
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Crimean bridge blown up in massive explosion, say Kyiv's special forces
A bridge linking Russia and Crimea has been blown up in a massive explosion carried out by Ukraine 's special forces.
The 12-mile-long Crimean Bridge, or Kerch Bridge, links Russia with the occupied peninsula which Russian troops annexed in 2014.
Footage showed an underwater explosion destroying a pillar of the bridge as Ukraine 's SBU vowed there was 'no place for any illegal Russian facilities on the territory of our state'.
The SBU said it rigged the bridge's pillars with 1,100kg of explosives. 'The Crimean Bridge is an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops,' it said.
It comes after Moscow told Ukraine that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, according to a memorandum.
'Savage' Russian attack on Sumy shows need for sanctions, says Zelensky
Russia's 'savage' attack on Sumy shows the need for further sanctions on the Kremlin, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
'It is obvious: without global pressure – without decisive actions from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who has the power – Putin will not agree even to a ceasefire,' he said.
'Not a single day goes by without Russia striking Ukrainian cities and villages. Every day, we lose our people to Russian terror. Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defence.
'I am grateful to everyone around the world who is promoting exactly this agenda: sanctions for aggression and the killing of people, and assistance in defending the lives of Ukrainians.'
Alexander Butler3 June 2025 21:00
Inside Operation Spiderweb: Ukraine's drone triumph is a blow against Russia that will spook friend and foe alike
Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb is blow to Russia that will spook friend and foe alike
Operation Spiderweb is a triumph of intelligence and technological cunning that our enemies will be studying, says world affairs editor Sam Kiley
Alexander Butler3 June 2025 20:00
Medvedev says Russia seeks victory, not compromise, in talks with Ukraine
Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the point of holding peace talks with Ukraine was to ensure a swift and complete Russian victory.
"The Istanbul talks are not for striking a compromise peace on someone else's delusional terms but for ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction of the neo-Nazi regime," the hawkish deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council said on Telegram.
"That's what the Russian Memorandum published yesterday is about."
Alexander Butler3 June 2025 19:00
Sanctions on Russia needed as Putin doesn't want ceasefire, says Zelensky's aide
Russia does not want a ceasefire and new sanctions are needed now to force it to pursue peace, the chief of staff to the Ukrainian president said yesterday.
"The Russians are doing everything to not cease firing and continue the war. New sanctions now are very important," said Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president's office.
Mr Yermak posted his remarks on Telegram, hours after the conclusion of peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Alexander Butler3 June 2025 18:00
Watch moment Russia's Crimean bridge blown up in huge explosion by Ukraine forces
Watch moment Russia's Crimean bridge blown up in huge explosion by Ukraine forces
Video footage has captured the moment a bridge linking Russia and Crimea is blown up in a huge explosion carried out by Ukraine's special forces. The 12-mile-long Crimean Bridge, or Kerch Bridge, links Russia with the occupied peninsula which Russian troops annexed in 2014. Footage shows an underwater explosion destroying a pillar of the bridge as Ukraine's SBU vowed there was 'no place for any illegal Russian facilities on the territory of our state'. The SBU said it rigged the bridge's pillars with 1,100kg of explosives. 'The Crimean Bridge is an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops,' it said.
Alexander Butler3 June 2025 17:00
Pictured: Crimean bridge underwater explosion
Alexander Butler3 June 2025 16:00
Pictured: Soldiers of Ukraine's 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade fire a Grad multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions in Donetsk
Alexander Butler3 June 2025 15:30
Ukraine invited to Nato summit, says Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has received an invitation to attend the upcoming Nato summit at The Hague.
There had been uncertainty about whether Kyiv would be invited given Donald Trump's stance on blocking Ukraine from joining Nato.
'We were invited to the Nato summit. I think this is important,' the Ukrainian president said after he held a meeting with the military alliance's secretary general Mark Rutte in Vilnius.
Alexander Butler3 June 2025 15:00
Russia accuses Ukraine of terrorism after railway bridge blasts
Russia's state Investigative Committee accused Ukraine on Tuesday of carrying out "acts of terrorism" by blowing up two railway bridges in Russia over the weekend.
The attacks were planned to target hundreds of civilians, the committee said on Telegram. It said seven people were killed and 113 injured, including children, when two trains crashed in Russia's Kursk and Bryansk regions as a result of the attacks.
Alexander Butler3 June 2025 14:47
Watch: Ukraine blows up bridge linking Russia and Crimea

