Ukraine…Russia Day 1,619…Trump hesitates on Ukraine making Patriots Missiles…

• Donald ⁠Trump has cast doubt on allowing Ukraine to build Patriot missiles, saying in an interview he was “not sure” about the move. The US president told the Financial Times: “It’s a ​very extraordinary weapon, and we have to be ⁠a little bit careful ​of who ​we licence ​to.” Earlier this week, Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Trump at the White House where the Ukrainian president said he had discussed licensing arrangements to let Ukraine manufacture its own interceptors for Patriot missile systems. Officials from Patriot maker Raytheon Co have ​already been to Ukraine, and Lockheed Martin Corp, which ‌builds the PAC-3 interceptors for the air ‌defence system, was also working to send over a team of experts, Ukraine’s envoy to Washington, Olha Stefanishyna, said on Thursday. ⁠The FT also reported that Trump envoys Jared ‌Kushner and Steve Witkoff would visit Ukraine for the first time in the ‌coming days.

• Donald Tusk has visited the scene of an explosion caused by a Russian missile 50 miles from Poland’s border with Ukraine. The Polish prime minister said: “From the analysis of most of the traces, the recovered fragments point to a Russian KH-101 missile”, but added that there was no reason to think that Poland had been the target. Tusk said the Polish military had been prepared to shoot it down if it threatened a built-up area. The missile explosion triggered Nato air defences, in the midst of a massive air raid that killed 13 people in Ukraine. Nato’s supreme ⁠allied commander for Europe, Gen Alexus Grynkewich, said: “​Nato ​will continue ​to take all necessary ​measures ‌to defend Nato ​territory.”

• A drone factory in Kyiv destroyed by a Russian ballistic missile was owned by a US corporation, in what appears to be the first time Moscow has targeted a US company in the conflict. Friday’s strike hit Terminal Autonomy, a US corporation registered in Delaware that makes precision “deep-strike” drones with guidance systems that are resistant to Russian jamming signals, according to a person familiar with the company. Terminal Autonomy did not reply to an emailed request for comment. The Ukrainian defence ministry also did not respond to an email.

• France’s interior minister has defended an expulsion order against pro-Kremlin Russian commentator Xenia Fedorova, saying it was “not an infringement on freedom of expression”. Minister Laurent Nunez told broadcaster BFMTV that Fedorova, a former head of the Kremlin-funded RT news network, “simply and purely relays Russian propaganda”. “We are dealing with a very serious matter, namely an attack on the fundamental interests of the nation,” he said. However, views similar to hers would continue to be given a platform in France, Nunez added. “I have no doubt whatsoever that the people who espouse theories like those promoted by this individual will continue to disseminate them,” he said, referring to some French politicians. France ordered Fedorova to leave the country after accusations she was relaying Kremlin propaganda on French television. Fedorova’s lawyer has said his client will file an appeal….

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ISW…Russian Occupation Update, July 30, 2026

1. Russian officials and media have weaponized the experience of a 10-year-old girl from occupied Ukraine to propagate narratives about Russia’s alleged humanitarianism, highlighting how Russia uses children for informational purposes as a tool of occupation.
2. 150 youth activists from the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Young Guard of United Russia participated in a military-patriotic forum in Tver Oblast.
3. The Kremlin-controlled Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) continues efforts to proliferate Cossack education programs in occupied Ukraine.
4. Ukrainian sources are warning that Russian occupation authorities are preparing to escalate forced mobilization measures in occupied areas.
5. The Mariupol occupation administration continues advancing its policy of property appropriation, housing redistribution, and demographic management.
6. Russian occupation officials continue to arrest, charge, and sentence residents of occupied Ukraine for alleged pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian activities.
7. Ukrainian drone strikes appear to be inhibiting Russia’s attempts to forcibly integrate the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) into the Russian power grid.