[🇺🇦] Monitoring Russian and Ukraine War.

[Saif]

Russia says Ukraine, backed by Europe, is trying to wreck peace talks

Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine, backed by certain European countries, had taken several 'provocative steps' aimed at derailing Moscow-initiated direct peace talks with Kyiv. The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in over three years took place on May 16, but fail

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Russia says Ukraine, backed by Europe, is trying to wreck peace talks

REUTERS
Published :
May 27, 2025 16:58
Updated :
May 27, 2025 16:58

Russia's Defence Minister Andrei Belousov attends a military parade on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Files

Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine, backed by certain European countries, had taken several 'provocative steps' aimed at derailing Moscow-initiated direct peace talks with Kyiv.

The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in over three years took place on May 16, but failed to produce a ceasefire agreement.

"At the initiative of the Russian Federation, direct Russian-Ukrainian dialogue on a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine has been resumed," the ministry said.

"At the same time, the Kyiv regime, supported by certain European countries, has taken a number of provocative steps aimed at disrupting the negotiation process."

According to the Russian ministry, since May 20, Ukraine has significantly increased drone and missile attacks on Russian territory, using Western-supplied munitions and targeting civilian areas.

Between the evening of May 20 and the morning of May 27, Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 2,331 Ukrainian drones, including 1,465 outside the immediate conflict zone, the ministry said.

Ukraine has also reported a sharp escalation in Russian attacks on its territory, including a record barrage on Sunday night.

The intensification prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to comment that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "gone absolutely CRAZY," while also threatening new sanctions.

Russia's defence ministry on Tuesday said that its strikes were retaliatory, precise, and targeted solely at military facilities and enterprises within Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.​

 

[Saif]

Kremlin on Trump's 'playing with fire' comments: National interests paramount for Putin

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments about US President Donald Trump's remark that Vladimir Putin was "playing with fire" by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv, said the national interest was paramount for the Russian leader. He also said in a conference call with reporters on

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Kremlin on Trump's 'playing with fire' comments: National interests paramount for Putin

REUTERS
Published :
May 28, 2025 20:53
Updated :
May 28, 2025 20:53

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a statement to the media at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 11, 2025. Photo : Sergey Bobylev/Host agency RIA Novosti/Handout via REUTERS/Files

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments about US President Donald Trump's remark that Vladimir Putin was "playing with fire" by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv, said the national interest was paramount for the Russian leader.

He also said in a conference call with reporters on Wednesday that a possible meeting of Putin with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy should take place only following preparations and talks.​

 

[Saif]

Is Trump’s approach to the Russia-Ukraine war a geopolitical gamble or a strategic withdrawal?

Trump’s strategy has devolved into a pattern of contradictions and disengagement.

www.thedailystar.net

Is Trump’s approach to the Russia-Ukraine war a geopolitical gamble or a strategic withdrawal?

An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 24, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS

When Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, he vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war, saying that he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. This aptitude, repeated relentlessly during his campaign, hinged on his self-proclaimed prodigy for dealmaking and personal rapport with Vladimir Putin. Yet over 100 days into his presidency, the war rages on, as well as Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities have intensified. Trump's strategy has devolved into a pattern of contradictions and disengagement. The US president's initial bravado has collided with the grim realities of a war now in its fourth year, with escalating drone warfare and a large number of casualties on both sides. Trump's policy reversals—abandoning sanctions threats to Russia by lowering them, downplaying the US leadership, prioritising rare-earth mineral deals with Ukraine—have left the Kremlin emboldened and strained transatlantic unity.

However, the roots of this shift lie in Trump's transactional worldview. His administration inherited a war that had settled into a brutal attritional grind under President Joe Biden, with Ukraine relying on Western arms to thwart Russian advances. However, where Biden's approach marked the war as a struggle for "democratic sovereignty," Trump has treated it as a nuisance—an obstacle to his vision of a grand bargain with Moscow. Since Trump's win, US direct involvement has decreased. Meanwhile, enforcement of sanctions has ground to a halt and ceasefire plans have only advanced demands favourable to Russia. Yet in May 2025 alone, Russia carried out its largest aerial bombardment in the war. In this respect, Trump's recent calling of Putin "absolutely crazy" has been notable, but how much impact it will pose on the US approach remains a critical question.

