Zelensky urges EU to respond to Russia’s blackmail, terror.

Ukraine's military carried out large-scale strikes across multiple Russian regions overnight on June 6, reaching up to 1,000 kilometers deep into Russian territory and hitting several targets, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"Russian forces and occupation authorities made effective use of the response window — the period during which an emergency has not yet reached the peak of its destructive impact — significantly more difficult," said Roman Koval, head of research at Truth Hounds.

"The Ukrainian side is convinced that this incident, much like similar occurrences in other regions, demonstrates that Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine poses a threat not only to our country but also to neighboring friendly states, Europe, and the world at large," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said.

Ukrainian forces downed 249 out of the 272 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported.

The number includes 1,380 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

In his evening address on June 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having no interest in ending Russia's war in Ukraine, after the Russian leader dismissed Zelensky's open letter calling for the immediate reopening of peace negotiations.

A Swedish court has ruled that the cargo vessel Caffa, seized after allegedly transporting grain stolen from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, may be handed over to Ukraine, Reuters reported on June 5.

"The latest wave of Russian strikes is yet another reminder that Moscow continues to choose escalation over peace, and terror over diplomacy," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

U.S. President Donald Trump on June 5 signaled support for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the full-scale war, saying he believes it is close to being settled.

Ukraine's Supreme Court has rejected a libel lawsuit filed by the late Andriy Portnov, a former top official who served pro-Kremlin ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, against the Kyiv Independent, according to a ruling obtained by the Kyiv Independent on June 5.

"We are here both to organize support within the framework of the coalition of the willing and to put that support in place," Macron said.

The Kyiv Independent visited a Ukrainian military hospital where American and Ukrainian surgeons work together as part of the "Face-to-Face" mission to reconstruct faces damaged by explosions from strikes and landmines.