Poland’s Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on 17 June that Poland has recorded GPS disruptions over the Baltic Sea, attributing the interference to Russian activities.

Speaking to journalists on 17 June, Kosiniak-Kamysz addressed mounting concerns from drone operators who have reported system failures across northern Poland, according to Polish public broadcaster RMF24.

“According to our sources, this is largely related to the actions of the Russian Federation, including acts of sabotage,” Kosiniak-Kamysz stated during the press conference. “We are monitoring these disruptions. They are recorded over the waters of the Baltic Sea, also by our NATO allies – both in the Baltic countries and in Northern Europe.”

The minister confirmed that Poland is actively responding to the situation. “According to our sources, these actions are related to the activities of the Russian Federation, including sabotage,” he emphasized.

Kosiniak-Kamysz revealed that a special security committee was convened several weeks ago to address the disruptions. General Maciej Klisz, the operational commander, prepared recommendations for military aviation while authorities shared information with civilian aviation, flight control agencies, and the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency.

The defense minister stressed the need for heightened vigilance due to increasing incidents of signal interference.

The Polish announcement follows broader regional concerns about navigation system disruptions. Lithuania and 12 other EU countries recently called on the European Commission to take action regarding Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) communication disruptions across member states.

In their letter to the Commission, the countries characterized the GNSS signal disruptions as systematic, repetitive, and targeted actions by Russian and Belarusian regimes aimed at undermining stable infrastructure operations in the region, particularly communications systems.

Days later, Lithuanian Deputy Defense Minister Karolis Aleksa announced that the scope of Russian-blocked GPS signals continues to expand.

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The United Nations condemned Russia’s proposal to exchange abducted Ukrainian children for Russian prisoners of war, with a senior UN official stating that civilians should not be used as bargaining chips.

“Obviously, all innocent civilians, including innocent children, should not be used as bargaining chips,” Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Farhan Haq told Ukrinform when commenting on the Russian proposal revealed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Haq emphasized that this principle applies to conflicts worldwide. The UN has repeatedly stressed that deportation of children during conflict constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law.

President Zelenskyy disclosed that Russians had proposed exchanging Ukrainian children for their military prisoners. The Ukrainian leader characterized the occupiers’ proposal as “beyond understanding and beyond the bounds of international law.”

The issue gained prominence during negotiations in Istanbul, where the Russian delegation acknowledged that Russia had abducted Ukrainian children, according to Zelenskyy’s 2 June statement.

First Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Kislytsia provided details of the negotiations on 5 June, reporting that Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky cynically stated during talks that Russia “has a couple of dozen, maybe a hundred Ukrainian children.” The same Putin associate confirmed receiving from Ukraine a list of 339 abducted children, Kislytsia said.

Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets reports that as of October 2024, Russian forces have abducted more than 20,000 children from Ukraine. An additional 1.5 million children could potentially be deported, according to his data.

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Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) counterintelligence detained a 44-year-old Kyiv resident suspected of collaborating with Russian military intelligence and directing missile and drone attacks against the Kyiv region, according to the Office of the Prosecutor General.

The suspect worked with the “Senezh” special purpose center of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, according to the investigation. Russian military intelligence first noticed him during a “Roulette” chat broadcast where he expressed pro-Russian views.

After recruitment, the man began tracking locations of local enterprises that he believed could be involved in producing military equipment for Ukraine’s Defense Forces. The detained suspect planned to use the collected data to prepare strikes on the capital region while bypassing Ukrainian air defense systems, according to investigators.

The Security Service documented the suspect’s activities and implemented comprehensive measures to protect Ukrainian enterprises before arresting him at his residence in Kyiv.

Authorities seized two phones from the detained man containing photos of Ukrainian facilities with Google Maps coordinates attached.

The man has been charged with high treason under martial law conditions. He faces life imprisonment with property confiscation.

The detention represents the latest in a series of recent SBU operations against alleged Russian agents. On 6 June, the SBU reported detaining men who prepared terrorist attacks in Dnipro and Lviv oblast on Russia’s orders. On 9 June, authorities arrested a Kyiv resident accused of identifying air defense positions in the capital and coordinating strikes. On 11 June, a 57-year-old unemployed local resident was detained in Lviv Oblast on suspicion of providing Russian special services with data about airfield operations and preparing new attacks on the oblast.

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The Fahrenheit clothing company suspended operations indefinitely after Russian forces damaged its production facility during a massive overnight attack on Kyiv on 17 June. The strike hit the factory where the company manufactures clothing and underwear for civilians and military personnel.

“We are forced to report that due to another barbaric attack by Russia, our production was damaged,” the company announced on Facebook. “The blow fell on the place where we have been creating clothes for everyone for years, including for our military.”

The attack forced Fahrenheit to cancel all current orders and halt acceptance of new ones for an indefinite period, according to the company’s statement.

The June 17 strike was part of what authorities called “one of the most extensive bombardments in recent months,” killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more across Ukraine. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the attack involved more than 440 drones and 32 missiles launched overnight, targeting multiple oblasts including Kyiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv oblasts.

Kyiv authorities confirmed 14 fatalities and more than 100 injuries in the capital by 9:30 am. In Odesa, regional administration reported one person killed and 17 injured during the bombardment.

The attack on Fahrenheit represents another blow to Ukrainian businesses supporting the war effort. The company’s facility produced essential clothing items for the Armed Forces of Ukraine alongside civilian garments.

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Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced the completion of body repatriation under the Istanbul agreements, with over 6,000 bodies of the fallen returned to Ukrainian territory.

According to Umerov’s social media statement, 16 June marked the final stage of body repatriation in this format. The minister reports that since last week, when the Istanbul agreements began implementation, Ukraine managed to return over 6,000 bodies.

“All of them undergo identification. Because behind each one is a name, a life, a family waiting for an answer,” Umerov said. “I thank everyone who daily did this difficult but necessary work. We do not stop. Ahead is the next stage: we continue the fight for the return of prisoners. We return. We remember…”

The repatriation follows negotiations held in Istanbul on 2 June, where Ukraine and Russia agreed on a “6,000 for 6,000” exchange of fallen soldiers’ bodies. The Ukrainian and Russian delegations also reached an agreement on an “all for all” exchange of severely wounded and young military personnel aged 18 to 25.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously said that of the 6,000 military bodies Russia intended to transfer to Ukraine, only 15% were identified.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Ukraine has returned 15,801 bodies of the fallen as of 16 June. This figure includes 9,744 bodies as of May 2025, plus five stages of repatriations in June.

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Brussels will set out legal measures this week to halt Russian fossil fuel imports into the EU, but has delayed plans to address nuclear technology dependency, the Financial Times reported on 16 June.

EU countries have paid more than €200 bn ($231 bn) to Russia for fuel since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. While coal and oil imports have been sanctioned, nuclear fuel presents a complex challenge despite accounting for only €700mn ($810 mn) of €22bn ($25 bn) paid to Russia in 2024, according to Bruegel.

“Technically speaking the uranium supply chain is very complex,” said Ben McWilliams at Bruegel. “Therefore a gradual phaseout would be needed.”

The EU operates 101 nuclear reactors, 19 using Soviet designs. The bloc relies on Russia for 20-25 per cent of its uranium and often purchases Russian spare parts.

The European Commission wants the nuclear sector free of Russian imports by the 2030s, but a document published Friday warned €241 bn ($278 bn) of investment is needed to build domestic supply chains.

Russia’s dominance creates challenges. “[Russian state nuclear company] Rosatom is one of the biggest companies in all sectors of nuclear markets,” said Dmitry Gorchakov at Bellona.

Hungary and Slovakia strongly oppose phaseout plans. Their ministers said the 2030s timeline would lead to “higher and more volatile prices” and threaten energy security.

Russia dominates 55 % of global uranium enrichment. European companies Orano and Urenco hold 40 % alongside Russian and Chinese firms.

Boris Schucht, Urenco’s chief executive, said the company had started refurbishing centrifuges “which was originally not intended” to meet demand. He warned about circumvention: “We can already see Russia selling volumes to China and China selling volumes that would not otherwise have been available.”

Hungary’s Paks plant represents the biggest challenge. The country doubled down on Russian technology in 2014, building two new Rosatom-designed blocks. The plants should supply three-quarters of Hungary’s electricity needs.

Despite EU pressure, Hungary has not switched away from Russian nuclear fuel and parts. The commission will use trade measures requiring weighted majority approval rather than unanimous sanctions that Hungary and Slovakia could veto.

Frédéric Lelièvre at Framatome said Europe must accelerate domestic industry: “We need to have these facilities and with the IP in Europe to make sure we can deploy the programmes we want to deploy and not rely on anybody else.”

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Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Clinics, located 50 kilometers from the EU’s external border with Belarus, is developing underground infrastructure, shelters, helicopter landing sites and autonomous systems to function without electricity or water supplies, according to Politico.

The hospital’s preparations mirror those across the region. Estonian authorities are procuring body armor for ambulance crews and satellite phones to maintain communications if traditional networks fail. Plans include generating an independent internet network if necessary.

“We know for certain that Russia targets the civilian infrastructure and energy structures, and that means that you cannot have these kinds of situations where the hospital doesn’t work because there are some power plant problems,” said Ragnar Vaiknemets, deputy director general of the Estonian Health Board.

Electrical generators are being installed across healthcare systems, following Ukraine’s experience with Russian strikes that routinely cut off civilian power. Many hospitals in Eastern Europe — built during the Soviet era — present particular vulnerabilities as large, high buildings concentrated in single complexes.

“I can’t imagine working on a top level … of the hospital just waiting to get hit,” Vaiknemets said, explaining plans to repurpose basements as operating theaters.

Capacity and supply challenges

European countries average 11.5 intensive care beds per 100,000 population, but wartime needs could require three to five times this capacity, according to Bjørn Guldvog, special adviser at the Norwegian Directorate of Health. Most facilities can sustain only 120-150 percent of normal surgical volume for 24 to 48 hours.

Estonia has allocated €25 million for mass casualty supplies, including orthopedic gear, tourniquets and trauma kits — “the only heavy investment we have made,” Health Minister Riina Sikkut said in February.

Latvia requires healthcare institutions to maintain a three-month supply of medicines, a policy established during Covid-19. “I have never thought that I would say thanks to Covid, but thanks to Covid … we found financial resources,” said Agnese Vaļuliene, health ministry state secretary.

The Baltic states’ proximity to potential front lines creates additional challenges for emergency supply storage. Jos Joosten, a medical adviser at the European External Action Service, said other EU countries must identify scarce resources for smaller nations and surrender some sovereignty to enable EU-level distribution decisions.

Workforce uncertainty

Staff shortages present a fundamental challenge for Baltic healthcare systems already stretched thin in peacetime. Estonia, with 1.3 million people, has nearly half the healthcare workforce per capita of Germany.

A Lithuanian survey found that over a quarter of health workers would likely flee during war, while fewer than 40 percent would stay and a third were unsure. Estonia anticipates similar patterns, with officials estimating 50-60 percent of the population don’t yet know how they would respond.

“There are patriots, the first responders, the people that we know without question will stay,” Vaiknemets said. “Of course, there are naysayers that talk about going to Spain straight away.”

Paramedic Noreikaitė signed a declaration committing to work if war breaks out in Lithuania, but acknowledged uncertainty about actual response rates. “But how it would really be — who would come and who wouldn’t — I don’t know. Personally, I don’t have children or a family yet, so I think I would stay,” she said.

Latvian pulmonologist Rūdolfs Vilde said some doctors were considering fleeing if war breaks out, especially parents who “don’t see how it would be suitable for them to ditch the children somewhere and be in the hospital in times of military crisis.”

Learning from Ukraine’s experience

Baltic medical professionals are traveling to Ukraine to observe firsthand how hospitals manage missile strikes, mass casualties and power outages. Vaiva Jankienė, a nurse who has volunteered over 20 times in Ukraine since April 2022, described the scale of injuries as “difficult to comprehend.”

“After the drone attacks, the consequences are hard to imagine,” Jankienė said. “Injuries like these,” she sighed, “every single medical professional who saw them said the same thing: We couldn’t have imagined it would look like this.”

While a trauma doctor in Lithuania might perform one amputation annually, Ukrainian hospital wards are filled with patients suffering amputations of multiple limbs plus other severe injuries. “We have very little experience treating such complex, multiple traumas,” she said.

Regional evacuation planning

The use of advanced weaponry in Ukraine — including long-range missiles and military drones — means the front line is no longer a fixed boundary. Attacks can reach targets hundreds of kilometers away, making evacuation plans essential for countries throughout the region.

Joosten warned that EU solidarity will be tested if conflicts escalate. “If Lithuania is overrun, who’s responsible for Lithuanians, because there’s no Lithuania anymore? But the European Union is (still there),” he said.

He urged EU institutions to create funds for handling civilian and military casualties, as well as displaced populations, noting that casualty numbers could dramatically exceed Ukraine’s experience. “Those 4,000 patients we moved away from Ukraine, that’s nothing, 4,000 in three years,” he said. “Let’s talk about 4,000 in two weeks, and then the next two weeks again.”

The preparations reflect a shift in mindset across NATO’s eastern flank. “It’s not a question of if [Russia] will attack,” Vaiknemets said. “It’s a question about when.”

