Russia Launches Largest Missile and Drone Barrage of War
Russian forces fired roughly 550 drones and 11 missiles overnight into Kyiv in the largest aerial attack of the war thus far (AP)
The bombardment lasted seven hours, killing one civilian and wounding twenty-six; five ambulances were also damaged (AP)
Before Russia’s attack, U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone call to discuss air defense and potential future cooperation on joint defense production and investment; Zelenskyy described the call as “very important and very fruitful” (Politico)
Trump also stated that he was “not happy” about his call the day before with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he recounted that Putin is not “looking to stop the war” (Politico)
Trump added that he does “not know” if he will find a way to end the fighting (AP)
He also hinted at the possibility of further sanctions on Russia (AFP)
Furthermore, two Dutch intelligence agencies and the German intelligence service reported that Russia’s use of banned chemical weapons, including chloropicrin and riot control agent CS, has become “standardized and commonplace” in Ukraine (AP)
Russia Confirms Death of Deputy Head of Russian Navy
Major General Mikhail Gudkov, the deputy head of Russia’s navy, was killed in Russia’s Kursk border region, Russia’s military said (CNN)
Unofficial Russian and Ukrainian military Telegram channels said Gudkov and others were hit by a Ukrainian missile attack (Meduza)
He is one of Russia’s highest-ranking officers to have died in the war; Kyiv had accused him of war crimes, which Moscow denies (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Denmark to meet with EU leaders as Denmark begins its EU presidency; Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she would support Ukraine’s efforts to join the EU, though the decision has persistently been blocked by Hungary (AP)
Moreover, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call together, which President Trump said did not result in any progress toward resolving the war (NYT)
Kyiv Objects to U.S. Halt of Arms Shipments
After the White House announced that it would be pausing shipments of some critical weaponry to Ukraine due to low stockpiles, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry released a statement emphasizing the need for timely support, as delays encourage Russian aggression; Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has not been officially notified of any halts in U.S. shipments (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Ukraine announced further plans to increase weapons production with other allies, especially those in Europe, to strengthen its position amid a potential Russian summer offensive (AP)
On Russia’s side, reports suggest that North Korea plans to send 25,000 to 30,000 troops to support the Russian offensive—nearly tripling its initial deployment of 11,000 troops (Kyiv Post)
Russia seized 556 square kilometers in eastern Ukraine in its June offensive, primarily near Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka in Donetsk and Zaporizhia (Reuters)
U.S. Slows Weapons to Ukraine
Citing dwindling U.S. stock, the Trump administration said it was pausing the delivery of some air defense systems, precision-guided bombs, and missiles to Ukraine; it was unclear which weapons, or how many, are not being sent or when they were originally scheduled for delivery, although some U.S. officials said they were not expected to be shipped for several months. (NYT)
In Izhevsk, a city in central Russia over six hundred miles from the Russia-Ukraine border, a Ukrainian long-range drone strike targeted the Kupol Electromechanical Plant, a military factory that produces surface-to-air missile systems and radar systems; the attack killed three people, injured thirty-five, and the drones allegedly struck the plant (BBC)
Meanwhile, to counter Russia’s heightened barrages, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s domestic production of interceptors and long-range drones is set to increase (AP)
In diplomatic efforts, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a call for the first time since September 2022; President Macron reportedly demanded a ceasefire and negotiations that respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, while President Putin stated that the war was “a direct consequence of the West’s policy” towards Russia, and that a peace agreement would be based on “new territorial realities” (Reuters)
U.S. Special Envoy Reprimands Russia for Delaying Peace Talks
Retired U.S. Lieutenant General and Special Envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, demanded an immediate ceasefire and trilateral talks to end the war in a post on his X account; Kellogg also said that “Russia cannot stall for time while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine” (Kyiv Independent; X)
Meanwhile, Leonid Pasechnik, the Russian-installed leader of Luhansk, claimed that the Luhansk region, one of the four regions illegally annexed by Russia in 2022, is fully under the control of Russian forces; the claim has not been confirmed by Kyiv or Moscow (AP; Reuters)
Russia Launches Its Largest Air Attack of the War
Moscow has stepped up its attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks as part of a summer offensive (NYT)
As Kyiv worked to repel the 537 aerial weapons, a Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; he wrote on social media that despite global efforts to facilitate peace, Russian President Vladimir Putin had “decided he would keep waging war” (Politico)
Ukraine reported that most of the weapons were shot down or lost, potentially due to electronic jamming (WaPo)
At least four people were killed in the strikes, officials said (FT)
Ukraine is using fighter jets for air defense in part because of lagging supplies; Washington supplied air defense missiles during the Joe Biden administration but has been slow to do so since Donald Trump returned to office (NYT)
