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Kyiv Fires, Caspian Clash
Russian forces attacked Ukraine's capital Kyiv early on Sunday, sparking fires in at least three districts, as mayor Vitali Klitschko said, and Ukraine's air force said Moscow had targeted the capital with ballistic missiles.
Iran blamed Kyiv for an attack on its vessel in the Caspian Sea, with Tehran's foreign ministry saying the attack resulted in an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another.
Zelenskyy had warned on Friday that new Russian attacks were likely over the next 48 hours, and the Sky News account said an air alert was lifted after around 50 minutes and the air force rescinded its warning of missile deployment.
In Kyiv, Klitschko said one blaze had broken out on the seventh and eighth floors of an apartment block in a central district, while there were no immediate reports of casualties.
In the Caspian Sea dispute, Zelenskyy said Ukraine's forces struck a Russian warship and vessels used for transporting Iranian-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea, according to the Sky News report.
Tehran Condemns, Kyiv Defends
Iran summoned Ukraine’s chargé d'affaires in Tehran to protest the incident, and Iran’s foreign ministry complained to Ukraine’s chargé d'affaires in Tehran early on Sunday over what it called a "hostile and criminal act."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that the attack "cannot go unanswered," while the Jerusalem Post reported Araghchi called the strike a "blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel's behest to drag Europe into its war."
Kyiv defended the operation, with Zelenskyy posting that Ukraine had conducted "long‑range strikes in the Caspian Sea - including vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran."
The Jerusalem Post also quoted Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk, saying the ship Ukraine struck contained components for drones and missiles on their way to Iran.
In parallel, the Guardian reported that Zelenskyy said Russia was passing its satellite observations in the Middle East to Iran to enable it to direct strikes in the region, and it tied that to Iran’s denunciation of the Caspian attack.
What Comes Next, Wider War
The dispute over the Caspian Sea attack is unfolding alongside Kyiv’s efforts to share intelligence about Russia’s assistance to Iran, with Zelenskyy saying he would order Ukrainian intelligence to share information on Russia’s new assistance to the Iranian regime.
“Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned on Sunday that Iran would respond to the attack that targeted an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea, holding Ukraine responsible for the attack that killed one of its crew members”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of Persian Gulf states and US military facilities since the beginning of July, and he alleged that the resulting images were transferred to Iran.
Al Jazeera reported Zelenskyy said Russian satellites monitored four airbases on July 19 and 20—two in Bahrain, one in Jordan, and one in Kuwait—and that Ukraine would share the intelligence with its international partners.
The Guardian also linked the Caspian episode to broader war dynamics, noting Zelenskyy said Russia wanted to bring in 30,000 North Korean troops and that preparations were under way in Russia’s Voronezh region since June to receive them.
Meanwhile, Sky News said the UK would announce it is sharing the intellectual property of British electronic jammers used to interfere with Russian air defence systems, called Stone Cloak, as part of its support for Ukraine.
