Indian officials confirmed this morning they will continue purchasing cheap oil from Russia, defying threats of sanctions from President Trump, according to The New York Times. The government has not instructed oil companies to reduce imports, despite the U.S. president's stance. Meanwhile, Ukraine conducted a series of drone strikes targeting Russian oil refining infrastructure and military sites overnight. Ukraine's General Staff claimed overnight attacks on oil refineries in Ryazan and Novokuybyshevsk, the Annanefteprodukt oil depot, and the Elektropribor military plant in Penza. NASA FIRMS data shows multiple fire signatures at the Ryazan oil refinery, and a Ukrainian drone strike reportedly caused a massive explosion at Russia's Novokuibyshevsk Refinery. The SBU confirmed a drone strike on the Primorsko-Akhtarsk military airfield in Russia’s Krasnodar region, hitting locations used for storing and launching Shahed drones, with a fire breaking out at the site. In a separate incident, a market in Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, was hit by a Russian strike today, injuring several people, according to reports. Russian milblogger Igor Girkin suggested that a shifted timeline from President Trump indicates Ukraine is preparing for a major counteroffensive, potentially after August 6-7, and may deploy its 80 F-16s with long-range precision missiles. President Trump stated that the U.S. is fully prepared for a nuclear war with Russia and commented that Putin is a tough guy, expressing surprise that the conflict escalated after their talks. He also mentioned that imposing sanctions would be difficult as Putin is adept at evading them. Russian officials, including Duma deputy Polyanskiy, have stated that Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles pose the main danger to the civilian population in Ukraine. In other developments, India's largest refinery has begun purchasing American oil instead of Russian, with state-owned Indian Oil buying at least 5 million barrels of crude oil from the United States, according to Bloomberg. Ukrainian intelligence chief Budanov suggested that NATO and the EU could break up as a result of American policy changes if current attitudes do not shift. A Russian submarine sighting was reported in Hood Canal, Washington. Comments from a Duma deputy indicated that Russian nuclear submarines are more numerous and possess stronger weapons than U.S. submarines, referencing President Trump's naval assets.
