© Saher Alghorra for The New York Times
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has quietly disbanded a working group formed to develop strategies for pressuring Russia into peace talks with Ukraine, three US officials told Reuters. The move follows a suspension of a separate initiative countering Russian disinformation. Trump’s broader peacemaking efforts, including in the Middle East, have also struggled in recent months.
Set up earlier this spring, the inter-agency group included officials from the National Security Council (NSC), State Department, Treasury, Pentagon, and intelligence community. It lost relevance by May as Trump appeared increasingly uninterested in tougher action against Moscow.
“The effort […] lost steam toward the end because the president wasn’t there. Instead of doing more, maybe he wanted to do less,” one official said.
Officials said the group explored ways to pressure post-Soviet states to restrict trade with Russia, including incentives for Kazakhstan to curb sanctions evasion. However, no policies were enacted before the group’s shutdown.
Trump delays backing new Russia sanctions over claimed US economic burden and peace deal hopes as Moscow continues to bomb Ukraine
Roughly three weeks ago, most members of the NSC’s Ukraine team were dismissed, including top Europe-Russia adviser Andrew Peek. The purge made it nearly impossible to continue the effort.
The existence of the group had not been publicly known. Its end raises concerns among European allies, especially ahead of an upcoming NATO summit, over Trump’s mixed signals on supporting Ukraine.
The group was formed as Trump publicly expressed anger at Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying in March he was “pissed off” over attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s legitimacy. Still, Trump has since suggested the US might abandon peace efforts altogether.
Estonia continues to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, this time by delivering a new batch of artillery ammunition. The exact number of shells in the latest shipment was not disclosed.
Estonia plans to provide military aid to Ukraine amounting to approximately 0.25% of its GDP annually from 2024 to 2027. In 2023, Tallinn gave all of its 155 mm howitzers to Ukraine.
The announcement was made by the Estonian Ministry of Defence on the X platform on 13 June.
“Estonia has delivered more artillery ammunition to Ukraine. Ukraine’s security is European and transatlantic security. We must keep supporting Ukraine, so it can defend itself and achieve a just, lasting peace,” says Estonia’s Defense Ministry.
Previously, Estonia had provided Ukraine with 10,000 artillery shells and 750,000 food kits for soldiers, Slovo ta Dilo reports. It also delivered equipment and machinery to Ukrainian rescue services. In March, Estonia announced plans to purchase military equipment and gear worth €100 million for Ukraine.
Earlier, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský stated that Prague plans to supply Ukraine with even more ammunition in 2025 and continue its support in 2026.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to receive military support from Iran and North Korea, and other states that do not support Western sanctions.
Russia is already at Estonia’s gates. Tallinn may become the next target for Russia’s aggressive war because the Russians have several convenient pretexts for it, The Economist reports.
For several years, Russia has been conducting a covert campaign of intimidation and destabilization against Estonia, using cyberattacks, undercover agents, sabotage, and legions of disinformation bots on social media.
NATO recognizes these risks and has been increasing its military presence in the region: currently, over 2,000 troops from allied countries are stationed in Estonia.
However, amid the reduction of American forces in Europe, Estonia could become the place where Russia first attempts to test the reliability of NATO’s Article 5 on collective defense.
Between the 1950s and 1980s, the Kremlin resettled hundreds of thousands of ethnic Russians to Estonia, and today they make up one-fifth of the country’s 1.4 million population. The largest number of them are living in the city of Narva, located right on the border with Russia. Nearly the entire population there is descended from Russian settlers.
More than 30 years later, Russians have shifted from a politically dominant group to a lower-class minority, though many in Narva still feel attached to the Soviet version of history.
Since the war in Ukraine began, Russian destabilizing efforts have intensified throughout Estonia. Last year, a sociology professor who seemed liberal was exposed as a Russian agent. In 2023, vandals damaged the cars of the Minister of Internal Affairs and the editor of a Russian-language news website.
At the same time, Russian attempts to recruit Russian speakers for minor sabotage through social media have found little support.
Russia recruits elderly in covert sabotage campaign across Ukraine and Europe
The war in Ukraine has united Estonians but divided the Russians living there. Some feel sympathy for their homeland, where many have relatives; some resent Estonian nationalism. Some are Putin supporters or simply wish for a brotherly alliance like in the old days. Others, especially younger people, warmly welcome Ukrainian refugees into their schools and communities.
Since 2022, the Estonian government has taken steps to isolate Estonia from Russia. It stopped issuing visas to Russian citizens, restricted Russian business activities, banned Russian TV channels from cable packages, and removed Soviet-era monuments. This year, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania disconnected their electricity grids from Russia.
Most of the well-known and most controversial Estonian residents holding Russian passports, who previously could vote in municipal elections, will no longer be able to do so after this year’s elections.
