Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban railed against Ukraine’s future accession to the European Union in a social media post on June 3, promising to “do everything” to prevent Ukraine from joining the bloc.

Under the Orban regime, Hungary has become widely regarded as the most Kremlin-friendly state in the EU. Budapest has been blocking the opening of EU accession negotiation clusters with Kyiv and signaled further obstruction in recent weeks after Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it had uncovered a Hungarian spy network in western Ukraine.

In a Facebook post on June 3, Orban called EU expansion “a noble idea” but excoriated “the bureaucrats in Brussels” for promoting Ukraine’s membership.

“For Brussels, Ukrainian accession is a vital issue: political damage control and good business in the midst of a losing war,” he wrote.

Orban claimed that Kyiv’s membership would hurt Hungarian interests and have economic drawbacks for Europe.

“Ukraine would suck up every euro, forint and zloty that we have spent so far on strengthening European families, European farmers, and European industry. … In 10 years, I would not be able to answer my conscience to myself, my grandchildren, or the country if I did not do everything now to protect Hungary and the European Union from the Brussels fever dream of Ukrainian accession."

Orban encouraged Hungarians to vote in a non-binding national poll on Ukraine’s EU bid that the government launched in early March. The poll  has garnered criticism for low turnout and manipulative questions, written to encourage citizens to reject Ukraine’s accession.

Kyiv formally applied for EU membership in 2022 and began accession talks in June 2024. EU leaders have set 2030 as a tentative target date for Ukraine’s potential entry. As a member state, Hungary holds veto power over each phase of the process.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on May 9 that while the EU would prefer to secure unanimous support, it has alternative plans if Hungary vetoes Ukraine’s accession to the bloc.

After the scandal regarding the alleged spy ring broke out in early May, Budapest announced it is suspending talks with Ukraine on “national minority rights,” long presented by Hungary as the main roadblock in accession negotiations.

‘Tattoos of war’ — haunting portraits of Ukrainians’ most painful wartime memories (Photos)

In everyday life, these people might appear normal: they have no physical wounds, their loved ones and children are alive by their side. But Ukrainian photographer Sergey Melnitchenko’s black-and-white portraits reveal the chilling depths that stand between his subjects and normalcy. They gaze outward with calm, matter-of-fact expressions, while

The Kyiv IndependentSergey Melnitchenko

At least two A-50 Russian surveillance aircraft were damaged in Ukraine’s June 1 drone strike inside Russia, the Telegraph reported on June 3, citing footage viewed by the publication.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) executed Operation Spiderweb on June 1, targeting four key air bases and destroying around 40 heavy bombers by smuggling trucks of first-person-view (FPV) drones deep inside Russia.

Footage shared with the Telegraph reportedly shows Ukrainian drones hitting two A-50s, rare Russian spy planes that Moscow relies on for several critical functions in its full-scale war against Ukraine.

Drones struck the radar domes of two A-50 aircraft, according to the Telegraph. One plane appeared to be protected by sandbags along its wings, while the other had tires arranged across its airframe.

Open source satellite images from May 2 appear show two A-50s stationed at the Ivanovo air base in Russia’s Ivanovo Oblast, one of the airfields targeted in Operation Spiderweb. The footage shared with the Telegraph makes it clear that these are the same A-50s damaged in the June 1 attack.  

The video also reportedly shows several Tupolev bombers in flames after sustaining direct hits from Ukrainian drones.

An SBU source told the Kyiv Independent on June 1 that A-50s were among the aircraft hit in the attack, but the claim could not be verified at the time.

Russia’s A-50s detect air defense systems, guide missiles, and coordinate targets for Russian fighter jets. The aircraft carry an estimated price tag of around $350 million.

They are also extremely rare: Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR), said in February 2024 that Moscow only had six A-50s in its arsenal.

Ukraine previously shot down two A-50s in January and February 2024.

Kyiv’s audacious drone strike deep within Russia took 18 months of planning and dealt a major blow to Russia’s fleet of bombers — only days after Moscow launched a series of record-breaking mass aerial attacks against Ukraine.

The SBU reported that the operation caused approximately $7 billion in damages and disabled 34% of cruise missile carriers in key Russian airbases.

Inside Russia, calls for peace come with conditions — and Kremlin talking points

Following the second round of direct peace talks with Ukraine, the Russian side leaked its proposal on how to end its war — effectively a demand for Ukraine’s surrender. Yet, if the intentions of the Kremlin are no secret — continue the war until a political or military victory — getting information on

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

U.S. President Donald Trump was not informed in advance about Operation Spiderweb, Ukraine’s mass drone strike that damaged over 40 Russian bombers, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on June 3.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) smuggled first-person-view (FPV) drones deep within Russia to coordinate attacks against four key air bases on June 1. Trump was not briefed ahead of the operation, Axios reported shortly after the operation, citing a Ukrainian security official.

During a White House press briefing, Leavitt was asked whether Trump was informed by Ukraine about Operation Spiderweb in advance of the attack.

“He was not,” she said.

The press secretary was also asked about Trump’s view of the operation, given his uncharacteristic silence on the matter.

“I would like to let the president speak on that himself,” she said, then updated her answer by adding that Trump wants the war in Ukraine to end.

“The president does not want to see this war prolonged. He wants this war to stop,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt praised Trump’s efforts as a peacemaker, despite Russia’s continued refusal to accept a ceasefire and the escalation of mass attacks against Ukraine. She noted the second round of direct Ukraine-Russia talks on June 2 in Istanbul as a sign of progress, calling the meeting “inconceivable” and crediting the step to Trump’s intervention.

"(President Trump) remains positive about the progress that we’re seeing," Leavitt said.

When asked whether Trump supports efforts by congressional Republicans to impose harsher sanctions against Russia, Leavitt did not answer directly, saying that lawmakers would take their cues from the president and trust his judgment as commander-in-chief.

"(H)e has smartly kept this as a tool in his toolbox if necessary," Leavitt said, referring to additional sanctions.

Leavitt also said that U.S. defense officials are looking into the implications of Operation Spiderweb for U.S. security and are working to ensure American aircraft are protected from the risks of internal drone strikes.

Trump may take “some executive action” regarding the matter in the near future, she said.  

Operation Spiderweb is not the first time Ukraine has launched a major attack against Russia without first informing their American counterparts. The New York Times (NYT) reported in March that U.S. officials under former U.S. President Joe Biden reacted with “surprise” and “anger” when Ukraine sank the Mosvka, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Operation Spiderweb — everything we know about Ukraine’s ‘audacious’ attack on Russia’s heavy bombers

Ukraine was jubilant on June 1 as news filtered through of a stunning drone attack targeting Russian heavy bombers, that simultaneously targeted four air bases, two of them thousands of miles inside Russia. “Enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia — this is the result of a special operation

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

Did U.S. President Donald Trump complain on social media that Ukraine's attacks on Russia interfere with his sleep? No, that's not true: A search across his account on Truth Social did not produce a match to the image a viral post purported to have taken from his account. Searches across an archived version of his account and news reports did not confirm that the post in question ever existed.

The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X where it was published on June 3, 2025. It opened:

Is he serious?

The post displayed what seemed to be a screenshot of a post published by Trump's account on social media:

Why does Ukraine keep doing these big operations against Russia so early the morning? ľm trying sleep here it's ridiculous!

TODAY ľm sending very strong note protest President Zelenskyy. Very strong!

From now on, demand all operations be conducted *after* my lunch. That's fair. That's classy. Let's keep civilized, folks!

This is what it looked like on X at the time of writing:

(Source: X screenshot by Lead Stories)

The red checkmark was consistent with the appearance of Trump's account on Truth Social (archived here).