As Lithuania’s deputy health minister Daniel Naumovas put it in February: “We have bad neighbors here: Russia and Belarus.” While all EU countries face similar challenges, some are “in the vanguard where the water is cold,” he said. “Water is splashing on our face; water of war.”

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Ukrainian drone operators have begun teaching Estonia’s volunteer Defence League military warfare tactics in a program now in its third week, ERR reported on 16 June.

The training near Tapa base involves teams of volunteers hunting each other’s drones. “The specific task for this course is for the third weekend – we’ve split into two teams that have to find each other, report it, and call in long-range fire,” said operator Erki.

Ukrainian instructors currently on leave from the front lines are leading the program. “Artillery – that’s like the ‘weapon’ of God. I would say drones – those are the ‘eyes’ of God. Right now, nothing gets to happen without a drone,” said instructor “Max.”

Another instructor, “Picasso,” described combat reality: “In the evening we’re taken to our position – between 7 and 8 PM. You get out of the car, grab your gear, carry it into the dugout and start work right away. It lasts six hours. After that, you sleep for six hours. You fly, you bomb.”

Front-line deployments can last weeks. On average it is seven days and nights. “But the longest I’ve been there was 29 days,” “Picasso” said. Soldiers use Starlink because a 4G solution reportedly only shows the enemy the target.

Estonia’s new “Kullisilm” (Hawk’s eye) drone unit was announced last month. Current trainees will become instructors this fall, teaching new students in forest and bunker locations.

The program builds on Estonia’s purchase of over 100 training drones two years ago. Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania also operate drone manufacturing facilities and transfer portions of production to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Politico reports Baltic countries are preparing hospitals for possible war with Russia.

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Latvia’s State Security Service (VDD) detained former parliamentarian Aleksejs Rosļikovs on 16 June, following criminal charges related to his Russian-language outburst in parliament, Latvian Television reported.

The VDD opened criminal proceedings against Rosļikovs on 9 June on suspicion of assisting the aggressor state Russia in actions against Latvia and inciting national hatred and discord.

The case stems from Rosļikovs’ conduct during a 5 June parliamentary session, when he was expelled from the Saeima for rudeness and speaking Russian. During debate on a draft resolution titled “Declaration on the criminal Russification of Latvia by the Soviet occupation regime and the elimination of its linguistic consequences,” Rosļikovs took the podium to oppose including the project on the agenda.

At the end of his speech, he shouted a phrase in Russian that translates as: “There are more of us, our language is Russian!”

Following the incident, Rosļikovs told Latvian Television he did not regret his actions. “This was his response to restrictions on his native language, Russian,” the broadcaster reported.

The VDD had previously warned Rosļikovs “several times in preventive conversations about the expected criminal liability,” according to the security service.

Investigators identified signs of criminal offenses under Article 81.1 and Article 78 of the Criminal Law – assistance to a foreign state in actions directed against the Republic of Latvia, and inciting national hatred and discord. State officials face up to 20 years imprisonment for assisting foreign states in actions directed against Latvia.

The State Language Center initiated administrative violation proceedings regarding Rosļikovs’ actions, while the State Police will review complaints from several Saeima deputies about his conduct.

Rosļikovs, who represented the “Stability!” party, lost his parliamentary mandate after being elected to Riga City Council, meaning he can no longer be punished for potential ethics violations in his former role as MP.

Former President Valdis Zatlers commented that the deputy was trying to address his voters and that the incident demonstrated why it is important to participate in elections.

Western security officials continue to assess that Russia is preparing for a protracted confrontation with NATO, according to recent intelligence briefings and statements from alliance leadership.

NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte disclosed on 9 June that intelligence assessments indicate Russia will produce 1,500 tanks, 3,000 armored vehicles, and 200 Iskander missiles in 2025. The production figures may include both new vehicles and refurbished equipment from Russia’s Soviet-era stockpiles, though Rutte did not specify the breakdown between these categories.

“Russia is cooperating with the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and Iran and Russia is reconstituting its forces with Chinese technology,” Rutte said during the briefing.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed on 9 June that Russia does not need to reconstitute its forces to pre-2022 levels before posing a threat to NATO states. According to ISW’s analysis, Russia could launch military operations against a NATO state before 2030.

Rutte also announced that Russia “could be capable of launching military operations against NATO within five years,” aligning closely with the ISW assessment timeline.

In response to these threat assessments, NATO defense ministers agreed on 5 June to increase air and missile defense spending by 400 percent. The spending increase aims to protect against large-scale drone and missile strikes similar to those Russia has deployed against Ukraine.

ISW reported on 8 June that Russian officials are establishing groundwork to exit international arms control agreements as part of preparations for potential military confrontation with NATO. The assessment indicates Moscow may exploit the ongoing Ukraine war to justify renouncing participation in additional international arms control frameworks as it prepares for expanded confrontation with Western powers.

Russia’s potential withdrawal from arms control mechanisms would eliminate key constraints on weapons development and deployment that have maintained strategic stability since the Cold War era, according to the ISW analysis.

Ukraine began a multi-stage prisoner exchange with Russia on 9 June, with the first group of Ukrainian servicemen under 25 years old returning home from captivity.

“Ukrainians are returning home from Russian captivity. Today an exchange began that will continue in several stages over the coming days,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Telegram.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reports that final numbers of released prisoners will be disclosed after the completion of the exchange process for security reasons.

The first group consists of wounded and severely wounded prisoners, as well as those under 25 years old. Among the released are representatives of the Naval Forces, Ground Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Air Forces, Airborne Assault Forces, Border Guard Service, National Guard, and State Special Transport Service. All freed personnel are enlisted soldiers and sergeants.

“Among the categories of those we are returning now are the wounded and severely wounded, as well as those under 25 years old. The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually daily,” Zelenskyy said.

Defenders of Mariupol who spent more than three years in captivity are among those released, according to the Coordination Headquarters.

The exchange implements agreements reached during negotiations in Istanbul on 2 June, where Ukraine and Russia agreed to return “6000 for 6000” bodies of fallen soldiers and exchange “all for all” severely wounded and young servicemen aged 18 to 25.

The Coordination Headquarters confirmed this represents only the first part of a large-scale exchange that will continue within the framework of reached agreements. Work also continues on repatriating the bodies of Ukrainian military personnel killed defending the homeland.

Returned defenders will receive full support, including document restoration, payment of due military compensation for the entire period in captivity, one-time assistance, and medical rehabilitation courses, the Coordination Headquarters assured.

The exchange addresses specific categories of prisoners of war, particularly those under 25, severely wounded, and seriously ill captives.

Russia had spread false information on June 6 about the alleged start of repatriation activities, then claimed Ukraine “refused to take the bodies of its citizens.” The Coordination Headquarters emphasized that the aggressor state speculates on sensitive topics while preparation for the exchange continues.

Zelenskyy previously reported that of the 6000 military bodies Russia wants to transfer to Ukraine, only 15% are identified.

Russian performers with Putin ties are returning to European stages three years after being blacklisted over Ukraine’s invasion, Politico reported on 6 June.

Three years after European theaters canceled Russian concerts and dropped performers with ties to President Vladimir Putin, some of Russia’s biggest classical music stars are quietly returning to orchestras and stages across the continent, according to Politico.

The comeback includes conductor Valery Gergiev, who is set to perform in Barcelona next year with Russia’s Mariinsky Orchestra as part of the Ibercámera concert series, which lists the EU’s Next Generation fund as a financial supporter. Soprano Anna Netrebko has already resumed performances across Europe, with her schedule packed for the next 18 months from Berlin to Zurich.

Both artists were blacklisted in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The classical music world had imposed what Lithuania’s culture minister called a “mental quarantine” in solidarity with Kyiv.

Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi warned that Europe’s arts scene should “think twice” before welcoming Russian performers back, calling the move “very risky.”

“When you have a Russian active cultural action in [your] country, it’s immediately about disinformation and about preparing some kind of act of aggression,” Tochytskyi told Politico. “This is our own experience.”

Gergiev’s controversial return

Valery Gergiev held a propaganda concert in 2008 in the ruined Georgian city of Tskhinvali after Moscow-backed separatists seized the region. He conducted the Leningrad symphony as the audience waved Russian and Ossetian flags, later participated in Putin’s 2012 campaign ad, and signed an open letter supporting the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

After the 2022 invasion, Gergiev was dropped by orchestras from Milan and Munich to Rotterdam and Vienna. He has been sanctioned by Ukraine and has not performed in Europe since the invasion began.

The EU Commission has initiated talks with Spanish authorities to verify that no EU funds have been used for performances involving the pro-Putin conductor, according to a Commission official.

When asked about EU funding, an Ibercámera spokesperson told Politico its concerts had “never been subsidized by the European Union” but admitted seeking an arts grant from the Next Generation EU fund in December 2022.

Netrebko’s comeback

Anna Netrebko supported Putin’s 2012 campaign, met with him repeatedly, and told Russian state media in 2017 it is “impossible to think of a better president for Russia.” In 2014, she gave one million rubles to a pro-Russian separatist leader to rebuild a theater in rebel-held Donetsk.

After the invasion, major opera houses dropped her and she took a months-long hiatus. Kyiv sanctioned her in 2023.

Her comeback began at Palm Beach Opera in February 2024. Despite Ukraine’s formal protest, her Bratislava concert in April sold out.

Russian parliament chairman Vyacheslav Volodin accused her of betraying Russia by speaking against the invasion. “She has a voice, but not a conscience,” he said.

Ukraine’s response

Ukraine’s arts scene has been devastated by the war. A Russian airstrike on a Mariupol theater in March 2022 likely killed hundreds of civilians. Ukrainian opera singer Ihor Voronka died on the front lines in July, while baritone Vasyl Slipak was killed by a Russian sniper in 2016.

Ukrainian director Eugene Lavrenchuk resigned from a Jerusalem production after Russian singers were cast despite his request to avoid them.

“For us Ukrainians, a boycott of everything Russian is not a question of culture and art, it is a question of security,” he told Politico.

Ukrainian Culture Minister Tochytskyi suggested hiring Ukrainian or European performers instead. “In Ukraine, in Poland, in Sweden, we have the artist at the same or sometimes even better quality,” he said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will call for a 400% increase in air and missile defence systems during a speech in London on 9 June, Reuters reported, citing Rutte’s office.

The proposal represents one of the key priorities for the upcoming NATO summit scheduled for 24-25 June in The Hague, where alliance members will discuss enhanced defence capabilities.

The NATO chief argues that current defence levels are insufficient for maintaining credible deterrence.

“The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defence. The fact is, we must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defence plans in full,” he said.

Rutte’s call comes as European nations face mounting pressure to increase military spending following signals from US President Donald Trump about shifting American policy priorities. The Secretary General is pushing alliance members to boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP, with an additional 1.5% allocated to broader security-related expenditures.

This would meet Trump’s demand for a 5% target, which Rutte said last month he assumed would be agreed at the June summit.

Bloomberg previously reported that NATO has asked European member countries to increase ground-based air defence forces by five times, though individual targets for each nation vary and implementation timelines remain undetermined.

Several countries have already announced spending increases. Britain pledged to raise defence expenditure from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with a target of 3% at a later date. Germany indicated it will need approximately 50,000 to 60,000 additional active soldiers under new NATO requirements.

The enhanced defence call reflects ongoing concerns about regional security amid Russia’s continuing war against Ukraine.

Ukraine’s military intelligence has disclosed technical specifications of Russia’s V2U strike drone, which employs artificial intelligence for autonomous target selection and operates primarily in the Sumy Oblast, according to a report from the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

The drone’s computational system runs on a Chinese Leetop A203 minicomputer powered by an NVIDIA Jetson Orin high-speed processor assembly, intelligence officials revealed. This configuration enables the aircraft to identify and engage targets without human intervention.

“V2U is equipped with only one GPS module, which likely indicates Russians’ abandonment of satellite navigation due to Ukrainian electronic warfare systems,” the intelligence reported. “Navigation is likely implemented through ‘computer vision’ — the drone compares camera images with pre-loaded terrain photos.”

The aircraft incorporates FPV control capabilities through LTE communication, utilizing a Microdrive Tandem-4GS-OEM-11 modem-router that operates with Ukrainian mobile carrier SIM cards, according to the intelligence assessment.

Ukrainian analysts determined that despite Russian markings, the modem’s components originate from China. The drone’s construction relies predominantly on Chinese-manufactured parts, including the engine, GPS module, servos, solid-state drive, rangefinder, speed controllers, and power elements.

“A Japanese light-sensitive Sony sensor, an electromagnetic relay from Irish company Te Connectivity, and the mentioned American Jetson Orin module are installed,” intelligence officials added.

The disclosure follows Russia’s 29 May deployment of another new weapon system — the Dan-M jet-powered strike drone capable of reaching altitudes up to 9 kilometers. Military communications expert Serhiy Beskrestnov said that Dan-M represents a converted aerial target originally designed for air defense training and testing.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed on Facebook that Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces, together with other Defense Forces components, struck the Russian enterprise VNDIR-Progress on the night of 9 June.

The facility produces components for Shahed drones and is located more than 1,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

“A military-industrial complex facility where antennas for Shaheds were manufactured has been hit. The strike on the facility by at least two UAVs and the subsequent large-scale fire have been confirmed. The results of the strike are being clarified,” the General Staff reported.

The attack occurred as part of efforts aimed at “reducing the Russian capability to manufacture means of air attack,” according to Ukrainian military officials.

The General Staff specified that VNDIR-Progress is a facility of Russian military-industrial complex that manufactures navigation equipment. The enterprise produces adaptive “Komet” antennas used in Shahed-type strike UAVs, unified planning and correction modules for guided aerial bombs, and other precision weapons.

Ukrainian forces had previously targeted four Russian airports with temporary flight restrictions on the night of 9 June, while explosions were reported in Cheboksary, the capital of the Chuvash Republic. Later reports confirmed that the drone attack in Cheboksary caused a fire at the VNDIR-Progress facility, which produces “Komet” receivers that protect Russian military drones from Ukrainian electronic warfare systems. The plant suspended operations following the strike.

Russian officials are establishing the groundwork to exit international arms control agreements as part of preparations for potential military confrontation with NATO, according to recent statements from Moscow.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Kremlin newswire TASS in an interview published on 7 June that Russia’s “unilateral moratorium” on deploying land-based missiles banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is approaching its “logical conclusion.” The statement suggests Russia may openly deploy such weapons systems in the future.

Ryabkov claimed the United States and Western allies failed to appreciate or reciprocate Russia’s “restraint” following America’s 2019 withdrawal from the INF Treaty. However, his assertions that Russia continued adhering to the treaty after the US departure contradict established facts.

The United States suspended INF Treaty participation on 1 February 2019, and formally withdrew in August 2019 due to Russia’s development, testing, and deployment of intermediate-range 9M729 (SSC-8) missiles in violation of treaty terms. Russia responded by suspending its own participation on 2 February 2019.

According to the Institute for the Study of War analysis, Ryabkov’s claims about Russia’s continued treaty compliance represent part of the Kremlin’s broader campaign to portray itself as committed to de-escalation while characterizing NATO and Western nations as threats to Russian security.

The ISW assessment indicated Moscow may exploit the ongoing Ukraine war to justify renouncing participation in additional international arms control frameworks as it prepares for expanded confrontation with Western powers.

Russia’s potential withdrawal from arms control mechanisms would eliminate key constraints on weapons development and deployment that have helped maintain strategic stability since the Cold War era.

Russian forces launched a massive nighttime aerial assault on Ukraine’s Rivne Oblast early on 9 June, injuring one civilian, according to regional military administration head Oleksandr Koval.

Rivne Mayor Oleksandr Tretyak said that it was the most extensive assault on the oblast to date. Russian forces deployed dozens of Shahed drones and missiles against the oblast, Tretyak said.

Air defense forces destroyed numerous targets during the bombardment, Koval said. Defense forces and emergency services personnel are working at the strike sites, though the regional administration chief did not specify additional consequences of the Russian attack.

Explosions were heard overnight in Rivne, Dubno, and other settlements across the oblast. Ukraine’s Air Force had warned of missiles and drones heading toward Rivne and Dubno.

The assault extended beyond Rivne Oblast as Russian troops attacked Ukraine with Shahed drones from multiple directions while launching cruise and ballistic missiles. Kiev experienced explosions, with one drone striking an office building in the Darnytskyi district, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko.

The attack also affected Kyiv Oblast’s Boryspil district, where a residential building, outbuilding, and vehicle sustained damage, Kyiv Oblast police reported on Telegram.

The attack damaged a private house, car, and farm building in Boryspil district. No casualties has been reported.

Patrol officers, an investigative team, and explosives experts are working at the scene in Boryspil district. The air raid alert lasted over six hours as air defense systems operated across Kyiv and the surrounding oblast.

The overnight assault represented Russia’s latest large-scale drone attack on Ukraine, with explosions reported in multiple cities across the country.

A drone strike sparked a fire at a defense contractor in Cheboksary, Chuvashia Republic, forcing the facility to halt production of military equipment used by Russian forces in Ukraine.

AT “VNDIR-Progress” suspended operations after two drones struck the facility, according to Chuvash Republic head Oleg Nikolaev. The company manufactures “Kometa” satellite signal receivers that help Russian military drones evade Ukrainian electronic warfare systems, Telegram channel Astra reports.

“Two UAVs fell on the territory of AT ‘VNDIR’, which led to a decision to temporarily halt production to ensure employee safety,” Nikolaev said on Telegram. “One more drone each fell in fields of Cheboksary and Krasnoarmeysky municipal districts – there is no threat to people.”

The official made no mention of fire damage at the plant, noting only that there were no casualties and “all services are working in enhanced mode.”

However, Astra published photos and videos showing flames engulfing sections of the factory complex. The facility is located over 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine.

AT “VNDIR-Progress” operates as part of the “ABS Electro” manufacturing group. According to the company website, it develops and produces “scientific and technical products, software and hardware systems, automation and control systems, electrical products, electronic component base, electronic modules and radio-electronic products.”

Astra reports the plant specifically manufactures “Kometa/Kometa M” family satellite signal receivers for Russian armed forces. These devices enable Russian military units to circumvent Ukrainian electronic warfare capabilities.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed air defenses destroyed and intercepted 49 Ukrainian unmanned aircraft overnight. The ministry reported shooting down 13 drones each over Kursk and Nizhny Novgorod oblasts, nine each over Voronezh and Orel oblasts, two each over Bryansk Oblast and Chuvash Republic, and one over Belgorod Oblast.

On the night of 9 June, authorities imposed temporary flight restrictions at four Russian airports while explosions echoed through Cheboksary.

Poland’s president-elect Karol Nawrocki said he opposes Ukraine’s European Union membership at this time, according to an interview with Hungarian publication Mandiner.

“Currently, I am against Ukraine’s entry into the European Union,” Nawrocki said when asked about Brussels’ push for accelerated Ukrainian accession procedures.

The president was elected late in May, securing 50.89% of votes in the second round against Rafał Trzaskowski’s 49.11%.

He emphasized in the interview with Mandiner that Poland must support Ukraine strategically while protecting its own interests. Nawrocki argued that Ukraine must understand “other countries, including Poland and Hungary and other European countries, also have their own interests.”

He cited specific Polish concerns, including the exhumation of Volhynian massacre victims and protecting Polish agriculture from what he termed “unfair competition” with Ukraine. “During the campaign I did not agree, and as president I will not agree to unfair competition with Ukraine against Polish agriculture or the logistics sector,” Nawrocki said.

Despite his EU stance, Nawrocki described Russia as the region’s primary threat. “For me as an anti-communist, and in my opinion for the entire region, the greatest threat is the Russian Federation. This is a post-imperial, neo-communist state headed by Vladimir Putin, a war criminal,” he said.

The president-elect revealed personal stakes in the war, noting Russian authorities pursue him with criminal charges. “I am very critical of the Russian Federation, where, incidentally, they persecute me as president of the Institute of National Memory. Five years in prison camp threatens me,” according to Mandiner.

Nawrocki acknowledged Poland’s leading role in supporting Ukraine under outgoing President Andrzej Duda. However, he argued this support justifies Poland’s right to protect its interests. He called for “compromise and consensus” on contentious issues between the neighboring countries.

The president-elect, who takes office 6 August, previously said in January he saw Ukraine “neither in the EU nor in NATO.” Ukraine’s foreign ministry then rejected those comments as “biased and manipulative.”

Nawrocki’s position contrasts with the current government led by Donald Tusk, whom he criticized throughout the campaign. The president-elect promised to restore “balance” to Polish politics and serve as a voice for citizens whose concerns “are not heard in Donald Tusk’s Poland.”

Two major industrial fires erupted in Russia on 7 June, with blazes at facilities in Kstovo and Pushkino, prompting large-scale emergency responses and raising questions about the causes of the incidents.

In Kstovo, located in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, a bitumen production plant with a capacity of about 200 cubic meters caught fire, according to local emergency services. The facility is situated near the Lukoil oil refinery, one of Russia’s ten largest petroleum processing plants by design capacity.

The area of the fire reached 20,000 square meters, there is a threat of new explosions. Emergency services deployed over 100 rescuers and approximately 35 units of equipment, including a fire train, to combat the blaze.

The Russian Emergency Ministry confirmed that gas cylinders exploded during the incident. Large bitumen storage tanks were burning, with the substance spreading across approximately 100 square meters, according to official statements.

Social media users initially suggested the fire resulted from a drone attack. However, Regional government press services later stated that the fire could have started due to safety violations. No casualties have been reported from the Kstovo incident as of 17:00 local time.

A fuel and lubricants warehouse also caught fire in Pushkino, a town in the Moscow Oblast. Over 50 rescuers and 12 vehicles are involved in firefighting efforts, according to emergency reports.

Russian media outlet Mash reported that the Pushkino facility contained flammable liquids stored in barrels, gas cylinders, and pallets. The fire area initially covered 8,100 square meters but expanded significantly throughout the day.

Both incidents occurred amid ongoing tensions, with the Kstovo Oblast having experienced previous attacks earlier in 2025. In January, Ukrainian intelligence reportedly struck a Lukoil oil depot in the same town, and a Sibur petrochemical plant in Kstovo suspended shipments following what the company described as a Ukrainian drone strike.

The Lukoil refinery in Kstovo processes petroleum products that support Russian military operations, making it a strategically significant facility. The refinery has a processing capacity of 17 million tons annually and is located approximately 800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

Canada’s Defense Minister David J. McGuinty announced over $35 million Canadian (approximately $25.5 million USD) in military assistance to Ukraine during the 28th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels, according to Canada’s National Defence press service.

The aid package includes $30 million Canadian for Coyote and Bison armoured vehicles, and new equipment and ammunition from Canadian companies. This builds on Canada’s previous delivery of 64 Coyote armoured vehicles that arrived in Ukraine in December 2024.

Coyote armored vehicles provide advanced battlefield surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence-gathering capabilities, allowing commanders to make informed decisions and maintain situational awareness against Russian forces.

An additional $5 million Canadian will fund electronic warfare anti-jammer kits from Canada’s defense industry.

Warfare anti-jammer kits are vital as they protect and enhance the effectiveness of Ukraine’s precision-guided munitions and communications by countering Russian electronic warfare, ensuring that weapons and drones remain operational despite enemy jamming attempts

“As a founding member of NATO, Canada believes that the Alliance is the cornerstone of transatlantic security and we are moving quickly to accelerate our defence spending,” McGuinty said.

The minister participated in the Ramstein-format meeting at NATO headquarters, where Ukraine and partner nations agreed to establish a defense production mechanism. The US Defense Secretary did not attend the Ramstein meeting for the first time.

Canada also assumed leadership of F-16 pilot training for Ukraine through a $389 million investment over five years, including critical airfield equipment provided by Canadian industry.

Since February 2022, Canada has committed over $19.5 billion in total assistance to Ukraine, including $4.5 billion in military aid.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo called for the United States to accelerate implementation of Russia sanctions, warning that Trump administration efforts to weaken proposed measures represent “the wrong direction,” yle reported on 7 June.

“I hope that the United States will put it forward as quickly as possible and as it is,” Orpo said during a press conference in Helsinki as his National Coalition Party’s council convened.

The comments follow Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration is attempting to dilute Russia sanctions legislation pending in the Senate. According to the newspaper’s sources, administration officials have pressed Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to soften his sanctions proposal.

Orpo described Graham’s prepared package as “very strong” and emphasized the need for swift action. “Now we should get decisions,” the prime minister said.

The Finnish leader framed the sanctions push as part of broader strategy to end the war in Ukraine. “We have to force Putin to the negotiating table,” Orpo said.

According to Wall Street Journal reporting, the planned US sanctions would target key Russian officials. In recent weeks, administration representatives have contacted Graham urging him to add exceptions to the proposal and soften the legislative language.

The bipartisan Senate bill, introduced by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham with 80 co-sponsors, includes provisions for additional economic sanctions against Russia for refusing a ceasefire. The legislation proposes implementing 500-percent tariffs on goods imported from countries purchasing Russian oil.

White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt indicated that Trump will make the final decision on potential sanctions escalation against Russia.

Czech President Petr Pavel called for maximum efforts to end the war in Ukraine and prevent war from reaching the Czech Republic during a memorial ceremony honoring American soldiers killed in World War II, Ceske Noviny reported on 7 June.

Pavel made the statement while commemorating fallen US troops at monuments in the Šumava Mountains, where he honored their memory in two extinct Šumava villages, the southwestern part of the Czech Republic.

“We must remember the sacrifices of all those who contributed to our ability to live in freedom and peace,” Pavel said in Žlutice. “And although we call what happened here a tragedy, unfortunately, in the context of the entire Second World War, this was only a small episode. But in the context of the people who went through this and their relatives, it was an even greater tragedy, because it actually happened at the end of the war.”

Pavel emphasized the absurdity of deaths occurring so close to the war’s official end, with young people dying senselessly when only days remained until the war’s conclusion.

“And unfortunately, this is happening today as well,” he said. “If today there is war in Ukraine, and people are dying just as senselessly, just as absurdly, as it was here, for reasons that many of us do not even understand, that is why we must do everything in our power not only to end the war in Ukraine, but also to prevent it from reaching us, as it was in the past.”

At Gruberg, Pavel added that it was important to remember what led to the start of World War II in the 1930s.