“We don’t know if an exchange of nuclear strikes will begin.” Nuclear conflict risk between Iran and Israel threatens not only the Middle East but also Ukraine, says former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko, Radio NV reports.
Israel has carried out a large-scale military operation targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities. The operation, years in the making, resembled Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, as both involved coordinated drone swarms launched from hidden bases to cripple enemy infrastructure.
The West might shift its focus to a new crisis, while Russia could financially benefit from rising oil prices.
“If, after all these events, Iran reduces its support to Russia, that would be in our interests,” the diplomat notes.
At the same time, he warned that Israel’s actions might have a dangerous effect: “Who has power is right, and Iran will certainly respond to that.”
Ohryzko emphasizes that Tehran has already declared a strong response, using not only drones but also cruise and ballistic missiles.
“We don’t know what else is stored in Iran’s other sites, whether there are already ready nuclear warheads,” he adds.
According to the expert, Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons is almost an objective reality. Therefore, the risk of nuclear escalation becomes not hypothetical but an extremely realistic scenario.
“So, we don’t know if at some point an exchange of nuclear strikes will begin, and that would be not just dangerous, but horrific,” Ohryzko stresses.
Besides the military threat, there is another consequence — rising energy prices.
“There are reports that oil prices jumped by 12%. That means Russia will profit from this,” the former minister notes.
In such a situation, Ukraine risks losing part of the West’s attention while simultaneously facing the economic strengthening of its main enemy.
© Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times
© Atul Loke for The New York Times
Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called in Russia’s chargé d’affaires for questioning following a suspected airspace violation on 10 June, marking the second such incident within a month.
Finnish authorities suspect a Russian military aircraft breached the country’s airspace on 10 June near the coastal city of Porvoo. The Border Guard has launched an investigation into the incident, according to Yle.
The diplomatic meeting is scheduled for 11 June, though ministry officials have not disclosed specific details about the proceedings.
This latest violation follows a similar incident that occurred at the end of May. Following that previous breach, Finland’s foreign ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Finland Pavel Kuznetsov and formally delivered a diplomatic note addressing the matter.
The airspace incidents come amid broader concerns about Russian military activities along Finland’s border. In May, Major General Sami Nurmi, head of the strategic department of Finland’s Defense Forces, indicated that the country anticipates further Russian military buildup along their shared border after the conclusion of the war in Ukraine.
Earlier, Western media outlets have published satellite imagery showing Russia’s expansion of military installations near the Finnish border. The images revealed new military housing facilities and enlarged storage areas for military equipment.
Finnish intelligence services assessed that Russia could strengthen its military presence along the Finnish border to what they describe as a “threatening level” within the next five years.
NATO intelligence sources also told a Finnish newspaper that Russia is actively maintaining and updating plans for a potential multi-front offensive against NATO’s eastern flank, targeting Finland, Norway, and the Baltic states, with intelligence indicating it could amass up to 600,000 troops along these borders despite its main forces being engaged in Ukraine.
Telegram, a global messaging app known for its emphasis on privacy founded by Pavel Durov, is facing new scrutiny after an investigation by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and its Russian partner Important Stories. It revealed that the infrastructure routing its traffic is controlled by a Russian network engineer whose companies have previously worked with Russian intelligence and defense agencies.
The investigation identifies Vladimir Vedeneev, a 45-year-old Russian engineer, as the owner of Global Network Management (GNM), which maintains Telegram’s servers and controls thousands of its IP addresses. Legal documents from a Florida court show Vedeneev had exclusive access to Telegram servers, signed contracts on its behalf, and even acted as its informal CFO under a power of attorney from Telegram founder Pavel Durov.
Vedeneev’s other companies — including GlobalNet and Electrontelecom — have provided services to Russia’s FSB, the GlavNIVTS computing center, and the state-run Kurchatov nuclear institute. Electrontelecom continues to assign over 5,000 Telegram IPs and manages surveillance systems used by the FSB in the St. Petersburg area.
Telegram blocks then unblocks chatbots used by Ukraine’s security services to get info on Russian activities
Despite Telegram’s claims of security, the MTProto protocol used in its encrypted messaging system includes an unencrypted “auth_key_id” element. Security expert Michał Woźniak explains that this allows anyone monitoring network traffic to identify a user’s device, IP address, and location even if the message content is encrypted.
Other experts, including John Scott-Railton of Citizen Lab, echoed these concerns, noting that metadata exposure could place users — especially those seen as threats by the Russian state — at serious risk.
Russian FSB has the keys to Telegram and Viber messengers and uses them for espionage — Ukrainian intelligence
A Ukrainian IT specialist said Russian forces used captured telecom infrastructure to conduct man-in-the-middle surveillance.
“In such an attack, the hackers aren’t even interested so much in the user’s correspondence,” he explained, “They get metadata to analyze… really, all possible information.”
