Once dreaming of living by the sea, now mass-selling apartments and fleeing back. Russians who moved to Crimea after the occupation are disappointed by the heat, lack of jobs, air raid alarms, and Russian military bases, OBOZ reports. 

Real estate agents in Crimea confirm: more than half of new property owners are trying to sell or rent out their apartments.

“Residents from Siberia, the Urals, even Moscow suburbs increasingly contact us asking to sell or rent out their property,” says Kseniia, a Crimean realtor speaking anonymously.

When you start working with them, it turns out they have lived here for a year or two, some even five years, but concluded Crimea is not for them. The reasons vary, from the climate not suiting them to military actions, she continues.

Many Russians came here to live peacefully by the sea, enjoying the fruits and beaches, but reality turned out differently.

Constant air raid alarms, explosions, military equipment on the streets, and frequent inspections create an atmosphere of ongoing tension.

“Neither they nor their children can endure constant air raid alarms, let alone explosions. Some told me their children start to panic. They are irritated by the military bases literally scattered across the Southern Coast of Crimea,” Kseniia adds.

Besides military issues, Crimea lacks decent jobs with reasonable salaries. The tourism business has shrunk due to the war, and most office workers and managers simply cannot find work here.

“If you’re a plumber, electrician, mechanic, builder, or air conditioner technician, you can find work here. But salaries will be Crimean, not Moscow level,” says Mykola, a resident of Yalta.

Infrastructure and healthcare problems also do not contribute to comfortable living. Crimea lacks international chain stores, and medical services are often expensive and inaccessible.

“Corruption thrives in medicine, nobody pays attention to medical insurance here, and you have to buy medicine and even bandages out of pocket,” reads the report.

Local Crimeans also have a negative attitude toward the newly arrived Russians, blaming them for price hikes, pollution, and uncivilized behavior. The Russians, in turn, call locals rude and backward.

Add to this the harsh Crimean climate, with intense heat in summer, cold, rainy winters, mud everywhere, and sea storms, and it becomes clear why many hurry to return home.

For now, Crimea remains a place for summer vacation for most Russians, and their dream of a peaceful life by the sea has yet to come true.

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Editor's note: The story is being updated.

Explosions could be heard across Crimea early on June 13, including in Sevastopol and Simferopol, the Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported amid Russian claims of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Atesh partisans reported "precise hits" against Russian military facilities near Simferopol.

"Our agents report that due to the negligence of the (Russian) command, valuable equipment was damaged, probably an air defense missile system," the group said on Telegram.

"There are also losses among the troops," Atesh said, adding that the exact numbers are difficult to establish.

The pro-Ukrainian Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported a hit in Simferopol, Crimea's capital, sharing a photo of a plume of smoke rising in the vicinity of a local power station and of the village of Perevalne. Blasts in Yevpatoriia, Saki, Fedosia, and elsewhere were also reported.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses shot down 125 Ukrainian drones overnight on June 13, including 70 over Crimea and seven over the Black Sea. Russian officials did not comment on possible damage.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Ukraine has not commented on the alleged attacks.

Russia has illegally occupied Crimea since 2014, transforming the peninsula into a heavily militarized stronghold to support its war against Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted the peninsula with missiles and drones since the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022. Most recently, Ukrainian drones attacked an ammunition depot used by Russia's 126th Coastal Defense Brigade near the village of Perevalne.

As Russian losses in Ukraine hit 1 million, Putin’s war economy heads toward breaking point

Russian losses in Ukraine hit a massive, and grim milestone on June 12 — 1 million Russian soldiers killed or wounded during the 39-month-long full-scale war, according to figures from Kyiv. Although hugely symbolic, the number is unlikely to prompt a change in tactics from Moscow as it gears up for

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

Kerch Airport in occupied Crimea is being repurposed from civilian to military use, according to a June 12 investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Schemes project, citing satellite imagery and Russian real estate registry data.

On March 4, 2025, the Russian-backed authorities officially transferred part of the airport's land to Russia's Defense Ministry for indefinite use, according to the investigation.

Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 after a discredited referendum under military occupation. Since then, the peninsula has become a heavily militarized zone.

Satellite images from the Planet Labs imaging company show ongoing construction at the site, including the installation of protective and camouflage structures around the runway.

The changes suggest the airport is being converted into a military facility capable of supporting drone operations or housing short-range air defense systems such as the Pantsir-S1 or Tor-M2, according to aviation expert Anatoly Khrapchinsky.

The new runway will be suitable for drone launches, Khrapchinsky noted.

Kerch Airport has not hosted regular commercial flights since 2007 and was previously used as a truck holding area for freight vehicles crossing the nearby ferry. That function was relocated in March 2025, officially as part of a "reorganization."

The city of Kerch, situated near the strategic Kerch Strait, lies just across from Russia's Krasnodar Krai and is home to the crucial Crimean Bridge, built after Russia's illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014.

Germany to supply new Iris-T air defense systems to Ukraine, rules out Taurus missiles

Germany will deliver new IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine under a three-year supply plan, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a joint press conference with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who said Berlin has no plans to provide Taurus long-range missiles.

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

Some 48% of Ukrainians "categorically" oppose even a de facto recognition of Russian control of the occupied Ukrainian territories to achieve peace, according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) published on June 10.

In turn, 43% of respondents said they would be willing to make the concession to reach a peace deal with Moscow, provided it does not include a formal, or de jure, recognition of the Russian control.

The news comes as Russia continues to push for territorial concessions from Ukraine as part of the ongoing peace talks.

The survey suggests that Ukrainians are even less ready to accept a de jure recognition of the Russian occupation – 68% of respondents said they are categorically against such a step, while 24% were open to it if it leads to peace.

The strongest opposition – 78% – was against handing over control of Ukrainian territories that Russia does not currently occupy. Only 15% of respondents were willing to make that compromise.

Russia currently occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine's territory. This includes the whole of Crimea occupied in 2014 and large parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.

Moscow illegally declared the annexation of the latter four regions in 2022 and insists on Ukraine's full withdrawal from them as part of a peace deal, even though it does not control them completely.

The Kremlin is also pushing for a formal recognition of its hold over Ukrainian territories. While U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly signalled a willingness to U.S. recognition of the Russian occupation of Crimea, Ukraine has rejected the step, as well as its withdrawal from the territory it currently holds.

The poll revealed that public opinion on territorial concessions has remained relatively stable over the past months.

When asked whether Ukraine should give up territories to achieve peace — without specifying a de facto or de jure recognition of the Russian occupation — 52% said Ukraine should not take the step under "any circumstances."

In comparison, 38% of respondents backed the compromise. These are almost the same figures as in December 2024, when 51% were opposed to the concession, while 38% were open to it.

"Our survey shows that the issue of territorial losses is extremely sensitive for Ukrainians and, in particular, how exactly 'territorial losses' are interpreted plays a significant role," said Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director of KIIS, in a statement.

"At the same time, this means that (un)readiness for territorial losses can become the subject of manipulation and information campaigns against Ukraine."

The poll was conducted between May 15 and June 3. It involved 2,004 adult residents of the Ukrainian-controlled territories who were interviewed by telephone. Only about 500 of them answered all four questions.

Key to Russia’s potential defeat lies in its economy

As the war in Ukraine grinds on, attention remains fixed on the battlefield. But Russia’s most vulnerable flank is not in the trenches — it’s in the treasury. The West, and especially the United States, holds economic levers that could push Vladimir Putin toward serious negotiations or even collapse

The Kyiv IndependentWojciech Jakóbik

War intensifies amid Russia’s summer offensive. Ukraine has spotted a massive redeployment of Russian self-propelled artillery and air defense systems to Sumy Oblast. 

Ukrainian forces have recorded a large-scale transfer of Russian military equipment from Crimea and Kherson towards Sumy Oblast. According to Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Occupation Studies Center, this is the largest movement of weaponry in the past six months.

“More than 10 self-propelled artillery systems, air defense systems, and convoys of over 40 trucks carrying ammunition and personnel,” Andriushchenko says.

