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Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,224

Here is how things stand on Wednesday, July 2:

Fighting

  • A Ukrainian drone attack on an industrial plant in Izhevsk, in central Russia, killed three people and injured 35 others, regional Governor Alexander Brechalov said in a post on Telegram.
  • The drone struck the Kupol Electromechanical Plant, which produces air defence systems and drones for the Russian military, an unnamed official with Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, told the Associated Press news agency.
  • A Russian attack on a vehicle evacuating civilians from Pokrovsk, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, killed one person and injured a policeman, police said.
  • The Ministry of Defence in Moscow said that 60 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight over several regions, including 17 over Russian-occupied Crimea, 16 over Russia’s Rostov region and four over Russia’s Saratov region.
  • Ukraine’s Air Force said on Tuesday that Russia launched 52 Shahed and decoy drones at the country overnight.
  • The United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Tuesday that it has been informed of a drone attack last week near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant that damaged several vehicles near the site’s cooling pond.

Weapons

  • Ukrainian Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov announced a new joint weapons production programme with members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), an alliance of about 50 countries. The programme would offer “a special legal and tax framework” to help establish new factories, “both on Ukrainian territory and abroad”, Umerov said in a post on social media.
  • The Pentagon has reportedly halted some shipments of air defence missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine over concerns that US stockpiles are too low, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two unnamed sources. The Pentagon did not immediately comment on the report.
  • A Russian-British dual national appeared in a London court on Tuesday, charged with sending cryptocurrency for pro-Russian separatist militias in eastern Ukraine to buy weapons and military equipment.

Politics and diplomacy

  • French President Emmanuel Macron called for a ceasefire in Ukraine in his first call with Russian President Vladimir Putin since 2022.
  • A Kremlin statement said that Putin reminded Macron that “the Ukrainian conflict is a direct consequence of the policy of Western states”.
  • Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “no one is delaying anything here”, after US envoy Keith Kellogg accused Russia of “stall[ing] for time” on ceasefire talks, “while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine”.
  • Peskov added: “We are naturally in favour of achieving the goals that we are trying to achieve through the special military operation via political and diplomatic means. Therefore, we are not interested in drawing out anything. ”

Two Chinese nationals charged for trying to recruit spies in US military

The United States Department of Justice has charged two Chinese citizens for spying and trying to recruit from within the country’s military ranks.

According to Tuesday’s statement, Yuance Chen, 38, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, are accused of working on behalf of China’s foreign intelligence arm, the Ministry of State Security (MSS).

The pair allegedly carried out a range of “clandestine intelligence taskings”, including facilitating payments in exchange for national security information, gathering intelligence on Navy bases and attempting to recruit MSS assets.

“This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

According to an affidavit from the FBI, Lai was part of an MSS network “who could travel more easily” between China and the US “to facilitate clandestine operations”.

Starting around 2021, he began developing Chen, who is a legal permanent resident, into his asset.

After ascertaining that Chen knew people in the US military, Lai urged him to travel abroad to discuss his connections in person, even offering to pay for the tickets, according to the affidavit.

The men reportedly met with MSS agents, and in 2022, they left a backpack with $10,000 in cash in a California locker as payment to other individuals for intelligence gathering.

In the years that followed, the affidavit says that Chen collected information about the Navy and sent it to Lai, while also discussing recruitment efforts directly with the MSS.

Some of that information included personal details from Navy employees. In one case, Chen travelled to San Diego, California, to meet with a Navy hire and tour the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier.

Photos included in the affidavit show a visitor’s badge as well as Chen posing with the employee and their child on top of the aircraft carrier’s deck.

The FBI says that such interactions are part of China’s campaign to extend its military’s reach.

“The PRC [People’s Republic of China] government seeks blue-water naval capabilities as part of their effort to modernize their navy and establish hegemony in the South China Sea,” the affidavit reads.

“Blue-water capabilities” generally refer to long-distance maritime efforts, as opposed to operations based closer to domestic shores.

“As such, the PRC government tasks and deploys the MSS to surreptitiously target the US Navy and collect intelligence,” the affidavit continues.

Both men were charged under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, or FARA, which requires that those working on behalf of another country register with the US government.