“If we are not careful enough, if we do not respond to these signals in time, then perhaps our successors will wonder how it is possible that we did not see how this happened,” Pavel said. “Just as we can wonder today when we look at the 1930s and ask ourselves how it is possible that they did not see it then.”

The president’s remarks come as European officials express growing concern about Russian military intentions. EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius shares Western intelligence assessments that a Russian attack on EU states could occur within the next few years.

Recent evaluations by Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and Armed Forces indicate Russia views itself in systemic war with the West and is preparing for a major war with NATO.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Russian truck drivers who unknowingly transported Ukrainian drones into Russia had no knowledge of their cargo’s true purpose during the large-scale attack on Russian military airfields.

Operation Spiderweb, carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service, was a large-scale surprise Ukrainian drone strike on five Russian airbases that involved 117 drones covertly smuggled into Russia and launched from hidden compartments in trucks. The attack destroyed or damaged over 40 strategic bombers, amounting to about $7 bn in losses and about one-third of Russia’s long-range strike fleet used for attacks on Ukraine.

“They didn’t know anything. They just did their job,” Zelenskyy told ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz in an exclusive interview airing on This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

The drivers transported what they believed were mobile cottages and other containers, unaware that the structures contained drones equipped to assault Russian airfields and damage military hardware worth billions of dollars.

Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukrainian Security Service used exclusively domestic weapons for the operation.

“I wanted very much to use only what we produce and to have the separation [be] very clear,” the Ukrainian president said.

Operation web details

On 1 June, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) conducted Operation Web, targeting Russian military airfields at Olenya, Belaya, Dyagilevo, and Ivanovo with drone strikes. The operation targeted Russian aircraft including A-50 early warning planes, Tu-95 strategic bombers, and Tu-22M3 supersonic bombers.

The operation reportedly damaged 41 Russian aircraft, representing 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at their home bases.

The operation required over 18 months of preparation, according to SBU sources. Ukrainian intelligence first smuggled FPV drones into Russia, followed by mobile wooden houses. The drones were later concealed under the roofs of these structures, which were opened remotely at the start of the operation to launch the aircraft.

Aftermath and investigation

All individuals who assisted in organizing the operation have been reportedly evacuated from Russia. However, Russian authorities have issued a warrant for 37-year-old Ukrainian-born Artem Timofeev, allegedly the owner of the trucks used to transport the drones.

The Russian Telegram channel Baza, linked to Russian law enforcement, reported interrogations of truck drivers who launched drones during the SBU’s large-scale attack on Russian airfields. The drivers reportedly believed they were transporting prefabricated houses and identified the truck owner as a man named Artem.

Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian secret services extracted all operation participants from Russian territory following the successful mission.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will likely meet with US President Donald Trump during the G7 summit in Canada, according to the head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak. The summit takes place from June 15-17 in Kananaskis, Alberta.

Yermak revealed that a recent Ukrainian delegation visit to Washington served as preparation for the anticipated meeting between the two presidents.

“Our visit was preparation including for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Trump on the margins of the G7 meeting in Canada, which will take place in 10 days. This was one of the important steps in preparing for this conversation,” Yermak said.

The Ukrainian delegation, headed by First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, met with approximately half of the Senate members and leaders of key committees in both chambers of the US Congress. During these meetings, Ukrainian officials explained Ukraine’s position on the war and sanctions against Russia.

According to Yermak, there is “clear understanding” in Congress of the need to support Ukraine. The delegation  reportedly detailed Kremlin’s true intentions regarding the continuation of the war to American partners.

The previous meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump occurred on 26 April in the Vatican, when dozens of world leaders attended the funeral of Pope Francis.

Regarding military assistance, Yermak said  that Ukraine is prepared to purchase weapons from the United States, though Congress believes Washington can continue providing military aid to Kyiv. The delegation emphasized Ukraine’s readiness for defense procurement while lawmakers expressed support for continued assistance.

The G7 summit represents the first formal meeting opportunity for Zelenskyy and Trump since the latter’s inauguration as US president in January 2025.

The Netherlands has set a deadline for third-country nationals who arrived from Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022 to leave the country, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) announced on 6 June.

As of early 2025, approximately 6.3 to 6.7 million Ukrainians have fled to European countries following the Russian invasion. Around 4.3 to 5.4 million registered as refugees across Europe. As of February 2025, there are about 120,000 Ukrainian refugees in Netherlands, according to the Statistics Netherlands.

Starting 4 September 2025, third-country nationals who came from Ukraine will no longer have the right to temporary protection in the Netherlands and will have four weeks to leave the country, the IND explained.

The decision affects approximately 1,000 people, according to the service. They will receive letters with relevant information next week.

“The exception applies to those who have residence permits or are undergoing asylum procedures, or who applied for permanent residence permits before 4 September,” according to the statement.

The ruling follows an April decision in the Netherlands that authorities could stop providing asylum to third-country nationals who arrived from Ukraine fleeing Russia’s full-scale invasion – such as students or labor migrants.

The IND’s Dutch-language statement provides additional context on the legal background. “Third-country nationals are people from outside the EU who temporarily stayed in Ukraine, for example on a student visa, and fled to the Netherlands together with Ukrainians after the war broke out,” the service explained.

Since April last year, a freeze measure had been in place for this group because it was unclear whether temporary protection could be terminated for them. This allowed them to retain rights to accommodation, municipal services and work.

The end of the freeze measure means these people must leave the Netherlands within four weeks from 4 September. Exceptions apply to those with residence permits, ongoing asylum procedures, or who submitted applications for regular residence permits before 4 September.

The EU Commission recently proposed extending temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees until March 2027 to ensure continued legal certainty and support across all member states. Individual countries have not terminated the protection but may adjust national conditions.

French automotive and defence companies will establish drone production facilities on Ukrainian soil, Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on 6 June, describing the arrangement as a “win-win” partnership with Kyiv.

“We are launching a completely unprecedented partnership where a major French car manufacturing company – I won’t give the name because it’s up to them to announce it – will ally with a French defence SME to arm production lines in Ukraine to be capable of producing drones,” Lecornu told LCI television channel.

The minister did not specify the type of drones to be manufactured but confirmed they will serve Ukrainian forces while also benefiting French military units “to have permanent tactical, operational training that matches the reality” of the Ukraine war. Ukrainian forces will provide feedback on battlefield drone usage in return.

According to Lecornu, French citizens will not be required to work on the Ukrainian production line. He credited Ukrainian expertise, saying that Ukrainians “are better than us in the capacity to imagine drones and especially to develop the doctrine that goes around them.”

Ukraine plans to deploy over 4.5 million drones in 2025, with drones accounting for 70% of Russian equipment destruction at the front, Le Monde reports. The French military, which operates several thousand drones, seeks to close its capability gap in this domain.

The announcement follows discussions between Ukrainian and French defence ministers in Brussels on 5 June regarding joint weapons production for Ukrainian defence needs. At the 28th Ramstein meeting at NATO headquarters, Ukraine and partner states agreed to establish a defence production mechanism.

 Several European partners have recently invested in Ukraine’s drone production

Finland established a drone manufacturing factory in cooperation with Ukrainian partners to produce drones for both Ukraine and the EU, with mass production starting in early 2025. The Netherlands announced a €700 million ($798 mn) investment focused on advancing drone technology and supporting Ukraine’s defense industry. The UK is also investing hundreds of millions of dollars to scale up drone production for Ukraine in 2025. Norway has redirected funds to support Ukrainian-made drone production. 

Independent data organization ACLED systematically reduces Russian Defense Ministry casualty claims from hundreds to just 10 deaths when cross-verification fails, according to researchers tracking the war in Ukraine.

The organization, which employs over 200 specialists documenting conflicts worldwide, maintains a team of six researchers in Ukraine processing a fixed list of sources daily.

“In some countries, only a few sources report on war. Ukraine has many sources. But this doesn’t always make analysis easier: repetition, intensity and oversaturation make identifying new trends difficult,” Senior analyst Nikita Gurkov said.

ACLED’s methodology involves checking Russian government sources, Ukrainian government sources, and independent media, but uses a broader range of materials for verification. Researchers examine additional resources, study photo and video materials, and employ OSINT methods to confirm or refute data from primary sources.

“We simply reduce these numbers automatically from 150 or 300 to 10, so as not to create false trends,” explains Olga Polishchuk, ACLED’s research director for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The organization marks such entries with low accuracy ratings and mandatory notes indicating the Russian Defense Ministry as the source.

ACLED’s database shows the stark difference between Russian claims and verified data. A chart tracking the period from January 2024 to April 2025 displays Russian Defense Ministry casualty claims in gray and ACLED’s corresponding database entries in red. The visual demonstrates how the organization systematically reduces unverified Russian numbers to a standard 10 deaths when no independent confirmation exists.

ACLED’s database shows the stark difference between Russian claims and verified data. When Russian forces claimed massive Ukrainian casualties that other sources could not confirm, the organization entered the events but reduced death tolls to 10 with notes about the Russian Defense Ministry source.

The organization treats Ukrainian government reports as biased but finds them easier to verify due to independent Ukrainian and international media operating in Ukraine-controlled territory. ACLED often confirm the statements of the Ukrainian side. The difference is most often due to the fact that the Ukrainian side reports the total number of killed and wounded, while ACLED only reports deaths.

ACLED reportedly does not directly cooperate with the Ukrainian government for data collection, relying instead on public sources: official reports, media, social networks, and partner organizations.

Each researcher processes at least 100-200 events weekly. When different versions of events exist and researchers cannot confirm details, they choose the most conservative option, such as lower casualty numbers. Events that cannot be verified at all receive notes stating “number of casualties unknown.”

“If you want to compare data from December 2024 and May 2025, you must be sure we collected them the same way, and didn’t add new sources between those months, which could distort trends,” Polishchuk said.

When ACLED expands its source list, researchers first adjust previous period data based on new sources before publishing updates publicly, typically in six-month blocks.

The war’s scale presents unique challenges for analysts. Many settlements, high event concentration, and intensive information flow create both advantages and obstacles for documentation efforts, according to Gurkov.

A policy document presented in Brussels on 26 May calls for the European Union to assume leadership of the international sanctions coalition and strengthen economic pressure on Russia.

Western countries imposed extensive sanctions on Russia in response to its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, aiming to cripple Russia’s economy, restrict access to finance and technology, and pressure Moscow to change its political behavior.

The “White Paper: The Future of European Leadership in the Economic Deterrence of Aggression” analyzes the achievements and vulnerabilities of EU sanctions policy while proposing practical tools to enhance the bloc’s economic security.

The document, prepared by the National Sanctions Coalition, outlines specific instruments for both responding to Russian aggression and countering future threats. Key recommendations include creating a unified EU sanctions body, implementing an analogue to the US entity list, strengthening control over high-risk goods exports, introducing extraterritorial (secondary) sanctions for circumvention assistance, and maintaining sanctions against Russia’s defense sector and critical infrastructure even after hostilities end.

“The sanctions instruments proposed in the White Paper are aimed at ending the Russian war in Ukraine as quickly as possible — by reducing Russia’s income and limiting its military-industrial potential,” said Denis Gutyk, executive director of the Council of Economic Security of Ukraine and co-author of the document.

According to the white paper, Russia has earned approximately €887 billion ($1,014.4 bn) from energy exports since February 2022, significantly exceeding the €211 billion ($241.4 bn) spent on its war effort during the same period. The document notes that from February 2022 to early 2025, the European Union spent more than €207 billion ($236.8 bn) on imports of Russian fossil fuels despite existing sanctions.

Tomáš Šindelář, Deputy Head of the Sanctions Unit at the European External Action Service (EEAS), supported the nitiative outlined in the White Paper. Using the example of countering Russia’s shadow fleet, he explained how EU sanctions instruments have already evolved.

“Initially, we focused exclusively on ships, but recent analysis showed that there is an entire ecosystem of operators around the shadow fleet — insurance companies, fleet managers, service providers,” Šindelář said. “And if these entities are also seriously affected by sanctions, this allows disrupting the operation of the entire mechanism while maintaining pressure on the fleet itself.”

The 17th sanctions package became the first where Europe applied such an approach, according to Šindelář. Europe more than doubled the number of vessels under sanctions and for the first time included in the restrictions not only the vessels themselves, but also related operators — not only in Russia, but also in third countries.

The white paper identifies several challenges facing EU sanctions policy, including limited extraterritorial application of restrictive measures, consensus requirements that slow decision-making, and heterogeneous enforcement approaches across member states. The document said that while the US has imposed 494 secondary sanctions targeting entities across 57 countries since the invasion began, the EU’s sanctions regime cannot yet be regarded as fully extraterritorial.

According to the document, approximately 70% of Russia’s oil exports are now transported via a “shadow fleet” of over 1,000 vessels, of which only 153 are currently subject to EU sanctions. The paper warns that more than 72% of these vessels are over 15 years old, increasing risks of mechanical failures, collisions, and oil spills that could cost coastal states up to €1.6 billion ($1.8 bn) in damages and cleanup efforts.

Russia uses a “shadow fleet” of vessels to evade sanctions by frequently changing ship names and flags, turning off AIS tracking, using complex ownership structures, and conducting ship-to-ship oil transfers at sea to obscure the origin of cargo.

