WEEKLY INTERNATIONAL NEWS REVIEW – Jul 11th – 17th 2026

NIGERIA

THE ARMY KILLS OVER 300 ALLEGED GANG MEMBERS IN ZAMFARA

On July 10, 2026, Nigeria’s army killed more than 300 “bandits,” who specialize in kidnapping and cattle theft, during a two-day operation in Gummi district, Zamfara State, a state official said. Analysts have noted growing cooperation between these profit-driven bandit groups and jihadist insurgents who have waged a 17-year insurgency in the northeast, most recently through Boko Haram’s rival faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province. At least 34 farmers were killed in two armed-gang attacks last month.

NIGERIAN FORCES RESCUE KIDNAPPED SCHOOLCHILDREN, ADMIT “LOSSES”

On July 11, 2026, Nigeria’s military said its forces suffered unspecified “losses” in a rescue operation that freed more than 40 schoolchildren and staff kidnapped from three schools in southwestern Oyo State in May. President Bola Tinubu blamed Ansaru, a Boko Haram splinter faction, for the raid on schools in the farming communities of Esiele and Yawota, which sparked protests, a month-long teachers’ strike and international condemnation. Among the captives were children as young as two and three. Freed students are being treated for trauma at a military medical center in Ibadan. Defense Minister Christopher Musa said the kidnappers had tried to use the children as leverage against the government, which holds some of their commanders, and had threatened to kill hostages if security forces intervened. More than 40 other children abducted in northeastern Borno State remain in captivity. Mass school abductions have long been a jihadist tactic in northern Nigeria but had been rare in the south until this attack.

ETHIOPIA

10 ETHIOPIAN MIGRANTS FEARED DROWNED CROSSING ZAMBIA-BOTSWANA BORDER RIVER

On July 15, 2026, Zambian authorities said ten Ethiopians are believed to have drowned attempting to cross the Zambezi River from Zambia into Botswana. A boat carrying 15 Ethiopians capsized on the river, police and immigration services said. No bodies had been recovered as search operations continued, and the deaths remained unconfirmed. Ethiopia is a major source of migration through the 5,000-kilometer southern migration corridor, most hoping to reach South Africa.

LEBANON

ISRAEL REAFFIRMS DETERMINATION TO KEEP TROOPS IN LEBANON

On July 16, 2026, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that Israel remains determined to keep its forces deployed in “security zones” in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. US President Donald Trump had reportedly asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw forces from Syria and Lebanon. Katz’s office said Israel intends to remain in the so called “security zones” to protect its borders, adding that Washington had not been asked to operate along Israel’s borders on its behalf. Israeli troops remain deployed roughly 10 kilometers inside southern Lebanon and continue limited strikes in the South, while controlling more than 60 percent of the Gaza Strip and maintaining a presence in a buffer zone on the Syrian Golan Heights established after the fall of Al-Assad in 2024.

SYRIA

SYRIA’S TRANSITIONAL PARLIAMENT HOLDS FIRST SESSION

On July 12, 2026, Syria’s transitional parliament held its first session, with President Ahmad al-Sharaa hailing a “new chapter” for the country as it emerges from civil war. Al-Sharaa urged the new 210-seat parliament’s members to serve as “models of responsibility and competence” in building a culture of dialogue, rule of law and respect for institutions. Over its renewable two-and-a-half-year term, the body must form a commission to draft a new constitution, approve a budget and pass legislation while navigating challenges around independence from the executive. Two-thirds of members were appointed by local committees, a process civil society groups have criticized as concentrating excessive power in Al-Sharaa’s hands and under-representing the country’s ethnic, religious and female population.

SYRIA ARRESTS FORMER CHEMICAL WEAPONS OFFICER

On July 15, 2026, Syria’s interior ministry announced the arrest of a former colonel accused of overseeing the production of sarin gas bombs used against civilians under Bashar al-Assad. Ahmad Habib Ali, described as a chemical weapons specialist and former director of the Scientific Studies and Research Centre, was responsible for sarin storage and chemical production at Unit 417, one of the former regime’s main chemical weapons depots near Damascus, the ministry said. Authorities said he was among officers who oversaw the manufacture of about 20 sarin-filled bombs, each weighing 250 kilograms, used in attacks on Syrian towns and villages in 2013 and 2017, including the August 2013 Ghouta attack that killed 1,429 people, according to rights groups.

SYRIA SEIZES WEAPONS SHIPMENT BOUND FOR HEZBOLLAH

On July 16, 2026, Syria said it had foiled an attempt to smuggle a “huge” shipment of sophisticated weapons, including long-range missiles, to the Lebanese Hezbollah via its border with Iraq. The interior ministry said units searched a suspect tanker truck near the Al-Tanf crossing, seizing long-range missiles, guided anti-tank missiles and drones bound for the coastal city of Baniyas. Hezbollah dismissed the allegations as fabricated, saying they served “American-Zionist interests” in the region. Iraq announced it would form an investigative commission and coordinate with Syria. President Ahmad al-Sharaa has said he refuses to intervene militarily against the armed group, but authorities said they have dismantled Hezbollah-linked cells planning attacks within the country, allegations denied by the armed group.