In recent years, the US government has ramped up its use of the law in its effort to combat alleged Chinese espionage activity.

Beijing typically denies such claims and has accused the US of discriminatory tactics.

“These charges reflect the breadth of the efforts by our foreign adversaries to target the United States,” US Attorney Craig H Missakian said in the Justice Department statement.

US Senate passes Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’, sending it to the House

The United States Senate has passed a sweeping tax bill championed by President Donald Trump, sending the controversial legislation to the House of Representatives for what could be a final vote.

Lawmakers passed the bill by a 51-to-50 vote in the Republican controlled-chamber on Tuesday, after Vice President JD Vance broke the tie.

The successful vote ended what was  a marathon 27 hours of debate in the upper chamber. Three Republicans joined with Democrats to vote against the bill, which would enshrine many of Trump’s signature policies, including his 2017 tax cuts, reductions for social safety net programmes, and increased spending on border enforcement and deportations.

Critics on both sides of the aisle have taken aim at the estimated $3. 3 trillion the bill would add to the national debt.

Others have blasted reductions to programmes like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). They argue that the bill takes support away from low-income families to finance tax cuts that will primarily help the wealthy.

Trump, however, has pressed for the bill to be passed by July 4, the country’s Independence Day. The legislation, informally known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, now heads back to the House for a Wednesday vote on the updated version.

The president found out about the Senate’s passage in the midst of a news conference in South Florida, where he was touting his crackdown on immigration.

Despite tight odds in the House, Trump struck an optimistic tone about the upcoming vote.

“I think it’s going to go very nicely in the House,” Trump said. “Actually, I think it will be easier in the House than it was in the Senate. ”

The president also downplayed one of the most controversial provisions in the bill: cuts to Medicaid, a government health insurance programme for low-income families. About 11. 8 million people are anticipated to lose their health coverage in the coming years if the bill becomes law.

“I’m saying it’s going to be a very much smaller number than that, and that number will be all waste, fraud and abuse,” Trump said.

Criticisms in the Senate

Trump was not the only Republican to be celebrating the passage of the omnibus bill. In the Senate, leading Republican John Thune touted the bill as a victory for US workers.

“It’s been a long road to get to today,” Thune said from the Senate floor. “Now we’re here, permanently extending tax relief for hard-working Americans. ”

But not all Republicans were as enthused about the bill. Three party members – Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine – all voted against its passage. And even a critical vote in favour, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, appeared to express regret in the aftermath.

“Do I like this bill? No,” she told a reporter for NBC News. “I know that in many parts of the country, there are Americans who are not going to be advantaged by this bill. I don’t like that. ”

She later took to social media to criticise the haste of its passage. “Let’s not kid ourselves. This has been an awful process – a frantic rush to meet an artificial deadline that has tested every limit of this institution. ”

Meanwhile, the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said that Republicans had “betrayed the American people and covered the Senate in utter shame”.

“In one fell swoop, Republicans passed the biggest tax break for billionaires ever seen, paid for by ripping away healthcare from millions of people,” said Schumer.

Still, Schumer announced one symbolic victory on Tuesday, writing on the social media platform X that Trump’s name for the legislation, “One Big Beautiful Bill”, had been struck from its official title.

Republicans currently hold a trifecta in the US government, with control of the Senate, the House and the White House, giving Democrats reduced power in legislating.

But the Republicans have narrow majorities in Congress, leading to uncertainty about the bill’s fate. In the Senate, they hold 53 of the chamber’s 100 seats. In the House, where the bill heads now, they have a majority of 220 representatives to the Democrats’ 212.

‘Not fiscal responsibility’

The bill is therefore likely to face a razor-thin margin in the House. An early version that passed on May 22 did so with just one Republican vote to spare.

The House Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline conservatives, has continued to baulk at the bill’s high price tag and could push for deeper spending cuts in the coming days.

“The Senate’s version adds $651 billion to the deficit – and that’s before interest costs, which nearly double the total,” the caucus wrote in a statement on Monday.

“That’s not fiscal responsibility. It’s not what we agreed to. ”

Billionaire Elon Musk, whose endorsement and funding helped propel Trump to victory in the 2024 presidential election, has also been a vocal opponent of the bill.

