The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
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Russia’s war against Ukraine
Ukrainians gathered in the Ukrainian capital with a convoy of vehicles touring part of the city to honour fallen soldiers and demand the release of prisoners of war still held in Russian captivity since 2022, in Kyiv on 29 June 2025. (Jose Colon / Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russia launches largest attack of war, targeting Ukrainian regions far from front lines. “Despite the complexity of this overnight combined attack, no one was injured and no civilian buildings were damaged in Lviv,” Mayor Andrii Sadovyi reported the morning after the strike.
Zelensky signs decree to withdraw from Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines. “Russia is not a party to this Convention and is massively using mines against our military and civilians,” lawmaker Roman Kostenko, secretary of the parliament’s defense committee, said in a post on Facebook.
F-16 pilot killed during Russia’s overnight massive air attack, Air Force says. Maksym Ustymenko, born in 1993, was killed after shooting down seven aerial targets, the Air Force said in a statement. The Air Force added that his aircraft was damaged while he was trying to shoot down the last one, losing altitude and crashing.
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Pope Leo says Ukraine ‘martyred‘ in Russia’s ‘senseless war.’ Pope Leo XIV welcomed Ukrainian Greek Catholic pilgrims to the Vatican on June 28 and offered his blessing to mothers of soldiers killed on the front lines.
Ukraine approves new ‘Murakha‘ ground robot for combat use. The Murakha (“Ant”) is a tracked robotic platform designed to support front-line units working under challenging conditions, the Defense Ministry said.
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Ukraine war latest: Russia launches largest attack of war, targeting Ukrainian regions far from front lines; F-16 pilot killed in attack
Russia launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the start its full-scale war overnight on June 29, launching 477 drones and 60 missiles towards Ukrainian cities, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
Photo: Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Human cost of Russia’s war
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,018,940 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. The number includes 1,220 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Trump meets Zelensky at NATO summit | Ukraine This Week
International response
‘It’s time to move your bill‘ — Senator says Congress will soon vote on new Russian sanctions after talks with Trump. “For the first time yesterday the president told me… he says, ‘it’s time to move your bill’,” Graham said in an interview with ABC News, stressing that it would be Trump’s purview as to whether the bill would ultimately be signed into law.
Slovak FM suggests forgiveness for Russia, calls for dialogue to end Ukraine war. “Let us return to respect for international law and seek ways to communicate with the Russian Federation,” Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said on June 29.
Hungarian FM says US lifted Russian sanctions that hindered expansion of Paks Nuclear Power Plant. “Construction of the major pieces of equipment for the Paks nuclear plant is proceeding in Russia and France,” Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, as cited by Bloomberg.
In other news
US, Russian spy chiefs agree to keep direct line open, Moscow says. “I had a phone call with my American counterpart, and we reserved for each other the possibility to call each other at any time and discuss issues of interest to us,” the Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, said.
Azerbaijan cancels Russian events over ‘extrajudicial killings‘ of 2 citizens in Russia’s Yekaterinburg. Azerbaijan has cancelled all planned cultural events hosted alongside Russian state and private organizations, the country’s Culture Ministry announced on June 29, over the deaths of two Azerbaijani citizens during police raids in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
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