Russians 'fear being killed by drones in Red Square' & Zelensky asks Elon Musk a favour

Day 1,617.

As yet more Russian Wildberries distribution sites reach for the stars, Ukrainian missile producer Firepoint wins the month’s top-trolling award by offering merch to anyone who correctly predicts their next target. Dom reports how ballistic-missile defence is the hot topic of military and diplomatic discussion at the moment, with offers from Poland, favours asked of SpaceX and, perhaps least surprising of all, a growing coolness from Donald Trump over the plan/idea/wishful thinking that Ukraine would be given the Patriot blueprints. Alex Nichol reports that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff may be in Ukraine in the next few weeks, which would be their first trip to Kyiv despite making multiple visits to Putin in Moscow. Finally, Adélie discusses Ukrainian war poetry, with the man who brought the newest generation of poets to English-speaking audiences.

Contributors: 

Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.

Alex Nichol (Telegraph Journalist).

Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @Adeliepjz on X.

With thanks to Hugh Roberts (@hugh.g.a.roberts on Instagram) and the University of Exeter. 

Senior Producer: Lilian Fawcett

Video Producer: Sophie O’Sullivan

Social Producer: Tom Steed

Studio Director: Meghan Searle

Executive Editor: Francis Dearnley

Created by David Knowles

NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:

Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest  

CONTENT REFERENCED:

If you’re interested in sponsoring Dom’s upcoming defence event, email our colleagues at events@telegraph.co.uk

Russian missile destroys US firm’s Kyiv drone factory (The Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/30/us-firm-drone-factory-terminal-autonomy-ukraine-russia 

Zelensky Asked Trump for a Favor From Elon Musk (The Atlantic)

https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/07/zelensky-asked-trump-for-a-favor-from-elon-musk/688122/

Donald Trump ‘not sure’ he will let Ukraine build Patriot missiles (Financial Times)

https://www.ft.com/content/d8c42f6b-4dba-4976-a907-c7c93bca0bbd?syn-25a6b1a6=1 

War and peace: Ukraine’s ambassador in Washington joins our table (Christian Science Monitor)

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/monitor_breakfast/2026/0731/ukraine-ambassador-olga-stefanishyna?icid=rss

The Geopolitics of Russia’s Civil Nuclear Exports Four Years into the War (Centre for Strategic and International Studies)

https://www.csis.org/analysis/geopolitics-russias-civil-nuclear-exports-four-years-war 

Ukrainian War Time Poetry: 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx2YPXiQIIQvRHSFfabgsOZM_5G5eqj5O

Jantar Publishing House: 

https://www.jantarpublishing.com/

Lines from the frontline: the poet soldiers defending Ukraine (The Conversation): 

https://theconversation.com/lines-from-the-frontline-the-poet-soldiers-defending-ukraine-276676 

Death of a Ukrainian Writer (New Yorker): 

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-death-of-a-ukrainian-writer-victoria-amelina

The Buried Book That Helped Ukraine’s Literary Revival (The New York Times): 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/20/world/europe/ukraine-publishing-buried-book.html

More about Aliaksei Lazarau: https://x.com/Alx_lazarau/status/2050195969103307014 

The petition to allow non-Ukrainian to be recognised as Hero of Ukraine: https://petition.president.gov.ua/petition/264020 

EMAIL US:

Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Russians 'fear being killed in Red Square,' Kyiv claims
• Zelensky asks Elon Musk a favour

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