A snapshot of recent news from sources around the world on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Political Developments
The European Union announced a new round of sanctions against Russia’s energy and banking sectors. The sanctions still need to be approved by member states.
The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, said Russia would likely not stop at Ukraine if it succeeded in toppling Kyiv. Caine was being questioned by U.S. lawmakers during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on armed services hearing. At the same hearing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it “remains to be seen” if Russia would try to launch military operations beyond Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged a group of wounded and sick prisoners of war, a trade that was negotiated during talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Ukraine also said it brought home the bodies of 1,212 soldiers that were killed in the war, while Ukraine returned the bodies of 27 Russian soldiers.
In return for North Korean support on the battlefield, Russia may be helping Pyongyang set up production lines for the Shahed-136 one-way attack drone. Russia began heavily utilizing the Shahed and related designs after importing the type from Iran after the start of the war with Ukraine.
Military Assistance to Ukraine
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited Kyiv to discuss additional weapons support for Ukraine, as peace efforts face difficulties and Russian forces intensify their attacks. Despite recent peace talks in Istanbul, significant disagreements persist between Russia and Ukraine over territorial issues and Ukraine’s potential NATO membership.
Berlin aims to provide EUR9 billion ($10.4 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine this year, Pistorius said during his visit. New IRIS-T air-defense systems will be delivered – but Germany is still hesitant to provide the Taurus cruise missile to Ukraine.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an international coalition formerly headed by the U.S. but now led by Germany and the U.K., is slated to undergo a structural change to facilitate ongoing support for Kyiv. German officials said the transformation will better integrate the contact group with NATO’s Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine mission, among other efforts. This process could make it easier for allies to provide security assistance to Ukraine moving forward.
The U.S., meanwhile, plans to entirely curtail its support for Ukraine in its upcoming budget, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Congress this week.
Under a new EUR400 million assistance package, the Dutch Ministry of Defense will provide around 100 maritime vessels, including drones, to support the Ukrainian military. Equipment deliveries have already begun, the MoD said in a statement, and will continue until 2026.
Battlefield Updates
Ukrainian forces are steadily pushing Russian troops out of the Sumy region, where Moscow had recently established a foothold. Russian forces began moving into Sumy in April after President Putin called for a buffer zone following the eviction of Ukrainian troops from Russia’s Kursk region.
The Ukrainian military claims it shot down a Russian Su-35S fighter jet on Saturday around Kursk. Reports suggest an F-16 was responsible for the takedown, possibly using targeting data from a Saab 340 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.
A Russian cruise missile struck a Ukrainian oil drilling platform in the Black Sea. The supersonic cruise missile was launched by a Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bomber.
Ukrainian maritime drones are utilizing advanced AIM-9X missiles to target Russian jets. Earlier reports were suggesting Ukraine was using older AIM-9M missiles.
Russia has conducted another heavy drone and missile attack on Ukraine. During the night of June 9, Ukraine claims Moscow fired 499 drones as part of this attack. In addition, Kyiv said Russia launched four Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic, 10 Kh-101, three Kh-22, and two Kh-31P missiles.
Russia has fired over 315 attack drones in a recent attack, along with seven missiles. Areas of Kyiv were a target of these attack drones. Ukrainian air defense forces intercepted an unknown number of these attack drones.
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