PALESTINE / ISRAEL

PRESUMED CIVILIANS/NON-COMBATANTS DEAD: At least 13

PRESUMED CIVILIANS/NON-COMBATANTS WOUNDED: Several, unspecified

LOOTING OR DESTRUCTION OF CIVILIAN PROPRIETIES: YES

LOCALITIES: Jabalia, Gaza City, Al-Bureij refugee camp (Gaza); Sinjil, Nablus, Mount Ebal, Ganot prison (West Bank)

PERPETRATORS: Israeli Armed Forces, Israeli settlers

VICTIMS: Palestinian civilians, journalists

POLICE ARRESTS 4 ISRAELI SETTLERS AFTER AN ATTACK AGAINST JOURNALISTS

On July 11, 2026, Israeli police announced the arrest of four suspects accused of damaging a CNN crew’s vehicle near the village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, in an incident the network described as a settler attack on its team. CNN reported that four settlers armed with sticks, metal bars and a knife blocked the crew’s car as it left the area, then smashed the windshield of a second vehicle carrying other journalists. The attack came days after US Congressman Ro Khanna said he and other Americans were briefly held by armed settlers during a West Bank visit, alleging Israeli troops sided with the settlers. The Israeli army denied restricting his movement.

4 KILLED IN ISRAELI DRONE STRIKE, GIRL SHOT IN CENTRAL GAZA

On July 12, 2026, Gaza’s Civil Defense and a local hospital reported that an Israeli drone strike killed four people at a metalworking workshop in southern Gaza City. Al-Shifa Hospital confirmed receiving the four bodies. The Israeli military confirmed carrying out the strike, describing the target only as “terrorist infrastructure.” In a separate incident, a young girl was killed by Israeli machine-gun fire at the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Civil Defense. Her body was taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah.

EU DONORS PLEDGE NEARLY €900 MILLION FOR GAZA, IMPRISONED PALESTINIAN LEADER WOUNDED

On July 13, 2026, the European Commission announced that international donors were ready to commit close to €900 million for Gaza’s reconstruction, but said the funds’ delivery depends on conditions being met on the ground, including Hamas’s disarmament. Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Suica said the money would help clear rubble left by Israel’s offensive and rebuild basic services such as water and sanitation, while Crisis Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said Gaza’s population still lacks the minimum needed to survive and that international NGOs are working under what is described as nearly impossible conditions. The EU remains the Palestinians’ largest aid provider at this date. On the same day, the family of imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti said an Israeli prison guard shot him in the leg with a rubber bullet, an allegation Israel’s prison service denied. His wife Fadwa Barghouti said the shooting, which drew blood and caused a painful wound, was the latest in a pattern of abuse against him while his son said the incident occurred at Ganot prison in Negev and that his father received no medical treatment. A letter from Barghouti’s lawyer said his client complained of being shot. Barghouti, 67, is a senior Fatah figure arrested in 2002 and serving a life sentence over involvement in attacks that killed 5 people. Often seen as a possible successor to President Mahmoud Abbas, he was re-elected to Fatah’s central committee in 2026 with the most votes of any candidate. The Arab League has called for an international inquiry into what it calls repeated assaults against him.

8 KILLED IN ISRAELI STRIKE ON GAZA POLICE STATION, NGOS LAUNCH CAMPAIGN ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN ISRAELI PRISONS

On July 14, 2026, Gaza’s Civil Defense said eight people, including a woman, were killed when an Israeli strike hit a Palestinian police post west of the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza. Al-Shifa Hospital confirmed receiving the eight bodies. Hamas condemned the strike and said the police station’s chief was among those killed. The Israeli military said it had killed four Hamas members in the strike without identifying the other victims.

Meanwhile, Palestinian NGOs launched an international campaign to document and combat sexual violence against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. Campaign coordinator Youssef al-Amayreh, released in January after two years in Israeli detention, said the initiative had already gathered dozens of testimonies from former detainees alleging sexual abuse, though he said many victims remain too afraid to come forward for health, safety or social reasons. Al-Amayreh said he was himself a victim but gave no further detail. Israeli, Palestinian and international NGOs have repeatedly raised concerns about torture and degrading detention conditions, especially since the Gaza war began. A May UN report by the special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, documented 52 cases of torture or mistreatment and 33 cases of sexual torture or abuse, and urged Israel to review its detention policy. Journalist Sami al-Sai said he was gang-raped during detention between February 2024 and June 2025. Israel suspended ICRC visits to Palestinian detainees after October 7, 2023, although its Supreme Court overturned the ban in June, visits have not resumed.

PARLIAMENT SUSPENDS ARRESTS OF ULTRA-ORTHODOX MILITARY DRAFT EVADERS

On July 14, 2026, Israel’s Knesset passed, by 58 votes to 54, a law suspending the arrest of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who refuse compulsory military service, a move criticized by the opposition as the army faces personnel shortages. The vote came days before the Knesset’s dissolution ahead of October 27 elections. Ultra-Orthodox leaders have long opposed conscription, arguing it would divert young men from religious study.

