Here’s where things stand on Friday, June 6 :
Fighting
- At least four people were killed and 20 others injured in Kyiv, after Russia carried out a barrage of drone strikes in the Ukrainian capital overnight, Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. He said 16 of those injured were hospitalised.
- Several fires broke out in various districts of Kyiv as a result of the shelling, including at a residential building, a civil infrastructure facility and a metal hangar.
- Russian shelling also damaged train tracks in the Kyiv region, with Ukraine’s national railway operator warning of 90-minute delays. Several strikes also hit western Ukraine’s city of Lutsk and Ternopil region.
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Air defence units were in action repelling Russian drones, according to military authorities in Kyiv, as news outlets reported a series of explosions in the city.
- International monitors at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine have reported hearing repeated rounds of gunfire that appeared to be aimed at drones apparently attacking the site’s training centre, the UN’s nuclear watchdog said.
- The nuclear plant’s Russian management had earlier said that Ukrainian drones landed on the roof of the training centre in “yet another attack” on the facility. The management said there had been no casualties or damage. The nuclear facility’s reactors are in shutdown mode amid the war.
- Russian investigators announced that they have opened a criminal case into an “act of terrorism” after a stretch of railway track in Russia’s Voronezh region was damaged in an explosion.
- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, at his daily briefing with reporters, described the latest rail attack as “nothing other than terrorism at the state level”. Russia has not yet provided evidence that Ukraine ordered the rail attacks, and Kyiv has not acknowledged responsibility.
Politics and diplomacy
- Russia will respond to Ukraine’s latest attacks – which have included an audacious drone attack on heavy bomber warplanes in Siberia – as and when its military sees fit, the Kremlin said, accusing Kyiv of state terrorism as US President Donald Trump downplayed prospects for an immediate peace between the countries.
- Speaking to reporters before his meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said he believed that “at some point” there would be peace between Russia and Ukraine. When asked if he would impose further sanctions on Russia, Trump responded, “When I see the moment where it’s not going to stop … we’ll be very, very, very tough. And it could be on both countries, to be honest. You know, it takes two to tango.”
- Trump also said that he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to not retaliate after Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russia’s airbases.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has promised to “unconditionally support” Russia in its war in Ukraine and said he expects Moscow to emerge victorious, the country’s state media reported.
- Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said it had put Artyom Timofeyev, a Russian citizen who was born in Ukraine, on a national wanted list on suspicion of taking part in the attacks on Russian military airfields, state news agency TASS reported. Russian media reported earlier that Timofeyev, who reportedly owns a freight forwarding company, had left Russia for Kazakhstan.
- Russian warplanes targeted in the June 1 drone attack were damaged but not destroyed, and they will be restored, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. The US has assessed that up to 20 warplanes were hit and around half were destroyed during the attack.
- Germany needs up to 60,000 additional troops under new NATO targets for weapons and personnel, the country’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in advance of the meeting between Trump and Merz on Thursday. NATO is focused on building up its forces to respond to what it sees as an increased threat from Russia.
- The Trump administration has announced the nomination of US Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich as the next top US general in Europe, and said he would also assume the traditional role of Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
- Russia’s Federal Security Service has accused British intelligence of using the British Council, which promotes international education and cultural relations, as a cover to undermine Russia. The security service said it had identified teachers at leading universities who cooperated with the London-based charity. The United Kingdom is now considered “enemy number one” by Russian officials, amid the intensifying conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
- Slovakia’s parliament, in a thinly attended session, approved a resolution calling on the government not to vote in favour of new sanctions on Russia, raising questions over the country’s future stance on European sanction packages.
Economy
- Ukraine’s export losses are set to reach $800m for the period June to December this year, following the expected end of free access to the European Union market, the country’s central bank deputy governor, Serhiy Nikolaichuk, said.
