Ukraine War Latest: EU Wants to Exclude Conscription-Age Ukrainians from Protection Status
Date: 26.06.2026, 09:53
By: Nail Akkoyun
Key Points in This News Ticker
- Massive drone attacks on Moscow in the Ukraine war – 660 drones were shot down.
- Zelenskyy announces secret operation in the Ukraine war – The mission is intended to "force Russia to peace."
- Russia's losses in the Ukraine war increase – Putin's army loses more than 1,000 soldiers in one day.
Moscow/Kyiv – Update, 9:43 a.m.: The EU Commission has proposed excluding Ukrainian men of conscription age from a regulation for automatic entitlement to protection in the EU. To ensure Ukraine's defense capability, "newly arriving persons should generally not be granted temporary protection" if they "were not authorized by the Ukrainian authorities to leave Ukraine," the Commission explained on Friday. In Ukraine, there has been a ban on leaving the country for men of conscription age since the start of the Russian war of aggression.
Ukrainian men will find it harder to evade service in the war against Russia in the future. (Archive image) © Andrii Marienko/AP/dpa
Transparency Note
The information processed here comes from news agencies and international sources, but also from warring parties in the Ukraine war. The information about the Ukraine war cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine War Latest: Kyiv's Army Attacks Chemical Plant in Russia
Update from June 26, 9:32 a.m.: Ukrainian drones apparently also attacked targets in the Russian region of Tula on Friday night, as reported by the Kyiv Independent, citing Russian Telegram channels. In Novomoskovsk, several explosions were reportedly reported in the area of the Azot chemical plant; residents also reported an ammonia-like smell. The governor of the Tula region, Dmitry Milyaev, confirmed the impact of a Ukrainian drone in an unspecified industrial facility. Energy infrastructure was also reportedly hit in the attack. Milyaev spoke of damaged power lines. Additionally, Russian channels reported a fire at the Novomoskovsk power plant site, citing NASA fire data. Social media mentioned power outages in the city. The Ukrainian military initially did not comment.
Massive Drone Attacks on Moscow in the Ukraine War
Russia said it repelled one of the most massive waves of Ukrainian drone attacks since the start of the Ukraine war on Friday night. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of 660 Ukrainian drones were shot down. The unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed over more than a dozen regions, including the Moscow region and the annexed Crimean peninsula, the ministry announced on Friday morning.
Almost daily, Ukraine attacks Russian energy infrastructure and industry. This photo shows an attack on a Moscow oil refinery on June 18. © Sefa Karacan/Imago
The mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, also spoke of massive attacks on Moscow. Within about an hour, at least 28 drones were shot down there, Sobyanin explained on Telegram. "Special emergency services are deployed at the sites where debris has fallen," he wrote about the current situation in the Ukraine war. The Russian authorities initially did not comment on the number of possible casualties or damage.
Ukraine War Latest: Almost Daily New Attacks on Russia's Infrastructure and Industry
In recent months, the Ukrainian army has significantly increased its attacks in the Ukraine war with long-range drones on targets within Russia. Often, energy infrastructure facilities such as refineries, oil depots, and ports were hit. The Ukrainian leadership describes these facilities as legitimate targets to weaken Russia's oil revenues, which are used to finance the Ukraine war. The previous week, a Ukrainian attack caused a large fire at a refinery in southeast Moscow.
Zelenskyy Announces Secret Operation in the Ukraine War
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a new intelligence operation in the Ukraine war. It was approved by him and should last 40 days, Zelenskyy explained after a meeting with the head of the domestic intelligence service SBU, Yevhenii Chmara. The goal of the operation is to "force Russia to peace," Zelenskyy wrote on social networks. He did not provide further details about the mission.
Russia has been waging war against Ukraine for more than four years. Kyiv is not only defending itself at the front but also increasingly carrying the conflict onto Russian territory. President Zelenskyy describes the Ukrainian drone attacks on military and armament facilities as well as on oil and gas infrastructure as so-called "long-range sanctions." Such operations are often the responsibility of several Ukrainian intelligence services.
Russia's Losses in the Ukraine War Increase
Meanwhile, Kyiv has also published new figures on Russia's losses in the Ukraine war. According to the General Staff, Russian armed forces lost about 1,310 soldiers within 24 hours. In total, more than 1.39 million Russian soldiers have been killed or seriously wounded in combat. Additionally, Ukraine says it destroyed 68 artillery systems, two tanks, and almost 1,800 drones in the past 24 hours. Below is an overview of the figures cited by Kyiv for total Russian losses in the Ukraine war.
- Soldiers: 1,398,370 (+1,310 from the previous day)
- Tanks: 12,059 (+2)
- Artillery systems: 44,799 (+68)
- Multiple rocket launchers: 1,896 (+3)
- Air defense systems: 1,447 (+4)
- Drones: 373,660 (+1,778)
The data cannot be independently verified and is based on estimates from the Ukrainian General Staff. (red with agencies)
