Overview

• Belgorod’s central power and heating facility was hit in a Ukrainian attack, causing a citywide outage with two injuries before many connections were restored overnight, the regional governor said.
• President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces have retaken more than 170 square kilometers near Dobropillja, while the army chief reported encircled Russian units; the claims have not been independently verified.
• Ukraine’s drone commander reported a low-cost kamikaze drone destroyed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter near Kotlyarivka in the Donetsk region, a strike shown in unit-released video that has yet to be confirmed by independent sources.
• Local authorities in Sumy reported a four-person family, including two young children, was killed when Russian drones struck a home during an overnight barrage that Ukraine said involved 65 drones, 46 of which were downed.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that the country is no longer in peace and said Berlin plans to change aviation security laws to enable Bundeswehr support against drones, as Russia ordered the conscription of 135,000 men for autumn intake.