The white paper also addresses the issue of frozen Russian assets. Approximately €210 billion ($239 bn) in Russian Central Bank assets have been frozen within the EU, with more than half held at Euroclear Bank. Despite substantial volumes of frozen assets, the document identifies legal challenges to confiscation, including the principle of sovereign immunity under international law.

Among specific recommendations, the document calls for adopting EU Council decisions to confiscate Russian sovereign assets and transfer them to support Ukraine.

Earlier, the Baltic states, Northern European countries, and Finland have openly called for the immediate confiscation of frozen Russian assets, with Finland’s finance minister Riikka Purra urging the EU to proceed with seizure.

France has also proposed seizing assets if Russia breaches a future ceasefire in Ukraine, while key EU officials like Valdis Dombrovskis and Maria Luís Albuquerque support the idea, though major states like Germany and France remain cautious about full confiscation.

Russia’s production of Shahed drones and their imitators reached approximately 170 units per day as of May 2025, Ukrainska Pravda reported on 4 June, citing Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR).

The country plans to increase this output to 190 drones daily by the end of the year, according to the GUR.

The intelligence agency said that drone technology has evolved significantly since 2022. “The configurations of the Shahed in 2022 and 2025 differ substantially,” GUR reported, highlighting several key modifications introduced over the past year alone.

Russia has substantially modified the drones’ warheads beyond standard high-explosive and fragmentation variants. Shaheds now carry combined cumulative-fragmentation-high-explosive warheads, as well as cumulative-fragmentation-high-explosive-incendiary versions, according to GUR. The intelligence directorate explains that different warhead types are selected for specific targets to maximize damage.

The explosive payload has increased from 50 to 90 kilograms, according to GUR. Some drones now feature Starlink terminals, enabling real-time control of the aircraft.

Foreign journalists recently reported possible connections between Shaheds and Ukrainian mobile networks. The Economist claimed that Russian drones operate through Telegram bots using Ukrainian SIM cards. However, Ukrainian military radio technology specialist Serhiy Flash later refuted this information.

Russia has upgraded its electronic warfare resistance technology on Shaheds, according to GUR. The country began protecting signal receivers with specialized CRPA antennas capable of ignoring false satellite signals.

Russia received its first hundreds of Shaheds from Iran in 2022. By summer 2023, the country began independent production of these drones at a facility located 1,200 kilometers from the front line in the Alabuga special economic zone in Yelabuga city. The plant produces a localized version of the Iranian drone under the designation Geran-2.

Drones play a crucial role in the Russo-Ukraine war by providing real-time intelligence, conducting precision strikes, disrupting logistics, and supporting frontline troops, with Ukraine leveraging mass-produced, low-cost drones to inflict significant damage on Russian forces and infrastructure. Both sides employ a wide variety of drones for reconnaissance, attack, electronic warfare, and supply missions, fundamentally reshaping the battlefield and warfare tactics.

The Netherlands has committed €400 million ($456 million) in maritime security assistance to Ukraine, including over 100 vessels and 50 maritime drones, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced before the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels on 4 June, according ro European Pravda.

The new support package reportedly will include more than 100 ships, patrol boats, transport boats, interceptors, special operations vessels. That is, a wide range of more than 100 vessels, Brekelmans said.

European Pravda also reported that the comprehensive package extends beyond vessels to include over 50 maritime drones, weapons systems, sensors, spare parts, and training programs for Ukrainian specialists. Brekelmans characterized the aid as “a complete package to strengthen Ukraine’s maritime security.”

The Dutch defense minister linked the assistance to escalating Russian maritime threats. “This is very important because we see that Russian threats, both in the Black Sea and around Kherson, are growing,” Brekelmans stated. “It is very important for Ukraine to protect itself from this.”

The Netherlands positioned the maritime aid within broader strategic objectives of supporting Ukraine’s shipping freedom and preserving commercial sea routes, Brekelmans explained.

This announcement follows the Netherlands’ completion of F-16 fighter jet deliveries to Ukraine. The Dutch Defense Ministry confirmed in late May that it had dispatched the final batch of 24 F-16 fighters designated for Ukraine. The Netherlands and Romania are establishing a joint training center for Ukrainian F-16 technical personnel.

The maritime security package comes amid political instability in the Netherlands. Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced his resignation after the governing coalition lost its parliamentary majority. The coalition collapse was triggered by Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom’s withdrawal over disagreements on stricter anti-migration measures.

Russian forces launched a missile strike on 4 June, targeting a training unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in Poltava Oblast, according to the Ground Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Prior to this, Poltava Oblast Governor Volodymyr Kohut informed about an explosion in the Poltava community.

The attack resulted in wounded personnel, according to the Ground Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Military servicemen were conducting training exercises at a training ground when the strike occurred.

“Thanks to timely security measures, including dispersal of personnel, use of shelters and adherence to protocols during air raid alerts, it was possible to prevent a large number of casualties,” the Ground Forces Command said.

A special commission has been established to investigate the circumstances of the incident and assess the damage. The commission’s findings will be made public after the investigation is completed.

The strike follows a previous attack on 1 June, when Russian forces hit another Ground Forces training unit, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 60.

Following that tragedy, Ground Forces Commander Mykhailo Drapatyi submitted his resignation, saying he “failed to fully ensure the implementation of his orders” as commander.

Drapatyi later remained in his position within the military.

Ukrainian media professionals and civil society organizations have issued a joint statement, calling for the inclusion of Ukrainian journalists and the removal of some Russian speakers from the True Story Festival programme, which is scheduled to take place in Bern on 20-22 June 2025.

The True Story Festival in Bern is an international journalism event held annually that brings together reporters from around the world to present and discuss their investigative and feature stories.

The signatories, including the Institute of Mass Information, expressed concern about the festival’s programme structure, particularly in sections related to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

According to the statement, at least five representatives from the Russian Federation – the aggressor country that has been waging war against Ukraine since 2014 – are listed as speakers. Meanwhile, Ukrainian journalists representing the victim nation are entirely absent from the programme.

“This is not only deeply unfair. This is ethically unacceptable,” the statement reads. “We value the contribution of independent Russian journalists to exposing the crimes of the regime. But to speak only about Russia, or about Ukraine without the participation of Ukrainian journalists – this is a distortion of reality. This is the risk of losing the truth in reporting – the very truth that the True Story festival is called to seek.”

The authors criticized specific aspects of the planned programme. They highlighted plans to once again tell the story of “Putin’s children’s lives” (Ilya Rozhdestvensky’s story from September 2024) instead of investigations into the kidnapping of thousands of Ukrainian children and cultural genocide in occupied territories.

Russia deported at least 19,000 to 20,000 children since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The statement also questioned giving a platform to Dmitry Muratov to voice “challenges of the independent Russian press” while Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchina was killed in Russian captivity and thousands of Ukrainian colleagues and hundreds of media outlets have suffered from Russian aggression.

“Tell about ‘Wagner fighters’ and ‘prisoners who returned from the Russian-Ukrainian war’, that is, about war criminals – instead of telling about the fate of tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians who are illegally held in Russian prisons. Unfortunately, such plans look inadequate and secondary,” said in the statement.

The signatories presented three specific demands to the festival organizers:

• They called for the immediate inclusion of Ukrainian journalists who cover the consequences of war, crimes against civilians, genocidal practices, child deportations and the disappearance of reporters.
• They demanded a review of session focus to avoid replacing the context of war with stories about the “internal pain” of the aggressor state, and to remove at least some Russian speakers from the festival programme.
• They requested ensuring balance and representation of victims, as required by basic standards of ethical journalism.

“True Story Festival should be a place for truth. We are convinced that only polyphony, honesty and sensitivity to context can preserve trust in journalism as a profession,” they said.

The statement was signed by writer Oles Ilchenko, Doctor of Philological Sciences and journalist Alla Boyko, member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine Iryna Mykhalkiv-Vinnyk, the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy, Mediarukh, Detector Media, and the Institute of Mass Information.

US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg warned that Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian strategic aviation airfields have increased escalation risks.

The United States works to prevent such scenarios, Kellogg told Fox News.

The statement comes after a successful Ukrainian Spiderweb operation on 1 June that targeted four Russian military airbases deep inside Russian territory. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) used 117 AI-powered FPV drones, smuggled into Russia hidden in trucks. The attack reportedly destroyed and damaged over 40 strategic aircraft—including Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers and A-50 radar planes—used in attacks on Ukrainian cities. The operation inflicted an estimated $7 billion in damage, hitting about 34% of Russia’s strategic missile carriers at their bases.

Ukraine’s Operation Spider’s Web targeted Russia’s nuclear triad components. However, the US special envoy warned about the consequences of such attack, saying,“When you attack an opponent’s part of the national survival system – which is their triad, their nuclear triad – that means your risk level goes up because you don’t know what the other is going to do.”

The envoy called the operation bold but risky. “It’s a very emboldened act. And when you do that, it’s very clear that the risk levels will go up. That is what we try to avoid,” he stated.

Kellogg emphasized the psychological impact over material damage. The strikes embarrassed Russia and showed Ukraine’s resolve. “Ukraine is not lying down on this, basically saying: we can play this game too,” he explained.

Kellogg said that this operation demonstrated for Russian leadership and military Ukraine’s capability to hit targets deep inside Russian territory.

Earlier, US Senator Richard Blumenthal compared the Ukrainian strikes to the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Operation Spider’s Web as proof of Ukraine’s tactical decision-making abilities.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend a meeting of 50 defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels on 4 June.

This marks the first time in three years a Pentagon chief has skipped the Ukraine Defense Contact Group gathering since 2022, when the group was established on US initiative

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group will convene at NATO headquarters on 4 June, three years after the  first gather.

The Contact Group initially brought together 40 countries. NATO and EU members joined with international partners to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.

The United Kingdom and Germany will convene the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters this year. The previous Ramstein format meeting took place on 11 April in Brussels. The UK and Germany also convened that meeting.

The Trump administration has distanced itself from the group. The UK and Germany took over leadership of the group in February. This happened after Hegseth said the US would no longer play a role in the monthly meetings. 

Hegseth will be in Brussels for the meeting of NATO defense ministers on 5 June. His place at 4 June Ukraine Defense Contact Group will be taken by US ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker, according to a defense official and two people familiar with their plans.

The Ukraine gathering comes three weeks before NATO’s annual summit in The Netherlands on 24-25 June. Leaders from across the alliance will attend that two-day event. President Donald Trump will likely command an outsize presence as European leaders wait for the administration’s Europe and Russia policies to come into focus.

Ambassador Whitaker said last month that the US will begin talks with allies later this year about potential troop withdrawals from Europe. Nothing has been decided. Hegseth warned during his first visit to NATO in February that the American military presence in Europe was “not forever.” The comment sent ripples of concern throughout the alliance.

Hegseth also admonished European leaders for not spending enough on defense during that meeting. He controversially laid down preconditions for Ukraine to meet before entering peace talks with Russia. These included forgoing an invitation to join NATO and not asking for a return to its pre-invasion borders.

Britain will deliver 100,000 drones to Ukraine this year in a tenfold increase from 2024 targets, the UK Ministry of Defence announced on 4 June.

The country delivered more than 10,000 drones to Ukraine last year.

The record £350 million ($474 mn) investment in drones forms part of Britain’s £4.5 billion ($6 bn) military support package for 2025, according to the ministry statement.

“The UK is stepping up its support for Ukraine by delivering hundreds of thousands more drones this year,” Defence Secretary John Healey said at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels.

Ukrainian forces have proven drone warfare’s effectiveness against Russian attacks, prompting Britain to double its investment in drone technology with British defence companies.

The announcement came as Healey joined German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to host Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov at the 50-nation contact group meeting at NATO headquarters.

Britain completed delivery of 140,000 artillery munitions to Ukraine since January 2025, Healey confirmed. The country will spend an additional £247 million ($334 mn) this year training Ukrainian forces through Operation Interflex, which has trained more than 55,000 Ukrainian recruits since 2022.

Ukrainian units confirmed that UK-provided drones helped stabilize frontline positions by repelling Russian attacks. Defence Intelligence data showed drones currently kill more people than artillery on Ukraine’s frontlines.

British-made drones include first-person view models for precision strikes, interceptor drones for air defence, and fiber-optic drones resistant to Russian electronic jamming. Low-cost explosive-dropping drones and FPV systems account for 60-70% of damage to Russian equipment, according to the ministry.

Britain will invest £40 million ($54 mn) in NATO’s NSATU mission trust fund for Ukraine to provide vehicle spare parts, fuel, training and combat supplies.

Ukrainian drones reportedly attacked Russia’s Kursk Oblast overnight on 4 June.

Three unmanned aircraft were spotted over the city of Rylsk, according to the Russian Telegram channel Mash.

One drone fell on a private house in Rylsk, causing a fire. A 66-year-old woman was injured in the attack, oblast governor Alexander Khinshtein said.

Another Russian Telegram channel Shot wrote that local residents heard several explosions near Rylsk and the village of Krupets. Russian air defense shot down several unmanned aircraft, including FPV drones, the channel claimed.

Local Telegram channels published video footage showing a fire that allegedly resulted from the attack. No official information about casualties and damage was available.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that air defense systems shot down seven aircraft-type drones overnight. Four drones were destroyed over occupied Crimea. Two were shot down over Kursk Oblast. One drone was intercepted in Belgorod Oblast.

Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck a Russian military command post in Rylsk on 31 January. The General Staff called this operation part of systematic work to destroy Russian command posts. The goal was to deprive Russia of the ability to coordinate combat operations and logistics effectively.

A water supply tower and treatment facilities were also targeted. The water supply system continued functioning despite the strikes, the governor said. Explosions were also heard in the village of Terekhivka.

Massive drone attacks hit Russia on 2 June. Explosions were heard in various Russian cities, including Lipetsk and Kursk.

This also comes after a successful Ukrainian Spiderweb operation on 1 June that targeted four Russian military airbases deep inside Russian territory. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) used 117 AI-powered FPV drones, smuggled into Russia hidden in trucks.

The attack reportedly destroyed and damaged over 40 strategic aircraft—including Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers and A-50 radar planes—used in attacks on Ukrainian cities.

The operation inflicted an estimated $7 billion in damage, hitting about 34% of Russia’s strategic missile carriers at their bases.

Russian forces launched a massive drone assault on Ukraine overnight on 4 June, deploying 95 strike drones and decoy aircraft across multiple oblasts.

Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 61 Russian drones, according to the Air Force Command.

The attack targeted Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and Donetsk Oblast. Russian aircraft struck seven locations across the country.

Russian forces attack Ukraine daily with various types of weapon. Russian leadership denies that its army deliberately targets civilian infrastructure during the full-scale war, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, schools, kindergartens, and energy and water supply facilities. Ukrainian authorities and international organizations classify these strikes as war crimes by the Russian Federation and emphasize their deliberate nature.

Kharkiv under fire

Kharkiv bore the brunt of the attack. Russian forces used nine Shahed drones and two missiles of undetermined type against the city, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

The attack lasted 90 minutes. Russian forces struck civilian infrastructure, enterprises, residential buildings, a car service station, and a park across seven locations in Novobavarian district.

According to the Situation Center, missile strikes occurred in the Novobavarian district at a civilian enterprise.

A 30-year-old man was injured in the attack, according to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

The strikes damaged a civilian enterprise workshop and caused a major fire at another facility. A car service station burned down along with a private house, garage, and outbuilding. Seven nearby homes sustained damage.

Ground crews found an unexploded Shahed drone. The attack damaged electrical networks and burned 600 square meters of grass.

Odesa hit by drone swarm

Russian forces conducted a mass drone attack on Odesa overnight. Air defenses destroyed most targets, but civilian infrastructure sustained damage, Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said.

“There is damage to civilian infrastructure in the city, including residential buildings and a car service station,” Kiper said.

One person suffered a leg injury. Nine people sought psychological support following the attack, according to govenror.

Sumy Oblast factory targeted

Russian drones struck a bioethanol production plant in Sumy Oblast’s Lebedyn community. The attack caused fires and damaged cisterns, leading to depressurization and molasses spillage.

Approximately 10 private houses were destroyed in the assault. Specialists are assessing environmental consequences of the incident. No casualties were reported, according to Sumy Oblast Military Administration.

At least 12 drone impacts were recorded in the oblast during the night attack.

Dnipro Oblast

The Russian forces attacked Dnipro Oblast with artillery and drones, overnight into 4 June.

The attack damaged utility company, cars, medical institution in the oblast, according to Dnipro Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak. There were reportedly no injured.

Air  defense response

Ukrainian forces deployed aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units, drone systems, and mobile fire groups to repel the assault. The defense destroyed 36 drones with fire weapons and neutralized 25 others through electronic warfare systems.

Russia has conducted nightly drone attacks on Ukraine. The previous night of 2-3 June, Russian forces launched over 110 drones from five directions.

The attack came a day after Ukraine struck the Kerch Strait Bridge, a key Russian military bridge connecting occupied Crimea to mainland Russia. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) confirmed on 3 June that it carried out an underwater operation to damage the bridge, marking the third Ukrainian strike on the Russian-built structure.

The Russian Defence Ministry claimed Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on occupied Crimea on the evening of 31 May.

Russian air defense systems allegedly destroyed one Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle around 6:45 pm, according to the ministry’s statement.

The Russian military did not specify the exact location of the incident and provided no evidence to support their claims. Kyiv has not commented on these allegations.

The Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported two explosions in the Dzhankoi district at 6:45 pm. Earlier, Russian monitoring channels had warned of drone attack threats in the areas of Dzhankoi, Chongar, and the southern part of the Arabat Spit.

Explosions have been regularly heard in Crimea since August 2022. In August 2023, Head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate Kyrylo Budanov said that Ukrainian forces have “the ability to reach any point of occupied Crimea to strike the enemy.”

Budanov said there are “many different options” for Crimea’s de-occupation, but added that “without military, combat actions this is impossible.”

Read also:

• Second Russian pocket emerges in Sumy Oblast near Oleksandria village – Deep State
• “Not very serious”: Zelenskyy criticizes Russia’s lack of clarity before talks
• Swedish music competition secretly funded Russian war supporters, investigation finds

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said neither Ukraine nor its partners have clear information about Russia’s agenda for upcoming negotiations in Istanbul scheduled for 2 June, calling the situation “not very serious.”

“As of now, there is no clear information about what the Russians are going to Istanbul with. We don’t have it, Türkiye doesn’t have it, the USA doesn’t have it either, nor do other partners. And so far this looks not very serious,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address on 31 May.

The comments come ahead of a second round of peace talks proposed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. After the first round of direct talks on 16 May in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine agreed to prepare memorandums detailing their conditions for peace. Lavrov announced that the Russian delegation would present its list of ceasefire conditions in Türkiye.

Ukraine has already transmitted its demands to Russia and called on Moscow to do the same. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov labeled Kyiv’s request as “unconstructive.”

Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is preparing new diplomatic steps with European and American partners. The president maintains daily contact with allies, he said.

“Everyone in the world wants diplomacy to work and for there to be a real ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said. “Everyone wants serious peace, and Russia must go for it. This is exactly what the agenda of meetings should be. We gave our agenda. We hope that the American side will be decisive on sanctions to help peace.”

Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak confirmed on 30 May that Ukraine is ready to participate in the next meeting with the Russian delegation in Istanbul.

Kyiv said it was committed to the search for peace, but that it was waiting for a memorandum from the Russian side setting out their proposals.

The upcoming talks follow the first direct high-level negotiations between the two countries since 2022. The Russian delegation said after the meeting that it was satisfied with the talks and that negotiations will continue with each side presenting its detailed vision for a ceasefire.

Read aslo:

• Russia “significantly” intensifies activity in Zaporizhzhia sector – Syrskyi
• “Let’s get real”: European officials abandon hope for US backing in Ukraine
• Who is dancing and where if journalism is dead? Trump and Orbán know

Russian forces have advanced near the village of Oleksandriia in Sumy Oblast, DeepState, a Ukrainian group of military analysts, reported on 31 May.

The analytical project marked part of the territory near the border village as occupied by 30 May, with another section designated as “gray zone.”

The situation changed rapidly over 24 hours. On 29 May, the occupied area was minimal, according to DeepState. Ukrainian forces controlled territory on the other side of the border. By 30 May, Russian forces had seized additional ground near Oleksandria.

This creates another pocket of Russian-controlled territory in Sumy Oblast. The area joins the existing Zhuravka-Novenke-Veselivka-Basivka section under Russian control.

DeepState also reported the occupation of Yelyzavetivka in Donetsk Oblast.

Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on 31 May that Russian forces “have ramped up assault operations across key fronts in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Sumy oblasts.”

Russian forces have continued cross-border raids, shelling, and sabotage missions in Sumy Oblast. On 29 May, State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said Russia had amassed “sufficient forces” in neighboring Kursk Oblast to launch an incursion into Sumy.

Ukrainian forces are reinforcing high-risk areas with reserves and intensifying firepower to repel attacks, according to Syrskyi.

Read also:

• Lithuania at risk: Ex-CIA chief warns Russia to target Baltic State after Ukraine
• Erdogan urgently calls Zelenskyy as Istanbul braces for Russia peace talks
• Russia throws down ceasefire conditions – Istanbul awaits Ukraine’s reply

The Stockholm International Music Competition maintains extensive Russian ties despite Swedish government directives prohibiting cultural cooperation with Russian actors, an SVT investigation revealed.

According to the investigation, the competition employs Russian jury members, accepts fees through sanctioned Russian banks, and partners with state institutions supporting Ukraine’s invasion. Fourteen jury members work for Russian state organizations that publicly back the war.

Stockholm’s Historical Museum terminated its agreement after learning of the connections. “This contradicts government policy,” the museum announced. However, Nacka municipal music school continues hosting events this week.

Competition co-founder Galina Erngren denied political involvement. “There is no politics in the competitions. It’s just music, nothing more,” she told SVT.

The investigation found Russian participants pay entry fees directly to Sberbank accounts due to Swift sanctions. Co-founder Dmitry Mikhailov, registered in St. Petersburg, launched the Stockholm competition in 2010 after creating the original Russian version.

SVT identified 18 of 47 jury members with Russian origins. Fourteen work at state institutions directly supporting the invasion, including Herzen University, which sends humanitarian aid to the front, and the Mariinsky Theatre, which provides free tickets to soldiers since 2023.

The Swedish government banned cultural cooperation with Russian actors in 2022. The competition has operated annually in Stockholm for 15 years.

Read also:

• The Telegraph: Ukrainian drones prove most tanks are garbage – but not all are dead yet
• Lithuania at risk: Ex-CIA chief warns Russia to target Baltic State after Ukraine
• Who is dancing and where if journalism is dead? Trump and Orbán know
• SBU detains four Kherson residents who worked for Russians during occupation

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States failed to do enough to stop Russia’s war and restore peace in Ukraine in 2014, European Pravda reported on 31 May.

Pompeo said US representatives could not prevent Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s plans or stop the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 despite all efforts, Pompeo said during the second international Black Sea Security Forum on 30 May.

“I regret that there was not more done in 2014, that there was not more done in 2022, and that deterrence was lost,” he said. “And now the challenge is putting it back to a place. I was adjacent to the Minsk conversations (…) We’ve been at the negotiating table an awful lot, and there was no hammer.” 

Pompeo acknowledged that it was a “different time” and Russia’s aggression was “not as massive,” but he pointed out that the documents discussed during the Minsk negotiations were almost identical to what is being discussed now, according to the media report.

“That must remind us all: when Vladimir Putin lays down his weapons for a moment, you can’t go back to Russian gas,” Pompeo emphasised. “When Vladimir Putin lays down his weapons for a moment, there can’t be life as it once was.” 

The former Secretary of State assured that the US cannot afford to abandon Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

Pompeo drew attention to the fact that many Republican Party members “expressed views that contradict America’s deep national interests on this issue.”

“But I think they all also know that, in the end, there is no walking away from this for the United States. It is not the case where you can say, ‘Godspeed, you’re on your own’. This will continue to chase all of us who believe in basic human dignity, property rights, all the indicia of sovereign nationhood that we will ultimately come to prevail,” Pompeo said.

During Pompeo’s tenure as US Secretary of State, the “Crimean Declaration” was adopted and published on 25 July 2018, ten days after the official meeting between Trump (during his first presidential term) and Putin in Helsinki.

That document stated that “Russia, through its invasion of Ukraine and attempt to annex Crimea in 2014, sought to undermine the fundamental international principle adhered to by democratic states: no country can change another’s borders by force.”

However, when Trump returned to power in 2025, controversial statements about Crimea appeared repeatedly. In April, the Trump administration reportedly handed Ukraine a one-page document in Paris, presented as a “final proposal” for peaceful settlement. Among other things, it allegedly stated that the US was ready to recognize Russia’s control over Ukrainian Crimea.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine does not recognize Russian occupation of Crimea. Trump criticized the statement, saying that “Crimea was lost many years ago” and that Zelenskyy’s words “harm peace negotiations.”

Read also:

• Who is dancing and where if journalism is dead? Trump and Orbán know
• Russia “significantly” intensifies activity in Zaporizhzhia sector – Syrskyi
• “Let’s get real”: European officials abandon hope for US backing in Ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington for his inaugural meeting with US President Donald Trump next week, Bloomberg reported on 31 May, citing German government spokesman Stefan Cornelius.

According to the spokesman, Merz’s and Trump’s topics of conversation will include the Russian-Ukrainian war, the situation in the Middle East, and trade policy. Following the meeting, Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump plan to hold a joint press conference at the White House.

The first personal meeting between the two politicians will take place at the White House on 5 June.

The planned meeting also follows Merz’s talks with President Zelenskyy in Germany on 28 May, where the leaders of both countries announced the signing of a joint agreement on the production of long-range weapons.

The German Ministry of Defence later said, German long-range missiles could be in Ukraine in a few weeks, but they did not say what kind of long-range weapons they were or whether they were TAURUS missiles with a range of 500 km. But there are reportedly no other alternatives to this. 

The US stance under Biden administration on providing Taurus missiles to Ukraine has been supportive, having secretly supplied Ukraine with ATACMS missiles, and hoping this would encourage Germany to also supply its Taurus missiles. However, the US emphasized that the decision to use such weapons is ultimately up to Ukraine, while Germany has been more hesitant earlier due to fears of escalating the war.

The German and US administrations spent several weeks negotiating the date and format of the event. This will be the first meeting between the new chancellor and Trump. Merz was elected chancellor on 6 May 2025.