Documents show that Vedeneev’s company owns a router inside the Telegram server room in Miami, and leases over 10,000 IPs to Telegram. Woźniak notes this allows potential access to user metadata, posing a major privacy concern.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov, known for creating the VKontakte platform – the Russian clone of the early Facebook – and later launching Telegram in exile, is under judicial supervision in France over charges related to illegal content. Though he has denied any infrastructure in Russia or post-2014 visits, a leak showed over 50 trips to Russia between 2015 and 2021.
Politico: French investigation into Telegram’s founders reveals broader scope
Durov did not respond to OCCRP’s requests for comment. Vedeneev declined to publish his statements publicly.
Vedeneev’s long-standing links to Russian state projects extend back to his partnership with Roman Venediktov, a former space forces officer and minority co-owner of GlobalNet. Their joint company, Peering, managed traffic for VKontakte through DATAIX and was acquired by GlobalNet in 2018.
The investigation also reveals that GlobalNet implemented Russia’s Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) system after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, aligning itself with Roskomnadzor regulations.
“If someone has access to Telegram traffic and cooperates with Russian intelligence services,” said Woźniak, “this means that the device identifier becomes a really big problem — a tool for global surveillance of messenger users.”
When Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian cyber warfare was supposed to be a game-changer. Intelligence agencies worldwide expected devastating digital attacks to cripple Ukrainian power grids, government systems, and military communications within hours.
Instead, the cyber offensive largely failed – and now exclusive leaked documents reveal why. GRU Unit 29155, Putin’s most notorious kill squad responsible for poisoning dissidents with Novichok and bombing weapons depots across Europe, had secretly built a hacking unit specifically for this moment. But their digital army was undone by the very traits that define modern Russia: corruption, incompetence, and personal scandals.
A year-long investigation by The Insider reconstructed this hidden history with surprising ease. By examining call logs, travel records, and leaked internal chats, investigators identified dozens of GRU hackers—convicted cybercriminals, young university recruits, and seasoned saboteurs with no technical training.
Their common weakness? Extraordinary sloppiness.
Many used personal phones and real identities when conducting operations or arranging meetings with mistresses and sex workers. The investigation reveals for the first time how Unit 29155’s hackers prepared for the invasion – and why their own incompetence doomed them to fail.
Unit 29155’s cyber operations began modestly in 2012 under Tim Stigal (real name probably Timur Magomedov), an ethnic Chechen blogger from Dagestan recruited by then-GRU director Igor Sergun. Operating under the alias “Key,” Stigal initially focused on disinformation in Azerbaijan before expanding to more ambitious false-flag operations.
In 2016, they penetrated Qatar’s largest state bank, stealing 1.5 GB of customer data and falsely attributing the hack to Turkish nationalists. They impersonated Ukraine’s Right Sector, a far-right nationalist group, to inflame tensions with Poland, and created fake “Anonymous” accounts to target Bellingcat, an independent investigative outlet known for exposing Russian intelligence operations.
Their most valuable asset became Dilyana Gaytandzhieva, a Bulgarian journalist who, according to investigators, maintained contact with GRU operatives and published material advancing Kremlin disinformation—most notably, conspiracy theories accusing the US of running secret bioweapons labs in Eastern Europe. In 2019, she launched ArmsWatch.com, a site styled as an investigative outlet but used to publish hacked documents and reinforce Russian intelligence narratives in the run-up to the war in Ukraine.
By 2021, as Russia prepared for its invasion, Unit 29155’s cyber efforts in Ukraine escalated sharply. The unit paid locals $1–5 to spray anti-Zelenskyy graffiti across Ukrainian cities and infiltrated nationalist groups like the Azov Battalion, with Stigal impersonating Akhmed Zakayev, a pro-Ukrainian Chechen separatist leader living in exile in London, to gain the trust of nationalist groups and individuals—one of whom is now serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
They compiled dossiers on key Ukrainian officials, including Ihor Zhovkva, deputy chief of President Zelenskyy’s office. In October 2021, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at Zhovkva’s home in Kyiv by a 20-year-old who said he had been promised $7,000—the exact sum recorded in Unit 29155’s expense logs for “processing Zhovkva.”
When Colonel Yuriy Denisov, the overseer of Unit 29155’s hackers, saw news of the attack, he left a telling comment in a chat group: “idiots.”
Server records show the hackers spoofed websites for Zelenskyy’s office and Ukrainian ministries, setting up spear-phishing campaigns and credential theft targeting energy providers, anti-corruption agencies, and military infrastructure.
Starting in 2019, Unit 29155 began recruiting from university coding competitions in Russia’s Voronezh. These recruits — nicknamed “eaglets” — were managed by GRU officer Roman Puntus and paid salaries of 400,000 rubles ($5,100) per month.
The first recruit, Vitaly Shevchenko, a 22-year-old Moldova-born hacker, successfully breached Estonia’s Ministry of Defense. He and five others — Borovkov, Denisenko, Goloshubov, Korchagin, and Amin Stigal (Tim’s son) — were later indicted by the US Department of Justice for the WhisperGate campaign, a pre-invasion cyberattack that deployed data-wiping malware across Ukrainian government and infrastructure networks.
As the war neared, the cyber unit began to collapse. Stigal resigned or was sidelined due to COVID-19 illness, replaced by Puntus, who turned out to be more invested in romantic escapades than cyber sabotage.
The affair that doomed a cyber war: GRU officer Roman Puntus began a long-term relationship with accountant Darya Kulishova, whom he installed as the nominal head of a shell company called Aegaeon-Impulse. He made frequent luxury trips from Moscow to Sochi to visit her. By November 2023, Kulishova had given birth to his son—while Puntus funneled GRU funds through the company to support his second family.
Meanwhile, Colonel Yuri Denisov left a massive digital footprint: over 687 Telegram messages full of racism, anti-LGBT hate, and criticism of military leadership. He reused a single phone number across four cover identities — exposing the unit’s entire hacker network.
When the invasion began in February 2022, Unit 29155’s cyber efforts fizzled. Rather than disabling Ukraine’s power grid, they managed only cosmetic website defacements. On January 13–14, they falsely claimed to have deleted government databases — which Ukrainian authorities later confirmed remained intact.
Their main server, Aegaeon, was left unprotected and discovered by hacktivists. Its mythological namesake — a traitorous titan punished for betrayal — proved painfully apt.
Though Unit 29155’s cyber operatives failed spectacularly in Ukraine, they haven’t vanished. Intelligence sources say they’ve repurposed their flawed tactics for a broader shadow war across Europe. Using playbooks first developed for Ukraine, GRU agents now recruit saboteurs via Telegram, offering cryptocurrency payments for arson attacks on NATO facilities and critical infrastructure.
The Insider’s investigation exposes how one of Russia’s most feared covert units, built for hybrid warfare, collapsed under the weight of corruption, dysfunction, and internal betrayal. Their mission didn’t fall to enemy fire — it failed from within.
In the end, Russia’s greatest cyber threat wasn’t the West. It was Russia itself.
Russia turns the war into a marathon of continuous arms production. Moscow produces more ammunition than all NATO countries combined, and does so many times faster, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London on 9 June.
He also called for a 400% increase in air and missile defence systems. 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.
“In terms of ammunition, Russia produces in three months what the whole of NATO produces in a year,” said Rutte.
He added that Russia’s military machine is not slowing down. On the contrary, it is strengthening its potential. Russia is actively replenishing its arsenal with help from China, Iran, and North Korea.
Rutte also noted that Russia is using Chinese technology to modernize its army.
“And its defence industrial base is expected to roll out 1,500 tanks, 3,000 armoured vehicles, and 200 Iskander missiles this year alone,” the NATO chief highlighted.
He warned that Russia could be ready for aggression against NATO within the next five years. According to Rutte, “President Putin does not act like someone who is interested in peace.”
NATO needs to increase air and missile defence by 400% – Rutte says ahead of June summit
© Hatem Khaled/Reuters
© Pavel Bednyakov/Associated Press
© The New York Times
© Graham Dickie/The New York Times
© Graham Dickie/The New York Times
Ukraine warns of a nuclear disaster risk that could impact all of Europe. Moscow is reportedly considering reconnecting the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the Russian energy grid despite serious technical problems, UNIAN reports.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the largest in Europe, has enough capacity to cover the annual electricity needs of countries like Ireland, Slovakia, or Finland.
According to Yury Sheiko, First Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine, the plant’s power units remain in cold shutdown and are not generating electricity. The station is still being powered by Ukraine’s energy grid.
“They have no spare parts, no equipment, and no idea how to maintain or repair it,” Sheiko stresses.
The situation is even more dangerous due to a lack of qualified personnel. Most Ukrainian specialists do not have access to the equipment, and the technical condition of the plant remains unknown.
“No repairs have been carried out. The plant is not ready to be restarted. It’s extremely risky,” he warns.
Ukraine believes that Russia is using the prospect of restarting the plant as a tool of nuclear blackmail, trying to pressure both Kyiv and the international community.
Earlier, Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, reported that Russia may be preparing to connect the ZNPP to its own grid, constructing a power line to restore the plant’s full operation.
Meanwhile, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the agency has no evidence that the plant is being reconnected to the Russian grid. He also noted that the ZNPP cannot be restarted due to a lack of cooling water for the reactors.
Ukrainian drones not only destroyed dozens of Russian aircraft—they also shattered the Pentagon’s perception of security for the US itself.
On 1 June, Ukraine’s Security Service carried out a special operation that struck 41 aircraft, part of Russia’s nuclear triad. The mission has become a symbol of a new era of asymmetric warfare, where innovative drone systems and high-tech solutions allow a non-nuclear nation to effectively challenge a nuclear power state.
US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll warns that Ukraine’s recent deep strikes inside Russia reveal the US’s own vulnerabilities to similar attacks, The Hill reports.
Driscoll says the operation, reportedly involving over 100 low-cost drones smuggled into Russia by truck, illustrates how cheap, easily available weapons can inflict massive damage in capable hands. He expresses concern that the US Army is lagging behind in countering such threats.
“At a cost of mere tens of thousands of dollars, Ukraine inflicted billions in damage, potentially setting back Russia’s bomber capabilities for years,” Driscoll explains.
He adds that drones are just one example of a broader shift, and frankly, the US Army is not keeping up.
Driscoll’s concerns are echoed by a senior member of the committee, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who says Ukraine’s operation has “gotten our attention of the vulnerabilities of existing systems and the capabilities of drones” and other new systems.
“There is no question that the nature of warfare is changing dramatically. How do we adjust our force to meet those challenges?” he continues.
Ukraine’s successful strike has raised new questions about how well US territory is truly protected, a concern that hasn’t faded since mysterious drone sightings over New Jersey and other northeastern states late last year.
Last month, US President Donald Trump announced plans to create his own missile defense system called the Golden Dome, as one way to address new threats.
But this system, designed as a network of space-based radars and interceptors, is meant to defend against ballistic and intercontinental missiles, not low-flying drones or missiles launched from ships.
To respond quickly to emerging threats, Driscoll calls for more agile forces capable of rapid innovation and closer cooperation with the private sector, stating that the Army is currently frozen in bureaucracy.
Europe was preparing a protective shield for Ukraine after the war, but Washington refuses to support the air cover needed for such an operation, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the situation.
According to the report, European allies, after consultations with their American counterparts, concluded that President Donald Trump would not offer the guarantees they were seeking to back a Europe-led Coalition of the willing. This casts doubt on the feasibility of the initiative.
The US has declined to provide air defense assets to support the “deterrence forces” that the United Kingdom and France planned to deploy in postwar Ukraine.
The US’s unwillingness to provide the requested support highlights divisions among Western allies on how to respond to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
“European officials had said the US guarantee was needed alongside a strong Ukrainian force supported by allied training and troops, in order to deter Russia,” reads the report.
Earlier, the UK and France finalized plans for the deployment and operations of these forces but have paused implementation until ceasefire negotiations resume.
The allied forces, which were expected to help secure Ukraine’s airspace, coastline, and territory, stationing European troops far from the front lines at key ports and infrastructure sites, are dependent on a peace settlement that, in the view of European officials, is becoming increasingly unlikely.
Despite the US’s absence, the Ramstein meeting on 4 June kicked off a new era of military aid for Ukraine, with billions in investments and joint weapons production.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group convened for the second time this year at NATO headquarters to discuss Ukraine’s defense needs, review plans for the rest of the year, and reaffirm continued support.
For the first time since the group’s creation, the US Secretary of Defense was absent from the meeting.
The Pentagon explained that Pete Hegseth had a tight schedule, writes ArmyInform. He also won’t attend today’s NATO–Ukraine Council meeting, although he did arrive for the NATO ministerial and attended the Alliance’s headquarters on the morning of 5 June.
The US is gradually distancing itself from the Ramstein format, which was launched by the previous Joe Biden administration.
Nevertheless, the meeting results demonstrate that the rest of the allies remain committed to supporting Ukraine militarily, as confirmed by the announcement of new aid packages.
The central takeaway from the Contact Group meeting was the agreement to create a joint defense production mechanism. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the concept came from partners offering to help establish defense production involving Ukrainian companies.
“Our partners are ready to fully finance the production, and the products made under Ukrainian licenses will be sent to Ukraine as long as the war continues,” he explained.
During the discussions, however, the plan evolved into mutual investment: Ukrainian manufacturers will be able to invest in partner countries, while companies from these countries will be able to build large-scale factories in Ukraine.
Umerov noted that the idea is still new, with details under discussion and no official name yet.
“We’re calling it ‘Ramstein investments in the defense industry,’ but this is a strategic breakthrough,” the minister emphasized.
There are already specific agreements on joint production:
The SAAB produces Gripen fighter jets, Raytheon manufactures Patriot missiles, the only type capable of intercepting Russia’s ballistic missiles, KNDS makes missiles for NASAMS, and FFG is notable for supplying military vehicles and equipment, including contributing Leopard 1A5 tanks.
“Ukrainian drones have changed the situation on the battlefield, and now they will change how Ramstein countries prepare for future threats,” Umerov stated.