The equipment is being loaded onto trains and sent to Russia’s Kursk Oblast, effectively heading to Sumy. The Russians are now stationed approximately 25-30 km from it. If they reach the city’s border, they will use artillery to strike it. 

Special attention is drawn to the military equipment markings, which, with their dominant tactical symbol of a triangle within a triangle, indicate reinforcement of this specific direction.

Amid this buildup, Sumy faces heavy drone attacks. Konotop mayor Artem Semenikhin stated that on 8 June, the region endured the most powerful drone assault since the war began: “The entire sky over the region turned red with targets.”

An explosion recently occurred at the Crimean Bridge, but caused "no damage," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on June 4, accusing Ukraine of attempted attacks on Russia's infrastructure.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed responsibility for the explosion that rocked the bridge in the early hours of June 3. The agency said that more than a ton of explosives in TNT equivalent damaged the underwater supports of the structure.

"There indeed was an explosion. There was no damage, the bridge continues to function," Peskov said, according to the Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti. "Kyiv continues in its attempts to attack infrastructure facilities."

Constructed after Russia’s illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014, the Crimean Bridge — also known as the Kerch Bridge —  is a critical supply and transport route for Russian forces to the occupied Ukrainian territories. It connects the occupied peninsula to Russia's Krasnodar Krai via the Kerch Strait.

The Russian state media reported on June 3 that a "Ukrainian intelligence agent" who had constructed a bomb on "orders from Kyiv" had been detained by Russia's FSB.

In comments later on June 3, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, said the "key and most complex" part of the bridge had been damaged in the attack.

The operation, which follows the SBU's mass drone strike against Russia's strategic aviation on June 1, was personally supervised by the agency's chief, Vasyl Maliuk.

The bridge suffered significant damage during two previous Ukrainian attacks in October 2022 and July 2023, though neither managed to take the bridge out of commission.

Inside Russia, calls for peace come with conditions — and Kremlin talking points

Following the second round of direct peace talks with Ukraine, the Russian side leaked its proposal on how to end its war — effectively a demand for Ukraine’s surrender. Yet, if the intentions of the Kremlin are no secret — continue the war until a political or military victory — getting information on

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

The Crimean Bridge, which was illegally constructed after the 2014 annexation of Crimea, linking the occupied peninsula with Russia, has come under attack twice in a single day, UNIAN reports. 

Since 1 June 2025, Ukraine has intensified its bold attacks on Russian infrastructure, including strikes on four airfields and 41 aircraft used to kill Ukrainian civilians. These operations aim to pressure Moscow into agreeing to a ceasefire and peace deal. Talks held on 2 June between Ukraine and Russia again ended without a peace agreement. 

“The attack on the Crimean Bridge continues. They’re breaching defensive barriers. The bridge is closed,” writes the Russian Telegram channel ChP / Crimea.

Russian military blogger Vladimir Romanov claimed the strike was carried out using unmanned surface vessels, or sea drones. He said Russian forces managed to destroy one drone, but the attack was still ongoing.

Z-channel 13 TACTICAL, associated with Russian military sources, also reported “explosions near the bridge’s defensive perimeter.”

Meanwhile, the pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported a powerful explosion in Kerch in the afternoon. 

“A helicopter has been launched to patrol the shoreline along the strait. Kerch-based Telegram groups are in panic,” the channel noted.

Additionally, Russian air defenses were reportedly active at the Belbek airbase near occupied Sevastopol, while residents in Russian-occupied Feodosia heard two explosions. 

Eyewitness videos circulating online show the Crimean Bridge enveloped in smoke, possibly from a deliberate smoke screen to obstruct incoming missiles and drones, or as a result of explosions in the vicinity. 

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 2 June that newly published Ukrainian and Russian memorandums highlight how far apart both sides remain after their latest negotiations the same day — with Russia repeating maximalist demands and Ukraine focusing on phased peace efforts and further dialogue.