Zelenskyy said that he signed a decree to pull Ukraine out of the international Ottawa Treaty banning landmines, citing Russia’s use of the weapons; Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland have also recently exited the treaty or announced plans to do so (Guardian)
Russia’s intelligence chief held a call with the CIA director, and the two agreed to discuss interests “at any time,” he said (Reuters)
Moreover, Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov claimed in a television interview that the delays in peace talks were due to the Ukrainian government’s position on the war and the United States’ ability to effectively mediate (Kyiv Independent)
Russia Seizes Key Ukrainian Territory for Lithium
Russian forces in recent days have captured an area in eastern Ukraine that is home to a deposit of lithium, independent groups tracking the war said; Russian control of the area complicates a U.S. and Ukrainian plan to co-develop Ukraine’s mineral resources following a potential end to the war (NYT)
Ukraine’s defense minister said that Russia’s goal was “to exhaust our air defense” (FT)
The Pentagon in recent weeks told Congress and Zelenskyy that it would divert U.S. anti-drone technology previously earmarked for Ukraine to the Middle East (CNN)
But after meeting with Zelenskyy this week at the NATO Summit, Trump said he would consider Ukraine’s request for more Patriot missiles (Guardian)
Putin said that each side’s position on a peace deal shared at talks on June 2 were “absolutely contradictory” (Reuters)
Ukraine Allegedly Stops Russian Sumy Offensive
Commander in chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, claimed that Ukrainian forces had stopped Russian advances into Ukraine through the northeastern, Russian-bordering Sumy region (AP)
Syrskyi added that the summer offensive in Sumy was “choked off”, which implies that the fifty thousand Russian troops deployed to the region to create a buffer zone were blocked from advancing (BBC)
Syrskyi also acknowledged that Ukraine had to build more fortifications, establish kill zones, and construct more anti-drone corridors more efficiently than current levels to continue to defend Ukraine (BBC)
Meanwhile, in Donetsk, Russian forces reportedly took control of Shevchenko, which is near a lithium deposit (Reuters)
Furthermore, according to an intelligence report from South Korea, additional North Korean troops will be sent to Russia to fight against Ukraine in July or August, which may be part of a new large-scale Russian assault on Ukraine (Reuters)
Trump Praises NATO as Summit Concludes
Trump concluded this week’s NATO summit with praise for the alliance after member countries pledged to increase defense spending—and for Zelenskyy, whom Trump accused earlier this year of holding up peace; the meeting with Zelenskyy capped Trump’s final engagements at the NATO summit (Guardian)
“I left here differently,” Trump told reporters (NPR)
He continued, “these people really love their countries. It’s not a rip-off, and we’re here to help them” (WaPo)
Trump and Zelenskyy spoke for almost an hour—up from their fifteen minute discussion when they last met in person on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral, their relationship having soured at an Oval Office meeting in February (Bloomberg)
Zelenskyy said this conversation was “long and substantive,” while Trump said it “couldn’t have been nicer” (ABC)
Trump did not rule out issuing a new tranche of military aid to Ukraine when reporters questioned him after the meeting (RFE)
Trump said he would look into possibly providing Ukraine with new Patriot missiles, an important part of the country’s air defense; Zelenskyy wrote on social media that the two had discussed “the potential for co-production of drones” (Reuters)
Trump acknowledged that talks to end the war were proving “more difficult than anyone had thought” (EuroNews)
He called Russian President Vladimir Putin “more difficult” and said Putin “really has to end that war” (Reuters)
On the battlefield, Zelenskyy’s appeal for more military support comes as Russia attempts to carry out a summer offensive (NYT)
Ukraine has reported progress rebuffing those efforts; today Ukraine’s top general said Ukrainian forces halted Russian troops in the northern region of Sumy (Reuters)
Kyiv has also contested Moscow’s claim that it had fully retaken Russia’s Kursk region following a Ukrainian incursion (BBC)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said at the summit that the entire alliance is “totally committed” to backing Kyiv in its fight and ensuring any potential peace deal is durable (Guardian)
Russian Missile Strike Kills Seventeen in Southeastern Ukraine
In Dnipro, a two-part Russian missile attack reportedly killed at least fifteen people, wounded over two hundred, including eighteen children, and damaged dozens of residential buildings and educational facilities; two people were also killed in Samar, a town six miles from Dnipro (Reuters)
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian shells allegedly killed four civilians in southern Kherson, and a drone strike in Sumy killed three civilians (AP)
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy posted on his Telegram account demanding that allies implement stronger sanctions against Russia and work to prevent Russia from building its ballistic missiles that require foreign components (AP)
Russia Drone Attack in Kyiv Kills Nine
In an overnight attack, Russia fired 352 drones and sixteen missiles at residential areas, hospitals, and sports infrastructure in Kyiv; nine people were purportedly killed, and an unspecified number were injured (BBC)
Claims on Kursk
Ukraine’s top military commander said that the country’s troops still control an approximate thirty-five-square-mile area of the Russian region of Kursk, refuting Moscow’s claim in April that it had pushed Ukraine out (BBC;BBC)
Ukraine began its incursion into Kursk last August but was fought back by both Russian and North Korean troops (ISW)
