June 6: E-Stories
InUkraine CombatSitRep BehindLines Russia-China InEurope InOtherNews
Catching up…
For specific news about Trump, his regime and its dealings with Russia, I direct you to Olga’s substack. She and Julie Roginsky publish a weekly podcast, “Pax Americana”, which is highly informative.
For a general view of news from various geopolitical threatres, Scott’s EA Worldview is always superb.
At the opening the Ukraine Defense Contact Group’s meeting on Wednesday, UK defence secretary John Healey spoke about the need to continue supporting Ukraine as he stressed “this is not just Ukraine’s battle,” but “for the security of Europe, for our security today, tomorrow and for our future generations.”
Stories we’re following…
Russian missile, drone attack on Kharkiv injures 17, including 2 children. Russian missile and drone attacks on the city of Kharkiv overnight on June 5 injured 17 people, including two children, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.
Kherson is once again under attack by Russian guided bombs. Around 05:30 this morning, a KAB strike heavily damaged the regional administration building, leaving it visibly devastated.
Kherson Regional Administration building was struck for the second time on Thursday with a missile. "The building has been repeatedly shelled and isn't a decision-making center - military or civilian. They just wanted a flashy target, ignoring nearby residential buildings."
Overnight, Russia launched more than 25 drones at Odesa region. In Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district, the attack damaged civilian infrastructure—including the destruction of a family medicine clinic and damage to a school and youth creativity center. This is yet another act of repetitive terror against civilians.
Russian forces launched overnight attacks on Pryluk. In Pryluky, Chernihiv region, two homes, garages, a utility building, and a car were destroyed. Five people, including a child, were killed under the rubble, and six others were injured.
In the Bryansk region, an Iskander ballistic missile system—already loaded with a missile intended for an attack on Kyiv—was struck, according to the General Staff.
Russia launches over 48,000 aerial attacks on Ukraine in 6 months, Zelensky says. Zelensky said on social media that Russia launched nearly 27,700 aerial bombs, 11,200 Shahed drones, approximately 9,000 other types of attack drones, and over 700 missiles at Ukraine in 2025.
This weekend, a prisoner exchange is expected, with Russia ready to swap 500 servicemen, Zelensky said. He added that Ukraine does not take Russia's memorandum seriously, calling it an ultimatum. Zelensky proposed a ceasefire ahead of a potential leaders' summit and noted Ukraine has not yet received responses from the US or Russia regarding its ceasefire proposal.
Combat Situation
NATO intelligence sees no signs of a major Russian offensive being prepared in Sumy or Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to a senior official cited by Ukrainska Pravda. While Russia has increased activity, there is no indication of preparations for large-scale operations in those areas.
Based on confirmed reports from June 3–4, 2025, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) carried out a covert underwater bombing of the Kerch Bridge.
June 4: According to Ukraine’s General Staff, on June 4, Russian forces conducted a missile strike on a training unit in the Poltava region. Due to preemptive and coordinated safety protocols—including personnel dispersal, use of shelters, and strict adherence to air alert procedures—mass casualties were avoided. Several servicemembers were wounded and are receiving medical assistance. A special commission has been established to investigate the incident and assess the damage.
ISW: Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk. Russian forces recently advanced in Sumy Oblast and near Toretsk.
Early Thursday morning, Russia saw a wave of drone attacks—air defenses lit up the skies over Rostov, putting on quite a show. Meanwhile, more strikes reportedly hit power substations in occupied Melitopol.
An explosion occurred on Thursday morning on the railway tracks in the Voronezh Region, damaging the track at the 725th kilometer of the Evdakovo-Saguny section, sources told Baza and Vesti Voronezh . According to Vesti, train traffic was stopped in one direction.
'Nothing secret left' — Ukraine hacks Russia's Tupolev bomber producer, source claims. HUR's cyber corps accessed over 4.4 gigabytes (GB) of internal data, including official correspondence, personnel files, home addresses, resumes, purchase records, and closed meeting minutes, a source claimed.
