Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on June 23 that Serbia has halted all arms exports, citing national security and economic interests. He denied that the move was a response to mounting criticism over allegations that Serbian munitions have ended up in Ukraine.

Speaking after a meeting with senior military officials, Vucic said that Serbia is only sending ammunition to its own barracks and all exports are suspended, in line with Serbia's best interests.

Shortly after the announcement, Serbia's Defense Ministry issued a statement confirming the suspension of all arms and military equipment exports.

Vucic's decisions comes amid increasing criticism – particularly following claims that Serbian ammunition has been supplied to Ukraine.

In May 2025, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused Belgrade of supplying weapons to Kyiv, despite Serbia's friendly ties with Moscow and declared neutrality in Russia's invasion.

According to a 2024 investigation by the Financial Times, Serbian ammunition has made its way to Ukraine through intermediaries, although Belgrade maintains it does not directly arm either side.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Serbia has attempted to navigate a delicate diplomatic path between Moscow and the West.

In his most recent balancing act, Vucic refused to sign a declaration condemning the invasion – so as not to "betray Russia" – while simultaneously pledging to support Ukraine's reconstruction.

‘Moscow is silent’ — Zelensky slams Russia’s hypocrisy over Iran strikes, own mass attack on Ukraine

“After the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, there was an uproar from Moscow,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir

Ukraine's Armed Forces struck the Atlas oil depot in Russia's Rostov Oblast overnight on June 23, the General Staff reported.

The attack ignited a fire at the site, with Ukrainian forces saying the strike had reached its intended target. The facility supplies fuel and lubricants to Russian military units.

Yuri Slyusar, the acting governor of Rostov Oblast, confirmed that a fire occurred at an industrial facility after the attack. He added that no one was injured.

The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, according to the military.

Located near the Azov Sea and bordering Ukraine, Rostov Oblast plays a crucial logistical role for Russia's war effort due to its proximity to front-line operations. The same depot was previously targeted in November 2024.

"The defense forces continue to take all measures to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian occupiers and force the Russian Federation to stop its armed aggression against Ukraine," the General Staff said.

The strike is part of Ukraine's broader campaign aimed at disrupting Russian supply chains and degrading its capacity to sustain the full-scale invasion.

Fuel depots, rail infrastructure, and ammunition stockpiles inside Russia and occupied territories have increasingly become targets for long-range drone and missile strikes.

Explained: How Ukraine and Russia swap prisoners of war

Even after Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Russia in 2022, prisoner exchanges have continued as one of the few remaining channels of communication between the two countries. Negotiated behind closed doors and carried out irregularly, POW swaps — and the decisions surrounding them — have long been shrouded in secrecy. Controversies have

The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko

Ukraine's state defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom and European aerospace giant Airbus have signed a trilateral cooperation memorandum at the Le Bourget International Air Show, the company announced on June 23.

The agreement launches initiatives to develop maintenance and repair capabilities for Airbus aircraft operating in Ukraine among specialists at Ukroboronprom's enterprises.

As part of the deal, Airbus will send representatives to Ukraine to train local specialists, who will then become certified instructors for aircraft maintenance.

"Trust in our defense industrial complex, particularly Ukroboronprom and its enterprises, is growing among global high-tech companies," said Oleh Hulyak, Ukroboronprom Director General, in a press release. "This proves we have chosen the right path for development and international cooperation."

Hulyak expects new partnerships with foreign partners in aviation and other areas of the company's work.

Ukroboronprom is a leading strategic manufacturer of weapons and military hardware in Ukraine. The association unites about 100 enterprises that develop and manufacture weapons, military equipment and ammunition, including missiles, drones, armored vehicles.

The company reported a consolidated net profit of Hr 1.31 billion ($31.5 million) for the previous year as its enterprises tripled production volumes in 2024 compared to 2023, with a 36% increase in contracts.

In 2024, Ukroboronprom was ranked for the first time in history among the top 50 global defense companies by Defense News, according to Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin.

‘It was impossible to look at’ — Russian mass missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills at least 9, injures 33

Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and surrounding region overnight on June 23.

The Kyiv IndependentLucy Pakhnyuk

Ukraine's largest private energy company DTEK and British clean energy group Octopus Energy have launched a program to install rooftop solar panels and battery storage systems at Ukrainian businesses and public institutions, DTEK said in a press release on June 23.

