Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv says more than 100 Russian ships in Azov hit in nine days

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen ⁠said she would announce new moves ⁠to ​deepen the integration ⁠of European and ⁠Ukrainian defence ​industries, ⁠as she arrived ‌in Kyiv on Wednesday.

“I will ‌announce new ‌initiatives to integrate our ⁠defence industries. So we can produce more, and faster,” she said on X, posting ‌footage of ​her ‌arrival on ⁠the platform.

Some 500 soldiers from the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ backing Ukraine marched down Paris’ Champs-Elysees on Tuesday in the annual Bastille Day parade, in what France said would be a symbol of Europe’s strategic awakening.

France’s traditional national day military parade fell one day after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky joined around 25 leaders in Paris for a summit of the coalition of Western allies supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia.

The allies announced an air-defence coalition as Ukraine grapples with critical ammunition shortages and intensifying Russian strikes on its capital Kyiv and surrounding regions.

Zelensky, British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and German chancellor Friedrich Merz were among about 30 leaders invited by Emmanuel Macron to watch Tuesday’s parade, the French president’s last before he leaves office in 2027.

It featured around 25 Ukrainian soldiers marching along the capital’s most famous avenue.

Russia’s armed forces continued overnight strikes on Ukrainian ports handling ⁠cargoes for the Ukrainian military, hitting four vessels, Russia’s defence ministry said ⁠on ​Wednesday.

It said ⁠it hit a number of ⁠targets in the ​ports ⁠of Odesa ‌and Chornomorsk in Ukraine’s Odesa region using precision-guided air-launched ‌weapons and attack ‌drones.

Port infrastructure facilities used for unloading ⁠fuel and lubricants as well as fuel storage tanks were hit, it said.

In a statement, Russia’s defence ministry ‌also said four vessels ​delivering cargoes ‌for the ⁠Ukrainian armed forces ⁠were struck in the ports ‌of ​Chornomorsk and ‌Dnipro-Buh.

Ukrainian drones struck 20 ⁠Russian vessels in the ⁠Black ​Sea ⁠overnight, including ⁠17 oil tankers, the ⁠commander ‌of Kyiv’s drone ‌forces said ‌on Wednesday.

On ⁠Telegram, Robert Brovdi said the targets included two ‌gas tankers ​and ‌a ⁠tugboat.

Russia’s transport ministry has acknowledged it may need to reroute cargo shipments away from the Sea of Azov as Ukraine steps up attacks on Russian shipping in the area.

Ukraine’s drone forces commander said on Tuesday that Ukrainian strikes had hit 116 vessels over the past nine days, including several tankers and cargo ships operating in the Sea of Azov.

He said the campaign was aimed at disrupting Russia’s “shadow fleet” and restricting fuel supplies to Russian-occupied Crimea.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine on Tuesday of ⁠attacking commercial vessels in the Sea of Azov and the ⁠Black Sea ​in ⁠what he called acts of terrorism.

“What ⁠the Ukrainian regime ​is ⁠doing goes ‌beyond even piracy. Pirates, at least, plunder and ‌keep the ‌spoils for themselves. But here, it benefits neither ⁠them nor anyone else – the goal is simply to cause damage and intimidate. It is terrorism, pure ‌and simple,” Lavrov ​said.

He said Russia ‌would continue ⁠to fulfil its ⁠obligations regarding food exports ‌and ​the provision ‌of hu

Ukraine will use a European ​loan facility to buy next-generation Franco-Italian air defence systems and French Rafale fighter jets for the first time, while also securing approval to produce ⁠key Western missiles domestically under agreements formalised by Kyiv and Paris on Tuesday.

The two countries said Ukraine would order an initial 16 Rafale aircraft, the first tranche of a planned ⁠fleet of 100 announced in ​November ⁠2025, financed through the European Union’s Ukraine Support Loan programme.

Training for Ukrainian pilots and mechanics ⁠could begin in France as early as 2026, ​with ⁠the first four aircraft ‌delivered after training is completed, the French and Ukrainian presidencies said in a joint statement, providing the first details ‌of purchases outlined on Monday.