However, a Google search across it (archived here) did not show such a post:

(Source: Google screenshot by Lead Stories)

Another search for the exact wording from the purported post (archived here) across the "TRUMP'S TRUTH" archive of Trump's posts on Truth Social did not produce a match:

(Source: Trumpstruth.org screenshot by Lead Stories)

One more search -- across Google News for the keywords seen here (archived here) -- did not show any credible reporting confirming the post ever existed.

Read more

Other Lead Stories fact checks mentioning Donald Trump are here.

Following the second round of direct peace talks with Ukraine, the Russian side leaked its proposal on how to end its war — effectively a demand for Ukraine’s surrender.

Yet, if the intentions of the Kremlin are no secret — continue the war until a political or military victory — getting information on what people in Russia think of their country’s war and the prospects for peace is a more complicated endeavor.

While those based in Russia interviewed by the Kyiv Independent share a desire for peace, they are no supporters of Ukraine and its sovereignty.

Despite speaking on condition of anonymity and with the ability to freely express their views, Russians inside the country spoke along the official Russian lines — accusing Ukraine of stalling the negotiations or even arguing that there will be no peace as long as Ukraine remains an independent country.

These views are in line with polls conducted in Russia, which some believe are untrustworthy.

Around 64% of the respondents in Russia favored peace talks, according to a poll by the independent Russian pollster Levada Center published on June 2.

However, a majority of respondents (73%) believe that Ukraine should make concessions prior to a ceasefire. Only 18% think that Moscow should agree to a ceasefire and then resolve all other issues.

5 Ukrainian regions, ban on NATO, limits on Kyiv’s army — Russian media publishes Moscow’s official peace demands

Among Russia’s key demands, according to the document, is the official recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, as well as the annexation of Ukraine’s Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts, none of which Moscow controls in full.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova

Soviet nostalgia

The Kyiv Independent interviewed people with different backgrounds and views, including ones who have a track record of being opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

One of them, a 40-year-old photographer, used to attend rallies against Putin.

Yet the photographer’s past opposition to Putin did not make her a supporter of Ukraine, nor did it mean she acknowledged her country’s faults. In a conversation with the Kyiv Independent, the photographer expressed nostalgia for the Soviet Union and said that she believes there will be no peace until former Soviet republics are reunited under the Kremlin’s wing.

“Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus would unite into one country,” she said. “And then there would be no more problems. And all the foreign agents would get kicked out."

She also argued that “recognizing all the (occupied) territories as part of Russia is a done deal."

Russia illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014. The Kremlin also announced the illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts in 2022 despite only partially controlling them.

According to a document leaked after the second round of talks with Ukraine, Russia is demanding the official recognition of all these annexations.

Additional demands include Ukraine’s neutral status, a ban on the country’s NATO bid and other possible military alliances, and an official end to Western arms supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

According to a source in the Ukrainian President’s Office, the Russian delegation effectively showed it doesn’t want a peace settlement and is simply buying time to prolong the war.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stated that Kyiv would not recognize any of the occupied territories as Russian.

Who is Vladimir Medinsky? The Putin aide leading Russia’s delegation at Ukraine peace talks

Despite an invitation from President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet face to face in Istanbul, President Vladimir Putin was a no-show in Turkey, sending instead an aide, Vladimir Medinsky, to head the Russian delegation in peace talks. Medinsky headed the last and only other direct talks between the two sides in

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova

Blaming Ukraine

Unlike the photographer, a Russian official who previously worked with Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation during the Istanbul talks, was more ambivalent.

He opposed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but has grown more skeptical of Kyiv’s position since then and accused Ukraine of stalling the negotiations.

The official shared his personal opinion. He is not connected to the actual talks.

He told the Kyiv Independent that “any negotiations are a good thing."

“It’s a step forward,” he said. “It’s better than a demonstrative refusal to negotiate. I agree with (U.S. President Donald) Trump that people shouldn’t be dying. Enough already."

He argued, however, that an unconditional ceasefire is currently “technically and politically impossible” because it would be to “Ukraine’s advantage."

He accused Ukraine of disrupting the talks, saying that it had not sent a proper negotiating team to Istanbul. Ukraine has sent a delegation headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to Istanbul, while Russia has sent a low-level delegation headed by Medinsky.

The official claimed that Ukraine “got carried away and deceived itself with their own propaganda” and “put too much faith in their (Western) partners,” the points often mentioned by Russian state TV.

Putin did not attend the Istanbul peace talks despite an invitation from Zelensky to meet him face-to-face. Ukrainian and Western observers have argued that Russia is disrupting the peace negotiations.

The official, who used to work with Medinsky in a field unrelated to negotiations, went on to praise him as a manager and negotiator.

As Russia refuses to accept ceasefire, will Trump pressure Moscow?

Three weeks ago, Ukraine and the U.S. agreed to implement a full 30-day ceasefire. Russia declined to do so, issuing a list of demands instead. On April 4, Russia hit a residential neighborhood in the city of Kryvyi Rih with ballistic missiles and drones, killing 19 people, including nine

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

A pessimistic forecast

An IT specialist living in Russia offered a third perspective, blaming neither Moscow nor Kyiv for the war.

“My attitude toward political events is similar to how I view developments on financial markets… or even like the weather,” he told the Kyiv Independent. “In my worldview, what happens in all these spheres is the result of a sufficiently large number of actors and factors… rather than the result of malice, stupidity, or genius on the part of specific individuals."

He said he would be calm about any outcome of the peace talks.

The IT professional told the Kyiv Independent, however, that the war had had a negative impact on his life from a practical standpoint: salaries in the IT sector have dropped, there are fewer job opportunities, and there are major difficulties with accepting payments from abroad.

He also said that financially he can afford not to work but has to have a permanent job to defer potential mobilization.

“But in my view, neither peace nor a ceasefire in Ukraine would actually resolve any of the above problems,” he said. “Once this episode of the confrontation ends, another one will just begin."

He added that “the key indicator of readiness to end the confrontation is the willingness of all parties to agree on the legal status of the disputed territories."

“We’re nowhere near that,” he continued.

‘There we go again’ — For war-weary Europe, Trump-Putin call yet another signal to ‘wake up’

After a two-hour call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia reiterated its refusal for a full ceasefire in the war in Ukraine while the U.S. once again failed to respond with any significant pressure. For observers across Europe, watching the way the negotiations

The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta

Russians outside Russia: ‘No peace until Putin is out’

In contrast with those based in Russia, Russian political exiles living abroad put the blame squarely on Putin, although they did not blame the Russian people in general for continuing to wage it.

"(Putin is) continuing the war while dragging out these endless negotiations — talks about talks, meetings for the sake of more meetings — hiding everything behind vague, meaningless language, all while keeping the war going,” Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza told the Kyiv Independent.

Kara-Murza survived poisoning attempts by Russia’s Federal Security Service in 2015 and 2021, according to Bellingcat, Der Spiegel, and The Insider.

He was jailed in Russia in 2023 for criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and released and sent abroad in 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange with the West.

Kara-Murza also said that “Putin is playing Trump brilliantly — because if you just listen to the tone of Trump’s statement, it was filled with admiration and enthusiasm after a conversation that, once again, was absolutely meaningless in substance."

He was referring to Trump’s statement after a phone call with Putin on May 19, during which the Russian president again rejected an unconditional ceasefire. Trump said the call “went very well” and once again refused to impose sanctions against Russia.

Kara-Murza argued that Trump and Putin get along because “they have the same kind of authoritarian mindset, they share the same psychological profile."

“I think Trump really wanted to rule the way Putin does — without checks and balances, without a parliament, without opposition, without an independent press,” he added. “Even people who were present at their meetings during his first term have said that Trump, in Putin’s presence, was like a rabbit staring at a boa constrictor. So I think Trump genuinely admires Putin — personally and sincerely — and wants to be like him."

Kara-Murza is skeptical about the prospects for peace under Putin.

“I’m convinced that no lasting, long-term — let alone just — peace can exist or will exist as long as Putin’s regime remains in power,” Kara-Murza said.

