Ukraine War News Today - Top Stories and Breaking Updates from Kyiv Post

The investigation revealed that the use of illegal detentions and systematic torture, which sometimes led to death, was similar to that which occurred in Ukraine and Russia.

In its more than three years in Mali, the Russian paramilitary group Wagner kidnapped, detained and tortured hundreds of civilians, including at former UN bases and camps shared with the country’s army, according to a report published Thursday by a journalist collective.

The victims, who were interviewed by a consortium of reporters led by investigative outlet Forbidden Stories, spoke from a refugee camp in neighbouring Mauritania about waterboarding, beatings with electrical cables and being burned with cigarette butts.

The summit, set to begin this weekend in Canada, comes as Ukraine faces one of the heaviest waves of Russian drone strikes since the war began.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he hopes to speak with US President Donald Trump at this weekend’s G7 summit to urge him to tighten sanctions on Russia.

“I count on having a conversation,” Zelensky told reporters, adding that a new round of sanctions is urgently needed as Russia ramps up drone attacks on Ukrainian cities.

This extra funding would bring Germany’s total military support for Ukraine to about 9 billion euros in 2025, up from the 7 billion euros already allocated earlier this year.

Germany plans to provide an additional 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in military aid to Ukraine this year, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Thursday, June 12. The announcement came during a press conference in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The new aid package is not yet finalized but is expected to be approved by the German parliament in the coming weeks and months. This extra funding would bring Germany’s total military support for Ukraine to about 9 billion euros in 2025, up from the 7 billion euros already allocated earlier this year.

Ukraine says Russia used a new 600 kphh jet-powered kamikaze drone over Kyiv, the debris of which experts said it was to a Russian-made version of the Iranian Shahed-238.

Russia may have used a new jet-powered kamikaze drone during a recent missile and drone attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian military officials and analysts said Wednesday, June 11.

Wreckage found after the June 10 attack included a small jet engine and an avionics panel similar to those used in Iranian-made Shahed drones. Experts believe this points to the use of a Russian-made version of the Iranian Shahed-238, possibly called the Geran-3.

Ruslan Kivan, head of the KADORR Group and owner of Kyiv Post, visited the Kyiv newsroom to show his strong support for the publication’s continued growth and development.

Ruslan Kivan, the Odesa-based head of the KADORR Group and owner of Kyiv Post, visited the Kyiv Post team in Kyiv today and affirmed his strong support for the continued growth and enhancement of our publication.

Ukrainian unmanned systems forces struck a key Russian military electronics plant near Moscow, where components used in high-tech weapons are produced.

On the night of June 11 / 12, units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces, in coordination with other Defense Forces units, attacked one of the key facilities of Russia’s military-industrial complex.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, strikes were recorded at the Rezonit Technopark in the settlement of Zubovo in the Moscow region. The site is known for the mass-production and assembling of printed circuit boards and electronics used in the manufacture of Russia’s high-tech weapons and military equipment. The results of the strike are being clarified.

Ukrainian cyberattack cripples major Russian provider Orion Telecom, leaving uranium mining city offline and erasing 370 servers, 500 switches, and all backups, intel sources say.

Cyber specialists from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) have disrupted the operations of one of the largest internet providers in Russia’s Siberia – Orion Telecom.

According to Kyiv Post intelligence sources, these networks were actively used by Russian security agencies to support operations against Ukraine. One of the affected areas is a closed city specializing in uranium extraction, where Orion Telecom was the sole provider — leaving it entirely disconnected.

Air India’s flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff, officials said.

A London-bound passenger plane crashed Thursday in India’s western city of Ahmedabad with 242 on board, aviation officials said in what the airline called a “tragic accident”.

Air India’s flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff, officials said.

The first stage of the prisoner exchange took place on Monday, June 9, followed by the second stage on Tuesday, June 10.

Ukraine and Russia are continuing to exchange prisoners following agreements made during talks in Istanbul earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, June 12.

The prisoner swap began Monday, June 9, with the first stage, followed by the second stage on Tuesday, June 10, when seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers were returned home from Russian captivity. Zelensky shared the photos of the soldiers arriving in Ukraine and said all require urgent medical care.

China has declared itself a neutral party in the war, although Western governments say Beijing has given Moscow crucial economic and diplomatic support – a result of their close ties.

China on Thursday said it had replaced a key envoy charged with diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine.

Sun Linjiang, formerly China’s ambassador to Poland, has been appointed special representative for Eurasian affairs, Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

The US intel chief’s ominous warning makes her seem more unhinged by conspiratorial thinking than she usually is. Gabbard is doubling down on her penchant for spouting Kremlin narratives.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued an ominous warning about the risks of a nuclear holocaust in a video posted on X on Tuesday, accusing political elites and warmongers of “carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers.”

Gabbard, who sits on top of the CIA, NSA, and all the other intelligence agencies, is certainly right about the risks of such an apocalypse, which have indeed increased.

The victory gives Tusk’s government a short-term reprieve after over a week of mounting pressure from the opposition since Law and Justice-aligned Karol Nawrocki’s victory in the presidential runoff.

Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, won a vote of confidence in the lower house on Wednesday afternoon, guiding his fragile coalition through its most public test since the presidential election defeat of the government’s candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski.

