Key developments on June 6: * Russia hits Ukraine with large-scale attack days after Operation Spiderweb * Ukraine strikes Russian air bases in 'preemptive strike' ahead of drone, missile attack, General Staff says * Ukrainian drone attack destroys helicopter at Russian airfield in Bryansk, media says * Russia plans to occupy Ukraine east of
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. DONETSK OBLAST – From the moment the vehicles duck into pre-prepared positions in the leafy treeline to the first dead Russian soldiers, less than twenty
The drone attack on Bryansk was part of a broader Ukrainian operation targeting multiple Russian airfields and military facilities overnight on June 6.
Ukrainian strikes reportedly targeted Engels and Dyagilevo airfields — two key hubs for Russia's long-range bomber fleet, as well as logistics sites in Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Russia launched 407 drones overnight, including Iranian-designed Shahed-type suicide drones, along with 44 missiles of various types, Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said.
"Unfortunately, they are not speaking about peace. They are preparing for war," President Volodymyr Zelensky's Deputy Chief of Staff Pavlo Palisa said.
The number includes 1,160 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
The JSC Progress Plant in the city of Michurinsk, which produces aviation and missile control systems, came under fire on June 6. Attacks were also reported in Russia's Saratov, Moscow, Tula, Belgorod, and Kaluga oblasts.
The attack killed three first responders in Kyiv and injured civilians across the country, including cities far from the front lines in western Ukraine.
Russian forces launched high-explosive bombs at the center of Ukraine's southern city of Kherson on June 5, hitting and partially destroying the Regional State Administration building and damaging several surrounding structures.
Key developments on June 5: * Ukraine strikes Russian missile base in Bryansk Oblast, damages Iskander launchers, Ukrainian military says * 'Deadline is in my brain' — Trump dismisses timeline to impose Russian sanctions * 'Not destroyed but damaged' — Russia claims it will repair bombers struck in Operation Spiderweb * Trump privately praises Ukraine's drone
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on June 5 that Russia's response to Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb is likely "not going to be pretty," following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin the day prior.
In addition to supply-chain challenges brought upon economic sanctions, Russia would also likely face challenges due to the complexities of Soviet-era technology present in the aircraft, if it were to attempt to restore the bombers.
"I said (to Putin) it's time to open our eyes and to put an end to the insanity of war, which destroys everything and builds nothing," Brazilian President Lula da Silva told reporters during a visit to France.
Once the playground of disgraced Ukrainian politicians, a golf club in Kyiv’s Soviet-era Obolon neighborhood is now set to become the new campus of the Kyiv School of Economics, which last month bought the site for $18 million as part of a $40 million investment — the largest private investment
Launched to promote Russian literature on the global stage during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the new Dar (“Gift”) literary prize is already mired in controversy — and not just for its troubling timing. After Ukrainian author Maria Galina declined the award for her wartime chronicle of Odesa, attention shifted
Janine di Giovanni, a veteran war reporter and author who has covered decades of conflicts in Rwanda, Syria, Iraq, and Bosnia, reflects on her work in Ukraine and other conflicts.
Ukraine's intelligence agencies as well as Ukrainian partisan movements have previously been involved in sabotage attacks on Russian railways, disrupting the transport of military cargo toward the front line.
The ramp-up marks a critical expansion of Moscow's drone warfare program, as both Ukraine and Russia increasingly rely on unmanned systems for reconnaissance and front-line attacks.
While Trump has remained silent in public about the attack, he reportedly expressed enthusiasm behind closed doors.
The strike reportedly destroyed one Iskander missile launcher and seriously damaged two others.
The SBU said this marks a notable escalation and shift in Russia’s recruitment strategy.
According to Ukraine's Air Force, Russia launched 103 drones overnight, including Iranian-designed Shahed-type suicide drones and one Iskander-M ballistic missile.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed that his country "unconditionally supports the stand of Russia and its foreign policies."
The number includes 930 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
According to Chernihiv Oblast Governor Viacheslav Chaus, at least six Iranian-designed Shahed-136 drones were used in the assault.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters on June 4 that Ukraine struck as many as 20 Russian military aircraft during Operation Spiderweb, destroying around 10 of them. The claims stands in contrast with estimates made by Ukraine's security service (SBU) which claimed more than 40 aircraft were hit in the June 1 attack.
According to the Wall Street Journal, special fuzes used in ground-to-air rocket systems that protect against drone attacks will be redirected towards units in the Middle East, as the U.S. braces for conflict with Iran as well as Houthi militants in Yemen.
Russian missile and drone attacks on the city of Kharkiv overnight on June 5 injured 17 people, including four children, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.
Zelensky said on social media that Russia launched nearly 27,700 aerial bombs, 11,200 Shahed drones, approximately 9,000 other types of attack drones, and over 700 missiles at Ukraine in 2025.
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
In the video, Russian activist Anna Kiryakova reads from a book of poetry that glorifies her country’s war against Ukraine. The anthology’s title — “Poetry of the Russian Winter” — is written with the Latin Z in place of its Russian analog. The inclusion of that one letter aligns the
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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