News about war, defense and frontline in Kyiv region and Ukraine
Europe is ramping up defense budgets at an unprecedented pace, but three-quarters of purchases go outside the EU. Meanwhile, Ukraine has increased its defense-industrial capacity 55-fold over three years — and now Brussels is studying this experience as the only real alternative to structural dependence.
# Defense Ministry Launches Deferment Accumulation System: Minimum Six Months After Any Contract, Maximum Years Considering Full Combat Service Since 2022 The Ministry of Defense has introduced a deferment accumulation system with a minimum deferment of six months following any contract, and a maximum extending years if counting full combat service dating back to 2022. Alongside this measure, the first discharges from service for the most experienced personnel are expected by the end of 2025.
Damage to ferries and bridges complicates supply lines for occupation forces. Military analyst Oleg Zhdanov registers first signs of fuel shortage — but there is a critical difference between "complications" and "encirclement."
A fire at the "Defense of Sevastopol" panorama became the basis for a large-scale information operation by Moscow. However, the museum itself confirmed that the original fragments of Franz Roubaud's canvas were not damaged — they were simply not there.
Decree No. 485/2026 established June 11 as the Day of Unmanned Systems Forces, exactly one year after their official establishment. Over that year, the Unmanned Systems Forces completed 1.65 million combat missions and destroyed every third eliminated occupier.
Following a series of strikes on the Chongar Bridge and the P-280 highway, Russia officially banned military cargo from using this route. The logistical pressure is real — but the distance between "rationing" and "front collapse" is greater than it appears.
Fire Point is developing the FP-9 ballistic missile with a range of 855 kilometers and a payload of 800 kilograms. Flight tests are scheduled for summer 2026 — earlier than previously expected.
Units of Russia's 337th Regiment are abandoning positions on the Kinburn Spit — but not due to attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but rather because of logistical collapse. Whether this tactical pressure will transform into deoccupation depends on one factor.
Ukraine's Budget Committee Recommends Approving 2026 State Budget Amendments: A €90 billion EU loan will increase defense spending by 1.56 trillion hryvnias. The bulk of the funds will go toward weapons procurement rather than salaries for those who use them.
Starting in January 2026, mobile psychological support groups operate continuously in training centers — these are not one-off visits but a systematic response to the problem of new recruits' maladjustment, which the military publicly acknowledged back in 2024.
# Russia Damages Building at Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Near Chornobyl for First Time Russia has damaged the building of the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage facility near Chornobyl for the first time. The container reception building serves as the gateway through which fuel enters the facility, and its function explains why "normal radiation background levels" does not mean "everything is fine."
On the night of June 7, a drone damaged the Central Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility, a repository where used fuel from three Ukrainian nuclear power plants is transported. Radiation levels remain normal, but Grossi called the strike absolutely unacceptable and dispatched inspectors to the site.
Aughinish Alumina ships more than half of its production to Russian smelting plants, from where aluminum reaches weapons manufacturers. The European Commission has delayed sanctions because the plant supplies Ireland's power grid and provides raw materials to French and Swedish plants.
# Investigation into Europe's Greatest Ecocide Requires Comprehensive Expert Analysis The investigation into the largest ecocide in modern Europe demands comprehensive expertise from 20 specialists. Until this examination is completed, no official suspicions have been announced regarding the catastrophe itself, although two Russian generals have already been notified of charges related to adjacent incidents.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi released figures on the concentration of Russian troops in the Southern operational zone and made a decision to provide additional supplies of equipment and ammunition to these directions.
On June 4, Zelensky published an open letter to Putin with specific peace conditions. The Kremlin confirmed receipt — but Peskov stated that Putin would be "briefed later."
On October 2, Ukraine returned 185 military personnel and 20 civilians from Russian captivity — the 69th exchange since the start of the full-scale invasion. Among those released were defenders of Mariupol, Azovstal, and the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, with the majority having spent time in captivity since 2022.
On the morning of June 5, a parcel exploded at a Novaya Pochta sorting terminal in the Obolonsky district of Kyiv, killing employee Ivan Zhariy. The SBU opened a case under the article on terrorism resulting in loss of life.
On the morning of June 5, a package exploded at a postal operator's sorting center in Kyiv's Obolonsky district, killing one employee and injuring two others. Kyiv's city prosecutor's office has classified the incident as a terrorist act, with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) conducting the investigation.
A 59-year-old man was killed and two others were injured during a parcel inspection at a sorting center. SBU investigators have already opened a criminal investigation — this is the second similar explosion at a Kyiv post office in less than a year.
Rescuers have completed the debris removal at a five-story building in Kyiv's Shevchenko district and discovered remains of a woman who was believed to be missing. The death toll from the May 24 strike has reached three, with all victims found in the same building.
Emergency rescuers unblocked the bodies of two deceased women and dismantled 165 square meters of reinforced concrete. The total toll from the attack on the capital stands at 92 wounded, with damage recorded at 49 locations.
The November 20 meeting took place not due to diplomatic optimism, but against the backdrop of an acute internal crisis — a corruption scandal at Energoatom and ultimatums regarding Yermak's resignation. Zelensky outlined conditions for exiting the hot phase, but left open the question of mechanisms for their implementation.
A strike on the night of May 24 damaged over 300 facilities in the capital — a record in terms of destruction scale since the start of the full-scale invasion. Two people killed, 91 injured, with the most severe situation in the Darnytskyi district, where debris is still being cleared.
A day after one of Russia's largest attacks on Kyiv — 600 drones, 90 missiles, "Oreshnik," 4 killed — the Foreign Minister showed the diplomatic corps a destroyed neighborhood and demanded more air defense systems for Ukraine.
The night of June 23 witnessed one of the most devastating attacks on Kyiv in recent months. A missile strike on a residential high-rise destroyed an entire entrance; among the nine killed were an 11-year-old girl and her mother.
Rescuers have documented damage at 49 locations across various districts of the capital. Two women are among the casualties.
Russia delivered one of the largest strikes on the capital since the full-scale war began — 690 attack weapons, including the Oreshnik ballistic missile. Two killed, 87 wounded, and 300 destroyed and damaged facilities in Kyiv alone.
On the night of May 24, Russia launched one of its largest-scale attacks on the capital — ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and over 600 drones. The Interior Ministry showed what was happening inside the destroyed buildings in the first minutes after the explosions.
The night of May 24 became the largest in terms of damage to cultural sites in Kyiv since the start of the full-scale war. Among the ruins is a museum that was restored at state expense and opened in April.