The program, called RISE (Resilient Independent Solar Energy), was announced at Octopus Energy's Tech Summit in London and aims to raise 100 million euros ($115 million) to finance 100 energy projects over three years, helping stabilize the grid, lower electricity costs and protect customers from outages, the company said.

DTEK’s facilities have been repeatedly targeted since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion as Moscow sought to cripple Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The company was forced to shut down its gas production facilities in Poltava Oblast in March.

"About 70% of Ukraine's thermal generation capacity has been damaged, destroyed or seized since the full-scale invasion," said DTEK CEO Maksym Timchenko in the press release.

“This has created not only an urgent need to rebuild but also an opportunity to accelerate the shift to a decentralized, renewable energy system,” he added.

The alternative energy systems will be installed by D.Solutions, DTEK's business unit operating under the Yasno retail brand.

Installed equipment will run on Octopus Energy's AI-powered Kraken operating system, enabling businesses to optimize energy use in real time, reduce consumption during peak hours and sell surplus electricity back to the grid.

"They (DTEK) are rebuilding at pace and pioneering a decentralized, smart energy system powered by homegrown renewables," said Greg Jackson, Octopus Energy Group founder and CEO.

According to DTEK, Ukraine's commercial and industrial energy market has an untapped potential of 300 megawatts annually, valued at 200 million euros ($229 million). DTEK's Yasno brand serves over 60,000 business customers and can generate projects worth 30 million euros per year.

DTEK previously announced plans to build one of Europe's largest energy storage facilities with six installations across the country, totaling 200 megawatts to power 600,000 households. The company secured a $72 million loan from three Ukrainian banks.

Russia pulls its scientists out of Iranian nuclear plant, as Israeli strikes threaten decades of collaboration

Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have alarmed none more than Russia, the country that first brought nuclear power to Iran in defiance of Western objections. We’re “millimeters from catastrophe,” said Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on June 18 in response to a bombing campaign that Israel launched against Iran on June 13. Decades of conflict with the West have united Iran and Russia, despite a cultural gulf between the two nations that dwarfs the Caspian Sea that physically di

The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post

Three people were killed and at least 12 others injured after a Russian ballistic missile strike hit the city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in Odesa Oblast on June 23, Governor Oleh Kiper reported.

The attack targeted a local educational institution, destroying the building and leaving several people, including members of the teaching staff, possibly trapped under the rubble. No children were present at the time due to summer holidays, Kiper said.

As of 4:00 p.m. local time, three of the wounded were reported in serious condition, while the others — including two teenagers — were being treated for moderate injuries. The Air Force reported tracking two high-speed ballistic targets heading toward the city shortly before the strike.

Later in the day, Kiper reported that a 60-year-old woman died of her wounds at the hospital. Eight victims remained hospitalized as of 9:00 p.m. local time, while the rest were receiving outpatient care.

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, a historic Black Sea city known for its Akkerman Fortress, lies near the mouth of the Dniester River.

Under international humanitarian law, the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure such as schools is forbidden and may constitute a war crime. Russia has repeatedly struck non-military sites throughout its full-scale invasion.

Earlier the same day, Russia launched another mass missile and drone attack on Kyiv, killing at least eight people and injuring 33 others, including four children, according to city officials.

‘It was impossible to look at’ — Russian mass missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills at least 8, injures 33

Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and surrounding region overnight on June 23.

The Kyiv IndependentLucy Pakhnyuk

Ukraine has returned the remains of three Russians who were handed over to Kyiv as part of an exchange of fallen soldiers' bodies, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told Interfax Ukraine on June 23.

Ukraine has said the practice of passing off the bodies of  Russian soldiers as Ukrainian is part of an attempt to obscure the scale of its military losses from the Russian public, and at least 20 such incidents have been recorded during recent repatriations conducted under the Istanbul agreements.

Russia did not comment on the discovery made by the Ukrainian side, while Klymenko said during a press conference on June 23 that it could be done to "sow chaos" during the identification of the soldiers' bodies.

Personal badges, chevrons, documents, military uniforms elements, and footwear typical of the Russian Armed Forces were found during the bodies examination transferred by Russia to Ukraine, Ukraine's Interior Ministry said.

According to Klymenko, the bodies were transferred to Russia after confirmation that they belong to Russians. The other 17 bodies have not yet been handed over to Moscow, as examinations continues.

"We are waiting for the DNA of relatives. Therefore, we want the relatives (of Russians) to submit their DNA so that we can confirm," Klymenko told Interfax Ukraine. "I gave an order to prohibit the release of these bodies to the Russians until there is a 100% confirmation."

The Interior Ministry's experts conduct up to 10,000 examinations per month to identify individuals, and one fragment of remains can be examined up to five times, Klymenko said.

"The bodies of our heroes come back extremely mutilated. There are objective reasons for this, such as an ongoing war and widespread use of weapons. At the same time, we have recorded cases when the remains of one person were returned during different stages of repatriation, which complicates our work," Klymenko said.

The June 2 negotiations in Istanbul resulted in the most expansive prisoner and body exchange agreement of the full-scale war, although no ceasefire was reached.

Ukraine received a total of 6,057 bodies of its fallen soldiers as part of the phased exchange. Russia, according to Kremlin aide and negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, took back 78.

Explaining the difference between the two numbers, President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 20 said that the bodies of the vast majority of Russian soldiers currently killed on the battlefield remain in Russian hands.

"They were advancing, and their dead remained in the territory where they were," he said.

Russia accused Kyiv on June 7 of rejecting a proposed body return, publishing footage allegedly showing Ukrainian corpses stored in refrigeration units. Ukraine dismissed the claims, saying the footage was filmed on Russian territory, not at a designated handover site.

Kyiv has consistently called for an "all-for-all" exchange of prisoners of war, but Moscow has so far refused to agree to a comprehensive swap.

‘Unwanted by their homeland’ — Ukraine confirms Russia returned bodies of its soldiers disguised as Ukrainian

“This is yet another proof of how Russia treats its people with contempt,” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned U.S. strikes on Iran as "completely unprovoked aggression," more than three years into his completely unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Putin made the comments at the Kremlin during a meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on June 23, after U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of successful air strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, conducted in coordination with Israel over the weekend.

"The completely unprovoked aggression against Iran has no basis and no justification," Putin said, adding that Russia "is making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people."

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has killed tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, and the true extent of the death toll is simply not known.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine was a clear and direct violation of both international law and the UN Charter.

Earlier on June 23, President Volodymyr Zelensky on highlighted Russia's hypocrisy for describing U.S. strikes on Iran as "grossly violating international law" just hours before launching yet another deadly mass missile and drone strike on Ukraine.

"After the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, there was an uproar from Moscow," Zelensky said.

"The Russian leadership demonstratively condemned the 'missile and bomb' actions. Today, Moscow is silent — after its own army launched a cynical attack using Russian-Iranian 'Shaheds' and missiles on civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities."

Moscow on June 22 condemned the recent U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

"The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb strikes, no matter what arguments are used, is grossly violating international law, the U.N. Charter, and the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Overnight on June 23 a devastating Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv killed at least 7 people and injured dozens more, including children.

The attack was one of the largest air assaults on the capital this year, with 368 aerial weapons launched, including 159 Iranian-made Shahed drones and 16 missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

Russia has deepened military and political ties with Tehran since and Iran has supplied Moscow with thousands of Shahed-type attack drones used in routine strikes on Ukrainian cities, as well as short-range ballistic missiles.

Russia and Iran have cooperated to develop their own nuclear programs as both countries face Western sanctions. Russia supplied Iran with the Middle East's first nuclear power plant despite objections from the West.

Russia pulls its scientists out of Iranian nuclear plant, as Israeli strikes threaten decades of collaboration

Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have alarmed none more than Russia, the country that first brought nuclear power to Iran in defiance of Western objections. We’re “millimeters from catastrophe,” said Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on June 18 in response to a bombing campaign that Israel launched against

The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post

Russia has lost around 1,012,500 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on June 23.

The number includes 1,010 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

According to the report, Russia has also lost 10,965 tanks, 22,872 armored fighting vehicles, 52,861 vehicles and fuel tanks, 29,490 artillery systems, 1,423 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,188 air defense systems, 416 airplanes, 337 helicopters, 41,717 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.

Russia’s mass missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills 5, injures at least 19

Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and surrounding region overnight on June 23.