The victory, by 243 votes to 210, gives Tusk’s government a short-term reprieve after over a week of internal feuding, external attacks, and mounting pressure from the opposition since Law and Justice-aligned Karol Nawrocki’s victory in the presidential runoff on June 1.

The Russian president put an optimistically positive spin on his 10-year defense development plan to an audience of senior political and defense leaders on Wednesday, June 11.

President Vladimir Putin spoke about his vision for the implementation of Russia’s state armament program over the next decade at a meeting in the Kremlin on Wednesday. His comments were made to an audience that included his defense and other ministers as well as the commanders of Russia’s strategic rocket, ground, aerospace, and naval forces.

According to TASS, Russia’s state-owned news agency, Putin directed that the new state arms program was to become the key tool to provide Russia’s armed forces with the most modern weaponry available in the next decade.

Rubio extended congratulations to the Russian people on Russia Day, as Kremlin military losses in Ukraine surpassed one million casualties, according to Kyiv’s estimates.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated the Russian people on Russia Day, June 12, while Russian military losses in the war against Ukraine reportedly surpassed one million killed and wounded.

In his official statement, Rubio congratulated the Russian people on Russia Day “on behalf of the American people” and said the US would continue to support the Russian people “as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future.”

Russia uses education in Africa to shape pro-Kremlin elites and spread its influence, HUR says.

Russia is steadily expanding its influence in Africa, using educational and youth programs as tools of strategic outreach. One of the main priorities is fostering a new generation of African elites loyal to the Kremlin, Ukrainian intelligence reported.

According to Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Russia offers state-funded university scholarships to citizens of African countries, focusing on fields critical to national development – such as agriculture, engineering, education, and medicine.

Shlosberg was detained on Tuesday and charged with discrediting the Russian army after describing the war in Ukraine as a game of “bloody chess,” his party said.

A court in the western Russian city of Pskov said on Wednesday it had ruled that opposition politician Lev Shlosberg be placed under house arrest for two months and face unspecified restrictions on his activities at the request of state prosecutors.

Shlosberg was detained on Tuesday and charged with discrediting the Russian army after describing the war in Ukraine as a game of “bloody chess,” his party said. 

Pistorius arrived in Kyiv on Thursday, marking his first visit since Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office, amid intensified Russian strikes on Ukraine.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv on Thursday, June 12, as Russia ramps up its bombardment of Ukraine.

His ministry confirmed the visit to AFP. However, details of the visit have not been disclosed.

Russian forces attacked Kharkiv twice with drones, injuring at least 14 people, including four children. The strikes damaged homes, shops, and schools, and sparked multiple fires across the city.

Russian forces launched two drone attacks on Kharkiv early on Thursday, June 12, hitting several districts and injuring at least 14 people, including four children.

The head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration (OVA), Oleh Synehubov, reported on Telegram that the wounded include a 2-year-old boy, a 12-year-old girl, and two others aged 16 and 17.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Reducing US military aid to Ukraine will neither lead to a sustainable peace in Ukraine nor compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to reassess his theory of victory.
• The Kremlin continues to attack Ukraine using rhetoric presenting an anachronistic reading of Ukraine’s history, denying the existence of an independent Ukrainian language and culture, and discrediting the Ukrainian government.
• Russian officials are also attempting to rhetorically split Ukraine from its Western partners and advocating for an escalation of Russian strike tactics in Ukraine as part of wider efforts to intimidate the West into weakening its support for Ukraine.
• Russian officials continue to promote anti-NATO and anti-Western rhetoric, likely as part of the Kremlin’s continued efforts to prepare Russian society for a potential future war against NATO.
• Ukrainian forces continue to strike Russian military and defense industrial targets in the Russian rear.
• Ukraine and Russia exchanged the bodies of killed in action (KIA) soldiers on June 11, in accordance with agreements previously reached during talks in Istanbul.
• Ukrainian forces advanced near Borova. Russian forces advanced near Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Novopavlivka.

Deepfakes, AI, disinformation, historical distortion, and impersonation of individuals and institutions are just some of the hybrid warfare tools used to sabotage Polish-Ukrainian relations.

On June 3, the Polish parliamentary Committee on Culture adopted a bill establishing July 11 as a National Day of Remembrance for Poles – Victims of Genocide Committed by the OUN-UPA in the Eastern Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic. This occurred at a time when the first search and exhumation works related to the Volhynia Massacre were underway – a matter that has remained unresolved in Polish-Ukrainian relations for years.

Another striking fact is that since 2016, a similar holiday with a slightly different name has already been in effect: the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Genocide Committed by Ukrainian Nationalists Against the Citizens of the Second Polish Republic. Establishing a new remembrance day that already exists may seem absurd on the surface, but in reality, it could be a provocation aimed at inflaming Polish-Ukrainian relations by exploiting an issue that evokes strong emotions in Poland.

“This is where it all began. This is the heart of our state,” a cultural director said of the 11th-century St. Sophia.

Restoration work was underway Wednesday on Kyiv’s UNESCO-listed 11th-century Saint Sophia Cathedral, one of the main symbols of Ukraine, after it was lightly damaged by Russian strikes on the capital a day earlier.

The white-walled Orthodox cathedral, with its green cupolas, was built during the period of Kyivan Rus.