An explosion occurred in Mykolaiv – mayor<p>An explosion occurred in Mykolaiv, as reported by Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych, amid the specter of kamikaze drone assaults. Enemy UAVs have been additionally detected within the sky over Kyiv Oblast, the place air protection is working.</p>
U.S. President Donald Trump promised throughout the NATO summit in The Hague that Russia would by no means assault the alliance whereas he’s in workplace, the Washington Submit reported on June 26, citing three unnamed European officers.
Talking at a briefing in The Hague a day earlier, Trump, nevertheless, didn’t rule out that Russia has territorial ambitions past Ukraine.
"It's doable," he mentioned.
Nonetheless, the U.S. president instantly downplayed Moscow's menace and aggression towards Ukraine, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin was "misguided."
Overseas officers and EU diplomats have more and more known as for the preparation for a possible full-scale battle between NATO and Russia.
Trump's remarks got here days after President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned that Ukraine's intelligence has proof that Russia is making ready new navy operations in Europe and only a week after Putin declared "all of Ukraine is ours."
In the course of the summit, NATO Secretary Basic Mark Rutte known as on alliance members to be reasonable concerning the threats posed by Russia and China. Beforehand, he warned that Russia could possibly be able to launch an assault towards the alliance inside 5 years.
Amid rising threats from Russia, NATO member states have agreed to a brand new protection spending benchmark, committing to allocate 5% of their gross home product yearly to protection and security-related expenditures by 2035.
In early June, German intelligence chief Bruno Kahl mentioned Russia could attempt to take a look at NATO’s unity with provocations past Ukraine, as some Russian officers imagine that the alliance's collective protection precept not works.
The Primary Intelligence Directorate precipitated a rumble in Bryansk: intelligence drones attacked missile gasoline storage depots<p>GUR drones hit missile gasoline and gasoline and lubricant depots of the 1061st Logistics Assist Middle of the Russian Armed Forces in Bryansk on June 26. Drones of the "Bobber", "Balan" and "Obriy" sorts precipitated explosions and a fireplace on the facility.</p>
Greater than 20,000 Russian troopers have been prosecuted for refusing to combat in Ukraine, a Russian impartial media outlet Mediazona reported on June 26, citing on-line knowledge from navy courts.
As of late Could, Mediazona had documented 20,538 such instances since September 2022 (when the Kremlin introduced a primary wave of partial mobilization) in comparison with 10,025 instances reported as of June 2024.
Of those, 18,159 have been instances of troopers going AWOL, 1,369 instances of failure to adjust to an order, and 1,010 instances of desertion.
In keeping with Mediazona, 17,721 of the accused have already been sentenced.
The Insider reported that Moscow makes use of a scientific program of "gulag-style" abuse directed at its troopers in Ukraine with the intention to "preserve order" and punish perceived offenders.
Reviews of Russian troopers being abused by commanders and fellow troops have emerged for the reason that full-scale battle towards Ukraine started.
Moscow has solely intensified its battle effort regardless of calls by Kyiv, the U.S., and European companions for an unconditional ceasefire as a primary step towards a peace deal.
In keeping with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia recruits round 40,000-45,000 males for its navy each month.
Though Russia did undergo phases of mobilization and has made nice use of its jail inhabitants, most new recruits have for some time been volunteer contract troopers, lured in by one-time signup bonuses usually greater than a number of years' common wage in poorer areas of Russia.
In late 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to extend the scale of Russia's Armed Forces to about 2.4 million, together with 1.5 million navy personnel.
“We anticipate excellent news quickly”: Budanov hinted at a brand new prisoner alternate<p>The top of the Important Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, introduced a profitable prisoner alternate, inside which younger, critically sick, and wounded defenders have been returned. He introduced new excellent news relating to exchanges within the close to future.</p>
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated Ankara is working to prepare a gathering between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with U.S. President Donald Trump doubtlessly becoming a member of the talks, Reuters reported.
Talking after his assembly with Trump, Erdogan stated on June 26 that the U.S. president expressed curiosity in collaborating if the assembly have been to happen in Turkey.
"He stated,'If Russian President Vladimir Putin involves Istanbul or Ankara for an answer, then I can even come,'" Erdogan advised reporters. "We are going to maintain the required contacts and, God prepared, understand this assembly as quickly as attainable."
Zelensky and Trump met through the NATO summit on June 25, the place the 2 leaders mentioned battlefield developments, Kyiv's want for addedair protection methods, and the potential for co-production of drones.
Zelensky has beforehand voiced openness to a trilateral assembly. On Could 27, he advised public broadcaster Suspilne that he was prepared to take a seat down with each Trump and Putin.
Putin has claimed he’s additionally prepared to fulfill, however didn’t attend earlier talks proposed in Istanbul, opting as an alternative to ship lower-level delegates to peace discussions held on Could 16.
The Kremlin has lengthy sought to painting Zelensky as "illegitimate", with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in February claiming that any talks should think about "authorized elements" of his mandate.
Turkey beforehand hosted direct peace talks in March 2022 and has remained one of many few international locations with open strains to each Kyiv and Moscow. The most recent spherical of direct talks on June 2 was held in Istanbul.
<p>Більшість були в полоні з 22-го року: Зеленський заявив про новий етап обміну полоненими з РФ</p><p></p><p>President Zelenskyy confirmed one other alternate of prisoners with the Russian Federation. Troopers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Nationwide Guard, and the State Border Guard Service have been returned, most of whom had been in captivity since 2022.</p><p></p>
Ukraine has halted Russia's advance in Sumy Oblast, stabilizing the entrance line and blunting the momentum of Moscow's summer time offensive, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi mentioned on June 26.
"Primarily based on the outcomes of Might and June, we are able to say that this yr's wave of the enemy's summer time offensive from Russian territory is faltering," Syrskyi mentioned, reporting that Russian troops within the northeastern border area had been stopped.
Moscow launched its new summer time marketing campaign in Might, aiming to push deeper into Ukraine's northeast and jap areas, disregarding Kyiv's requires an unconditional ceasefire.
Russian forces had made modest beneficial properties, occupying round 449 sq. kilometers (173 sq. miles) in Might, the best month-to-month complete in 2025, in accordance with the open-source intelligence group DeepState.
In Sumy Oblast, nevertheless, the road of contact has stabilized. Syrskyi mentioned Ukrainian troops aren’t solely defending but in addition reclaiming floor utilizing lively protection ways.
"In sure areas, our models are liberating Ukrainian territory," he mentioned.
A map of Ukraine's Sumy Oblast (Nizar al-Rifal/The Kyiv Unbiased)
Syrskyi mentioned Ukrainian operations in Russia's Glushkovsky district had pressured Moscow to shift elite models, together with Airborne Forces and Marine Corps brigades, into defensive positions, undermining their offensive capabilities in Sumy.
"Within the North Slobozhansky and Kursk instructions, now we have as soon as once more pinned down about 50,000 Russian Armed Forces personnel," Syrskyi mentioned. He offered no additional particulars about how Ukraine had achieved this.
Ukraine launched a cross-border offensive into Russia's Kursk Oblast in August 2024, initially capturing 1,300 sq. kilometers earlier than shedding most of that territory in a Russian counterattack earlier this yr.
Russian officers declared full management over the area on April 26, although the declare was later disputed by Kyiv and contradicted by Russia's personal native authorities.
Russia's broader offensive goals to grab the remaining administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and carve out a buffer zone alongside the Sumy and Kharkiv frontiers.
Sumy Oblast, which borders Russia to the east, stays a strategic area. For the reason that starting of the full-scale invasion, it has confronted near-daily assaults.
Occupants have intensified the work of the Mariupol port for the transportation of navy cargo – Metropolis Council<p>Russia is getting ready infrastructure in quickly occupied Mariupol for the transportation of navy cargo, intensifying the work of the port and railway. Modernization of the port is deliberate for the export of stolen grain and metallic, in addition to the creation of situations for the fast switch of gas.</p>
Russia seems to have supplied North Korea with in depth help in designing and quickly setting up two superior destroyers, probably the most fashionable in Pyongyang's fleet, the Wall Road Journal (WSJ) reported on June 25.
The destroyers, a part of the brand new Choe Hyon class, had been in-built simply over a yr — an unusually quick timeline that analysts say would have been unattainable with out international help.
Satellite tv for pc imagery and launch footage recommend a transparent Russian design affect, together with the distinctive bow and stern construction discovered on Russia's Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates.
One of many destroyers, launched in April, was adopted in Might by a failed launch throughout which the second vessel capsized in entrance of North Korean chief Kim Jong Un.
The incident prompted outrage from Kim, who condemned the failed launch as a "felony act" and positioned blame on a number of state establishments, accusing related officers of "irresponsibility" which "couldn’t be tolerated,"North Korean state-run Korean Central Information Company (KCNA) reported.
Based on the company, a malfunction within the launch mechanism triggered the strict of the 5,000-ton destroyer to slip into the water too early, whereas the remainder of the ship remained caught.
Injury to the underside of the ship threw it off steadiness, and the bow failed to maneuver, leading to "a critical accident."
The wreck was recovered in early June.
Mike Plunkett, a senior naval analyst at Janes, an open-source intelligence firm, informed the WSJ that the ships appeared to have indicators of Russian involvement. He pointed to equivalent hull traces and profiles the place the hull connects to the facet, between the Korean and Russian vessels.
One of many destroyers seems to be geared up with the Russian Pantsir-M system, marking the primary time this superior air-defense system has been seen on a non-Russian warship.
Plunkett famous that the air flow grilles for the engine room had been sealed with steel plates, indicating the ships may not but have engines.
The information comes amid deepening army ties between Russia and North Korea. Based on a Might 29 report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Staff (MSMT), Pyongyang shipped as much as 9 million artillery shells and not less than 100 ballistic missiles to Russia in 2024 alone.
In fall 2024, North Korea's function in Russia's battle grew because it despatched hundreds of troops to Russia's western border to help in repelling a Ukrainian incursion.
The partnership has additionally expanded into drone cooperation. On June 9, Ukraine's army intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, mentioned the 2 nations had agreed to start manufacturing of Iranian-designed Shahed-136 drones on North Korean territory.
The Kyiv IndependentChris York
The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek
