All articles tagged with #war in ukraine
Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, notably Odesa, have reduced storage capacity, deterred ships, and disrupted grain shipments, threatening Ukraine’s export revenue and tightening global wheat supply as traders eye Danube routes and higher war-risk insurance costs; wheat futures surged as market expectations shift to a longer disruption of Black Sea exports.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to remove defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov—an architect of the wartime drone program and defence-tech push—in a broad cabinet reshuffle designed to refresh his government as the war enters a new phase. Fedorov’s startup-style leadership and anti-corruption stance earned support but also clash with traditional military leaders and procurement interests; his fate (stay, move, or exit) remains undecided as Zelenskyy readies his new government and a reshaped strategy for the conflict.
An Independent editorial argues that Putin’s grip and the war’s costs make a decisive end unlikely; the most plausible outcome may be a permanent standoff in which Ukraine remains sovereign and Europe becomes stronger, while a Russian regime collapse remains unpredictable, making a true peace elusive.
An IISS report says Russia ran about 150 drone incursions over 19 months across more than a dozen European countries, often using shadow-fleet launch platforms to probe NATO air defences, exposing gaps in engagement rules and response times and prompting expanded counter-drone measures across Europe.
Russia fired waves of missiles and attack drones at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in the early hours, killing five people and injuring dozens as fires and building damage spread; residents sought shelter in basements and metro stations, while Zelenskyy warned of a massive strike and Ukraine pressed its long‑range drone campaign alongside Western Patriot defenses.
Putin directed the Russian General Staff to map several offensive options toward Kyiv, with the most probable route a strike from Bryansk into Chernihiv to widen the front and divert Ukrainian defenses. Belarus as a staging ground is being considered but not expected to be used. Ukrainian authorities ordered evacuations in 12 Chernihiv border settlements and extended orders for seven more as security risks rise.
With parliamentary elections approaching, Putin publicly ties himself to United Russia for the first time in nearly two decades, hoping to shore up support as war fatigue grows and trust in him slips to about 69%. The party promotes him as the president’s candidate, but broader discontent—drone strikes, internet blackouts, and fuel shortages—persists, prompting some lawmakers to distance themselves from unpopular war measures while the Kremlin denies any delay to the elections.
Ukrainian attack drones struck the Dubna Space Communications Center near Moscow—Russia’s largest satellite ground hub—for a second time in a week as part of Zelenskyy’s 40-day plan to degrade long-range military and communications infrastructure.
Zelenskyy says Russia has set 15 deadlines to capture Donetsk since the invasion, illustrating a repeated failure to seize the Donbas; he outlines a pattern of target dates from 2022 through 2025 and warns that further deadlines could bring more Russian casualties, while noting recent strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and ongoing defense coordination with partners, including a Danish drone deal.
Russian elites fear a protracted conflict as drone strikes hit oil refineries and military sites, driving a widening budget deficit and fueling talk of confiscating private savings; heightened military spending is funded by borrowing, inflation risks grow, and analysts say Moscow's centralized system is ill-prepared for a long war, with discussions of windfall taxes to ease pressure.
Ukraine conducted at least 13 long-range strikes against Russian defense facilities in June—the most in a single month this year— targeting missile plants, electronics, ammunition, and shipbuilding sites, including the Titan-Barrikady plant in Volgograd; Zelenskyy confirmed FP-5 Flamingo missiles were used. Other June targets cited include Progress Michurinsk, VNIIR-Progress, Elastik, Azot, Ekran Optical Systems, the Zaliv shipyard in Crimea, and Orenburg gas-processing sites, with the tally marking 48 Ukrainian strikes on Russian military-industrial facilities from January–June 2026.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania urged Brussels to fast-track the EU’s phased ban on Russian oil, arguing that Russian energy exports fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine; while the Commission pledged to bring forward the proposal, talks have stalled amid Middle East tensions and fears of an energy crunch. Poland backs a year-end move, but some members like Hungary and Slovakia may resist due to price concerns.
In June 2026 Ukraine launched a record wave of long-range drone strikes, nearly tripling May’s total (32 vs 12) and showing Kyiv’s campaign breaking through Russia’s defenses; Moscow claimed large interception figures that analysts question, while the Moscow Kapotnya oil refinery was hit mid‑June, contributing to fuel restrictions across several Russian regions as Ukraine’s drone program grows more capable and far-reaching.
Ukrainian drone strikes knocked a key Sevastopol-area substation offline, causing a blackout across Crimea’s major cities and signaling Kyiv’s intensified campaign to disrupt Russian logistics on the peninsula.
At the UN Security Council, the United States urged Russia to secure an immediate ceasefire and negotiate a peace deal to end the Ukraine war, arguing Moscow’s military and economy are deteriorating and citing roughly 40,000 Russian casualties per month, as well as condemnation of Russian bombardment of cultural heritage sites like Kyiv Pechersk Lavra; Washington said a negotiated settlement is the only viable path to stop the violence, noting Ukraine is deploying frontline innovations while Russia rejected a European peace framework.