North Korea Pledges “Unconditional Support” for Russia
In Pyongyang, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who reaffirmed North Korea’s support to Russia and “all the measures taken by the Russian leadership” in the Ukraine War (BBC)
Lavrov also met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in Wonsan, where both parties pledged to safeguard each other’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity (Al Jazeera)
Meanwhile, a Russian overnight attack across Ukraine, including in Bukovina, Chernivtsi, Lviv, and Kharkiv, killed at least six Ukrainians and wounded over forty more; this barrage included 597 drones and 26 cruise missiles, though a majority were shot down or electronically jammed (AP)
Zelenskyy Confirms U.S. Aid Shipments Have Been Restored
Zelenskyy noted he will continue to discuss aid shipments with President Trump’s Special Envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, on Monday (Kyiv Independent)
The EU also reinforced its position on strengthening Ukrainian security, as the EU announced the BraveTech EU initiative to enhance technological innovation in the EU and Ukraine (European Commission)
Bravetech EU, a €100 million fund, will focus on small and medium-sized startups in Ukraine and the EU to share and develop innovative defense technologies (Euronews)
The UK also approved a $2.3 billion loan to Ukraine to strengthen its air defense capabilities (Ukraine MoF)
Separately, Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate claimed that Russia’s goal to seize the entirety of the Donetsk Oblast by the end of 2025 is unlikely due to the Russian forces’ high casualty rate relative to small political and territorial gains (ISW)
Moscow Launches Large-Scale Drone Attacks for Second Night in a Row
Last night’s attack was concentrated in Kyiv, where two people were killed and nearly every district of the Ukrainian capital was damaged, according to Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy (Reuters)
The attack included 397 Shahed and decoy drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles; Zelenskyy considered it a “clear escalation of Russian terror” (AP)
The attack marked the use of a new tactic employed by Russia, as drones came in from all directions at different altitudes, encircled the city before the attack, and simultaneously launched at the city (CNN)
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that it shot down or disabled 382 of the 415 weapons launched by Russia (CNN)
Separately, President Trump will reportedly use his Presidential Drawdown Authority for the first time this term to send weapons to Ukraine worth roughly $300 million; the power was last used by the Biden administration for a $500 million drawdown (Reuters)
If used for Patriot missile interceptors and GMLRS mobile rocket artillery, the weapons may be available to Ukraine within days (Reuters)
On the diplomatic front, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, as the two discussed plans to end the Ukraine War; Rubio stated that he and Lavrov discussed “a new or different approach” to peace talks but did not offer specifics (Reuters)
In Rome, leaders at the Ukraine Recovery Conference pledged €2.3 billion in loan guarantees and grants for Ukraine’s reconstruction and established a ‘European Flagship Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine’, which President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said is the “largest equity fund globally to support reconstruction” (France24)
At the Conference, German Chancellor Friederich Merz said that Germany was willing to buy Patriot air defense missiles and provide them to Ukraine if necessary (Reuters)
Lastly, a colonel in the Security Service of Ukraine was shot and killed in a residential parking lot in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district; the perpetrator fled the scene and was not identified (Reuters)
Russia Launches Largest Drone Barrage of War
The country launched a record 700-plus drones and 13 missiles onto Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said; the attack was most severe in the northwestern city of Lutsk, though ten other regions were also hit (AP)
Because of Lutsk’s proximity to Poland, Polish air defenses were also activated by the attack (Reuters)
President Zelenskyy traveled to Rome to meet with Pope Leo XIV, as well as U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg and Italian President Sergio Mattarella (Kyiv Independent)
Pope Leo XIV offered to host peace talks with Ukraine at the Vatican (Reuters)
Separately, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed Kyiv will replace its ambassador to the United States; the move is an attempt to strengthen ties with the Trump administration as Zelenskyy continues to lobby the United States for more aid (Guardian)
Oksana Markarova had served in the post for four years and has been criticized by some Republicans (Hill)
Furthermore, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia had violated international law on numerous occasions, including shooting down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, killing and wounding thousands of Ukrainians since 2022, and the use of sexual violence as a strategy to break Ukrainian morale (AP)
Russian newspaper Kommersant also reported that throughout the war against Ukraine, the Russian state has confiscated approximately $50 billion in assets, as over one thousand companies have left Russia (Reuters)
Trump Approves Defensive Weapons Delivery to Ukraine
A day after President Trump said the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine, he officially approved the decision in a cabinet meeting (Reuters)
Trump said that he is “not happy with Putin” and that he is “very strongly” considering supporting a bill in the Senate that would place harsh sanctions on Russia and 500 percent tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, gas, and uranium (Reuters)
Furthermore, one day after former Russian Transport Minister and former Governor of Kursk Roman Starovoit was found dead in an apparent suicide, reports emerged claiming he had embezzled approximately $248 million in state funds intended to reinforce the Kursk border (Reuters)
U.S. Weapons to Ukraine
Trump said that the United States would send additional weapons to Ukraine, just days after Washington stopped shipments of some supplies; the pause caught Kyiv by surprise and comes as Russia has intensified air strikes in recent weeks (CBS)
Russian drone strikes killed eleven civilians and injured over eighty in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, northern Sumy, and southern Zaporizhzhia (AP)
In an apparent suicide, Russia’s former Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was found dead just hours after President Putin dismissed him, following a weekend in which hundreds of flights were grounded due to Ukrainian drone strikes (AP)
Ukrainian drone strikes into Russia targeted thirteen Russian regions, the Black Sea, and the Crimean Peninsula; ninety-one drones were shot down, and casualties were not reported (AP)
Zelenskyy Announces Deal to Increase Drone Production
During his nightly video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine had made two separate deals with a U.S. firm and some European allies that will enable Kyiv to strike key Russian defense assets, airbases, and oil refineries (RFE/RL)
Moreover, Ukrainian drone strikes into Russia caused flight disruptions at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport, and other airports in central and western Russia; Russian air defenses reportedly repelled 159 Ukrainian drones, and 2 civilians were allegedly injured by drones in Belgorod (AP)
Russian attacks reportedly injured three civilians in Kyiv, injured two civilians in Kharkiv, struck port infrastructure in Mykolaiv, and killed four civilians and injured one in Kostyantynivka (AP)
Ukraine Strikes Russian Air Base
A Ukrainian drone barrage on Russia’s Borisoglebsk air base reportedly hit a glide bomb storage site and a trainer aircraft; the airfield houses Russian Su-34, Su-35S, and Su-30SM aircraft (Reuters)
Ukraine launched an additional 139 drones into Russia, all of which were reportedly repelled, including four that were approaching Moscow (AP)
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top general, Oleksandr Syrskyi, posted on Telegram that Russian forces may be preparing to launch an offensive in the Kharkiv region (Reuters)
Additionally, Russia launched 322 drones into Ukraine; 157 were shot down and 135 were lost; there were no reported casualties or damage from the attack, which primarily targeted Khmelnytskyi (AP)
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)