ISRAELI NGO CONDEMNS €2.3 BILLION WEST BANK SETTLEMENT HOUSING PLAN

On July 15, 2026, Israeli anti-settlement NGO Peace Now condemned a government plan allocating roughly €2.3 billion to build thousands of new homes in West Bank settlements. Earlier in the week, Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed a framework agreement for new investment in settlements in the northern West Bank, which Smotrich called a major step in the “settlement revolution.” The deal foresees roughly 12,000 new housing units alongside investment exceeding eight billion shekels in infrastructure and public institutions. Peace Now accused the government of squandering public funds to entrench the occupation, warning the move would complicate any future Israeli withdrawal or Palestinian statehood, and that such framework agreements let large-scale settlement projects proceed in ways a future government could not easily reverse. Since taking office in 2022, the Netanyahu government has approved 102 new settlements in the West Bank.

ISRAELI SETTLERS MOVE INTO NEW OUTPOST

On July 16, 2026, Israeli families began moving into a new settlement on Mount Ebal overlooking Nablus in the northern West Bank, a regional settler council announced, amid a broader expansion of settlement activity. The Samaria Regional Council said families were relocating personal belongings into mobile homes at the new “Ebal” settlement, which officials said is intended to eventually house about 600 families. Nablus governor Ghassan Daghlass said residents used to visit Mount Ebal to walk and get fresh air, but that settlements and attacks were now encircling the city and cutting off that access, noting a military base and part of another settlement already sit on the neighboring Mount Gerizim. Council chairman Yossi Dagan called the outpost a step toward strengthening Israeli presence across the northern West Bank. More than 500,000 Israelis now live in West Bank settlements alongside about 3 million Palestinians.

ELDERS GROUP WARNS OF PALESTINE’S “DISAPPEARANCE,” MEETS ISRAELI PRESIDENT

On July 17, 2026, two representatives of the Elders, a group of international figures founded by Nelson Mandela, warned that Israel’s government is seeking to make Palestine “disappear physically, economically, culturally and politically,” and called for an end to Israeli “impunity.” Former Irish president Mary Robinson and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark visited Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Lebanon. Clark said the key message from civil society in the West Bank was a demand for accountability and an end to impunity. Robinson said she was ashamed the EU had not taken a firmer stance and urged Brussels to suspend the trade component of its association agreement with Israel and ban trade with settlements. Both said conditions in the occupied West Bank had markedly worsened since a previous mission in 2023, with Robinson describing settler violence as “systemic.” The pair met Israeli President Isaac Herzog, reporting disagreement “on a number of points”. Israel’s presidency described the meeting as a “respectful exchange” while rejecting what it called partisan criticism.

IRAN / GULF / ISRAEL / US

PRESUMED CIVILIANS/NON-COMBATANTS DEAD: At least 31

PRESUMED CIVILIANS/NON-COMBATANTS WOUNDED: “Dozens”

LOOTING OR DESTRUCTION OF CIVILIAN PROPRIETIES: YES

LOCALITIES: Strait of Hormuz, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm island, Bushehr province, Ahvaz, Farur island (Iran); Ali al-Salem base (Kuwait); Sheikh Isa base, Manama (Bahrain); Al-Udeid base, Doha (Qatar); Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan)

PERPETRATORS: US Military, Iranian Military

VICTIMS: Iranian civilians and military personnels, Gulf civilians and military personnel, commercial vessel crews

US STRIKES ABOUT 140 TARGETS, HORMUZ CLOSED AGAIN

On July 12, 2026, the US Central Command said American forces struck roughly 140 targets in Iran in retaliation for an Iranian attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Centcom said the targets included Iranian missile and drone sites, naval assets, munitions depots, communications networks and coastal surveillance posts. Iranian media reported 1 death and 2 injuries in a strike on Farur island, while Kuwait said an offshore oil platform and three border posts were hit, wounding 1 person. Explosions in the south of Iran were also reported, with one soldier killed, and in Khuzestan province bordering Iraq. The Revolutionary Guards separately claimed a rare strike on Oman, saying they destroyed logistical support bases for US aircraft carriers. Pakistan’s foreign minister and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres both urged restraint and an urgent return to negotiations.

10 INDIAN CREW MEMBERS RESCUED AFTER TANKER ATTACK, 1 MISSING

On July 12, 2026, India’s foreign ministry said ten of eleven Indian nationals aboard a ship attacked in the Strait of Hormuz had been rescued, with one still missing, as rescue operations continued. US Central Command blamed Iran for striking the Cyprus-flagged container ship GFS Galaxy. British maritime security agency UKMTO said the attack occurred near Oman’s Musandam peninsula and caused a fire that forced the crew to evacuate by lifeboat. It came hours after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed following the resumption of hostilities with the US.

IRANIAN NEWSPAPER PUBLISHES “REVENGE LIST”

On July 12, 2026, Tehran’s newspaper Hamshahri published a list of figures it said must “pay” for the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, including US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron. Iran has accused European states of failing to condemn strikes on its territory and of allowing US military overflights. The new supreme leader, Khamenei’s son Mojtaba Khamenei, had said in a statement that “revenge” for his father’s killing in the February 28 US-Israeli strike was “inevitable,” warning that those on the list would have violent deaths.