Before the session even began, London announced a new aid package with a special focus on drones: 100,000 drones for Ukraine’s Defense Forces by the end of 2025, ten times more than last year, with record investments of £350 million.
Additionally, 140,000 artillery shells have already been delivered. Another £247 million will go toward training Ukrainian troops as part of Operation Interflex, which has already trained 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
Germany, in turn, confirmed its previously announced €5 billion military aid package. It includes funding for long-range weapons to be produced in Ukraine, as well as the delivery of air defense systems, weapons, and ammunition.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius assured that supporting Ukraine remains a priority both for the new German government and for him personally.
Support for Ukraine goes far beyond just two countries. The Netherlands is focusing on maritime security: €400 million will go toward a mine countermeasure ship, boats, and maritime drones for Ukraine.
Norway is prioritizing support for Ukraine’s defense industry, allocating $700 million for drones and contributing $50 million to the NSATU fund.
Canada will provide $45 million for drones, electronic warfare equipment, and will send Coyote and Bison armored vehicles to Ukraine.
Belgium, which hosted Ramstein for the second time, announced a long-term initiative — committing to €1 billion annually in aid to Ukraine through 2029 and the delivery of a mine countermeasure vessel.
Sweden allocated €440 million for international programs to purchase artillery shells, drones, and other weaponry for Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent helicopter trip to the frontline Kursk Oblast, during which his aircraft allegedly came under Ukrainian drone fire, was orchestrated as a public relations stunt to demonstrate his “personal sacrifice” for the war effort, the Moscow Times reports.
The Defense Ministry promoted the story through state media, claiming the presidential helicopter was “at the epicenter of repelling a massive attack by enemy drones” during his visit to Kursk Oblast on 20 May. The trip was conducted in secrecy and only announced after Putin returned to Moscow.
Four current and former Russian officials, who spoke to The Moscow Times and requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of Putin’s security arrangements, said the Kremlin designed the incident to counter growing public dissatisfaction as ordinary Russians face increasing inconveniences from the ongoing drone strikes, such as flight cancellations and internet outages.
“Russians, dear ones, look. President Putin himself is suffering, tormented and even risking his own life. Your problems are trifles. You must grit your teeth and endure,” one Russian official told The Moscow Times, describing the intended message.
The reality of Putin’s security arrangements contradicts the public narrative of risk-taking, according to sources. Officials described his protection as increasingly stringent, with comprehensive health screenings for anyone in proximity to the president. One participant in Putin’s events this year recalled having to take PCR tests for multiple respiratory conditions, not just Covid-19.
Putin’s actual security arrangements involve hundreds of officers from multiple agencies including the Presidential Security Service, FSB, National Guard, and Interior Ministry.
Former Federal Guard Service officer Vitaly Brizhaty, who left Russia after the full-scale invasion, said Putin’s movements are so secretive that even intelligence officials often don’t know his location.
“He [Putin] doesn’t even trust his own people [the security services]. He only trusts his inner circle,” Brizhaty said.
Military expert Ivan Stupak, a former Ukrainian Security Service officer, questioned the plausibility of the incident. If genuine, he argued, it would represent a massive security failure requiring widespread dismissals within the Presidential Security Service.
“No one would ever allow such criminal negligence. Not even in a nightmare,” a government official told the publication.
Notably, the regular Kremlin press pool was excluded from this trip, and professional videographers were replaced by security personnel and other individuals. This departure from standard protocol was evident in the official footage, which lacked the typical high production values of presidential events.
Even respected Kremlin correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov from Kommersant, who reported on the alleged attack, was not present in Kursk and based his account on secondhand information.
The European Union is creating a new Black Sea Maritime Security Hub to enhance surveillance of Russian activities, including monitoring potential ceasefire violations in Ukraine and tracking sanction-busting oil tankers, The Telegraph reports.
The hub is part of the EU’s effort to boost real-time awareness and protect vital infrastructure in the region.
The command center will deliver live intelligence across the Black Sea, covering:
The system aims to give EU countries full-spectrum visibility, “from space to seabed,” according to officials.
“The exact size, shape and location of the monitoring station is still up for negotiation,” said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
The surveillance hub is central to the EU’s first comprehensive Black Sea Strategy, which focuses on:
The plan includes infrastructure upgrades and deeper cooperation with neighboring states.
“Getting equipment to the region faster strengthens deterrence and also supports NATO,” Kallas noted.
The EU’s move follows Ukraine’s successful use of maritime drones and Western weapons like Storm Shadow and Atacms, which forced much of Russia’s fleet back to home ports.
With Ukraine now maintaining a protected grain corridor along the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts, trade route security remains a top priority.
Out of the six Black Sea-bordering countries, Bulgaria and Romania are EU members. Ukraine is an applicant nation and key military partner. The strategy also seeks to connect the EU with the southern Caucasus and Central Asia through new energy and digital corridors.
