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

Video and satellite evidence show the Russian warship Boikiy escorting two sanctioned oil tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet through the English Channel.

A Russian naval vessel disguised its identity to move through the English Channel on Sunday. 

The Russian warship was escorting two sanctioned Russian oil tankers and broadcast a fake identification over its Automatic Identification System (AIS).

The agreement, which will be signed tomorrow, establishes the first international tribunal for the crime of aggression.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (COE), Alain Berset, will sign a document tomorrow in Strasbourg on the establishment of a tribunal for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

The Council of Europe is a 46-member organization that promotes human rights, the rule of law, and democracy in Europe. Ukraine has been a member since 1995.

Zaichenko was appointed Ukrenergo CEO after a 5-month delay due to political infighting. He led efforts to stabilize Ukraine’s grid amid Russian attacks.

The Supervisory Board of Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator Ukrenergo appointed Vitaliy Zaichenko as the new Chairman of the Management Board. Zaichenko has served as the company’s Chief Dispatcher since 2015.

His appointment happened after a five-month delay due to political infighting.

Serbia will discontinue the export of its ammunition. Moscow had previously criticized its ‘ally’ for supplying arms to Ukraine.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced yesterday that Serbia had discontinued the export of ammunition from the country.

The comments came during a press conference after the Serbian president was asked by reporters if Serbia would be supporting a side in the Israel-Iranian conflict. 

Macron and Merz urge stronger EU defense, more aid to Ukraine, and unity against Russia’s aggression in a Financial Times op-ed ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz penned a joint op-ed for the Financial Times ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, underscoring Europe’s “unshakeable determination” to confront Russia’s “imperialist war” and defend the continent’s peace and security.

The leaders said: “The main source of instability for Europe comes from Russia,” which has waged war through its invasions of Georgia in 2008, Crimea and Donbas in 2014, and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.”

Budapest arrested a former Ukrainian diplomat in broad daylight during May’s spying scandal between Ukraine and Hungary – the suspect says he is now Russian and wishes to return there.

A former Ukrainian diplomat, arrested by Budapest in May, now claims to be Russian and voiced his desire to return to his current country.

Hungarian security forces arrested the man, identified as “S. Aleksandrov,” in broad daylight in May during a highly publicized, televised bust. This was shortly after Kyiv accused Hungary of setting up a spy ring in western Ukraine to gauge the local reaction to a potential Hungarian invasion.

Mark Rutte calls for lasting and durable peace to ensure that “Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin will never, ever again try to catch one square kilometer of Ukrainian territory”

NATO’s secretary general Mark Rutte on Tuesday criticized Russia for not taking recent peace talks with Ukraine seriously by sending a historian, instead of real negotiators, to recent Istanbul meetings.

Speaking at the opening session of the NATO Public Forum in The Hague, Rutte commended US President Donald Trump for “breaking the deadlock” with the Kremlin and stressed the need for well-prepared and serious future negotiations, aiming for a lasting peace deal.

The Netherlands just inked a €500M deal to produce more than 600,000 drones for Ukraine – plus €175M in military aid including anti-drone radars and evacuation vehicles.

The Netherlands has signed contracts with Ukraine to produce more than 600,000 drones, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced via X on Tuesday, with a value of about €500 million ($580 million), according to the Dutch Ministry of Defense.

“The brutal Russian airstrikes underscore the importance of our continued support to Ukraine.” Brekelmans said. “We have signed contracts with Ukrainian companies to produce 600,000 drones.”

An arbitration tribunal with members from Sweden, Switzerland and Israel completely sided with Ukraine’s Naftogaz in arbitration against Russian gas giant Gazprom

Ukraine’s state-owned gas company, Naftogaz Group won $1.37 billion in arbitration against the Russian gas giant Gazprom, Chief Executive Officer of the Naftogaz Group Sergii Koretskyi reported on Facebook.

An arbitration tribunal, made up by members from Sweden, Switzerland and Israel, completely sided with Naftogaz in its final ruling.

As US aerial weapons took on Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend, at least one person could be hoping it would be the start of something big – the Russian president.