HOUTHI-SAUDI TENSIONS REIGNITE AFTER AIRPORT ATTACKS

On July 13, 2026, Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport after accusing Riyadh of attacking Sanaa airport, reviving the Yemen conflict after years of relative calm and threatening the UN-brokered 2022 truce. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government said it struck Sanaa’s runway to prevent an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation, returning from Khamenei’s funeral in Tehran, from landing. The Houthis blamed Riyadh instead and vowed retaliation, later striking Abha with missiles and drones. The plane ultimately landed in Houthi-held Hodeida. Iran called the strike a violation of Yemeni sovereignty. A Houthi military spokesman warned airlines against overflying Saudi airspace as the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted the ballistic missiles. Earlier the same day, the government had accused Houthi rebels of blocking an ICRC plane and briefly detaining its pilots, though the ICRC said all its personnel were safe.

IRANIAN MISSILES KILL 1, CHINA ACCUSES US OF PLUNGING MIDDLE EAST INTO THE ABYSS

On July 14, 2026, the UAE said Iranian cruise missiles struck two of its national oil tankers, the Mombasa and al-Bahiyah, in the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz within Omani territorial waters, killing 1 Indian crew member and wounding 8 others. The defense ministry said 6 of the wounded were Indian and 2 Ukrainian, and that onboard fires were brought under control. The United States launched new strikes on Iran even as President Trump abandoned a plan to tax ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran reported strikes on Bandar Abbas, Qeshm island, the Bushehr nuclear plant area and oil regions near Iraq and Kuwait. Revolutionary Guards again struck US installations in Bahrain and Kuwait, wounding 4 Kuwaiti soldiers. Meanwhile, China’s deputy UN ambassador Sun Lei accused the United States of plunging the Middle East “into the abyss” by launching its war against Iran, telling the Security Council that Washington had an “undeniable responsibility” for the situation in Yemen and the Red Sea. Sun said Washington should “reflect on its own actions” rather than seek to blame other countries.

BAHRAIN JAILS 3 FOR LIFE OVER COLLABORATION WITH IRAN & RISK OF SAUDI-HOUTHI WAR

On July 14, 2026, Bahraini courts sentenced three people to life in prison, one in absentia, for collaborating with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to help carry out “hostile and terrorist acts” against the kingdom, prosecutors said. The rulings were issued in two separate cases. Arrests and convictions of people accused of aiding or expressing support for Iran have multiplied in Bahrain since the war began, and activists say the crackdown has disproportionately targeted the kingdom’s Shiite community. Meanwhile, analysts said Yemen’s conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi rebels risks reigniting after the rebels’ first major attack on Saudi infrastructure since 2022, fueled by the wider US-Iran conflict. Researcher Farea al-Muslimi called the strikes on Abha airport a “major development” that effectively ends the truce in place since April 2022, which had paused a war that killed tens of thousands and caused mass famine without dislodging the Houthis from power. A Gulf source said Saudi Arabia stood ready to retaliate, calling civilian infrastructure “a red line”.

ISRAELI SOLDIER JAILED 5 YEARS FOR SPYING, IRAN HANGS MAN CONVICTED OVER ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS

On July 15, 2026, the Israeli military said a soldier was sentenced to five years in prison for sending an Iranian agent videos of missile interceptions in June 2025, receiving payment in exchange. The soldier, whose identity was withheld, also shared footage filmed in civilian areas, including an intercepted-missile-impact video found online. He was recruited via Telegram with offers to “earn money doing photography tasks” and was arrested by the Shin Bet after telling a fellow unit member he had been in contact with a foreigner. On the same day, Iran executed a man convicted over his role in anti-government protests last winter, as executions accelerate amid the war with the United States. Judiciary media said Mohammad Amini Dehaghani was hanged after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction for throwing and igniting a Molotov cocktail and damaging a police station on January 9.

US-IRAN STRIKES CONTINUE DESPITE PAKISTANI CALLS FOR DIALOGUE, BAHRAIN & KUWAIT SAY THEY REPELLED IRANIAN ATTACKS

On July 16, 2026, more than a week into renewed hostilities around the Strait of Hormuz, US and Iranian strikes showed no sign of slowing despite mediator Pakistan’s calls to resume dialogue. New US bombing raids hit Iran over the previous 24 hours, including Qeshm island in the strait; Iran continued striking US-allied Gulf states in a near-daily pattern, while both sides traded threats over potential attacks on oil and gas infrastructure, so far spared. A hospital in Ahvaz was evacuated after nearby US strikes authorities called a “barbaric attack,” and explosions were reported in Bandar Abbas, Chabahar and Qeshm. Iranian authorities reported more than 30 civilian and 7 military deaths since fighting resumed. Bahrain and Kuwait said they intercepted fresh Iranian attacks overnight, after renewed US strikes on Iran. Bahrain’s military said it “intercepted and destroyed multiple aerial attacks,” accusing Tehran of a “systematic hostile policy” targeting civilians, as air raid sirens and explosions were heard in Manama. Kuwait said Sunday that three border posts and an offshore oil platform had been struck.

