CENTCOM commander said the U.S. is forming a new coalition strike-drone force.

Germany on the 18th agreed with federal states on a package to ease high fuel prices, including a new round of fuel-tax cuts and a temporary fuel-price cap. The plan lowers the energy tax to reduce gasoline and diesel by about €0.17 per litre, is to take effect by Oct. 1 and run through year-end, and is estimated to cost roughly €2.5bn. The measure mirrors a May–June temporary scheme that reduced tax revenues by about €1.6bn.

Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad reported the SBU’s military counterintelligence has achieved successful results defending against jet-powered Shahed drones. A newly developed interceptor UAV has been completed and put into successful operational use.