Trump and Putin’s secret phone calls | Ukraine This Week

5:08 AM

12 injured in Russian drone attack on Kharkiv, day after fatal drone bombardment.

Twelve are injured, including 4 children as a result of a Russian drone attack on Kharkiv overnight on June 12.

4:29 AM

Russia boasts world's top nuclear force, must improve ground forces, Putin claims.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Moscow possesses the world's most advanced nuclear systems but must strengthen its ground forces.

1:43 AM

Republicans press Pentagon chief over Trump’s plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine, Politico reports.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on June 11 stood by the administration’s approach, portraying a U.S.-brokered peace deal as a sign of strength and admitting that any agreement would inevitably leave “plenty of people on both sides” dissatisfied.

7:46 PM  (Updated:  June 12, 2025 1:26 am)

Casualties mount after Russia’s June 7 strike on Kharkiv.

Russia attacked the city of Kharkiv with KAB guided bombs the evening of June 7, killing a woman and a man and injuring at least 18 people. The total confirmed death toll stands at five as of June 11.

11:13 PM

Drapatyi ends tenure as Ground Forces chief, says he leaves with 'clear conscience'.

Mykhailo Drapatyi described the state of the Ground Forces at the time of his appointment on Nov. 29, 2024 as mired in "managerial stagnation."

10:39 PM

Culture

Putin’s suspected daughter found working in anti-war galleries in Paris

10:25 PM

Vucic offers to help rebuild Ukrainian cities, reaffirms support for Ukraine's territorial integrity.

"I would like to take one or two cities or regions that we could rebuild. I think that would be very clear and noticeable to the Ukrainian people," Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.

10:09 PM

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine strikes targets in Russia, including gunpowder plant

10:07 PM

EU, Germany boost Ukraine's energy efficiency fund with 18 million euros.

The EU provided 13 million euros ($15 million) of the new funding, while Germany's International Climate Initiative (IKI) provided 5 million euros ($5.7 million).

9:33 PM

US weapons

Ukraine bracing for 'painful' reduction in US military aid after Hegseth announces cuts

9:14 PM

Interview

'Ukrainians have been stripped of illusion of control' — Filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai on Russia's war, cinema and reclaiming the narrative

9:11 PM

Zelensky urges 'stronger' EU sanctions on Russia, lower oil price cap.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the upcoming 18th EU sanctions package "could be stronger," especially in targeting Russian oil tankers and the financial sector.

7:56 PM

Ukrainian drones strike targets in Russia, including gunpowder plant, General Staff says.

The Tambov Gunpowder Plant, one of Russia's main manufacturers of gunpowder and explosives for small arms, artillery, and rocket systems, reportedly caught fire following the drone strike.

7:25 PM

Opinion

America’s weak strongman

7:02 PM

Culture

Author Yuri Andrukhovych on Ukrainian dissident art in Soviet times

6:29 PM

Transnistria again declares economic emergency over Russian gas cut.

The unrecognized region, located in eastern Moldova along the Ukrainian border, has faced growing energy shortages since January, when Russian gas giant Gazprom halted deliveries to the territory.

5:27 PM

Video

What Russia's 1 million casualties mean for Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent's Chris York sits down with George Barros, team lead for the Russia and Ukraine portfolio at the Institute for the Study of War, to discuss what Russia’s approaching one million casualties mean for its war effort in Ukraine. They explore how the Kremlin might generate more forces — and what impact this could have on Russia’s economy.

11:24 AM  (Updated:  June 11, 2025 5:19 pm)

Ukrainians among foreign nationals in US targeted for transfer to Guantanamo, WP reports.

The detainees reportedly include individuals from countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Ukraine. The move is part of a broader plan to free up capacity at overcrowded domestic facilities.

5:04 PM

Ukraine to get $2.26 billion from UK for arms purchases, PM says.

The new funding will be used to buy Rapid Ranger air defense systems and Martlet light multipurpose missiles, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said

3:44 PM

Russia’s nuclear deterrent against US not 'significantly' affected by Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, official claims.

"Our nuclear deterrence potential against the U.S. and any other potential adversary has not suffered significant damage," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

3:19 PM

Russia sentences top Navalny ally Volkov to 18 years in prison in absentia.

The accusations raised against Leonid Volkov ranged from "discreditation" of the Russian military, ties to an allegedly "extremist group," and the rehabilitation of "Nazism" to involving underage persons in rallies and vandalism.

3:10 PM

Ukraine grants Poland permission to exhume 1939 war graves in Lviv.

In a reciprocal gesture, Ukraine has received Poland's approval to carry out its own search and exhumation activities in the Polish village of Yurechkova.

12:25 PM  (Updated:  June 11, 2025 2:52 pm)

Ukraine repatriates bodies of 1,212 fallen soldiers.

The remains of soldiers were returned from multiple front-line regions, including Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Sumy oblasts.

12:11 PM  (Updated:  June 11, 2025 2:17 pm)

Serbia's Vucic, Romania's Dan travel to Ukraine in their first official visits.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will visit Ukraine on June 11 to take part in the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Odesa, Serbia's Presidential Office announced.

2:06 PM

NATO summit statement omits Ukraine's entry bid, $40 billion pledge, Bloomberg reports.

The unusually brief document recognizes Russia as a threat to NATO but not as an aggressor in Ukraine.