Key developments on June 27: * Ukraine's drones strike 4 Su-34 fighter jets in Russia's Volgograd Oblast, General Staff says * North Korea deployed 20% of Kim's elite 'personal reserve' to fight against Ukraine in Russia, Umerov says * Pro-Palestinian activists reportedly destroy military equipment intended for Ukraine * Zelensky signs decree to synchronize
Ukrainian manufacturers will supply four million drones to the front line this year, while the Ukrainian army has already received up to 1.5 million drones as of the end of June, according to Umerov.
According to preliminary data, two Russian fighter jets were destroyed, and the other two were damaged.
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksii Chernyshov was restricted from traveling abroad without permission after a court ruled on June 27 to set bail at Hr 120 million ($2.9 million) while awaiting trial in a high-profile corruption case. “This is a huge challenge for me,” Chernyshov told reporters during
Loyalty to the incumbent administration has been the key requirement for prosecutor generals in Ukraine. Ruslan Kravchenko, who was appointed as prosecutor general on June 21, appears to be no exception. Previously he had been appointed as a military governor by President Volodymyr Zelensky and is seen as a presidential
Active fighting is still taking place around the village of Shevchenko in Donetsk Oblast, home to one of Ukraine's largest lithium deposits, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces told the Kyiv Independent on June 27, denying reports Russia had occupied the village.
The activists reportedly thought the equipment would be supplied to Israel.
As Russia continues to intensify its onslaught on Ukraine more than three years into the full-scale invasion, Kyiv faces a new challenge – keeping its Western allies, namely the new U.S. administration, engaged in the struggle. This became clear during the NATO summit in The Hague on June 24-25, where
A day earlier, EU member states' leaders gave their political consent to extend the sanctions previously imposed on Russia for its war against Ukraine.
"Russia decided to plunge Kherson Oblast into darkness," Governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram. He said the attack has disrupted electricity supply to multiple settlements.
"We saw them on the battlefield — and it's truly motivating," Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.
"It's a crime," Ukraine's ambassador to India, Oleksandr Polishchuk, told Reuters. "We will share our investigation with our European Union colleagues, and we will kindly ask them to take the appropriate measures."
Governor Serhii Lysak said most of the injured were hospitalized.
According to Ukraine's Air Force, Ukrainian air defense intercepted 365 of 371 incoming Russian air weapons, including 363 Shahed-type drones, two Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and six Kalibr cruise missiles.
"These are soldiers specially selected based on physical, psychological, and other criteria," Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said. "These units have already suffered significant losses."
"After completing discussions on humanitarian issues, Ukraine plans to move forward to the topic of a leaders' summit for substantive dialogue," Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said during a press briefing on June 26.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov was officially named a suspect on June 23 in what Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau called a "large-scale" illegal land grab case.
According to acting Kursk Oblast governor Alexander Khinshtein, 63-year-old reporter Lu Yuguang from the Chinese television network Phoenix TV was wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike on the village of Korenevo.
The number includes 970 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
The official handover ceremony took place earlier in Belgium, but was disclosed only later due to security concerns.
Short-range drone attacks have become one of the deadliest threats to civilians in Ukraine’s front-line regions, killing at least 395 people and injuring 2,635 between February 2022 and April 2025, according to a new bulletin by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
Over 100 teachers have relocated to Crimea through the program, according to Ukraine’s Regional Center for Human Rights. Most of them arrived from regions including Krasnodar, Altai Krai, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Saratov, Tyumen, Ivanovo, and the Republic of Udmurtia.
"Some European companies are still sending critical components to Russia. These end up in missiles and other weapons used to kill us, kill Ukrainians."
The agreement comes amid fears that Hungary, one of the bloc's most Kremlin-friendly member states, would attempt to block the sanctions extension.
The attack damaged "critical and expensive components" of Russia's S-400 Triumph air defense system, including two 92N2E multifunctional control radars, two 91N6E detection radars, and an S-400 launcher, according to HUR.
Key developments on June 26: * "50,000 Russian troops pinned down" — Ukraine halts advance in Sumy Oblast, summer offensive "faltering," Syrskyi says * Ukraine, Russia conduct new POW swap under Istanbul deal * North Korea likely to send more troops to Russia by August, South Korea says * Explosions reported in Moscow, Russia
All EU states, except Hungary, said the European Council reaffirmed Ukraine's "inherent right to choose its own destiny" and support for the country's "path towards EU membership."
Ukraine will receive €42.5 million ($45.7 million) from international partners to repair the protective arch over Chornobyl's destroyed reactor, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk announced.
U.S. President Donald Trump promised during the NATO summit in The Hague that Russia would never attack the alliance while he is in office, the Washington Post reported on June 26, citing three unnamed European officials.
Editor’s note: This is issue 31 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from June 17–June 24, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission. Benchmarks
As of late May, the outlet documented 20,538 such cases since September 2022 when the Kremlin announced a first wave of mobilization, compared to 10,025 cases reported by Mediazona last June.
Despite suffering over 1 million casualties, pounding Ukrainian cities nightly with missiles and drones, and committing countless war crimes, one startling fact about Russia's full-scale invasion remains — Moscow has yet to officially declare war on Ukraine. In February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin described what he believed was going to
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