A CHILD WOUNDED IN QATAR, IRAQI KURDISTAN, KUWAIT & JORDAN TARGETED

On July 17, 2026, Qatar said its military intercepted a missile attack targeting the country overnight, wounding a child hit by falling debris. Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani denounced “unjustified attacks” on the autonomous region and urged Tehran to stop, after air defenses reported downing drones over Erbil for the second time in a week. An Iranian Kurdish rebel group said 9 of its fighters were killed in northern Iraq in strikes it blamed on Iran. Kuwait’s military reported wounded personnel after drone strikes on several installations and camps as Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander Majid Mousavi vowed strikes would continue “until calm returns” in southern Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Iran added it struck the US Al-Udeid air base in Qatar and targeted American aircraft in Jordan. A Syrian military source denied Iranian claims of a strike on the Al-Tanf base, while Kuwait said an Iranian strike hit a power and water-desalination plant, sparking a fire. Iranian state media said 8 people were killed and 20 wounded in the latest US strikes, in several provinces, and that six bridges were targeted in Hormozgan.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN

PRESUMED CIVILIANS/NON-COMBATANTS DEAD: At least 7

LOOTING OR DESTRUCTION OF CIVILIAN PROPRIETIES: Unspecified

LOCALITIES: Poonch district, Muzaffarabad

PERPETRATORS: Pakistani security forces

VICTIMS: Civilians

9 KILLED IN PAKISTANI KASHMIR CLASHES BETWEEN SECURITY FORCES AND PROTESTERS

On July 15, 2026, a local official said 7 civilians, a paramilitary member and a police officer were killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in clashes between security forces and supporters of a reform movement Islamabad has designated a terrorist organization. Poonch district’s top civil official Sardar Waheed confirmed the toll from Tuesday’s violence. Pakistan’s regional government banned the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in June, closing its offices and arresting hundreds of members. the move triggered clashes that killed 22 people in June, 18 civilians and four security personnel, according to official figures. JAAC supporters have vowed to march on the regional capital Muzaffarabad. Waheed said authorities would stop any march. The group denies being a terrorist organization, saying it seeks greater political and economic rights, including reversing a rule reserving 12 seats in the local parliament for exiled representatives from Indian-administered Kashmir. Sit-ins have continued across Pakistani Kashmir since June, with businesses shut and public transport suspended in Poonch in protest.

UN CALLS FOR “IMPARTIAL” PROBES INTO DEATHS IN KASHMIR

On July 17, 2026, the UN human rights office called for “prompt, thorough and impartial investigations” into dozens of deaths linked to unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir ahead of July 27 regional elections. The human rights office criticized recent arrests of JAAC leaders, warning that “criminalization of a civil society organization” and severe restrictions on assembly raised serious concerns for freedom of expression and association, and called for detained leaders to have access to legal counsel and family contact. It also flagged internet restrictions in the region as disproportionately curbing free expression “at a time when tensions are running very high,” urging authorities to guarantee full internet access and pursue “political dialogue.”

EASTERN EUROPE

PRESUMED CIVILIANS/NON-COMBATANTS DEAD: At least 40

PRESUMED CIVILIANS/NON-COMBATANTS WOUNDED: Over 50

LOOTING OR DESTRUCTION OF CIVILIAN PROPRIETIES: YES

LOCALITIES: Kyiv, Sumy, Odesa, Sloviansk, Dnipropetrovsk region, Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia region, Kharkiv, Moscow region, Belgorod region, Bryansk region, Yaroslavl region, Samara region

PERPETRATORS: Russian Armed Forces, Ukrainian Armed Forces

VICTIMS: Ukrainian and Russian civilians

RUSSIAN STRIKES KILL 8 ACROSS UKRAINE, ZELENSKY URGES FASTER AIR DEFENSE DELIVERIES

On July 11, 2026, a barrage of Russian missiles, drones and bombs killed eight people across Ukraine, from Kyiv to Sumy and Odesa, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to urge Western allies to speed up deliveries of air defense equipment. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said twelve people, including two children, were wounded in the capital after two waves of explosions damaged homes, cars and warehouses in three districts. In Sumy, a bomb killed five people, including a young girl. In Odesa, a missile killed two truck drivers and struck a Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged ship without casualties. One person was killed in a bombardment in Sloviansk. Zelensky said Russia fired more than 120 drones and 12 missiles, damaging apartment buildings, offices and a theological school in Kyiv. A defense ministry adviser said the use of S-400 missiles are harder to detect by radar.

RECIPROCAL STRIKES KILL 4 IN UKRAINE, 5 IN RUSSIA AND OCCUPIED TERRITORY

On July 12, 2026, Russian drone and artillery strikes killed four people in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, including two in an attack on an industrial facility in Kryvyi Rih, and one man in Kherson killed by an explosive dropped from a drone. Ukrainian strikes on Russia and Russian-occupied territory killed five people the same day: four in Energodar, in the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region, and one in a medium-range drone strike on Russia’s Samara region, according to Russian authorities. The exchange came the day before Kyiv’s allies were due to meet in Paris.

