Iranian-made drones have caused significant damage to Ukrainian forces fighting against Russian troops. Moscow has also acquired drone technology from Tehran, significantly boosting its production and now uses numerous drones in its war to conquer Ukraine.

From Ukraine’s perspective, this means Iran is indirectly involved in this war. And that means Iranian cargo ships carrying goods to Russia are considered legitimate military targets. This is exactly what happened over the weekend in the Caspian Sea, and now Tehran is not at all pleased.

The invasion launched by Russia in 2022 has shaken European politics. The U.S.-Israel war against Iran has shaken Middle Eastern politics. So, what do the Ukrainian strikes on Iranian cargo or Russian ships in the Caspian Sea mean for these two wars?

“If the Ukrainians continue to do this, they will certainly make it harder for both Iran and Russia. I do not think this is a fundamental change that will alter the course of the war. The Ukrainian attack on an Iranian ship represents a significant shift in tactics and sends a clear message that Ukraine will not tolerate aggression, regardless of where it comes from. I suspect such operations will increasingly complicate maritime transport between Russia and Iran across the Caspian Sea,” said Luke Coffey, a Russia expert at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank.

Tehran “responds to any action against it”

The circumstances of the July 25 incident remain unclear. Ukraine’s main domestic intelligence agency, the SBU, said drones struck a Russian missile ship called Molniya, as well as two cargo ships, which it said were under international sanctions and were being used to transport military cargo between Iran and Russia.

“Ukraine has achieved very strong results with its long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea, including against ships used to transport military cargo linked to Iran,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.

This description appears to refer to two Russian ships, Port Olya 2 and Begey, which are under international sanctions because of the war in Ukraine. What exactly these ships were carrying is not known. After receiving thousands of Iranian-made suicide drones in the early months of the invasion launched in February 2022, Russia built its own assembly plants and added new improvements to the original Iranian designs. Iranian authorities reacted angrily to the attack on the ships, saying one sailor was killed and vowing revenge. Ukraine’s top diplomat in Tehran was summoned for a reprimand at the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

“Zelenskyy has attacked an Iranian merchant ship, killing a sailor,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X, calling it an open violation of the United Nations Charter, carried out at Israel’s urging to drag Europe into its war.

Kyiv will soon learn that Tehran leaves no action unanswered, said Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the National Security Commission in the Iranian parliament, in another post. Beyond the tough rhetoric, it remains unclear to what extent Iran would be able to retaliate.

“Tehran is clearly angry, but has very limited ability to project military power against Ukraine. If it decides to respond, I would expect something indirect, such as cyber operations, intelligence activities, support for Russian operations, or perhaps strikes on Ukrainian interests abroad, rather than a conventional military attack. It is not necessarily in Iran’s interest to involve Ukraine in this conflict, and I do not believe it is in Russia’s interest either. The Russians may be pressuring Iran to exercise restraint,” said Saeid Golkar, an expert on Iran’s military and a professor at the University of Tennessee.

Nate Swanson, who served as director for Iran on the White House National Security Council during the presidency of Joe Biden, also expressed doubts about Iran’s ability to respond seriously.

“Iran barks more than it bites when it comes to Ukraine,” said Swanson, now a fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank.

“Although it is possible that Iran might take some symbolic response against Ukraine, I believe neither Ukraine nor Iran seeks to open new fronts in their respective wars,” he emphasized.

“Iran’s threats appear more like a signal to Russia,” said Mikhail Troitskiy, head of the Russia and Eurasia Program at Tufts University. “Tehran needs greater support from Moscow, which is likely not meeting all of Iran’s requests for intelligence and equipment.”

Two sides of the coin

This was not the first time Ukraine has struck targets in the Caspian Sea.

The Russian fleet of 28 ships in the Caspian Sea, stationed near Makhachkala, about 1,300 kilometers from territory still under Ukrainian control, has previously launched missiles at targets inside Ukraine.

According to Coffey, at least 12 Russian warships have been hit earlier during the Russian invasion, although the extent of the damage in many cases remains unclear.

Israel too, which has carried out its own strikes against Iran in coordination with U.S. forces, has hit Iranian targets in the Caspian Sea.

On March 18, about three weeks after the start of the U.S.-Israeli campaign, Israeli aircraft struck the port of Bandar Anzali, sinking an unknown number of military vessels.

Experts said it is possible that Ukrainian forces acted over the weekend with the help of Israeli intelligence.

“From a strategic standpoint, this would make sense,” Golkar said. “Israel has very good intelligence coverage in Iran, while Ukraine has a strong interest in disrupting Iran-Russia military cooperation.”

