Lipetsk

7:43 PM

Investigations

Hiding in plain sight — how Russia’s cultural centers continue to operate in US, Europe despite espionage claims

6:40 PM

Ukraine Reforms Tracker Weekly — Issue 28

6:18 PM

memorialization

With music festival honoring fallen combat medic, Ukrainians reinvent memorial culture

6:01 PM

Putin rejects Zelensky’s call for peace talks, accuses Ukraine of deadly bridge attack in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 4 accused Ukraine of being governed by a terrorist regime that deliberately targets civilians and claimed it is continuing to lose the war. He rejected the possibility of holding talks.

5:42 PM

Video

New footage from Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb hitting Russian bombers.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has published new drone footage from Operation Spiderweb – the remarkable special operation targeting four Russian airbases with low-cost FPV drones. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces confirmed on June 3 that Russia lost 41 military aircraft as a result of the operation. The estimated damage inflicted upon Russia is estimated to exceed $7 billion.

5:29 PM

Ukraine's SBU releases exclusive footage of Operation Spiderweb targeting Russia's strategic aircraft.

On June 1, the SBU conducted an operation using first-person-view (FPV) drones that were smuggled deep inside Russia and concealed in trucks, successfully striking 41 Russian heavy bombers and causing an estimated $7 billion in damage.

3:35 PM  (Updated:  June 4, 2025 4:46 pm)

Ukraine expects to exchange 500 POWs in next swap with Russia, Zelensky says.

Ukraine will bring home a total of 500 prisoners of war (POW) from Russian captivity in a prisoner exchange with Russia on June 7 and 8, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a meeting with journalists on June 4 attended by the Kyiv Independent.

4:42 PM

War analysis

Exclusive: Ukraine could face 500+ Russian deep-strike drones a night as Kremlin builds new launch sites

4:08 PM

Putin's 'disregard' for troops highlighted as Russian losses approach 1 million, CSIS report shows.

The total number of military casualties on both sides is nearing 1.4 million, including approximately 400,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed or injured.

3:53 PM

Ukraine wouldn't launch Operation Spiderweb if Russia agreed to ceasefire, Zelensky says.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that roughly half of the 41 Russian planes targeted in the attack on June 1 will be impossible to repair.

3:45 PM

Russia strikes Ukrainian military training facility in Poltava Oblast, military says.

"Thanks to timely and carefully planned security measures... the worst has been avoided," the Ground Forces press service said, saying that no soldiers have been killed in the attack.

2:06 PM  (Updated:  June 4, 2025 3:09 pm)

'Nothing secret left' — Ukraine hacks Russia's Tupolev bomber producer, source claims.

HUR's cyber corps accessed over 4.4 gigabytes (GB) of internal data, including official correspondence, personnel files, home addresses, resumes, purchase records, and closed meeting minutes, a source claimed.

2:55 PM

US hasn't decided yet on new Ukraine aid, focuses on peace, NATO envoy says.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker stressed that Washington counts on European leadership in providing Ukraine with the resources needed to achieve a lasting peace, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

2:42 PM

Ukraine passes Budget Code changes to implement US mineral deal.

The legislation, supported by 309 members of parliament, enshrines financial provisions critical to executing the U.S.-Ukraine deal signed on April 30 and ratified by Kyiv on May 8.

1:40 PM

Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb ranks with 'raid on Bin Laden,' US Senator Blumenthal says.

"Just in the skill and audacity of these attacks, it will rank with the United States raid on Osama bin Laden and the Israeli pager operation as one of the great military achievements in recent years," U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal told Politico.

1:20 PM

Kremlin confirms explosion at Crimean Bridge after Ukraine's sabotage, claims 'no damage'

"There indeed was an explosion. There was no damage, the bridge continues to function," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed.

12:48 PM

France, Belgium wary of EU's plan to halt Russian LNG imports by 2027.

Russia's energy exports remain a major source of revenue for the Kremlin's military campaign against Ukraine.

8:53 AM  (Updated:  June 4, 2025 12:22 pm)

For the first time, Pentagon chief to skip Ramstein-format meeting of Ukraine's allies.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not arrive in Brussels until the conference is over and will not participate in the event online either, the AP reported.

12:17 PM

In second fire at Russian engine plant in 2 days, fire engulfs US-sanctioned Yaroslavl facility.

Located roughly 280 kilometers (174 miles) northeast of Moscow, the Yaroslavl Motor Plant has been under U.S. sanctions since May 2024.

10:44 AM

Trump raises steel, aluminum tariffs to 50%, hitting key Ukrainian export.

Steel production is one of Ukraine's core industrial sectors and its second-largest source of foreign currency after agriculture.

10:18 AM

'Risk level goes up' — Ukraine's strike on Russian bombers could escalate war, US envoy Kellogg says.

"I'm telling you the risk levels are going way up," U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said.

10:17 AM

7 killed, 52 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 out of the 95 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force said.

7:14 PM  (Updated:  June 4, 2025 10:12 am)

Russian losses

Operation Spiderweb — everything we know about Ukraine's audacious attack on Russia's heavy bombers

1:52 PM  (Updated:  June 4, 2025 10:09 am)

'Russian bombers are burning en masse' — Ukraine's SBU drones hit 'more than 40' aircraft in mass attack, source says.

"Currently, more than 40 aircraft are known to have been hit, including the A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3," a source told the Kyiv Independent.

9:13 AM

Ukraine's drone strike on Russia's air bases under 'investigation,' Kremlin says in first reaction to Operation Spiderweb.

"The president received information about the incident online," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.