Russia, Ukraine fail to agree on truce in second round of talks
Russia and Ukraine have met for another round of talks aimed at achieving a truce, but walked away with agreement only on a prisoner swap. The delegations met in Istanbul for barely an hour for what was the second such negotiations since March 2022. The talks follow a brazen drone attack by Ukraine deep into Russian territory that destroyed more than 40 enemy planes. Kyiv claims 34 per cent of Russia's fleet of missile-carrying aircraft were destroyed, with damage estimated at US$7 billion. Dasha Chernyshova has more on what was achieved at the talks in Istanbul.
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Russian war bloggers blame military command for stunning Ukrainian attack on bomber fleet
FILE PHOTO: A satellite image shows Olenya airfield, before the Ukrainian drones attack targeting Russian military airfields, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in the Murmansk region, Russia, May 29, 2025. 2025 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: A satellite view shows military aircraft, some sitting destroyed, at the Belaya air base, near Stepnoy, Irkutsk region, Russia, June 4, 2025, after Ukraine launched a drone attack, dubbed \"Operation Spider's Web\", targeting Russian strategic bombers during Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. 2025 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo A satellite view shows military aircraft, some sitting destroyed, at the Belaya air base, near Stepnoy, Irkutsk region, Russia, June 4, 2025, after Ukraine launched a drone attack, dubbed \"Operation Spider's Web\", targeting Russian strategic bombers during Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. 2025 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS LONDON - Russian military analysts are hunting for scapegoats after Ukraine stunned Moscow with weekend drone attacks that destroyed a number of strategic bomber planes, weakening a key component of Russia's nuclear arsenal. Aerospace forces commander-in-chief Viktor Afzalov and former defence minister Sergei Shoigu - now secretary of Russia's Security Council - are among those being publicly singled out for blame. The drone strikes have prompted accusations of negligence, complacency and corruption. How was it possible, commentators are asking, for nuclear-capable aircraft to be left exposed, unprotected by hangars, and for Ukrainian intelligence to smuggle the drones within close reach of air bases and unleash them with devastating effect? Two influential military blogs, Voyenkor Kotenok and Two Majors, said Shoigu had promised as far back as April 2021 to build more than 300 reinforced concrete shelters for aircraft, but this had not happened. Military analyst Vladislav Shurygin condemned the "blatant irresponsibility and negligence" of the aerospace command headed by Afzalov, accusing the top brass of failing to anticipate threats and learn from past mistakes. The Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Another blogger, Roman Alekhin, said the attacks had demonstrated Ukraine's ability to penetrate deep inside Russia with saboteurs. Moscow had underestimated its enemy, he said, comparing the blow to Japan's 1941 attack on the U.S. navy at Pearl Harbor. The heated online debate contrasts with near-silence from the authorities and scant coverage in state media. The Kremlin has said an investigation is underway. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday condemned what he called terrorist attacks by Ukraine that killed seven people in southern Russia on Sunday, but made no reference to the strikes on the air bases that took place on the same day. BOMBER FLEET Russia operates two types of nuclear-capable heavy bomber planes - the Tu-160 and Tu-95 MS, which NATO calls the Blackjack and Bear-H, respectively. The Federation of American Scientists, in its annual review of Russian nuclear forces, said last month that it estimates Russia has only about 67 strategic bombers in its active inventory, although there is uncertainty about the numbers. It said Russia had historically housed all its strategic bombers at Engels, in the Volga region, and Ukrainka in the Far East. But in 2022, the first year of the war, it redeployed some bombers from Engels to Belaya in Siberia and Olenya in the northern Murmansk region, apparently assuming they would be less vulnerable there to Ukrainian attack. That assumption was disproved on Sunday, when Belaya and Olenya bore the brunt of the Ukrainian attacks. According to Western and Russian analysts, the aircraft that were hit were Tu-95 MSs and Tu-22 M3s - a type of intermediate-range bomber - though it remains unclear exactly how many were taken out. Satellite images of Belaya, obtained by Reuters and reviewed by military experts, showed at least several strategic bombers there were destroyed or badly damaged. Russian analysts estimated a dozen or more aircraft in total were damaged or destroyed at Belaya and Olenya. To replace them, military blogger Colonel Cassad wrote, it was likely that Russia would have to speed up production of the Tu-160 because it was only making four of those every year. Reuters could not verify that figure. Aviation analyst Alexei Zakharov said even if as many as 15 Tu-95 MSs had been taken out, it would only reduce the number of nuclear cruise missiles that Russia was capable of firing by fewer than 100. He noted that strategic bombers are only part of a much larger nuclear force including ground- and submarine-launched missiles. Even so, he said, Russia had learned a lesson that was "offensive and insulting. The main thing is that the right conclusions are drawn from this lesson". REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
EU not looking to extend trade waivers with Ukraine to protect its farming communities
A temporary trade agreement between Ukraine and the European Union — established after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 — is set to expire on Thursday. Kyiv has warned this will have a major impact on its economy and could trigger negative sentiments towards the EU. But farming communities in countries such as France and Poland said they have been hurt by Ukrainian imports over the past three years. William Denselow reports from Warsaw.
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Ukraine attack on Russian bombers risks escalation: US envoy
MOSCOW: Ukraine's dramatic drone attack on Russian bombers over the weekend has increased the risk of escalation to "unacceptable" levels, said US envoy Keith Kellogg. "The risk levels are going way up," Kellogg, President Donald Trump's envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told Fox News on Tuesday (Jun 3). "When you attack an opponent's part of their national survival system, which is their nuclear triad, that means your risk level goes up because you don't know what the other side is going to do." Ukraine conducted a massive drone attack against Russian military airbases on Sunday, saying it had destroyed several Russian nuclear-capable bombers worth billions of dollars. The triad refers to a country's nuclear strike capabilities across land, air, and sea. "But any time you attack the triad, it is not so much the damage done on the bombers ... it's the psychological impact you have," said Kellogg, adding that it showed Ukraine "is not lying down on this". The attack also showed Ukraine can raise risk levels "that are basically to me, they've got to be unacceptable". Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it has flexed its nuclear might to deter Kyiv's allies from intervening militarily. Russia fired a medium-range Oreshnik missile at Ukraine in November that was not loaded but has the capability of carrying a nuclear warhead. It is not the first time Ukraine has challenged Russia's strategic nuclear deterrence, having struck in 2024 an advanced radar system designed to warn Moscow of incoming ballistic missiles.
