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Russia’s war against Ukraine
A rescue crane hook is seen in front of residential buildings that were badly damaged by Russian missile strikes. On June 17, the Russian army attacked the Ukrainian capital with missiles and Shahed-type combat drones, resulting in destruction and damage to residential buildings in different parts of the city. At least 28 people were killed and 140 were injured in Kyiv. (Aleksandr Gusev / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images)
Putin says he’s ready to meet Zelensky if West ‘stops pushing‘ Ukraine to fight. Russia wants to end the war in Ukraine “as soon as possible,” preferably through peaceful means, and is ready to continue negotiations — provided that Kyiv and its Western allies are willing to engage, Vladimir Putin said.
Ukraine dismisses Russia’s ‘absurd’ ceasefire condition for dismantling Western arms. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on June 18 brushed off Moscow’s demands for Kyiv to destroy or dismantle Western-supplied weapons as a condition for a ceasefire, saying it shows disregard for U.S. peace efforts.
Putin under pressure from hardliners to declare all-out war on Ukraine following Operation Spiderweb, Telegraph reports. Russia’s hardline nationalist elite reportedly argues that only a formal war declaration would permit true escalation—full-scale mobilisation, regular missile strikes, and potentially the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
Zelensky may reportedly skip NATO summit over uncertainty about Trump’s attendance. According to the Guardian, some in Kyiv are unsure if President Volodymyr Zelensky’s presence at the summit would be worthwhile without a confirmed meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
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Ukraine kills collaborator tied to POW torture in occupied Berdiansk, intelligence source claims. Mykhailo Hrytsai, a senior collaborator with the Russian occupation authorities, was shot dead in the city with a silenced PM pistol, according to a source.
North Korea sending 6,000 military builders, sappers to Russia, Shoigu says after meeting Kim. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu is expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the visit.
Slovak police tried to detain ex-defense minister over Ukraine aid deal, media reports. The Slovak police reportedly also seek to detain a former Defense Ministry official and have detained an ex-head of the Konstrukta Defense state company in a move denounced by Nad’s opposition Democrats party as politically motivated.
4 months after striking Chornobyl, Russia warns Israeli attacks on Iran risk nuclear ‘catastrophe.’ Russia on June 18 warned the world is “millimetres away from catastrophe” due to Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, just four months after one of its own drones struck the Chornobyl nuclear site in Ukraine.
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Ukraine war latest: ‘Do me a favor Vladimir, mediate Russia first’ — Trump roasts Putin over Israel, Iran offer
U.S. President Donald Trump said on June 18 that he had turned down Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to mediate the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
As Trump stays silent, US Embassy makes late denunciation of Russia’s attack on Kyiv
“We extend deepest condolences to the victims’ families. This senseless attack runs counter to President Trump’s call to stop the killing and end the war,” the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said in a statement.
Photo: Oleksandr Gusev / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Human cost of Russia’s war
6 killed, 49 injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over past day. Russian forces launched 58 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys against Ukraine overnight, targeting mainly the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the Air Force said.
8 people injured in Russian strikes on Kherson Oblast. Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast injured eight people and damaged residential infrastructure on June 16, according to local authorities. The strikes targeted multiple settlements using artillery and drones.
Opinions and insights
Russia turns sound into weapon
“Shaheds typically start to approach Kyiv after sunset, and attacks sometimes last until sunrise. This means that the terror inflicted on a city of over three million people is primarily an audio experience, rather than visual,” Elsa Court writes in her latest op-ed.
Photo: Roman Pilipey / Getty Images
International response
Putin ‘cannot be trusted’ as mediator, Kallas says, urges EU to tighten Russian oil cap after deadly Kyiv strike. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas urged the European Union to press forward with lowering the oil price cap on Russian crude, even without U.S. support.
‘Do me a favor Vladimir, mediate Russia first’ — Trump roasts Putin over Israel, Iran offer. “I said, Vladimir, let’s mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later,” U.S. President Donald Trump said.
Senate reportedly delays Russia sanctions as Middle East crisis, Trump’s tax bill take priority. The U.S. Senate is postponing action on a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill until at least July, as other legislative and foreign policy priorities dominate the agenda, Semafor reported on June 18.
Ukraine won’t receive NATO invitation at The Hague summit, Lithuanian FM says. “This issue is certainly not on the NATO agenda and nobody has formulated an expectation that there will be an invitation in The Hague, nor have we heard that from the Ukrainians themselves,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said in comments quoted by the LRT broadcaster.
Russia’s deadliest attack on Kyiv this year shatters homes and lives
In other news
After speaking out against Trump, former US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink launches congressional bid. “My next mission: fighting for what’s right here at home,” Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wrote.
Ruslan Kravchenko approved as Ukraine’s new Prosecutor General. Kravchenko, a former military prosecutor and most recently head of Ukraine’s tax service, replaces Andrii Kostin, who stepped down in October 2024 following a scandal involving fraudulent disability claims by dozens of prosecutors in Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
Ukraine’s parliament passes bill allowing multiple citizenship. Ukraine’s parliament on June 18 supported a bill allowing Ukrainian citizens to hold passports of foreign countries, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.
Ukraine’s parliament passes state asset agency reform crucial for EU funding. The legislation passed with the support of 253 lawmakers “after months of obstructions… unblocking 600 million euros ($690 million) in EU funds,” lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said.
Clashes erupt in southwestern Ukraine over church control amid shift away from Moscow-affiliated clergy. According to public broadcaster Suspilne, a crowd gathered to assert control over the church, which had recently voted to switch allegiance from the UOC-MP to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) — an autocephalous (autonomous) Ukrainian church not affiliated with Moscow.
Ukraine preparing to evacuate citizens from Israel, Iran as Middle East conflict escalates. As of the morning of June 18, 293 Ukrainians in Israel and 85 in Iran have requested evacuation, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said.
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