Editor’s Note: This story was updated with comments from Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Russian President Vladimir Putin said “all of Ukraine” belonged to Russia in a speech on June 20 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, amid increasingly aggressive official statements about Moscow’s final territorial ambitions in Ukraine. Putin’s claim was based on the […]
Ukraine must accept Moscow’s terms for ending the war or face further military advances and eventual “surrender,” Russia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Andrei Kelin, said in a June 18 interview with CNN. Talking to CNN host Christiane Amanpour, Kelin said Russia is continuing its offensive and sees no need to stop hostilities, publicly acknowledging […]
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on June 18 brushed off Moscow’s demands for Kyiv to destroy or dismantle Western-supplied weapons as a condition for a ceasefire, saying it shows disregard for U.S. peace efforts. “Russian officials make new absurd demands almost every day. Total inadequacy,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on X. “Moscow shows complete […]
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Pyongyang on June 17 on a “special assignment” from President Vladimir Putin, Russian state-controlled news agency TASS reported on June 17. Shoigu is expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the visit, TASS said, citing a correspondent on the ground. The purpose of […]
North Korea has suffered more than 6,000 casualties during offensive operations in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, according to a June 15 report from the United Kingdom’s defense intelligence. According to the report, North Korea’s losses account for more than half of the approximately 11,000 troops initially deployed to Kursk in fall 2024. U.K. intelligence attributed the […]
Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) ignited an electrical substation during a sabotage operation in the Russian city of Kaliningrad, causing $5 million in damage and cutting electricity to a military production site, a source in HUR told the Kyiv Independent. In the early hours of June 14, Ukrainian agents drained the coolant from the substation’s power […]
At a Senate budget hearing on June 11, Republican senators fiercely criticized U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Trump administration’s effort to end the Ukraine war through negotiations involving Russia. The session revealed deep divisions within the GOP on U.S. foreign policy, as lawmakers clashed over the administration’s strategic direction, Politico reports. Leading the […]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has questioned Russia’s ability to attack NATO countries, as it is not “even capable of defeating Ukraine,” he said in an interview with French TV channel LCI on June 8. “The Russians are too weak for that,” Orban said. “They’re not even capable of defeating Ukraine, so they’re incapable of […]
Key developments on June 7-8: US expects Russia’s retaliation for Operation Spiderweb to continue soon Ukraine denies Russian troop presence in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast amid offensive, describes situation as ‘tense’ Trump administration redirects 20,000 anti-drone missiles meant for Ukraine, Zelensky confirms Ukraine downs fighter jet in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Air Force says ‘I am against Ukraine’s […]
The U.S. believes Russia has not yet fully responded to Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb and may soon launch another large-scale, multi-pronged strike following the massive June 6 attack, Reuters reported on June 8, citing unnamed U.S. officials. One official told Reuters that, while the timing remains unclear, a retaliatory strike could be expected in the coming […]
Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated. The Azot chemical plant in Novomoskovsk caught fire after it was reportedly targeted a second time in a drone attack overnight on June 8, independent news channel Astra reported. The plant was previously struck and caught fire on May 24 in a similar overnight […]
U.S. President Donald Trump is pulling back from pressuring China over its support for Russia’s war effort, instead prioritizing other aspects of the U.S.-China relationship, U.S. and European officials familiar with internal discussions told Bloomberg. These officials, speaking anonymously, said that the administration has lowered the issue of Russia’s war against Ukraine on its list […]