Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Évian, France, June 16, 2026
EA on Al Jazeera’s Inside Story: Can the G6+1 Still Function?
Tuesday’s Coverage: Negotiations Begin On Kyiv’s Accession to EU
UPDATE 0650 GMT:
An official said repairs to the 11th-century Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv could take around two years, following damage and fire from Russian strikes on Monday.
More than 80% of the Assumption Cathedral’s roof was damaged, but firefighters managed to prevent the blaze from spreading inside.
UPDATE 0648 GMT:
Ukraine air defenses downed 97 of 119 drone launched by Russia overnight. Eleven locations were struck.
UPDATE 0644 GMT:
At least eight civilians were murdered by Russian strikes across Ukraine on Tuesday.
In Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an 87-year-old mother and her 51-year-old son were among three people slain by a first-person drone.
In the Donetsk region in the east, Russian shelling of the city of Sloviansk killed three people.
Drone strikes on the Kherson region in the south killed two people and wounded 16. In the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, attacks on Zaporizhzhia city murdered one civilian and injured three as a home and a shopping center were set afire.
UPDATE 0618 GMT:
Russian proxy officials in occupied Crimea have banned the riding of moped scooters, quad bikes, and motorcycles between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Governor Sergey Aksyonov saying the noise of the vehicles sounds like drone attacks. He suggested children are deliberately causing disruption on behalf of Ukraine.
Oleg Kryuchkov, Aksyonov’s advisor, posted, “The enemy is recruiting your children for night-time rides….The moped noise hampers the work of defense systems. Their engines sound similar [to drones].”
Amid Ukraine’s attacks on Crimea and inside Russia, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said rationing of 20 liters (5.3 gallons) per car at gasoline stations will continue.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky met Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Évian, France on Tuesday.
The two men spoke for around 30 minutes in a meeting which included French President Emmanuel Macron. The trio later took part in a joint working session with other G7 leaders.
Zelensky said air defense support was agreed with all members of the group strengthening Ukraine’s protection. He said he spoke with Trump about Ukraine’s hope to secure US licenses to produce anti-ballistic systems and missiles. Trump appeared to view the proposal positively, the President said.
Zelensky has emphasized that American assistance is needed to deal with Russian ballistic missiles, as Moscow tries to break Kyiv’s resistance with mass strikes on civilian sites.
Trump made no specific commitment but declared a “very good” meeting. He said Moscow should end its invasion: “Look, Russia should make a deal. I’m gonna do whatever I can.”
Trump added that US sanctions might be reimposed as Russia if oil flows are restored through the Strait of Hormuz, controlled by Tehran since the start of the US-Israel Wars on Iran and Lebanon.
Since March, the Trump Administration has issued sanctions waivers to countries importing Russian oil by sea. The restrictions, introduced last November, had helped cut Moscow’s oil revenues by 47% in January and February.
Zelensky met a series of leaders, both in group sessions and 1-on-1, throughout the day. He conferred with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as Ottawa imposed new sanctions on 162 Russian individuals, entities, and vessels. He discussed defense support with Germany’s Friedrich Merz; economic reforms with the International Monetary Fund’s Kristalina Georgieva; the quest for a ceasefire with the UAE’s Mohammed bin Zayed; cooperation on investment and agriculture with Kenya’s William Ruto; and negotiations for European Union accession with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
Ahead of Zelensky’s session with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, London committed to supply of enriched uranium to power Ukraine’s nuclear plants over the next two years.