Ukraine pushes for ceasefire, humanitarian steps, and lasting security

Ukraine’s memorandum, published by Suspilne on 1 June, outlines four core proposals:

• an unconditional ceasefire on land, sea, and in the air;
• confidence-building measures like returning all Ukrainian civilians and children and exchanging prisoners of war;
• a long-term peace agreement with firm security guarantees and full territorial integrity;
• and continued negotiations after the 2 June Istanbul meeting, including preparation for a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting.

Ukraine also insists on the right to join any security alliance, including NATO.

Nothing new: Russia repeats lang-grab recognition, regime-change, disarmament demands

Russia’s memorandum, published by TASS on 2 June, is split into three sections. The first demands Ukrainian recognition of Russia’s control over all of Ukraine’s Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson oblasts, and Crimea — and complete withdrawal from these territories. It also calls for permanent Ukrainian neutrality, cancellation of all military alliances, a total ban on foreign military presence, and strict protections for Russian-speaking populations.

The second section outlines two ceasefire options. The first requires Ukraine to withdraw beyond current front lines in all four oblasts. The second demands Kyiv demobilize, end martial law, cancel all foreign military support and intelligence sharing, and organize presidential elections within 100 days of martial law ending.

The third section proposes a short ceasefire to recover bodies, followed by a 30-day timeline for Ukrainian withdrawal and eventual signing of a peace deal — only after Ukraine forms a new government.

ISW: Russia still aims for total Ukrainian capitulation

ISW notes that these demands are consistent with the Kremlin’s longstanding goals: territorial gains, military and political control over Ukraine, and the installation of a pro-Russian government. As of 2 June 2025, Russia occupies 79.8% of the four contested oblasts, while Ukraine retains around 21,600 square kilometers, including major cities like Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, and Sloviansk. ISW adds that Russian forces have not shown the ability to capture cities of that scale since early 2022.

“Russian forces have not demonstrated the capacity to seize cities of this size since early 2022, and the Russian military is almost certainly incapable of conducting a successful offensive operation to seize one of these cities after three years of war and degradation,” the think tank wrote.

Child deportation claims briefly raised, dismissed by Russia

ISW also summarizes that Ukraine presented Russia with a list of hundreds of abducted children, which Russia dismissed. Kremlin negotiator Medinsky said the list included 331 names and denied mass abductions. Ukraine has verified the deportation of at least 19,456 children, with only 1,345 returned. Russia’s children’s commissioner previously claimed 700,000 Ukrainian children had been “accepted” by Russia.

Russian delegates call abducted children issue “show for childless European grandmothers”

An explosion occurred at Kerch Strait Bridge this morning. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) on 3 June confirmed it carried out an operation to damage the Kerch Bridge from below the waterline, marking the third time Ukrainian forces have struck the Russian-built structure connecting occupied Crimea with mainland Russia. 

According to the SBU, the operation targeted the underwater supports of the Crimean bridge—known by Russia as the Kerch bridge—with specially planted explosive devices. The agency reported that the attack was launched precisely at 4:44 a.m., damaging the bridge at the level of its underwater support pillars.

The explosives used amounted to 1100 kg in TNT equivalent, the SBU stated, describing the bridge as now in a critical or near-emergency condition. The SBU emphasized that the explosion caused no civilian casualties.

SBU head Vasyl Maliuk personally coordinated and supervised the planning and execution of the mission. He stated:

“God loves the Trinity (Ukrainian saying used when something occurs for the third time, – Ed.), and the SBU always finishes what it starts and never repeats itself. We struck the Crimean bridge twice before, in 2022 and 2023. Today, we continued that tradition—this time from underwater.”

Legitimate military target

Maliuk justified the strike as a response to Russia’s continued occupation of Ukrainian territory and the use of the bridge as a key supply route for Russian military operations in southern Ukraine.

“No illegal object of the Russian Federation has any place on the territory of our state,” he said. “The Crimean bridge is an entirely legal target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops. Crimea is Ukraine, and any signs of occupation will be met with a tough response.”

Damage remains unverified

The full extent of the underwater damage has not yet been independently verified. However, the SBU’s statement indicates significant harm to the bridge’s structural supports at the seabed level. Russia has not yet commented on the event at the time of publication.

A Russian military train carrying fuel and food was blown up overnight on June 1 near Melitopol, according to Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR).

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

The agency stopped short of claiming responsibility for blowing up the Russian train station in southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, but said "the fight against the military logistics of the Russian occupiers continues."

HUR's statement further noted heightened Russian searches and stricter checkpoints in the region as Russian forces seek to find those responsible.

It was a bad night for Russian railways. A train derailed in Bryansk Oblast, which borders Ukraine to the North, after a road bridge collapsed, killing at least seven people and injuring 69 others.

Preliminary reports suggest that explosions were heard in the Vygonichsky district of Bryansk Oblast ahead of the impact, and Moscow Railways, a subsidiary of state-run Russian Railways, claimed that the bridge collapsed due to the "unlawful interference in transport operations."

No further information was provided as to the cause of the bridge collapse, and the full extent of the damage was not immediately clear.

And the Ukrainian partisan group Atesh claimed to have sabotaged a railway in occupied Donetsk Oblast.

As 50,000 Russian troops amass, Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast braces for potential large-scale offensive

Reports of an imminent Russian summer offensive and troop build ups on Ukraine’s border are raising alarms in Sumy Oblast and fears that a large-scale assault could be on the horizon. Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 22 said he had ordered his military to create a “security buffer zone”

The Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima

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

Former U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo warned against recognizing Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea and other Ukrainian territories seized by force, calling it "a mistake of epic proportions" during remarks at the Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa on May 31.

Pompeo acknowledged frustrations over the current front lines but cautioned against ceding Ukrainian land to Russia. "I get the frustration … I’m not naive about what’s physically possible in this moment, but that doesn’t mean one should go and say, 'and we are giving up for all time,'" he said, according to The Hill. "This is one of the things I hope to communicate."

The remarks come as the Trump administration considers granting Russia de jure recognition over territories it occupies in Ukraine as part of ongoing ceasefire negotiations. Ukraine is under pressure to agree to a ceasefire without regaining all of its territory, but Kyiv is urging allies not to legitimize Russian control over occupied regions.

"Crimea will stay with Russia. And (President Volodymyr) Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it's been with them for a long time," U.S. President Donald Trump  said in interview with Time magazine on April 22.

Trump has been pushing both sides for a peace deal to end the war at all costs, threatening to walk away if there is no progress made in the near future. Trump's recent messages suggest that he started growing impatient with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

On May 28,  Trump said that the United States would soon find out whether Putin is genuinely interested in ending the war in Ukraine, cautioning that if Moscow is merely stalling, Washington would "respond a little bit differently."

In Odesa, Pompeo reiterated his 2018 Crimea Declaration, issued during Trump’s first term, in which the U.S. rejected Russia’s claims to Ukrainian territory captured by force.

While Trump has since distanced himself from Pompeo, the former secretary said he continues to make the case on Capitol Hill for maintaining the declaration. He named Senator Lindsey Graham, a vocal supporter of Ukraine, as one of the allies he spoke to during his visit to Ukraine.

"There are many in my party, the Republican party, that have disappointed me deeply and have said things that are inconsistent with what I think are the deep American interests that we have here," Pompeo said. He added, "But I think they all also know, that, in the end, there’s no walking away from this for the United States."

Could Ukraine have stopped Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014?

Russia built up its military presence in Crimea for decades, allowing it to swiftly capture the peninsula amid revolution in Ukraine.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova

The latest missile to join the Russian terror campaign is one of the weirdest: a target drone that the Russians have modified for a one-way attack. 

The Dan-M is a 350-kg jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle that Russia’s Sokol design bureau designed for air-defense training back in the early 1990s. Launched from the ground or air, a Dan-M is capable of flying at very low altitude and high subsonic speed for as long as 40 minutes.

On or before Thursday, Russian forces in Crimea launched three Dan-Ms at Ukraine. The Russians had modified the Dan-Ms into a kind of “attack UAV,” according to drone expert Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov. The modifications included repainting the drones from their normal bright red to a more subtle color, Beskrestnov wrote—and presumably also included the addition of a warhead.

It’s unclear whether the Dan-Ms struck their targets. “For information security reasons, I cannot report the fate of this group of attack UAVs,” Beskrestnov wrote.

If a Dan-M survives its training sortie, it pops a parachute and floats back to the ground for repairs and reuse. A single Dan-M is usually good for up to 10 training flights before it wears out.

It should be pretty easy to convert the target drones into cruise missiles: simply add a warhead and maybe omit the parachute.

Indeed, the Ukrainians have performed similar modifications on their 1970s-vintage Tupolev Tu-141/143 reconnaissance drones. Swapping out their cameras for warheads, Ukrainian forces fired several old Tu-141/143s at targets in Russia’s border oblasts early in Russia’s 39-month wider war on Ukraine. 

But the Ukrainians were, at the time, desperate for deep-strike munitions. They hadn’t yet ramped up development and production of purpose-made long-range strike drones. The explosive Tu-141/143s were an expedient—one Ukraine no longer needs.

Ukraine’s drones are at work, too

How Ukraine can win, p.2: The single drone target that could cripple Russia’s oil empire

What’s the point?

Why does Russia need to arm its Dan-Ms? Even Beskrestnov doesn’t know for sure. “We did this because we did not have cruise missiles and long-range attack UAVs,” he wrote. “And why Russia made this modification is unclear.”

One possibility is that the Russians “have a large number of these UAVs,” Beskrestnov proposed.

Russian air-defense troops get plenty of practice shooting at actual Ukrainian missiles and drones. The wider war may have rendered potentially substantial stocks of Dan-Ms redundant—so why not add warheads and shoot them at Ukraine?

The most obvious explanation—that Russia is running low on purpose-designed deep-strike munitions—seems unlikely. If anything, the Russian strike arsenal is expanding as the Kremlin finds more ways around foreign sanctions and, with growing stocks of high-tech components, ramps up production of munitions, including Kh-101, Kh-555, Banderol cruise missiles, KAB glide bombs, and Shahed attack drones.  

The two biggest Russian air raids of the wider war took place on the nights of May 24 and 25, each involving more than 350 missiles and drones. The munitions rained down on cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa.

“Russian strikes against Ukraine continue to disproportionately impact civilians and civilian infrastructure,” noted the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, D.C.

The intensifying raids are “part of a cognitive warfare effort to weaken Ukrainian resolve and to undermine Western support for Ukraine,” ISW explained.

Adding Dan-M drones to the Russian arsenal only slightly expands the terror campaign. But for the Russians, every weapon they can fire at Ukrainian cities is a weapon well-spent. 

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A Ukrainian citizen disappeared in Russian-occupied Crimea earlier in May after being detained by people who presented themselves as Federal Security Service (FSB) officers, Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on May 29.

Serhii Hrishchenkov was taken in Sevastopol overnight on May 7, and his whereabouts are currently unknown, said Lubinets, who received an appeal from the man's daughter.

Lubinets added that he had appealed to his Russian counterpart, Tatyana Moskalkova, regarding the case. At the time of publication, the Russian ombudsman's office had not issued a public reaction.

The Ukrainian ombudsman stressed that Hrishchenkov's disappearance is "not an isolated case," with other people being kidnapped by alleged FSB officers.

"This case of a Ukrainian citizen once again demonstrates the inability of the occupation authorities to ensure the implementation of international civil and political rights for residents of occupied Crimea," Lubinets said in a statement on Telegram.

"Cynicism and human rights violations have become commonplace for thousands of Ukrainian citizens!"

Russian occupation of Crimea, ongoing since 2014, has been accompanied by a harsh crackdown on civil and political rights and persecution of Ukrainian activists, Crimean Tatars, and others.

How much does a Russian drone attack on Ukraine cost? The question is more complicated than it sounds

Beginning overnight on Saturday, May 24, Russia rained down nearly a thousand drones and missiles on villages and cities across Ukraine in three nights of large-scale aerial attacks, as civilians spent hours sheltering underground. Russia’s bombardment killed more than a dozen people and injured dozens more, in one of

The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta