Crypto News: Troubles at home

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The summer is producing unexpected difficulties for both the presidents of Ukraine and Russia.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy overhauled Ukraine’s top military leadership, a move forced on him by public protests over his dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov, the popular defense minister who’s been a key architect of its successful drone strategy.

New army chief Mykhailo Drapatyi is an advocate of the same tech-driven reforms as Fedorov, who’s openly lobbying to get his job back.

That’s posing an awkard challenge to Zelenskyy’s authority as he visits the UK today to meet new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Britain says it’ll share innovative “Stone Cloak” technology with Ukraine, capable of blocking Russian airdefense systems from tracking and targeting drones.

That spells more trouble for President Vladimir Putin, who appears helpless to stop Ukrainian drone attacks across Russia.

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration in support of former Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, July 24, 2026. Fedorov rejected all jobs offered to him by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he would only accept reinstatement to his old position, a move that could breathe new fire into nationwide protests backing him. Photographer: Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg — A demonstration in support of Fedorov in Kyiv on Friday.

Strikes on warehouses of Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries are rippling through the economy as thousands of small businesses calculate losses from inventory destroyed in the fires. It’s adding to anger among ordinary Russians over fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries.

Putin suddenly looks far from all-powerful at home. Kazakhstan’s president even told him to his face that he should stop the war during a visit to Russia on Saturday, which would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

Zelenskyy will be in Washington tomorrow for talks with US President Donald Trump, seeking to capitalize on the recent improvement in their relationship.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, accuses the US of abandoning what it sees as understandings reached at last August’s Alaska summit between Putin and Trump on a deal to end the war.

With no sign of progress in peace talks, Zelenskyy and Putin are on the back foot domestically.

Zelenskyy’s difficulties may lead to a reinvigorated Ukrainian military in the fall.

Putin’s may show up in public discontent at parliamentary elections in September. — Anthony Halpin

Black smoke rises from the area of the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft's Moscow oil refinery. Source: AFP/Getty Images — Smoke rises from the area of the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft’s Moscow oil refinery.

Global Must Reads

The US paused an almost two-week run of strikes against Iran for a second night while the Islamic Republic signaled it was refraining from any retaliatory attacks and held talks with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said he plans to press Trump in their meeting tomorrow to keep a “constant, constant watch” on Tehran’s nuclear program, even as he said he has no new evidence that Iran’s ability to build a weapon has been destroyed.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sprang into action to address students’ demands after they called off the biggest protests his administration had faced in years. Modi chose Instagram — the group’s preferred communication platform — to announce a high-powered task force to look into exam reforms, the latest in a series of steps that include the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, to defuse anger among young Indians over the education system. We profile the key people behind the demonstrations.

Brown University’s Yamini Aiyar speaks with Paul Allen on Bloomberg’s Insight with Haslinda Amin.

Watch now — Brown University’s Yamini Aiyar speaks with Paul Allen on Bloomberg’s Insight with Haslinda Amin.

Voters in the Pakistan-administered part of the disputed Kashmir region head to the polls to elect members of the territory’s Legislative Assembly who will then choose a prime minister to form the local government. While the vote won’t alter the decades-old territorial dispute over Kashmir — which is claimed by both India and Pakistan — it will be closely watched by both countries as they seek to bolster their competing narratives over the territory.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister denounced calls for denuclearization, describing the country’s nuclear weapons as its “ultimate shield,” state media reported. Kim Yo Jong says North Korea’s nuclear status is “final and irreversible” in comments days after Zelenskyy warned that Russia wants 30,000 more troops and additional ballistic missile launchers from North Korea.

The suspect in Saturday’s deadly van attack on Berlin’s LGBTQ pride event was shot dead yesterday evening in a police operation, city officials say. Germany-born Abdul Ballout was tracked by police to a community garden in the Spandau district of Berlin, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling the attack that killed one woman and injured 29 people an act of terror, striking at the heart of the country’s open and free society.

The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated in rainbow colors, displaying the words "Berlin, City of Freedom", following the attack. Photographer: picture alliance/Getty Images — The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated in rainbow colors following the attack.

Brazil’s government recalled its ambassador to Argentina for consultations after President Javier Milei launched a fierce attack on Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and a Brazilian Supreme Court justice.

China should restrict access to the most powerful features of artificial-intelligence models, a state-media commentary suggested, highlighting limits to Beijing’s support for open technology.

Netanyahu plans to travel to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, regardless of a clash with Mayor Zohran Mamdani over the International Criminal Court’s warrant for the Israeli leader’s arrest.

A powerful El Niño already beginning to roil weather around the world may push the monthly global average temperature past 2C of warming compared with pre-industrial levels for the first time on record.

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Chart of the Day

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is poised to become the second largest on record within days. The case count climbed to 3,200 on Saturday, while the death toll has almost doubled in the past two weeks to 1,405. Containing the spread is proving difficult in a region where population movement, insecurity, artisanal mining and cross-border trade with Uganda and South Sudan continue to fuel transmission.

And Finally

French and Spanish firefighters battling wildfires for a sixth day face worsening weather conditions as temperatures are forecast to rise further. With more than 300,000 people evacuated across the two countries through the weekend, a French official says an uncontrolled blaze in the southwest Atlantic coast’s Gironde region is headed toward Bordeaux, an urban center of 265,000 people. Weather experts say the heat waves helping fuel the fires are starting earlier in the year and lasting longer than they did historically because of climate change.

TOPSHOT - Beach goers rest on the beach of Moutchic on the shore of Lake Lacanau (Etang de Lacanau) in Lacanau , southwestern France on July 24, 2026, as clouds of smoke rise into the sky from the Gironde wildfire. The fire raging in the northern part of the Arcachon Basin in Gironde, southwest France, has swept through more than 3,400 hectares, according to the latest figures released by the prefecture. More than 20,000 residents and tourists have been evacuated from this part already devastated by flames in 2022. Scientists have long warned that climate change caused by human use of fossil fuels will make periods of drought more intense and longer-lasting, creating the ideal conditions for wildfires. (Photo by Maximilien LAMY / AFP via Getty Images) Photographer: MAXIMILIEN LAMY/AFP — A wildfire near Lake Lacanau in southwestern France on Friday.

Thanks to everyone who answered Friday’s quiz question, and congratulations to Stephen Markscheid, who was first to identify Shakira as the superstar singer facing a review of a Spanish court’s ruling to wipe out $63 million in tax claims against her.