Key developments on July 3: * Putin tells Trump Russia won't back down from its war aims in Ukraine * Deputy commander of Russian Navy killed in Ukrainian strike in Kursk, Russian official confirms * Ukraine signs major drone co-production deal with US Swift Beat, Zelensky announces * Russia targets Ukrainian conscription offices to
The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sat down with Michael McFaul, an academic and former U.S. ambassador to Russia (2012–2014), to discuss the state of the Ukraine-Russia peace process following U.S. President Donald Trump’s failed effort, the threat of U.S. disengagement, and a congressional bill introducing new sanctions against Russia and its trading partners supporting its war machine.
Key developments on June 30: * Ukrainian forces push Russian army away from Sumy, General Staff says * Ukrainian military again denies reports on Russian troops entering Dnipropetrovsk Oblast * After months of stalling, Russia blames Ukraine, US for slow pace of peace talks * Germany vows to pursue 'every path' to boost Ukraine's
The Kremlin said the pace of negotiations hinges on Ukraine's position, the effectiveness of U.S. mediation, and battlefield developments.
Russia is ready to hold a third round of peace talks on the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on June 27, without specifying if he would directly participate in the negotiations.
"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.
"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.
"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.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said NATO's role is to ensure Ukraine has the military means to stay in the fight until "serious" peace negotiations begin.
Russia's memorandum on a peace proposal is the "best offer Ukraine can get today," Russia's envoy to the United Nations (UN), Vasily Nebenzya, said at a UN Security Council meeting.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia's attempts to advance in Sumy Oblast, as Moscow intensifies its maximalist rhetoric.
Editor's Note: This story was updated with comments from Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Russian President Vladimir Putin said "all of Ukraine" belonged to Russia in a speech on June 20 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, amid increasingly aggressive official statements about Moscow's final territorial ambitions in Ukraine. Putin's
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.
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.
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.
"It lost steam toward the end because the president wasn't there," an official told Reuters.
The latest repatriation marks the final stage of the exchange agreement, bringing the total number of Ukrainian bodies returned under the deal to 6,057.
The remarks reflect Moscow's growing list of maximalist demands presented in its so-called "peace memorandum."
Law enforcement investigations and institutions from Ukraine’s Interior Ministry will examine and identify the bodies in the near future, the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said.
The Coordination Headquarters for Prisoners of War said the bodies, which Russian authorities claim belong to Ukrainian nationals, were returned as part of an ongoing phased exchange process.
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.
"It's important for them to show (U.S. President Donald) Trump that there is a diplomatic bridge between Ukraine and Russia," President Volodymyr Zelensky told Bild.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on June 11 stood by the administration’s approach, portraying a U.S.-brokered peace deal as a sign of strength and admitting that any agreement would inevitably leave “plenty of people on both sides” dissatisfied.
Over the past two months, financial investors have hit upon a new trading strategy, based on a simple rule: TACO — Trump Always Chickens Out. America’s president threatens to slap massive import tariffs on friends and foes alike, or to remove the Federal Reserve chair, only to back down when
"They (Russian officials) even told our delegation: we know that our memorandum is an ultimatum, and you will not accept it," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
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.
"If the Russian side is now backing away from what was promised in Istanbul, it raises serious questions about the reliability and capability of their negotiating team," Ukraine's Defense Ministry said on June 7.
President Donald Trump likened the war between Russia and Ukraine to a fight between two children in a park, suggesting it might be better to let them clash for a while before stepping in, given the depth of animosity between them.
Key developments on June 4: * Ukraine hacks Russia's Tupolev bomber producer, source claims * Putin's 'disregard' for troops highlighted as Russian losses approach 1 million, study finds * Ukraine expects to exchange 500 POWs in next swap with Russia, Zelensky says * Russia strikes Ukrainian military training facility in Poltava Oblast, military says
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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that roughly half of the 41 Russian planes targeted in the attack on June 1 will be impossible to repair.
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