Lavrov Blames US for not forcing Ukraine’s Surrender

It has been my contention since Ukraine became a captive of Russia that Moscow is not interested in peace between Ukraine and Russia. On the other hand, Russia is interested in pursuing its war against Ukraine until its 35-year independence ends with Ukraine’s return to Russian captivity.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey admitted so much, according to Reuters.

The Russo–Ukraine war continues because the United States has refused to pressure Kyiv into accepting defeat, Lavrov said in an interview with state propaganda network RT on June 4 that was monitored by Reuters.

Lavrov pushed back on recent comments by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio who said Russia had not shown readiness to make concessions in a peace deal. Lavrov referred to the Anchorage summit on August.15, 2025, and claimed that Russian führer Vladimir Putin accepted proposals from U.S. President Donald Trump on initial steps that would have halted fighting and opened the way to negotiations.

“If the United States had genuinely promoted its initiative, we would already be sitting at the negotiating table and the hostilities would have stopped,” Lavrov said. He added that, in his view, it was Kyiv that was unwilling to negotiate.

“We do not see a readiness for dialogue on the other side. We cannot find on the other side the people with whom we could hold a dialogue,” he said.

In other words, Russia would rather discuss Ukraine’s articles of capitulation from its point of view.

Lavrov also said Moscow was “ready” for peace talks but criticized comments by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte during a visit to Kyiv on June 2, when Rutte said Ukraine will one day join NATO. Lavrov accused Rutte of disregarding U.S. objections and suggested, without providing evidence that Putin and Trump had agreed to rule out Kyiv’s accession to the alliance.

“He didn’t care that the United States, in the person of President Trump, considered this unacceptable. Rutte simply declared, embracing [President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, that Ukraine will be in NATO,” Lavrov said.

As Ukraine’s closest allies and supporters concur, Ukraine will never agree to Russia’s demands for peace and capitulation. Even Russia’s so-called peace proposal is filled with danger and death for Ukraine and Ukrainians.

Exasperated by Putin’s Stubbornness, Zelenskyy Sends Letter to Russian Fuhrer Offering to End War Honestly, with Dignity and Guarantees

After more than four years of Russia’s war against Ukraine, countless one-sided meetings, numerous unfulfilled promises, expectations that have gone with the wind, stagnation, Russian stubbornness and lies, not to mention the death of countless unarmed Ukrainian men, women and children and the destruction of Ukrainian cities, environment and countryside, an obviously exasperated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared in his letter to the Russian dictator “Enough of this war! Ukraine offers to end this war.”

Indeed, despite vague invitations, Zelenskyy said there is nothing for him to do in Moscow as well as for Putin to do in Kyiv.

“I propose to set a clear date for the meeting,” Zelenskyy wrote.

The Ukrainian President pointed out that he is not worried about Russians, but rather “I care about the Ukrainians.”

Zelenskyy proposed that Europe needs to participate as well as the United States.

“Enough of the war. Ukraine offers to end this war. We must do it honestly, with dignity, and guarantee that there will be no new outbreak of war. We see that the United States is paying all its attention to the issue of Iran, and it is wrong to simply wait for the turn of their attention to the war in Europe. Ukraine proposes to end the war in the format between us and you. I propose a meeting with you,” the Ukrainian leader wrote.

Anyone who is hoping against hope for reconciliation between Ukraine and Russia is naïve, Zelenskyy said, because “your war” has “forever separated Ukraine and Russia.”

“The front line now is the line from which diplomacy should begin. Ukraine is ready to cease fire completely — for the time when negotiations will continue. And this is standard practice, which is confirmed now and the circumstances around Iran. Trying to establish real silence is the best way to start talking to each other. We believe that this will be not just an attempt, but a real ceasefire, if you want it,” he continued.

Zelenskyy’s parting warning to Putin indicated that he will also have to fight much more for your existence — not Russia’s, but your own. And this is not a threat from me or Ukraine. These are facts of Russian history that you know well: when Russia gets tired, changes happen.

“We can work on such fatigue.

“You can stop your war.

“Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by this war.

“Glory to Ukraine!”

The typical Ukrainian battle cry of “Glory to Ukraine” surely told the Russian dictator that Ukraine and Ukrainians will never change their aspirations and colors.

Vladimir Putin rejected an offer from Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold a face-to-face meeting, insisting instead that Russia will achieve its war goals in Ukraine, including seizing all of the eastern Donbas region.

