Ukraine's 59th Brigade of the Unmanned Systems Forces said on June 17 that former fighter Ryan O'Leary no longer has access to current information about the unit's operations and cannot speak on its behalf.

The statement follows public criticism from O'Leary, an American volunteer and former commander of the Chosen Company, who alleged widespread leadership failures within Ukraine's Armed Forces.

On June 14, O'Leary said mismanagement within the military, rather than Russia's action, was responsible for "more deaths," accusing commanders of prioritizing personal power over troop welfare.

"The officer corps behaves like a caste system of untouchables or 'army lords,'" he wrote on X.

Chosen Company, originally formed as the 312 Swedish Volunteer Company at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, has drawn members from more than 31 countries.

Its first commander, Swedish veteran Edvard Selander Patrignani, was killed in action in July 2022. O'Leary took command afterward, and the unit was integrated into the 59th Brigade in early 2023.

O'Leary accused the former commander of the 59th Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Shevchuk, of sending intelligence officers into reckless assaults, resulting in avoidable casualties. Shevchuk was recently removed from command after being accused of submitting false reports.

"In the first two months of his command, he sent soldiers into unattainable positions with no hope of reinforcement or survival," O'Leary claimed.

In response, the 59th Brigade, deployed in the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast, said O'Leary voluntarily resigned from service on Feb. 8, 2024, and has not taken part in any operations or internal decisions since.

"He does not have up-to-date information on the state of affairs in the unit and cannot comment on it," the brigade said. "The dissemination of unfounded accusations and misinformation undermines morale and negatively affects the unit's combat readiness."

The 59th Brigade emphasized that its soldiers continue to perform combat missions under challenging conditions and "maintain high efficiency and effectiveness."

O'Leary had announced the disbandment of the Chosen Company on May 26, but said he would wait to discuss details until his contract officially ended.

‘A brutal strike’ — Massive Russian missile and drone attack hits Kyiv, killing 10, injuring at least 124

Russian drones and ballistic missiles targeted the capital overnight, killing 15 people and injuring at least 114, local authorities reported. Damage to civilian infrastructure has also been reported throughout the city.

The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova

Ukrainian drones will reach a new level. Newly appointed commander of the unmanned systems forces, Robert “Madiar” Brovdy, launches a major upgrade and deployment, Texty reports. 

Brovdy says 6–7 units of the Unmanned Systems Forces’ Drone Line are expected to enter the top ten most effective UAV units in the current ranking of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Over the next 100 days, Brovdy also announced the following steps:

• Deployment of a unified electronic system for planning, coordination, command, and online reporting for all USF units, 
• Expansion of USF operations into tactical and operational depth with 12 levels of application — from reconnaissance to countering enemy drones, 
• Increase in domestic production of munitions and creation of a unified supply depot for critical components such as StarLink, batteries, EW systems, and FPV parts, 
• Use of ground robotic complexes for the logistics of munitions, drones, and peripherals, 
• Execution of a unified recruitment campaign and establishment of a proprietary training network for drone pilots and operators of various systems, 
• Separate re-certification of personnel, retraining of inexperienced or unfit crews, and retraining by types of flight activities. Command aims for a clear match between functions, training, and the combat potential of each fighter.

As part of the reform of the Unmanned Systems Forces, a unified approach is planned to analyze capabilities, operational facts, and effectiveness of actions according to drone models and types of ammunition. This will form the basis for precise planning and efficient real-time supply of units.

A separate direction, details of which are not disclosed, concerns the use of UAVs at strategic depth.

In the field of technology development, the current Innovation and Development Center is undergoing transformation. Instead of functioning at the brigade level, it will serve the needs of the entire branch of the armed forces.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova

The head of the Land Forces of Ukraine resigned on June 1 following a Russian attack that killed 12 service members under his command.

"I have made the decision to file a letter of resignation from the position of Commander of the Land Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi in a statement on Telegram.

"Twelve dead. There are injured. These are young lads from the training battalion. Most of them were in shelters. They should have learned, lived, and fought – not died."

Drapatyi was referring to an incident in the morning of June 1 in which a Russian missile attack struck a training field and killed 12 soldiers and wounded 60 more. The field was at the time unidentified, but Drapatiy named it as the 239th Polygon, north of the city of Dnipro.

Russia has targeted Ukrainian training grounds aggressively in recent months. The 239th Polygon was also the site of a similar attack with an Iskander ballistic missile in March.

At the time, Drapatyi wrote: "Everyone who made decisions that day, and everyone who did not make them on time, will be held accountable. No one will hide behind explanations or formal reports."

In its announcement of the June 1 attack, the Land Forces press office wrote: "In the event of a determination that the action or inaction of responsible individuals led to the death and injury of servicemen, those responsible will be brought to strict accountability."

12 Ukrainian soldiers dead, 60 injured after Russian missile strike on training center

A statement on the attack did not identify the location of the training grounds, nor the specific type of missile used by Russia.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation has completed its probe into Colonel Oleh Poberezhniuk, commander of the 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade, accusing him of knowingly allowing torture and abuse of soldiers under his command to continue unchecked, the officials said on May 29.

According to the official statement, investigators determined that from February to July 2024, Poberezhniuk was aware of repeated instances of torture and cruel treatment carried out by a subordinate officer but failed to take any action. The officer in question, Senior Lieutenant Vladyslav Pastukh, allegedly beat, humiliated, and tortured fellow servicemen.

Pastukh, who is no longer with the unit, is the son of the brigade's chief of staff and a close associate of Poberezhniuk. Authorities say this personal connection likely influenced the commander's decision to conceal the crimes and avoid reporting them to law enforcement.

Pastukh was charged with abusing his authority in December 2024  after allegedly beating, humiliating, and torturing fellow service members. The commander faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

"Instead of protecting the rights of his subordinates, the commander effectively became complicit through criminal inaction, enabling further abuse," the bureau said. Such actions, it added, not only violate the law but also pose a serious threat to the internal discipline of Ukraine's Armed Forces during wartime.

Poberezhniuk has been charged with inaction of military authority under martial law, a serious offense under Ukraine's Criminal Code, carrying a sentence of seven to 10 years in prison. The case has been forwarded to Poberezhniuk and his legal team for review before being submitted to court. The Prosecutor General's Office is overseeing the case.

The charges follow a December 2023 Ukrainska Pravda investigation that revealed a pattern of systemic abuse within the brigade, including beatings, extortion, and reports of a soldier being tied to a wooden cross. The report also highlighted widespread nepotism, with multiple family members serving within the same unit.

Following public outcry, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi suspended Poberezhniuk, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov ordered an internal investigation.

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