In his new position, Friedrich Merz has already visited France, Poland, Northern European countries, and Ukraine. On 29 May, Merz responded to comments by US Vice President Vance, who criticized the EU’s approach to freedom of speech during the Munich Conference in February and questioned what Europeans were defending.

In response, the German chancellor said that Europe is ready to fight, if necessary, for its fundamental values of freedom and democracy. Merz also said in his speech that Europe does not want an escalation of the tariff dispute with the US, which would harm both sides.

The meeting comes as Merz and Trump agreed on the need to quickly resolve trade disputes in their first phone call since Merz took office. The chancellor has previously expressed concerns about changing relations with Washington under the Trump administration.

Read also:

• Lithuania at risk: Ex-CIA chief warns Russia to target Baltic State after Ukraine
• Who is dancing and where if journalism is dead? Trump and Orbán know
• “Let’s get real”: European officials abandon hope for US backing in Ukraine

Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on 31 May that Russian forces have “significantly” increased their activity in the Zaporizhzhia direction and are conducting “active offensive actions” there.

Russia has concentrated its main efforts on the Pokrovsk, Toretsk, Lyman, and Novopavlivsk directions, as well as border areas of Sumy Oblast with Russia, Syrskyi said in his summary of Armed Forces activities for May 2025.

According to Syrskyi, Ukrainian forces struck 58 targets on Russian territory in May, including drone production facilities. Syrskyi said that Russian occupiying forces lost over 34,000 personnel during the month.

The targets included facilities for producing explosives and strike drones, according to the commander.

Operations continue on the Kursk direction, where Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces are causing significant losses to the Russian forces and protecting northern borders.

Russian forces maintain an advantage in using fiber-optic drones, which significantly complicates the fight against them, Syrskyi said.

British and French officials have abandoned plans for European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine and now focus on sustaining long-term defense against Russia without American support, The Telegraph reported on 31 May.

European officials met in The Hague to discuss the shift after growing concerns that President Donald Trump will abandon his mediator role. Trump has failed to bring Vladimir Putin to negotiations despite his earlier promises.

“Let’s get real and admit the US will never be on board,” a Western official told The Telegraph about the meeting’s atmosphere.

A European diplomat explained the new strategy: “It was mostly about how to sustain the necessary support to Ukraine when we assume that the US would only continue providing some specific assets, such as intelligence.”

The meeting marked a stark change from the original “coalition of the willing” proposal. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron had previously pushed for European soldiers to enforce any peace deal.

More than 30 nations indicated support for the original plan. Only a handful publicly offered to deploy troops on Ukrainian soil.

European nations also agreed to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to next month’s NATO summit in The Hague. His attendance was previously uncertain due to Trump’s opposition to Ukrainian NATO membership.

General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, confirmed the US position on 30 May: “We’ve said that, to us, Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table. And we’re not the only country that says that. You know, I can probably give you four countries in NATO, and it takes 32 of the 32 to allow you to come into NATO.”

The coalition will continue publicly supporting Trump’s peace efforts at Ukrainian officials’ request. Ukraine fears that opposition could lead Trump to end weapons shipments and intelligence sharing.

Washington has not approved new weapons deliveries since Trump took office. The US continues shipping hardware approved under Joe Biden’s administration and allows sales of domestically-produced equipment like F-16 spare parts.

Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will resume on 2 June in Istanbul. Britain’s national security adviser is expected to attend alongside counterparts from Germany and France.

“We’ll have what we call the E3. That is the national security advisers from Germany, France, and Great Britain,” Kellogg told ABC News. “When we were in London, they kind of helped us mould a term sheet for Ukraine.”

Moscow and Kyiv held their first direct negotiations in over three years in Istanbul earlier this month. The Kremlin said on 30 May  it would only discuss ceasefire conditions after Ukraine demanded to see a peace memorandum before negotiations.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha explained Kyiv’s position: “In order for the next planned meeting to be substantive and meaningful, it is important to receive a document in advance so that the delegation that will attend has the authority to discuss the relevant positions.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the second round of talks after Trump criticized Putin, calling him “crazy” and accusing him of “playing with fire” while appearing to give a two-week deadline for a deal.

Britain and Germany will host a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group next week. The group coordinates military aid among 50 nations supporting Ukraine.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas responded to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments on European military spending at a Singapore defense forum Saturday, Politico reported on 31 May.

At the Singapore defense forum, Pete Hegseth pointed to Europe’s recent increases in military spending as a benchmark, urging Asian allies to match or exceed these efforts in light of the escalating threat from China. He reportedly argued that it is inconsistent for European nations to invest so heavily in defense while Asian allies, facing a more immediate threat, lag behind in their own military expenditures

“It’s love nonetheless, so it’s better than no love,” Kallas told reporters when asked about Hegseth’s criticism of Europe’s defense investments.

Kallas described Hegseth’s remarks as positive despite their critical tone. “You heard his speech. He was actually quite positive about Europe, so there’s definitely some love there,” she said.

Hegseth had told conference delegates that the US was “pushing our allies in Europe to own more of their own security — to invest in their defense.” The defense secretary credited President Trump for European military improvements. “Thanks to President Trump, they are stepping up,” Hegseth said. He praised Poland and the Baltic States as “model allies.”

Kallas acknowledged divisions within Europe over military spending levels. “Some of us have realized a long time ago that we need to invest in defense,” she said. The EU foreign policy chief described a shift in European thinking.

“The European Union has shifted gear and reimagined our own paradigm as a peace project backed up with hard defense,” she said.

European countries formally adopted a €150 billion ($170 bn) military spending package earlier this week.

EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius warned earlier this week that Europe must avoid an “angry divorce” with the US. He said it was “almost unavoidable that we shall need to stand on our own two feet in defense matters in Europe, because Americans will more and more withdraw.”

Kallas emphasized connections between European and Pacific security during her Singapore remarks.

“It is a good thing we are doing more, but what I want to stress is that the security of Europe and the security of the Pacific is very much interlinked,” she said.

She also cited Chinese supplies to Russia and North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine as examples of this interconnection.

Global press freedom is at its lowest since 2002, says Reporters Without Borders. Independent media face pressure worldwide—from authoritarian regimes, economic collapse, and disinformation networks, including Russia’s unchecked propaganda.

At the 2025 Lviv Media Forum, held from 15 to 17 May, Pulitzer-winning journalist Anne Applebaum and disinformation researcher Dorka Takácsy warned that democracy is breaking down not just from censorship, but from the erosion of truth itself. Applebaum described how Trump’s second presidency has filled government with figures hostile to US institutions. Takácsy pointed to Hungary, where Viktor Orbán has silenced independent media through loyalist networks, political purges, and narratives amplified by the Kremlin.

Moderating the panel, Ukrainian media strategist Yevhen Hlibovytskyi added a wartime perspective: Can a country like Ukraine uphold media freedom when public trust falters and international support fades?

Yet a deeper issue cuts across all borders: traditional media is losing the public. While outlets like CNN bleed viewers, independent podcasters and investigators are gaining ground among audiences who see them as more authentic and less compromised. The problem isn’t just propaganda—it’s that people no longer believe the press.

What you’ll learn from this panel:

• How Trump and Orbán are reshaping democracy through revenge, control of institutions, and propaganda
• Why traditional media is losing trust — and what journalists must do to rebuild it
• How rational debate is collapsing under spiritual populism and anti-science politics
• What lessons Ukraine and the EU can draw from Hungary’s media downfall.

Hungary’s media crackdown: How Orbán dismantled independent journalism

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: When there is an enemy narrative that the government projects onto someone and creates a scapegoat—which, for instance, is currently Ukraine—propaganda messages spread very easily because there is the enormous empire that operates through coordinated messaging.

Dorka Takácsy: We are incredibly impactful. Of course, there are also independent outlets that are doing really great work. They are heroic, under-financed, and struggling, as has happened in other places as well. But obviously, they cannot serve as a counterweight to a large propaganda empire that works with coordinated messages.

Once the foundation of the discourse is established, the public broadcasters will also fall in line. Just imagine if the BBC’s leaders were, one way or another, simply dismissed, and if they happened to be replaced and restructured by the government—it would be quite a scandal, right?

At the moment, if you are a public broadcaster and you go down almost to the regional level, people were replaced. People were dismissed. And it was all very calculated to meet the needs and desires of the government. So there is this entire network of 480 outlets: public broadcasters, radio stations, and all of this. Also, the loyalist media. So altogether, the whole media environment has changed drastically.

Trump’s second term: A government driven by revenge

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: We’re talking about revenge. The Orbán (Hungarian Prime Minister) who returned was not the same Orbán as before. I think one of the themes of the US elections was that we had Trump as the 45th president of the United States, and it was not that damaging. But now, the Trump administration, as the 47th president, is actually quite different in how it approaches policy and in what it does.

Is revenge something that we should be looking at? Is this an indicator that we should all pay attention to from the perspective of the media or think tanks? Is this a factor?

Anne Applebaum: Leaders who lose power and return often have transformed agendas—look at Orbán, Trump, and Hugo Chávez, who staged a coup, was imprisoned, then came back. Trump’s second presidency was always going to be different after his assault on the Capitol and his election denial, though many Americans underestimated this shift.

Trump’s appeal centers on revenge and resentment—targeting elites, the wealthy, or whoever people blame for their problems. This pattern appears throughout history: 1990s Venezuela, 1930s Germany, the Dreyfus Affair. Politicians who build on anger at chosen elites often succeed.

Inside Trump’s new coalition: Tech elites and Christian nationalists

Anne Applebaum: The key difference is Trump’s coalition. His first term featured relatively mainstream officials from government, military, and business who wanted to improve existing systems. Over four years, he’s attracted fundamentally different people who want to overthrow or radically transform American institutions entirely.

This isn’t traditional conservatism. It includes Silicon Valley tech authoritarians wanting America run like a corporation, Christian nationalists seeking religious rule over secular government, and those wanting to reverse social changes since the 1960s. Trump has elevated long-marginalized figures—vaccine opponents and others outside mainstream professions.

The result is an administration where officials actively dislike the very institutions they now lead—the CIA, healthcare system, and others. You’re witnessing the state being attacked from within. This surprises many, but anyone watching closely over the past four years should have seen it coming.

What journalists must do now: Truth-telling and trust-building

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: As a former newspaper editor, I’m asking myself: what do I need to make visible for my audience? Should I focus more on theories of change? On resentment? On revenge? On what comes next if basic services like water purification fail?

Anne Applebaum: The main difficulty in journalism now—even at prosperous magazines with many journalists—is that we can’t cover everything. We know about stories we don’t have time or capacity for.

The main challenge is knowing what to prioritize. You could write about vaccines and healthcare, kleptocracy and corruption, foreign policy, or civil rights.

The main job of journalists is, first, to investigate and establish what actually happened, as opposed to what propagandists claim. Second, to build trust with readers. You’re obligated to build a community—through social media, reader clubs, or public events—of people who want to understand what you’re saying.

It’s not enough just to write; you need to actively create trust, because we’re in a moment when the President lies daily on TV. He says gas prices went down when they went up. He claims to have achieved peace between India and Pakistan when the Indian government says he had nothing to do with it.

This constant lying means there needs to be a daily attempt to write truthfully and create bonds of trust with people willing to listen. It’s a very difficult job.

Why journalists failed to spot authoritarian shifts

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: What this means is that the job description for editors and journalists has become more sophisticated, because you don’t only have to follow the standards and procedures of journalism, but you also have to have expertise in what you’re writing about. You have to see the underwater currents. Is this what the Hungarian media missed?

Dorka Takácsy: If I think back to all the steps that were taken, obviously there were major milestones—the creation of the Media Council and all these things I mentioned were major milestones on this sad trajectory.

But there were also smaller steps that I think we don’t recognize in time. Probably because, just like we see now on the bigger stage worldwide, too many things happen and there aren’t enough journalists. The sector is already underfunded, everyone is overwhelmed, and you can understand that because we are all human.

For such a sector, it’s very difficult to see all the complexity of certain things. But there are definitely external factors too, because in other cases the problems were already visible—not as bad as now, but present. When the problems were big enough, many were reflected in different EU organs and institutions. And the EU was often simply too slow, and when there was political will from the outside, you could flag whatever you wanted, but certain steps were also missed.

Now looking back, it all comes together. Obviously it’s easier now to see the whole trajectory we underwent. But when it was happening, I think we missed it.

From science to suspicion: The fall of rational thinking

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: Does that mean we’re seeing a kind of religious combat where people don’t understand or apply rational thinking, but just apply what they believe in? This isn’t necessarily about God—it’s about vaccines and whatever. So is this a challenge to rationalism as an approach that was predominant in educational systems, governance, and institutions in the developed world over the 20th and 21st centuries?

Anne Applebaum: Yes. What we’re seeing, not just in the US but in many places, is a challenge to Enlightenment thinking—that there’s a difference between things that are true and not true, that there’s a scientific method that can determine truth, that there are trusted institutions like scientific journals, journalism, and government agencies that can be trusted to at least try to find truth in good faith.

Instead, we find people completely rejecting those things under the banner of “do your own research.” I wrote about this regarding the Romanian election and the candidate Călin Georgescu, who won the first round before the election was banned.

Spiritual politics and anti-science: Leaders who reject facts

Anne Applebaum: Georgescu described himself as a spiritual person anointed by God with special powers. He filmed himself swimming in a lake—it was very cold and snowing outside—saying his belief in God kept him from becoming ill. He also rejected vaccines.

His appeal was anti-rational, not just anti-institutional—anti-science. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now Secretary of Health and Human Services overseeing the CDC, has a very similar anti-rational appeal.

Interestingly, both RFK and Georgescu have expressed pro-Russian and pro-Putin feelings. Georgescu has been openly pro-Russian regarding Ukraine and supportive of Putin. We know he was supported illegally by a social media campaign. I won’t make the same claim about RFK, although—who knows.

There’s a clear, concerted attempt to win over people who no longer trust scientific thinking. There’s a link between that and authoritarian thinking. These things are somewhat vague—I don’t want to draw clear lines—but they are connected.

No truth, no democracy: Why shared facts matter

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: If you’re talking about the end of the Enlightenment, if we could say so, that means if you’re talking about the lack of efficiency that such an approach would have, then it’s only natural for autocrats to limit competition and preserve themselves with whatever inefficient policies they’re offering. Because otherwise, they would be swept away at the next elections.

Anne Applebaum: The problem is even deeper than that. Democracy itself, especially American democracy, is a kind of Enlightenment project. The idea of democracy is that we created this system with rules, and the rules allow us to have debates about reality. Through those debates, we decide what government policy should be.

So democracy requires some agreed-upon reality. You can have your right-wing or left-wing opinion, you can believe there should be more highways or fewer highways. But you have to agree on the number of highways. You have to have some way of counting them. Once you don’t agree, once there’s no shared reality, then you can’t really have a democratic debate.

The myth of the strongman: Why authoritarians thrive on emotion

Anne Applebaum: The system doesn’t work, and autocracy appeals instead to this deeply irrational idea: “we need a leader who somehow embodies the will of the people”—not through reasoned debate or voting, but because he has emerged from the people and expresses their will.

Trotsky, Lenin, and Stalin used to talk like this. This idea doesn’t belong to the right—Hitler spoke like this, too. The idea that the autocrat has some magical link and makes good decisions just because he somehow represents us—this is anti-Enlightenment, anti-rational, and anti-democratic.

Democracy needs this basis in the real world, or it doesn’t work. If you want to get to the deepest layer, the deepest problem we have today, I think that’s it.

How EU funds helped Orbán hide Hungary’s democratic collapse

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: My question is about the experience of a country that is in Central Europe, that has been part of the European cultural discourse all along. Was there a lack of sense of urgency?

Dorka Takácsy: Yes.

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: That, you know, “we are a member of the European Union, nothing bad is going to happen to us because we will be protected one way or another through the instruments of the European Union or NATO or whatever.” Was there a lack of understanding that the house may be on fire?

Dorka Takácsy: Despite anti-Western propaganda, polls show most Hungarians still view the EU positively. But their reasons are purely practical—they can work abroad, cross borders easily, and sometimes receive EU funds. It’s not about values, freedom, or European identity—just pragmatism.

These positive numbers don’t mean Hungarians maintain a European mentality. It’s simply practical appreciation.

When EU cash stops, propaganda fills the gap

Dorka Takácsy: Hungary clearly shows how autocrats mask bad policies through external support. For years, Hungary prospered largely from EU accession and cohesion funds. Even with poor government policies, results seemed favorable because EU money created an impression of success. People tolerated media manipulation and propaganda because they felt economically secure.

That magic is now broken. The EU has frozen most funds for two years, exposing the true quality of Hungarian policies. Economic and social policies were always poor, but their impact wasn’t felt while EU money flowed. Now the impact is obvious.

When budgets are healthy, autocrats can buy votes with direct payments. That’s no longer viable. So the propaganda machine intensifies—amplifying narratives and pouring extra resources into messaging. When you can’t pay for votes, you must amplify the propaganda. That’s exactly what we’re seeing now.

Why US opposition to Trump remains muffled

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: What I can’t understand from the outside is this disconnect: I read excellent articles in The Atlantic and New York Times opinion pages, but I don’t see real urgency in the opposition. There’s no visible concern even within the Republican Party itself. It’s just “Okay, this is happening, we don’t like it”—but no sense of emergency.

Is this hidden from view due to media optics, or does the American system simply work differently than we expect?

Anne Applebaum: There are two key points. First, this isn’t a parliamentary system—there’s no single leader of the opposition and won’t be. Asking “who’s the leader?” reflects an authoritarian mindset. There will eventually be another presidential candidate, but until then, no single leader. That’s not how our system works.

Fear and intimidation: Why GOP critics backed down

Many people are involved—Congress members, senators, local officials, media figures, podcasters. Alarming content exists constantly. If you’re on the right Instagram algorithm, you’ll see it; if not, you might miss it. There’s significant activity happening. You’d need to follow specific people to see more. Nationwide protests have occurred, with groups planning regular ones.

Second, people are angry at Democrats for not stopping Trump, but they lack the tools. Without control of Congress, there’s no way to prevent executive actions. They can’t physically stop what’s happening.

Much of what Trump has done is illegal. Cases are moving through courts now, and I expect courts will begin blocking actions. Then we’ll see an interesting moment—will the Trump administration try to overrun the courts? We’ll find out.

Within the Republican Party, there’s a strange dynamic. Some opposition exists, with many uncomfortable Republicans. But something not understood from outside—many Republican politicians are physically scared. They worry that voting against the president means facing physical attacks at home or their children being harassed at school. This is new in American politics over the last four years.

With widespread firearms, people are genuinely frightened. Many Republicans left Congress for this reason. Most who voted for Trump’s impeachment are gone—either forced out like Liz Cheney or they quietly departed.

How polarized media killed neutral journalism

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: Is CNN being the preferred Democratic voice and Fox News being the preferred Republican voice? Is this the end of independence? Are we going into pluralism as an alternative, or is editorial independence still a value that is still being pursued or should be pursued?

Anne Applebaum: First, CNN isn’t the voice of the Democratic Party at all. CNN has tried to do something different, which isn’t quite working. But CNN, Fox, and MSNBC—ten years ago, all these networks had more editorial independence than now.

They used more neutral tones and presented discussions more neutrally, but that was also because we lived in a less polarized moment when people were less angry.

The business of bias: Why neutral news can’t survive

Anne Applebaum: The business model now for much of media is appealing to your base. You make money by building a base and appealing to one partisan segment of the population. The neutrality business model, designed to appeal broadly, has mostly failed.

When I started in journalism, The Washington Post was essentially the only newspaper in Washington. The Post had an interest in appealing to a wide readership—it wanted Republicans and Democrats to read it, and local businesses to advertise. It was like a monopoly—someone described it to me as a public utility, like the gas company.

That’s not true anymore. There’s no business model where you win over a broad swath of people with neutral commentary. You’ve had this siloing of newspapers and TV. No, it’s not good. Some things were gained—the neutrality sometimes concealed laziness or refusal to be clear. There were things lost in that earlier period we don’t miss.

But the partisan role has been dictated by the business environment.

Can public broadcasting save democracy?

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: One unconventional thing we have in Ukraine is a strong public broadcaster (Suspilne). Is a public broadcaster a potential source of stabilization for the entire media market? Is it important to have an independent public broadcaster for private media to thrive and be less dependent on niche, ideological platforms?

Anne Applebaum: If you can have it—and as Hungary proves, it’s very easy to undermine an independent public broadcaster if you don’t have good laws—but if you can have it and it’s able to build wide trust, something like the BBC (though even the BBC has lost trust in recent years), then it is one of the things that can keep politics centered.

Even the fact that the BBC—it’s a little bit fake, but during election campaigns they insist every political program has a member of each party on a panel—is really useful. You don’t have that on Fox News. Having somebody legally obliged to at least try to be neutral can be extremely important.

Of course, we don’t have this in the United States at all. We have a sort of public broadcaster, but it’s very niche and not even fully government funded.

Dorka Takácsy: Yes, it’s absolutely vital, because otherwise look at what happens if you don’t have a real public broadcaster. It’s not the only source of problems in Hungary, but it’s clearly an indicator that something is wrong.

Unfortunately, we live in an era where polarization is extremely important. This creates a vicious circle because media outlets need to survive, and it’s easier to appeal to emotions. The center is slowly becoming more radical on both sides, and this kind of news further increases polarization.

If you can have a public broadcaster that can afford not to go for emotions—to be dry and professional, though probably less interesting than outlets that live purely from the market—then you have to preserve it, because there’s chaos all around.

Ukraine’s future: Build democracy for yourself, not the EU

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: We’ve been discovering how bad the situation is in our neighboring areas, and there might or might not be a light at the end of the tunnel. But considering that Ukraine is still trying to Euro-integrate, and seeing the dissolution of institutions in the US and many European countries… Are we screwed?

Anne Applebaum: No, no. I think the answer is that you should democratize Ukraine and build institutions there not to get into the EU or to someday be accepted into NATO. You should do it because it’s good for Ukraine.

Following the lead of other countries or seeking to appeal to them—you’re not going to appeal to them. That’s a fool’s game. There’s no point to it.

Will Europe stand by Ukraine? Why support still matters

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: Without an international network of support—considering that we are at war, the challenges we have, the pain inside Ukrainian society—we’re actually at risk of not having sustainable democracy. Not because we cannot sustain it as a society, but because we cannot sustain it as a society in these circumstances. How reliably should we expect external support for the cause of democracy and freedom in Ukraine?

Anne Applebaum: I can’t tell you what will happen in the distant future. Current European leaders strongly support Ukraine. There’s a fantastic photograph of your president, President Macron, the German chancellor, and the Polish prime minister all standing in a row, talking and looking happy and friendly. I think that was real.

Among that group, there’s a commitment to Ukraine—to Ukraine’s sovereignty and democracy. Germany has exceeded spending limits to buy weapons—unprecedented for them. You have genuine friends in Europe, plus supporters in the US Congress, public, and business community. Don’t count the US out yet.

Dorka Takácsy: I’m not pessimistic. Ukraine has shown tremendous strength, and we can see clear examples of what to avoid. The support is there, especially with current EU leadership.

They see the bad examples too. Take Hungary—I can say with confidence that the EU is slowly but surely finding its way. Yes, many problems should have been solved earlier, and they don’t always see future consequences in time. But now we clearly see that at many levels, the EU has started recognizing the problems and is growing stronger.

This is encouraging for Ukraine. We can really benefit from this strengthening.

Yevhen Hlibovytskyi: Well, part of adult life is knowing that not all questions will be answered.

Former CIA director David Petraeus warned that Russia will invade a NATO country if it succeeds in Ukraine, Daily Mail reported on 29 May. 

Lithuania would be the most likely target, according to Petraeus.

Russia’s next target after Ukraine

Speaking at Policy Exchange in London, Petraeus warned Russia could test Western resolve through a Lithuanian incursion.

“Once that’s done, you are going to see them focus on one of the Baltic states,” Petraeus said. “Lithuania has featured prominently in his speeches and we should have listened a lot more.”

The former general said Russia wants to topple President Zelenskyy and “install a puppet leader and to control all of Ukraine.”

Russia has suffered nearly a million battlefield casualties including 500,000 killed or unfit for duty. Petraeus called the losses “unimaginable.”

US policy criticized

Petraeus criticized delayed weapons deliveries: “The US also temporised far too long over individual decisions such as M1 tanks. A blind man on a dark night could see it had to be the F-16.”

Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg said Ukraine NATO membership is “not on the table” and called Russian expansion concerns “fair.”

Ukraine’s Security Service detained four Kherson residents who collaborated with Russian forces during the occupation of the right-bank part of Kherson Oblast, the SBU reported on 30 May.

Russian forces occupied the city of Kherson on 1 March 2022, shortly after invading the Kherson Oblast from Crimea on 24 February 2022. Ukrainian forces liberated Kherson on 11 November 2022, ending a 255-day occupation.

Among those arrested is a chief specialist from one of the Kherson city council departments. The woman worked as a private accountant before voluntarily joining Russia’s local occupation administration, where she headed a unit called the “labor and social protection management,” according to the SBU.

Law enforcement established that the woman transferred personal data of local residents to occupation “election commissions” for conducting Russia’s fake referendum. After Kherson’s liberation, on 11 November 2022, the woman “went underground” and later returned to work at the city council, hiding her collaboration with Russia, the SBU said.

Two other suspects are local residents who joined the administration of occupation prisons after the regional center was captured. One became an “assistant on duty” to the head of the so-called “investigative detention center.” His duties included guarding prison cells where Russians brought resistance movement participants from the region, investigators found.

The second man voluntarily agreed to guard the perimeter of an occupation prison that Russians opened on the basis of a captured correctional colony, the investigation said.

The fourth detainee is a Kherson resident who joined the occupation Russian Interior Ministry at the start of the full-scale war. She became an “inspector of the analysis, planning and accounting group of the Korabelny department.” She guided armed Russian units to the homes of Ukrainian patriots, law enforcement noted.

All suspects received charges of collaboration and are held in custody without bail. They face up to 15 years in prison with property confiscation.

On 29 May, a taxi driver was detained in Dnipro for correcting Russian strikes on the city. On 30 May, the SBU detained a Russian agent from Khmelnytskyi Oblast who guided missiles to military airfields.