Evening Brief, Saturday 1 August

Russia launched 35 missiles, including 27 ballistic missiles, and 185 drones overnight, according to Ukraine’s air force. Ukrainian authorities said at least nine people were killed and 33 wounded in Kyiv. The injured included four children. Homes and the Lithuanian embassy were damaged.

Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted only one ballistic missile. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country needs more Patriot systems and interceptors to defend cities against such attacks. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it targeted military-industrial and logistics sites in Kyiv and the surrounding region.

The figures show the gap between Ukraine’s ability to stop drones and its protection against ballistic missiles. Kyiv’s request to allies is no longer only about adding launchers. It also concerns a steady supply of compatible interceptors.

Spanish authorities put the death toll from the mass crossing into Ceuta at 67. The total includes people who drowned and others who died in a crush at the border breakwater.

Between 50,000 and 60,000 people entered the Spanish enclave over more than a day. Most later returned to Morocco. Spain installed a 500-metre floating containment barrier at the maritime border after a Supreme Court ruling required the state to address the gap.

Twenty-two European Union states called for a coordinated response and an urgent meeting of interior ministers. Italy reintroduced checks on air and sea arrivals from Spain. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said responsibility for securing the EU’s external border must be shared across the bloc.

France said the Gironde wildfire was contained, not extinguished. The fire burned 42,000 hectares. Around 198,000 residents were allowed to return, although much of Cap Ferret remained empty and crews continued to watch active sectors. In the Var, a renewed fire burned another 1,250 hectares and kept about 2,500 residents from returning home.

France’s Interior Ministry reported 116,085 hectares burned nationwide in 2026. In Spain, the season total had reached about 130,000 hectares by 25 July.

Near Porto Germeno in Greece, authorities evacuated about 300 people by sea. The response involved 420 firefighters, 19 aircraft and 11 helicopters. Three Greek firefighters had died in separate fires earlier in the week. The current emergency remains spread across several fronts rather than centred on one blaze.

Romania shut Cernavodă’s Unit 1 on 28 July as the Danube fell. Unit 2 remained connected to the grid after the government funded emergency work at the cooling-water intake and diverted water from the Bala branch.

At Baziaș, where the Danube enters Romania, flow measured 1,650 cubic metres per second on 28 July. The multi-year July average is 4,750. Forecasts put the flow near 1,600 at the start of August and 1,500 by 4 August. The government sought emergency electricity from Ukraine for periods of evening shortage.

The Rhine was also at exceptional lows. The official Cologne gauge read 66 centimetres at 19:00 on Saturday, below the 69-centimetre low recorded in 2018. A gauge reading is not the river’s navigable depth. Shipping continued, but barges carried smaller loads and operators imposed low-water surcharges or accepted delays.

The US Justice Department moved to dismiss the felony case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn. Interior Department documents showed that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool came from a contractor’s botched installation and a rush to finish work before America 250 events around Independence Day.

Hearn had faced up to 10 years in prison. He was detained after stopping at the pool during a bicycle ride and briefly touching a loose piece of coating. Prosecutors said the new evidence made it difficult to attribute the widespread damage to vandalism or prove such a claim beyond a reasonable doubt.

In a separate dispute, President Donald Trump threatened to restore a $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund if Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis refused to support Todd Blanche for attorney general. Trump had called the fund dead a day earlier. The senators want written guarantees that the fund remains rescinded and clarification of a separate tax-audit immunity provision for Trump and members of his family.