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
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.
"The defendant admitted that he purchased American-made, military-grade firearms and re-exported them to Russia," U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella for the Eastern District of New York said.
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
Editor’s note: This article originated as a winning story idea in a vote by members of the Kyiv Independent’s community. Join our community today and join our exclusive members-only Discord channel, where you can discuss and suggest stories, ask our journalists questions, and more. "Her strength is her
"Today, soldiers of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service are returning home," President Volodymyr Zelensky said without revealing their numbers.
"We will hold the necessary contacts and, God willing, realize this meeting as soon as possible," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Pyongyang has already begun recruiting soldiers for deployment to Russia, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
"This year's wave of the enemy's 'summer offensive' from Russian territory is faltering," Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — As NATO leaders convened in The Hague for a two-day summit on June 24–25, allies and Kyiv braced for the first annual meeting since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to office. With the Israel-Iranian conflict dominating the news and the summit agenda focused on
Satellite imagery and launch footage suggest a clear Russian design influence.
The number includes 1,100 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
A Russian military court has convicted 184 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) captured in Kursk Oblast of acts of terrorism, Mediazona reported on June 25.
Explosions were reported in Moscow overnight on June 26, prompting airport closures, as Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed that two drones were shot down.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio surprised NATO allies with conflicting messages on Russia sanctions, delivering a tougher stance in private than in his public remarks, POLITICO reported on June 25.
Ukraine and the Council of Europe signed a landmark agreement to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression, aimed at prosecuting Russian leadership for the full-scale invasion. The signing follows more than three years of diplomatic efforts and deliberation.
Two years after her tragic death in a Russian missile strike, Ukrainian author Victoria Amelina was posthumously awarded on June 25 the prestigious U.K. Orwell Prize for her book “Looking at Women, Looking at War.” Amelina was a finalist among notable nominees in the political non-fiction category, including American
After a high-level U.S. visit to Belarus led to the release of 14 prisoners, observers have been left wondering what autocrat Alexander Lukashenko may have secured in return. U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg’s visit to Minsk on June 21
Key developments on June 25: * Zelensky, Trump hold talks on NATO summit sidelines * 'Something unknown' hits key Russian drone facility in Taganrog, Ukrainian official says * Russia has launched over 28,000 Shahed drones at Ukraine since 2022, with nearly 10% fired in June alone, Zelensky says * Donetsk Oblast city "on
More than three years into Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, many Western cultural institutions that had distanced themselves from Russian artists as a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine are now reversing course. The U.K.’s Royal Ballet and Opera House announced on June 23 that its 2025-2026 cinema
"I consider him (Russian President Vladimir Putin) a person I think is misguided," U.S. President Donald Trump said speaking at a NATO press conference in The Hague on June 25.
In a rare public sign that all is not well in Russia, two high-ranking Moscow officials last week issued separate warnings about the state of the country's economy. Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina and Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov both highlighted that amid the Kremlin's full-scale war against Ukraine, the
"The Russians are trying to fully control all movement in the city using their drones," a military spokesperson told the Kyiv Independent.
Oleg Borsuk, a 61-year-old Ukrainian national, allegedly oversaw the development and modernization of satellite guidance systems (GPS/GLONASS) used in Russian missiles.
"If we did what everybody here wants us to do, and that is come in and crush them with more sanctions, we probably lose our ability to talk to them about the ceasefire and then who's talking to them?" U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces launched 71 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys from multiple directions, including Bryansk, Millerovo, Kursk, and occupied Crimea. Ukraine's air defenses destroyed 52 of them.
"Something unknown flew into the Atlant-Aero plant in Taganrog," Andrii Kovalenko, head of the counter-disinformation center, said. "This is an important node in the Russian military-industrial complex, specializing in components for combat drones and control systems."
Speaking on June 24, Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Russia would never have been able to carry out such drone attacks without support from Iran, and Ukraine, in turn, could not have intercepted most of the drones without the help of its international partners.
Although Article 5 is central to NATO’s security framework, U.S. President Donald Trump has previously expressed skepticism about honoring it, often criticizing member states for not contributing enough to shared defense efforts.
Key developments on June 24: * 'Dead and wounded everywhere' — Russian attack on Dnipro kills at least 17, injures almost 280 * Council of Europe, Ukraine to sign accord on June 25 to set up Russian aggression tribunal * Ukraine can produce 8 million drones annually but needs funding, Zelensky says at NATO
Russia’s war in Ukraine has drained Western ammunition stocks. Despite years of claimed weapons ramp-ups, NATO’s arms manufacturing is still not refilling those stocks apace, let alone making it to Ukraine in needed mass. The West has come to recognize that these shortages are due to the offshoring
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