Aug 2, 2026, 04:00 PM UTC

Kyiv faced further Russian ballistic missile bombardments overnight, damaging residential and commercial buildings while leaving at least four people dead and 15 injured, according to local authorities.

Concurrently, Ukrainian forces launched strikes against Russian targets, hitting an airfield, an oil refinery, and logistical infrastructure. In Moscow, local officials reported an explosion at a restaurant, which the city's mayor described as a "terrorist act." Russian authorities also issued an arrest warrant for the daughter of late opposition figure Boris Nemtsov.

The escalations follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's repeated appeals for U.S. licensing to manufacture Patriot air defense missiles locally. U.S. President Donald Trump has so far refrained from granting approval, as Kyiv alleges Russia continues to deploy North Korean weaponry.

Sources: FAZ, ORF.

French President Emmanuel Macron has convened a crisis meeting as massive wildfires continue to spread across southwestern France, threatening the outer districts of Bordeaux. High temperatures and strong winds are frustrating containment efforts, with officials warning that emergency services "are far from having the fire under control."

Displacement estimates across France and Spain now range between 250,000 and 325,000 people, including roughly 220,000 evacuated from France's Gironde department alone, where over 42,000 hectares have burned. Firefighters in France warned of unprecedented pyrocumulonimbus clouds generating unpredictable winds and lightning, further compounding hazardous conditions. Meanwhile, Spanish authorities have declared a national state of emergency, and French officials in the Var region are investigating suspected deliberate ignitions following multiple simultaneous blazes.

Sources: BBC News, Der Standard, France24, Helsingin Sanomat, Le Figaro

Simone Forti, an influential Italian-born American dancer, choreographer, artist, and writer, has passed away. Throughout her multi-decade career, Forti explored the expressive possibilities of the human body and played a pivotal role in the development of postmodern dance.

Born in Florence in 1935, Forti moved to the United States with her family as a child. She became a key figure in the avant-garde performance art movement of the 1960s, notably through her pioneering Dance Constructions series, which combined minimal movements, object interactions, and improvisation. Beyond dance, her artistic work spanned visual arts, poetry, and drawing, constantly focusing on physical movement and human perception.

Sources: FAZ.

German rowers secured multiple titles at the European Rowing Championships on Lake Varese in Italy, defying severe weather warnings. Olympic champion Oliver Zeidler captured his fourth European Championship gold medal in the single sculls event, setting the benchmark once again for the German team.

The victories occurred despite local Italian authorities issuing extreme heat warnings across the Lombardy region and advising against strenuous physical exertion over the weekend. Competitors nevertheless took to the water on Lake Varese to complete the scheduled championship races.

Sources: FAZ