He said that “the only real way to stop this war is a democratic Russia."

“Only when Russia has a normal, legitimate, freely elected government that respects its own laws and the rights of its own citizens will it begin to respect civilized norms of international behavior and return to its internationally recognized borders,” Kara-Murza added.

In contrast with Kara-Murza, Russians inside the country who spoke on condition of anonymity were more ambivalent about Putin’s role, often blaming Ukraine or both sides.

At the same time, Kara-Murza does not extend the blame for the war to Russia as a whole. In 2024, he criticized the sanctions imposed against Russia, saying that only individual sanctions against Putin’s inner circle were appropriate.

‘Conditions for Ukraine’s surrender’ — Why Putin’s demands for ceasefire make no sense

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conditions for a ceasefire are unrealistic and tantamount to demanding that Ukraine disarm itself and surrender, analysts say. Putin said on March 13 that Russia was ready to agree to the U.S.-backed 30-day-long ceasefire in Ukraine but then followed by listing a number of

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

Ukraine’s victory is ‘the only real peace’

Another Russian opposition figure, former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, is on the far end of the spectrum — he is one of the few Russians who unequivocally support sanctions against Russia and call for Ukraine’s victory.

He told the Kyiv Independent that “Putin wants to use negotiations to buy time, to normalize his status as a legitimate leader instead of an invading war criminal, and to distract and sideline Ukraine’s allies from taking stronger action against Russia."

“Putin’s impossible demands have not changed,” he added. “He’s not offering any concessions, and Trump isn’t asking Russia to make any. Despite Putin ignoring European and American deadlines for a ceasefire, the only pressure Trump applies is against Ukraine."

Kasparov also said that “until there is real pressure via military aid to Ukraine and crippling sanctions on Russia… Putin will have no interest in ending the war."

“As I have said from the start, the only real peace is Ukrainian victory,” he added.

Kasparov said that Trump “is working together with Putin to pressure Ukraine into surrendering so he can claim to be a peacemaker."

“Trump gave a deadline (for a ceasefire), Putin ignored it,” he added. “In their phone call, Putin spouted a bunch of garbage about plans and frameworks, and Trump just said it was all fine."

Can Russia sustain its war effort as ruble plummets, inflation soars?

With the purchasing power of the Russian ruble hitting the lowest point since March 2022, the economic toll of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine becomes glaring. Russia’s expanding spending on the war has fueled inflation, prompting Russia’s Central Bank to hike its interest rate to the highest level since the

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

Putin' is playing for time'

Arkady Moshes, a Russian-born researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, argued that “there is nothing to talk about” as far as Russian-Ukrainian talks are concerned.

"(Russia) is playing for time,” he said. “They only agreed to imitate their participation in the negotiations because America wanted it. They want to give Trump a chance to say to his audience that he has already brokered something."

He also said that Putin “is interested in continuing the warfare."

“He’s still driven by the thinking that Russia has material advantages over Ukraine,” Moshes added. “So Putin still plays for victory and not a draw."

He said Russia’s maximalist demands and unwillingness to compromise show that it is not interested in peace.

“This is the plan, that you come to the talks, put forward maximalist demands, and then blame the other side for not agreeing,” Moshes added.

After deadly Russian missile and drone attacks in May, Trump expressed strong disapproval of the latest escalation.

“I’m not happy with Putin,” he told reporters on May 25, adding on Truth Social that the Russian president has gone “absolutely” crazy.

So Trump “faced the wall” and “had to make choices” — either to impose sanctions on Russia or not, Moshes said.

But instead of actually imposing sanctions, Trump just threatened to do so without taking any action, he added.

“Putin is not afraid of these kinds of threats,” Moshes said. “He would be afraid of sanctions, but not of threat of sanctions."

‘Trump doesn’t know how to deal with gangsters’ — US lets Ukraine down, once again

In what is now a semi-regular occurrence, the workings of U.S.-led global diplomacy has cast a dark shadow over Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on May 19 in the latest attempt to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. The call came

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

While Romania debated its future in its recent presidential election, Romanians in Ukraine’s Chernivtsi Oblast just across the border continued to wrestle with war, mobilization, and the loss of their pre-war lives.

Romania’s tight election race at the end of May kept many in Europe on the edge of their seats as candidates with starkly different visions for the country’s future vied to take office in the EU member state.

Pro-European liberal Nicusor Dan, who supported aid to Ukraine in fighting off Russia’s invasion, defeated his opponent George Simion, a far-right Eurosceptic candidate who opposed supporting Ukraine and was banned from entering the country over his “systematic anti-Ukrainian activities."

In the west, Ukraine’s historically diverse population includes sizable communities of ethnic Romanians, Poles, and Hungarians. Their ancestors lived with Ukrainians in the areas that became Ukrainian after the borders took their current shape in the First and Second World Wars.

”My grandma is a Romanian, my grandpa is a Romanian, father is a Romanian. I am (also) a Romanian,” said Oleksandr, 58, a resident of Ukraine and one of only 431 people who cast votes for a Romanian election in Ukraine, according to the turnout numbers provided by the Romanian Special Telecommunications Service. He declined to provide his last name.

Chernivtsi Oblast remains the main hub of ethnic Romanians among the three Ukrainian oblasts bordering Romania. It hosts an estimated more than 100,000 ethnic Romanians, some of whom live in almost entirely Romanian villages, study in Romanian-speaking schools, and organize cultural festivals.

Before the war, many Ukrainians with Romanian roots from the area routinely went to Romania for work or studies, strengthening cultural diplomacy between the countries and fueling the local economy.

“We were good neighbors to each other and have to remain good neighbors (with Romania),” said Ihor, a silver-haired local man who came to the Romanian voting station in Chernivtsi on May 18 with his wife. Ihor did not want to give his last name.

But now in Chernivtsi, far away from most of the Russian attacks on the front and major cities, the war has unsettled the balance that once let the Romanian community move easily between both countries — and cultures.

Military-aged men are not allowed to leave the country and can no longer work abroad. Despite many holding dual Romanian-Ukrainian citizenship, Ukrainian law only recognizes them as Ukrainian citizens. With the oblast’s economy weakened by the loss of income from abroad, local job opportunities are limited. Many men fear being drafted from the streets. Funerals of Ukrainian fighters in Chernivtsi Oblast took place almost daily in May.

A wave of patriotic fervor, which mobilized Ukrainians in response to Russia’s invasion, has bolstered the Ukrainian language's role as the state language. But in Chernivtsi, the ethnic Romanian minority hopes that their opportunities to live, study, and pray in the Romanian language in Ukraine won’t be affected by Ukraine’s pushback against centuries of Russification.

Getting a Romanian passport to work abroad

Residents and Romanian activists say the majority of dual citizens in Chernivtsi Oblast obtained Romanian citizenship for economic, not identity-based reasons. Romanian law grants the right to citizenship to any Ukrainian who can prove their descent from people who lived in Chernivtsi Oblast during Romanian rule from the late 1910s to the 1940s.

“In our Ukraine, there is no job, and nothing to live on,” said ethnic Romanian Vasyl Bota, 74, whose five children left to work abroad before the full-scale invasion.

“Mainly, (people got dual citizenship) to have access to European countries,” said Vasyl Byku, an ethnic Romanian activist and the head of the Romanian Culture Society named after Mihai Eminescu, a Romanian romantic poet and novelist.

“The situation was different before, there was a visa regime (with the European Union),” Byku told the Kyiv Independent. “Visas were very expensive. People went to Europe, were caught there, returned, and deported. (With a Romanian passport), they got an opportunity to go and do some work.”

People from Chernivtsi and other western oblasts would direct their earnings from abroad to renovating their family houses in Ukraine, said Lavrentii, a driver with dual Ukrainian-Romanian citizenship who often transports people across the Romanian border.