Ukraine also ‌plans to acquire four next-generation SAMP/T-NG air and missile defence systems, becoming the first country to deploy the Franco-Italian system in ⁠combat.

Two older versions will be dispatched to Ukraine until the new systems are delivered. The move builds on a broader air-defence initiative unveiled on Monday by Ukraine and several European allies aimed at developing a lower-cost anti-ballistic missile capability as Russia steps up attacks on ‌Ukrainian cities.

France and Italy also authorised licensed ​production in Ukraine of Aster 30 interceptor missiles, ‌while France approved local production ⁠of AASM guided bombs and SCALP cruise ⁠missiles, deepening defence-industrial cooperation with Kyiv.

France has agreed to let Ukraine manufacture its Scalp-EG cruise missiles under a landmark defence agreement that also includes Rafale fighter jets and advanced air defence systems.

The deal, signed by president Volodymyr Zelensky and French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris, grants Kyiv access to the blueprints for the Scalp-EG – the French variant of the Anglo-French Storm Shadow cruise missile– allowing it to produce the long-range weapon inside Ukraine.

The agreement also authorises licensed production of Aster air-defence missiles and AASM precision-guided bombs, while Ukraine will receive 16 Rafale fighter jets and four SAMP/T air-defence batteries.

Zelensky said the pact demonstrated “France’s true leadership in defence cooperation with Ukraine, in the interest of all of Europe.”

The agreement comes just days after president Donald Trump said the United States would allow Ukraine to manufacture PAC-3 interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defence system, underscoring Western efforts to strengthen Kyiv’s domestic arms industry.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin ​said 340 Ukrainian drones had been dispatched to the area surrounding the capital over a 24-hour period on Tuesday and most had ⁠been downed by anti-aircraft units far from the city.

“Most of them were neutralised by air defence forces on the outer approaches,” Sobyanin wrote ⁠on Telegram. “More than ​50 enemy ⁠drones were destroyed on their way to Moscow.”

Ukrainian drones approach the ⁠Russian capital routinely and Sobyanin provides a ​running ⁠account of the numbers ‌taken out by anti-aircraft units.

Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian infrastructure sites, mainly linked ‌to the oil industry.

Ukraine’s ‌military said on Tuesday it had carried out drone strikes on the Salavat petrochemical complex in ⁠the Urals and the Afipsky refinery in southern Russia. Attacks on oil infrastructure have contributed to gasoline shortages throughout Russia.

Russian forces have stepped up drone and missile attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks.

Russia launched a barrage of ‌drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv early ​on Tuesday, the fifth such ‌attack on the ⁠Ukrainian capital this month.

A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a revised Russia sanctions bill that reduces the proposed tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil, including India and China.

The updated legislation caps tariffs at 100 per cent down from the previously proposed 500 per cent and limits them to the five largest purchasers of Russian energy.

It also exempts countries importing less than 15 per cent of Russia’s natural gas exports if they are taking significant steps to cut those imports.

The bill also targets Russia’s shadow fleet, financial institutions and major state-owned energy projects.

It includes a provision allowing president Donald Trump to waive sanctions if he determines it is in the US national interest.

Senate aides said the bipartisan measure had 26 co-sponsors on Tuesday, with more expected to sign on.

Ukrainian fighter pilots and troops took pride of place in France’s national Bastille Day celebrations Tuesday as a massive parade showcased support for Ukraine and symbolically flexed European military muscle.

On president Emmanuel Macron’s last Bastille Day as president, he hosted around 30 other leaders for an event that appeared aimed at showing both Russian president Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump that Europe is united and stepping up to defend itself.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was given an ovation from the assembled European leaders and his country’s troops got the biggest cheers of the day from crowds on the tree-lined Champs-Elysees avenue.

Zelensky and Macron shared repeated hugs at the end of the parade.

France’s biggest national holiday coincided with raging forest fires and a red-alert heat wave that forced the cancellation of traditional fireworks and firefighters’ balls – and with defeat to Spain in a highly anticipated World Cup semi-final.