DRONE AND ARTILLERY ATTACKS KILL 4 IN RUSSIA, 6 IN UKRAINE

On July 13, 2026, drone and artillery attacks killed four people in Russia, including three in the Moscow region, and six in Ukraine, including three sailors on a cargo ship. In Russia’s Moscow region, three people were killed and three wounded when a drone came down in Pionerskoye, near Istra, governor Andrei Vorobyov said, while two more were wounded in a drone strike on a residential building in Solnechnogorsk. in Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, a woman was killed and two men wounded in separate drone-dropped explosive attacks. In Ukraine, three sailors were killed and five wounded in a strike on a Togo-flagged cargo ship unloading mineral fertilizer, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said, without specifying the location. Two people were killed and eleven wounded in a drone strike that destroyed a building in Zaporizhzhia, while one man died in artillery shelling in Novovorontsovka, Kherson region.

MSF ACCUSES RUSSIA TO DESTROY UKRAINE’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, 37-NATION COALITION PLEDGES FASTER SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

On July 13, 2026, Médecins Sans Frontières accused Russia of pursuing a “deliberate strategy” to destroy Ukraine’s healthcare system, saying it had documented more than 20 attacks between April 2022 and December 2025 on medical facilities where it operates. The WHO has recorded 2,811 attacks on healthcare services since February 2022, while Ukraine’s health ministry says Russian forces have damaged or destroyed more than 2,500 medical facilities, 327 of them completely, over the same period. MSF Ukraine coordinator Robin Meldrum said repeated hospital strikes, precision drone attacks on ambulances and killings of health workers delivering clearly marked supplies point to a recurring pattern rather than coincidence.

RUSSIAN OPPOSITION FIGURE BORIS NADEZHDIN ARRESTED

On July 13, 2026, Russian opposition figure Boris Nadezhdin, who had attempted to run in the 2024 presidential election and was preparing to campaign for September’s parliamentary elections, announced his arrest in Moscow. Nadezhdin said police came to his home and took him to court, accused of “displaying extremist symbols” over a 2023 video featuring a photo of the opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison in February 2024. His lawyer said a guilty finding would bar him from the September 20 elections. The administrative charge carries a possible 15-day detention. Nadezhdin, 63, a former liberal lawmaker among the few Russians to publicly criticize Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine offensive without being jailed or exiled, had been designated a “foreign agent”. He had been gathering signatures to run for the State Duma and said the designation would not deter him. In a recent YouTube video he directly criticized Putin, citing a fuel crisis caused by Ukrainian drone strikes and inflation, and said Putin’s 25-year rule had led Russia toward militarization, isolationism and authoritarianism, warning of an outcome resembling 1917. Meanwhile, 37 countries in the “Coalition of the Willing,” convened in Paris by President Emmanuel Macron, pledged to support Ukraine “faster” pressure Russia toward negotiations, promising more air-defense resources, 16 French Rafale jets and forthcoming exercises for a force intended to deploy in Ukraine after any ceasefire. Nine European countries launched a “purely defensive” coalition with Ukraine to develop shared anti-ballistic missile capability, backing the Ukrainian-led Freya project as a cheaper alternative to the US Patriot or the Franco-Italian Aster missile.

UKRAINIAN EX-COMMANDER BRIGADE DENIES ROLE IN DOUBLE MURDER

On July 14, 2026, the former commander of Ukraine’s “Anne of Kyiv” brigade denied guilt in a double-murder case and was ordered into 60 days’ pretrial detention by a court in Rokytne, Kyiv region. Stanislav Luchanov, who had abandoned his post as head of the 155th Mechanized Brigade, is suspected of orchestrating, with several unit members, the abduction of two brothers in Kyiv region and their killing in neighboring Poltava region. President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a “horrible tragedy” and said all involved would be held fully accountable. Nine other soldiers were arrested in the case. Ukrainian media reported prosecutors believe the commander involved nine subordinates in the kidnapping on the night of June 26–27 and the killing on July 1 for personal motives. Police said the crime may have stemmed from a soldier’s desire for revenge after the brothers insulted his wife in a dispute over noise. Interior Minister Igor Klymenko called it an inadmissible way of settling disputes. The 4,500-men strong brigade, roughly half trained in France, faced controversies over equipment shortages, desertions and corruption allegations.

RUSSIAN STRIKES KILL 6 IN ODESA, SUMY AND THE BLACK SEA

On July 14, 2026, Russian attacks on a civilian ship in an Odesa region port and on two vessels sailing in the Black Sea killed at least three people, Ukrainian authorities said. A Marshall Islands-flagged ship was hit by a drone in Odesa, sparking a fire that killed two people, regional military chief Oleg Kiper said; separately, Russian strikes hit a Tanzania-flagged and a Liberia-flagged commercial vessel in the Black Sea, killing the captain of one and wounding three of eleven evacuated crew. Kiper did not disclose the nationalities of the victims but said both Black Sea vessels were sailing along designated corridors for Ukrainian grain exports, calling each such strike “a war crime.”  On the same day, Russian strikes killed 3 more people in Sumy, northern Ukraine, and wounded 17, including a 16-year-old, regional governor Oleg Grygorov said.

