"These are warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service. Most of them had been held captive since 2022," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, without revealing their numbers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed their upcoming meeting and noted the supposed "rough edges" that emerged among G7 leaders during the recent summit, said Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov, on June 19.
"According to current business perceptions, we are already, it seems, on the verge of a transition to a recession," Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
A hundred days since the U.S. and Ukraine agreed on a ceasefire, "Russia continues to choose war," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on June 19, urging international pressure to push Moscow toward peace.
The Slovak police reportedly also seek to detain a former Defense Ministry official and have detained an ex-head of the Konstrukta Defense state company in a move denounced by Nad's opposition Democrats party as politically motivated.
"This issue is certainly not on the NATO agenda and nobody has formulated an expectation that there will be an invitation in The Hague, nor have we heard that from the Ukrainians themselves," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said in comments quoted by the LRT broadcaster.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on June 18 brushed off Moscow's demands for Kyiv to destroy or dismantle Western-supplied weapons as a condition for a ceasefire, saying it shows disregard for U.S. peace efforts.
The legislation passed with the support of 253 lawmakers "after months of obstructions... unblocking 600 million euros ($690 million) in EU funds," lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.
Ukraine's parliament on June 18 supported a bill allowing Ukrainian citizens to hold passports of foreign countries, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.
Russian forces launched 58 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys against Ukraine overnight, targeting mainly the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the Air Force said. Ukrainian defenses shot down 12 drones, while 18 disappeared from radars or were intercepted by electronic warfare systems, according to the statement.
BEREHOVE, Zakarpattia Oblast — Thin gray smoke drifts beyond the patchwork of Soviet-era apartment blocks, historical buildings, and hillside vineyards that make up Berehove — the heart of the Hungarian community in Ukraine's westernmost Zakarpattia Oblast. "That's Hungary, over there, where you see the smoke," gestures Vitalii Antipov, a member of the
Ukraine has brought home the bodies of 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers and citizens as part of an agreement with Russia in Istanbul, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War (POWs) announced on June 13.
Ukraine on June 13 expressed concern over the security situation in the Middle East after Israeli air strikes against Iran, but stressed that Tehran remains a "source of problems" in the region "and beyond."
The Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported a hit in Simferopol, Crimea's capital, sharing a photo of a plume of smoke rising in the vicinity of a local power station and of the village of Perevalne.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on June 13 that he was aware of Israel's plans to conduct strikes on Iran in advance and that Washington is watching for any signs of retaliation by Tehran, Fox News reported.
Iran launched over 100 drones against Israel, all of which were intercepted outside of Israeli airspace, Ynet News reported on June 13, citing Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin.
The measures target those goods that have not yet been subject to additional customs duties and will enter into force on July 1. The tariffs on fertilizers will increase gradually over the next three years.
The U.S. Embassy said that Ambassador Lynne Tracy is "concluding her mission at the U.S. Embassy in Russia," without providing further details.
The prisoners of war (POWs) were released as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia agreed upon during recent peace talks in Istanbul, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the POWs said.
The death toll of a Russian attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv on June 7 has risen to five, as two more bodies were found in the rubble, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on June 12.
The facility assembles circuit boards and electronics for the Russian military-industrial complex, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv on June 12 to meet Ukrainian leaders and discuss future defense support, DPA news agency reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated the Russian people on June 12, Russia's National Day, and expressed a desire for "constructive engagement" to bring peace to Ukraine.
The accusations raised against Leonid Volkov ranged from "discreditation" of the Russian military, ties to an allegedly "extremist group," and the rehabilitation of "Nazism" to involving underage persons in rallies and vandalism.
The unusually brief document recognizes Russia as a threat to NATO but not as an aggressor in Ukraine.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will visit Ukraine on June 11 to take part in the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Odesa, Serbia's Presidential Office announced.
"The SBU is hitting and will hit (Russia) where it considers itself unreachable!" SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk said. "We are working on new surprises, no less painful than the Operation Spiderweb."
Seventeen of the 20 largest foreign corporate taxpayers in Russia come from G7 and EU countries, which are Ukraine's main international supporters, according to investigative outlet Follow the Money.
The denial contrasts with statements made by Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky, who said in a recent interview that Israel had agreed to transfer retired Patriot missile systems — originally supplied by the U.S. in the 1990s — to Ukraine.
Some 48% of Ukrainians oppose even a "de facto" recognition of Russian occupation of Ukraine's territories to achieve peace, according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology published on June 10.
"They don't need to send tanks for that," German intelligence chief Bruno Kahl told Table Media. "They just have to send 'little green men' to Estonia to defend the allegedly oppressed Russian minority."
Ukrainian air defenses reportedly shot down seven Russian missiles and 213 attack drones. According to the Air Force, 64 drones disappeared from radars or were intercepted by electronic warfare systems.
