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Russia has launched its biggest aerial attack on Ukraine of the war so far as president Volodymyr Zelensky has once again called for more pressure on Putin.
Some 477 drones were launched with 60 missiles of various types across Ukraine, where air raid alerts sounded all night long, the president said, as he accused Russia of “targeting everything that sustains life.”
A child was injured as a residential building in Smila, central Ukraine, and Zelensky mourned an F-16 pilot, Maksym Ustymenko, who died after destroying seven aerial targets. An investigation has been launched into the circumstances of his death.
“Moscow will not stop as long as it has the capability to launch massive strikes. Just this week alone, there have been more than 114 missiles, over 1,270 drones, and nearly 1,100 glide bombs,” Zelensky said in his statement.
“Putin long ago decided he would keep waging war, despite the world's calls for peace. This war must be brought to an end — pressure on the aggressor is needed, and so is protection. Protection from ballistic and other missiles, from drones, and from terror.”
Zelensky welcomes home fresh batch of Ukrainian prisoners of war
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed home a new batch of the country’s soldiers taken captive by Russia as the two sides exchanged more prisoners of war yesterday.
“We are continuing the exchanges, another stage has taken place. Today, warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service are returning home. Most of them had been in captivity since 2022,” he said in a post on X.
“We are doing everything possible to find each person, to verify the information on every name. We must bring all our people home,” he said, just days after he said Russia had sent some of its own dead soldiers to Ukraine in a swap of fallen soldiers.
He also shared an emotional video of the Ukrainian soldiers reuniting with their loved ones upon return to the country at an undisclosed location.
The returned soldiers are seen draped in Ukrainian flags, hugging and crying their loved ones, calling their family members, drinking a beverage and smoking.
Alexander Butler27 June 2025 11:30
Moscow planning summer attack with North Korea, Seoul warns
South Korea’s intelligence agency warned that Russia could be preparing to launch a big summer attack on Ukraine with help from more North Korean troops.
The country's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said Moscow could be readying to mount a large-scale assault against Ukraine in July or August.
The NIS told South Korean politicans that North Korea would likely send 6,000 additional military personnel to Russia.
Alexander Butler27 June 2025 11:02
North Korea's deployment to Ukraine will be 'significant battlefield inflection' – ISW
North Korea’s deployment of its troops to Ukrainian territory will represent “significant battlefield inflection”, the Institute for the Study of War.
“The North Korean and Russian military commands authorising the deployment of North Korean forces to Ukrainian territory would mark a significant battlefield inflection that may improve Russian forces' ability to sustain simultaneous offensive operations in multiple directions, which the Russian military has traditionally struggled to conduct,” the US-based think tank said in its latest assessment.
According to the South Korean intelligence, North Korea may deploy an unspecified number of additional North Korean forces to Russia to fight against Ukraine as early as July or August 2025 and that North Korea continues to arm Russia with artillery ammunition and missiles.
Alexander Butler27 June 2025 11:00
Russian missile attack kills three
A Russian missile attack killed three people and wounded at least 14 in the city of Samar in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region on Friday, the governor said.
This was the second Russian missile attack in the last three days on the industrial city in central Ukraine. Regional officials gave no immediate details on damage.
Alexander Butler27 June 2025 10:54
Watch: Trump shows concern for worried BBC Ukraine reporter during press conference
Alexander Butler27 June 2025 10:30
Ukraine and Russia battle it out in war's hottest sector Sumy. Here's what we know so far
Ukraine has announced it has pushed back Russian forces on the battlefield and said they have prevented an advance into the northern Sumy region, which has been one of the hottest fighting areas along the war frontline.
Ukraine's top military commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Ukrainian successes in Sumy have prevented Russia from deploying about 50,000 Russian troops, including elite airborne and marine brigades, to other areas of the frontline.
Here’s what we know about the region caught in heavy attacks.
- Sumy, the city which is the capital of the Ukrainian region of the same name, had a prewar population of around 250,000.
- It lies about 20km (12 miles) from the frontline. Russia’s push into the region earlier this year compelled Ukraine to strengthen its defences there.
- Sumy borders Russia’s Kursk region, where a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year captured a pocket of land in the first occupation of Russian territory since the Second World War.
- The long border is vulnerable to Ukrainian incursions, Russian president Vladimir Putin said, and creating a buffer zone could help Russia prevent further cross-border attacks there.
- General Syrskyi said a special defence group has been formed to improve security in Sumy and surrounding communities, with a focus on improving fortifications and accelerating construction of defensive barriers.
Alexander Butler27 June 2025 10:00
Britain must ‘actively prepare’ for a war on home soil, major government review warns
Alexander Butler27 June 2025 09:30
The myriad countries arming Russia and Ukraine – and the billions it costs
Alexander Butler27 June 2025 09:00
Ukraine has halted Russia's advance in the northern Sumy region, commander says
Ukrainian forces have halted Russia's recent advance into the northern Sumy region and have stabilised the front line near the border with Russia, Ukraine's top military commander said yesterday.
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said that Ukrainian successes in Sumy have prevented Russia from deploying about 50,000 Russian troops, including elite airborne and marine brigades, to other areas of the frontline.
Sumy, the city which is the capital of the Ukrainian region of the same name, had a prewar population of around 250,000. It lies about 20km (12 miles) from the frontline.
Russia's push into the region earlier this year compelled Ukraine to strengthen its defences there.
Arpan Rai27 June 2025 08:30
Traffic restricted in Russia's Volgograd after Ukraine's 'massive' drone attack
Traffic on the Don River in the Kalachevsky district of Russia's Volgograd region was temporarily restricted this morning to eliminate wreckage from a "massive" Ukrainian drone attack, the regional governor's administration said.
"Sappers are at work," Volgograd governor Andrei Bocharov said. He added that there were no injuries as a result of the attack.
It was not immediately clear whether the bridge on the Don River, Europe's fifth-longest, was damaged.
The Russian defence ministry said in a post on Telegram that its air defence units destroyed 39 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Russian territory and the Crimean Peninsula, including 13 over the Volgograd region.
Arpan Rai27 June 2025 08:15