Russian Drone Barrages Continue
An overnight Russian drone attack in Odesa and Kharkiv struck apartment blocks, allegedly killing one and injuring roughly twenty-four civilians (AP)
President Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is working to rapidly develop interceptor drones to counter Russia’s recent attacks using Shahed drones (Reuters)
At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russians and Ukrainians were “one people”, and so “the whole of Ukraine is ours”; Zelenskyy rejected this notion (Reuters)
Overnight Attack on Kyiv
The deadliest Russian strikes on Kyiv in months killed at least fifteen people and wounded more than one hundred others, Ukrainian officials said (BBC)
Additionally, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would send Ukraine $1.47 billion in military assistance to Ukraine; Carney also said that Canada would impose new financial sanctions on Russia (Reuters)
Russia, Ukraine Complete Deal to Exchange Bodies of Killed Soldiers
Ukraine reported that it received a total of 6,057 bodies and Russia said it received 78 (BBC)
Separately, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stated that as part of a ceasefire agreement, Russia will demand that Ukraine destroy all of its Western-supplied weapons, alongside its insistence that its annexation of Crimea, Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk, be recognized (Kyiv Independent)
Meanwhile, Trump’s early departure from the G7 summit in Canada meant he skipped both a session on the war and a scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (NYT)
Trump said that expelling Russia from the Group of Eight (G8) following its 2014 invasion of Crimea was a “mistake” (Guardian)
When asked whether the United States would join the new sanctions that European countries are planning on Russia, he replied that “sanctions cost us a lot of money” (Bloomberg)
Russian Drone Attack Reportedly Targets Energy and Agricultural Infrastructure
Overnight from Saturday into Sunday, Russian security forces allegedly launched 183 drones and 11 missiles at Ukraine’s Poltava region; no casualties were reported, and Ukraine shot down or jammed 159 of the drones and destroyed eight missiles (AP)
Additionally, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces had captured Malynivka, a village in Donetsk, as part of its continued offensive through the region (AP). Separately, Tatarstan Governor Rustam Minnikhanov reported that Ukrainian drones targeting a drone factory were purportedly shot down by Russian defense systems (Kyiv Independent). Falling debris from the drones reportedly caused a fire at a vehicle manufacturing plant in Yelabuga, which killed one and wounded thirteen (AP)
Russian Attack in Zaporizhzhia Injures Three, Damages Humanitarian Aid
A Russian drone strike on a warehouse in Zaporizhzhia destroyed one hundred tons of humanitarian aid, amounting to roughly $3 million, and wounded two police officers and one civilian (Euronews)
Also in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian forces reportedly launched drones at and destroyed three Russian air defense systems (Kyiv Independent)
Since the start of its summer offensive in eastern Ukraine in May, Russian forces have allegedly updated their tactics to use motorcycles and civilian cars to quickly cross open terrain; Kostyantynivka, Pokrovsk, and Sumy are three areas where the front is moving the most (NYT)
Russia Launches More Drones Into Ukraine
Overnight into Thursday, Russian military forces allegedly fired drone strikes into Ukraine, killing three and reportedly injuring at least thirty-eight people; the drones were fired in the eastern Donetsk region, southern Kherson region, and Kharkiv (AP)
The Russian Defense Ministry alleged it had claimed two villages, Oleksiivka and Petrivske, both in the Donetsk region (AP)
Separately, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed that the number of killed or wounded Russian soldiers has topped one million (AP)
The UK Defense Ministry also made the claim, including that two hundred and fifty thousand Russians have died (WaPo)
Russian Overnight Drone Attack Kills Three in Kharkiv
On Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, Russian forces launched eighty-five drones and one ballistic missile at Kharkiv, the Donetsk region, and the Odesa region (NYT)
The Ukrainian Air Force reportedly struck down forty of the drones; three people were killed and sixty-four were wounded (AP). Meanwhile, in Kotovsk, Tambov, a Ukrainian drone attack reportedly struck a Russian gunpowder plant, starting a fire; damages and casualties were not confirmed, and the Ukrainian army has not yet commented (Kyiv Independent)
Ukrainian Drone Attacks Prompt Flight Suspensions at Moscow Airports
Overnight into this morning, Ukrainian drone strikes caused a temporary suspension of flights at four airports serving Moscow and airports in ten other cities, including St. Petersburg, Russia’s civil aviation authority said (Reuters)
On Monday night into Tuesday morning, Russian military forces launched 315 drones into Ukraine, primarily aimed at Kyiv, Odesa, and the Dnipro and Chernihiv regions; in Kyiv, four people were allegedly injured; in Odesa, two people were allegedly killed and thirteen were injured (BBC)
Separately, Brussels is seeking a ban on transactions connected to the Nord Stream pipelines and a lower price cap on Russian oil as part of the latest punitive measures for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said; the Nord Stream ban requires approval from all European Union (EU) member countries, while lowering the oil price cap would also need U.S. cooperation because it is a Group of Seven (G7) measure (WSJ)
In a congressional hearing, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the new defense budget would include reductions in military assistance for Ukraine; the extent of the reductions was unconfirmed (Kyiv Independent).