“It also gave work in construction to people living here. The chain has been interrupted. It affects everything,” Lavrentii added.

Mobilization

Locals say it’s widely known in Chernivtsi that a routine document check done by draft office patrols can result in being drafted right off the streets.

In Chernivtsi, Oleksii Rusetskyi was drafted on New Year’s Eve at the train station as he was arriving from Kyiv, his sister, Olena Mishakova, told the Kyiv Independent on May 18 at a rally in the city’s downtown area for missing and captured soldiers.

Mishakova held up a large Ukrainian flag with her brother’s picture, along with another hundred silent women, children, and men lined up with flags and pictures of their family members.

Her brother went missing in Donetsk Oblast on Dec. 25, a year into his service.

The fear of being drafted has also changed daily life for men in Chernivtsi. Ivan, a taxi driver who declined to give his last name, regularly checked a chat on Viber with over 33,000 members where people shared updates on the draft office patrols around the city. He told the Kyiv Independent that he avoided trips outside Chernivtsi, afraid he could be conscripted at any one of the checkpoints encircling it.

“All the young people took their families and left to Romania, to Europe, because they don't see a future here,” said Yurii Levchyk, a Chernivtsi district council member and the director of the Bukovyna art center for revival and promotion of Romanian culture.

“For one, this is no longer a state here, it's a police system,” Levchyk told the Kyiv Independent as he walked from the voting station to his art center on May 18.

“People are being grabbed on the streets. There are still plenty of (ethnic Romanian) people here, but they are hiding,” he added.

Many ethnic Romanians in Chernivtsi Oblast have also volunteered to fight for their homeland, Ukraine, Byku said.

“In every (ethnic Romanian) village, our national flags for fallen soldiers stand in the cemeteries,” Byku said. “We were born here as Romanians, but this does not mean that we are not citizens of Ukraine. We are citizens of Ukraine first and foremost.”

Romanian minority rights

Simion’s position on the Russian war in Ukraine fueled old tensions between Romania and Ukraine concerning Romanian minority rights.

“Maybe the war deepened all our problems,” Levchyk said, referring to government corruption, the lack of accountability for the authorities, and cases of potentially unlawful mobilization.

“We didn't feel any major problems (before the full-scale war). Sometimes we thought that we were being wronged, but we would bring it up and discuss, and put things right,” Levchyk said, describing his frustration with the problems in the country that were not specific to Romanians.

Beyond the frustrations many Ukrainians share about the government, Byku said that ethnic Romanians in Ukraine do not experience ethnic conflict or discrimination.

Earlier, Byku opposed a 2017 law that would have switched about a hundred Romanian-speaking schools around the country to studies in the Ukrainian language. But according to Byku, the schools continue to operate in Romanian as the law was “put on hold."

“We just want to be citizens of Ukraine. But we don't want to lose our identity. This is very important to us,” Byku added.

Despite this, Russian propaganda actively uses narratives of alleged abuses of minority groups in Ukraine to raise anti-Ukrainian sentiments in Romania.

According to Roman Hryshchuk, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest from the ethnic Romanian village of Hlyboke, the rumors about persecution of the faith and Orthodoxy by Ukrainian authorities are spread in Romania by Romanian-speaking priests from Russian-linked churches, which still dominate Chernivtsi Oblast.

As Ukrainian communities and activists vote to switch their own parishes to the Ukrainian church and leave behind the persistent religious domination of Moscow, Hryshchuk said the priests of Russian-linked churches “lie to their parish” that the Ukrainian church will force them to hold services exclusively in Ukrainian.

However, in 2019, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church founded its Romanian vicariate to accommodate Romanian speakers who wish to hold services in the Romanian language.

“This, in fact, caused a wave of anti-Ukrainian outrage in Romania. And Simion built his (presidential candidate’s) work around this wave,” Hryshchuk added.

Note from the author:

Hello, this is Natalia Yermak. I reported this story for you. In a far western Chernivtsi Oblast, removed from the front and the Kyiv Independent's headquarters in Kyiv, Russian propaganda around alleged ethnic and religious persecution in Ukraine could grow unnoticed until it threatens the long-standing relationship between allies.

If you wish to help us shed light on it, please consider supporting our field reports from all over Ukraine by becoming a member. Thank you!

Romania’s new president faces daunting challenges after surprise victory over far-right upstart

There was a wave of euphoria and relief across Europe following the election of pro-European liberal Nicusor Dan as Romania’s new president. “For Ukraine — as a neighbour and friend — it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner. And we are confident we will,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky

The Kyiv IndependentPaula Erizanu

Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi has been dismissed from his position as commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), according to a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 3.

Sukharevskyi will be replaced by Major Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of the elite drone unit “Birds of Magyar.”

The Unmanned Systems Forces were established as a separate branch of Ukraine’s military in June 2024. The USF works to improve Ukraine’s drone operations, creating drone-specific units, ramping up training, increasing drone production, and pushing innovation. The USF has also carried out hundreds of operations deep within Russian territory.

“I am proud to have had the honor of leading the USF during its first and most difficult year of formation,” Sukharevskyi said in a post commenting on his dismissal.

“This year, although incomplete, has been spent productively. We have formed and immediately put into practice the principles on which this unique force operates. … At the same time, at this stage, our vision for the further development of the USF differs from that of the leadership. I believe that the honest and professional decision in this situation is to end my term as commander of the USF. I am leaving my position with deep faith in everyone who continues to carry this idea forward."

As Ukraine’s fate hangs in the balance, ‘Soviet’ command culture damages war effort

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include the official response to the Kyiv Independent from Ukraine’s General Staff, which came a few days after initial publication. Last February, a Ukrainian company commander going by his callsign Veter was ordered to send his people to reinforce another unit’s

The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak

Sukharevskyi, previously deputy commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, was named the first commander of the newly-created USF on June 10, 2024. According to military personnel who spoke anonymously to the Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne, Sukharevskyi’s relationship with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi was tense from the beginning of the USF’s formation.

Sukharevskyi’s appointment was a decision from the president, not Syrskyi, sources said. People close to both Syrskyi and Sukharevskyi also claimed the two men avoided face-to-face interactions.  

According to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Sukharevskyi has now been appointed deputy commander of Ukraine’s Eastern Operational Command, where he is expected to implement reforms and lead modernization efforts.

Regarding the decision to appoint Brovdi as the new USF commander, Umerov said that Brovdi’s “experience with one of the best units should be expanded to the entire command.”

Along with Sukharevskyi’s dismissal and replacement, Ukraine’s leadership announced  a number of military personnel decisions on June 3, including the appointment of Mykhailo Drapatyi as Commander of the Joint Forces.

Drapatyi previously resigned from his position as Ground Forces Commander on June 1 following a deadly Russian missile strike that killed at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers at a training camp in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast that day.

Editor’s note: Cukr journalists contributed to the reporting of this article.

The Ukrainian city of Sumy was once again the target of a devastating Russian missile strike on June 3, with four people killed and 28 others, including three children, injured.

“The body of a man, killed in the attack, lay on the roadway. It was covered with a thermal blanket, weighed down by fire extinguishers and a bottle of water,” Cukr journalist Artem Korol told the Kyiv Independent.

“The air was thick with the smell of fuel, likely spilled from ruptured tanks. Remnants of the munition protruded from the asphalt, and dozens of small potholes in the road emerged around it,” Korol added

Russia launched the attack during rush hour. Anna Shpurik, also a journalist at Cukr, described how she saw the yellow number 55 bus stop at a red light moments before an explosion.

Shell fragments peppered the vehicle but all the passengers survived, the driver escaping with just an injured arm.

Four others were less fortunate, just the latest civilians killed in escalating Russian strikes on the oblast.

Sumy lies in northeastern Ukraine just over 30 kilometers from the Russian border, and has suffered relentless attacks from Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion.

