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Russia’s war against Ukraine
Local residents look at damaged residential buildings following the Russian drone attack in Odesa on June 20, 2025. One person was killed and more than a dozen others wounded in Russia’s latest aerial attack on Ukraine. (Oleksandr Gimanov / AFP via Getty Images)
‘All of Ukraine is ours’ — Putin on Russia’s territorial ambitions in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said “all of Ukraine” belonged to Russia in a speech on June 20 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, amid increasingly aggressive official statements about Moscow’s final territorial ambitions in Ukraine.
‘This is the best offer Ukraine can get today’ — Russia won’t back down as renewed peace talks loom. Russia’s memorandum on a peace proposal is the “best offer Ukraine can get today,” Russia’s envoy to the United Nations (UN), Vasily Nebenzya, said at a UN Security Council meeting.
Ukraine, Russia carry out 2nd prisoner swap this week under Istanbul deal. Ukraine has brought home another group of prisoners of war released from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 20, following another prisoner exchange a day earlier.
‘Absolutely insane’ — Zelensky condemns Russian offensive in Sumy Oblast amid Moscow’s maximalist demands. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia’s attempts to advance in Sumy Oblast, as Moscow intensifies its maximalist rhetoric.
Russian drone strikes on Ukraine might drop due to Iran-Israel conflict, Estonian intel says. “While it can be assessed that Russia has been able to largely localize and transfer the production of Shaheed and Geran-type drones to Russia, it can be assumed that some critical nodes for drone production continue to come from Iran,” Estonian military intelligence commander Ants Kiviselg said.
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Zelensky to attend NATO summit despite media reports that he will not attend. President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to attend a NATO summit in The Hague next week, the European Council confirmed on June 20.
Ukraine imposes new sanctions on Russian, Chinese, Belarusian companies involved in drone production. Ukraine introduced new restrictions as Russia has escalated drone attacks against Ukrainian cities over the past weeks, launching record 400-500 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) per night.
Ukraine unites Unmanned Systems Forces with top ‘Drone Line’ units under new command group. The grouping was created to “improve the efficiency of management, transform the Forces, and adapt to the requirements of modern warfare,” according to the statement.
Russian cannibal soldier ate his own comrade, leaked audio from Ukraine’s HUR claims. “Nobody ran away. ‘Brelok’ took him (comrade) out and then ate him for two f*cking weeks,” a speaker identified by HUR as a commander of a reconnaissance unit from Russia’s 68th Motorized Rifle Division can be heard saying in the intercept.
Russian political party requests political asylum for Musk, senior MP claims. Davankov, deputy speaker of the State Duma, told reporters at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that his party had formally petitioned the Russian Foreign Ministry to provide Musk with asylum. The request is expected to be reviewed within a month, he reportedly said.
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Russia pulls its scientists out of Iranian nuclear plant, as Israeli strikes threaten decades of collaboration
Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have alarmed none more than Russia, the country that first brought nuclear power to Iran.
Photo: Stringer via Getty Images
Not content with waging war inside Ukraine, Russia has now taken it into the virtual world
In the game, the characters’ mission is to capture positions held by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and advance deeper into Ukrainian territory,
Photo: X
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv calls on West to isolate Moscow after Putin claims ‘all of Ukraine’ belongs to Russia
“Wherever the foot of a Russian soldier steps is Russian land,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said, directly implying Russia’s intention to continue occupying more than just the five Ukrainian regions to which Moscow has illegally laid claim.
Photo: Contributor/Getty Images
Human cost of Russia’s war
2 killed, 39 injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over past day. Russian forces launched 86 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys against Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 34 drones, while 36 disappeared from radars or were intercepted by electronic warfare.
‘Massive’ Russian drone attacks on residential buildings in Odesa kill 1, injure 14. Russian forces struck residential buildings in Odesa overnight on June 20, killing a civilian and injuring at least 14 others, including three emergency workers, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported.
International response
EU postpones lowering price cap for Russian oil amid tensions in Middle East, Politico reports. Ukraine has been calling on Western partners to lower the price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $30 per barrel. Meanwhile, two diplomats told Politico that the escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel would make it impossible to impose new restrictions.
Baltics, Nordics, Poland propose Schengen ban for Russians who fought in Ukraine. “There are hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens who have fought against Ukraine,” Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro said. “We must take a clear stance, these individuals cannot freely travel across Schengen.”
Dutch parliament recognizes Soviet 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars as genocide. In the adopted text, Dutch lawmakers declared that the Soviet-led deportation of Crimean Tatars, which took place between May 18 and 21, 1944, constitutes genocide by contemporary legal and historical definitions.
In other news
Russia would react ‘very negatively’ to Iran leader’s assassination, Kremlin says. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned that any attempt at regime change in Tehran or threats to its leadership would “open Pandora’s box,” deepening instability across the Middle East and beyond.
Russia’s war-fueled economy is running on empty, Central Bank chief warns. “We grew for two years at a fairly high pace because free resources were activated,” Russia’s Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said.
Shmyhal confirms Deputy PM’s official travel abroad as questions mount amid corruption probe. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov’s official trip abroad has been approved until the end of the week, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on June 20 amid media speculations connecting Chernyshov’s stay abroad to an ongoing corruption investigation.
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