The surge of Russian attacks coincided with Trump's diplomatic inertia. His sole tangible intervention—a two-hour call with Putin in mid-May—yielded little beyond vague Russian commitments to draft a "memorandum" on peace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Russia for the delay, while some other officials dismissed the "document" as a stalling tactic. Also, the US president's criticism of Putin contrasted sharply with his reproach of Zelensky, whom he accused of "causing problems," demanding that he "better stop."

The administration's failure to act decisively has had dire consequences. While Trump's Defense Intelligence Agency warned that Russia planned to fight through 2025, Trump at first kept pressuring Kyiv to make concessions without visible pressure on Russia to halt its attacks. Civilian casualties soared, with over 664 civilians killed and 3,425 injured, reported in the first four months of 2025, as reported by Kyiv Independent. All the while, the US president emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin by declining to impose pressure for an immediate ceasefire—backed by Europe—of meaningful sanctions. After Trump's two-hour phone call with Putin, he told reporters on May 19 that the call was "meaningful and frank" while the Russian leader declined to support the 30-day ceasefire plan. Putin instead ordered a "security buffer zone" along Ukraine's Eastern borders, and strikes on Ukraine's civilian buildings escalated to the heaviest bombings on May 10, with 70 missiles and almost 300 drones. Russian air raids continued on May 25, and Trump remained silent until May 27, when he finally addressed the massive aerial attacks on Ukraine. Posting on TruthSocial, Trump referring to the Russian President, said, "Something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!" On the same day, sources interviewed by The Wall Street Journal said Trump is considering renewed sanctions, but he could also decide to not impose sanctions at all. One of Trumpʼs key considerations, according to US officials interview by The Wall Street Journal, was his belief that he knew Putin well and that the Russian leader would end the war as a favour.

Trump's dynamic of bluster and retreat has undermined US credibility. It left Kyiv to face intensified attacks and fractured Europe's trust. Critics argue that Trump's approach has been less about diplomacy than coercion, pressuring Ukraine to comply with the territorial concessions. It became explicit in May, when the US declined to join the European-led sanctions, instead suggesting that Kyiv and Moscow resolve the conflict "independently." For Ukraine, already strained by dwindling Western aid, the lack of US leadership has been critical.

The differing approaches of the Biden and Trump administrations divulge a dichotomy. Biden considered the war as "a defense of democratic values," rallying NATO allies to supply tanks, artillery, and air defence systems. His strategy reached a fragile stalemate, suggesting the preservation of Ukraine's territory while avoiding direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. On the other hand, Trump has been considering the war through a transactional viewpoint. His early moves—halting arms shipments to pressure Kyiv into ceasefire talks—allowed Russian forces to regain momentum in eastern Ukraine. Diplomatically, Trump sidelined European partners, insisting Ukraine and Russia negotiate bilaterally. This approach became more apparent when Vice President JD Vance said that the war is "not our conflict." It drew sharp rebukes in Kyiv. Consequently, the contrast extends to their handling of alliances. Biden's administration worked closely with Europe to coordinate sanctions and aid. By contrast, Trump's "America First" policy gave rise to cynicism. Therefore, European leaders question whether NATO can function without US commitment, particularly after Trump hinted at withdrawing troops from Europe's eastern border.

Trump's policy has been marked by a reluctance to leverage sanctions against Russia, a departure from the Biden-era consensus. Biden used to believe that economic pressure could curb Moscow's aggression. Where the European Union (EU) imposed 17 rounds of sanctions targeting Russian energy, finance, and technology sectors, Trump deemed such measures as obstacles to maximising opportunities for Americans. This shift was clear during Trump's call with Putin this May, where discussions focused less on ending the war than on post-conflict economic collaboration. The Kremlin later emphasised Trump's enthusiasm for Russian rare-earth minerals and energy exports—sectors critical to US tech and manufacturing. In the meantime, the lack of US enforcement diluted EU efforts to isolate Moscow. One EU diplomat remarked, "We cannot deter Putin if America prioritises trade over security."

