Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a briefing of senators in the US Capitol, June 26, 2025 (Rod Lamkey Jr./AP)

Saturday’s Coverage: Zelensky’s “Fruitful” Conversation with Trump

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1602 GMT:

Five civilians have been killed and another injured by Russian attacks on frontline towns in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Four victims were murdered by drones and missiles on Kostiantynivka, where 14 homes, four high-rise buildings, an administrative building, a car, and five power lines were damaged.

In Druzhkivka, a Russian drone killed one person and damaged equipment.

Donetsk Governor Vadim Filashkin warned that both Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka are “under constant enemy fire”: “It is dangerous to stay here! Evacuate to safer regions of Ukraine!”

Kostiantynivka is 10 to 15 km (6 to 9 miles) from areas occupied by Russian forces.

UPDATE 1126 GMT:

At least six civilians have been killed and at least 25 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed 98 of 157 drones, and 19 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

Two civilians, including an 8-year-old boy, were murdered in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine. Among the 11 injured was a 3-year-old boy.

Two people were slain in the neighboring Donetsk region, and two were killed in the Kherson region in the south.

Casulaties were also reported in the Mykolaiv region, where the power grid was damaged, and the Zaporizhia region in the south; the Sumy region in the northeast; and the Dnipropetrovsk in south-central Ukraine.

UPDATE 0555 GMT:

The ZMINA Human Rights Center publishes details of Natalia Kozhemiatska, one of 403 Ukrainian women confirmed as political prisoners in Russia.

Kozhemiatska, from occupied Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, was seized by Russian forces in May 2024. She was tortured with electric currents and taken away by the Russian State security service FSB.

Kozhematska’s mother saw her for two minutes in August and again in November. She learned that her daughter, haggard and thin, had been raped.

Kozhematska is facing several charges, including involvement in the death of a Russian FSB major and the attempted killing of a Russian proxy official.

ORIGINAL STORY: Multiple sources say US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lied in his cutoff of deliveries of American weapons to Ukraine.

The sources said that a “review” by the Pentagon’s director of policy planning Elbridge Colby — a long-time sceptic of aid to Kyiv — falsely declared a critical shortage in US stockpiles.

A Pentagon assessment found some stocks of precision-guided munitions were at reduced levels, but did not reach a critical minimum. The Pentagon Joint Staff concluded that continuation of aid to Ukraine would not deplete the stocks below the threshold to ensure combat readiness in the US.

However, using Colby’s claims, Hegseth unilaterally suspended the aid even as the weapons and equipment were on the tarmac in Poland.

The supplies included Patriot air defense missiles, urgently needed to protect Ukrainian civilians amid Russia’s record-setting missile and drone strikes.

Hegseth and Colby also held up thousands of 155-mm high-explosive Howitzer munitions, more than 100 Hellfire missiles, more than 250 GMLRS rockets, and dozens each of Stinger surface-to-air missiles, AIM air-to-air missiles, and grenade launchers.

See also Ukraine War, Day 1,225: “They Are Going to Lose More Lives” — Trump Administration Cuts Off Weapons to Kyiv

The sources, who spoke to US outlet NBC News, said Hegseth also tried to halt deliveries in February and May but his decision was reversed days later on each occasion.

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said on Friday, “We are not at any lower point, stockpile-wise, than we’ve been in the 3½ years of the Ukraine conflict.”

Zelensky: “Best Conversation In All This Time” With Trump

Before the revelations, Donald Trump had given cover to Hegseth and Colby, diverting attention to his predecessor and backing the false claims: “Biden emptied out our whole country, giving them weapons, and we have to make sure we have enough for ourselves.”

But after a 40-minute phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, Trump indicated he will agree to the supply of more Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine.

He told reporters aboard Air Force One, “They’re going to need them for defense… They’re going to need something because they’re being hit pretty hard.”

Trump’s tempermental shift — for now — was backed by his frustration over a Thursday call with Vladimir Putin, in which the Russian leader restated his ultimata for Ukraine’s surrender.

“It’s a very tough situation….I was very unhappy with my call with President Putin. He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people – it’s no good,” Trump complained.

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky praised the “extremely fruitful call” with Trump as the “best conversation in all this time…during which we discussed air defense”.

“I’m grateful for the readiness to assist. Patriot systems are the key to defending against ballistic threats,” Zelensky emphasized.

The President also said of drones, “We’ve…reached an agreement with one of the leading American companies to significantly increase our joint efforts.”