“At about 9 a.m., the Russians launched an insidious attack on the city center. One of the shells hit a busy road, right during the morning rush hour. People were just going about their daily business,” Oleh Hryhorov, head of Sumy Regional State Administration, said on Facebook.

Russia launched five attacks on Sumy using multiple launch rocket systems, according to local authorities.

The attack  set two cars ablaze, destroying them completely. A medical facility and residential buildings, a private house, and non-residential buildings were also damaged.

Sumy Oblast has recently seen renewed hostilities as Russian forces ramp up activity along the northeastern border.

In late May, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia is accumulating 50,000 troops near Sumy Oblast, seeking to create a 10-kilometer buffer zone in the area.

But even with the escalating recent attacks and tensions, the timing and brutality of the attack still shocked those in Sumy.

“No one ever expects this,” Ihor Klymenko, head of the Prolisok humanitarian center in Sumy Oblast, told the Kyiv Independent.

"People are a little nervous and in a state of shock because it is the city center during a working day."

When Klymenko arrived at the scene "the cars were still running, and there was blood on the asphalt".

"Leaves had fallen from the explosions, all covered in glass and blood," he added.

Later that morning, shops, kiosks, and a pharmacy were already open and operating along the street that was hit. After the blast shattered windows, employees swept up glass and talked on the phone with their relatives, assuring them they were safe, Shpurik said.

The attack came amid ongoing talks of a ceasefire and peace negotiations. A day before, on June 2, Russia and Ukraine held a second round of talks in Istanbul, which focused on a new prisoner exchange, but yet again failed to achieve a breakthrough in peace efforts.

"The Russians launched a savage strike on Sumy — directly targeting the city and its ordinary streets with rocket artillery. It was a fully deliberate attack on civilians," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.

According to Zelensky, at least one of the projectiles used by Russia in the attack on Sumy failed to detonate, piercing the wall of a nine-story apartment building.

"That alone says everything one needs to know about Russia’s so-called 'desire' to end this war," he said.

Russia’s Crimean Bridge rocked by explosions, Ukraine’s SBU claims responsibility

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck the Crimean Bridge for the third time during the full-scale war, mining and damaging its underwater supports, the SBU announced on June 3.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

Key developments on June 3:

• Russia’s Crimean Bridge rocked by explosions, Ukraine’s SBU claims responsibility
• Russian strike on downtown Sumy kills at least 4, injures 28, authorities say
• Ukraine to deploy new units to counter Russian drone attacks, Air Force says
• Ukrainian strike on Russian bombers alarmed Kremlin over nuclear carriers vulnerability, Bloomberg reports
• Record number of Russians support peace talks, end of war in Ukraine, poll shows

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out the third attack against the Crimean Bridge since Russia’s full-scale war began in 2022, mining and damaging its underwater supports, the SBU announced on June 3.

“God loves the Trinity, and the SBU always brings what is conceived to the end and never repeats itself,” SBU Chief Vasyl Malyuk said in a statement posted on social media.

“Previously, we struck the Crimean Bridge in 2022 and 2023. So today we continued this tradition underwater,” he added.

The SBU said the operation “lasted for several months, with agents mining the “supports of this illegal construction."

Constructed after Russia’s illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014, the Crimean Bridge is a critical supply and transport route for Russian forces to the occupied Ukrainian territories.

“And today, without inflicting any civilian casualties, the first explosive was activated at 4:44 a.m.,” the SBU said.

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Underwater supports of the bridge's piers were severely damaged at the bottom as 1,100 kilograms of explosives in TNT equivalent were detonated, according to the statement.

Russian state media later reported a "Ukrainian intelligence agent" who had constructed a bomb on "orders from Kyiv" had been detained by Russia's FSB.

In comments later on June 3, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, said the "key and most cpmplex" part of the bridge had been damaged in the attack.

The operation, which follows the SBU's mass drone strike against Russia's strategic aviation on June 1, was personally supervised by the agency's chief, Vasyl Maliuk.

A claimed "agent of Ukrainian intelligence services" has been detained in Crimea, Russia's Federal Security Service said later on June 3, accusing the detainee of producing a "powerful explosive."

The bridge suffered significant damage during two previous Ukrainian attacks in October 2022 and July 2023, though neither managed to take the bridge out of commission.

The construction of the bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, holds a significant symbolic value for Russia. The $4 billion project was a political statement designed to affirm the Kremlin's illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea, as the peninsula is not connected by land to Russia.

Russia's Defense Ministry previously claimed that three Ukrainian drones were downed over Crimea overnight on June 3.

The Crimean Bridge was closed for traffic between 6 and 9 a.m. local time on that day, according to local Telegram channels. The Mash Telegram channel reported that a Ukrainian drone was shot down over the bridge, and its debris fell onto the road.

According to pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel Crimean Wind, the bridge had been closed down for inspection, possibly to examine damage.

Later the same day, Crimean Wind reported a new "powerful explosion" near Kerch at around 3 p.m., writing that a helicopter is patrolling the strait. Several local channels reported that a fresh drone attack against the peninsula was underway in the afternoon, and that the bridge is closed once again.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.

Russian strike on downtown Sumy kills at least 4, injures 28, authorities say

Russian forces attacked downtown Sumy in Ukraine's northeast on June 3, killing four people and injuring 28 others, including three children, according to Ukrainian authorities.

According to preliminary reports, Russia launched five attacks on Sumy using multiple launch rocket systems.

"The Russians launched a savage strike on Sumy — directly targeting the city and its ordinary streets with rocket artillery. It was a fully deliberate attack on civilians," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.

A 17-year-old was among the injured, with authorities describing the condition of many victims as serious.

At nearly 4:30 p.m. local time, the death toll rose to four after a 43-year-old man who was in a serious condition died in the hospital. His seven-year-old daughter was also severely injured in the Russian attack.

The attack reportedly set two cars ablaze, destroying them completely. A medical facility and residential buildings were also damaged.

At 7 p.m. local time, rescuers finished working at the sites of the attacks. Sappers also examined the affected area and removed the remains of explosives, the State Emergency Service reported.

Local authorities declared June 3 and 4 a day of mourning in Sumy.

According to Zelensky, at least one of the projectiles used by Russia in the attack on Sumy failed to detonate, piercing the wall of a nine-story apartment building.

"That alone says everything one needs to know about Russia's so-called 'desire' to end this war," he added, calling on the U.S. and Europe to increase pressure on Moscow.

Sumy Oblast, which borders Russia to the north, has been a repeated target of Russian incursions and shelling since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. The region has recently seen renewed hostilities as Russian forces ramp up activity along the northeastern border.

In late May, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia is accumulating 50,000 troops near Sumy Oblast, seeking to create a 10-kilometer buffer zone in the area.

As 50,000 Russian troops amass, Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast braces for potential large-scale offensive

Reports of an imminent Russian summer offensive and troop build ups on Ukraine’s border are raising alarms in Sumy Oblast and fears that a large-scale assault could be on the horizon. Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 22 said he had ordered his military to create a “security buffer zone”

The Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima

Ukraine to deploy new units to counter Russian drone attacks, Air Force says

New air defense units will be established to counter Russia's drone attacks on Ukraine, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda on June 2.

Despite ongoing peace talks, Russia continues to reject calls for an unconditional ceasefire, intensifying drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, killing and injuring civilians.

Overnight on June 1, Russia launched an aerial assault on Ukraine, deploying a record 472 drones.

Ukrainian forces downed 210 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones, while 172 more drones were intercepted by electronic warfare or disappeared from radars, according to the Air Force.

"We would have liked to have had better results, but there were still dozens of hits," Ihant said.

According to Ihant, Russia employed tactics involving the launch of a large number of weapons at a single target that approached from high altitude. During their meeting on June 2, air force commanders emphasized the urgent need to strengthen drone air defense capabilities, he said.

