U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is redirecting anti-drone technology earmarked for Ukraine to its own troops based in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on June 4.

According to the WSJ, special fuzes used in ground-to-air rocket systems that protect against drone attacks will be redirected towards units in the Middle East, as the U.S. braces for conflict with Iran as well as Houthi militants in Yemen.

The Pentagon notified Congress last week in a previously undisclosed message that the redirection of the fuzes, used in Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, was identified by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as an “urgent issue.”

The fuzes were initially bought for Ukraine by the Biden administration.

The decision comes as Russia has intensified its drone attacks in recent months, targeting cities across Ukraine. On the night of June 1, Russia launched its largest swarm of attack drones since the start of the full-scale invasion, topping out at 472 total units at once.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 4 that Russia has launched over 20,000 drones towards Ukraine since the start of 2025.

A source in Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent on June 4 that Russia will soon be able to deploy more than 500 long-range drones a night to attack Ukraine as it ramps up production and builds new launch sites for them.

Since the start of his presidency, Trump has been critical of providing Ukraine with additional military aid. The U.S. temporarily halted military supplies for Ukraine in March before restarting them after Kyiv agreed to the truce plan during talks in Jeddah on March 11.

Hegseth, who reportedly ordered a temporary halt of military aid flights to Ukraine, has also been critical of providing additional aid to Kyiv. Earlier in the day on June 4, Hegseth did not attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, marking the first instance since the start of the full-scale war that the U.S. Defense Secretary was not in attendance.

Since Trump’s second term began in January, no new aid packages have been approved.

Following a call on June 4 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said that Putin “will have to respond” to Ukraine’s recent drone attack on military airfields.

Ukraine has called upon its partners to invest more in its arms production and to provide additional air defenses, namely Patriot systems, to help fend off intensifying Russian aerial attacks.

Trump urges Senate to postpone vote on Russia sanctions bill, Senator says

U.S. President Donald Trump has asked the Senate to delay voting on a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, Republican Senator Roger Wicker said on June 4.

The Kyiv IndependentSonya Bandouil

Russia launched approximately 48,600 aerial attacks since the start of 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 4.

Zelensky said on social media that Russia has launched nearly 27,700 aerial bombs, 11,200 Shahed drones, approximately 9,000 other types of attack drones, and over 700 missiles at Ukraine in 2025.

Russia has intensified its aerial attacks in recent months, targeting Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones. On the night of June 1, Russia launched its largest swarm of attack drones since the start of the full-scale invasion, topping out at 472 total units at once.

For three consecutive days over May 24-26, Russia launched one of the heaviest attacks of the war to date with a series of mass drone and missile attacks at Ukrainian cities, during which more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles were launched.

The significant uptick in attacks comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to mediate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Despite two rounds of negotiations, Russia has continued to reject a ceasefire.

“Russia has restructured its entire state, society, and economy to be able to kill people in other countries on a massive scale and with impunity,” Zelensky added. “It means, that with every new strike, with every delay of diplomacy, Russia is giving the finger to the entire world — to all those who still hesitate to increase pressure on it."

A source in Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent on June 4 that Russia will soon be able to deploy more than 500 long-range drones a night to attack Ukraine as it ramps up production and builds new launch sites for them.

According to the source, Russia’s production rate for one type of drone — Shahed-type Gerans — is up to 70 units per day, from a reported 21 a day last year, and Moscow will soon have 12-15 new launch sites in operation.

Putin rejects Zelensky’s call for peace talks, accuses Ukraine of deadly bridge attack in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 4 accused Ukraine of being governed by a terrorist regime that deliberately targets civilians and claimed it is continuing to lose the war. He rejected the possibility of holding talks.

The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova

U.S. President Donald Trump has asked the Senate to delay voting on a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, Senator Roger Wicker said on June 4.

“I know that he (Trump) asked the leader (Senate Majority Leader John Thune) not to bring the bill to a vote this week,” Wicker told reporters.

The bill, introduced on April 1 by Senators Lindsey Graham (R) and Richard Blumenthal (D), seeks to impose a 500% tariff on imports from countries that continue purchasing Russian oil and raw materials.

Its aim is to tighten economic pressure on Russia and discourage third-party nations from enabling the Kremlin’s energy exports.

The legislation currently has broad bipartisan support, with 82 out of 100 U.S. senators backing it. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson also voiced his support for the bill.

Previously, Trump said he had not yet imposed new sanctions on Russia because he believed a peace deal might be within reach.

“If I think I’m close to getting a deal, I don’t want to screw it up by doing that,” he said on May 28, but added he is prepared to act if Moscow stalls further.

The Senate was expected to begin considering the bill this week, prior to the request made by Trump.

European leaders shift focus to defending Ukraine without US support, the Telegraph reports

According to the Telegraph, senior European diplomats meeting in The Hague agreed to shift their focus from deploying troops to enforce a ceasefire to preparing long-term strategies for supporting Ukraine without American backing.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a briefing on June 4 that he may consider allowing the creation of private armies in Ukraine.

His comment came as a reaction to one of the points in the latest Russian memorandum, which calls for Ukraine to eliminate “nationalist formations” and private military companies.

“I will now start thinking about it after such ultimatums,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine currently has no private armed groups under its law, noting, “If they are talking about ‘Azov,’ it is the National Guard of Ukraine.”

He contrasted Ukraine’s military structure with Russia’s use of private forces and mercenary groups like Wagner, highlighting the double standards.

“They (Russia) have ‘Wagner’ and it is true. They admit it, they admit that they have private military formations that we destroyed,” Zelensky said.

According to a document leaked after the second round of talks with Ukraine, Russia’s demands also 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.

Russia is also demanding the official recognition of Crimea, as well as Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts as Russian, even though significant portions of these regions are still under Ukrainian control.

Putin, Trump, Zelensky trilateral meeting ‘unlikely’ to happen soon, Kremlin says

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

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova

The Turkish Foreign Minister announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin will eventually have to face each other at the negotiation table. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan revealed that both Ukrainian and Russian delegations have reached an understanding for another round of talks, although a specific date has not yet been set. According to Fidan, the war in Ukraine has taken on a global dimension as other nations align with either Ukraine or Russia. Turkey remains a staunch advocate for a diplomatic resolution to any conflict, Anadolu reported.

Fidan mentioned that the second meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations was held in a “positive atmosphere,” as both sides came well-prepared. Turkey is confident that a third round of negotiations will take place. Furthermore, the Turkish president conveyed a message to both Zelensky and Putin expressing readiness to facilitate a personal meeting between them. Fidan emphasized that the two leaders have trust in President Erdogan. He asserted that if the Ukrainian and Russian delegations engage in a few more meetings, a leaders’ summit will be unavoidable.

Additionally, the minister pointed out that Ukraine will soon stop receiving aid promised by President Biden, and how former President Trump plans to act remains unknown. During their June 2 meeting in Istanbul, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations discussed the exchange of prisoners of war and the return of soldiers' remains. Meanwhile, the Russian side suggested a temporary ceasefire of 2-3 days on specific areas of the front.

Editor’s Note: This story is being updated.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “will have to respond” to Ukraine’s recent drone attack on military airfields, U.S. President Donald Trump said on June 4 after holding a call with the Russian president.

Trump said he spoke to Putin over the phone for approximately an hour and 15 minutes on June 4.

“We discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account after the call.

“It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace. President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”

Ukraine on June 1 launched a game-changing drone attack on four key Russian military airfields, damaging 41 planes, including heavy bombers and rare A-50 spy planes.

Ukraine war latest: Kyiv hacks Russian bomber maker; Putin’s ‘disregard’ for troops highlighted as Russian losses near 1 million

Key developments on June 4: * Ukraine hacks Russia’s Tupolev bomber producer, source claims * Putin’s ‘disregard’ for troops highlighted as Russian losses approach 1 million, study finds * Ukraine expects to exchange 500 POWs in next swap with Russia, Zelensky says * Russia strikes Ukrainian military training facility in Poltava Oblast, military says

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

In the video, Russian activist Anna Kiryakova reads from a book of poetry that glorifies her country’s war against Ukraine. The anthology’s title — “Poetry of the Russian Winter” — is written with the Latin Z in place of its Russian analog.

The inclusion of that one letter aligns the book with the Kremlin’s pro-war narrative. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Z has become a pro-war symbol that many Ukrainians and opponents of the invasion equate with the Nazi swastika.

The most shocking thing about the recording was the location. Kiryakova read the poem inside the Russian Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.

The poem in question was written by a Russian war correspondent and included in the book at the behest of Margarita Simonyan, one of the Kremlin’s most notorious propagandists.

The video was published by Russian state television this February, as the U.S. was negotiating with Russia in a bid to end the war, which has taken the lives of tens of thousands of Ukrainians since 2022.

This bizarre occurrence — a Russian activist reading pro-Russian war poetry in the heart of a country that says it wants to stop the war — is emblematic of the work of the vast global network of Russian Centers for Culture and Science, more commonly known as Russia Houses.

Officially, Russian Houses are intended to promote Russia’s culture, language, and, more importantly, its vision of the world. Their activities range from hosting poetry readings and film screenings to awarding scholarships to Russian universities and organizing fully-funded trips to Russia.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they have faced growing scrutiny for serving as a vehicle for propaganda, disinformation and, as some allege, espionage.

But closing them down has proved to be a tall order for Western governments.

Despite European Union sanctions against their parent entity, Russian House continues its activities in Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Luxemburg, Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Chisinau, Bratislava, and other capitals.

In a new investigation, the Kyiv Independent attempted to uncover why these centers of Kremlin soft power often seem immune to sanctions and political concerns about Russian malign influence.

We found that the Russian Houses frequently exist in a legal gray area, shielded by diplomatic immunity and deliberate efforts to obfuscate their connection to the parent entity.

“I think it’s never been recognized as a significant threat,” Dmitry Valuev, president of the U.S. organization Russian America for Democracy in Russia, told the Kyiv Independent.

In Washington, several incidents have shown that “their activities are malign and damaging to the security and national interests of the United States,” he added, but this has only led American law enforcement to investigate specific individuals, not the organization itself.

According to the parent entity, Russian international cooperation agency Rossotrudnichestvo, Russian House currently has a presence in 71 countries around the world.

Staying afloat

On Feb. 13, the government of Moldova announced that it would be closing the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Chisinau.

The night before, Russian drones had violated the country’s airspace and struck its territory during an attack on Ukraine.

Moldova, which borders Ukraine, is no stranger to Russian aggression and influence. Since the early 1990s, the eastern part of its territory, known as Transnistria, has been occupied by an unrecognized separatist statelet backed by Moscow.

But, almost four months after the Moldovan government’s announcement, Russian House continues to conduct business as usual in Chisinau.

The reasons behind this highlight how difficult it can be to shut down Russian Houses, even when a government appears committed to doing so.

Legally, the Russian Centers for Science and Culture are something of a mystery.

They operate globally based on intergovernmental agreements signed between Russia and the host country. Each document differs slightly, but the general model allows each signatory to establish a cultural and scientific center in the other country.

Despite that official foundation, Russian Houses regularly lack local registration as legal entities. Their directors are often employed at the local Russian embassy, which grants them diplomatic immunity.

As a result, one won’t find the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Chisinau officially registered in Moldova. The same goes for the centers in Berlin and Washington.

The now defunct Russian House in Kyiv also never had legal registration — despite the fact that the Ukraine-Russia intergovernmental agreement, signed in 1998, explicitly required Russia to legally register the center in Ukraine. (At least in some places, including in Berlin and Washington, D.C., the buildings used by Russian House belong directly to the Russian government).

Today, that lack of registration allows Russian Houses to deny that they have a connection to parent entity Rossotrudnichestvo, which the EU sanctioned in 2022 as a conduit for Kremlin influence and propaganda abroad.

“In the European Union there are no representative offices of Rossotrudnichestvo, but (there are) independently operating cultural centers — Russian Houses,” Rossotrudnichestvo head Yevgeny Primakov told Russian state information agency TASS in May 2024.

But the connection between the two entities is not difficult to find.

Prior to the EU sanctions, the websites of the Russian Houses in Berlin and Paris each listed Rossotrudnichestvo as their parent organization. An archived version of the Washington center’s website from July 2022 states that it is “subordinate” to the agency.

Moreover, Rossotrudnichestvo is explicitly mentioned in bilateral agreements as an organization that oversees and ensures the operation of Russian Houses. Such language was included in the agreement signed between Russia and Germany. The agreement with Moldova is similar, but lists a previous name of the parent agency.

European sanctions froze all assets owned by Rossotrudnichestvo inside the EU and banned any financial or economic support for the organization. As representative offices of Rossotrudnichestvo, Russian Houses would presumably be unable to operate or cover their expenses within the EU.

Instead, many of them continue to operate, insisting they are “independent.”

The centers’ lack of registration also raises another question: Do they have official bank accounts or do they make payments in cash off the books?

In 2016, when Russian House still operated in Kyiv, Ukrainian journalists inquired about its status with the Ukrainian State Fiscal Service. But the tax authorities were unable to find any official bank accounts for the organization inside Ukraine.

A rare description of how Russian House carries out financial transactions came from Pavel Izvolsky, the head of the center in Berlin. It was still quite vague.

“We have certain procedures for processing online payments,” he told Deutsche Welle in 2023.

Currently, sanctions make it exceedingly difficult for Russia to conduct bank transactions with EU and U.S. entities.

In a written response to the Kyiv Independent, Olof Gill, spokesperson for the European Commission’s financial services department, said that EU Member States are responsible for implementing sanctions, identifying breaches, and imposing penalties through their national authorities.

Gill did not comment on whether Rossotrudnichestvo’s continued connection to Russian House constitutes a sanctions violation.

Nadia Koval, co-author of a Ukrainian Institute study on Rossotrudnichestvo, told the Kyiv Independent that sanctions can restrict Russian House’s ability to make payments and cooperate with local organizations. But that has its limits.

“Tough action by the host countries is required,” she said.

Diplomatic immunity and Russian espionage

In 2023, after the EU imposed sanctions on Rossotrudnichestvo, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office attempted just that kind of “tough action."

It launched a criminal probe to determine whether Russian House’s activities violated the German Foreign Trade and Payments Act.

But prosecutors were forced to close the investigation into Izvolsky — the Russian House director had diplomatic immunity.

That abortive attempt at reining in the center emphasized another aspect of Russian House: its ties to the embassy.

According to bilateral agreements, Rossotrudnichestvo is not the only organization supervising it. The Russian diplomatic mission also plays a key role.

It’s a common practice for the heads of the Russian Houses to be employed at the Russian embassy. Their deputies can also be diplomats, according to the agreements with Moldova, Germany, and the U.S.

That means diplomatic immunity protects them from arrest and prosecution in the host country.

Dr. Patrick Heinemann, a German lawyer specializing in constitutional law, told the Kyiv Independent that a broader criminal investigation into the center nonetheless continues, and it may focus on the activities of other Russian House employees, as well as third parties doing business with it.

Heinemann also noted that Germany’s new Central Office for Sanctions Enforcement is conducting a parallel investigation into Russian House under regulatory law.

“However, nothing about these investigations is being made public,” he said. “The authorities are evading press inquiries on the grounds that the investigations must not be jeopardized.”

Diplomatic immunity can also facilitate espionage activities, and employees of Russian Houses in multiple countries have fallen under suspicion of working for Russian intelligence agencies.

That happened twice at Russian House in Washington, D.C.

In 2018, the Trump administration expelled Oleg Zhiganov, then the director of the Russian Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. The U.S. government said he was an intelligence officer operating under diplomatic cover and part of a group that engaged in “aggressive intelligence collection.”

His predecessor, Yury Zaytsev, apparently also came under suspicion. U.S. media reported that the FBI determined he was involved in compiling dossiers on Americans who took part in cultural exchange trips to Russia and could later be cultivated as intelligence assets.

He reportedly left the U.S. after the FBI investigation started.

It didn’t stop his diplomatic work. Zaytsev became director of the Russian House in Nicosia and later held the same position in Vienna.

That wasn’t the only instance in which Russia House was implicated in espionage.

The Danish newspaper Information reported that Russian House in Copenhagen was a favored gathering place for Russian embassy employees later identified as spies. The cultural center built close ties with Danish research institutions, most notably with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). It even hosted joint conferences, seminars, and other events with the university, Information reported.

Aleksey Nikiforov, a DTU researcher who frequently attended Russian House events, was later sentenced to three years in prison for, among other things, collecting intelligence on green technology from DTU and SerEnergy, a company based in Denmark’s far north. Prosecutors said he passed the information on to a Russian intelligence service in exchange for payment.

The independent Russian investigative outlet The Insider has also reported that the head of Russian House in Berlin Pavel Izvolsky was once registered as residing in a dormitory of the Moscow Higher Military Command School (MVVKU), an institution known for training cadets for the SVR and the GRU, another Russian intelligence agency.

Izvolsky did not respond to requests for comment.

Creative solutions

Not all countries have hesitated to close down Russian Houses. Several — including EU members — have taken decisive action.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Denmark, the UK, Romania, and Azerbaijan have all shut down or suspended the operations of their Russian Houses.

Notably, none of these moves appear to be directly based on EU sanctions against Rossotrudnichestvo. Instead, the countries have gotten creative.

In Denmark, authorities initially tried to freeze Russian House’s funds. But that didn’t stop its activities. The Center finally closed its doors after the Danish government expelled five Russian diplomats and 20 embassy administrative staff from the country.

While their names have never been made public, the Russian House director was presumably among them.

“They forced us to leave,” the Сenter wrote in its final Facebook post, noting that Russian House cannot operate without a director.

Romania acted similarly. In early 2023, the Romanian foreign ministry set a six-months deadline for Russian House in Bucharest to shut down. A few weeks before the deadline, Romania expelled 40 Russian embassy staff, forcing Russian House to suspend its operations.

(A similar tactic failed in Moldova. In August 2023, Moldova expelled the head of the Russian House in Chisinau along with 44 Russian diplomats, after The Insider reported on an espionage case involving antennas mounted on the roof of the Russian Embassy. Shortly thereafter, Russia replaced him with a new acting director Artyom Naumenkov and Russian House continued its work.

The Kyiv Independent tried to contact Naumenkov, but he declined our call, did not respond to the written questions and later hid his profile photos on Telegram.)

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan swiftly shuttered the Russian House in Baku after a Russian air defense system shot down an Azerbaijani passenger plane, killing 38 people.

Amid deteriorating relations with Moscow, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry used the fact that Russian House was not registered as a legal entity to demand that it cease operations. Azerbaijan also required the center to vacate its building within a month and a half because the property was set to be sold.

The Russian House in London simply never reopened after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Rossotrudnichestvo representative in the U.K. was denied a visa, leaving the сenter inactive.

In Ukraine, efforts to close the Russian House in Kyiv were delayed for several years because Parliament needed to pass legislation terminating the intergovernmental agreement with Russia.

Finally, in 2021, the government imposed sanctions on Rossotrudnichestvo. That shut down the center’s activities without a parliamentary decision.

But unlike Ukraine and many countries in Europe, the U.S. has not closed down Russian House or imposed sanctions on Rossotrudnichestvo. After a 1.5-year pause, the Russian Cultural Center in Washington resumed its activities in December 2022.

The center had no issue holding celebrations marking the anniversary of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and has done so twice since 2022.

It continues to demonstratively glorify Russian military aggression while the Trump administration tries to negotiate peace. While some of its visitors are members of the Russian diaspora, its events also attract Americans without connections to Russia.

They include a handful of highly involved Americans from business, cultural circles, and academia, as well as philanthropists — some of whom were among the first to sponsor the Russian House at the time of its founding. They also formed the nonprofit Friends of the Russian Cultural Center to help raise funds for the Russian House and support the building’s renovation in the late 1990s.

Supporters of the center have portrayed it as a benign cultural initiative aimed at promoting understanding between Russians and Americans. But not everyone agrees.

Activist Valuev says that the Russian Cultural Center’s main goals include building connections and shaping U.S. public opinion in favor of the Kremlin.

“Businesses, religious groups, churches, cultural programs, education, exchange programs — all of it is used and weaponized by the Russian government,” he said. “It’s not a question of whether they use it. They do.”

Exposed: The ‘Stop Zelensky’ protesters sowing Russian disinfo across Europe

On a Sunday afternoon in mid-February, a small but politically charged event took place in the heart of Amsterdam. A group of eight people gathered for a photo-op protest on the city’s Dam Square holding placards that called for an end to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine and the

The Kyiv IndependentLinda Hourani

Note from the author:

Hi, this is Linda, the author of this piece. I hope it sheds light on how Russian cultural diplomacy operates in the U.S. and Europe — and why understanding soft power tools matters.

If you’d like to support our reporting, please consider becoming a member of The Kyiv Independent.

The U.S. administration has not yet made any new decisions on military assistance for Kyiv as it remains focused on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told journalists on June 4.

Whitaker stressed that Washington counts on European leadership in providing Ukraine with the resources needed to achieve a lasting peace, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

The envoy made the comments as Kyiv’s partners gathered in Brussels for a Ramstein-format summit of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG).

The UDCG was initially launched by former U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2022 to coordinate assistance for Ukraine among some 50 countries.

Pete Hegseth, the current Pentagon chief, relinquished chairmanship of the group to the U.K. and Germany and opted out of the June 4 meeting, leaving Whitaker to represent the U.S.

Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has not approved any new defense aid for Ukraine, vowing instead to broker a swift peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.

The assistance approved under the previous Biden administration continues to flow, but is expected to run out in the coming months. Washington also provides Ukraine with crucial intelligence assistance.

As peace talks stall, Trump has signaled the U.S. might abandon its involvement in the effort, raising fears among European partners that he might also cut off all remaining support for Ukraine.

The U.S. president has repeatedly urged Europe to take up responsibility for backing Ukraine and for its own security as his strategic focus shifts away from the continent.

Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. has been the leader in military donations to Ukraine, supplying some weapons that European allies struggle to replace, including air defense interceptors.

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

Ukraine’s recent drone strike against Russian bombers was a show of “skill and audacity” comparable to the U.S. operation to kill Osama bin Laden, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal told Politico in an interview published on June 3.

The Operation Spiderweb, conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on June 1, reportedly hit 41 bomber planes and other aircraft, inflicting what Kyiv claims is $7 billion in damage and disabling over a third of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet.

“Just in the skill and audacity of these attacks, it will rank with the United States raid on Osama bin Laden and the Israeli pager operation as one of the great military achievements in recent years,” Blumenthal said, adding that Ukraine “can hit anywhere."

The SBU said 117 drones, launched from concealed trucks positioned across Russian territory, simultaneously struck airfields in at least four regions — including sites thousands of kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

The targeted air bases reportedly housed Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, essential carriers of long-range cruise missiles used in Moscow’s air strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Bin Laden, the late leader of the al-Qaeda terror group responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., was killed by U.S. special forces at his compound in Pakistan on May 2, 2011.

Blumenthal, a Democratic lawmaker, and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham are co-sponsors of a new bill that would impose additional sanctions on Russia as it continues to reject a ceasefire.

The lawmakers are meeting a Ukrainian delegation—including Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak—in Washington this week to discuss sanctions and defense cooperation with the U.S.

According to Blumenthal, battlefield successes could help convince U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been reluctant to impose fresh sanctions, to take the step.

Trump is yet to comment on the Ukrainian operation, while the White House confirmed he was not informed about it in advance. His special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said the attack shows that Kyiv is “not lying down” but warned that an attack against Russia’s nuclear-capable plans could risk further escalation of the war.

‘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

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on June 3 to double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, raising duties from 25% to 50%, the White House announced.

Trump’s new order builds on a Feb. 10 executive action that imposed a flat 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. Steel production is one of Ukraine’s core industrial sectors and its second-largest source of foreign currency after agriculture.

The White House cited the earlier rate’s failure to “develop and maintain the rates of capacity production utilization that are necessary for the industries' sustained health and for projected national defense needs."

Trump defended the new duties as essential to national security, claiming they will “reduce or eliminate the threat posed by imports” and ensure self-sufficiency in strategic industries.

Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said earlier this year that the share of Ukrainian steel in the U.S. market remains small and poses no threat to domestic U.S. producers.

However, tariffs further jeopardize Ukraine’s key metallurgical exports, particularly ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih and Interpipe, which are already suffering due to the war.

Ukraine’s metallurgical products make up 57.9% of Ukraine’s exports to the U.S., or in dollar amounts, $503 million out of $869 million, according to Svyrydenko. It is unclear what time frame those figures represent.

The U.K. is the only exception to the new tariffs, which will remain at the 25% level for British imports, according to Bloomberg.

Trump defended the tariffs as a way to simplify duties on metals and hinted at retaliatory measures against countries imposing tariffs on American goods.

‘Risk level goes up’ — Ukraine’s strike on Russian bombers could escalate war, US envoy Kellogg says

“I’m telling you the risk levels are going way up,” U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said.

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Ukraine’s drone assault on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, known as Operation Spiderweb, could escalate the war and provoke unpredictable responses from Moscow, U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said in an interview with Fox News on June 3.

The operation, launched by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), reportedly targeted four airfields deep inside Russian territory, striking 41 aircraft and inflicting what Kyiv claims is $7 billion in damage.

The targeted air bases reportedly housed Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, essential carriers of long-range cruise missiles used in Moscow’s air strikes on Ukrainian cities.

“I’m telling you the risk levels are going way up,” Kellogg said. “When you attack an opponent’s part of their national survival system, which is their nuclear triad, that means your risk level goes up because you don’t know what the other side’s going to do."

According to the SBU, 117 drones were launched from mobile platforms across Russia, enabling simultaneous strikes on targets located thousands of kilometers from Ukraine’s borders.

Kellogg also pointed to reports of explosions at the Severomorsk naval base, home to some of Russia’s most advanced submarines. Kyiv has not confirmed targeting Russia’s Northern Fleet.

“The one that really concerned me was the fact that there have been reports that they attacked the naval, the Northern Fleet headquarters in Severomorsk,” Kellogg said. “And if that’s the case — when you attack two legs of a triad — it’s very clear the risk levels will go up."

Russian officials have denied that the base was hit, and no independent confirmation has emerged.

According to Kellogg, the attacks showed that Kyiv “is not lying down on that."

“Ukraine is basically, ‘We can play this game, too.’ And they can raise the risk level to levels that are basically, to me, they’ve got to be unacceptable,” he added.

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Despite the scale and strategic implications of the Ukrainian operation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not publicly addressed the strike. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has positioned himself as a would-be peacemaker, has also remained silent.

Pressed by reporters on June 3, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump was not informed in advance about the operation.

"I would like to let the president speak on that himself," Leavitt said. She later added, "The president does not want to see this war prolonged. He wants this war to stop."

Ukrainian officials say the operation took 18 months to plan. While Kyiv says the strike dealt a serious blow to Russia's strategic air capabilities, the full extent of the damage remains unverified.

Operation Spiderweb marks one of the most sophisticated and far-reaching Ukrainian operations since the start of the full-scale war in 2022 — and a stark signal of Ukraine's growing capacity to strike deep inside Russian territory.

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. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend the June 4 meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing a U.S. official.

The news agency reported that Hegseth will not arrive in Brussels until the conference is over and will not participate in the event online either. If confirmed, this will be the first meeting of Kyiv’s roughly 50 military backers in the so-called Ramstein format that the Pentagon chief will not attend.

The U.K. and Germany will chair the June 4 meeting, which will take place as Russia continues to reject a ceasefire and reportedly prepares new offensives against Ukraine.

Ukraine has called upon its partners to invest more in its arms production and to provide additional air defenses, namely Patriot systems, to help fend off intensifying Russian aerial attacks.

Hegseth’s predecessor, former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, launched the UDCG after the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale war in 2022 to coordinate assistance among Kyiv’s allies.

The last Ramstein-format UDCG meeting took place in Brussels on April 11 under the chairmanship of London and Berlin, with allies committing more than 21 billion euros ($23.8 billion) in long-term military aid to Ukraine.

Hegseth attended the Ramstein summit on Feb. 12, but not as its chairman, a position held by Austin until then. His British counterpart, John Healey, presided over the summit instead. Previous reporting suggested that the defense secretary was to skip the April meeting, but he eventually joined via video link.

Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has begun scaling down the U.S. presence in various international pro-Ukraine initiatives as he seeks to broker a ceasefire and a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.

As the peace talks stall, Trump has signaled he might walk away from the effort. The U.S. president has been notably silent on the most recent war developments, including the most recent peace talks in Istanbul or Ukraine’s mass drone attack on the Russian strategic aviation.

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

A Trump official who dismantled a counter-disinformation office in the United States government has links to the Kremin, the Telegraph reported on June 3.

Darren Beattie, who was appointed to the State Department in February 2025 as under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, has come under scrutiny for his pro-Russian views. According to the Telegraph, Beattie is married to a Russian woman with links to the Kremlin.

His wife – Yulia Kirillova – is the niece of Sergei Chernikov, a former Russian official who reportedly helped Russian President Vladimir Putin in the election campaign which first brought him to power in 2000.

Beattie notably played a role in dismantling the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office, or R/FIMI, which was previously tasked with tracking and countering disinformation from Russia, China, and Iran.

R/FIMI was officially shut down in April 2025, according to a press statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who claimed that the office “spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving."

According to sources cited by the Telegraph, Beattie relentlessly pursued R/FIMI after his appointment to the State Department. Secretary Rubio confirmed that Beattie played a significant role in dismantling the agency.

Beattie also showed a keen interest in classified materials related to Russia, raising concerns about granting him access to sensitive information. The sources also expressed concerns about whether he had been adequately vetted – a process that can take anywhere from a couple of months to over a year to complete.

Beattie previously served in the first Trump administration but was ousted after allegedly attending a white nationalist conference in 2018. Since then, he reinvented himself as an “alt-right media” figure and founded the news outlet Revolver.

Through Revolver, Beattie has long criticized R/FIMI and promoted narratives aligned with Kremlin disinformation. He has argued that the U.S. orchestrates “color revolutions” around the world, including in Ukraine – a common narrative used in Kremlin propaganda to delegitimize pro-democracy movements as Western-backed coups.

Beattie has also written social media posts suggesting that Western institutions should be “infiltrated” by the Kremlin, and has attacked the so-called “globalist American empire."

Two months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Beattie wrote on X: “Imagine the whining from the Globalist American Empire if Putin ‘invades’ Ukraine… love it when our national security bureaucrats fail!"

The Trump administration has repeatedly come under fire for its perceived sympathies toward Russia. It has also been criticized for shuttering R/FIMI, particularly amidst a global “information war.”

According to the National Endowment for Democracy, Russia spends an estimated $1.5 billion annually on disinformation and foreign influence campaigns. In Europe alone, the Kremlin is believed to be behind 80% of disinformation operations.

US House Speaker Johnson backs Senate bill to toughen sanctions on Russia

“There’s many members of Congress that want us to sanction Russia as strongly as we can,” U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said. “And I’m an advocate of that.”

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova

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

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

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

Ukraine has been invited to the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague between June 24 and 25, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a June 2 online press conference attended by the Kyiv Independent.

“We were invited to the NATO summit. I think this is important,” Zelensky said, adding that he held a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during the Vilnius summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) and the Nordic countries on June 2.

“Now, (Foreign Minister Andrii) Sybiha will be speaking with his colleagues regarding infrastructure and what potential outcomes may arise from this summit in The Hague."

Zelensky did not specify who would be representing Ukraine at the summit or whether he would attend the event himself.

The statement follows speculations that the allies decided not to invite Ukraine to the annual summit due to opposition from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later denied the claims, and the Netherlands said it would welcome Zelensky’s attendance.

At the previous NATO summit in Washington in 2024, Zelensky was a prominent presence, engaging directly with allied leaders. This year, the tone appears more cautious as NATO members weigh how to handle Ukraine’s future in the alliance amid renewed questions about U.S. commitment.

Trump has claimed that Ukraine provoked the war by pursuing NATO membership, a narrative often used by Russian propaganda to justify its 2022 full-scale invasion. He also signaled plans to reduce U.S. military presence in Europe and has been reluctant to provide new military support to Kyiv.

Earlier reporting suggested that this year’s communique may omit direct mention of both Russia and Ukraine — a contrast to past summits where Ukraine dominated the agenda.

‘Idiots’ — Zelensky slams Russia’s proposal for brief truce to retrieve fallen soldiers’ bodies

“They just don’t see a ceasefire as such at the moment,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 2, commenting on Russia’s proposal. “I think they’re idiots, because, fundamentally, a ceasefire is meant so that there are no dead.”

The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson voiced support on June 2 for a Senate-backed bill aimed at strengthening sanctions against Russia, the New York Post reported.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators said in late May that they are ready to vote on a bill on sanctions against Russia if peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine war do not progress soon.

The bill, introduced to the Senate in early April, would impose new penalties on Russia and slap 500% tariffs on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas, or uranium.

“There’s many members of Congress that want us to sanction Russia as strongly as we can,” Johnson said. “And I’m an advocate of that."

U.S. President Donald Trump said he had not yet imposed new sanctions on Russia because he believed a peace deal might be within reach.

“If I think I’m close to getting a deal, I don’t want to screw it up by doing that,” he said, but added he is prepared to act if Moscow stalls further.

Russia and Ukraine held a second round of talks in Istanbul on June 2. Kyiv presented a peace proposal that reportedly included potential easing of sanctions on Moscow, among other clauses.

The condition proposed by Ukraine is that sanctions are automatically renewed if the ceasefire agreement is broken.

Following the new round of talks, Russia proposed a limited two- to three-day ceasefire in specific front-line areas to recover the bodies of fallen soldiers, while continuing to disregard Ukraine’s call for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire supported by Western partners.

Sanctions on Russia are working, Ukraine just needs more

Sanctions on their own won’t end the war, but they are a crucial tool in the West’s efforts to pressure Putin.

The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell