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Russia’s war against Ukraine

A firefighter extinguishes burning debris in the aftermath of a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv on June 23, 2025. (Ukraine’s State Emergency Service/Telegram)

Russia’s mass missile, drone attack on Kyiv kills 5, injures 13. Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and surrounding region overnight on June 23.

Russia seeks to advance along almost entire eastern front, Ukraine holding ground in Kursk Oblast, Syrskyi says. As of mid-June, Ukrainian defenders are fighting close to 695,000 Russian troops in Ukraine across a 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) front, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

Ukraine’s deep strikes cost Russia over $10 billion this year, Syrskyi says. This includes $1.3 billion in direct damage. The estimated cost-to-result ratio of Ukrainian deep strikes is 1:15, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi told journalists on June 21.

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Norway to invest $400 million in Ukraine’s drone, air defense missile production. Norway will invest $400 million in Ukraine’s defense industry to support drone production, President Zelensky said on June 22. The two countries also agreed to jointly produce air defense missiles.

Russia preparing military operations in Europe, Zelensky says. “We are observing a continued intellectual decline within the Russian leadership and have evidence that they are preparing new military operations on European territory,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukraine destroys 80% of Russian drones despite air defense missile shortage, Syrskyi says. Ukraine needs to have many times more surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft missile systems to ensure reliable defense of cities and critical infrastructure facilities, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

Amid its war against Ukraine, Russia condemns US strikes on Iran as ‘violating international law.’ Moscow condemned on June 22 the recent U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, calling them a violation of international law and Iran’s sovereignty, a statement in stark contrast to Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

Iran-Israel implications for Ukraine | Ukraine This Week.

Human cost of Russia’s war

Former Ukrainian POW dies month after being released from Russian captivity. Serhii Dobrovolskyi, a Ukrainian soldier who had been in Russian captivity since 2023, has died just a month after his release at the end of May as part of a 1000-for-1000 prisoner swap, an official from the soldier’s home region announced on June 21.

3 killed, 14 wounded as Russia strikes Ukrainian military training facility. “Unfortunately, there are some dead and wounded,” the statement read. The Ground Forces said that greater personnel losses were avoided thanks to the timely security measures taken when the air raid alert was issued.

Russian attacks kill 7, injure 23 in Ukraine over past day. Russia launched two Iskander-M or North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles, an S-300 anti-aircraft missile, and 47 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones against Ukraine overnight, primarily targeting Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine’s Air Force reported.

International response

Iran’s top diplomat to meet Putin in Moscow after US air strikes on nuclear sites. “We enjoy a strategic partnership and we always consult with each other and coordinate our positions,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said with reference to Russia.

Ukraine calls for an end to Iran’s nuclear program in wake of US strikes. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said on June 22 that Iran’s nuclear program must be dismantled to prevent it from threatening the Middle East or the wider world, following U.S. air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Ukraine evacuates 176 citizens, foreigners from Israel ahead of US strikes on Iran, Zelensky says. The foreign nationals evacuated by Ukraine included citizens of the U.S., Moldova, Latvia, Azerbaijan, and Estonia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Trump could free all Belarus’s political prisoners ‘with a single word,’ released oppositionist Tsikhanouski says. “President Trump now has the power and opportunity to free all political prisoners in Belarus with a single word. And I ask him to do so, to say that word,” Siarhei Tsikhanouski said in his first press conference after his release.

Zelensky expected to speak at Council of Europe parliamentary session next week. President Zelensky is expected to address the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly on June 26 during its summer session in Strasbourg, though his attendance has not been confirmed. The session agenda includes discussions on Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine.

In other news

Over 450 draft officers, staff transferred in response to reported abuses, Ukraine’s military chief says. The Ukrainian military leadership aims to overhaul the draft office system amid numerous reports of abuses since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi told journalists on June 21.

Zelensky slaps new sanctions over business activities in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the sanctions are targeting “those who cooperate with the (Russian) occupier on our land,” as they “help justify the aggression, consider it normal to make money in the occupation, and pay taxes” to Russia.

Ukrainian journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko released after four years of Russian detention. Ukrainian journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko was released on June 22 after more than four years in Russian imprisonment, and has left Russian-occupied Crimea.

Deputy PM Chernyshov returns to Ukraine as questions mount amid corruption probe. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov returned to Ukraine on June 22 following his official trip abroad amid media speculations connecting Chernyshov’s absence to an ongoing corruption investigation.

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