"We are talking about anti-aircraft drones that help intercept air targets. Crews are being trained in different locations on the territory of our country. New units will be introduced," the spokesperson said.

Russia seeks to produce up to 500 drones per day, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in late May.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has more than doubled its long-range drone production in 2024 compared to the previous year — a staggering 22-fold increase since 2022.

By the end of 2024, Ukraine had developed a total of 324 new types of weapons, according to the Ministry of Strategic Industries.

Exclusive: Russia’s ballistic missile production up at least 66% over past year, according to Ukrainian intel figures

Russia’s production of ballistic missiles has increased by at least 66% over the past year, according to data from Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) shared with the Kyiv Independent. According to data obtained by HUR, Moscow is now producing 60 to 70 Iskander-M — the ballistic version of the missile — and 10

The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post

Ukrainian strike on Russian bombers alarmed Kremlin over nuclear carriers vulnerability, Bloomberg reports

A recent Ukrainian drone strike deep inside Russian territory has sparked anger and concern among Kremlin officials over the exposed vulnerability of a nuclear-capable air force far from the front lines, Bloomberg reported on June 2, citing undisclosed sources close to senior Moscow officials.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out the operation "Spiderweb" on June 1, targeting Russian air bases at Belaya, Diaghilev, Olenya, and Ivanovo with drones hidden in trucks across Russia.

The strike is claimed to have hit 41 aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers. These planes belong to Russia's nuclear-capable air fleet and are used to launch cruise missile attacks on Ukraine's cities.

Ukraine's General Staff said in its daily update on June 3 that Russian forces lost 12 aircraft, without elaborating on the types of destroyed planes or whether more had been damaged.

Meanwhile, a source close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg that the number of affected aircraft may be closer to 10. According to the outlet's sources, only a small number of the targeted Russian bombers are required for strikes against Ukraine, meaning the pace of missile and bombing attacks is unlikely to slow.

The SBU claimed the operation caused approximately $7 billion in damage and disabled one-third of Russia's cruise missile bombers.

Independent confirmation of the damage caused is so far limited to satellite images of Belaya air base, which appear to confirm the destruction of at least three Tu-95MS strategic bombers and one Tu-22M3 aircraft, with an additional Tu-95MS visibly damaged.

Another image shows two more likely destroyed Tu-22M3 bombers on the field.

Record number of Russians support peace talks, end of war in Ukraine, poll shows

The number of Russian citizens who support peace talks and an end to the war in Ukraine has reached a record high since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to a poll by the independent Russian pollster Levada Center published on June 2.

Some 64% of the respondents favored peace talks, representing a 6% increase since March. Meanwhile, the number of people who supported the war's continuation decreased from 34% in March to 28% in May.

Compared to previous survey results, in May 2023, 48% of respondents believed that the war should continue. In May 2024, this figure dropped to 43%.

The news comes after the second round of direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia occurred in Istanbul. The parties agreed on a new prisoner exchange, as well as the repatriation of 6,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. No agreement on a ceasefire was reached.

The share of supporters of peaceful negotiations is higher among women (73%), people under 24 (77%), residents of villages and towns with populations under 100,000 (67% each), as well as those who believe that the country is going in the wrong direction (76%) and those who disapprove of Russian President Vladimir Putin's presidential performance (77%).

The share of those who support continuing the war is higher among men (39%), respondents aged 55 and older (35%), residents of Moscow (40%), those who believe that things in the country are going in the right direction (32%), and those who approve of the activities of the current president (30%).

A majority of respondents (73%) believe that Russia and Ukraine should address the hostilities' root causes and only then agree on a ceasefire. On the contrary, some 18% think that the parties will first reach a truce and ceasefire and then resolve all other issues.

Only 3% of Russians believe Russia is an obstacle to peace. At the same time, 14% of respondents believe that the U.S. is to blame, while 36% each see Ukraine and European countries as major obstacles in peace negotiations.

The center conducted the survey from May 22 to 28, involving 1,613 people aged 18 and older in 50 regions of Russia.

Note from the author:

Ukraine War Latest is put together by the Kyiv Independent news desk team, who keep you informed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you value our work and want to ensure we have the resources to continue, join the Kyiv Independent community.

Mykhailo Drapatyi has been appointed Commander of the Joint Forces after submitting his resignation as Ground Forces Commander, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on June 3.

Drapatyi resigned from his previous role on June 1 following a deadly Russian missile strike that killed at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers at a training camp in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast earlier that day.

He was then summoned to a meeting with Zelensky on June 3.

“I explained to the president the reasons for my decision (to resign). The president heard me, supported me, and suggested that we focus on the main issues — the war, the front line, and victory,” Drapatyi wrote on Telegram.

The commander also emphasized the need to change the culture of commanders' attitudes toward their soldiers, the performance of their duties, and the value of the life of every Ukrainian soldier.

“I received a task from the president. I am staying in the ranks, on the front line. Where I have to be, where I can do the most,” Drapatyi said.

During his evening address, Zelensky said that Drapatyi would be appointed Commander of the Joint Forces and focus “exclusively on combat issues.”

The Russian strike in question hit the 239th Polygon, a Ground Forces training ground north of the city of Dnipro, on June 1. Drapatyi, confirming the location and when announcing his resignation, said the victims were mostly young recruits who “should have learned, lived, and fought — not died."

The attack killed 12 people and injured more than 60 others, according to the Ground Forces press office.

The Ground Forces said that if the investigation finds negligence or misconduct contributed to the casualties, those responsible will face strict accountability.

Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian training sites have intensified in recent months. The 239th Polygon was also struck by an Iskander missile in March.

Russia had previously attacked Ukrainian training grounds several times when Ukrainian soldiers were lining up to be awarded for their service.

The attacks, which resulted in heavy casualties, provoked criticism of the top military leadership, which allowed negligence at military facilities.

As Ukraine’s fate hangs in the balance, ‘Soviet’ command culture damages war effort

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include the official response to the Kyiv Independent from Ukraine’s General Staff, which came a few days after initial publication. Last February, a Ukrainian company commander going by his callsign Veter was ordered to send his people to reinforce another unit’s

The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak

Ukraine was jubilant on June 1 as news filtered through of a stunning drone attack targeting Russian heavy bombers that simultaneously attacked four air bases, two of them thousands of miles inside Russia. The operation reportedly damaged or destroyed over 40 Russian heavy bombers. The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York explains everything we know about Operation Spiderweb.

In everyday life, these people might appear normal: they have no physical wounds, their loved ones and children are alive by their side.

But Ukrainian photographer Sergey Melnitchenko’s black-and-white portraits reveal the chilling depths that stand between his subjects and normalcy. They gaze outward with calm, matter-of-fact expressions, while the massive superimposed projection of their most haunting war memories distorts their features.

The subjects choose the photos themselves, said Melnitchenko, who features his friends, fiancée, and son in a conceptual photography project, “Tattoos of war."

The photo — either taken by the subjects or sourced on news websites — represents the most painful memory they associate with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022. After more than three years of relentless Russian attacks on the country that have killed tens of thousands of people, Ukrainians face no shortage of such memories.

“It is an impossible task, in fact,” Melnitchenko told the Kyiv Independent. “Because everyone has hundreds of these memories. You have to choose one, as if to convince yourself that this event was the most difficult, the most tragic. Although every event that concerns our country during the war is the worst."

For Melnitchenko, each photo from the project carries the weight of events that he and his subjects can still hardly comprehend.

One of the most challenging portraits for him was a photo of his friends Maryna and Serhii against the backdrop of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration in their native city, destroyed by a Russian missile on March 29, 2022.

As a result of the attack, the central section of the building collapsed from the ninth to the first floor, killing 37 people. Maryna and Serhii fled the city a year ago, but the memory — a “tattoo” —  will stay with them forever, Melnitchenko says in his photo book about the project.