As American missiles rained down on Iranian nuclear infrastructure, possibly igniting a dangerous new chapter in the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict, the global ramifications extend well beyond Tehran.

In the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin looks on with more than a little interest – and perhaps hope. A major war between Israel and Iran could grant him a strategic reprieve: surging oil prices to refill depleted war coffers, a reduction in a distracted West’s capacity to aid Ukraine, and new arms markets opening amid regional instability.

Russia struck a Ukrainian Ground Forces training center with Shahed drones on June 24, wounding one soldier. Quick safety measures helped prevent further casualties, according to the Armed Forces.

Russians attacked a Ukrainian Ground Forces training center with Shahed drones on Tuesday, June 24, with only one soldier wounded because of strict adherence to recently adopted new safety protocols, according to an official post by the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ (AFU) ground component command.

“Thanks to the implementation of preventive measures, clearly defined security protocols, and a high level of personnel training, numerous casualties were avoided,” the statement shared via Telegram said.

In a fast-moving series of declarations, the US President, who was on his way to attend a NATO summit in The Hague, posted on his Truth Social app that “the Ceasefire is in effect!”

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was holding, shortly after he lashed out at both countries and cursed as he accused them of violating the truce.

In a fast-moving series of declarations, the 79-year-old Republican, who was on his way to attend a NATO summit in The Hague, posted on his Truth Social app that “the Ceasefire is in effect!”

Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said at least $9.5 billion came from indirect losses as a result of the Ukrainian drone strikes.

Ukrainian drone strikes inflicted over $10 billion in damage on Russian territory between January and May 2025, according to official estimates.

During a press conference on Sunday, June 21, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky provided the figures and said the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and other units directed these operations.

Russia will train 600 Chinese troops how to counter Western weapons using combat experience from its war in Ukraine this year, Ukrainian intelligence source tells Kyiv Post.

Despite public statements about seeking dialogue with the US, the Kremlin is quietly expanding military cooperation with China. According to Kyiv Post sources in Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Moscow is set to host around 600 Chinese military personnel in 2025 for training at Russian Armed Forces bases and military centers.

“The Kremlin has decided to allow Chinese military personnel to study and adopt the combat experience Russia has gained in its war against Ukraine,” a HUR source told Kyiv Post.

A British man with a criminal record for sexual offences has been charged in France after organising a staged “wedding” with a nine-year-old girl at Disneyland Paris, using fake documents.

France charged a British citizen with offences including money-laundering and identity theft after he allegedly organised a bizarre ceremony at Disneyland Paris where he played the role of the groom in a fake marriage with a nine-year-old girl, prosecutors said Tuesday.

He is suspected of hiring the theme park before it opened to the public on Saturday for the staged wedding event, in a contract worth 130,000 euros.

Ukraine’s president said a number of European countries including Denmark, Norway, Germany will cooperate with the private sector to open weapons production lines this year.

Ukraine plans to start sharing its military technologies with “partner countries in Europe and beyond,” as well as establishing production lines for drones, missiles, and artillery abroad, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Ukraine launched a program by which it plans to sign agreements to begin exporting weapons technology, president Zelensky told journalists at a press briefing on Saturday. 

Zelensky plans to meet with Trump during the NATO Summit in The Hague to discuss US security support and future military and political cooperation with Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he’ll be meeting, among others, US President Donald Trump during the NATO Summit in The Hague, which brings together leaders from some 40 countries, on Tuesday-Wednesday, June 24–25.

Talks are expected to take place as early as Tuesday, although the exact time and format are still being finalized.

Russia launched 97 killer combat drones at Ukrainian civilians overnight. Dozens were shot down, but deadly strikes hit Kharkiv and Sumy, killing at least three people, including a child.

Russian forces launched a large-scale drone attack on Ukrainian civilians overnight from 10:00 p.m. on Monday, June 23, until the morning of Tuesday, June 24, using 97 Shahed so-called kamikaze drones and various decoy drones.