The SBU has released new footage from Operation “Spiderweb,” revealing FPV drone strikes on 22 Russian aircraft, including 7 Tu-95s, 12 Tu-22M3s, 2 A-50s, and 1 An-12.
Analysis by CyberBoroshno suggests the actual number of damaged planes could be higher, as satellite images showed 8 Tu-95 hits and not all videos have been made public. Many strikes lack clear aftermath footage, which could indicate either limited damage without fire, destruction that wasn’t captured, or FPV drones that failed to detonate.
The Cipher Brief: Russian war bloggers were fixing blame close to home for the Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s bomber planes. Their ire is focused on the Russian military command, particularly aerospace forces commander-in-chief Viktor Afzalov and former defense minister Sergei Shoigu — who is now secretary of Russia's Security Council.
Two influential military blogs, Voyenkor Kotenok and Two Majors, said Shoigu had not fulfilled his promise to build more than 300 reinforced concrete shelters for aircraft. Military analyst Vladislav Shurygin damned the aerospace command’s "blatant irresponsibility and negligence" for failing to anticipate threats.
“Certainly, we need to be thinking about the implications for our own security,” former Senior CIA Officer Paul Kolbe told The Cipher Brief. “Just about a year ago, there was a flurry of reporting about drone sightings over Norfolk, over Andrews Air Force Base, across the East Coast. We see all these foreign purchases where the Chinese have acquired land resources adjacent to U.S. bases… I think everyone is going to be taking a look at this and saying, what does this now mean? It really has set an entirely new bar both for the offense and defense.”
Security Service of Ukraine shares the details of Operation Spiderweb that hit 41 Russian military aircraft.
US Grynkewich picked as next Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Trump’s administration announced its nomination for the next top US general in Europe and said the US military officer would also assume the traditional role of Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Trump’s decision to nominate US Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich to both roles, which was first reported by Reuters, will relieve European Nato allies and even some of Trump’s fellow Republicans amid concerns about a retrenchment in American military leadership of Nato.
Behind the Lines
Russia impersonating Ukraine's security service to recruit saboteurs, SBU warns. The SBU said this marks a notable escalation and shift in Russia’s recruitment strategy.
Putin tells new pope Kyiv seeks to escalate war, urges Vatican support for Moscow-linked church in Ukraine. Russia wants the Vatican to "take a more active role" in advocating for what it described as freedom of religion in Ukraine, the Kremlin said in a statement on June 4 following recent diplomatic contacts.
NATO: A defence spending commitment of 5% of GDP across the Nato alliance will happen, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters in Brussels, ahead of the Nato defence ministers meeting.
Rutte said the defence ministers will “agree an ambitious new set of capability targets to keep our 1 billion people safe, by keeping our deterrence and defence strong.”
“To make Nato a stronger, a fairer and a more lethal alliance, we need to spend more to reach these targets. But for today, the main focus is on the targets, and then, of course, the summit will decide on the spending,” he said. “There is no security without strong defence, and there will be no lasting security without a secure Ukraine” he added.
NATO will provide an additional €20 billion in military aid to Ukraine, announced Secretary General Mark Rutte. Rutte also discussed long-term support with Defense Minister Umerov and emphasized the importance of securing a lasting peace.
Swedish defence minister Pål Jonson said his country, which joined the alliance in 2024 after a nearly two-year wait, would like to see Nato budgets at 5% of GDP by 2030. Latvian defence minister Andris Sprūds, Reuters reports, said the 5% figure was crucial if the alliance was to meet its new targets.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte spoke in Brussels on Tuesday, addressing some of the key issues ahead of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting. The former Dutch prime minister also spoke about the need for the alliance to adopt more ambitious targets to prepare for new, emerging threats.
Russia is producing ammunition four times faster than all of NATO combined, warns NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He urges Allies to boost defence spending as the Russian threat grows faster than the West’s response: “They produce in 3 months what we do in a year. We must act.”
“These targets set out what forces and concrete capabilities every ally needs to provide to strengthen our deterrence and defence. Air and missile defence, long-range weapons, logistics, and large land manoeuvre formations are among our top priorities,” he said.
President Zelensky made “a proposal, which I believe our partners can support, is that we propose to Russians a ceasefire until the leaders meet,” he told a briefing in Kyiv.
Separately, he suggested that Russia is only holding talks on ending the war to try to convince US president Donald Trump to delay fresh sanctions over its invasion, AFP reported.
“They did it to demonstrate to the United States of America that they are constructive,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv. “Why? To have a delay, which depends on President Trump personally: whether or not to postpone the imposition of sanctions,” Zelensky said.
Hegseth’s briefing ends with a short question on whether the fact that he skipped meetings on Ukraine should be seen as “a message that the US no longer supports Ukraine.” “From the beginning of this administration, we worked with our British and German counterparts for them to take the lead of that contact group, which they’ve done, And I appreciate that.”
Mo: the Trump administration prefers to work via bilateral relations, which does little for alliance building. It allows the administration to play a state against another and garner advantages.
The Netherlands has announced a new €400M military aid package for Ukraine focused on maritime security. It includes over 100 vessels—patrol boats, interceptors, special operations ships—and 50+ maritime drones, along with weapons systems, sensors, spare parts, and training.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced that Germany will fund the production of long-range weapons in Ukraine. He noted a significant share could be manufactured this year, alongside continued support with air defence systems, ammunition, repair facilities, and satellite communications.
Chancellor Merz will tell Trump on his upcoming visit that Europe is firmly with Ukraine in its war with Russia and that no chance for peace must be passed up, Germany’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
“Europe expects us, the United States and Europe, to bring Russia to the negotiating table. This opportunity for peace must not be missed. And this war must finally be brought to a just end,” Johann Wadephul said at a news conference with his Polish counterpart.
"Trump asked the Senate not to consider the bill on tightening sanctions against Russia for now," says Senate Armed Forces Committee Chairman.
RFE/RL: ISS Missions With Russia Are Like Working With Nazis, Says Former US Astronaut
A retired US astronaut has told RFE/RL that joint missions with Russia on the International Space Station (ISS) should be scaled back, comparing them to collaboration with Nazi Germany at the height of World War II.
"Cooperating with the Russians on the ISS is like going on an Antarctic expedition with Nazis in 1943," said Terry Virts, a former commander on the station. "It's just morally reprehensible," he added.
"We need to stop launching Americans on the Russian Soyuz," he said, and "we shouldn't be launching Russian cosmonauts on our rocket while they're actively destroying our friend and ally, Ukraine."
"The commander of my Soyuz, Anton Shkaplerov, is from Sevastopol in Crimea. His wife is Ukrainian. And he was like, 'Krym nash, Krym nash,' which means 'Crimea is ours.' He was just so proud that they had taken back Crimea," Virts said.
But later, Virts was more concerned by three other cosmonauts he had flown with -- Aleksander Samokutyaev, Maksim Surayev, and Yelena Surova -- who all went on to serve as lawmakers in President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
"You know, I loved the Russian language and the people and the food. I thought the space station can be this great cooperation instead of conflict. And here they are supporting the most evil, blatantly morally abhorrent war. And that was very painful. I felt betrayed," he said.
The EU sanctions were announced the day after the full-scale invasion, as Samokutyaev had voted to recognize Russian-backed separatist entities in Ukraine as independent states.
Meanwhile in Russia & China…
Kremlin aide Ushakov said that Putin told Trump that Kyiv is "attempting to derail Russian-Ukrainian negotiations" and is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. Trump reportedly assured Putin that the U.S. was unaware of Ukraine’s plans to strike Russian airfields.
The illegitimate daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Elizaveta Rudnova (Krivonogikh), has become the manager of the art association L'association in France, journalist Nastya Rodionova reported . This information was confirmed to her by the organization's management. 21-year-old Rudnova works in the Parisian studios Albatros and L Galerie, where anti-war artists, including those from Ukraine, exhibit their work. In 2024, she graduated from the ICART School of Management and Art, also located in the French capital.
The volume of Russian wheat exports to world markets at the end of the agricultural year (from June 2024 to the end of June 2025) fell by 20-25%, Kommersant writes. According to Igor Pavensky, head of the Rusagrotrans analytical center, the decline in wheat exports from Russia year-on-year will be 25.2% — the figure will drop to 41.5 million tons.
In Yekaterinburg, security forces searched the office of the pro-Kremlin news agency URA.RU, confiscating equipment and documentation, Interfax reports , citing law enforcement agencies. Before that, two employees were detained: correspondent Sergei Bodrov and editor Denis Allayarov. An IF source in the security agencies clarified that the investigative actions are related to the detention in March of a former police officer who passed on official information from the daily report to URA.RU.
The Cipher Brief: Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, Moscow’s top security official, was in North Korea on Wednesday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the Russian Tass news agency reported. The pair were expected to discuss Russia and North Korea’s strategic partnership and the Ukraine war.
North Korean troops have fought alongside Russian forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region. Reports also say that North Korea has provided munitions and other material support to help Russia in the war. (Mo: Russia is looking for more ammo.)
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin spoke about the need for more active development of reverse engineering - that is, "copying" and adapting foreign technical solutions for the purpose of their large-scale production in Russia. " Automated process control systems are today the basis for scaling up our production. We have already talked a lot about the fact that if we have learned to design well, create models, then the process of reverse engineering and the process of scaling up production are something that still needs to be solved ," the head of government emphasized during a visit to the exhibition "Digital Industry of Industrial Russia" (quoted by Interfax).
The government has more than halved spending on the “Modern and Future Mobile Communication Networks” roadmap, which it planned to finance the creation of domestic base stations and 5G technologies. According to Kommersant , total spending on the project until 2030 has been cut from 46.5 to 20.3 billion rubles, of which only 18.2 billion have been “confirmed by funding.” It has been decided to reduce spending on the development of “critical technologies for creating equipment for 5G Advanced/6G communication networks” by 10 times, from 23 to 2.2 billion rubles.
Construction project launches plummet to post-pandemic low. The collapse in demand is forcing developers to further reduce the launch of new projects. In May, according to Dom.rf, they brought 2.7 million square meters of housing to the market — this is 37% less than in April, and 28% lower than a year ago. Over five months, 15 million square meters of new buildings were launched, which is 20% less than a year ago, and 7% lower than in January-May 2023.
Reuters: Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) accused British intelligence on Thursday of using the British Council as cover to undermine Russia and said it had identified teachers at leading universities who cooperated with the London-based charity. The FSB said that it had identified teaching staff from leading universities in four Russian regions who had cooperated with the British Council.
The FSB said the British Council was used by British intelligence for attempts to erase Russian identity and develop a global network of agents of influence. The FSB, which said that 15 Russian citizens had been officially warned over their cooperation with the British Council, implored allies to ban the British Council and cautioned citizens to have no contact with it.
POLITICO: Beijing denies helping Moscow, but Russia is scaling up both the production and the sophistication of its drones.
“Chinese manufacturers provide them with hardware, electronics, navigation, optical and telemetry systems, engines, microcircuits, processor modules, antenna field systems, control boards, navigation. They use so-called shell companies, change names, do everything to avoid being subject to export control and avoid sanctions for their activities,” said Oleh Aleksandrov, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service. “Yet officially, China sticks to all the rules. Yet only officially.”
China offers cash rewards for hackers it says are Taiwanese military. Authorities in southern China announced on Thursday they were offering rewards of more than $1,000 for the arrest of 20 people they say are Taiwanese military hackers, drawing an angry reaction from Taiwan's defence ministry. The public security bureau in the Chinese city of Guangzhou said the hackers were part of the Taiwan military's Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command, and published their pictures, names and Taiwan identity card numbers.