But during the last shoot from the series at the end of 2024 with the family of Andrii, Viktoria, and their daughter Kira, Melnitchenko witnessed for the first time how one could transform their tragic memories into a source of strength.

The family chose a photo of a beach with pine trees on a riverbank of the Dnipro River, where they loved spending time before the full-scale invasion began.

Russia currently occupies this beach in Kakhovka, Kherson region. But even under occupation, the vision from the photograph is probably long gone, as Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant’s dam reshaped the water terrain in the oblast.

According to the photographer, the family found it therapeutic to process the loss of their favorite place by visually exposing its impact.

“When Russians destroy our favorite places, or places of our memories, they are trying to take away not only this place physically, but also our good memories of them,” Melnitchenko said.

“This family was the first of all the heroes to choose not a photo of devastation as a background, but a photo with a place of their strength and pleasant memories,” he added.

Growing up under missiles — Ukrainian childhoods shaped by war (Photos)

Ukrainian children are growing up in a world entirely reshaped by Russia’s war. Sirens, blackouts, and bomb shelters are nothing extraordinary — but a part of everyday childhood. This photo story follows five families as they raise their children in the shadow of the ongoing invasion. It’s not about

The Kyiv IndependentElena Kalinichenko

A trilateral meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to be organized in the near future, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on June 3, Russian-state media outlet TASS reported.

The Kremlin’s statement comes a day after the White House said that Trump would not rule out participating in this format of talks.

“Frankly speaking, it is unlikely that (it will happen) soon,” Peskov said in response to a question about whether the three leaders would meet in the near future.

Peskov added that Putin had already expressed his readiness for a high-level meeting, but that it must result from agreements reached at “the technical and expert stages."

Putin had previously said he was ready to meet with Zelensky. However, when the Ukrainian leader invited him to hold the highest-level talks in Turkey on May 16, Putin did not attend.

Consequently, Ukraine and Russia held their first direct talks since 2022, but at a lower level than planned, without the participation of the countries' leaders.

The Russian and Ukrainian delegations held the second round of talks in Istanbul on June 2, failing to reach a ceasefire. But the parties agreed to a new prisoner exchange, as well as the repatriation of 6,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Serhii Kyslytsia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul, said that during the talks, Russia did not agree to a ceasefire and refused to hold a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

Exclusive: Russia’s ballistic missile production up at least 66% over past year, according to Ukrainian intel figures

Russia’s production of ballistic missiles has increased by at least 66% over the past year, according to data from Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) shared with the Kyiv Independent. According to data obtained by HUR, Moscow is now producing 60 to 70 Iskander-M — the ballistic version of the missile — and 10

The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post

The number of Russian citizens who support peace talks and an end to the war in Ukraine has reached a record high since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to a poll by the independent Russian pollster Levada Center published on June 2.

Some 64% of the respondents favored peace talks, representing a 6% increase since March. Meanwhile, the number of people who supported the war’s continuation decreased from 34% in March to 28% in May.

Compared to previous survey results, in May 2023, 48% of respondents believed that the war should continue. In May 2024, this figure dropped to 43%.

The news comes after the second round of direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia occurred in Istanbul. The parties agreed on a new prisoner exchange, as well as the repatriation of 6,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. No agreement on a ceasefire was reached.

The share of supporters of peaceful negotiations is higher among women (73%), people under 24 (77%), residents of villages and towns with populations under 100,000 (67% each), as well as those who believe that the country is going in the wrong direction (76%) and those who disapprove of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s presidential performance (77%).

The share of those who support continuing the war is higher among men (39%), respondents aged 55 and older (35%), residents of Moscow (40%), those who believe that things in the country are going in the right direction (32%), and those who approve of the activities of the current president (30%).

A majority of respondents (73%) believe that Russia and Ukraine should address the hostilities' root causes and only then agree on a ceasefire. On the contrary, some 18% think that the parties will first reach a truce and ceasefire and then resolve all other issues.

Only 3% of Russians believe Russia is an obstacle to peace. At the same time, 14% of respondents believe that the U.S. is to blame, while 36% each see Ukraine and European countries as major obstacles in peace negotiations.

The center conducted the survey from May 22 to 28, involving 1,613 people aged 18 and older in 50 regions of Russia.

Growing up under missiles — Ukrainian childhoods shaped by war (Photos)

Ukrainian children are growing up in a world entirely reshaped by Russia’s war. Sirens, blackouts, and bomb shelters are nothing extraordinary — but a part of everyday childhood. This photo story follows five families as they raise their children in the shadow of the ongoing invasion. It’s not about

The Kyiv IndependentElena Kalinichenko

Ukraine hit 41 Russian military aircraft during Operation Spiderweb, Ukraine’s General Staff said on June 3.

“After processing additional information from various sources and verifying it, which took some time, we inform you that the total losses of the occupiers amounted to 41 military aircraft, including strategic bombers and other types of combat aircraft,” it said in a statement posted on social media.

It gave no further details on the type of aircraft hit or the extent of the damage caused to them.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) operation, dubbed “Spiderweb,” allegedly destroyed or damaged A-50, Tu-95, and Tu-22 M3 planes parked at the Belaya, Diaghilev, Olenya, and Ivanovo air bases on June 1.

Kyiv has claimed it had disabled 34% of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet in what is seen as one of the most daring operations during the full-scale war. The strike reportedly involved 117 drones launched from trucks hidden across Russian territory.

Ukraine has pioneered drone technology during Russia’s full-scale war, introducing various ground-, air-, and sea-based models for combat and reconnaissance missions.

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on May 30 that Ukrainian soldiers hit and destroyed in May more than 89,000 Russian targets using drones of various types.

Ukraine is working to scale up domestic production. Kyiv has also developed long-range missile-drone hybrids, including the Palianytsia and Peklo models, which use turbojet engines as cruise missile alternatives.

By the end of 2024, Ukraine had developed a total of 324 new types of weapons, according to the Ministry of Strategic Industries.

‘Closer to victory’ – Operation Spiderweb gives much-needed morale boost to Ukrainians after 3 years of full-scale war

A large-scale drone attack carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), which reportedly destroyed or damaged 41 Russian heavy bombers on June 1, brought a much-needed morale boost to Ukrainians. Codenamed “Spiderweb,” the operation targeted the strategic aircraft that Russia uses for long-range missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. The

The Kyiv IndependentLinda Hourani

Russia’s production of ballistic missiles has increased by at least 66% over the past year, according to data from Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) shared with the Kyiv Independent.

According to data obtained by HUR, Moscow is now producing 60 to 70 Iskander-M — the ballistic version of the missile — and 10 to 15 hypersonic Kinzhals per month.

This compares to a reported 40 Iskander-Ms in May 2024, and a reported 4–5 Kinzhals in April 2024.

At the lower range, this is an increase in production of 66.67%. At the higher range, 88.89%.

Ballistic attacks on Ukraine have become more deadly in recent months as stockpiles of air defense missiles, particularly for U.S.-made Patriots, have dwindled.

The figures shared with the Kyiv Independent show Russian stockpiles of “almost 600 Iskander-Ms” and “over 100” Kinzhals.

At the end of 2022, Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov claimed Russia was almost out of Iskander ballistic missiles. By December 2024, HUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov noted that Russia had increased production to somewhere between 40 and 50 Iskander missiles per month.

Russia’s expanded production is a cause for alarm in Ukraine.

If HUR’s figures are correct, Russia’s production of ballistic missiles today outnumbers total production of PAC-3 MSE missiles for Patriot air defense systems, the preferred anti-ballistic defenses for much of Europe, which Lockheed Martin hopes to boost to 650 per year by 2027.

Other Western systems like the SAMP/T and IRIS-T have not proved effective against ballistic missiles.

Russia has moreover reportedly outfitted the newest Iskanders with radar decoys and less predictable flight paths, making them harder to shoot down even with Patriot systems.

Ukraine’s military intelligence has also estimated that Russia is holding a stockpile of 60 North Korean KN-23s. These missiles are similar to the Iskander-Ms, but carry a one-ton warhead, more powerful than their Russian equivalents.

The figures shared with the Kyiv Independent further show that total production for cruise missiles has also continued to grow.

Russia can produce 20 to 30 Iskander-Ks, 60 to 70 X-101s, 25 to 30 Kalibrs, up to 10 X-32s and 20-30 Onyx and Zircon anti-ship missiles.

A massive Ukrainian attack on Russian airfields on June 1 may have restricted Russia’s ability to launch several of these cruise missiles.

Tu-95M3s often carry Kh-55/Kh-555 or the newer Kh-101 and Kh-102 air-launched cruise missiles. The Tu-22 carries the Kh-22 missiles.Both of these types of aircraft are among those reported to have been damaged in Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb.

During wartime, Ukraine has also built out its production of its own cruise and ballistic missiles.

But large-scale production of types of missiles depend on major industrial zones that often fall victim to Russian air strikes — particularly when limited air defenses are being rationed.

Russia’s Crimean Bridge rocked by explosions, Ukraine’s SBU claims responsibility

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck the Crimean Bridge for the third time during the full-scale war, mining and damaging its underwater supports, the SBU announced on June 3.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

Ukrainian citizen Roman Lavrynovych, suspected of setting fire to property linked to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, may have been recruited by Russia via the Telegram messaging app, RFE/RL’s Schemes investigative project reported on June 3.

Two properties and a car linked to Starmer were targeted in arson attacks in the first half of May.

Lavrynovych, a 21-year-old working as a model and a roofer, was charged on May 15. He allegedly set a car that Starmer previously sold to a neighbor on fire on May 8. The suspect also allegedly started fires at Starmer’s two former residences on May 11 and 12.

The police said the property suffered damage, but no one was injured.

An analysis of Lavrynovych’s social media activity revealed that between 2022 and 2025, he actively searched for work through various Telegram channels aimed at foreigners in London. His most recent job-seeking post appeared in the London UA group on May 2, days before a car linked to Starmer was set ablaze in London.

“Looking for a job, I will consider any options,” Lavrynovych wrote.

Soon after, a user named Yurii replied, asking Lavrynovych to message him privately. Yurii had joined London UA only a few days prior to the dialog, according to Schemes.

Another Ukrainian citizen, Petro Pochynok, was charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life, is expected to appear at Westminster magistrates’ court on May 21.

Stanislav Carpiuc, a Russian-speaking Romanian national born in Ukraine, was also charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

British security officials are currently investigating possible Russian involvement in the attacks, the Financial Times reported on May 23.

Western officials have repeatedly accused Moscow of using covert sabotage, cyberattacks, and disinformation as part of its broader campaign to destabilize European nations that support Ukraine during the Russian large-scale war.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) warned on June 2 that Russian intelligence services are actively attempting to recruit Ukrainian nationals for illegal operations across the European Union.

Operation Spiderweb — everything we know about Ukraine’s ‘audacious’ attack on Russia’s heavy bombers

Ukraine was jubilant on June 1 as news filtered through of a stunning drone attack targeting Russian heavy bombers, that simultaneously targeted four air bases, two of them thousands of miles inside Russia. “Enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia — this is the result of a special operation

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

Just two days after a stunning Russia-wide covert operation, Ukraine’s secret services have struck another blow deep behind enemy lines.

As the sun was rising this morning, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck the Kerch Bridge for a third time.

The Kerch Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge, is a structure that connects Russia with occupied Crimea. It’s the longest bridge in Europe – and the longest bridge ever built by Russia.

It has served as a critical way for Russia to integrate its occupied territory into the country, and as a logistics connection for Russian troops.

This SBU operation is unique, as it appears to have been carried out underwater.

Read more

Russian ex-President Dmitry Medvedev’s statement that Russia seeks only a “swift victory” and the “complete destruction” of the Ukrainian government at the Istanbul peace talks is a “rare moment of honesty,” U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on June 3.

“I appreciate you making it clear to the world that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Russia are not remotely interested in peace,” said Graham, a Republican lawmaker backing a bill on major new sanctions against Russia.

Graham made the statement in reaction to Medvedev’s Telegram post, in which the deputy chairman of the Russian security council admitted that “the Istanbul negotiations are not intended for reaching a compromise peace based on someone’s unrealistic conditions."

Russia and Ukraine held the second round of peace negotiations on June 2, during which Russia yet again rejected a long-term ceasefire and instead presented a memorandum with a list of harsh demands on Kyiv.

These reportedly included official recognition of Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territories, Ukraine’s full withdrawal from four partially occupied regions, a ban on joining NATO, limits on the military, and more conditions.

Moscow’s real goal in the talks is a “swift victory and the complete destruction” of the Ukrainian government, Medvedev said. He referred to Ukrainian authorities as a “neo-Nazi regime,” referring to Russia’s false narratives about the Nazi-led government in Kyiv that were used as a pretext for Russian aggression.

“This is the meaning of the Russian memorandum published yesterday (June 2).” Medvedev has gained notoriety during the full-scale war for his theatrical and incendiary remarks aimed at Ukraine and its Western partners.

During the talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian delegation also presented a peace proposal, which included a prisoner swap in an all-for-all format, the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, as well as the release of all civilians held in Russian captivity.

According to the Ukrainian proposal seen by the Kyiv Independent, Kyiv would retain its right to join the EU and NATO. Ukraine also highlighted the need for security guarantees to avoid further Russian invasion.

Like the first round of talks on May 16, this week’s negotiations ended without any tangible progress toward a long-term ceasefire or a peace deal. Instead, the two parties agreed on a new prisoner exchange, which could involve up to 1,200 prisoners on each side.

Moscow also proposed a brief ceasefire lasting up to three days to collect the bodies of fallen soldiers.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called upon U.S. President Donald Trump to adopt tougher sanctions against Russia if the Istanbul talks fail to achieve progress. A bipartisan bill proposed by Graham, which he said will “start moving” forward this week, would impose 500% tariffs on imports from countries purchasing Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other products.

BREAKING: Russia’s Crimean Bridge rocked by explosions, Ukraine’s SBU claims responsibility

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck the Crimean Bridge for the third time during the full-scale war, mining and damaging its underwater supports, the SBU announced on June 3.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

New air defense units will be established to counter Russia’s drone attacks on Ukraine, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda on June 2.

Despite ongoing peace talks, Russia continues to reject calls for an unconditional ceasefire, intensifying drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, killing and injuring civilians.

Overnight on June 1, Russia launched an aerial assault on Ukraine, deploying a record 472 drones.

Ukrainian forces downed 210 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones, while 172 more drones were intercepted by electronic warfare or disappeared from radars, according to the Air Force.

“We would have liked to have had better results, but there were still dozens of hits,” Ihant said.

According to Ihant, Russia employed tactics involving the launch of a large number of weapons at a single target that approached from high altitude. During their meeting on June 2, air force commanders emphasized the urgent need to strengthen drone air defense capabilities, he said.

“We are talking about anti-aircraft drones that help intercept air targets. Crews are being trained in different locations on the territory of our country. New units will be introduced,” the spokesperson said.

Russia seeks to produce up to 500 drones per day, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in late May.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has more than doubled its long-range drone production in 2024 compared to the previous year—a staggering 22-fold increase since 2022.

By the end of 2024, Ukraine had developed a total of 324 new types of weapons, according to the Ministry of Strategic Industries.

How much does a Russian drone attack on Ukraine cost? The question is more complicated than it sounds

Beginning overnight on Saturday, May 24, Russia rained down nearly a thousand drones and missiles on villages and cities across Ukraine in three nights of large-scale aerial attacks, as civilians spent hours sheltering underground. Russia’s bombardment killed more than a dozen people and injured dozens more, in one of

The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta