ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 23, 2025

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• The Kremlin continues to only diplomatically support Iran, showcasing the limitations in the Russian-Iranian strategic relationship.
• Russian officials are attempting to influence conversations about increasing NATO defense spending by misrepresenting Russia’s ongoing efforts to restructure and expand Russia’s military capabilities as a defensive reaction to NATO.
• Putin also acknowledged his ongoing efforts to empower Russia’s internal security services in order to safeguard regime stability and internal security.
• Russian forces conducted a large-scale combined drone and missile strike against Ukraine on the night of June 22 to 23 that largely targeted Kyiv City and killed at least seven people and injured 28.
• Ukraine’s Western partners continue to allocate military aid to Ukraine and collaborate with the Ukrainian defense industrial base (DIB).
• Ukrainian forces advanced in northern Sumy Oblast. Russian forces advanced near Kupyansk, Borova, Pokrovsk, and Novopavlivka and in Sumy Oblast.

Authors: Anna Harvey, Olivia Gibson, Jennie Olmsted, Angelica Evans, Jessica Sobieski, William Runkel, and Kateryna Stepanenko.

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