Victorious news of 861st day of war: Ukraine attacks Russian warship in Baltic, NATO allies to allocate €40 billion to Ukraine

Unmanned boat attack reported in Novorossiysk, home to major Russian naval base

Explosions were heard in Novorossiysk overnight. Authorities reported an attack by unmanned boats on the city, which is home to the bulk of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The Russian opposition Telegram channel ASTRA reports this.

"There were explosions in Novorossiysk. The mayor announced that he had repelled an attack by unmanned boats."

Mayor Andrey Kravchenko urged local residents to avoid open spaces near the sea.

Residents reported powerful explosions on social media, which local Telegram channels also posted.

Ukraine receives $2.2 billion from the IMF 

Ukraine has received $2.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The money will be used, among other things, for social benefits, salaries of doctors and teachers. 

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal announced it.

According to him, this is part of the funds provided by the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program in the amount of $16 billion. 

"To receive them, Ukraine has done important homework and successfully passed the fourth review of the program - for the first time in our bilateral relations with the IMF," Shmyhal wrote. 

He also added that the funds will help the government finance critical budget expenditures, social benefits, and salaries for doctors and teachers. 

Ukraine's July 1 UAV attack cuts off power to Russia's Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant

On July 1, a unique facility of the Russian military-industrial complex, the Oskol Ugarov Electrometallurgical Plant, was severely damaged as a result of a Ukrainian drone attack.

Suspilne's sources reported this.

Sources in the special service noted that the plant stopped working as a result of drone strikes on two major power substations in the Belgorod region: Stary Oskol substation near the village of Neznamovo and Metallurgical substation near the village of Volokonovskoye.

The Metallurgicheskaya substation is one of the largest power substations in Europe, the statement said. As a result of the operation, the Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant (OEMK) was completely de-energized.

"All electric arc furnaces with frozen metal have stopped as a result of the power outage. To restart them, it is necessary to clean them completely and replace the arc elements, which may take several months. Some OEMK employees believe that the furnaces will have to be replaced. Given that OEMK was built by German specialists using German technology, it will probably be difficult to resume the plant's operation without their participation," the sources said.

The newspaper adds that the electrometallurgical plant is of exceptional importance for the Russian military-industrial complex. The facility produced high quality steel, including alloyed special bar quality steel (SBQ) for the automotive and mechanical engineering industries, using the blast furnace-free direct reduction technology MIDREX and electric arc melting.

Attack on Serpukhov missile ship: Freedom of Russia Legion shares details of special operation

The Freedom of Russia Legion has provided details of a special operation at a Russian naval base that resulted in the disabling of the Serpukhov missile ship.

The Freedom of Russia Legion stated this on Telegram.

"Finally, we can share the details of a special operation on the Serpukhov missile ship, which was carried out by patriots of free Russia from the Freedom of Russia Legion and a volunteer with the call sign Goga," the message says.

It is noted that the volunteer got in touch with the legion in 2023, being an active serviceman of the Baltic Fleet with access to state secrets. For a long time, he provided the Legion with important information.

When his stay on the ship and further work in the interests of the resistance forces became threatening, active actions were planned and carried out inside the ship. As a result of the sabotage, it was possible to destroy the ship's premises from the inside and completely destroy the means of communication and automation, the Freedom of Russia Legion says.

NATO allies agree to provide €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine

NATO member states have agreed to provide €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine for the next year.

Reuters reports this with reference to a Western European diplomat.

According to him, the leaders of the North Atlantic Alliance will sign this commitment in Washington next week, when the NATO summit will take place.

The publication adds that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had earlier asked the bloc's states to maintain military aid to Kyiv at the same level as in the years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine - at about €40 billion a year.

Drone production for Ukrainian army starts in Czech Republic

The Czech-Ukrainian company UAC has launched mass production of drones for Ukraine's Armed Forces, including the Bulava attack UAV. E15 reports.

The company plans to produce hundreds of reconnaissance and attack drones, including Leleka-LR and Bulava attack drones.

"In November, we started trial operation, and in April, we started mass production. This is literally a military production, our exclusive customer is the Ukrainian army," said the company's executive director.

The article states that UAC is a branch of the private Ukrainian company DeViRo, which has been producing unmanned aerial vehicles since 2014. The Czech Kolín production facility employs 80 people, most of whom are mostly Ukrainians. At the same time, Czechs make up a fifth of the total workforce.