Speaking at the St Petersburg economic forum, the Russian president described the open letter from his Ukrainian counterpart containing the offer as rude. He refused to use Zelenskyy’s name, referring to him only as its author. Asked if they could meet to discuss an end to the conflict, Putin replied: “So far I see no point.”

As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink either stupidity or stubbornness.

Following is the test of President Zelenskyy’s letter to the Russian führer.

Open Letter
To the President of the Russian Federation
From the President of Ukraine

When you led Russia more than 26 years ago, many in Ukraine had a positive attitude towards you. That was the case. That is already in the past.

Now the absolute majority of Ukrainians perceive positively the fact that our long-range drones visited the opening of your forum in St. Petersburg, having overcome a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers. As you well know, this distance is not the limit of our capabilities.

Twenty-six years of your power have completely changed the agenda in relations between Ukraine and Russia. From discussions of trade turnover and other civil issues, our peoples have moved on to the topic of exclusively hits and losses.

Almost half of your 26 years of power in Russia you have spent in the war against Ukraine.
Whatever you say about NATO, geopolitics and the Russian language, this war is your personal choice – a war without a real reason. This is how history will remember it.

This time could have gone very differently.

We often hear that war suits you. Of course, not when it comes to the safety of your residence in Valdai or the parade in Moscow. Your own life is valuable to you.

But now we all see that this finally ceases to suit the Russians — the fact that the war gives more and more negativity to Russia.

They do not like our drones and missiles.

They do not like the shortage of gasoline and the constant rise in prices.

They do not like the constant bans.

They do not like your intention to organize a second wave of mobilization to expand the war to another direction in Ukraine or to direct it against some other countries — Russia's neighbors.

They do not like the fact that there is no end in sight to your war.

Yes, you can still force the Russians to exist like this.

But your resources are significantly reduced.

You will not have enough money and political power to continue buying the loyalty of the Russians, as you have done for 26 years. We will do everything to ensure that the world takes care of this.

As you yourself say, "we need to crunch the numbers."

Yesterday I received a report on the losses of your army on the front in Ukraine in May. This is again over 30 thousand killed and seriously wounded Russians. We keep exactly this figure every month, and we have video confirmation of each of your losses — this is not unfounded.

We know that 63 percent of your losses on the front are killed, and only 37 percent are wounded. In the 21st century, armies cannot afford such a balance. In the future, the share of those killed will increase.

It is not that we in Ukraine are worried about the Russians. After everything that your war has brought to Ukraine.

But I care about the Ukrainians.

We are losing our people, and each of our losses hurts us. And even if the level of Ukrainian losses is one to five or one to six compared to Russian losses, it still matters a lot.

It also matters that you regularly, every few months, postpone the deadlines for capturing our regions, primarily the Donetsk region. You will not capture it this year either.

But we in Ukraine do not want a permanent war. We know very well that it is immeasurably better without war. We want to achieve this.

I am sure that the majority of Russians are ready to give a positive answer to this, and you know it.

Many did not believe that Ukraine would hold out for so long on defense.

You did not believe. And those who advised you did not believe it either. That was a mistake.
You did not expect full-scale resistance from Ukraine and did not predict that everything would go this far. But we are all here — in the fifth year of a full-scale clash.

Do not be afraid to get out of the war — this is the main thing that is needed from you now.

Ukraine retains its independence. And will retain it. Despite all other predictions.

We have united many in the world in defense of Ukraine and against you. We have found weapons and finances.

We receive support, you receive sanctions. And so it will continue until there is justice for Ukraine, which we want and which can be achieved.

We will not allow those who try to convince you that sanctions against Russia will be significantly weakened and that support for Ukraine will be significantly reduced without a significant change in your position on Ukraine to succeed. Orbán’s example demonstrates the shame that those who choose to help Russia in the war against us end up with.

Ukraine went through hard winters when you tried to destroy our energy. We survived, and even in the darkness, the resilience of the Ukrainians remained.

We brought the war to your territory, and you could not have done it without the help of North Korea. You are the first Russian ruler who was forced to turn to Pyongyang for help.

And today you are completely dependent on China — also for the first time in Russian history.

You counted on the Ukrainians not having enough strength to defend themselves, but now our guys are helping to build defense for our partners in the Middle East and the Gulf.

You were hoping for internal unrest in Ukraine, but it was your own military formations that rebelled against you. June 23 will be another anniversary, and silence will not erase this fact from history.