The Kyiv IndependentLucy Pakhnyuk

President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 23 highlighted Russia's hypocrisy for describing U.S. strikes on Iran as "grossly violating international law" just hours before launching yet another deadly mass missile and drone strike on Ukraine.

"After the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, there was an uproar from Moscow," Zelensky said.

"The Russian leadership demonstratively condemned the 'missile and bomb' actions. Today, Moscow is silent — after its own army launched a cynical attack using Russian-Iranian 'Shaheds' and missiles on civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities."

Moscow on June 22 condemned the recent U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

"The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb strikes, no matter what arguments are used, is grossly violating international law, the U.N. Charter, and the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Overnight on June 23 a devastating Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv killed at least 7 people and injured dozens more, including children.

The attack was one of the largest air assaults on the capital this year, with 368 aerial weapons launched, including 159 Iranian-made Shahed drones and 16 missiles, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

Air defenses intercepted most, but not all. The attack hit six locations directly, causing destruction in 25 separate sites across Kyiv and the wider region.

Governor of Kyiv Oblast Tymur Tkachenko reported 6 people were killed, with 25 other injured in Kyiv alone, including four children.

In his remarks, Zelensky also warned of a growing alliance between Russia, Iran, and North Korea — a "coalition of killers," he said, and urged countries near these regimes to consider whether they can defend themselves if such a bloc continues to spread terror.

"Each country neighboring Russia, Iran, and North Korea should ask whether their own defenses are enough if this axis of evil preserves and remains unchecked," he said.

Zelensky, speaking ahead of meetings with British officials during his visit to the U.K., said he would push for stronger collective air defense and tougher sanctions on Russia.

Zelensky's comments came just a day after Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called for the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program following U.S. air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

"Iran is complicit in the crime of aggression against Ukraine," the ministry said in a June 22 statement. "The Iranian regime is providing military assistance to Russia, including the supply of UAVs and technologies that Russia consistently uses to kill people and destroy critical infrastructure."

The statement followed U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of successful air strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan, conducted in coordination with Israel.

Moscow, which condemned the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, has long cooperated with Tehran on nuclear and military matters. Russia supplied Iran with its first nuclear power plant and has relied on Iranian drones throughout its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia pulls its scientists out of Iranian nuclear plant, as Israeli strikes threaten decades of collaboration

Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have alarmed none more than Russia, the country that first brought nuclear power to Iran in defiance of Western objections. We’re “millimeters from catastrophe,” said Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on June 18 in response to a bombing campaign that Israel launched against

The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post

Russian attacks have killed at least 13 civilians and injured 57 across multiple oblasts over the past day, Ukrainian officials reported on June 23.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia deployed 368 aerial weapons, including 352 attack drones, 11 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, and 5 Iskander-K cruise missiles, striking primarily Kyiv. Ukraine's air defenses destroyed 354 of them.

In Kyiv Oblast, Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said a person was killed in Bilotserkivka district, two were hospitalized, and two others received on-site medical aid. Attacks damaged houses in three districts: Boryspil, Bila Tserkva, where a medical facility in a hotel was destroyed, and Bucha, damaging several houses and vehicles.

In Kyiv city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko and Kalashnyk reported 6 killed and 25 injured, including a pregnant woman and a child rescued from a damaged 25-story building in the Shevchenkivskyi district.

In Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian drone, artillery, and air attacks hit numerous settlements, including Kherson city. Infrastructure damage included seven apartment buildings, 14 houses, a gas pipeline, a garage, and vehicles. One person was killed, and six were wounded. Early June 22, three more people were injured across the oblast.

In Donetsk Oblast, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported that a Russian attack killed two residents in Siversk and Myrne, with five more wounded. The numbers exclude casualties in occupied Mariupol and Volnovakha.

In Chernihiv Oblast, Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least three people and injured 11 others, including four teenagers, Governor Viacheslav Chaus said. The attacks damaged houses, businesses, and infrastructure across multiple districts, including Chernihiv, Nizhyn, Pryluky, Korukivka, and Novhorod-Siverskyi.

Russia preparing military operations in Europe, Zelensky says

“We are observing a continued intellectual decline within the Russian leadership and have evidence that they are preparing new military operations on European territory,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Kyiv IndependentNatalia Yermak