Smoke rises from the Belaya airbase in Russia’s Irkutsk region, more than 4,400 km from the Ukraine border, after Ukrainian drone strikes on strategic bombers, June 1, 2025

Sunday’s Coverage: Hegseth’s Lie to Cut Off US Arms to Kyiv

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1750 GMT:

Having signed a minerals deal with the US, Ukraine is pitching joint projects such as an offshore gas exploration initiative and a plan to modernize the Kremenchuk oil refinery, the country’s largest petroleum production site.

Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the $2.7 billion refinery project is “strategic and extremely important.”

“It’s bankable,” she said.

Kremenchuk is a frequent target of Russian missile and drone attacks. Svyrydenko said there is currently “nothing about air defense in this project” but “US companies that may participate in project implementation can have a strong voice and appeal to the US Government.”

Knocking back criticism of the minerals deal, Svyrydenko said, “We need to use all tools to engage with the US.”

UPDATE 1549 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer about “joint diplomatic efforts” with plans for an international meeting in Rome this week.

“We are working to ensure the decisions made are as strong as possible,” Zelensky posted.

UPDATE 1543 GMT:

Russia’s former Transport Minister, Roman Starovoyt, has been found dead hours after he was dismissed by Vladimir Putin.

Russian authorities said Starovoyt’s body was found in a Moscow suburb. They consider suicide as the most likely cause of death.

Starovoyt was fired amid transport disruptions from Ukraine’s drone attacks, from damage to railways and bridges to the postponement or cancellation of more than 2,000 flights last weekend.

UPDATE 1253 GMT:

Ukrainian drone strikes this weekend caused delays or cancellations of more than 2000 airline flights across Russia, reports the Russian aviation regulator.

The aviation industry, already affected by Russia’s invasion and sanctions on Moscow, lost $140 million.

UPDATE 1245 GMT:

Ukrainian drones have reportedly struck the Ilsky oil refinery, damaging a technological workshop, in Krasnodar Krai in southwest Russia.

An official of Ukraine’s military intelligence service HUR claimed the attack on the refinery, around 500 km (311 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory.

The refinery is among the largest in southern Russia, producing more than 6 million tons of fuel annually. It was also struck and set afire on February 17.

UPDATE 1044 GMT:

At least 12 civilians have been killed and 69 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Air defenses downed 75 of 101 drones launched by Russia overnight and 17 were lost to electronic counter-measures.

Four S-300/400 guided missiles were intercepted.

In the Donetsk region in the east, seven civilians were killed and 15 injured.

Two civilians were murdered and nine injured in the Kherson region in the south. Two were slain by a drone strike in the Sumy region in the northeast, and one killed in Odesa city in the south.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, 27 civilians, including three children, were injured in a strike on an apartment building.

At least three victims remain hospitalized in moderate condition.

Casualties were also recorded in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted:

We are strongly counting on our partners to fully deliver on what we have agreed. Air defense remains the top priority for protecting lives.

UPDATE 0645 GMT:

Russia attacked Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa overnight, killing at least one civilian and injuring 27, including three children.

The fatality was in Odesa while the wounded were in Kharkiv, where an apartment building was struck.

No casualties were reported from Kyiv, but administrative and office buildings, a gas pipeline, a water supply system, and cars were damaged.

UPDATE 0635 GMT:

President Volodymyr Zelensky has stripped the head of the Ukraine Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Onufriy, of his Ukrainian citizenship.

Ukraine’s State security service SBU said Onufriy voluntarily obtained Russian citizenship in 2002 and maintains links with the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Ukraine Orthodox Church denied that the Metropolitan has any passport other than Ukrainian. The Church said it severed any links with Moscow following Russia’s full-scale invasion.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says deals have been reached with European partners and a leading US defense company to produce “hundreds of thousands” more drones this year.

Zelensky said Ukraine and Denmark have agreed to co-produce drones and other weapons on Danish soil.

Without naming the American firm, the President added, “We’ve…reached an agreement with one of the leading American companies to significantly increase our joint efforts.”

Ukrainian drone strikes are inflicting significant damage on Russia’s military and the institutions supporting the Kremlin’s 40-month invasion.

On June 1, attacks on airbases across Russia destroyed 13 bombers and damaged up to 28 other warplanes. Other strikes have affected oil refineries, specialist plants making drone and missile components, and supply and logistics facilities.

On Monday morning, drones reportedly targeted the Krasnozavodsk Chemical Plant in the Moscow region.

Over the weekend, there were lengthy delays for passengers at Moscow’s airports as flights were temporarily suspended or delayed.

New Sanctions on Russia

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky said he had authorized a new package of sanctions, including measures targeting Russian financial schemes involving cryptocurrency: “This is both a synchronization with our partners and our own initiative.”

The package cites 73 Russian individuals.

Zelensky explained:

It’s a challenging task – sanctioning regulations vary around the world – but we all share a common goal: to compel Russia to stop the war and to severely restrict its capabilities.

Sanctions are already depriving Russia of its future, and they must significantly complicate the daily functioning of the Russian system.