Saturday, June 7. Russia's War On Ukraine: News And Information From Ukraine

Forbes

11 hours ago

KYIV, UKRAINE - JUNE 6: Rubble and debris lie in a destroyed apartment at damaged residential ... More building after a Russian drone-and-missile attack on June 6, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo by Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 1,200.
Russia's Attacks on Ukraine
Days after operation Spiderweb, Russia launched 407 drones and 45 missiles at the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in the early hours of Friday, June 6th. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow's attack injured 80, killed six, and targeted 'almost all' of Ukraine, listing nine regions, from Lviv in the west to Sumy in the northeast.
On June 2, a Russian strike on the northern city of Sumy killed five people and wounded at least 30 others. Late on June 4, drone attacks on residential areas in the Chernihiv region killed five people, including a one-year-old child. In war-torn eastern Donetsk province, systematic artillery shelling killed seven residents and wounded 14 others. On June 5, Russian glide bombs destroyed the Kherson Regional State Administration building, unused since the war began. Russian attacks within the region have killed at least four civilians since the beginning of the month.
Trump-Putin Call
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their fourth phone call, during which Putin warned that Moscow 'would have to respond' to Ukraine's recent airbase strikes. The Kremlin later described the strikes as acts of terror aimed at sabotaging peace efforts, while Trump noted that the discussion also touched on nuclear negotiations and potential Vatican-led mediation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the call, accusing global leaders of tacitly enabling Russian aggression through their failure to act decisively. 'Since the beginning of this year, the Russian army has carried out attacks against Ukraine using nearly 27,700 aerial bombs, almost 11,200 Shahed drones, around 9,000 other types of attack UAVs, and more than 700 missiles, including ballistic ones,' he wrote on Facebook, underscoring the scale and intensity of Moscow's assaults. Zelenskyy called for immediate high-level negotiations under a monitored ceasefire and condemned any delays as tacit approval of Putin's escalating warfare. He warned that each new Russian strike and every diplomatic deferral only emboldens the Kremlin, asserting that if strong leaders fail to stop Putin, they not only share responsibility for his actions but risk diminishing their nations' credibility as global powers.
U.S. Redirects Anti-Drone Tech from Ukraine to the Middle East
The Trump administration has redirected advanced anti-drone technology originally earmarked for Ukraine to U.S. forces in the Middle East, citing urgent threats from Iranian and Houthi drones. The reallocation of proximity fuses, critical to Ukraine's counter-drone defense, signals a strategic shift in U.S. foreign policy amid Kyiv's efforts to neutralize escalating Russian aerial assaults. Last month alone, the Kremlin set records for overnight drone attacks, peaking at 355 on May 26, a stark increase from the 20-40 reported daily a year ago. Critics of the Pentagon's decision warn that depriving Ukraine of essential defenses risks emboldening Moscow, while proponents argue the reallocation reflects the Pentagon's need to meet global security obligations with limited resources.
Ukraine Strikes Crimean Bridge
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) recently targeted the Crimean Bridge, the first strike on it in almost two years. Early on June 3, explosives equivalent to 2,425 pounds of TNT detonated, causing 'significant' damage to the bridge's seabed foundations. Although a precise assessment of the bridge's damage remains unavailable, Russian occupation authorities reopened the crossing mere hours after the attack. The bridge, completed in 2019, has served as a crucial logistics artery for Russia's southern occupation forces yet has been targeted only three times since the 2022 invasion and was swiftly repaired following previous attacks in October, 2022, and July, 2023. Ukrainian officials framed the latest strike as a justified response to occupation, while Russian sources reported attempts to repel further maritime drone attacks near the site.
The strike on the Crimean Bridge follows one of Ukraine's most effective operations, code-named 'Spider's Web,' which struck Russia's strategic air fleet. Ukraine initially reported 41 damaged aircraft, roughly one-third of Russia's strategic bombers; three days later, the SBU released a video showing 22 planes. U.S. officials estimate Russian losses at about 10 aircraft destroyed and up to 20 damaged.
Russia's energy revenues dwindle to record-low
Russia's oil and gas revenues fell 35%year-over-year in May, dropping to $6.55 billion, as Western sanctions and falling oil prices have squeezed the Kremlin's key revenue stream. Oil and gas, historically providing up to 40% of Russia's federal budget revenues, have faltered dramatically, swelling Russia's fiscal deficit to $41 billion, or 1.7% of GDP, in the first four months of 2025. Despite its objections, Moscow failed to block OPEC+ production hikes: the oil cartel increased its July targets by 411,000 barrels per day on May 31. Meanwhile, Russian crude shipments declined by 170,000 barrels per day in May, bringing total flows to a daily average of 3.24 million. This drop in volume contributed to a 24% week-on-week decrease in the gross value of seaborne crude exports, which fell to $990 million.
By Danylo Nosov, Alan Sacks