Russia Launches Major Drone Barrages Across Ukraine for Two Consecutive Nights
Russia’s drone onslaught into Monday morning was the largest of the war and caused damage at a military airfield; Moscow launched 479 drones and twenty missiles at Ukraine, damaging a military airfield in the country’s west, Ukraine’s air force said (Reuters)
The governor of Odesa said two men were killed after an attack hit medical and residential buildings, including a maternity ward (BBC)
The offensives come after Russia warned it would retaliate for Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russian airfields earlier this month—and as the countries began a prisoner swap amid slow-moving peace talks (ABC)
After the Istanbul talks revealed a large gap between Russia and Ukraine’s positions on ending the war—and U.S. President Donald Trump has shown little sign of spending more to arm Ukraine—Kyiv’s other Western backers have stepped up their military readiness (CFR)
Canada will spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense this fiscal year, five years ahead of a previously-announced target, Prime Minister Mark Carney said (DW)
Canadian officials have also held talks about procuring more of their military equipment from the European Union (EU); Carney said Canada was “too reliant on the United States” (CNN)
NATO chief Mark Rutte called for a 400 percent increase in the alliance’s air and missile defense production and said he expects member countries to greenlight a large spending hike at a Netherlands summit later this month (AP)
NATO to Boost Air Defense Capabilities
NATO agreed to expand its ground-based air defense capabilities five-fold, Bloomberg reported (Bloomberg)
The move came as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was at the White House seeking a more active U.S. role in pressuring Russia toward peace in Ukraine; during the discussion, Trump compared the war to a children’s brawl, saying it is sometimes better to let children “fight for a while” before “pulling them apart,” after months of pushing for peace talks (AP)
Meanwhile, North Korea will “unconditionally support” Russia’s war against Ukraine, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged during a meeting with Russia’s security council secretary in Pyongyang (AP)
Merz Meets With Trump, Discusses Support to Ukraine
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to discuss differences on trade and Ukraine with U.S. President Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office today (Reuters)
Merz seeks to shore up U.S. support for Ukraine ahead of upcoming Group of Seven (G7) and NATO summits, despite Trump’s signaling that he wants to shift more of European defense responsibility to Europe; Merz has aligned with that key Trump administration priority by moving to hike Germany’s military spending (NYT)
Merz aims to convince Trump that Russia will not agree to peace unless Europe and the United States levy additional sanctions against it, the Wall Street Journal reported (WSJ)
Washington has declined to provide air support to a prospective “reassurance force” led by the United Kingdom (UK) and France that would support Ukraine after a potential peace deal, unnamed sources told Bloomberg yesterday; the White House and UK government did not comment (Bloomberg)
Russia Plans Retaliation for Ukraine’s Drone Attack
Following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated in a post on social media that Russia intends to respond “very strongly” to Ukraine’s recent attack on several airbases within Russia; Trump did not say whether he attempted to discourage Putin’s retaliation against Ukraine, but instead mentioned his optimism for U.S.-Russian cooperation to deter Iran’s nuclear capabilities (NYT)
Ukraine Attacks Crimea Bridge
Ukraine struck the bridge linking Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea with explosives and damaged its support pillars, the Ukrainian military said; this is the third time Ukraine has targeted the bridge, a main supply route for Russian forces, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022 (NYT)