Putin's chess game is complex. On May 27, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan went on a two-day visit to Moscow, and Russian stressed on bilateral relations rather than Ukraine. Russian sources have said they viewed Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman as potentially suitable venues for direct talks with Ukraine in a direct blow to Trump who posed himself as the chief negotiator to end the war. The Kremlin's state media in February, framed Trump's deference as a victory. For Putin, Trump's isolationism validates a long-standing assumption: that Western resolve would fracture under economic and political pressure.

In March, the EU unveiled an 800-billion-euro defence plan with a view to bolstering arms production and making a joint rapid-response force. However, internal divisions persist. Poland and the Baltics advocate for unswerving military aid to Ukraine, while Hungary's Viktor Orbán—echoing Trump's rhetoric—calls for pragmatic engagement with Moscow. The EU's May 2025 sanctions package, targeting Russian LNG and shadow tankers, marks progress but highlights lacunae. Europe lacks the capacity to replace US intelligence sharing or advanced air defences. It leaves Ukraine vulnerable to missile strikes. At the same time, Trump's threats to withdraw US troops from NATO's eastern flank have given rise to concerns. If the US does not ensure its commitments, Europe cannot help but prepare to defend itself. For Ukraine, Europe's resolve is a lifeline, but doubts linger. Although the EU amplified aid, Kyiv's battlefield prospects depend on sustained Western unity—a unity questioned and puzzled by Trump's ambivalence.

Trump's approach to Ukraine raises questions regarding transatlantic ties (with NATO and the EU) as it has insofar left Kyiv fighting for survival with waning support. For Europe, the lesson should be clear. The EU's push for strategic autonomy faces immense hurdles—from internal divisions to military inadequacies. For the US, the cost of winning a trade deal with Russia may be the loss of its role as the self-proclaimed anchor of global stability. The war in Ukraine has become a referendum on something far larger: whether a world order built on rules and alliances can withstand the rise of transactional nationalism. In the era of a geopolitical and geoeconomic crux, ambiguity is the only certainty.

Kawsar Uddin Mahmud is a geopolitical analyst and researcher based in Dhaka.​

 

[Saif]

Russia masses 50,000 troops near Sumy front

Russia has massed more than 50,000 troops, including some of its best forces, near Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, but Kyiv has taken steps to prevent them from conducting a large-scale offensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

www.thedailystar.net

Russia masses 50,000 troops near Sumy front
Says Ukraine’s Zelensky; US, Russia clash in public over intensifying war

Russia has massed more than 50,000 troops, including some of its best forces, near Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, but Kyiv has taken steps to prevent them from conducting a large-scale offensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The build-up comes as Russia appears to be gearing up for a summer offensive in Ukraine while Kyiv waits for Moscow to present a memorandum laying out its conditions to proceed with ceasefire talks.

Sumy lies across the border from Russia's Kursk region where Ukraine previously seized and held a pocket of land for months, before being almost fully pushed out last month, although it says it still holds some small areas there.

"Their largest, strongest forces are currently on the Kursk front," Zelensky told reporters on Tuesday. "To push our troops out of the Kursk region and to prepare offensive actions against the Sumy region."

Putin has said he wants a "buffer zone" along Russia's border with Ukraine. Zelensky said he believed Russia wants to carve out an area of Ukrainian territory about 10 km (6 miles) deep.

Kremlin rebuffs a call by Zelensky for a three-way summit with Trump and Putin

Meanwhile, the Kremlin yesterday rebuffed a call by Zelensky for a three-way summit with Trump and Putin.

The United States and Russia also quarrelled in public yesterday over the intensifying Ukraine war after US President Donald Trump warned that President Vladimir Putin was "playing with fire"

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said that Putin was playing with fire and cautioned that "REALLY BAD" things would have happened already to Russia if it was not for Trump himself.

Top Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev, a former president, dismissed Trump's criticism.

"Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!" Medvedev wrote in English on the social media platform X.​

 

[Saif]

Russia and Ukraine step up the war on eve of peace talks

On the eve of peace talks, Ukraine and Russia sharply ramped up the war with one of the biggest drone battles of their conflict, a Russian highway bridge blown up over a passenger train and an ambitious attack on nuclear-capable bombers deep in Siberia. After days of uncertainty over whether or no

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Russia and Ukraine step up the war on eve of peace talks

REUTERS
Published :
Jun 01, 2025 21:25
Updated :
Jun 01, 2025 21:49

Specialists of emergency services work at the scene, after a road bridge collapsed onto railway tracks due to an explosion in the Bryansk region, Russia, June 1, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Stringer

On the eve of peace talks, Ukraine and Russia sharply ramped up the war with one of the biggest drone battles of their conflict, a Russian highway bridge blown up over a passenger train and an ambitious attack on nuclear-capable bombers deep in Siberia.

After days of uncertainty over whether or not Ukraine would even attend, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Defence Minister Rustem Umerov would sit down with Russian officials at the second round of direct peace talks in Istanbul on Monday.

The talks, proposed by President Vladimir Putin, have so far yielded the biggest prisoner exchange of the war - but no sense of any consensus on how to halt the fighting.

Amid talk of peace, though, there was much war.

At least seven people were killed and 69 injured when a highway bridge in Russia's Bryansk region, neighbouring Ukraine, was blown up over a passenger train heading to Moscow with 388 people on board. No one has yet claimed responsibility.

Ukraine attacked Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers at a military base deep in Siberia on Sunday, the first such attack so far from the front lines more than 4,300 km (2,670 miles) away. A Ukrainian intelligence official said 40 Russian warplanes were struck.

Russia launched 472 drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said, the highest nightly total of the war so far. Russia had also launched seven missiles, the air force said.

Russia said it had advanced deeper into the Sumy region of Ukraine, and open source pro-Ukrainian maps showed Russia took 450 square km of Ukrainian land in May, its fastest monthly advance in at least six months.

US President Donald Trump has demanded Russia and Ukraine make peace and he has threatened to walk away if they do not - potentially pushing responsibility for supporting Ukraine onto the shoulders of European powers - which have far less cash and much smaller stocks of weapons than the United States.

According to Trump envoy Keith Kellogg, the two sides will in Turkey present their respective documents outlining their ideas for peace terms, though it is clear that after three years of intense war, Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart.

Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. The United States says over 1.2 million people have been killed and injured in the war since 2022.

Trump has called Putin "crazy" and berated Zelenskiy in public in the Oval Office, but the US president has also said that he thinks peace is achievable and that if Putin delays then he could impose tough sanctions on Russia.

In June last year, Putin set out his opening terms for an immediate end to the war: Ukraine must drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw all of its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia.

Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul will present to the Russian side a proposed roadmap for reaching a lasting peace settlement, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters.

According to the document, there will be no restrictions on Ukraine's military strength after a peace deal is struck, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow's forces, and reparations for Ukraine.

The document also stated that the current location of the front line will be the starting point for negotiations about territory.

Russia currently controls a little under one fifth of Ukraine, or about 113,100 square km, about the same size as the US state of Ohio.​

 

[Saif]

Ukraine drones strike deep in Russian territory on eve of new talks

Ukraine said Sunday that its drones destroyed Russian bombers worth billions of dollars as far away as Siberia in its longest-range assault of the war, as it geared up for talks on prospects for a ceasefire. In a spectacular claim, Ukraine said it damaged $7 billion worth of Russian aircraft...

en.prothomalo.com

Ukraine drones strike deep in Russian territory on eve of new talks

AFP Kyiv, Ukraine
Published: 02 Jun 2025, 11: 07

A drone attack inside Russia Reuters

Ukraine said Sunday that its drones destroyed Russian bombers worth billions of dollars as far away as Siberia in its longest-range assault of the war, as it geared up for talks on prospects for a ceasefire.

In a spectacular claim, Ukraine said it damaged $7 billion worth of Russian aircraft parked at four airbases thousands of kilometres across the border, with unverified video footage showing aircraft engulfed in flames and black smoke.

A source in the Ukrainian security services (SBU) said the strikes hit 41 planes that were used to “bomb Ukrainian villages”.

The drones were concealed in the ceilings of transportation containers that were opened remotely for the assault, the source added.

Ceasefire talks

The long-planned operation came at a delicate moment three years into Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that he was sending a delegation to Istanbul led by his Defence Minister Rustem Umerov for talks on Monday with Russian officials.

Turkey is hosting the meeting, which was spurred by US President Donald Trump’s push for a quick deal to end the three-year war.

Zelensky, who previously voiced scepticism about whether Russia was serious in proposing Monday’s meeting, said priorities included “a complete and unconditional ceasefire” and the return of prisoners and abducted children.

Russia, which has rejected previous ceasefire requests, said it had formulated its own peace terms but refused to divulge them in advance.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart Marco Rubio spoke by telephone Sunday about “several initiatives aimed at a political solution to the Ukraine crisis”, including Monday’s talks, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the TASS news agency.

‘Spider’s Web’

Zelensky on Sunday hailed “brilliant” results of the coordinated attack, code-named “Spider’s Web”, which he said had used 117 drones and was the country’s “most long-range operation” in more than three years of war.

Russia’s defence ministry confirmed on Telegram that several of its military aircraft “caught fire”, adding that there were no casualties.

Rybar, an account on the Telegram message platform that is close to the Russian military, called it a “very heavy blow” for Moscow and pointed to what it called “serious errors” by Russian intelligence.

The SBU source said the strikes targeted Russian airbases in the eastern Siberian city of Belaya, in Olenya, in the Arctic near Finland, and in Ivanovo and Dyagilevo, both east of Moscow.

The operation was prepared for over a year and a half, the SBU source said, and aimed to destroy “enemy bombers far from the front”.

Zelensky said one of the targeted locations was right next to one of the offices of the FSB Russian security services.

‘First such strike on Siberia’

Russia said it had arrested several suspects, including the driver of a truck from which a drone had taken off, state agencies said.

But Zelensky said people involved in preparing the attacks were “extracted from Russian territory in time”.

Igor Kobzev, governor of Russia’s Irkutsk region, which hosts the Belaya airbase, said it was “the first attack of this sort in Siberia”.

He called on the population not to panic and posted an amateur video apparently showing a drone in the sky and a large cloud of grey smoke.

Russia drone strikes

Russia has been announcing Ukrainian drone attacks on a near-daily basis, usually saying they had all been shot down.

At the same time, Russia has been carrying out constant attacks on Ukraine.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s air force said it was hit by 472 Russian drones and seven missiles overnight, a record number since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022.

In a rare admission of its military losses, the Ukrainian army said Russia’s “missile strike on the location of one of the training units” had killed a dozen soldiers, most of whom had been in shelters during the attack, and wounded more than 60.

The attack led Ukrainian ground forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty to announce his resignation, saying he felt “responsibility” for the soldiers’ deaths.

Separately on Sunday, the Russian army said it had captured another village in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, where Kyiv fears Moscow could mount a renewed ground assault.​

 

[Saif]

Russia deliberately targeting civilians: Zelensky

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday accused Russia of ‘deliberately’ targeting civilians in a rocket attack on the city of Sumy, a day after officials from the two countries met for fresh peace talks...

www.newagebd.net

Russia deliberately targeting civilians: Zelensky
Agence France-Presse . Kyiv, Ukraine 03 June, 2025, 23:31

Volodymyr Zelensky | AFP file photo

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday accused Russia of ‘deliberately’ targeting civilians in a rocket attack on the city of Sumy, a day after officials from the two countries met for fresh peace talks.

At a second round of direct negotiations in Istanbul, the two sides again failed to strike a deal on a truce, agreeing only on a large-scale exchange of captured soldiers.

Moscow has appeared to stick to its hardline demands — calling for Ukraine to pull its troops out of four eastern and southern regions that Moscow claims to have annexed as a precondition to pausing its invasion, according to a memorandum handed to the Ukrainians that was published by Russian state media.

Russia’s troops have also accelerated their advance, seeking to establish what Russian president Vladimir Putin called a ‘buffer zone’ inside Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

A rocket attack on the city, some 30 kilometres from the Russian border, on Tuesday killed at least three people, Zelensky said.

‘The Russians launched a savage strike on Sumy — directly targeting the city and its ordinary streets with rocket artillery. It was a fully deliberate attack on civilians,’ he said in a post on social media.

He posted a video from the emergency services showing destroyed cars and the body of one victim lying on the road.

Local officials said Russia fired five MLRS rockets at the city around 09:00am (0600 GMT).

Zelensky said the attack ‘says everything one needs to know about Russia’s so-called ‘desire’ to end this war’.

He called for ‘decisive actions’ from the United States and Europe to push Russia into a ceasefire.

‘Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defence,’ he said.

In Monday’s meeting, Ukraine said that Moscow had rejected its call for an unconditional ceasefire. It offered instead a partial truce of two to three days in some areas of the frontline.

A delegation of top Ukrainian officials landed in Washington on Tuesday for talks with US officials on defence and economic issues, including the possibility of new sanctions, Zelensky’s office said.

‘We plan to talk about defence support and the situation on the battlefield, strengthening sanctions against Russia,’ Andriy Yermak, president Volodymyr Zelensky’s top aide, said on social media.

US president Donald Trump, who promised to end the war in Ukraine swiftly when he returned to the White House in January, has repeatedly expressed anger at both Putin and Zelensky as the war drags through its fourth year with no end in sight.

Russia’s army said Tuesday it had captured another village in the Sumy region, Andriivka, located around five kilometres from the Russian border.

Sumy was a key logistics hub for Ukraine’s months-long offensive into Russia’s Kursk region.

Attacks on the city have escalated since Russia said in April it had fully recaptured the Kursk region.

More than 30 were killed there in a Russian ballistic missile strike on the city centre in April, one of the deadliest single attacks of the three-year war.

Zelensky said last week that Russia was amassing some 50,000 troops for an offensive on the region.

A separate Russian drone attack on Kharkiv killed one person, the prosecutor’s office said, while the cities of Odesa and Chernigiv were also hit in overnight attacks.​

 

[Saif]

Ukraine peace efforts are complex: Kremlin

The Kremlin warned yesterday that work on trying to reach a settlement to end the war in Ukraine was extraordinarily complex and that it would be wrong to expect any imminent decisions.

www.thedailystar.net

Ukraine peace efforts are complex: Kremlin
Says no quick decisions to be expected; Russia ‘deliberately’ targeting civilians after 3 killed in Sumy: Zelensky

The Kremlin warned yesterday that work on trying to reach a settlement to end the war in Ukraine was extraordinarily complex and that it would be wrong to expect any imminent decisions.

It was commenting after Russia told Ukraine at peace talks in Turkey on Monday that it would only agree to end the fighting if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, demands Ukraine has repeatedly rejected.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters yesterday that agreements reached at the Istanbul talks to exchange prisoners and the bodies of dead soldiers would be honoured however, and that work on agreeing a possible settlement would continue.

He said Russia and the US had not yet agreed on specific future contacts between President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, but that Putin was ready for various high-level contacts if they were properly prepared, reports Reuters.

It was unlikely, added Peskov when asked, that Putin, Trump and Zelensky would hold face-to-face talks together in the near future.

Meanwhile, Zelensky yesterday accused Russia of "deliberately" targeting civilians in a rocket attack on the city of Sumy.

Russia's troops have also accelerated their advance, seeking to establish what Putin called a "buffer zone" inside Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region

A rocket attack on the city, some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Russian border, yesterday killed at least three people, Zelensky said.

"The Russians launched a savage strike on Sumy -- directly targeting the city and its ordinary streets with rocket artillery. It was a fully deliberate attack on civilians," he said in a post on social media.

He posted a video from the emergency services showing destroyed cars and the body of one victim lying on the road, reports AFP.​

 

[Saif]

Russian ceasefire memorandum is an ultimatum: Zelensky

PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said that Russia was giving Ukraine an ultimatum at peace negotiations but said he was ready to hold direct talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump ‘any day’...

www.newagebd.net

Russian ceasefire memorandum is an ultimatum: Zelensky
Agence France-Presse Kyiv, Ukraine 05 June, 2025, 04:24

Volodymyr Zelensky

PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said that Russia was giving Ukraine an ultimatum at peace negotiations but said he was ready to hold direct talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump ‘any day’.

His comments came after Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul swapped terms for agreeing to a ceasefire and said they were ready to host another round of prisoner exchanges.

Zelensky told reporters - including from AFP - that the Russian document outlining Moscow’s requirements to halt its invasion amounted to an ultimatum.

‘That is, it is not a memorandum of understanding. At least a memorandum of understanding should be signed by two parties, not just one party demanding,’ something, he said sitting around a table with international and Ukrainian media.

Therefore, it cannot be called a memorandum. It is, after all, an ultimatum from the Russian side to us,’ he added.​

 

[Mainerik]

 

[Vsdoc]

Cant see.

 

[Saif]

Three killed, 49 wounded in intense Russian air attacks on Ukraine

Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the early hours of Friday and three people were killed, Ukrainian officials said, as powerful explosions reverberated across the country. The attacks followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin, conv

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Three killed, 49 wounded in intense Russian air attacks on Ukraine

REUTERS
Published :
Jun 06, 2025 18:29
Updated :
Jun 06, 2025 18:29

Fire and smoke rise in the aftermath of a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 6, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the early hours of Friday and three people were killed, Ukrainian officials said, as powerful explosions reverberated across the country.

The attacks followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin, conveyed via US President Donald Trump, that the Kremlin would hit back after Ukrainian drones destroyed several strategic bomber aircraft in attacks deep inside Russia.

Kyiv's military administration said three people were killed in the missile and drone salvo againstthe capital. They were first responders who had rushed to the scene of one of the strikes, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

"Overnight, Russia 'responded' to its destroyed aircraft... by attacking civilians in Ukraine.... Multi-storey buildings hit. Energy infrastructure damaged," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had carried out the strike on military and military-related targets in response to what it called Ukrainian "terrorist acts" against Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 49 people nationwide had been injured in the attacks, which also struck several other towns and cities as well as Kyiv, as he called on Ukraine's Western allies to ramp up pressure on Russia.

The air force said Russia had used 407 drones, one of the largest numbers recorded in a single attack. Forty-five cruise and ballistic missiles were also fired, it said.

Kyiv's metro transport system was disrupted by a Russian strike that hit and damaged tracks between stations, the military administration said. The state rail company said it was also diverting some trains due to rail damage outside the city.

BOOMING EXPLOSIONS

Reuters witnesses reported a series of booming explosions powerful enough to rattle windows far from the impact sites.

Some Kyiv residents sought shelter in metro stations, or in underground car parks.

In the capital's Solomianskyi district, a Russian drone slammed into the side of an apartment building, leaving a gaping hole and burn marks, a Reuters photographer at the scene said.

Falling concrete blocks from the building crushed cars parked below. Two police investigators were examining what appeared to be the drone's engine.

Earlier in the night, Reuters reporters heard the sound of Russian kamikaze drones buzzing in the sky, accompanied by the sounds of outgoing fire from Ukrainian anti-aircraft batteries.

Zelensky called for concerted pressure on Russia.

"If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives – that is complicity and accountability. We must act decisively," he wrote on X.

As well as Kyiv, Russian forces also struck industrial facilities and infrastructure in the western city of Ternopil, leaving parts of it without power, Mayor Serhii Nadal said.

The regional administration said the attack had injured 10 people and recommended that residents temporarily stay inside due to a high concentration of toxic substances in the air after a fire.

Fifteen people were injured in the northwestern city of Lutsk where an attack damaged private homes, educational institutions and a government building, prosecutors said.

The Ukrainian military said it had launched a pre-emptive strike overnight on the Engels and Dyagilevo airfields in the Russian regions of Saratov and Ryazan, in addition to striking at least three fuel reservoirs.

In one of the most audacious attacks of the three-year-old war between Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian spies last weekend destroyed some of Russia's strategic bomber aircraft on the ground using quadrocopter drones hidden in wooden sheds.

After a phone conversation with Putin on Wednesday, Trump said the Kremlin was planning an unspecified response to the Ukrainian attack on the Russian air bases.​

 

[Saif]

Three killed in Russian attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv

Overnight missile and bomb strikes by Russia on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv left three people dead and 22 hurt, while a Ukrainian drone attack in the Moscow region wounded two people, officials from both countries said separately on Saturday. Russian forces used high-precision long-range weapons

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Three killed in Russian attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv
Ukrainian drones injure two near Moscow

REUTERS
Published :
Jun 07, 2025 19:47
Updated :
Jun 07, 2025 19:47

Firefighters work inside an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine June 7, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Vitalii Hnidyi

Overnight missile and bomb strikes by Russia on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv left three people dead and 22 hurt, while a Ukrainian drone attack in the Moscow region wounded two people, officials from both countries said separately on Saturday.

Russian forces used high-precision long-range weapons and drones to hit designated military targets in Ukraine overnight, hitting all of them, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry.

Separately, Ukraine denied an accusation made by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky that it had indefinitely postponed accepting the bodies of its killed soldiers and the exchange of prisoners of war.

“Today’s statements by the Russian side do not correspond to reality or to previous agreements on either the exchange of prisoners or the repatriation of bodies,” Andriy Kovalenko, an official with the National Security and Defence Council said on the Telegram app.

In an agreement at a second round of peace talks in Istanbul on Monday, the two sides said they would swap more prisoners and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers.

The northeastern city of Kharkiv, one of Ukraine’s largest, is just a few dozen kilometres (miles) from the Russian border and has been under frequent Russian shelling during more than three years of war triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post on Telegram earlier on Saturday.

Residential buildings, educational and infrastructure facilities were attacked, he said, and photos showed buildings burnt and reduced partially to rubble, as rescuers carried the wounded away for treatment.

Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said there could still be people buried under the rubble after one civilian industrial facility was hit by 40 drones and several bombs.

In the Moscow region, two people were injured after a drone attack by Ukraine overnight and on Friday, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said on Telegram, with nine drones shot down.

Russia’s aviation watchdog said operations had resumed at the Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky airports in the Moscow region after being suspended temporarily for flight safety reasons.

The Defence Ministry said that since midnight, air defence units had intercepted and destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, including the Moscow region.

Ukraine’s air forces also shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet on Saturday morning, its military said without providing further details. Russian forces have not yet commented on the matter while Reuters could not independently verify the report.

A Ukrainian drone attack deep inside Russian territory last weekend likely damaged around 10% of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet and hit some of the aircraft as they were being prepared for strikes on Ukraine, a senior German military official said in a YouTube podcast set for broadcast later on Saturday.​

 

[Saif]

Russia accuses Ukraine of ‘postponing’ POW swap

Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of postponing a large-scale prisoner swap and the repatriation of the bodies of dead soldiers they had agreed on during peace talks in Istanbul...

www.newagebd.net

Russia accuses Ukraine of ‘postponing’ POW swap
Agence France-Presse . Moscow, Russia 07 June, 2025, 19:15

A firefighter extinguishes a fire at a civilian plant following Russian powerful attacks on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv early on June 7, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. | AFP photo

Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of postponing a large-scale prisoner swap and the repatriation of the bodies of dead soldiers they had agreed on during peace talks in Istanbul.

‘The Ukrainian side has unexpectedly postponed for an indefinite period, both the acceptance of the bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war,’ Russia’s top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on social media.

Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv agreed on Monday to swap all wounded soldiers and those under the age of 25 who were still held as POWs.

It was the only concrete outcome from the talks, at which Russia has repeatedly rejected Ukrainian calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Medinsky said Russia had brought the bodies of 1,212 killed Ukrainian soldiers to the ‘exchange area’ -- the first of 6,000 to be handed over.

Moscow had also handed over a list to Kyiv with the names of 640 POWs to be swapped in the first stage.

More than 1,000 prisoners from each side are set to be released in the largest exchange of the three-year conflict.

‘We urge Kyiv to strictly adhere to the timetable and all agreements reached, and begin the exchange immediately,’ Medinsky said.

Kyiv did not immediately respond to the accusation.

After the Istanbul talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the exchange would take place this weekend, while Russia said it was ready for Saturday, Sunday or Monday.​

 

[Saif]

Russia shoots down 131 Ukrainian drones in 24 hours

Russian air defenses shot down 131 Ukrainian drones in the last 24 hours, including 73 devices outside the air defense zone, the Defense Ministry said on Sunday. The ministry further said that the drones were destroyed over the Tula, Bryansk, Kaluga, Oryol, Belgorod, Kursk, and Moscow regions as w

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Russia shoots down 131 Ukrainian drones in 24 hours

Xinhua
Published :
Jun 08, 2025 19:19
Updated :
Jun 08, 2025 19:19

Russian air defenses shot down 131 Ukrainian drones in the last 24 hours, including 73 devices outside the air defense zone, the Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry further said that the drones were destroyed over the Tula, Bryansk, Kaluga, Oryol, Belgorod, Kursk, and Moscow regions as well as Crimea.​