Russian forces struck residential buildings in Odesa overnight on June 20, injuring at least 13 people, including three emergency workers, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported.
Fred Grandy, a 62-year-old American artist and volunteer who was killed in Russia's mass missile attack against Kyiv on June 17, appears to be the first U.S. civilian killed by a Russian strike on Ukraine, the New York Times (NYT) reported on June 19.
Key developments on June 19: * Russia accidentally admits to its staggering troop losses in Ukraine * Ukraine, Russia carry out another POW exchange under Istanbul deal * North Korea considers sending 25,000 workers to Russia to help produce Shahed drones, media reports * Zelensky appoints Brigadier General Shapovalov as new Ground Forces
As Israel and Iran continue to trade salvos, dramatic footage of air defenses battling ballistic missiles have flooded the internet. Several prominent online commentators have compared the videos coming out of Israel with those from Ukraine, questioning why Russian attacks like those on Kyiv are portrayed in relatively sparse detail,
The victims include 231 women, 134 men, and 19 children, according to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry.
Brigadier General Hennadii Shapovalov, born in 1978 in Kirovohrad Oblast, is a career officer who graduated from the Military Institute of Tank Troops in Kharkiv and later studied at the National Defense University of Ukraine.
"This is yet another proof of how Russia treats its people with contempt," Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
In the fourth year of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, the decisive support Kyiv found among its neighbors to the west is beginning to show cracks. Once resolute Poland is seeing rising skepticism toward Ukraine, underscored by President-elect Karol Nawrocki's election victory. Slovakia's pro-Ukrainian government was ousted by Russian-friendly populists
U.S. President Donald Trump addressed a wide range of subjects during his inauguration speech. When speaking about international relations, he was adamant — "Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity," he said, talking about Russia's war against Ukraine and the fighting in the Middle
"Until the necessary 'homework' is done to remove the irritants in our relations with the United States, it makes no sense to organize a meeting," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
"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.
According to Politico, the proposed plan would redirect the frozen Russian assets into a special investment fund under EU control, allowing for higher returns without confiscating the principal.
A senior Russian official on June 19 inadvertently confirmed the staggering troop losses incurred by Moscow's forces during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with CNN, Russian Ambassador to the U.K. Andrey Kelin was asked about Moscow's maximalist intentions in Ukraine and its ability to recruit enough
The vote aligns Finland with its Baltic allies, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, whose parliaments have already approved similar exits from the treaty.
Russia's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Andrei Kelin, said Russia is continuing its offensive and sees no need to stop hostilities, publicly acknowledging Moscow's disregard for U.S.-backed ceasefire efforts.
Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas cited a sharp increase in Russia's military spending, noting that Moscow is now allocating more money to defense than the EU combined, and more than its own health care, education, and social policies put together.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 40 drones, while 48 disappeared from radars or were intercepted by electronic warfare.
The number includes 1,080 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Russia wants to end the war in Ukraine "as soon as possible," preferably through peaceful means, and is ready to continue negotiations — provided that Kyiv and its Western allies are willing to engage, Vladimir Putin said.
When I was at school and learned about World War II, my grandmother told me what she remembered of her wartime childhood on the English coast. Growing up near a Royal Navy base, she survived countless nighttime air raids. Most of all, she remembered exactly how the Blitz sounded — the
Russia’s hardline nationalist elite reportedly argues that only a formal war declaration would permit true escalation—full-scale mobilisation, regular missile strikes, and potentially the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
Mykhailo Hrytsai, a senior collaborator with the Russian occupation authorities, was shot dead in the city with a silenced PM pistol, according to a source.
"I said, Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
Russia on June 18 warned the world is "millimetres away from catastrophe" due to Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, just four months after one of its own drones struck the Chornobyl nuclear site in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Israel of escalating the risk of a
"Russia uses these vessels to circumvent international sanctions and sustain its illegal and immoral war against Ukraine," Australia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
According to the Guardian, some in Kyiv are unsure if President Volodymyr Zelensky's presence at the summit would be worthwhile without a confirmed meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kravchenko, a former military prosecutor and most recently head of Ukraine's tax service, replaces Andrii Kostin, who stepped down in October 2024 following a scandal involving fraudulent disability claims by dozens of prosecutors in Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
"We extend deepest condolences to the victims' families. This senseless attack runs counter to President Trump's call to stop the killing and end the war," the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said in a statement.
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.
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas urged the European Union to press forward with lowering the oil price cap on Russian crude, even without U.S. support, warning that Middle East tensions could otherwise drive prices up and boost Russia's revenues.
The number includes 1,040 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is cutting his visit to Canada short and will return to Kyiv on June 17, while G7 talks are still ongoing, a source told a Kyiv Independent journalist on the ground.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, eight years after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula and led an armed aggression in Ukraine’s east.
In February 2014, almost immediately following the end of the EuroMaidan Revolution in Ukraine, Russia swiftly moved to annex and occupy Crimea. Within months, Russian proxy forces took control of parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
By the start of 2022, Russia had amassed nearly 200,000 troops on Ukraine’s border. At 4:50 a.m. on Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a speech that Russia was to carry out “a special military operation.” Within minutes, missile strikes were launched on Ukrainian cities and the full-scale invasion had begun.
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