And now your own government officials, businessmen and propagandists are looking at you with obvious fatigue. The world sees it.

The world is not tired of Ukraine, which you have long counted on. But even those in the global world who help you circumvent sanctions and keep the economy afloat are tired of Russia.

You can't help but notice this. After 26 years, old age has begun to take its toll. The further along you go, the greater your fatigue will be.

We have seen intelligence documents that you are now considering war plans for 2027 and 2028. We also know that you hope that ballistics will do for you what everything else has not.

You want to drag Belarus even further into the war, and now we are forced to prepare for that as well. We see that you are playing some kind of game with Transnistria. Your propagandists are threatening all of Russia's neighbors in one way or another. Do you really want to go through all of this?

The choice is yours now.

Enough of the war.

Ukraine offers to end this war.

We must do it honestly, with dignity, and guarantee that there will be no new outbreak of war.

We see that the United States is paying all its attention to the issue of Iran, and it is wrong to simply wait for the turn of their attention to the war in Europe.

Ukraine proposes to end the war in the format between us and you.

I propose a meeting with you.

Everyone has heard your representatives, smiling, saying that I can come to Moscow. But after such 26 years, there is nothing for the Ukrainian leader in your capital, as well as the Russian leader in Kyiv, to do.

There are countries that traditionally receive leaders to resolve issues of war and peace. Switzerland, Turkey, the countries of the Arab world — many can and want to host this meeting.

It is the leaders who decide key issues — it has always been and will always be so.

I propose to set a clear date for the meeting.

We heard that you were promised in Alaska to resolve some things that concern Ukraine and Europe. But you see that Ukrainian and European issues are not resolved in Anchorage.

Other specific participants may join the bilateral track that has been started between us. Since the war is ongoing in Europe, and we in Ukraine need security guarantees, and you want security guarantees for yourself, it seems logical to involve those who can really act as guarantors.

We believe that Europe needs to participate — those who really have the ability to influence the situation.

We believe that the United States should be in the process, and this is what can determine the configuration of the new security architecture in our part of the world.

We have already had the experience of many agreements with Russia and the Minsk agreements that did not work. Therefore, we must first find our bilateral answers to the questions that exist, and not hide from the complex issues behind any formulations, technical groups, or wasting time in shuttle diplomacy.

With your war, you have forever separated Ukraine and Russia.

The front line now is the line from which diplomacy should begin.

Ukraine is ready to cease fire completely — for the time when negotiations will continue. And this is standard practice, which is confirmed now and the circumstances around Iran. Trying to establish real silence is the best way to start talking to each other. We believe that this will be not just an attempt, but a real ceasefire, if you want it.

You know that the United States can provide monitoring of the ceasefire along the stop line.
Ukraine is ready for an exchange of prisoners of war on the principle of "all for all," and this could be a good prologue to the end of the war.

We need to take serious steps to return civilians and children who were taken out during the war.

We need to determine what the future will be for all future generations of Ukrainians and Russians.

If you personally do not agree that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue to fight for its existence. We will have those who will support us.

But you will also have to fight much more for your existence — not Russia’s, but your own. And this is not a threat from me or Ukraine. These are facts of Russian history that you know well: when Russia gets tired, changes happen.

We can work on such fatigue.

You can stop your war.

Eternal memory to all whose lives were taken by this war.

Glory to Ukraine! 

Escalation of Russia-Ukraine War Aids Moscow; Supporting Ukraine Ensures Peace and Justice

Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed his belief in the Washington Examiner that the Russia-Ukraine War “has no military solution” but fears an increase in long-range exchanges could dramatically escalate the violence.

For me that expression indicates that the United States is not interested is Ukraine’s victory and Russia’s defeat but rather an inconclusive bloody conflict that will flare up from time to time. That eventuality will not force Washington to deal with a victor and loser. For the Trump Administration that will be tolerable so long as neither side doesn’t reach for the nuclear trigger.

However, the powers that be, especially the ones in Washington and Moscow, aren’t considering the effect on the people of Ukraine who have had to tolerate neighboring Russia for more years than the accepted duration of a dozen years of this iteration of Russia’s belligerence against Ukraine.

Speaking to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, June 3, Rubio offered a lengthy assessment of the Russian invasion. He noted specifically that "one thing that has changed" the nature of the conflict is Ukraine becoming "increasingly effective at conducting long-range strikes deep into Russia" and hitting "critical nodes of the Russian economy."

Indeed, Ukraine has recently been leading this war in strategy, tactics and weapons. It is the only non-member of NATO to have battlefield experience fighting Russians and much to the chagrin of Washington and Moscow, Kyiv is more than holding its own. It is actually dictating the war’s tempo and course. Its drones are reaching far into Russia, destroying its energy industry, an achievement that is scaring Russians, Trump and Putin. For how will the leaders of America and Russia be able to live with their peoples and themselves with albatross of defeat around its neck.

"Russia has always been capable of these long-range strikes," Rubio exaggerated but Ukraine's ability to respond in kind means "the risk of escalation is real — more real than it was two years ago." Bloody escalation is possible but only if the USA declines to reject its historical mission and decides to side with Russia.

An onslaught of drones and missiles poured onto Ukraine on Tuesday, killing nearly two dozen and injuring over 100 more. This was not the first such attack but one that was expected by all sides. The Institute for the Study of War speculated that the ramp-up in recent bombing campaigns is meant to pick up the slack of a fatigued land invasion that has slowed to a glacial pace. Another reason could be that Putin has to demonstrate to his team and supporters and regular Russians that he has some fight left in him.

“The Ukrainians have actually made some battlefield gains in the last month,” Rubio told Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), praising them for "bravely" and "effectively fighting." But its really than that. Ukraine showed that it has the  cards and numbers, to paraphrase President Trump, to stay in the fight and possibly hurt Russia enough to force it to consider dropping out of the war.

He cited the Department of War in asserting that the Russian side is among the first forces in modern history to suffer more deaths than casualties on the battlefield. Yes, the numbers are horrendous. They show that Ukraine’s Armed Forces are skilled enough to cause significant battlefield deaths among Russians. Or Moscow is not concerned by the deaths of its citizens so it just pushes more of them through the war’s death mill.

“I don't think there's any doubt at this point in the minds of most observers around the world, and I would say in the minds of some inside of Russia, that the invasion of Ukraine has been a strategic disaster for them,” Rubio said, adding that Russia “may not even be able militarily to achieve the objectives they're demanding now in negotiations.”

Rubio said the Trump Administration is not optimistic about the prospects of establishing peace any time soon. Therefore, since Ukraine has the edge and to preserve human lives, Trump, Rubio, Witkoff and others should coerce the Kremlin into throwing in the towel.

In his series of four hearings on Capitol Hill beginning Tuesday, Rubio repeatedly asserted that the "demands that both sides have to end [the war] have been far apart to this point." Indeed, Russians want to kill Ukrainians while Ukrainians want to live in peace on their ancient land.

Speaking to Durbin, according to the Washington Examiner, the secretary reiterated a point he made earlier in the day when testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee — that the United States is playing a difficult role in peace talks because U.S. officials are not "impartial mediators," furnishing Ukraine with weapons and sanctioning the Kremlin.

Consequently, that policy should be forthrightly driven home for the sake of peace and justice. 

Ukrainian American Group Condemns Russian Attack; Seeks US, Western Defense Support 

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) unequivocally condemns russia’s latest mass missile and drone assault against Ukraine, one of the largest attacks of the war, which once again targeted civilian communities, homes, energy infrastructure, and essential public services.

Overnight, russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles against cities and regions across Ukraine, including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Khmelnytskyi. Residential buildings were destroyed, critical infrastructure was damaged, and innocent civilians—including children—were killed and injured. These attacks are not isolated incidents; they form part of a sustained campaign of terror directed against the Ukrainian people.

We mourn the lives lost, extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and stand in solidarity with those recovering from their injuries and with the emergency responders risking their lives to save others amid the devastation.

russia’s deliberate and systematic attacks on civilian populations, homes, hospitals, schools, and energy systems demonstrate a continued disregard for international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights. These actions further reinforce the growing body of evidence that russia’s war against Ukraine is not merely a war of territorial conquest, but a genocidal campaign aimed at destroying Ukraine’s sovereignty, identity, and people.

UCCA calls upon the United States government, our international partners, and democratic nations around the world to strengthen support for Ukraine’s defense, including the provision of advanced air defense systems and the resources necessary to protect civilians from ongoing missile and drone attacks. We further urge the United States and its allies to strengthen and rigorously enforce sanctions against the russian federation, close sanctions-evasion loopholes, and increase economic pressure on those who continue to enable russia’s illegal war. We also urge continued efforts to hold russian political and military leaders accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during this war.

As Ukraine endures another brutal assault, UCCA reaffirms its unwavering support for the Ukrainian people in their struggle for freedom, democracy, human dignity, and national self-determination—principles that reflect the shared democratic values upon which free and secure societies are built/depend/OR/principles that reflect the shared democratic values that are fundamental to free, secure, and prosperous societies.

UN Adds Russia to ‘List of Shame’ for Sexual Violence against Ukrainians 

The United Nations late last month has for the first time added Russia and Israel to its annual blacklist of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV).

While the UN has in the past listed Russia as an aggressor state for invading Ukraine and even listed Fuhrer Putin as a perpetrator of crimes against humanity for stealing Ukrainian children, this is Russia’s first ignominious designation as a party responsible for sexual violence during wartime.

Despite limited access for international investigators, the UN has reported 310 verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilian detainees in Russia and Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. Most of the victims were men, according to The Washington Post.

Oleksii Sivak, founder of Alumni, anNGO which supports male survivors of torture, told Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia (Life): "We did it. I heard so often that it was impossible, but there were people who believed in us and made every effort to make the impossible possible.

For the state, this is a major mechanism for fighting Russia in international forums. But this is only the first step towards real justice and holding perpetrators accountable."

The Alumni network has been advocating for this decision since late 2024 together with other organisations representing former prisoners and torture survivors, including SEMA Ukraine, 29 December, and Numo, Sestry!

The report also states that Ukrainian human rights groups have documented at least 31 cases of sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilian detainees. However, the actual number of such crimes is believed to be significantly higher.

Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya, as is generally expected, denied the allegations of CRSV saying they are “groundless lies that once again portray Russia as a villain.”

Indeed, throughout its history, Russia could only be portrayed as the villain in all domestic and external matters based on arrests of dissidents and mass murder such as the Holodomor.

Overall, the 35-page UN report documents cases of sexual violence in more than ten countries around the world. It lists 77 state and non-state actors responsible for such crimes.

Israel has also been added to the blacklist for the first time due to sexual violence committed against Palestinians between 2023 and 2025.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the decision reflects the UN's “longstanding institutional hostility towards Israel”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned both Israel and Russia back in 2024 that they could be added to the list because of documented violations.

In addition to the Israeli and Russian cutthroats the list also includes Hamas militants, who were added following the bloody attack on Israel.

According to the UN, the number of CRSV cases worldwide has increased 87 percent over the past two years.

At the end of 2024, Ukrainian survivors of wartime sexual violence sent a collect letter to Guterres urging him to add Russia to the so-called list of shame, one of the mechanisms for holding states accountable for such crimes.

Massive Russian Attack against Ukraine Kills 22 Civilians
You can always expect Russians to fulfill their promises - especially when it pertains to launching massive, deadly drone attacks against civilian targets across Ukraine.
After weeks of promising another round of airborne strikes against Ukrainian cities, as well as warnings by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian drones and missiles finally flew precisely toward their targets. The capital of Kyiv was especially hit the hardest.
This attack was reported by a host of Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian news media, including the key broadcasters in the US and the West.
Even though it was anticipated, Ukraine’s allies and supporters did very little to stave off the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack constituted “a completely transparent statement from Russia: if Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these attacks will continue.”
Russia launched at least 656 drones and 73 missiles at Ukraine Monday night and into Tuesday morning, June 1-2, Ukraine’s Air Force said. Forty of the missiles and 602 drones were downed or neutralized, but 38 sites were hit, with Kyiv the main target, the Air Force elaborated.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russian forces launched Kalibr cruise missiles toward Ukraine from the Caspian Sea. The straight-line (air) distance from the closest northwestern shores of the Caspian Sea to Kyiv is approximately 700-900 kilometers.
Russia launched a massive combined missile and drone attack across Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least 21 people and injuring over 100 others. Kyiv reported 6 killed and 79 injured, including 3 children, while Dnipro reported 15 killed, including 2 children, and at least 37 wounded. Kharkiv and the Kyiv region were also hit, with fires, damaged residential buildings, and power outages reported across multiple areas.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a post to Telegram that the most significant damage was wrought in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Kharkiv regions. At least six people were killed in Kyiv, and 11 people -- including a child -- were killed in Dnipro, local Ukrainian officials said.
“The main strike was on Kyiv, where dozens of residential buildings and other purely civilian infrastructure were damaged again,” Zelenskyy said.
Rescuers searching through the rubble of apartment buildings in the central city of Dnipro, where 16 people were killed, recovered the bodies of an eight-year-old boy and three women, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said, adding that another child had been killed in the blast.
The attack “essentially demolished” part of the building, Zelenskyy wrote on X.
More than 90 people were injured across both cities, while Kharkiv in the northeast - which also saw its energy facilities and civilian infrastructure hit - reported 10 injured, including a child.
An industrial facility was also attacked further south in Zaporizhzhia as regions across the country were targeted, the president said.
For its part, Russia’s military admitted that it carried out a massive strike on targets in Ukraine with hypersonic missiles among the munitions. However, Moscow exonerated itself, as it always does, by claiming that it targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, but residential buildings in several locations were impacted. The explanation does not reflect the truth based on what eyewitnesses on the ground reported. In one location, an entire apartment building was brought down by the bombardment.
At least nine people were killed in an attack on the southern industrial city of Dnipro, including one child, when a four-story apartment building collapsed, Zelenskyy said. The president said several people were still unaccounted for under the rubble.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people were killed and at least 58, including two children, were wounded in the mass Russian attack on the capital.
The buzz of drones could be heard between more than a dozen loud explosions as strikes made impact through the early morning.
The attack caused fires near a petrol station, a construction site, and several apartment blocks, as well as two houses, Klitschko said. Blackouts were also reported across the city.
The attack on Kyiv cut electricity to 140,000 residents, power company DTEK told Reuters, but utility workers restored power to 110,000 residents, DTEK added. More than 41,000 people - including almost 4,500 children - were sheltering underground in the Kyiv subway overnight, the metro company said in a statement. It added that this was a record number in recent years.
Ten people, including a child, were wounded in the city of Kharkiv, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Russia’s strikes on Kyiv and other cities show that Russian führer Putin is running out of military options in his years-long invasion of Ukraine.
“Putin is a war criminal and a loser who has no cards except terror. Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said in a statement on social media.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, said in a post to X that the most serious damage in Kyiv was reported in the Podilskyi district, where a Russian strike collapsed a nine-story residential building. “People may still be trapped under the rubble,” Stefanchuk wrote.
Sybiha said in a post to X that Russia’s latest “horrific attack” showed that Putin "is a war criminal and loser who has no cards except terror."
This extreme classification should make all Western leaders ponder their next steps with regard to Russia’s more than four-year war against Ukraine. President Donald Trump should also forgo his tempered remarks against Putin and Russia.
The Ukrainian president has reiterated his call to allies to allow and finance the supply of Patriot missiles, which can intercept Russian ballistic missiles.
He wrote to President Trump and Congress last week, asking for Patriot systems to respond to the intensifying Russian air attacks.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy called on Europe to develop its own air defense systems and urged more support from Washington after Russia's latest deadly drone and missile barrage.
“Europe needs its own anti-ballistic defence so that this war can finally be brought to an end. And assistance from the United States in supplying missiles for Patriot systems is absolutely necessary,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.  
Ukraine, in the meantime, has stepped up its strikes on occupied territories and on Russia in retaliation for the daily Russian bombardments.
Russia launched a record 8,150 long-range drones against Ukraine in May, an AFP analysis of Ukrainian air force data showed, up 24% from April. Kyiv intercepted about 90% of the incoming drones and missiles in May, according to air force data.
“We urgently need help from the United States in supplying missiles for Patriot systems,” Zelenskyy said, referring to interception hardware used to intercept Russian missiles.
Patriot missiles have been in short supply, exacerbated by the US and Israeli war against Iran.
“Europe needs its own anti-ballistic defense so that this war can finally end. And we urgently need help from the United States in supplying missiles for the Patriot systems. We count on the support of our partners and on effective responses to today's attack," the president wrote in a post to social media.
Since returning to power last year, Trump has also stopped direct supplies to Ukraine, so Kyiv’s European allies have been filling the gap by buying them from the U.S. before sending them to Ukraine.
 
On a Positive Note: Payback for Bucha
Russia’s war against Ukraine began four years ago with the Russian cutthroats bloody massacre of civilians in Bucha, a town on the invading road. As they say, payback is a bitch.
Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) struck the training grounds and military camps of Russia’s 3rd and 36th Combined Arms Armies in an overnight drone operation on May 30, USF Commander Robert “Magyar” Brovdi reported. According to reports from people in the know in Ukraine, Putin fears Brovdi more than he does the devil.
The attack also struck the positions of Russia’s 64th Separate Motorized Rifle brigade, one of the units responsible for the massacre of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha during the early days of the full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian drone pilots carried out a “middle strike” against Russian military positions overnight, hitting the 3rd Army “Trokhizbenka” training grounds in occupied Luhansk Oblast and 36th Army “Prymorskyi Posad” training grounds in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Brovdi said. The latter camp was also used by the 64th brigade.
The military confirmed 21 total hits (13 and 8 at each target, respectively), Brovdi said.

Zelenskyy: Russia Teaches Stolen Ukrainian Children to Hate Ukraine

In a wide-ranging but brief interview today with Margaret Brennan of CBS “Face The Nation,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine expressed his fear that the more than 20,000 Ukrainian children that been stolen by Russia will be indoctrinated into hating Ukraine and even killing Ukrainians as they’re being prepared to join the Russian cutthroats and fight Ukrainians.

Both points constitute a violation of the child’s human rights, according to the United Nations.

After talking about Ukraine’s weapons’ needs, negotiations, European support, Washington’s backing and commercial military developments, Brennan asked Zelenskyy about Yale University’s claim of at least six Russian reeducation camps. She clarified her question by adding that “Russian oil and gas companies are assisting with this state-sponsored kidnapping program. Has the US lifting these sanctions basically helped fund kidnapping Ukrainian kids? Is that what's happening?”

Zelenskyy replied that he does not fully agree with that assertion, according to the transcript. He said “lifting sanctions is a help for the soldiers of Russia. It's very helpful for their defense industry.”

However, he continued, lifting or maintaining sanctions are about finding a dialogue with Russians. “But it's not correct dialogue. Why? Because Russians don't understand words, they don't understand – I think they don't understand emotions, because they think that this weak position, that’s why we need to be strong and put sanctions on them.”

As for “state-sponsored kidnapping” of Ukrainian children, which actually is theft of children because there is no implied expectation of Russia ever returning them, Zelenskyy said, “They really stolen thousands of Ukrainian children. We know about 20,000, we know, but maybe it's more, but we identify 20,000, we know the names. And we could bring back, by the way, thanks to leaders to different countries, and by the way, Middle East partners, and the First Ladies of Ukraine and of the United States, they also help with it.”

However, continued Zelenskyy, Ukrainian officials brought back during all these years only 2,200 some 10% the number of the children that the Ukrainian government knows about.

“So, but I think that thousands of children we didn't identify until now, so this is a big problem. I don't see how Russians are ready to give us back these children. This is a difficult way how we do this. So they proposed us to exchange children with soldiers. Can you imagine, how we can exchange our children? We can't- first of all, it's out of the law. We can't exchange civilians. You can give back civilians. And how you can exchange- yes, it's important to get back our warriors, war prisoners- war prisoners, but we can't exchange them on the children. But the fact that Russia proposed to exchange children, this is the answer, that they stolen children. And I hope that Congress will find – find the possibility again to put sanctions on Russians, because of the children.

Brennan repeated her question about Washington’s help in bring back the stolen Ukrainian children, to which Zelenskyy replied: “We need more help. We need more help. We need thousands children- to get them back. You know that we lose time. Why? Because there are, you know, such very bad examples, awful examples. When these children grow up and they push these boys to the battlefield.”

This assertion further perplexed Brennan into repeating herself and goading Zelenskyy to substantiate his claim: “Yes, we have evidence of it. Yes, and they, they teach- they taught these children to hate their native country, to hate native people. And Ukrainians, can you imagine, such young Ukrainians, young boys, come to the battlefield and kill- kill Ukrainians. So, I mean, this is- this is a practical way of disinformation of Russia. How they use all the instruments to kill Ukraine and Ukrainians, and how to use children. And also they want- there is one of the rule, how they divide families. They divide families, I mean, the brother, they moved- brother and sister, for example, boy and girl, they divide them and move to different families. This is, I mean, and there are hundreds examples of such – of such steps of Russia. That's why we can't lose time. We need to bring back children as quick as possible, and of course we need – we need the help of all the world. We need help of the United States of America.”

In addition to all of Russia’s other crimes against Ukrainians, the one that pertains to children is most blatant and painful. Russians must also be held accountable for this violation.