The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
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Russia’s war against Ukraine
A man cleans dust from a portrait of his dead brother in arms on the Memorial Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine outside Saint Michael’s Golden-domes Cathedral in Kyiv on June 26, 2025. (Sergei Supinsky/ AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian drones strike 4 fighter jets in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast, General Staff says. According to preliminary data, two Russian fighter jets were destroyed, and the other two were damaged.
Clashes ongoing in eastern Ukrainian village near lithium deposits, as military rejects claims of Russian capture. Active fighting is still taking place around the village of Shevchenko in Donetsk Oblast, home to one of Ukraine’s largest lithium deposits, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Khortytsia group of forces told the Kyiv Independent on June 27, denying reports Russia had occupied the village.
EU reportedly fails to adopt new Russia sanctions due to Hungarian, Slovak opposition. Unlike Ukraine-skeptic Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovakia has not previously attempted to block EU sanctions
Ukrainian manufacturers able to produce 4 million drones per year, Umerov says. Ukrainian manufacturers will supply four million drones to the front line this year, while the Ukrainian army has already received up to 1.5 million drones as of the end of June, according to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
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Ukraine seeks Zelensky-Putin meeting as next step in ceasefire negotiations. “After completing discussions on humanitarian issues, Ukraine plans to move forward to the topic of a leaders’ summit for substantive dialogue,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said during a press briefing on June 26.
Russia ready to hold third round of peace talks with Ukraine, Putin says. Russia is ready to hold a third round of peace talks on the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on June 27, without specifying if he would directly participate in the negotiations.
Zelensky signs decree to synchronize Russia sanctions with EU, G7. A day earlier, EU member states’ leaders gave their political consent to extend the sanctions previously imposed on Russia for its war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian deputy prime minister hit with travel ban, $2.9 million bail in major corruption case. Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksii Chernyshov was restricted from traveling abroad without permission after a court ruled on June 27 to set bail at Hr 120 million ($2.9 million) while awaiting trial in a high-profile corruption case.
Despite escalating war plans, Putin claims Russia will cut military spending starting in 2026. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on June 27 that Moscow plans to cut its military expenditure beginning next year, in a rebuke of NATO members’ plans to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian drones reportedly strike 4 fighter jets in Russia
Ukrainian drones struck four Su-34 fighter jets at the Marinovka airfield in Russia’s Volgograd Oblast overnight on June 27, Ukraine’s General Staff said.
Photo: Russian Defense Ministry/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
‘Putin cannot stop’ – Estonian foreign minister says war in Ukraine existential for Russian president
Speaking to the Kyiv Independent on the first day of the NATO summit, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said a new reality means Europe must take up greater responsibility for Ukraine – and its own defense.
Photo: Omar Havana / Getty Images
Ukraine’s new top prosecutor known for high-profile cases, seen as Zelensky loyalist
Loyalty to the incumbent administration has been the key requirement for prosecutor generals in Ukraine. Ruslan Kravchenko, who was appointed as prosecutor general on June 21, appears to be no exception.
Photo: Andrii Nesterenko / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Human cost of Russia’s war
Chinese journalist injured by drone strike in Kursk Oblast, Russian governor says. According to acting Kursk Oblast governor Alexander Khinshtein, 63-year-old reporter Lu Yuguang from the Chinese television network Phoenix TV was wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike on the village of Korenevo.
Russian missile strike on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast city kills 5, injures 25. Governor Serhii Lysak said most of the injured were hospitalized.
At least 2 killed, 13 wounded in Russian attacks across Ukraine over past day. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Ukrainian air defense intercepted 365 of 371 incoming Russian air weapons, including 363 Shahed-type drones, two Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and six Kalibr cruise missiles.
Russian attack on key energy facility plunges parts of southern Ukraine ‘into darkness,’ governor says. “Russia decided to plunge Kherson Oblast into darkness,” Governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram. He said the attack has disrupted electricity supply to multiple settlements.
Warfare in Ukraine has changed… again.
International response
North Korea deployed 20% of Kim’s elite ‘personal reserve’ to fight against Ukraine in Russia, Umerov says. “These are soldiers specially selected based on physical, psychological, and other criteria,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said. “These units have already suffered significant losses.”
Ukraine to seek EU sanctions against Bangladesh over Russia-stolen grain import. “It’s a crime,” Ukraine’s ambassador to India, Oleksandr Polishchuk, told Reuters. “We will share our investigation with our European Union colleagues, and we will kindly ask them to take the appropriate measures.”
Pro-Palestinian activists destroy Ukrainian military aid worth $1.1 million, allegedly confusing it with Israeli, media reports. The activists reportedly thought the equipment would be supplied to Israel.
‘Without question’ — Trump says US would consider bombing Iran again, halts plans to ease sanctions. The United States would consider bombing Iran again if the country’s nuclear program once again became of concern, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters during a press briefing on June 27.
In other news
Anti-corruption agencies seek Ukrainian deputy prime minister’s suspension amid land grab case. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov was officially named a suspect on June 23 in what Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau called a “large-scale” illegal land grab case.
‘Resilience and confident actions’ — Umerov praises Ukraine’s new 18-24-year-old recruits. “We saw them on the battlefield — and it’s truly motivating,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.
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