“What’s the point of a debt ceiling if we keep raising it? ” Musk asked on social media on Tuesday. “All I’m asking is that we don’t bankrupt America. ”

Musk has threatened to fund primary challenges against Republicans who support the bill and even floated on Monday launching a new political party in the US.

Trump, however, has brushed aside Musk’s criticism as a reaction to the elimination of tax credits for electric vehicles: The billionaire owns one of the most prominent manufacturers, Tesla.

The president also threatened to use the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk helped to found, to strip the billionaire’s companies of their subsidies.

“DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” Trump said as he travelled to Florida.

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher said that public support has been slipping as a clearer picture of the bill has emerged.

“The longer this has been talked about and the more details that become public, the fewer Americans support him,” Fisher said.

Several recent polls have shown that a majority of Americans oppose the bill. In a survey last week from Quinnipiac University, for example, just 29 percent of respondents were in favour of the legislation, while 55 percent were against it.

Increase to national debt

All told, the legislation in its current form would make permanent Trump’s 2017 cuts to business and personal income taxes, which are set to expire by the end of the year.

It would also give new tax breaks for income earned through tips and overtime, a policy promise Trump made during his 2024 campaign.

At the same time, the bill would provide tens of billions of dollars for Trump’s immigration crackdown, including funding to extend barriers and increase technology along the southern border. The bill would also pay for more immigration agents and build the government’s capacity to quickly detain and deport people.

Beyond cuts to electric vehicle tax breaks, the bill also guts several of former President Joe Biden’s incentives for wind and solar energy.

Faced with criticism about the knock-on effects for low-income families, Republicans have countered that the new restrictions on Medicaid and SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, would help put the programmes on a more sustainable path.

Many Republicans have also rejected the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment that the legislation would add $3. 3 trillion to the country’s already $36. 2 trillion debt.

‘England face questions after bump back down to earth’

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The first half of 2025 has been a whirlwind for England’s women.

It started with a demolishing at the hands of Australia, which resulted in an upheaval in leadership, before the new era under Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt inflicted a similarly dominant thrashing on West Indies.

But that win came with the warning not to get carried away, considering the weak opposition, and to expect a much tougher examination once India arrived for five T20s and three one-day internationals.

That warning has been delivered immediately as the tourists have taken a 2-0 lead, with the opportunity to seal the T20 series at The Oval on Friday.

Of course, adjusting to new leadership will always take some time to bed in, and this could be seen as a good thing for England to be tested by high-quality opposition before the autumn’s World Cup in India – something they did not have before the fateful series against Australia.

However, these two defeats felt all too familiar – and England have barely competed in either.

Under pressure, catches have gone down, bowling plans have become muddled and the batting has not fired, particularly struggling against spin.

Top-order scrutiny – time for change?

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England are without former captain Heather Knight, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, and she will almost certainly slot straight back into the middle order because they are crying out for her stability and calmness when things are not going to plan.

There is a particular concern around the opening partnership. Danni Wyatt-Hodge has scored one run in her past four T20 innings, and 87 runs in her past eight – with 52 coming from one knock in Australia.

The opening stand has passed 50 just once in eight matches, averaging less than 15, and England have been 9-2 chasing 211 at Trent Bridge and 2-2 chasing 182 at Bristol before slumping to 113 all out and 157-7.

There have been fine knocks from Sciver-Brunt and Tammy Beaumont, making a half-century each, with the latter an option to move up the order if Edwards wants to go in a different direction at the top.

“She’ll certainly be vulnerable. I’d probably assess where Danni’s at – sometimes if a player’s going really badly, they need to be taken away from the spotlight and given that break to reset,” said Knight on Sky Sports after the second defeat.

“Tammy’s done brilliantly today, one nice spark in the England innings and her natural spot is opening the batting, so that is an option there.

‘Full confidence in our players’

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Sciver-Brunt understandably did not comment on whether there would be any changes in the immediate aftermath of the Bristol defeat, saying she had “full confidence” in all the players.

She also highlighted England’s significant improvement in the powerplay, where they restricted India to 35-3, but India’s counter-attack appeared to catch the bowlers off guard and they deviated from their plans.

