Ukraine war briefing: Disastrous drone expo’s organiser appears in Kyiv court

Russian attack killed 11 at publicly promoted event attended by military and state officials; Zelenskyy heads for Washington. What we know on day 1,616

• A Ukrainian court remanded in custody the organiser of a weapons exhibition that was struck by Russia in an attack that killed at least 11 people. Prosecutors brought a case against Vasyl Goncharuk, head of the Armada weapons industry association, accusing him of negligence leading to loss of life after the Russian ballistic missile strike on a shooting range outside Kyiv on Friday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it “certainly should not have been taking place there”. Russia’s defence ministry confirmed it hit the site during “a demonstration of Ukrainian and foreign-made” drones.

• Goncharuk appeared at the Kyiv court limping and said he sustained light injuries in the attack. Prosecutors have said the weapons association invited more than 300 people including military personnel, state representatives and business figures without official authorisation, providing only a small shelter. The event was even promoted on social media. Agence France-Presse said its reporters saw homes in ruins and victims in body bags after the attack. Previous incidents of Russian attacks on openly held Ukrainian military gatherings have also triggered outcry and resignations.

• A Wildberries warehouse in the Koledino district of Moscow was reportedly on fire on Tuesday morning after being hit by drones as the Russian capital came under attack. The distribution complex for the Amazon-like chain had been targeted previously. A steel factory in Chekhnov, Moscow oblast, was also hit, the Kyiv Independent reported. The Russian regional governor, ‌Andrei Vorobyov, said an apartment ⁠building in Chekhov was damaged. Drones targeted other areas including ​Podolsk, ‌Domodedovo and ​Kolomna.

• The Pentagon official tasked with building ⁠a domestic drone ​industry said on Monday the US was still far behind Ukraine’s production capabilities. Travis Metz, chief operating officer of the Defense Innovation Unit, told Reuters that Ukraine would produce 6m-7m small first-person-view attack drones ​this year – roughly 500,000 a month. By comparison, the ‌Pentagon’s $1.1bn programme will have ordered ‌just under 200,000 altogether by February. But the US would catch up and lead the sector, he predicted.

• The Pentagon is insisting military drones must be made with US parts to foster “a wholly domestic” supply chain. None of the drones from the 19 companies competing an August test event may contain banned parts like Chinese-made ​motors or battery packs. “It’s an increasingly difficult thing,” Metz said. Ukrainian companies competing in the test, called Gauntlet II, are being required to localise production in the US as a condition of future orders.

• All ⁠100 members of the US Senate have been invited to ⁠a meeting ⁠on ​Tuesday evening with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s president will be in Washington for the funeral of the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who was a strong and influential supporter of Ukraine. A Senate aide ​said voting might also begin during Zelenskyy’s visit on a bill to impose sanctions on Russia that was championed by Graham. Zelenskyy is due to meet on Tuesday with Donald Trump.

• Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the war in Ukraine has changed dramatically. The Guardian’s Luke Harding looks at who has the advantage in the war now and how Zelenskyy’s strategy has shifted.

• Andy Burnham welcomed Zelenskyy in his first meeting with another world leader since becoming the UK prime minister, writes Pippa Crerar. “It is intended to send a very clear message,” Burnham told him. “We are with Ukraine 100%, I am personally with you 100%, and I will honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full.” Burnham said Britain was providing new jamming technology to Ukraine that would “help them to hit their targets and help save Ukrainian lives”. The system is known as Stone Cloak. Zelenskyy posted that he was “grateful” to Britain for “today’s decision to provide Ukraine with electronic warfare technologies” that would “certainly be useful on the battlefield”.

• Romania’s ⁠foreign ministry ⁠said it had expelled a ⁠diplomat at Russia’s embassy after repeated violations of ⁠its national airspace by ​drones. Romanian F-16 fighter jet pilots have shot down three drones in as many days. The Russian ambassador was shown drone fragments that Romanian authorities identified as a Russian “Shahed model”. Two people were hurt in May when a drone smashed into an apartment building in the Romanian city of Galati near the border with Ukraine.

• Ukraine ⁠struck a Russian export ⁠terminal in ⁠the Rostov ​region, as well ⁠as oil facilities in ⁠the Yaroslavl and ​Udmurtia ‌regions, Zelenskyy said on Monday. “Last night, our long-range sanctions were effective in the Rostov region. An export terminal approximately 250km (155 miles) from the frontline was hit,” he posted. “Deep strikes also targeted oil facilities in the Yaroslavl region and the Udmurt Republic, which is 1,300km from Ukraine’s state border.” Five people were reported killed in Russia’s Rostov region bordering Ukraine. Russian ⁠forces meanwhile struck three Ukrainian ports, including ⁠fuel ⁠loading and ​storage facilities at the port ⁠of Odesa, ​the defence ‌ministry in Moscow said ‌on Monday.

• Russian strikes on frontline localities in eastern Ukraine killed ⁠seven people and ⁠injured ​more than 20 on Monday, officials said. Prosecutors in the Donetsk region said three people died ⁠in two areas near the contested city ​of Kostiantynivka. A fourth person was killed near Kramatorsk, a heavily defended “fortress” city considered critical to Ukraine’s defences. Prosecutors said a total of 18 people were ‌injured throughout Donetsk region.

• In Ukraine’s adjacent Dnipropetrovsk region, the governor, Oleksandr Hanzha, said three people were ​killed and six wounded in more than 50 drone and artillery attacks on five districts. Two people died near the town of Nikopol and one ​person was killed near the town ​of Syneklykove. Over ​the border ​in Russia’s Belgorod region, a Ukrainian drone struck a building, killing one person and injuring two.

• Donald Trump’s administration has told members ⁠of Congress it will not finish spending $400m in aid to Ukraine until fiscal year 2029, even as Kyiv runs critically low on weapons. Democrats and some ​of Trump’s fellow Republicans have criticised the Pentagon for sitting on aid for Kyiv that members of both parties pushed through last year. In May, the Pentagon sent a letter to lawmakers outlining its spending ⁠plan. It covers $200m for weapons, ammunition and explosives, $99.9m for vehicles, spares and equipment and $100m for services such as transportation of defence articles to ​Ukraine. The funds still have not been put to use.