BOLIVIA INVESTIGATES FRAUDULENT RECRUITMENT TO FIGHT FOR RUSSIA

On July 15, 2026, Bolivia’s prosecutor’s office said it was investigating possible recruitment of Bolivian men to fight for Russia in Ukraine through fake job offers, after social media videos showed Bolivians in Russian army uniform in the conflict zone. Attorney General Roger Mariaca said the specialized human trafficking prosecutor’s office was already investigating and had made international cooperation requests. Investigators are focused on the case of José María Soleto, 29, who appeared in a video describing life in the war zone alongside a cousin and two others reportedly from Peru and Colombia, two countries also investigating possible fraudulent recruitment of their citizens. Soleto, previously a street vendor of empanadas in Bolivia, reportedly left the country on the promise of earning $16,000. His wife said that he died.

RUSSIAN STRIKE KILLS 2 IN KYIV, 3 DEAD IN RUSSIA FROM UKRAINIAN ATTACKS

On July 16, 2026, a Russian air attack killed two people in eastern Kyiv, Ukrainian emergency services said, hours after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the capital to reinforce EU-Ukraine defense cooperation. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said missile debris fell on non-residential buildings in the Darnytskyi district, where the two deaths occurred, while emergency services reported five people wounded, including a minor, across the capital’s districts and an additional strike on a warehouse in the western Sviatoshynskyi district. Kharkiv, in the northeast, was also targeted overnight by Russian attack drones that hit three districts, mayor Igor Terekhov said. Meanwhile, Russian regional authorities reported three people killed by Ukrainian drone strikes: a 15-year-old girl and her grandmother in a rocket-launcher attack in Bryansk region and a man in a drone attack in Yaroslavl region, 300 kilometers northeast of Moscow.

KYIV DENIES ASSASSINATING ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLEAR PLANT’S CHIEF ENGINEER

On July 16, 2026, Ukraine’s foreign ministry denied Russian accusations that Ukrainian forces killed the chief engineer of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, a day after Moscow said its forces had killed the official in a drone strike. The ministry rejected what it called Russia’s “unfounded accusations,” saying Moscow had presented “no independent confirmation” or “evidence of Ukrainian involvement.”

DISMISSED DEFENSE MINISTER FEDOROV CLASHES WITH ARMY CHIEF, PROTESTS IN THE COUNTRY

Dismissed Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov leveled criticism at armed forces commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky, forcing President Volodymyr Zelensky to call for unity amid signs of a rift atop the military hierarchy. Fedorov, 35, seen as a reformer who pushed drone technology to offset shortages of soldiers, money and munitions, confirmed his conflict with Syrsky, army chief since 2024 and accused by critics of an outdated approach to the military and insufficient regard for soldiers’ lives, was behind his exit. Fedorov accused Syrsky of blocking his initiatives and dividing the country rather than seeking asymmetric ways to defeat Russia, while crediting himself with helping “save” Ukraine during the 2022 invasion. More than a thousand protesters gathered in central Kyiv waving Ukrainian and European flags chanting “Shame!” and “Bring back Fedorov!,” with solidarity rallies also reported in Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Lviv. Fedorov’s departure has already led to the exits of a defense ministry adviser and the Ukrainian air force’s deputy commander.

BLOGGER ARRESTED IN RUSSIA OVER “FALSE INFORMATION” ABOUT THE ARMY

On July 17, 2026, Russian state news agencies reported the arrest of blogger Ilia Remeslo, long known for pro-Kremlin views but who recently turned unexpectedly critical of Vladimir Putin and war, on charges of spreading “false information” about the Russian military. Remeslo was arrested in Saint Petersburg and was to be transferred to Moscow, where a “preventive measure,” such as pretrial detention or house arrest, would be decided, his lawyer Sergei Badamchin told. The charge, which carries up to 10 years in prison, follows social media posts in which Remeslo wrote that “Putin will be led away in handcuffs this autumn” and that “the situation is deteriorating rapidly for Putin.” Remeslo, previously known for testifying against the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, had in March published “five reasons” on Telegram for abandoning his support for Putin, calling him an illegitimate president who should resign and face trial as a war criminal and thief, and describing the Ukraine offensive as a dead end that had caused “1-2 million casualties” driven only by “Putin’s complexes.” Days later he was hospitalized at Saint Petersburg’s Psychiatric Hospital No. 3, a facility once used to intern dissidents in the Soviet era, before being released in April.

MYANMAR

OVER 500 ROHINGYA REFUGEES FEARED DEAD IN 2 BOAT SINKINGS OFF MYANMAR

On July 16, 2026, the UNHCR and the IOM said more than 500 Rohingya refugees may have died in two recent shipwrecks off Myanmar’s coast. Both boats left Rakhine State, bordering Bangladesh, in late June carrying mostly Rohingya passengers, some from makeshift camps around Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, home to more than a million members of the Muslim minority who fled Myanmar’s civil war. One boat, believed to be carrying around 250 people, lost all contact shortly after departure and the second, believed to have around 280 people aboard, is reported to have sunk off Ayeyarwady region on July 8. UNHCR says nearly 900 Rohingya refugees died or went missing in the northern Indian Ocean in 2025 among more than 6,500 who attempted the dangerous crossing toward Malaysia or Indonesia. Since January, 300 more people, including Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals, have gone missing or are presumed dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.

INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE AND RELATIONS

POLAND TO BUILD MEMORIAL WALL FOR VICTIMS OF WARTIME GENOCIDE BLAMED ON UKRAINIAN NATIONALISTS

On July 11, 2026, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a memorial wall would be built in Warsaw honoring victims of what Poland calls a “genocide” committed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II, amid an ongoing historical dispute straining relations between Warsaw and Kyiv. The announcement came ahead of the anniversary of the 1943 “Bloody Sunday,” when Ukrainian Insurgent Army and Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists units killed thousands of Poles in Volhynia. Between 70,000 and 100,000 Polish civilians died in the 1943-45 massacres, with Ukrainian reprisal killings claiming up to 12,000 lives. Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, laid a wreath honoring “all victims” of the war, Polish and Ukrainian alike, calling for reconciliation as essential to confronting “the Russian threat.”

EU DIVIDED OVER POSSIBLE BAN ON WEST BANK SETTLEMENT IMPORTS

On July 13, 2026, EU foreign ministers were set to discuss a possible ban on imports from Israeli West Bank settlements, which EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called an “intolerable” situation, though member States remain divided on what action to take. The European Commission has floated several options, including a settlement trade ban, but Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, who along with countries including Ireland favors stronger measures against Israel, said the options were not a genuine push forward. Diplomats said Monday’s talks were unlikely to yield concrete decisions but would gauge whether sufficient support exists to proceed. Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain have already imposed their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements.

ICC PROSECUTORS RECOMMEND DROPPING CHARGES AGAINST DARFUR REBEL LEADER

On July 14, 2026, International Criminal Court prosecutors recommended judges drop war crimes charges against Darfur rebel leader Abdallah Banda over a 2007 attack that killed 12 African Union peacekeepers, citing the “significant degradation” of evidence over time. Banda had faced three counts related to the assault on the Haskanita base in North Darfur. Prosecutors said unavailable or uncooperative witnesses, credibility problems with others, and newly obtained exculpatory evidence had undermined the case, adding there were no longer substantial grounds to believe he was responsible. Banda, born in 1963, first appeared before the ICC in 2010.

EU CALLS US THREATS AGAINST ICC “UNACCEPTABLE” AFTER US OFFENSIVE

On July 14, 2026, the European Commission called threats against the International Criminal Court “unacceptable” after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched a major campaign against the court, accusing it of waging war against the United States “not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, treaties” and international law. Rubio warned in a video message that inaction would leave Americans “at the mercy of foreign judges” thousands of miles away. Commission spokesman Anouar El-Anouni said the EU remained “firmly committed to international criminal justice,” calling attacks or threats against ICC judges, their families or those cooperating with the court “unacceptable.” Relations between the Trump administration and the Hague-based court, established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, have been hostile, with several judges including the chief prosecutor already sanctioned, largely in response to ICC investigations of Israel.

RUSSIA-LINKED DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN TARGETS GERMAN ELECTIONS, IN FAVOUR OF THE FAR RIGHT

On July 15, 2026, suspicious social media posts impersonating trusted outlets, including AFP, ARD and Deutsche Welle, have surfaced ahead of September 6 and 20 regional elections in eastern Germany, where the pro-Russian, anti-migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) leads polls in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Security-focused lawmakers say Moscow is the leading suspect, using the AfD as a vehicle in a “hybrid war” to destabilize Germany. Anti-Kremlin monitoring group Antibot4Navalny identified a June campaign spreading claims of an East-West German split under the guise of known media brands, followed by a July campaign falsely accusing politicians of corruption or sexual offenses while sparing the AfD. The group links both to “Matryoshka,” a Russian state-linked influence operation tracked since 2023 by France’s foreign disinformation watchdog Viginum. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency (BfV) said it was aware of the campaign and had noted similarities to Matryoshka but had not launched a public response. Russia’s embassy in Berlin dismissed the accusations as “absurd.” AfD figures in Saxony-Anhalt rejected the allegations, arguing Germany should pursue cheaper Russian energy and reduce spending on Ukraine and migrants.

KOSOVO JUSTICE MINISTER FILES COMPLAINT OVER SERBIAN MINISTER’S “ETHNIC CLEANSING” COMMENTS

On July 16, 2026, Kosovo’s Justice Minister Donika Gërvalla announced she had filed a legal complaint against a Serbian minister who stated she would have carried out “ethnic cleansing” in Kosovo if she had been in power during the 1990s conflict. The remarks were made by Snezana Paunovic, Serbia’s Minister of Public Service, who told a pro-government TV channel: “If I had been Slobodan Milosevic, I would have carried out ethnic cleansing in Kosovo in 1998”. Gërvalla argued that these were not merely “political rhetoric” but statements with “grave historical, legal, and human consequences”. The incident has significantly escalated tensions between Pristina and Belgrade.