The Guardian: Opposition activists and journalists explain why the Orbánisation of the US may fail and how a former ally could end the Hungarian PM’s 15-year reign.
In the course of Orbán’s 15-year rule, there is little his government hasn’t tinkered with. After targeting judges and recasting electoral policy to make it harder to oust his party, universities were purged of gender studies courses and public institutions were put under the control of Orbán loyalists.
His critics have accused him of using state tenders to line the pockets of loyalists and of wielding state subsidies to reward pro-government media outlets and starve critical media. Some of the weakened media outlets were later snapped up by entrepreneurs loyal to Orbán and transformed into government mouthpieces, with his Fidesz party and its loyalists now estimated to control 80% of the country’s media.
With elections slated for spring 2026, Orbán is facing an unprecedented challenge from a former member of the Fidesz party’s elite, Péter Magyar. Several recent polls suggest that, if the trend continues, Orbán could lose his grip on power.
“For the first time in 15 years, there is a serious contender,” said Péter Erdélyi, the founder of the Budapest-based Center for Sustainable Media. With hope, however, comes risk: now was, he said, a dangerous moment for anyone perceived to be standing in Orbán’s way.
Orbán’s party seemingly made good on the threat when it put forward legislation that would give authorities broad powers to, in the words of one rights organisation, “strangle and starve” NGOs and independent media it sees as a threat to national sovereignty.
Magyar’s swift rise has shaken Hungarian politics, according to Miklós Ligeti of Transparency International Hungary. Magyar has repeatedly linked underperforming public services such as healthcare and schools to the country’s soaring levels of corruption.
“Now people start to understand that the serious underfunding of these two services is somehow linked to the fact that the government is spending taxpayers’ money on the enrichment of certain business entrepreneurs who have good ties with the government,” said Ligeti.
While Orbán and his party had long been able to deflect criticism by pointing to the country’s strong economy, this was no longer the case, sparking questions as to how they keep their grasp on power, said Márton Gulyás, a left-leaning political commentator who helms Partizán, the country’s most-watched political YouTube channel.
“I think right now they are in a very dangerous phase, mostly because of the tremendous problems in the economy,” he said. “They’re losing money heavily on debt, inflation is still high, food prices are still high and wages have stagnated.”
He said the unprecedented political challenge has been heightened by new models of journalism that had learned to evade Orbán’s heavy hand, from Gulyás’s YouTube channel, which employs 70 people, and independent outlets such as 444, Telex, and 24.hu.
In Europe…
The EU gave the green light on Wednesday for Bulgaria to adopt the euro from 1 January 2026, AFP reported. EU Commission president von der Leyen posted about it on her social media, saying:
Today [Wednesday], Bulgaria is one step closer to adopting the euro.
This will mean more investment and trade with euro area partners, and more stability and prosperity for the Bulgarian people.
Bulgaria will also take its rightful place in shaping euro area decisions. Congratulations!
The EU is prepared to align with the United States to impose sanctions against Russia simultaneously, aiming to compel Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks, says Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
The EU is currently preparing its 18th package of sanctions against Russia. Von der Leyen noted: "We are primarily concerned with sanctioning Russian energy and drying up Russia’s sources of finance. We have discussed how we can implement European sanctions and American sanctions at the same time," the European Commission President added.
When asked about expectations for future sanctions, von der Leyen said: "So if the Americans decide to impose sanctions, then the 500 percent will be included in this package."
A European Commission spokesperson later clarified that von der Leyen did not imply the inclusion of 500% tariffs in the EU’s 18th sanctions package, but emphasised that the EU has alternative tools at its disposal.
France and Belgium have declined to support the European Commission’s plan to phase out imports of Russian gas by 2027, citing the need for more clarity on the economic and legal implications, Politico reports. France prefers seeking alternative suppliers, like Qatar, and warns of potential legal risks for companies such as TotalEnergies. Belgium requests a detailed impact assessment before committing. Both countries remain among the EU's top importers of Russian LNG.
Philips O’Brien: Ukraine’s Warning to the World’s Other Military Forces
For the United States and other major Western militaries, Ukraine’s use of trucks parked outside secure areas near military sites will pose uncomfortable questions. How closely do they—or can they—monitor all the truck traffic that streams past their bases? Do they know what happens in every nearby property from which an adversary could hide drone swarms and then launch them with no warning? For many years now, for instance, Chinese interests have been buying large amounts of farmland right next to important U.S. military bases. They could be growing soybeans, but they could also be staging grounds for drone swarms that would make the Ukrainian attacks look minuscule.
Meanwhile, in Europe, military bases have in the past few years been regularly overflown by a large number of unknown drones, which are presumably gathering intelligence. Whichever power is responsible obviously has the ability to deploy a larger number of drones in kinetic attacks. The Ukrainians are showing U.S. and European militaries that better security against drone flights is long overdue.
For Ukraine’s doubters, these attacks should lead to a period of quiet reflection. President Donald Trump has insisted that Ukraine has “no cards.” The New York Times editorial board recently implied that Ukraine is unlikely to produce a military breakthrough that can change the basic course of the war. But pessimism about Ukraine’s capabilities is ahistorical and wrongheaded.
Reuters: Massive shipments of previously unknown recreational designer drugs and potent new opioids are threatening Europe, while traffic of cocaine and cannabis is worsening, according to the European Union Drugs Agency's annual report published on Thursday. Seizures of synthetic cathinones - stimulants chemically akin to the active ingredient in khat, a plant widely consumed in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula - reached 37 metric tons in 2023, primarily imported from India. Seven new cathinones were identified last year, suggesting their growing prevalence.
In other news…
Trump administration redirecting anti-drone tech from Ukraine to US forces in Middle East, WSJ reports. According to the Wall Street Journal, special fuzes used in ground-to-air rocket systems that protect against drone attacks will be redirected towards units in the Middle East, as the U.S. braces for conflict with Iran as well as Houthi militants in Yemen.
CNN: President Trump signs a proclamation banning travel from several countries to the US
Trump signed a proclamation to ban travel from several countries this evening, citing security risks, two sources familiar told CNN.
The ban will fully restrict entry of nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan; Myanmar, also known as Burma; Chad; Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; and Yemen. People from seven countries will have partial restriction: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
NYT: Trump’s Policy Bill Could Add $2.4 Trillion to Debt, Analysis Shows. The analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office was all but certain to inflame concerns that President Trump’s domestic agenda would lead to excessive government borrowing.
The U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza because it was not linked to the release of hostages. The resolution also did not condemn Hamas’ deadly attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the war, or demand that Hamas disarm and withdraw from Gaza, as the U.S. has urged.
The Daily Beast: 22-Year-Old Leading Terrorism Prevention Center at DHS
A division within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tasked with preventing terrorism is reportedly being led by a 22-year-old recent college graduate. Thomas Fugate, who graduated magna cum laude with a degree in politics and law from the University of Texas at San Antonio a year ago, is currently spearheading the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships at the DHS, ProPublica reported Tuesday.
Fugate was reportedly appointed as a “special assistant” in an immigration office at the DHS in February, according to ProPublica. He then assumed leadership of CP3 in May after its previous director, Bill Braniff, resigned following staff cuts, the outlet adds.
Prior to assuming his role at the DHS, Fugate served as an “advance team member” on President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, per his LinkedIn page. He also interned at several political organizations including The Heritage Foundation, widely known as the think tank behind Project 2025, and the Texas House of Representatives.
“Due to his success, he has been temporarily given additional leadership responsibilities in the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships office,” the official told the outlet in an email. “This is a credit to his work ethic and success on the job.”
The Trump administration has escalated its fight with Columbia University, declaring the school doesn’t meet accreditation standards for failing to enforce nondiscrimination laws.
“After Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University’s leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus,” US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement Wednesday.