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, the drones were launched from several directions. Ukrainian air defenses - including aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare teams, unmanned systems, and mobile fire groups - were actively engaged in repelling the attack.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered strikes on Tehran after Israel reported incoming Iranian missiles despite a US-brokered ceasefire, which Iran denies violating.

[UPDATES] As of 11:30 AM, Tuesday, June 24, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the army to carry out “powerful strikes” on Iranian targets in Tehran after Israel reported incoming missiles from Iran, despite a US-brokered cease-fire.

“I instructed the Israeli army to respond forcefully to Iran’s violation of the cease-fire by launching powerful strikes against regime targets in the heart of Tehran,” Katz said in a statement.

Ukrainian forces struck the Atlas oil depot in Russia’s Rostov Oblast, a key fuel hub for Russian troops in Donbas. It’s the third confirmed Ukrainian attack on the site.

Ukrainian forces struck the Atlas Plant oil depot in Russia’s Rostov Oblast early on Monday morning, June 23, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) reported.

“As part of efforts to reduce the enemy’s offensive capabilities, units of the Special Operations Forces (SSO), in cooperation with the Missile Forces and artillery, targeted the Atlas Plant oil depot in Rostov Oblast,” the statement on Telegram read.

Sirens rang out across Israel for around two hours from dawn as Iran fired six waves of missiles according to statements released by Israel’s military.

At least four people were killed in Israel in a multi-wave Iranian missile attack Tuesday shortly before a staggered ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump was meant to enter force, emergency services and the army said.

Writing on X, the Magen David Adom rescue service said three people were pronounced dead at the scene of a strike in southern Beersheba while a fourth was added in an update to its figures.

How the complex realities of geo-political decision-making can mark the difference between an imagined scenario and a real-world crisis.

So far, Russia has not become a participant in hostilities between Iran on the one hand and Israel and the US on the other. Before the US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, though, I had thought there was a possibility that it might.

This is because, back in early 2004, I participated in two different role-playing games about a crisis over Iranian nuclear facilities. One of these took place in an undergraduate class I was teaching at George Mason University and the other elsewhere in a Chatham House rule format (meaning that what was said can be revealed, but not who said it or where it was said – even over two decades later).

Russian media reports that Tehran has sentenced three Ukrainian nationals to death after they were captured planning an attack on a drone plant in Isfahan.

The Russian military issues website “Top War,” citing the Tasnim News Agency reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intercepted and arrested three Ukrainian nationals who were planning an attack on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturing plant in Isfahan, Iran.

The plant was named as the Shahed Aviation Industry facility controlled by the IRGC Aerospace Force (IRGC-ASF) and the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries Corporation (HESA). HESA designs and manufactures a range of drones including the Shahed 136, its Russian variant the Geran-2, the jet-powered Shahed-238 and the Arash series of long-range UAVs. The factory is situated in the Badr Air Base area near the central Iranian city of Isfahan.

Ukraine’s wartime experience and veteran integration are key to strengthening strategic partnerships and deterring Russia, according to intelligence official Vadym Skibitskyi.

Integration of Ukrainian veterans into the civil-military sphere and the expansion of Ukraine’s wartime experience are essential tools for strengthening strategic partnerships and countering the Russian threat, said Major General Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (HUR).

Speaking at the first official in-person event of the Snake Island Institute, Skibitskyi said:

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

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.

“This is a war that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t,” the US president beamed.

A series of powerful explosions rocked Tehran early Tuesday morning, according to AFP journalists on the scene, shortly after US President Donald Trump congratulated himself for what he thought was a ceasefire he had brokered between Israel and Iran.

Warplanes buzzed overhead as explosions shook the north and center of Iran’s capital around 3:00 a.m. local time, AFP reported.

Starmer promised the support would continue “for the rest of the conflict” and help put Ukraine in “the strongest possible position” to negotiate a ceasefire.

Seeking to shore up support more than three years into Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a surprise visit to London on Monday, cementing a deal to jointly produce military drones.

Zelensky met with Starmer at his Downing Street home, after earlier visiting King Charles III at Windsor Castle.