
Record number of Russians support peace talks, end of war in Ukraine, poll shows
Some 64% of the respondents favored peace talks, representing a 6% increase since March.
Some 64% of the respondents favored peace talks, representing a 6% increase since March.
Kyiv earlier claimed it disabled 34% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet in what is seen as one of the most daring operations during the full-scale war.
Russia's production of ballistic missiles has increased by at least 66% over the past year, according to data from Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) shared with the Kyiv Independent. According to data obtained by HUR, Moscow is now producing 60 to 70 Iskander-M — the ballistic version of the missile — and 10
Ukrainian citizen Roman Lavrynovych, suspected of setting fire to property linked to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, may have been recruited by Russia via the Telegram messaging app, RFE/RL's Schemes Investigative project reported on June 3.
Russian ex-President Dmitry Medvedev's statement that Russia seeks only a "swift victory" and the "complete destruction" of the Ukrainian government at the Istanbul peace talks is a "rare moment of honesty," U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on June 3.
According to Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihant, Russia employed tactics involving the launch of a large number of weapons at a single target from high altitude.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck the Crimean Bridge for the third time during the full-scale war, mining and damaging its underwater supports, the SBU announced on June 3.
A recent Ukrainian drone strike deep inside Russian territory has sparked anger and concern among Kremlin officials over the exposed vulnerability of a nuclear-capable air force far from the front lines, Bloomberg reported on June 2, citing undisclosed sources close to senior Moscow officials.
"We were invited to the NATO summit. I think this is important," President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a June 2 online press conference attended by the Kyiv Independent.
"There's many members of Congress that want us to sanction Russia as strongly as we can," U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said. "And I'm an advocate of that."
The report came two days after the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) launched a mass drone attack against Russian strategic aviation parked at four different air bases on June 1.
Yevhen Balytskyi, the Kremlin-appointed head of the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, claimed that 457 settlements in the region were left without power, affecting more than 600,000 homes.
The number includes 1,100 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
The U.K. government is ready to sue sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich over the sale of the Chelsea Football Club, U.K. Treasury Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a joint statement.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on June 2 slammed Russia for only providing its memorandum of a peace proposal at talks earlier in the day, saying that "the Russians are once again stalling for time."
Every part of society, every citizen of this country, has a role to play because we have to recognize that things have changed in the world of today... The front line, if you like, is here," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that during the June 2 negotiations in Istanbul, Russian representatives dismissed Ukraine's efforts to raise the issue of abducted Ukrainian children as a "show for childless European old ladies."
"I told (Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan) that I support a meeting at the level of leaders, because I have the impression that there will be no ceasefire without our meeting," Zelensky said on June 2.
A large-scale drone attack carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), which reportedly destroyed or damaged 41 Russian heavy bombers on June 1, brought a much-needed morale boost to Ukrainians. Codenamed "Spiderweb," the operation targeted the strategic aircraft that Russia uses for long-range missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. The
Russian officials and propagandists have chosen different strategies for dealing with the unprecedented Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian airfields that took place on June 1. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that, as part of an operation dubbed Spiderweb, it had destroyed or damaged 41 Russian aircraft parked at
Key developments on June 2: * Ukraine, Russia conclude talks in Istanbul, a 1,200-for-1,200 prisoner exchange is in the works, Zelensky says * 5 Ukrainian regions, ban on NATO, limits on Kyiv's army — Russian media publishes Moscow's official peace demands * 34% of Russian strategic Russian bombers at main airfields damaged
"They just don’t see a ceasefire as such at the moment," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 2, commenting on Russia's proposal. "I think they’re idiots, because, fundamentally, a ceasefire is meant so that there are no dead."
Among Russia's key demands, according to the document, is the official recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea, as well as the annexation of Ukraine's Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts, none of which Moscow controls in full.
The next prisoner exchange will reportedly include young people between the ages of 18 and 25, as well as people with serious injuries.
Ukraine was jubilant on June 1 as news filtered through of a stunning drone attack targeting Russian heavy bombers, that simultaneously targeted four air bases, two of them thousands of miles inside Russia. "Enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia — this is the result of a special operation
According to a source in the President's Office, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Russia declined a ceasefire proposed by Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine are preparing to hold a new prisoners of war (POWs) exchange mediated by Turkey after the second round of peace talks.
Some of the sanctions against Russia could be lifted following a potential full ceasefire, according to Ukraine's official proposal, seen by the Kyiv Independent on June 2. Yet, the condition proposed by Ukraine is that sanctions are automatically renewed if the ceasefire agreement is broken.
The reason is the growing toll on the federal budget and civilian industries, three officials told Bloomberg, with some calling for the decision to be made at the bank's meeting on June 6.
The White House was not notified about the plans, which were being prepared for a year and a half, Axios reported, citing a Ukrainian security official. CBS News' sources in the Trump administration also confirmed that the Trump administration was not informed.
"If the Istanbul meeting brings nothing, that clearly means strong new sanctions are urgently needed,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"In the operational staff, we will evaluate the actions of concerned citizens who tried to interfere with the work of drones and decide on their recognition," Governor of Russia's Irkutsk Oblast Igor Kobzev wrote on Telegram.