Zelenskyy, who met with President Donald Trump at the White House on July 28, was expected to present the Ukrainian strikes as an important addition to the U.S. campaign against Iran.

Zelenskyy was also expected to raise Ukraine’s earlier claims that Russia is supplying Iran with satellite imagery and other intelligence, helping Tehran target U.S. targets in the Gulf region, including CIA stations.

According to Coffey, the timing of the strikes was also very likely deliberate: to draw the attention of the Trump administration.

“I do not believe this complicates the situation for the Trump administration. On the contrary, the additional pressure on Iran is likely to be viewed positively,” he said. “Also, I doubt it is a coincidence that these attacks on Iranian shipping occurred just days before Zelenskyy’s meetings at the White House.”

However, Kyiv’s efforts to intertwine these two wars could make things harder for Washington, Grajewski said.

“The Americans, for whatever reason, do not want to show that the Russians are involved in the war against Iran,” she said. “In that sense, yes, this complicates the situation because the Ukrainians are going public and saying there is direct Russian involvement.”

The Trump administration “wants to treat these two wars as separate conflicts,” she said. “The more these two wars become intertwined, the harder it will be to justify some of the policies related to Ukraine and Iran.”

“There are two sides to this coin,” Golkar said.

“On the one hand, disrupting Iran-Russia military cooperation aligns with broader U.S. strategic interests without requiring direct American involvement. On the other hand, this adds a new layer of complexity. Washington now must manage relations with Ukraine, Israel, partners in the Persian Gulf, and Iran, while trying to prevent a wider regional escalation.”/REL

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Ukrainian airstrikes have killed at least five people and injured many others in southern Russia.

In the city of Rostov-on-Don, a major export hub near the Sea of Azov, a couple were killed after a strike hit a residential building, Rostov regional governor Yury Slyusar said in a post on Telegram.

According to him, five other people were injured, two of whom are in critical condition. He added that debris from downed drones caused fires in several areas.

In the city of Belgorod, a drone strike injured 12 people, including two children, and sparked a fire in a residential building.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia regional governor Ivan Fedorov said an airstrike involving guided bombs and drones killed one person and injured two others in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, which has been subjected to heavy bombardment in recent months.

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A Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down another drone that entered the country’s airspace without authorization. This is the third such incident in the past three days.

“The drone was shot down 12 kilometers northeast of Sulina, within national airspace, over territorial waters,” the Defense Ministry said. Following the incident, Bucharest reportedly summoned the Russian ambassador to the Foreign Ministry.

Romanian armed forces first shot down a drone on Friday, around 114 kilometers from Bucharest. A second drone was then shot down yesterday near the Danube Delta, on the border with Ukraine.

President Nikos Dan, citing a preliminary finding from the investigation, said the drone shot down on Friday was a Shahed model, “used by the Russian Federation in its war of aggression against Ukraine.”

“It is unacceptable that the Russian Federation continues to violate Romanian airspace, which is also NATO and European Union airspace,” he said in a post on X.

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The Council of the European Union has approved its 21st package of sanctions against Russia, making it tougher than all previous packages.

The sanctions list includes 218 individuals and entities: 48 individuals and 170 companies and institutions. This is the largest number of sanctions imposed by the EU in the past four years.

In the financial sector, the assets of 94 major Russian banks and financial institutions have been frozen. Transactions with another 33 institutions and several banks in third countries suspected of helping Russia circumvent sanctions have also been banned.

The EU has imposed measures on 14 international platforms and, for the first time, has provided for a complete ban on transactions with foreign providers used to circumvent sanctions.

The Council of the European Union’s sanctions also affect the energy sector, where the price cap on Russian oil has been suspended until July 2027 due to volatility in international markets.

In a statement, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaia Kallas said the sanctions were intended to pressure Russia to end the war.

“Our sanctions are increasing the pressure to force Russia to end its illegal war and stop killing civilians,” Kallas said.

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The operation to remove structures built without permits on land owned by the “Ibër-Lepenc” Public Hydro-Economic Enterprise near Ujman Lake has been accompanied by disinformation from Serbian media.

Although the villa owners had been notified to remove their belongings by July 17, the operation was portrayed as ethnically motivated and as a measure taken “exclusively against Serbs.”

In articles and reports published on Tuesday, “Novosti,” “RT Balkan,” “Sputnik Serbia,” and “RTS” used wording and headlines that created the impression that Kosovo’s institutions were acting against Serbs. These reports omitted the fact that the operation involved enforcing decisions to remove unauthorized structures from public property.

