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

Ukraine’s General Staff reports four Su-34 fighter-bombers destroyed. The attack follows Ukraine’s recent success in targeting Russian drones at the frontline and aviation deep inside Russia.

Ukraine’s Special Operation Forces (SSO) reported that it had destroyed four enemy Su-34 fighter-bombers at Manivka airbase in Russia’s Volgograd region.

The airbase, which is 400 km (249 miles) from Ukraine is home to an attack squadron of Su-34 planes, fighter-bombers that are often used to deploy glide bombs, a major threat to Ukraine’s frontline cities and forces.

Europe’s military aid impedes Russia’s plans to conquer Ukraine so Moscow talks nonsense about European support for “nazification.” Europe should expect more Russian threats to its security.

An aggrandizing Russia is bent on conquering Ukraine and destabilizing Europe. That is why German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron are determined to confront Russia’s imperialist war and defend the continent’s peace and security. Such resolve simultaneously confounds and angers Moscow, which thought it could exploit divisions between European countries, and between them and President Donald Trump’s America, on supporting Ukraine’s fight to preserve its statehood and freedom.

Recently, Merz’s announcement that Germany, Britain, France and the US would lift all restrictions on the range of Ukrainian attacks with their weapons on Russian territory has provoked the Kremlin to allege that arms supplies to Ukraine “only encourage continued conflict” in Ukraine. The reason is simple: any military assistance to Kyiv makes it harder for Russia to extinguish Ukraine’s statehood. So it lambasts European countries as “the main obstacle to peace”.

The Kremlin leader acknowledged that the two sides were at an impasse towards ending the conflict and hinted at future negotiations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged today that the Ukrainian and Russian peace proposals are at an impasse.

Putin delivered the remarks at a press conference in Minsk during his visit to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

A subsidiary of Ukraineʼs Gals Agro became the third Ukrainian biomethane exporter, joining Vitagro and MHP.

Horodyshche-Pustovarivska Agricultural Company LLC (HOPAK), part of the Gals Agro Holding, exported its first batch of domestically produced biomethane to Germany, the consulting agency ExPro reported.

According to ExPro, the company exported nearly 71,000 cubic meters of domestically produced biomethane, stored in Ukrainian underground gas storage (UGS) facilities, to the German company Uniper. 

Kyiv warns of potential traffic delays as passenger traffic at the Medyka crossing with Poland will be restricted to two bus lanes due to ongoing roadwork.

Passenger traffic exiting Ukraine via the Shehyni-Medyka checkpoint towards Poland will be affected due to ongoing roadwork on the Polish side, Ukrainian officials said.

The checkpoint, located approximately 76 kilometers (47 miles) west of Lviv, is the key crossing on the way to the Polish cities of Przemysl and Kraków.

Prof. Darin Gerdes dissects Ukraine’s war path, EU defense shifts,Trump’s impact on global security, and Russia’s waning options.

Ukraine is working on 21 projects with leading global arms manufacturers, with up to 10 more planned abroad.

Ukraine is launching a joint weapons production program with international partners – both inside Ukraine and in countries participating in the Ramstein format – a coalition of over 50 countries coordinating military support for Ukraine, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said during a meeting with journalists on Thursday, June 26.

The bill is already registered in parliament. Authorities expect it to take effect bya September.

GoFriends IT Academy and the charitable foundation led by Andrii Matiukha held a workshop called ‘Ticket to IT’ for teenagers

The workshop “Ticket to IT” was held as part of the IT Kids program by the charitable foundation led by Andrii Matiukha. During the event, participants not only attended lectures but also worked in teams on hands-on assignments.

The Ukrainian drone firm said the new module, which can be adapted to a range of kamikaze drones to home in on the target by itself, meets NATO standards and will soon enter mass production.

Drones across Ukraine might soon be able to home in on their targets automatically thanks to artificial intelligence (AI).

TAF Drones, a Ukrainian drone manufacturer, said on June 13 that its AI-enabled “last mile” module has been codified to meet NATO standards for military use and is soon ready for mass production.

One of the threatened initiatives is run by Global Rights Compliance, which documents crimes against humanity in Ukraine, including sexual violence and torture.

The White House budget office has recommended cutting US funding for nearly two dozen international programs that investigate war crimes. The programs at risk include projects aimed at identifying and prosecuting Russian military personnel accused of war crimes in Ukraine.

One of the threatened initiatives is run by Global Rights Compliance, which documents crimes against humanity in Ukraine, including sexual violence and torture, Reuters reported Thursday, citing internal documents and sources familiar with the matter.

The row began after Russia’s top media official in Berlin accused German police of confiscating his family’s passports, prompting Moscow to warn of retaliation.

Moscow summoned German ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff on Friday to protest Berlin’s “persecution” of Russian journalists, Russian state media reported.

The row began after Russia’s top media official in Berlin accused German police of confiscating his family’s passports, prompting Moscow to warn of retaliation.

Earlier this week, Russian strikes on Dnipro and Samar killed at least 21 people. Ukrainian officials said military facilities near Samar were also targeted.

A Russian missile strike on Friday killed at least five people and injured 23 in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, where Moscow has intensified attacks in recent weeks.

Russian forces, which invaded Ukraine in early 2022, are attempting to expand their offensive deeper into the region, seen as a strategic gateway to Ukraine’s industrial heartland.

Ukraine will significantly scale up long-range strikes on Russian territory, with a new contract for tens of thousands of deep-strike drones already in preparation, Umerov said.

Ukraine has made a decision to significantly increase the number of long-range strikes on Russian territory, with a new contract for tens of thousands of drones for deep-strike operations already being prepared, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told Kyiv Post and other journalists on June 26, during a closed-door meeting.

“About two weeks ago, a decision was made to scale up these operations. We are already preparing a new large contract to increase the intensity of strikes,” Umerov said.

Ukraine plans to propose a meeting between Zelensky and Putin after concluding talks on humanitarian issues, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.

After talks with Russia on humanitarian issues conclude, Kyiv plans to move on to the topic of arranging a meeting between the two leaders, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said during a meeting with Kyiv Post and other journalists on Thursday, June 26.

Ukraine supported a US proposal for a full ceasefire as early as March, but Russia has yet to respond and continues to insist on ultimatums that are non-starters for Ukraine.

Daily updates from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) regarding frontline developments and casualty figures amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

As of June 27, Russia has lost 1,016,720 troops after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 – including 970 troops over the past day, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU). 

Russian casualties in Ukraine surpassed one million on June 16.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has published the results of the technical analysis of the latest iteration of the Shahed-136/Geran-2 attack UAV brought down on June 17.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) has published a complete breakdown of the make-up and components of the latest modification of the Iranian designed Shahed-136/Geran 2 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) shot down during a Russian mass aerial attack somewhere near the Sumy region on June 17.

As previously reported this latest iteration of the drone appears to be an AI-enhanced, long-range first-person view (FPV) attack drone which could be steered onto its target by a “pilot.” It has now been given the model designation MS001.

While most EU members support Kyiv’s bid, Hungary continues to block the formal launch of accession talks.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday called for opening membership talks with Ukraine, saying the country is carrying out reforms under “relentless Russian attacks” and deserves to move forward toward joining the European Union.

The comments came after European leaders met to discuss Ukraine’s EU aspirations. While most EU members support Kyiv’s bid, Hungary continues to block the formal launch of accession talks.

Lu Yuguang, a reporter with the state-affiliated Phoenix TV, “was wounded in the head” on Thursday afternoon and was sent to hospital for treatment, the broadcaster said.

A Chinese TV journalist was wounded by a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Kursk Oblast while reporting near targeted facilities, his employer said Friday.

Lu Yuguang, a reporter with the state-affiliated Phoenix TV, “was wounded in the head” on Thursday afternoon and was sent to hospital for treatment, the broadcaster said.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry dismissed the ‘Voks 2025’ poll in a statement as “anti-Ukrainian hysteria” and said most Hungarians are “capable of recognizing this primitive manipulation.”

Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, has claimed a “people’s mandate” of 95% public opposition to Ukraine’s EU membership aspirations after two million Hungarians took part in a ‘national consultation’ on the issue.

The number of votes represents approximately one-fifth of Hungary’s population of almost 10 million. Orbán touted the result as the voice of the people.

Many of the attack drones appeared to fly past Kyiv toward Ukraine’s western regions, particularly Khmelnytsky. That region is home to the Starokostiantyniv air base.

Russian forces launched waves of Shahed-type attack drones against Ukraine overnight, followed by a cruise missile strike early Friday morning. Targets included Kyiv, the Dnipropetrovsk region, and Khmelnytsky.

Air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv shortly before midnight. Around 1 a.m., Kyiv Post reporters across the city heard powerful explosions from air defense systems. The blasts continued for nearly four hours until around 5 a.m.

With burning concerns that the President Trump might leave NATO in the lurch, members made a concerted effort not to do anything that would give the US an excuse to withdraw.

One of the greatest challenges facing NATO in its 76-year history has not come from outside threats, but from within: the real possibility of alliance falling apart.

In 2024, as Donald Trump surged in the US presidential polls – fueled in part by his “America First” rhetoric and complaints about “freeloading Europe” – the prospect of the United States withdrawing from NATO felt alarmingly real.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• South Korean intelligence suggests that North Korea may deploy North Korean troops to Ukrainian territory, which would represent a significant battlefield inflection.
• US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at the NATO summit on June 25 and discussed possible US sales of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine and joint weapons production.
• Kremlin officials continue to platform bellicose rhetoric aimed at undermining Western support for Ukraine and to demonstrate Russia’s uncompromising position on Ukraine.
• Satellite imagery of select armored vehicle repair plants in Russia indicates that Russia continues to rely on refurbishing its Soviet-era stores of armored vehicles.
• Ukraine and Russia conducted the seventh prisoner of war (POW) exchange, in accordance with the June 2 Istanbul agreements.
• Ukrainian forces advanced near Novopavlivka. Russian forces advanced in northern Sumy Oblast and near Toretsk.

McConnell: “I’d like to hear them try to explain away the massive return on investment of America’s security assistance to Ukraine and the precious lessons we’ve learned.”

WASHINGTON DC – US Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, who has served in the upper chamber since 1985, on Wednesday slammed the Trump administration for considering a decrease in military assistance to Ukraine in the 2026 budget.

The US Congress, he said, recently learned that a senior Pentagon official conducted a review of the Defense Department’s security assistance efforts and concluded that the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), among other programs, was “wasteful.”

The EU “remains committed, including as part of Ukraine’s path to EU accession, to supporting its repair, recovery and reconstruction, in coordination with international partners,” Brussels wrote.

A statement released this week by the European Commission (EC), after EU meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, outlined its intentions to support Ukraine on its path to EU membership, to pursue justice for Russian war crimes, and to provide “regular and predictable” financial assistance.

The statement estimated that European fiscal commitment would be €30.6 billion ($35.3 billion) in 2025.

While 26 EU member states voted to extend frozen-asset holds and crackdowns on Moscow’s “shadow fleet” through 2026, the next round, ending Russian fuel imports, is yet to reach the floor.

At a summit in Brussels, and in the face of defiance from Hungary and Slovakia, EU leaders agreed on Thursday to push forward with their 17th round of sanctions on Russia, extending the restrictive measures until 2026.

Budapest and Bratislava have opposed the measures which would, among other things, continue to hold more than €200 billion euros ($234 billion) in Russian assets in the European Central Bank system for another year.