues to carry out strikes against Russia's military-industrial enterprises contributing to the war effort against Ukraine," the source said.
"Each such operation weakens (Russia's) offensive potential, disrupts weapons production chains, and proves that no part of Russia is a safe zone for its military infrastructure."
Residents of Izhevsk reported explosions early on July 1, while local authorities confirmed a drone strike on a facility in the city. Alexander Brechalov, head of Russia's Udmurt Republic, said emergency services had responded to the attack and that further information would be provided as it became available.
Brechalov later reported casualties, citing deaths and serious injuries, but did not provide specific figures.
Russia's aviation agency temporarily suspended flights in and out of the city's airport following the incident.
Russian Telegram channels reported that no air raid siren was sounded before the drone attack on the Kupol plant. According to Astra, Izhevsk residents also could not access warnings via Telegram due to mobile internet outages, which locals say have persisted for nearly two weeks.
The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post
Russian missile strike on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kills brigade commander, injures 30 people, Zelensky says
A Russian missile attack killed the commander of the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, Serhii Zakharevych, and injured 30 people in Huliaipole in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on July 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address.
The Russian army struck the Kamianske district, where the village of Huliaipole is located, in the morning on July 1, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.
Huliaipole, with a pre-war population of around 1,200, lies in the western part of eastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, roughly 70 kilometers (40 miles) from the front line.
"We will definitely respond to the Russians for this attack," Zelensky said, adding that the investigation into the Russian attack is currently underway and he is waiting for a report from the military command.
Zakharevych graduated from the Odesa Institute of the Ground Forces. After graduation, he led a platoon in a reconnaissance company of the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade and the 1st Tank Brigade.
In February 2025, he was appointed commander of the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade. Prior to that, he served as deputy commander of the 33rd Mechanized Brigade.
Zakharevych was involved in preparing three qualification courses for the Ukrainian Special Forces and headed the 47th Special Forces detachment. He participated in combat missions at the front.
"Our army has lost another representative of a new generation of Ukrainian officers who grew up in combat and became models of courage and proactive military leadership," the General Staff's statement read.
Ukrainian forces hit Russian command post in occupied Donetsk Oblast, General Staff says
Ukraine struck a command post of the 8th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Armed Forces in the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine's General Staff reported on July 1, a day after the attack.
On the evening of June 30, explosions were heard in the Russian-occupied Donetsk, the Russian Telegram channel Shot reported. According to residents, several fires were spotted in different parts of the city.
The attack has significantly hampered Russia's ability to plan and conduct operations in the Pokrovsk and Toretsk areas of the front line, the General Staff's statement read.
Russian losses are still being determined.
Ukraine's military regularly strikes military targets in Russian-occupied territories and deep within Russia in an attempt to diminish Moscow's fighting power as it continues its war against Ukraine.
Russia has for months focused its offensive efforts on the embattled town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast and has recently been escalating attempts to break through to neighboring Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a region that has not yet seen combat.
Ukraine denied reports that Russian forces breached the regional border in May and June.
The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov
Zelensky signs ratification of Special Tribunal on Russian aggression
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 1 that he had signed the ratification documents establishing the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, marking a major step toward prosecuting Russia's leadership.
Ukraine and the Council of Europe signed the agreement establishing the Special Tribunal on June 25 during a ceremony in Strasbourg. Zelensky and Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset signed it after more than three years of advocacy and diplomacy.
"The agreement must now be swiftly ratified so that the process of creating the tribunal can begin," Zelensky said in a statement. He also instructed Ukraine's government to urgently submit necessary legislative changes to parliament to ensure Kyiv's full implementation of the agreement.
"I ask members of parliament to treat this as an immediate priority," Zelensky added, urging lawmakers to pass the needed legislation without delay.
The tribunal, once established, would specifically target Russia's top political and military leadership for the crime of aggression, defined as the illegal use of force by one state against another, which existing international bodies, like the International Criminal Court (ICC), are not able to prosecute due to jurisdictional limitations.
Zelensky also called on the Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Office to finalize a roadmap with international partners for the tribunal's launch.
"Already this year, Russia must begin to feel that accountability for the crime of aggression is inevitable," he said. "Aggression is a crime, and Russia's truly inevitable punishment for this crime is in the global interest of everyone in the world who wants their people to live in peace."
Speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on June 25, Zelensky thanked the body for championing the idea from its inception and pushing forward international accountability for Russia's invasion.
"It was here in this assembly, that the first call for such a tribunal was made," Zelensky said. "The idea was born here — and now it’s gaining real support from partner countries in Europe and beyond."
The tribunal is designed to close a legal gap that currently prevents the ICC from prosecuting Russia for the crime of aggression, although the court has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in connection with the deportation of Ukrainian children.
The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell
Russian Su-34 aircraft crashes during training flight, pilot dies, media reports
A Russian Air Force Su-34 fighter jet crashed during a training exercise in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russian state media Ria Novosti reported on July 1, citing Russia's Defense Ministry.
One of the pilots died due to sustained injuries, Russian media outlet Mash reported later in the day. After ejecting, he landed on a tree. Medics could not save him, according to Mash.
One of the landing gear struts was not released during landing. The crew made several attempts to fix the malfunction in flight, but it did not help.
The crew successfully ejected from the plane, and there were no casualties, according to the ministry.
The Russian Su-34 is a Soviet-era medium-range fighter-bomber.
Plane and helicopter crashes have become more commonplace in Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent imposition of Western sanctions.
According to the U.K. intelligence, Russia has lost over 30 Su-34 aircraft since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Moscow does not comment on its losses it faces inn its war against Ukraine.
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