Ukraine's Defense Ministry: Russia has recruited more than 1,000 Syrian mercenaries to fight in Ukraine.

5:17 AM

CIA says US strikes dealt years-long blow to Iran’s nuclear program, AP reports.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe told U.S. lawmakers that most of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium likely remains buried under rubble at the Isfahan and Fordo nuclear sites, two of the three key facilities targeted by U.S. strikes.

3:37 AM

Slovak FM suggests forgiveness for Russia, calls for dialogue to end Ukraine war.

"Let us return to respect for international law and seek ways to communicate with the Russian Federation," Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said on June 29.

12:49 AM

US, Russian spy chiefs agree to keep direct line open, Moscow says.

"I had a phone call with my American counterpart, and we reserved for each other the possibility to call each other at any time and discuss issues of interest to us," the Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin said.

10:13 PM

Azerbaijan cancels Russian events over 'extrajudicial killings' of 2 citizens in Russia's Yekaterinburg.

Azerbaijan has cancelled all planned cultural events hosted alongside Russian state and private organizations, the country's Culture Ministry announced on June 29, over the deaths of two Azerbaijani citizens during police raids in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

8:50 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Russia launches largest attack of war, targeting Ukrainian regions far from front lines; F-16 pilot killed in attack.

5:06 AM  (Updated:  June 29, 2025 8:00 pm)

Russia launches largest attack of war, targeting Ukrainian regions far from front lines.

"Despite the complexity of this overnight combined attack, no one was injured and no civilian buildings were damaged in Lviv," Mayor Andrii Sadovyi reported the morning after the strike.

11:37 AM  (Updated:  June 29, 2025 7:45 pm)

F-16 pilot killed during Russia's overnight massive air attack, Air Force says.

Maksym Ustymenko, born in 1993, was killed after shooting down seven aerial targets, the Air Force said in a statement. The Air Force added that his aircraft was damaged while he was trying to shoot down the last one, losing altitude and crashing.

2:19 PM  (Updated:  June 29, 2025 7:22 pm)

KI Insights

Ukraine calendar: What will happen this week

6:57 PM

'It's time to move your bill' — Senator says Congress will soon vote on new Russian sanctions after talks with Trump.

"For the first time yesterday the president told me... he says, 'it's time to move your bill'," Graham said in an interview with ABC News, stressing that it would be Trump's purview as to whether the bill would ultimately be signed into law.

3:11 PM

Hungarian FM says US lifted Russian sanctions that hindered expansion of Paks Nuclear Power Plant.

“Construction of the major pieces of equipment for the Paks nuclear plant is proceeding in Russia and France,” Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, as cited by Bloomberg.

3:10 PM

Video

Trump meets Zelensky at NATO summit | Ukraine This Week.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur explains key takeaways from this week’s NATO summit, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump held their third in-person meeting since Trump’s return to office.

2:15 PM

Zelensky signs decree to withdraw from Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines.

"Russia is not a party to this Convention and is massively using mines against our military and civilians," lawmaker Roman Kostenko, secretary of the parliament's defense committee, said in a post on Facebook.

10:14 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 1,018,940 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022.

The number includes 1,220 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

7:58 AM

Ukraine approves new 'Murakha' ground robot for combat use.

The Murakha ("Ant") is a tracked robotic platform designed to support front-line units working under challenging conditions, the Defense Ministry said.

6:09 AM

Russia reviving efforts to expand LNG exports after US sanctions, Bloomberg reports.

An LNG ice-class tanker has reportedly docked at Russia's Arctic LNG 2 facility for the first time since October, according to ship-tracking data and satellite images.

4:15 AM

Serbian police crack down on protestors at mass anti-government rally in Belgrade.

The 100,000-person rally marks the latest mass action in a protest movement that started last fall, with activists calling for an end to corruption and the 12-year rule of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

3:06 AM

McDonald's to open 10 new restaurants in Ukraine this year, NYT reports.

The 10 new locations will bring the total number close to 120 — more than were operating in Ukraine before the war.

1:29 AM

Pope Leo says Ukraine 'martyred' in Russia's 'senseless war.'

Pope Leo XIV welcomed Ukrainian Greek Catholic pilgrims to the Vatican on June 28 and offered his blessing to mothers of soldiers killed on the front lines.

10:59 PM

Former Kharkiv deputy mayor charged with embezzling funds allocated for defense fortifications.

A former deputy mayor for Kharkiv is facing multiple charges related to creating and leading a scheme that allegedly embezzled 5.4 million hryvnias ($130,000) of budget funds allocated for fortifications, law enforcement agencies announced on June 28.

8:02 PM  (Updated:  June 28, 2025 9:46 pm)

Ukrainian drones strike missile, drone arsenal in Russia's Bryansk Oblast.

Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) struck on June 28 the 1060th Material-Technical Support Center in the city of Bryansk, Ukraine's General Staff said. The facilities store a Russian missile and drone arsenal, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing a source in HUR.

9:28 PM

Ukraine's parliament working on bill to organize post-war elections, speaker says.

The reason for separate legislation on a post-war election, Stefanchuk said, was due to the fact that Ukraine's Constitution does not not provide clarity on the details of holding elections following the end of a martial law period.

6:59 PM

Slovak PM sees 'no reason' to meet with Zelensky, claims Ukrainian president 'hates' him, after reportedly blocking Russian sanctions.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on June 28 that he does not intend to meet directly with President Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming that the Ukrainian president "hates" him, as relations between the two countries continue to sour.

5:45 PM

Germany reportedly scrambles fighter jets to intercept Russian spy plane over Baltic Sea.

The incident adds to a series of aerial provocations reported by NATO allies since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as Moscow is suspected of using the aircraft to spy on the alliance's positions.

11:06 AM  (Updated:  June 28, 2025 4:28 pm)

Poland's Duda arrives in Kyiv to meet with Zelensky.

"Andrzej has been with Ukraine since the first days of the war, always side by side, a reliable ally and a true friend. This is undoubtedly the level of relations we want to preserve and strengthen with Poland," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

3:37 PM

Ukrainian drone strike on Crimea air base destroys 3 Russian helicopters, SBU claims.

The attack destroyed Mi-8, Mi-26 and Mi-28 attack helicopters, and a Pantsyr-S1 self-propelled anti-aircraft missile and gun system, the Security Service of Ukraine told the Kyiv Independent.