However, Türkiye presents diplomatic challenges. Though a NATO member and EU candidate, it continues commercial ties with Russia and controls the Bosphorus Strait.
“This is also an invitation for closer cooperation with all countries around the Black Sea, including Türkiye,” Kallas said.
There is currently no indication that Russia is preparing to restart operations at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on May 29, despite concerns over recent reports of new Russian infrastructure around the facility, Reuters reported.
"Our teams continue to confirm there is no indication at the moment that there will be any active preparations for a restart of the plant now," an IAEA official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The comment follows Ukraine's protest to the IAEA over what it called an illegal Russian attempt to connect the facility to its own energy grid. Yurii Vitrenko, Ukraine's ambassador to the IAEA, said any such move would be a gross violation of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty.
Satellite imagery reviewed in a recent Greenpeace report and cited by the New York Times shows Russia has constructed more than 80 kilometers (49 miles) of high-voltage lines between the occupied cities of Mariupol and Berdiansk since February.
The group said this may be an effort to link the Zaporizhzhia plant to a substation near Mariupol, signaling potential plans to restart the facility and fully integrate it into Russia’s grid.
The Zaporizhzhia plant, located in the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar, is Europe's largest nuclear facility and has been under Russian control since March 2022. All six of its reactors remain shut down as the war continues, and the site has faced repeated power outages and safety threats due to nearby shelling.
Restarting any of the reactors would require a stable supply of water and external power. The plant lost access to its main cooling source, the Kakhovka reservoir, when the dam was blown up by the Russian forces in June 2023. Wells now supply enough water for cooling during cold shutdown, but not for full operations.
"The plant lost its main source of cooling water, so the whole system cannot work as it was originally designed," the IAEA official said. "The consumption of water is orders of magnitude higher (when the plant is operating) compared to cold shutdown. We don't see any easy, quick fix for it."
In March, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told Reuters that restarting the facility could be feasible within months of a lasting ceasefire — something that remains elusive. Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia are expected to meet in Istanbul for renewed peace talks on June 2.
Previously, the U.S. has reportedly proposed that control over the plant be returned to Ukraine before transferring its management to the U.S. to supply electricity to areas under both Ukrainian and Russian control. Moscow immediately rejected the suggestion, claiming it was in "very good hands" under Russian control.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
Russian-linked hackers targeted U.K. Defense Ministry staff in an espionage operation while posing as journalists, Sky News reported on May 29, citing the British government.
The cyber attack was detected and thwarted, the government said.
Speaking to reporters at a government facility where a team had disrupted the Russian-backed operation, U.K. Defense Minister John Healey revealed the formation of a new cyber command tasked with managing both offensive and defensive cyber efforts.
"The nature of warfare is changing," Healey said, according to Sky News. "The keyboard is now a weapon of war and we are responding to that."
Western officials have warned about surging cases of Russian-linked cyberattacks and other hybrid operations, primarily targeting countres backing Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Earlier this month, London accused Russia's military intelligence (GRU) of a cyber campaign targeting Western logistics and technology organizations involved in delivering foreign assistance to Ukraine.
Similarly, the French Foreign Ministry accused a GRU-linked hacker unit of escalating cyberattacks against French ministries.
Both Ukraine and Russia have also employed cyberwafare as part of the full-scale war, targeting state institutions and companies providing critical services. The U.K. is part of the intarnational IT Coalition supporting Ukrainian cybercapabilities.
The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova
The European Union unveiled a new security strategy for the Black Sea region on May 28, aiming to counter growing Russian threats, improve regional defense infrastructure, and deepen cooperation with key partners from Ukraine to Turkey, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said.
Speaking at a press briefing in Brussels, Kallas outlined the bloc's "Strategic Approach to the Black Sea Region," calling it essential for European security, trade, and energy resilience.
"The Black Sea region is of great strategic importance to the European Union," Kallas said. "But the region's potential is marred by Russia's war. Reoccurring airspace violations, and attacks on ports and shipping lanes highlight this reality."
Kallas proposed creating a Black Sea Maritime Security Hub, envisioned as an early warning and monitoring system that would enhance situational awareness and protect key infrastructure such as offshore energy platforms and subsea cables.
Kallas said the hub could also support future peace monitoring efforts in the event of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. While the EU has not disclosed where the hub would be located or which countries would take part, a document seen by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty describes its focus on real-time monitoring from space to seabed, mine clearance, and the protection of commercial sea routes.
The strategy also calls for major upgrades to regional transport networks, including ports, roads, railways, and airports, to allow faster movement of heavy military equipment.
"These updates will help to ensure troops can be where they are needed, when they are needed," Kallas said, adding that the changes will also reinforce NATO deterrence. The EU plans to tighten screening of foreign ownership in strategic facilities, particularly in the region's ports.
The third major priority of the plan targets hybrid threats, including cyberattacks and disinformation. "The Black Sea region is a prime target for hybrid actions," Kallas said. She announced that the EU would invest in artificial intelligence to counter disinformation, promote media literacy, and support fact-checking networks.
The strategy was presented amid growing concern over Russia's destabilizing activities in the Black Sea and a broader effort to strengthen EU partnerships with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey, and Ukraine.
The plan notes that Turkey is a "vital partner and candidate country" and highlights its potential role in countering Russia's shadow fleet and ensuring maritime security.
According to RFE/RL sources, Turkey suggested it would assure safe passage in the Black Sea and potentially clear up mines in case of a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
Turkey has emerged as a potential mediator in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, balancing relations with both sides through ongoing diplomatic and economic engagement. So far, Ankara has supported peace talks, helped enable grain shipments, and signaled readiness to assist in monitoring any future ceasefire.
The EU will reportedly convene a ministerial meeting with Black Sea partner countries to coordinate the next steps. The strategy does not include new funding commitments or legislative proposals.
The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir
Lithuania has demanded more than 200 million euros ($227 million) in compensation for the migration crisis caused by Belarus, Lithuanian broadcaster LRT reported on May 26.
The demand comes after Lithuania instituted legal proceedings against Belarus in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on May 19, alleging that Minsk is "facilitating, supporting, and enabling the smuggling of migrants" into Lithuania.
"The initial estimates of damages, estimated to be more than 200 million euros, are allocated only to resolve the crisis within the internal affairs system. The calculations will be revised," the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice said in a comment to Baltic News Service.
Since 2021, Vilnius has accused Minsk of orchestrating a surge in irregular migrant crossings into Lithuania in an effort to destabilize Ukraine's EU and NATO ally.
In its lawsuit, Lithuania claims that the damages incurred between 2021 and 2023 resulted from building a physical barrier, enhancing border surveillance systems, and deploying an unprecedented number of personnel to the border due to Belarus' actions.
According to the Ministry of Justice, if the court recognizes a direct link between Belarus's actions and the resulting damages in Lithuania, it could set a precedent, making it easier to establish responsibility in future cases.
Poland may also join the lawsuit, independent Belarusian outlet Euroradio reported on May 23. Poland’s Foreign Ministry confirmed it was aware of Lithuania’s initiative and shares the view that Belarus has violated international law.
Belarus, which has not yet responded to the proceedings initiated by Lithuania, is one of Russia's staunchest allies, and part of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched from its territory.
Despite raising the issue with Belarusian authorities, Vilnius says that Minsk has refused to cooperate to limit illegal migration.
Lithuania previously said in April 2023 that it has refused entry to 20,000 migrants from Belarus, although that number has significantly grown since. Vilnius previously demanded Minsk pay 120 million euros ($134 million) from Belarus for facilitating the mass crossings.
Lithuania borders Russia's Kaliningrad exclave to the southwest and Belarus to the east and south. Tensions between NATO and Moscow have escalated since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has previously been accused of similar tactics, aimed at destabilizing NATO allies in the Baltics.
In response to Helsinki's accession into NATO, Finland has accused neighboring Russia of weaponizing migration by encouraging migrants from countries like Syria and Somalia to cross the border.
As Lithuania continues to strengthen its defenses along its borders with Belarus and Russia, the country announced on May 5 that it will invest 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) over the next decade to install anti-tank mines in order to "block and slow" a possible invasion.
Western intelligence agencies have warned of a potential large-scale war in Europe within the next five years, citing Russia's increasingly aggressive posture.
The Kyiv IndependentKollen Post
Latvia’s Foreign Minister Baiba Braže has publicly urged European Union countries to halt the issuance of visas to Russian citizens, citing serious security concerns, according to her post on X on 26 May. Braže emphasized that the number of Schengen visas granted to Russian nationals had increased by 25% in 2024 compared to 2023.
Braže wrote:
“Latvia calls on the EU countries to halt visa issuance for Russian citizens, citing security concerns.”
Calling on visa ban for Russian nationals, Braže reiterated the earlier appeal made by Latvia’s Minister of Interior, Rihards Kozlovskis, who also called on EU countries to end the issuance of visas to Russian citizens, warning that such travel poses risks to the bloc’s internal security.
Braže referred to a March article highlighting the rise in Schengen visa approvals. According to data discussed at the Council of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs of the EU in Brussels, 565,069 Schengen tourist visas were granted to Russian nationals in 2024. Notably, 90% of those visas were for tourism purposes.
Statistics from SchengenVisaInfo show that Italy received the most visa applications from Russians in 2023, handling 143,517 requests—28 % of the total. Italy also granted the highest number of Schengen visas to Russian citizens, issuing 134,141 visas, accounting for 30 % of all approved applications.
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