Photo: AFP

Wednesday’s Coverage: Kyiv Again Strikes Putin’s Prized Kerch Bridge

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1941 GMT:

During a visit to France, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva said he has urged Russia to restrain attacks on Ukraine.

Lula noted that, in a phone call with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin said he would “take revenge” for Ukraine’s mass drone attacks on Russian warplanes last Sunday.

The President recalled that he urged Putin to end the war in Ukraine during a phone call in May, pressing the Russian to attend talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul. Putin declined to go.

“I said it’s time to open our eyes and to put an end to the insanity of war, which destroys everything and builds nothing,” Lula told reporters.

UPDATE 1922 GMT:

Making no distinction between Russia’s invasion and Ukraine’s resistance, Donald Trump has said it might be best to let the killing continue.

Sitting alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the White House, Trump said — amidst a ramble which included a tirade against his former unelected co-President Elon Musk — that he told Vladimir Putin during their phone conversation on Wednesday:

Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy. They hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart. They don’t want to be pulled.

Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.

Thanking the US for its role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II, Merz said, “America is again in a very strong position to do something on ending this war [in Ukraine], so let’s talk about doing what we can. We are looking for more pressure on Russia, we should talk about that.”

The Chancellor took apart Trump’s false equivalence between Ukraine and Russia:

German Chancellor Merz sets the record straight after Trump tries to draw moral equivalence between Russia and Ukrainian actions:

"Ukraine is only targeting military targets. Not civilians, not private [property], not energy infrastructure. This is the difference."

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— Adam Schwarz (@adamjschwarz.bsky.social) June 5, 2025 at 5:30 PM

But Trump evaded questions about when he might accept toughened sanctions on Russia. Asked if there was a deadline, he replied: “Yes, it’s in my brain.”

He continued, “When I see the moment where it’s not going to stop…we’ll be very tough.”

UPDATE 1239 GMT:

Donald Trump has privately described Ukraine’s mass drone strike on Russian airfields as “pretty strong” and “badass”, says “sources familiar with his reaction“.

A Trump advisor portrayed the strikes a small but aggressive force managing to hurt a more powerful opponent, “From an international perspective, you’ve got a chihuahua inflicting some real damage on a much bigger dog.”

Publicly Trump has said that he had a 75-minute phone call with Vladimir Putin, who pledged “very strongly” to respond to the destruction and damage of dozens of Russian warplanes.

A “source who spoke to Trump” said, “We want this war to end. We want it to de-escalate. So if Putin goes crazy in response, yeah, the President has concerns.”

A “senior White House official” took a cautious line:

The drone attack didn’t surprise him, because this is what happens when the war continues, but he is concerned that it will prolong the fighting. He wants the fighting to stop, so it disappoints him whenever there is an attack like that.

UPDATE 1014 GMT:

Russia has labelled the British Council, the cultural and educational branch of the UK Government, as an “undesirable” organization.

The Prosecutor General’s Office posted its decision to “designate the activities of the British Council international organization as undesirable in the Russian Federation”.

Under the guise of educational and cultural activities and work to organize educational events under the pretext of English-language programs, members of the Council actually promote long-term British interests and values in education, culture and youth policy.

Prosecutors cites the Council’s support of the LGBT movement, outlawed in Russia, and “projects to steadily discredit Russia’s domestic and foreign policies”. The aim is to “eradicate Russian identity among the populations of former Soviet republics”.

They also alleged that the Chevening scholarship and fellowship program is a mission to build “a global network of agents of British influence”.

UPDATE 0952 GMT:

Ukraine’s General Staff says its forces have destroyed one Iskander ballistic missile launcher and damaged two, as they were preparing to fire at Kyiv from Klintsy in the Bryansk region in western Russia.

The strike is the first success against an Iskander launcher during Russia’s full-scale invasion.

UPDATE 0909 GMT:

At least eight civilians have been killed and 46 wounded by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 28 of 103 drones launched by Russia overnight, and 46 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

In the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine, five people were murdered and six wounded, including two women and a 1-year-old child, in an attack by at least six drones (see 0703 GMT).

In the Donetsk region in the east, one person was killed and five injured.

In the Kherson region in the south, two people were killed and 10 wounded in attacks on residential neighborhoods and social infrastructure.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, a 7-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl, and two 13-year-old girls were among 21 injured.

Casualties were also recorded in the Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

UPDATE 0738 GMT:

The Trump Administration is redirecting anti-drone technology from Ukraine to American troops based in the Middle East.

The Pentagon notified Congress last week that redirection of special fuzes used in ground-to-air rocket systems is an “urgent issue.”

The fuzes were initially for Ukraine by the Biden Administration.

UPDATE 0725 GMT:

During a visit by Russian official Sergey Shoygu, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said Pyongyang “unconditionally supports the stand of Russia and its foreign policies”, including the invasion of Ukraine.

Kim emphasized North Korea’s ongoing commitment to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, signed with Vladimir Putin on June 19, 2024.

Shoygu, on his second visit to Pyongyang since he was moved from Defense Minister to Secretary of the State Security Council, reportedly discussed battlefield developments.

North Korea has provided million of rounds of munitions, missiles, and around 12,000 troops to the Russian invasion.

UPDATE 0715 GMT:

Speaking with Vladimir Putin for the first time, Pope Leo XIV has urged Russia to take steps towards ending its invasion of Ukraine.

The Vatican said, “The Pope made an appeal for Russia to make a gesture that favors peace, emphasizing the importance of dialogue for achieving positive contacts between the parties and seeking solutions to the conflict.”

The discussion focused on “the humanitarian situation, the need to facilitate aid where necessary, ongoing efforts for the exchange of prisoners, and the value of the work carried out in this regard by Cardinal [Matteo] Zuppi,” the Vatican’s envoy for Ukraine.

UPDATE 0710 GMT:

US officials say Ukraine’s mass drone attacks on Sunday struck 20 Russian warplanes and destroyed around 10 of them.

Ukrainian officials say 13 strategic bombers were destroyed and 28 other warplanes damaged on the six Russian airfields.

A “senior NATO official” supported the Ukrainian assessment, saying Western intelligence indicates that at least 10 to 13 warplanes were destroyed among the 40 that were dmaged.

The official said that the destroyed aircraft were “responsible for over 3,000 cruise missiles that have hit critical infrastructure targets or civilian targets in Ukraine since the war began”

He did not specify which warplanes were destroyed, but said those damaged include 15 Tu-95 heavy bombers, 12 Tu-22M3 supersonic bombers, and one A-50 early warning aircraft.

Immediately after the operation, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported that 41 aircraft were hit. On Wednesday, Zelensky said that half of them were damaged beyond repair.

Earlier estimates based on open-source photos and videos put the number of confirmed affected aircraft at 10–13.

Satellite photos published on Wednesday confirmed the destruction of seven Russian bombers — three Tu-95 heavy bombers and four Tu-22 supersonic bombers — at the Belaya airbase in the Irkutsk region, around 4,500 km (2,800 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

UPDATE 0703 GMT:

At least five civilians, including two women and a 1-year-old child, have been killed and six injured by Russian drone strikes on the city of Pryluky in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine.

The attack on residential neighborhoods sparked large fires and destroyed two residential buildings, two garages, a farm building, and a car.

Pryluky is near the border with Russia and Belarus. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, it had a population of around 51,500.

In Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv, 17 people, including two children, were wounded when Russian drones struck apartment buildings and set them afire.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged partners not to show weakness, as Vladimir Putin blusters about a Russian response to Ukrainian drone attacks that destroyed or destroyed at least 20 of Moscow’s warplanes.

In a call with Donald Trump on Wednesday, Putin declared “very strongly” that he must counter Sunday’s attack by 117 drones on six airbases up to 4,500 km (2,800 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Referring to explosions on two bridges in western Russia on Saturday, Putin said Russia was ending its talks with Ukraine after two rounds in Istanbul, “The current Kyiv regime does not need peace at all. What is there to talk about? How can we negotiate with those who rely on terror?”

He declared that the Zelensky Government is “degenerating into a terrorist organisation, and its sponsors are becoming accomplices of terrorists”.

As always when on the defensive, Russian officials and propagandists raised the specter of Moscow deploying its nuclear arsenal.

In a lengthy post on social media, Zelensky noted Russia’s attacks in less than six month with almost 27,700 aerial bombs; almost 11,200 Iran-made attack drones; around 9,000 other attack UAVs; and more than 700 missiles.

He explained:

Many have spoken with Russia at various levels. But none of these talks have brought a reliable peace, or even stopped the war. Unfortunately, Putin feels impunity. Even after all of Russia’s horrific attacks, he is reportedly preparing yet more so-called “responses”.

It means, that with every new strike, with every delay of diplomacy, Russia is giving the finger to the entire world — to all those who still hesitate to increase pressure on it. Yet, it is Russia that should be seeking peace. It is in Moscow that they must begin to feel that war carries a cost, a high cost, and the highest one should be paid by the aggressor.

If the world reacts weakly to Putin’s threats, he interprets it as a readiness to turn a blind eye to his actions. When he does not feel strength and pressure, but instead senses weakness, he always commits new crimes. He sees such an attitude as silent permission: permission for new atrocities, new strikes, new killings.

Zelensky added in his nightly video address to the nation, “That is exactly why sanctions are needed — especially against their oil trade. Sustained defense support for Ukraine is also essential, to protect our people and to defend our positions.”

International Partners Step Up Aid, But Trump Flops Around on Russia Sanctions

Zelensky spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Wednesday, and he addressed the Ukraine Defense Contact (Ramstein) Group of 57 nations by video link.

Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth skipped the meeting, the first US absence during Russia’s full-scale invasion, but other countries reaffirmed their support of Ukraine’s resistance.

Germany confirmed a €5 billion ($5.7 billion) military aid package. The UK announced £350 million ($474 million) for the delivery of 100,000 drones to Kyiv.

The Netherlands is supplying another €400 million ($457 million), including a minehunter, patrol boats, and naval drones. Belgium will provide €1 billion ($1.14 billion) until 2029, with the transfer of a minehunter. Norway is allocating $700 million for drones, with a focus on supporting Ukraine’s defense industry. Canada is dedicating $45 million for drones, electronic warfare equipment, IT solutions, and armored vehicles, and Sweden committed €440 million ($502 million) for international programs to procure artillery ammunition, drones, and other weapons.

Ukraine Defense Minister Rustem Umerov added on Thursday, after a conversation with Danish counterpart Troels Lund Poulsen that Kyiv will receive up to €1.3 billion ($1.48 billion) for domestic weapons production in 2025.

The first tranche of €428 million ($489 million) will come from Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Norway, and Iceland.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump sent out contradictory signals over tougher sanctions on Russia. After the call with Putin, he retweeted an opinion piece endorsing the sanctions bill supported by 82 of 100 Senators.

But Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told a Washington conference, “I know that [Trump] asked [Senate Majority Leader John Thune] not to bring the bill to a vote this week.”