8 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Putin’s claim that Ukraine is ‘ours’ is evidence of his disdain for peace efforts, says Kyiv

Russian president says Russians and Ukrainians are one people – which Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected – and warns Moscow could also seize Sumy city. What we know on day 1,214Vladimir Putin has said he believes the whole of Ukraine is “ours” and warned that advancing Russian forces could take the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy as part of a bid to carve out a buffer zone along the border. Ukraine’s foreign minister denounced the Russian president’s statements on Friday as evidence of Russian “disdain” for US peace efforts and said Moscow was bent on seizing more territory and killing more Ukrainians. Putin, when asked about fresh Russian advances, told the country’s flagship economic forum in St Petersburg that he considered Russians and Ukrainians to be one people and “in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected the notion that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. The Ukrainian president said commanders had discussed Russia...

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35 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russia ‘on verge of recession’, Putin minister tells economic showcase

Drone attacks on Kharkiv and Odesa; don’t forget about Ukraine because of Iran-Israel fighting, say Kyiv officials. What we know on day 1,213 Vladimir Putin’s economy minister has warned that Russia is “on the verge” of recession as he spoke on the second day of a signature event meant to bolster economic confidence. The minister, Maxim Reshetnikov, said at the St Petersburg economic forum that his view was based on “current business sentiment and indicators” pointing to a slowdown. “Everything else depends on our decisions,” Reshetnikov said, calling for the central bank to show a “little love for the economy”.Russia’s central bank raised interest rates to an eye-watering 21% in October 2024 to combat inflation and kept them at that level until this month when it eased them to 20%. Russia’s economic growth slowed to 1.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, the lowest quarterly figure in two years. Prices are rising across the economy driven up by massive government spending ...

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60 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russia can defend itself, says Putin, as North Korea sends more soldiers

Death toll rises to 28 after Russian attack on Kyiv apartments; Zelenskyy planning to attend Nato summit in The Hague. What we know on day 1,212Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was ready to meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy but only during a “final phase” of negotiations “so as not to sit there and divide things up endlessly, but to put an end to it”. Putin made his customary false accusation that Zelenskyy is not Ukraine’s legitimate president.In a round-table interview in St Petersburg with international news agencies, Putin said on Nato: “We do not consider any Nato rearmament to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our security.” Russia has brought in thousands of North Korean soldiers to help defend Kursk; and has relied on a flood of arms and ammunition from North Korea as well as Iranian drones and missiles to wage war on Ukraine; while also receiving suspected help from China to continue arming a “spec...

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3 d. ago Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv kills at least 15 people

Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls it ‘one of the most horrific attacks’ on Ukraine’s capital since full-scale war beganUkraine war briefing: Kyiv under Russian drone attack with apartment building hitRussia launched a sustained missile and drone attack on Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 156 in what the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called “one of the most horrific attacks” on the Ukrainian capital since the full-scale war began in spring 2022.The death toll from what is already the deadliest attack on the capital this year is expected to rise, with several sites across the city struck. At a nine-storey Soviet-era apartment block in the west of Kyiv, an apparent direct missile hit had led to part of the building collapsing, leaving a gaping hole and a pile of rubble in the middle of the block. Continue reading...

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4 d. ago Russian strikes on Kyiv kill at least 14 with attacks reported across Ukraine

Overnight attack sees waves of drones and missiles strike Ukraine’s capitalUkraine war briefing: Kyiv under Russian drone attack with apartment building hitAn overnight attack on Ukraine’s capital killed at least 14 people, the head of Kyiv’s military administration said early on Tuesday, with Russian strikes reported across the country.“According to initial reports, there are already 14 deaths in Kyiv,” Tymur Tkachenko said, adding that rescuers were still searching the rubble for victims. Continue reading...

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4 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv under Russian drone attack with apartment building hit

Stay off Russian gas even after peace, says EU energy chief, as ban is drafted; 6,000 casualties out of 10,000 North Koreans fighting against Ukraine. What we know on day 1,210 Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian drone factory attacked, 1,000km away in Tatarstan

Factory making Iranian-designed Shahed drones is hit, far from Russia-Ukraine border; Russian strikes damage energy and other civilian facilities in Poltava oblast. What we know on day 1,209See all our Ukraine war coverageUkraine’s military said on Sunday it had attacked a Russian drone factory in the city of Yelabuga in Russia’s Tatarstan region. The target is around 1,000km from Ukraine. The Ukrainian military general staff said the factory produced, tested, and launched drones at Ukraine, in particular against energy and civil infrastructure. Videos on social media showed an explosion said to be at the factory in Yelabuga, also known as Alabuga, which builds Iranian-designed Shahed drones. The Russian local governor confirmed the attack.Russian forces hit the Kremenchuk oil refinery in Ukraine’s Poltava region with missiles and drones, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denounced the attack on the central Poltava region as a vile s...

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6 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Putin tells Trump in phone call Moscow ready to resume peace talks

President confirms Russia could continue negotiations with Kyiv after current prisoner swaps end; Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia’s war effort. What we know on day 1,208 Continue reading...

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7 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv repatriates more bodies of fallen soldiers amid major exchange with Russia

Ukraine says return in line with deal reached in Turkey while Russia hands over 1,200 bodies; Moscow claims capture of another Sumy village. What we know on day 1,207Ukraine has repatriated more bodies of fallen soldiers in accordance with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul, Ukrainian officials said Friday. Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Russia had returned 1,200 bodies, and “according to the Russian side, the bodies belong to Ukrainian citizens, in particular military personnel”. The repatriation of the bodies was carried out with the help of Ukraine’s armed forces, the country’s security service, the interior ministry and other government agencies, its statement said. Forensic experts would now work to identify the remains. The repatriation marks one of the war’s largest returns of remains.Russia says its forces have captured another village in Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region amid its ramped-up offensive there. M...

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8 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy says troops contesting Russian advance in Sumy

Ukrainian forces ‘pushing back the occupiers’ says president but prevailing assessments show Russian gains. What we know on day 1,206Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainian forces are pushing back against Russian forces in the border Sumy region where they have established a foothold in recent weeks. “Our units in Sumy region are gradually pushing back the occupiers,” said Ukraine’s president in his nightly video address. “I thank you! Thanks to every soldier, sergeant and officer for this result.”The Ukrainian president provided no further details and offered no proof of Ukrainian advances in the area, and the claim contradicts prevailing assessments of continued Russian gains in Sumy. Russia has seized over 190 sq km (73 sq miles) of the Sumy region in less than a month, according to pro-Ukrainian open-source maps. They have captured more ground in the past days, advancing to around 20km from the city of Sumy’s northern suburbs and rendering it vulnerable to long-range artillery an...

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9 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: severely wounded soldiers next in prisoner exchanges

Ukraine and Russia earlier returned fallen soldiers’ remains; Moldova and Romania next for Putin, Zelenskyy tells regional summit. What we know on day 1,205 Continue reading...

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1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: Deaths in Kharkiv as Russia continues strikes on civilian targets

Latest prisoner exchange includes Mariupol defenders; European Commission unveils 18th round of sanctions. What we know on day 1,204At least two people were killed and 28 injured in an overnight Russian drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday morning. “Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs were carried out in two districts of the city this night,” said the Kharkiv mayor, Igor Terekhov. More than 15 apartments were on fire in a five-storey building and several houses were hit. Terekhov added “there may be people trapped under the rubble”.Separately the death toll rose to at least three with 13 wounded after Russia attacked Kyiv and Odesa with waves of drones and missiles early on Tuesday. The civilian targets hit included a maternity ward and a cathedral. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, voiced his frustration with Donald Trump by calling for “concrete actions” rather than “silence” after seven of the Ukrainian capital’s 10 districts were hit, writes Daniel ...

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1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: Russia launches attacks on Kyiv and Odesa a day after massive drone bombardment

Russia launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine on Monday in the biggest overnight drone attack of the war. What we know on day 1,203See all our Ukraine war coverageKyiv and the port city of Odesa came under “massive” drone attacks from Russia early Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said. An AFP journalist in central Kyiv heard at least a dozen of explosions and gunfire, as air defences tried to down the drones. Buildings and cars in several districts were burning and debris fell near a school. Russian strikes on Odesa hit maternity and medical facilities that had been evacuated, local officials said, reporting no casualties there.The attack came a day after Russia launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, according to the Ukrainian air force, as the Kremlin presses ahead with its summer offensive. In addition to the 479 drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine from Sunday to Monday, according...

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1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: Poland scrambles planes to secure airspace as Russia targets western Ukraine

The Polish response comes as Russian troops advance on east-central Ukraine. What we know on day 1,202See all our Ukraine war coveragePoland and allied countries scrambled aircraft early on Monday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched airstrikes targeting western Ukraine near the Polish border, the operational command of the Polish armed forces said. “The steps taken are aimed at ensuring security in the regions bordering the areas at risk,” it said on X.All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts in the early hours of Monday after the Ukrainian air force warned of Russian missile and drone attacks.Russia launched an air attack on Kyiv, which Ukraine’s air defence units were trying to repel, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said on the Telegram messaging app early on Monday.Russia says its forces are advancing to the edge of the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk for the first time in the three-year war, raising the prospect of a...

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2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: We bomb their warplanes, they bomb our civilians, says foreign minister

Repeated shutdowns at Moscow airports due to drone threat; military airfields and fuel depots inside Russia hit. What we know on day 1,200Russia’s missile and drone barrage against Kyiv on Friday killed at least six people, Ukrainian officials said. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, said three emergency workers who went to a bomb site were “killed in a repeat Russian strike”. Two died in an attack on the northern city of Chernihiv and at least one more in the north-western city of Lutsk. Eighty people were injured in attacks across Ukraine.Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Russia had “‘responded’ to its destroyed aircraft by attacking civilians in Ukraine Multi-storey buildings hit. Energy infrastructure damaged.” Ukrainian spies last weekend destroyed Russian strategic bomber aircraft on the ground using quadcopter drones hidden on top of trucks in Operation Spiderweb.Russian aviation authorities restricted flights at Moscow regional airports on Friday nig...

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2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Deadly Russian shelling continues after Turkey peace talks

Zelenskyy says ‘no one cares’ if Putin is angry after hidden drones hit bomber fleet; Russians want truce to collect dead soldiers. What we know on day 1,196 Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy accuses Moscow of doing ‘everything it can’ to sabotage peace talks

President hasn’t committed to Ukraine attending Monday’s meeting with Russia in Istanbul, saying Moscow first has to provide its proposals. What we know on day 1,193See all our Ukraine war coverageUkraine has said it does not expect any results from talks with Russia in Turkey, unless Moscow provides its peace terms in advance, accusing the Kremlin of doing “everything” it can to sabotage the potential meeting. Moscow said it was sending a team of negotiators to Istanbul for a second round of talks on Monday but Kyiv has yet to confirm if it will attend. “For over a week now, the Russians have been unable to present the so-called memorandum,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X on Friday, referring to a document Russia says it has prepared outlining its conditions for peace. “For a meeting to be meaningful, its agenda must be clear, and the negotiations must be properly prepared,” the Ukrainian president added. “Unfortunately, Russia is doing everything it can to ensure that the next pote...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Flood of North Korean arms to Russia, say US, Japan and others

20,000 cargo containers of ammo, shells, missiles and gear sent, says watchdog replacing UN panel scuppered by Moscow. What we know on 1,192North Korea has supplied to Russia as many as nine million rounds of artillery and rocket launcher ammunition, as well as at least 100 ballistic missiles along with self-propelled artillery guns and long-range multiple rocket launchers, according to the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, a group comprising 11 UN members. The shipments have enabled Russia to increase attacks against civilian targets, and there have been 20,000 containers of the gear transferred by Russian cargo ships, in violation of UN sanctions. The monitoring group comprises the US, South Korea, Japan, and eight other UN member states. It was set up after Russia and China cooperated to scrap an official security council panel that did the job.The multilateral group has said in its first ever report that Russia is helping North Korea improve its missiles’ guidance systems ...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Kremlin holds back peace memorandum that it promised Trump

Zelenskyy says Moscow dragging out the process as Lavrov insists on another meeting; funeral for three sibling children killed by Russian cruise missile. What we know on day 1,191Ukraine has submitted its peace terms and insisted Russia do the same before further talks, which the Kremlin has demanded take place next Monday in Turkey. “We are not opposed to further meetings with the Russians and are awaiting their memorandum,” said the Ukrainian defence minister, Rustem Umerov. “The Russian side has at least four more days before their departure to provide us with their document for review. Diplomacy must be substantive, and the next meeting must yield results.”Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said instead that a Russian team “is ready to present a memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary explanations during a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, 2 June”. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Wednesday called for Moscow to engage i...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Drones target Moscow forcing suspension of some flights

Air raid alerts in Ukrainian regions; Zelenskyy visits Berlin amid promising noises about long-range strikes. What we know on day 1,190 A major Ukrainian drone attack late over Tuesday night into Wednesday led to at least two Moscow airports, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky, suspending flights, Russian authorities said. The defence ministry said 112 Ukrainian drones targeted six different regions in the three hours up to midnight.Russian drones hit the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, injuring eight people including a child, the regional military governor said on Wednesday morning. Ukraine’s air force issued an air raid alert due to drones across regions including Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa, Kyiv and others.Russian authorities were again dismissive of Donald Trump after the US president said Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire” and putting Russia at risk of “really bad things”. Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former prime minister and president, responded: “I only know of one really bad thing – WWIII. I hope...

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