U.S. President Donald Trump has asked the Senate to delay voting on a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, Republican Senator Roger Wicker said on June 4.

"I know that he (Trump) asked the leader (Senate Majority Leader John Thune) not to bring the bill to a vote this week," Wicker said during a meeting of the Defense Writers Group in Washington.

The bill, introduced on April 1 by Senators Lindsey Graham (R) and Richard Blumenthal (D), seeks to impose a 500% tariff on imports from countries that continue purchasing Russian oil and raw materials.

Its aim is to tighten economic pressure on Russia and discourage third-party nations from enabling the Kremlin’s energy exports.

The legislation currently has broad bipartisan support, with 82 out of 100 U.S. senators backing it. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson also voiced his support for the bill.

Previously, Trump said he had not yet imposed new sanctions on Russia because he believed a peace deal might be within reach.

"If I think I'm close to getting a deal, I don't want to screw it up by doing that," he said on May 28, but added he is prepared to act if Moscow stalls further.

The Senate was expected to begin considering the bill this week, prior to the request made by Trump.

Putin ‘will have to respond’ to Ukraine’s attack on Russian bombers, Trump says after call with Kremlin chief

Trump said he spoke to Putin over the phone for an hour and 15 minutes on June 4 and that it was “a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.”

The Kyiv IndependentAbbey Fenbert

Russia aims to deploy 10,000 troops to Transnistria and install a pro-Kremlin government in Moldova to enable it, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean told the Financial Times in an interview published June 4.

“They want to consolidate their military presence in the Transnistrian region,” Recean said, adding that Russia’s goal is to increase leverage not only near Ukraine’s southwest but also close to NATO member Romania.

Although Russia has maintained a limited military presence in Transnistria since the 1990s, only 1,000-1,500 troops remain today.

“Currently, their forces there are almost meaningless,” Recean noted.

However, he warned that a Russia-leaning government in Chisinau could authorize a buildup, citing Moldovan intelligence estimates for the 10,000-troop target.

Recean accused Russia of meddling in Moldova’s upcoming parliamentary elections through propaganda, illegal financing, and “spending the equivalent of 1% of Moldova’s GDP” on influence operations in 2024.

He said Moldovan authorities had intercepted citizens carrying large sums of Russian cash and discovered that 130,000 voters in the previous election received money from Russian sources.

“This is a huge effort to undermine Moldovan democracy,” Recean said, affirming that Moldova remains committed to becoming an EU member.”

The Kremlin has not publicly responded to these allegations.

Transnistria is a Russia-controlled breakaway region of Moldova that Moscow occupied in the early 1990s under the pretext of protecting the Russian population.

The region borders Ukraine's Odesa Oblast and is internationally recognized as part of Moldova.

Polish PM Tusk blames Russian hackers for cyberattacks ahead of presidential election

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the cyberattacks hit the website of his Civic Platform party, as well as those of its coalition partners, the Left and the Polish People’s Party (PSL).

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a briefing on June 4 that he may consider allowing the creation of private armies in Ukraine.

His comment came as a reaction to one of the points in the latest Russian memorandum, which calls for Ukraine to eliminate “nationalist formations” and private military companies.

“I will now start thinking about it after such ultimatums,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine currently has no private armed groups under its law, noting, “If they are talking about ‘Azov,’ it is the National Guard of Ukraine.”

He contrasted Ukraine’s military structure with Russia’s use of private forces and mercenary groups like Wagner, highlighting the double standards.

“They (Russia) have ‘Wagner’ and it is true. They admit it, they admit that they have private military formations that we destroyed,” Zelensky said.

According to a document leaked after the second round of talks with Ukraine, Russia’s demands also include Ukraine's neutral status, a ban on the country's NATO bid and other possible military alliances, and an official end to Western arms supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Russia is also demanding the official recognition of Crimea, as well as Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts as Russian, even though significant portions of these regions are still under Ukrainian control.

Putin, Trump, Zelensky trilateral meeting ‘unlikely’ to happen soon, Kremlin says

The Kremlin’s statement comes a day after the White House said that Trump would not rule out participating in this format of talks.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) reported that the June 1 “Spiderweb” drone operation caused approximately $7 billion in damages and disabled 34% of cruise missile bombers in key Russian airbases.

The agency confirmed that more details about the attack will be revealed later.

“And you thought Ukraine was easy? Ukraine is exceptional. Ukraine is unique. All the steamrollers of history have rolled over it. It has withstood every kind of trial. It is tempered by the highest degree. In today’s world, its value is beyond measure,” the SBU wrote, quoting Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko.

They also vowed to continue to drive Russian forces out of Ukrainian territory.

“We will strike them (Russia) at sea, in the air, and on the ground. And if needed, we’ll get them from underground too,” the SBU said.

This operation targeted aircraft that is used in frequent long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, and the plan had been in preparation for over a year and a half.

According to a Kyiv Independent SBU source, first-person-view (FPV) drones were covertly transported deep into Russian territory and hidden inside trucks before being launched against four major airfields.

The source said one of the airfields hit was the Belaya air base in Russia's Irkutsk Oblast, more than 4,000 kilometers from Ukraine.

Olenya air base in Russia's Murmansk Oblast, the Diaghilev airbase in Ryazan Oblast, Ivanovo airbase in Ivanovo Oblast were also targeted.

More than 40 aircraft are known to have been hit, including the A-50, Tu-95, and Tu-22 M3, according to the source.

The Tu-95 is a Soviet-era plane that made its first flight in 1952. It was originally used to carry nuclear bombs but has since evolved to launch cruise missiles.

Each aircraft can carry 16 cruise missiles – either the Kh-55/Kh-555 or the newer Kh-101 and Kh-102 air-launched cruise missiles.

Russia has escalated its attacks against Ukraine in recent weeks, amid ongoing U.S.-backed ceasefire talks and negotiations.

On May 26, Russian forces launched the most extensive drone attack of the full-scale war, reportedly involving 355 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys.

Russian military freight train blown up en route to Crimea, Ukraine’s HUR claims

“The Muscovites’ key logistical artery on the occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Crimea has been destroyed,” HUR’s statement said.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on June 1 an updated 14-member Ukrainian delegation for upcoming peace talks with Russia in Istanbul, expanding the original group of 12.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will again lead the delegation, which will include several new figures from Ukraine's military, human rights, and legal sectors.

Three officials – Andrii Fomin, Yurii Kovbasa, and Yevhenii Ostrianskyi – are participating for the first time, while Oleksii Malovatskyi, involved in the May 16 talks, will not join.

The meeting is scheduled to take place on June 2, with both Russian and Ukrainian delegations expected to attend. Also, security advisors from the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany plan to attend, according to U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg.

Russia has not officially submitted its memorandum outlining peace terms, but Ukraine plans to present a detailed roadmap aimed at securing a lasting settlement.

According to the proposal, the process would begin with a minimum 30-day ceasefire, followed by a full exchange of prisoners and the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russian-held areas, ultimately leading to a potential meeting between Zelensky and Putin. The plan was reported on June 1 by Reuters, which reviewed a copy of the document.

While the U.S. and Ukraine have pushed for an unconditional ceasefire, the Kremlin has rejected it.

Instead, Moscow has regularly voiced maximalist demands that are unlikely to be accepted by Kyiv, such as recognition of Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian regions and withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the parts of these regions remaining under Kyiv’s control.

Trump has expressed frustration with Russia's reluctance to make concessions and its intensifying and deadly attacks on Ukraine. However, he has so far refused to sanction Russia.

The talks are tentatively still set to continue on June 2, though Russia has not officially commented yet, following Ukraine’s Security Service’s (SBU) major intelligence drone operation earlier today. The drones destroyed 41 Russian bombers at four airfields across Russia, in what Kyiv called a long-planned blow to Moscow’s strike capabilities.

Officials from US, UK, France, Germany to attend Ukraine-Russia peace talks, Kellogg says

Security advisors from the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany will attend planned peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on June 2, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said

The Kyiv IndependentVolodymyr Ivanyshyn