Ukrainian historian on why Russia is still misunderstood

Speaking at a congress of the ruling United Russia party, Putin said the West had failed to defeat Russia "on the battlefield" and was therefore trying to "stir up the political situation and sow internal unrest."

The fatalities included a 53-year-old woman, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, Kateryna Denisova examines how Ukraine's attitudes toward LGBTQ people have changed — and why the country's laws have struggled to keep pace.

President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed erecting a monument to Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa on the site where a statue of Vladimir Lenin was toppled during the EuroMaidan Revolution in Kyiv, calling it a step toward restoring "historical justice."

Kyiv has been deepening security partnerships across the Gulf region, offering to bolster local defenses against Iranian drones.

Photos and videos posted to social media purport to show large flames and plumes of smoke emanating from what appears to be storage tanks at the Slavyansk refinery.

Ukraine's Air Force said it intercepted all six Iskander-M ballistic missiles, one of the two Zircon hypersonic missiles or Onyx missiles, and 125 of the 142 drones launched by Russia overnight.

"If the 'Spirit of Anchorage' even existed, it is certainly dead now," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, mocking Russia's claims about an "understanding" reached during last year's summit with the U.S. in Alaska.

Donald Trump "diminished our standing in the eyes of the world more than any president in history has," former U.S. President Joe Biden said in one of his rare public speeches since leaving office in 2025.

The number includes 1,250 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Julie Davis' departure leaves a key diplomatic post vacant at a critical moment, while peace talks remain at a standstill. It remains unclear who will succeed Davis or when a permanent ambassador might be nominated.

Russia once again unleashed a barrage of ballistic missiles strikes on Kyiv overnight on June 28, damaging several sites within the city and injuring at least two people, officials said.

"Slovakia will not pay for Ukraine's military expenses," Prime Minister Robert Fico said ahead of the summit in Ankara in July.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, a right-wing populist leader with authoritarian tendencies and warm ties with Russia, said on June 27 that he would resign from office.