In the powerplay 33% of their deliveries were on a good line and length at a run-rate of 4. 2, but that dipped to 15% in the middle overs as India added 103-1 and 11% in the final four overs as Amanjot Kaur and Richa Ghosh took the game away from England.

Lauren Bell was one of few England players to come away from the Ashes with credit and has continued that form this summer, taking 2-17 at Bristol as she now leads the attack with much-improved maturity and consistency.

She executed her slower-ball plan effectively, setting the field accordingly and forcing India’s batters to adjust to her.

But India have been smart, and England have not responded quickly enough. Linsey Smith, who starred against West Indies with her left-arm spin, has been clearly targeted with 0-41 from three overs at Trent Bridge and 0-37 off three at Bristol.

It is unfamiliar territory for England, who are so dominant at home – prior to the Windies series, they had won 79. 3% of their completed white-ball games at home since 2020.

They should not be written off after just two matches against a side that are turning into genuine World Cup contenders, particularly on home turf, and it is not yet crunch time for England or Edwards in terms of whether they can turn this around.

But the new coach is said by those around her to be ruthless, and unafraid to make tough decisions if best for the team.

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‘Grass is playing like clay’ – Wimbledon’s ‘slow’ courts

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Wimbledon 2025

Venue: All England Club Dates: 30 June-13 July

Conditions have been tough for the players at Wimbledon, but for some it is not just the high temperatures making things difficult – it is also the grass they are playing on.

Several of those competing at the Grand Slam this week have said the balls are bouncing differently, while one player said it is like playing on clay – traditionally a much slower surface.

It has been an especially hot start to the tournament, with Monday setting a record for the warmest opening day when the temperature reached 32. 3C, while the mercury rose to 33. 4C on Tuesday.

Defending women’s champion Barbora Krejcikova voiced her thoughts on the surface after battling back to win her opening match against Alexandra Eala.

“There’s not enough water, and it gets really, really yellow, very, very fast,” she said.

‘This isn’t grass anymore’ – what have players said?

Canadian Denis Shapovalov, the number 27 seed at Wimbledon, was knocked out by Argentina’s Mariano Navone in the first round.

He was broken six times by his opponent as he suffered his earliest exit at the tournament since 2019.

“The balls are the worst, the grass tour has turned into a joke,” he said after his defeat.

“This isn’t grass anymore, the court is slower than a clay one. It’s not even grass. “

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova said things had changed over the years.

“I’m not sure if it’s only grass,” she said after her final appearance at the All England Club ended in a defeat by 10th seed Emma Navarro.

“Maybe it’s the balls, as well. Overall it’s getting slower. “

Eight top-10 seeded players have exited in the first round – the highest tally at a single Grand Slam event in the Open era.

Among those to be knocked out was American third seed Jessica Pegula, who said the courts at Wimbledon “felt different” but added: “That’s grass – they’re all kind of different. It’s a living surface, they’re not going to play the same. “

Poland’s former world number one Iga Swiatek, who beat Russian Polina Kudermetova 7-5 6-1 in her first-round match, feels the Wimbledon courts are playing slower but expects things to change in the coming days.

“It [Wimbledon] was slower, and kind of more slippery with the movement,” she said.

“But also with the heat and everything the ball bounced differently than how it will in the coming days, so I’m not really focusing on that.

What is the effect of slower courts?

Slower courts lead to longer rallies as players have more time on the ball.

It can therefore also lead to longer matches, which can be more physically draining for players.

Former doubles player Dom Inglot told BBC Sport that courts had been getting slower since 2001. Before that, you would see players hitting serve and volley predominantly rather than the long baseline rallies you more often see now.

He believes part of the change is down to Wimbledon wanting to make the courts more aesthetically appealing after years where the courts looked very worn by the second week, while also wanting to deliver a better spectacle for fans.

“The idea was Wimbledon had to compete with the great rallies you were seeing at the Australian Open, US Open, French Open,” he said.

“Serve and volley all the time was getting a bit mundane so they wanted more rallies and so there was discussion of do you change balls, do you change the court and I think they went with both. “

Inglot has been playing with this year’s Wimbledon ball on hard courts and has found it is playing differently to last year’s, and therefore expects that to be the case on grass.

He also said the surfaces at different grass tournaments would play differently – including at the Wimbledon qualifying event at Roehampton and Queen’s – and so doing well on those surfaces may not translate to doing well at the All England Club.

A slower surface means players need to adapt their tactics.

“It was ridiculous to think you could hit a kick serve that would jump off the surface like a kick works on clay or hard courts – that was not imaginable 10 years ago, now kick is working,” he said.

What type of grass is used at Wimbledon?

The grass being cut and lines repainted on the Wimbledon tennis courtGetty Images

Wimbledon has not commented on whether this year’s courts are slower than in previous years.

Since 2001 the Wimbledon grass is comprised of perennial pyegrass, which is said to have the durability and strength to withstand the wear of the modern game.

Wimbledon’s official website says that during the tournament the height of grass is eight millimetres and is cut every day, while a “little bit of water” is put on the courts overnight.

A number of factors affect the speed of a court which include the compacting of the soil over time, as well as the weather before and during the event.

Warm and dry days should make a ball lighter and faster, while cold and damp days would make it seem heavier and slower.

The soil, it says, largely determines the bounce of ball, not the grass.

There have been no changes to the specification of the ball since 1995, when there was a very minimal alteration in compression.

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Why Raducanu needs to take risk against former Wimbledon champion

Being Emma Raducanu, particularly at Wimbledon, is never easy.

And it certainly will not be easy when she plays 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in a tough second-round match on Wednesday.

Before her triumph two years ago, Vondrousova had barely played on grass but is now one of the best WTA players on this surface.

Raducanu needs to use her forehand aggressively

Since bringing Mark Petchey into her team, Raducanu has done some technical work with him on the forehand and serve.

I think the technical expertise is what he brings to the table. Emma is a clever girl and she likes to know ‘why? ‘ when she is told to do something and wants to understand the reasons behind it.

Mark, who used to coach Andy Murray when he was coming through, is very technical and is able to provide these answers.

Emma Raducanu hits a return against Mimi Xu in the 2025 Wimbledon first roundGetty Images

She has made a few small tweaks on the forehand, and done the same with the serve, and it is a mindset shift of being more aggressive.

In a match like she had against Mimi Xu in the first round – someone younger, someone from the same country, on the big occasion of Wimbledon – the forehand is really put to the test.

The fact it stood up in that tricky situation, and she could be brave behind it, was important.

Typically, if you’re going to be more aggressive you’re going to be hitting closer to the sidelines and playing with smaller margin.

You’re hitting the ball much harder and with that you take more risk. So when you take more risk you have to be prepared to accept you may miss more on occasions.

Why that will help her take control from the baseline

Rather than just being consistent, keeping the ball back in play and risking the opponent being able to attack you, it is about Emma taking control of the baseline.

She is naturally an aggressive baseliner and stands further in on the return.

She does that so well and it is important for her to keep the court position which she has gained throughout the rally.

Against Vondrousova, she will need to get the first strike in the rally.

Vondrousova likes to control the point by being awkward with her leftiness – using the spin, opening up the court and, of course, putting the ball in from the opposite angle to which it usually does.

The threat posed by Vondrousova

When an unseeded Vondrousova won the title two years ago, she was described as one of the unlikeliest Wimbledon champions ever.

That was because she had previously won only four grass-court matches in her career and was ranked 42nd in the world after missing the previous six months with a wrist injury.

Over the past year Marketa has struggled with a shoulder injury, playing only 17 matches this season and dropping to 73rd and dropping outside the top 150 as a result.

But she reminded us all of her ability by winning the grass-court Berlin title last week – beating Australian Open champion Madison Keys, 2023 Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur and world number one Aryna Sabalenka on the way.

That’s an incredible list. But what she does naturally fits so well on to this surface.

Marketa Vondrousova lifts the 2025 Berlin Open trophyReuters

Using the lefty serve and forehand, she really hits on the outside of the ball so she cuts through the sidelines before the ball reaches the baseline and hits with a lot more angle than a lot of the other players do.

She’s happy to come forward, plays a lot of doubles, and is very comfortable coming up to the net.

That is again something you would develop on an indoor hard court and transitions well on to the grass.

With the serve it is all about the angles and opening up the court, but she can also disguise and flatten it out as and when she needs to and keep her opponent guessing.

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