Key developments on June 17:
- 'A brutal strike' — Huge Russian missile and drone assault hits Kyiv, killing 14, injuring at the least 117
- Zelensky arrives at G7 summit hours after Trump departs
- US group designed to stress Russia into peace in Ukraine disbanded by Trump administration, Reuters studies
- US reportedly considers strikes on Iran as Trump calls for' unconditional give up'
- Russian military-industrial chemical plant halts operations after Ukrainian drone strike
Not less than 14 individuals have been killed and at the least 117 others injured after a mass Russian missile and drone assault on Kyiv in a single day on June 17.
Ukraine's Nationwide Police initially reported 15 useless and 124 injured within the assault, however Inside Minister Ihor Klymenko later revised the loss of life toll to 10. The State Emergency Service subsequently up to date the determine to 14.
Klymenko stated operational knowledge might change, as physique elements discovered throughout rescue efforts can typically be mistakenly counted as a number of victims.
Based on the State Emergency Service, one physique has been recovered from the rubble of the nine-story constructing, and rescue operations are nonetheless ongoing.
The virtually nine-hour-long assault noticed Moscow's forces launch giant numbers of kamikaze assault drones, in addition to cruise and ballistic missiles at Ukraine's capital.
Kyiv Impartial journalists on the bottom reported the sounds of drones, missiles, and a number of rounds of explosions all through the evening.
The Ukrainian Air Pressure confirmed that Russia launched 472 aerial weapons in a single day, together with practically 280 Shahed-type assault drones and two Kinzhal ballistic missiles. The strike primarily focused Kyiv.
Ukraine's air protection forces reportedly destroyed 428 air targets, together with 239 Shahed drones and 15 Kh-101 cruise missiles. Air defenses additionally intercepted one Kinzhal missile, whereas one other was reportedly misplaced from radar monitoring.
President Volodymyr Zelensky known as the assault "one of the crucial horrifying assaults on Kyiv," saying greater than 440 drones and 32 missiles had been launched throughout Ukraine in a single day.
"Such assaults are pure terrorism," he stated in a press release on social media. "And the entire world, the U.S., and Europe should lastly reply as civilized societies reply to terrorists."
Zelensky confirmed that injury had been reported in eight districts of Kyiv, with emergency staff nonetheless looking for survivors beneath the rubble of a destroyed house block.
In a video posted on Telegram, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated cluster munitions had been present in one space of town. He later added that June 18 can be an official day of mourning in Kyiv.
Most of the deaths and accidents occurred when a Russian missile hit a nine-storey residential constructing within the Solomianskyi district, "fully destroying" one part, Ukraine's State Emergency Service stated.
"I noticed the missile as a result of it was low," Olena Kushnirova, a 46-year-old nurse who lives in a neighboring constructing to the one which was hit, instructed the Kyiv Impartial.
Throughout the assault on the capital, a 62-year-oldU.S. citizen died within the Solomianskyi district in a constructing throughout from the place medics had been helping the injured, Klitschko reported. Medical personnel confirmed organic loss of life.
Overseas Minister Andrii Sybiha additionally condemned the assault, calling it a "large and brutal strike" timed intentionally to coincide with the G7 summit.
"Putin does this on objective… He sends a sign of complete disrespect to the United States and different companions who’ve known as for an finish to the killing," Sybiha stated. "Solely robust steps and actual stress on Moscow can show him mistaken."
A Russian drone additionally hit a multi-storey constructing Darnytskyi District.
"At first there was shock," Tatiana Bratus, a 50-year-old resident of the constructing, instructed the Kyiv Impartial.
"Folks began operating exterior, shouting, some in panic, as a result of the assault wasn't over but. They stated there have been nonetheless rockets flying. Folks ran to the bomb shelter.
A kindergarten within the Darnytskyi district was additionally broken, Tymur Tkachenko, the pinnacle of the Kyiv Metropolis Navy Administration, stated. No casualties had been reported on the website.
The higher flooring of residential buildings within the Solomianskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts had been additionally broken.
A dormitory on the Kyiv Aviation Institute was hit by drones through the assault, the information outlet Suspilne reported. Drones struck the institute's tenth ground and broke home windows on three different flooring.
Outdoors the capital, the assaults additionally triggered injury and injured civilians in Kyiv Oblast cities. Not less than one lady was injured and a number of houses had been broken, in response to the regional administration.
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The Russian strike broken the manufacturing facility of Fahrenheit, a Ukrainian clothes producer that provides attire and undergarments for each civilians and the army. The corporate introduced it was pressured to cancel all present orders and droop new ones indefinitely following the destruction of its Kyiv website.
Russian forces additionally hit a Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) freight practice carrying grain. A number of railcars overturned, briefly halting operations and spilling grain from the broken wagons. Ukrzaliznytsia stated the injury can be "promptly repaired" and practice visitors wouldn’t be affected.
Ukrposhta, Ukraine's nationwide postal service, reported the destruction of two of its branches in Kyiv through the assault, in response to CEO Ihor Smiliansky. The corporate's staff is working to "rapidly restore companies," he stated.
The assault adopted a sequence of drone strikes in a single day on June 16 concentrating on Kyiv Oblast, together with each the capital and surrounding settlements. Within the Obukhiv district, a 60-year-old man was injured, in response to regional authorities.
Russian assaults in opposition to Ukraine have intensified in Might and June, with Moscow launching a number of record-breaking mass strikes in opposition to Kyiv and different cities.
The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova
Zelensky arrives at G7 summit hours after Trump departs
President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived on the G7 Leaders' Summit in Canada on June 17 forward of the ultimate day of the G7 Leaders' summit, in response to a Kyiv Impartial journalist on the bottom.
Zelensky was greeted by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Kananaskis, Alberta, the place the summit is being held.
"We’d like extra from our allies… We’re prepared for peace negotiations… However for this, we want stress," the Ukrainian president stated.
The Ukrainian president was anticipated to fulfill U.S. President Donald Trump on the summit. Nevertheless, it isn’t clear if the assembly will happen as a result of Trump left the summit early attributable to escalating tensions within the Center East.
White Home spokesperson Caroline Leavitt confirmed Trump's early departure from the summit, citing the continued escalation between Israel and Iran.
Zelensky was to carry his third in-person assembly with Trump, which can sign the way forward for Trump and Zelensky's relationship, in addition to supply perception into the US' dedication to supporting Ukraine.
In February, Zelensky and Trump held their first assembly, which escalated right into a heated argument, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance lambasting the Ukrainian chief over what they described as "a scarcity of gratitude for U.S. help."
The second assembly between Trump and Zelensky within the Vatican in April led to the U.S. president reiterating requires a ceasefire in Ukraine and even threatening to impose sanctions on Russia.
Within the month since their final in-person assembly, tensions between Trump and Zelensky have risen once more. Regardless of issuing a number of threats, Trump has not adopted by way of on implementing further financial stress on Moscow.
Forward of the summit, European leaders urged G7 nations to impose harsher sanctions on Moscow with the intention to safe a ceasefire within the warfare in opposition to Ukraine.
"To realize peace by way of power, we should put extra stress on Russia to safe an actual ceasefire, to convey Russia to the negotiating desk, and to finish this warfare. Sanctions are important to that finish," European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen stated on June 15 at a press briefing attended by a Kyiv Impartial journalist.
Zelensky remains to be anticipated to attend the scheduled conferences with different G7 leaders.
Zelensky stated in a closed-door assembly attended by the Kyiv Impartial on June 13 that his precedence is to talk with Trump about sanctions in opposition to Russia, peace talks, weapons purchases, and U.S.-Ukraine financial cooperation.
"There are steps ahead we will take — however we want the political will of the U.S. president, if he needs," Zelensky stated on June 13.
Amid elevated anxiousness round Trump's dedication to ending the warfare, U.S. Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth just lately introduced that the Pentagon would cut back funding allotted for army help to Ukraine in its 2026 protection price range.
Canada, which holds the G7 presidency in 2025, invited Zelensky to take part in summit, marking the Ukrainian president's fourth G7 assembly because the outbreak of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
The Kyiv IndependentYuliia Taradiuk
US group designed to stress Russia disbanded by Trump administration, Reuters studies
A U.S. authorities working group that formulated methods for pressuring Russia into peace talks and ending the warfare in Ukraine has been disbanded by the White Home, Reuters reported on June 17.
Officers cited by the information outlet stated it was established this spring however turned more and more irrelevant because it turned clear U.S. President Donald Trump wasn't prepared to use any concrete stress on Moscow throughout peace talks.
"It misplaced steam towards the top as a result of the president wasn't there. As an alternative of doing extra, perhaps he wished to do much less," an nameless official stated.
As Ukraine and the U.S. proceed to push for an unconditional ceasefire, Russia has maintained maximalist calls for and rejected all such proposals.
On the similar time, it has escalated assaults on Ukrainian civilians, killing at the least 15 individuals and injuring scores of others within the newest assault on Kyiv in a single day on June 17.
Trump has expressed frustration with Moscow's intransigence and rising violence however has but to impose any new sanctions on Russia.
On June 1,6 whereas talking in Canada forward of a G7 summit, Trump stated barring Russia from the G8 for its invasion of Ukraine in 2017 had been a "mistake."
Based on Reuters, the working group, staffed by officers from the Nationwide Safety Council, State Division, Treasury Division, the Pentagon and intelligence group, was decimated in a purge of personnel round three weeks in the past.
Trump pledged to "cease the wars" when he was elected U.S. president for the second time, however after simply 5 months in workplace, the world is a much more violent place.
In addition to Russia escalating assaults on Ukraine, Israel and Iran at the moment are locked in a battle that additional threatens stability within the Center East.
The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko
US reportedly considers strikes on Iran as Trump calls for 'unconditional give up'
U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing direct army motion in opposition to Iran, together with potential strikes on its nuclear amenities, Axios reported on June 17, citing unnamed U.S. officers.
Trump demanded Iran's "unconditional give up" on Fact Social on June 17 and threatened Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, boasting about U.S. air superiority.
The U.S. president is predicted to fulfill along with his nationwide safety staff later within the day to find out the scope of involvement within the escalating battle between Israel and Iran, in response to Axios.
The assembly comes after his early departure from the G7 Leaders' Summit on June 16, the place he had been scheduled to fulfill with President Volodymyr Zelensky the next day.
"We now have full and complete management of the skies over Iran," Trump wrote on Fact Social.
He added that "we all know precisely the place the so-called 'Supreme Chief' is hiding."
"He’s a simple goal, however is secure there – We’re not going to take him out (kill!), at the least not for now," Trump continued. "However we don't need missiles shot at civilians, or American troopers. Our persistence is carrying skinny."
The U.S. president is more and more leaning towards utilizing army power to focus on Iran's nuclear amenities, shifting away from a diplomatic decision, CNN reported, citing two unnamed U.S. officers.
Though Trump continues to be receptive to negotiations, CNN sources indicated that any settlement would require important concessions from Tehran.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated on June 17 that U.S. involvement in Israel's army marketing campaign is underneath critical consideration, and a call may very well be "made within the close to future," Politico reported.
Merz stated the choice is determined by whether or not the Iranian regime "is ready to return" to the negotiating desk.
The Kyiv IndependentChris York
Israel launched a sequence of large air strikes on Iran beginning June 13, concentrating on nuclear amenities and senior army figures. The Israeli authorities claimed Tehran was nearing nuclear weapons functionality.
Iran responded with missile strikes on Tel Aviv and different Israeli cities, which resulted in civilian casualties, together with 5 Ukrainian residents, on June 14.
Iranian officers claimed 224 individuals have been killed in Israeli assaults to this point, most of them civilians. The figures haven’t been independently verified.
As tensions develop, Trump has floated the thought of Russian President Vladimir Putin serving as a mediator between Israel and Iran. Putin spoke with each Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on June 13, providing mediation and condemning Israeli strikes.
Israel has not publicly responded to Russia's proposal, however Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on June 17 that Tel Aviv appeared unwilling to simply accept Russian mediation.
French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed the suggestion completely, saying on June 15 that Moscow, given its warfare in Ukraine and disrespect for the UN Constitution, "can’t be a mediator."
Tehran has turn into one in all Russia's closest army companions throughout its warfare in opposition to Ukraine, supplying 1000’s of Shahed drones and ballistic missiles utilized in each day strikes on Ukrainian cities.
Israel, which has traditionally maintained cautious relations with Russia and is dwelling to a considerable Russian-speaking inhabitants, has not joined in Western sanctions in opposition to Moscow.
On June 13, Kyiv expressed its help for Israel, describing Iran as a "supply of instability within the area and past," citing Tehran's in depth army cooperation with Russia.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
Russian chemical plant halts operations after Ukrainian drone strike
The Nevinnomyssk Azot chemical plant — one in all Russia's largest producers of nitrogen fertilizer and ammonia and a key provider to the Kremlin's military-industrial advanced — has suspended manufacturing, Russian impartial media outlet Astra reported on June 16.
Based on Astra, the chemical plant suspended manufacturing as a direct results of Ukrainian drone strikes. The strike — which was confirmed by Ukraine's Common Workers on June 14 — focused two main military-industrial amenities in Russia, together with the Nevinnomyssk Azot plant in Stavropol Krai. The power reportedly equipped uncooked supplies and parts for Russia's weapons and gas manufacturing.
Nevinnomyssk Azot is amongst Russia's prime producers of ammonia and nitrogen fertilizers and hosts the nation's solely manufacturing strains for methyl acetate and high-purity acetic acid. It additionally operates Russia's first melamine manufacturing facility, in response to open-source knowledge.
Based on Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Heart for Countering Disinformation on the Nationwide Safety and Protection Council, the plant produces as much as a million tons of ammonia and over a million tons of ammonium nitrate yearly, and is "a important component of Russia's military-industrial advanced."
Kovalenko famous that ammonium nitrate is a key part for explosives and artillery shells. He added that the plant additionally synthesizes dual-use chemical substances comparable to melamine, acetic acid, methanol, and potassium nitrate — all often used within the manufacturing of grenade launchers, mines, and rocket expenses.
Since 2024, the plant has additionally been producing water-soluble fertilizers, which he stated have been tailored to serve army chemical wants as a part of Russia's warfare in Ukraine.
The chemical plant is a part of the EuroChem Group, owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, who’s at present sanctioned by Canada, the European Union, Japan, and the UK.
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