“They Are Driving Out Serbs With Heavy Machinery and Long Pipes: Kurti’s Men Are Demolishing Our People’s Vacation Homes at Gazivoda,” read a headline published by the newspaper “Novosti,” which linked the operation to claims of a campaign against Serbs.

“RTS” took a similar approach, reporting under the headline: “Demolition of Serb-Owned Vacation Homes at Gazivoda Begins, Assisted by the So-Called Kosovo Police.” In another report, the outlet wrote: “Demolition of Vacation Homes on the Shore of Gazivoda Begins, Large Police Forces Present.”

Through such framing, “RTS” attempted to distort the reality of the operation while also stoking panic with the claim that “large police forces” were at the scene.

“Sputnik Serbia” and “RT Balkan” followed the same line, describing the operation as the demolition of “Serbs’ vacation homes” without explaining the legal basis on which it was being carried out.

The facts, however, show that the measures are not limited to the Ujman area and do not depend on the owners’ ethnicity. Media outlets in Kosovo reported throughout the day on the demolition of illegal villas. Some published footage showed people removing belongings from the structures even today, although the deadline set for their removal was July 17.

“Ibër-Lepenc” has clarified that the operation covers structures built on plots owned by the enterprise.

The enterprise’s chief executive, Faruk Mujka, announced that 11 people had been formally ordered to vacate structures erected on “Ibër-Lepenc” property because they were deemed to have been built without permits.

“The decisions are being enforced by the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, with the assistance of the Kosovo Police,” he said.

Mujka had previously emphasized that the process of verifying properties and removing unauthorized structures would not focus solely on the municipality of Zubin Potok. According to him, the measures would extend to all municipalities where “Ibër-Lepenc” infrastructure is located.

Kosovo’s institutions have carried out similar operations in the past to remove illegal structures in other tourist and protected areas. This shows that the measures are not applied solely to properties belonging to members of a particular community.

This is precisely the context that was omitted from Serbian media reports. Through phrases such as “driving out Serbs,” “demolition of Serbs’ homes,” and “Kurti’s men,” the operation was portrayed as an ethnically motivated intervention. At the same time, the reports failed to mention that the authorities based the action on claims of the usurpation of public property and had announced that procedures would be enforced in every area where unauthorized structures are identified.

As a result, the reporting is selective and creates the false narrative that the operation is aimed exclusively at Serbs. The authorities, meanwhile, have stated that they are enforcing the law against structures built on public property, regardless of the owners’ identity./TheGeoPost.

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Large plumes of smoke were seen in the skies over the Moscow region on July 20 after Ukrainian drone strikes hit an oil depot and logistics facilities, injuring 10 people. Kyiv vowed to respond to deadly Russian attacks that killed several people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the July 20 strikes on an oil depot and logistics facilities in the Moscow region, adding that two tankers from Russia’s “shadow fleet” and four cargo ships were also hit as Ukraine launched hundreds of drones overnight.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy and logistics facilities, including a strike on a warehouse belonging to the Wildberries company over the weekend that killed seven people and injured dozens more.

Russia’s largest online retailer said it temporarily suspended services on July 20 as a precautionary measure but resumed operations shortly afterward.

Ukraine has accused Wildberries, often compared to Amazon in Russia, of selling military supplies used by Russia in the war, including dual-use products such as bulletproof vests and surveillance technology.

“We are responding, justly, to every Russian attack against our cities and communities,” Zelensky said in a social media post, confirming the Ukrainian drone strikes on the Moscow region. He added that “our long-range sanctions have delivered results against logistics facilities and an oil depot.”

The strikes came after a Russian missile hit a ship carrying corn near the Ukrainian port of Odesa, killing 10 people.

The Ukrainian Navy said the Golden Leo, sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau and crewed by nationals of India and Syria, caught fire after being hit by three Russian cruise missiles on July 19.

Following overnight search-and-rescue operations, it was reported that nine crew members and a maritime pilot had been killed, while eight of the 17 crew members were rescued.

The head of Ukraine’s drone units, Robert Brovdi, wrote on Telegram that his forces had struck seven Russian vessels in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, as well as seven energy facilities in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Brovdi said that since July 1, Ukrainian operations had struck 183 Russian vessels, 103 energy facilities and 25 air-defense components, reducing ferry capacity in the Kerch Strait by 75 percent.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force said on July 20 that Russia had carried out an overnight attack on Ukraine using two air-launched missiles and 94 attack drones.

Russian forces attacked the city of Pavlorad with upgraded aerial bombs for the first time, the head of the regional administration said on July 20.

In another Russian aerial bomb attack on Zaporizhzhia, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov reported that one person was killed and five others were injured on the morning of July 20. Residential buildings and other structures were damaged in the attack./REL

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A corn carrier was targeted by Russian missiles near the southern port of Odesa, leaving 10 victims. The vessel “Golden Leo”, flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau, was operated by a crew of Indians and Syrians.

On Sunday, three missiles struck the ship and caused a fire, the Ukrainian navy reported via Telegram.

According to the Ukrainian port authority, the search and rescue operation continued throughout the night, but unfortunately nine crew members and one of the marine pilots lost their lives. Eight of the 17 people on board were rescued.

The Black Sea became a hotbed of conflict immediately after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, thanks to a special grain deal aimed at reducing the impact on global prices and enabling both countries to export agricultural products, commercial shipping had largely returned to normal.

Now, Moscow and Kyiv are escalating offensives in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, targeting key sources of revenue for the opposing side.

Ukrainian forces have struck Russian energy infrastructure, including oil tankers, while Russia is intensifying attacks on Ukraine’s deep-water ports and cargo ships.

The governor of the Odesa region announced on Monday that this month, Russian airstrikes have already caused 28 deaths in the area.

Both sides are major grain exporters, and the resurgence of violence on this sea route has raised concerns about supply security.

According to traders and analysts, Ukraine, which in recent seasons accounted for about 6% of global wheat exports and roughly 11% of corn, has lost about a third of its capacity to transport grain via Black Sea ports due to repeated Russian missile and drone attacks.

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In the port of Odesa, on the Black Sea coast, three people lost their lives and three others were injured as a result of a “massive” drone and missile attack, announced regional head Oleh Kiper. According to him, this was the fifth consecutive day that the region has been targeted by Russian attacks.

In the northeastern city of Sumy, three people were killed and 17 others wounded by guided aerial bomb shelling, said acting mayor Artem Kobzar. Two more victims were reported in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, in the center of the country, and Zaporizhzhia, in the south.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army announced that its drones struck 20 Russian ships in the Black Sea overnight, including 17 oil tankers.

On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the attack on Odesa, stating that the target of the operation was port infrastructure, “used for unloading oil, fuel, and lubricants.”

In a Telegram post, Oleh Kiper accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians. He said the casualties were caused after a Russian missile struck a multi-story residential building.

According to him, the attacks also damaged a non-residential building and a gas pipeline.

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AFP journalists reported that explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital a few minutes before the air raid sirens were activated.

The head of Kyiv’s military administration, Timur Tkachenko, announced via Telegram that the capital was under attack.

“The enemy is attacking the capital with missiles,” he wrote, urging residents to immediately seek shelter in safe places.

Meanwhile, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that six people were injured in the attack, while three of them were taken to hospital for medical treatment.

Ukrainian authorities are continuing to assess the damage caused by the attack, while the air raid alert remains active in several regions of the country.

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Sergei Aksyonov, the pro-Russian head of the peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, said that from June 21, fuel stations in Crimea would sell to no one except state agencies.

“Fuel will be supplied exclusively to state agencies responsible for maintaining essential services and ensuring security,” Aksyonov said in a short video shared on Telegram.

He did not give any clear timeline for when fuel sales would resume.

Russian authorities in Crimea have long struggled to secure sufficient supplies for the roughly 2 million residents, including water and food.

Now, against the backdrop of recent developments in the war in Ukraine, the fuel shortage has also come into focus.

In recent months, the Ukrainian military has stepped up drone attacks, hitting trucks transporting fuel to Crimea.

The region is connected to Russia only through the Kerch Bridge and a corridor of about 100 kilometers of occupied Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine has also struck oil refineries, pipelines, and other energy infrastructure in Russia.

These attacks have contributed to fuel shortages not only in Crimea — where the economy depends heavily on Russian tourists — but also in other parts of Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described these attacks as “long-range sanctions” against Russia, which largely finances its war in Ukraine through oil revenues.

In his June 21 briefing, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had struck “the maritime logistics used to transport oil in Russia’s Krasnodar region and an oil depot in temporarily occupied Kerch.”

“In addition, military logistics facilities were successfully hit, as well as four radar stations belonging to air defense systems… Russia understands only force, and our long-range force is clearly working for peace,” he added.

Aksyonov confirmed that the attacks had targeted Kerch in Crimea and said four people were killed and 28 others were wounded in the Ukrainian strike.

He did not specify whether any oil facility in the area had been hit. Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels published footage showing black smoke rising from the area. Radio Free Europe was unable to independently verify those reports. /RFE

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