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Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Fury as Labour peer accuses 'out of control' Ukrainian president Zelensky of 'scuppering' Russia peace deal with drone strikes on Kremlin airfields
A Labour peer triggered outrage today by suggesting Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky was 'out of control' and jeopardising efforts to end the war with Russia by approving a major drone strike. Octogenarian Lord Dale Campbell-Savours stunned the House of Lords by suggesting Mr Zelensky had been 'allowed to run amok' with his country's celebrated weekend attack on Russian airfields. The former MP suggested the embattled war leader had 'scuppered' the chances of reaching a truce in the deadly conflict being sought by US president Trump. Ukraine's Security Service claim the attack, dubbed operation Spider Web, destroyed or damaged 41 Russian aircraft, including strategic bombers. At the same time, Russia has continued to carry out strikes across Ukraine, including the targeting of residential areas. Lord Campbell-Savours, whose son is a Labour MP, was swiftly rebuked in the Lords by figures on all sides, including foreign minister Baroness Chapman of Darlington. Former defence chief Lord Stirrup, who led the Armed Forces from 2006 to 2010, icily said: 'Has the minister noticed any reticence or reluctance on the part of President Putin to killing Ukrainian civilians while so-called peace talks continue? 'And has she identified any actions at all on the part of the American administration to try and compel President Putin down that path of reticence?' US President Donald Trump said this week Mr Putin had told him 'very strongly' in a phone call that he would respond to Ukraine's daring drone attack on Russian air bases. Mr Zelensky, who has accepted a US ceasefire proposal and offered to meet Mr Putin in an attempt to break the stalemate in negotiations, wants more international sanctions on Russia to force it to accept a settlement. But Mr Putin has shown no willingness to meet Mr Zelensky and has indicated no readiness to compromise. US-led diplomatic efforts to end the long-running war have so far failed to make any significant progress. Raising the issue in Parliament, Lord Campbell-Savours said: 'Whilst recognising the sheer bravado of those who executed operation Spider Web, we have to accept that action has undermined Trump's wider initiative, jeopardised his offer on the provision of security guarantees, and hardened Russia's attitude on conflict resolution. 'How can we ever secure a settlement and avoid substantial defence costs being imposed on European taxpayers, if Zelensky is allowed to run amok with unilateral actions, therefore scuppering any prospect of an early settlement. 'Why can't we, with our long experience in diplomacy, think out of the box and engage with Trump's people in discussions with Russia over measures to end this war. 'We can't rely on Zelensky. He's out of control.' However, the peer's controversial view was rejected outright by Baroness Chapman, who said she 'profoundly' disagreed and repeated the UK Government's staunch support for Kyiv. She pointed out it was Russia's leader Vladimir Putin who could end the war, which he had triggered by his full-scale invasion in 2022. She added: 'President Trump wants to see peace. We want to see peace. President Zelensky has agreed to a ceasefire. 'The person who could achieve that ceasefire, who could bring peace to Ukraine, who could see the children return to their homes, is President Putin.' Her Tory counterpart Lord Callanan said: 'I completely agree with the minister's sentiments. 'I think Lord Campbell-Savours is absolutely wrong, and all of us who are strong supporters of Ukraine were greatly encouraged by the recent audacious attack on the Russian airfields, in which nobody was killed by the way, it was just equipment that was damaged. 'But to secure Ukrainian sovereignty in the longer term, it is vital that Ukraine possesses armed forces which have a strong strategic and tactical advantage in the region. 'So could the minister please update the House on the steps that the Government is taking to support the Ukrainian military, to ensure that it has troops which are well trained, well equipped in the longer term to our high standards to help deter further Russian aggression?' Lady Chapman pointed out the UK had committed £3 billion a year for as long as Ukraine needed it and also signed a '100-year' pact, which formalised economic and military support provided by Britain. She also highlighted UK efforts to establish a peacekeeping mission that would enforce a possible future ceasefire in Ukraine, a so-called coalition of the willing.


Telegraph
40 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump thought Zelensky's Russian air base strikes were ‘badass'
Donald Trump was so impressed by Ukraine's audacious drone raids on Russian warplanes that he described them as 'badass' to aides. Mr Trump has kept unusually quiet about the Sunday attack on airfields deep inside Russia as he tries to keep both sides talking to each other. But a report published on Thursday revealed he thought the strikes were 'strong' even as he worried that it would make peace efforts more complicated. 'He thought it was badass,' a source told Axios. An adviser said: 'From an international perspective, you've got a chihuahua inflicting some real damage on a much bigger dog.' Kyiv's weekend strikes on airfields destroyed and damaged nuclear-capable aircraft and infuriated Moscow. 'Operation Spider's Web' was reportedly 18 months in the planning. But it leaves Mr Trump with a dilemma. Throughout his dealings with Moscow and Kyiv he has openly worried that the conflict could lead to a Third World War, and influential voices in his Maga coalition, such as Steve Bannon, have publicly warned Ukraine's strikes were 'escalatory' and likely to trigger a brutal Russian response. A third source told Axios: 'We want this war to end. We want it to de-escalate. So if Putin goes crazy in response, yeah, the president has concerns.' Mr Trump has shied from adding extra sanctions or heaping more pressure on Russia to force it to compromise. He spoke to Mr Putin by phone on Wednesday. He posted on social media afterwards: 'President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.' The Russian president has repeatedly rejected calls for a 30-day ceasefire, insisting that it would simply allow Ukraine to rearm and reorganise. The result is an impasse for Mr Trump, who came to power promising to end the conflict on day one of his presidency. On Thursday, Moscow said it would decide 'how and when' to respond. When Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, was asked what Russia's response would be, he said: 'As and when our military deems it appropriate.' The issue is reaching a crucial round of diplomacy. Mr Trump hosts Friedrich Merz, the new German chancellor, at the White House on Thursday. Germany is the second biggest backer of Ukraine after the US. Then he flies to Canada for a G7 summit followed by a Nato meeting in the Netherlands before the end of the month.


Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Merz prepares for Oval Office meeting with Trump
The German chancellor is hoping to avoid one of Donald Trump's infamous ambushes when he visits the White House for the first time today. A month into the job, Friedrich Merz, will try to find common ground with Mr Trump - a fellow businessman - on issues such as defence spending and the war in Ukraine. Mr Merz, despite warning that Europe can no longer rely on the US during the election, will try to position Germany as an 'indispensable' ally and position itself as the leader of Europe. Mr Trump has delivered a series of public dressing downs to foreign leaders in front of the White House press pool, including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa. The New York Times reported that the US president was set to confront Mr Merz over free speech in Germany, an issue which JD Vance, the vice president, brought up with Sir Keir Starmer when he visited the White House earlier this year. Despite the threat of another public row, Mr Merz said he was 'looking forward' to meeting Mr Trump in person. 'Our alliance with America was, is, and remains of paramount importance for the security, freedom, and prosperity of Europe,' he said.