Moscow launches deadly strikes on Kharkiv as US says it will cut aid to Kyiv

Russia's nuclear capabilities 'not significantly affected' by Ukrainian drone strikes

Russia says its nuclear deterrence capabilities have not been significantly impacted by recent Ukrainian drone strikes on military airfields.

Ukraine launched a coordinated drone attack, dubbed 'Operation Spider's Web', last week, targeting at least four major Russian air bases and reportedly damaging dozens of aircraft.

Russia's deputy foreign minister claimed that the extent of the damage from the attacks has been "greatly exaggerated" and that none of Moscow's strategic forces were weakened.

"Our nuclear deterrence potential against the US and any other potential adversary has not suffered significant damage," Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state media RIA Novosti.

House arrest order given for Russian opposition politician who called for end to war in Ukraine

A Russian opposition politician who described the war in Ukraine as a game of "bloody chess" has been placed under house arrest for two months.

A court in the Russian city of Pskov announced the decision to detain Lev Shlosberg earlier today, after a request from state prosecutors.

Shlosberg will also face other unspecified restrictions, the court said.

The liberal Yabloko party, of which Shlosberg is a senior member, said his arrest was linked to remarks he made about Russia's war in Ukraine.

He was first arrested on Tuesday and charged with discrediting the Russian army after describing the war in Ukraine as a game of "bloody chess", his party added. 

The 61-year-old made the comment in a video debate in January in which he urged an end to the war. 

His party said Shlosberg denies the charge against him.

Shlosberg, one of the relatively few opposition politicians remaining in Russia, faces up to five years in jail if convicted. 

NATO summit statement to omit Ukraine's membership bid

A one-page draft of a joint declaration for the upcoming NATO summit reportedly omits Ukraine's membership aspirations.

The brief document, seen by Bloomberg, also recognises Russia as a threat to NATO but not as an aggressor in Ukraine.

It signals that, for the first time since 2022, Russia's war in Ukraine will not be the chief focus of the annual NATO meeting, which takes place on 24-25 June in The Hague.

Last year's communique at the summit in Washington included a declaration that Ukraine's path to NATO is "irreversible" and promised more than $40bn (£29bn) in additional military aid.

This year, the document will solely focus on defence spending, as Donald Trump pushes NATO partners to push the military expenditure benchmark from 2% to 5% of GDP.

Member states will also consider counting their contributions to Ukraine as part of the new defence spending targets, Bloomberg reported, adding the final version of the statement can still change.

Ukraine returns bodies of 27 Russian soldiers

Russia has confirmed it's handed over the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv and says 27 dead Russian soldiers have been returned to Moscow.

Vladimir Medinsky, Russia's top peace negotiator, said on Telegram that both countries will begin exchanging seriously wounded prisoners of war tomorrow.

This, he added, was in accordance with the agreements made between Moscow and Kyiv during peace talks held in Istanbul last week.

Ex-CIA director calls Trump's Ukraine plan 'naive' and 'unsophisticated'

It is nearly 150 days since Donald Trump took office for the second time, promising peace in the Middle East and Ukraine.

For the latter, the war grinds on, with reports last week that Russia passed the grim milestone of one million deaths.

Ukraine continues to be bombarded, with Russia launching its biggest drone attack against the country since the start of the war. 

Most likely in retaliation to Ukraine's audacious 'Operation Spider's Web' at the beginning of the month, which saw remote controlled drones launched deep into Russia, blowing up billions of dollars' worth of military equipment. 

Russia saw this as a significant escalation, as Moscow's ambassador to the UK told me in a sit-down interview last week. 

Peace feels a long way off right now. But does President Trump have a plan? Ex-CIA director John Brennan does not think so.

Polish man, 28, charged with spying for Moscow

Poland has detained and charged one of its citizens with spying for Russian intelligence services.

Warsaw's state prosecutor's office says the suspect, a 28-year-old named as Wiktor Z, collected and distributed information concerning the functioning of facilities key to Poland's defence.

The prosecutor's statement says the suspect "acted out of ideological motives and pro-Russian beliefs" and could now face between eight years and life in prison.

Warsaw has accused Moscow of being behind a series of acts of sabotage in Poland, including a huge fire at a shopping centre last year. In response, Moscow has accused Poland of Russophobia.

Bodies of more than 1,000 soldiers returned to Ukraine

Russia has returned the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers as part of a deal reached during peace talks in Istanbul, Kyiv officials have said.

The group responsible for coordinating the release on Ukraine's side said the identities of the bodies would be established as soon as possible.

It added the bodies of soldiers received today were killed in Ukraine's Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as in Russia's Kursk region.

The return is part of a deal agreed between Russia and Ukraine during peace talks in Turkey last week. The agreement also included the exchange of prisoners, with handovers getting under way this week.

The Kremlin said yesterday that it had been waiting "several days" to return the bodies, which it said were in refrigerated trucks near the Ukraine border.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Moscow of "trying to play some kind of dirty political and information game" around the issue of the exchanges.

Russia has said it is ready to receive any bodies of Russian soldiers that Kyiv is able to return.

Zelenskyy condemns 'vile' Kharkiv attack

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia won't engage in "genuine diplomacy" until Ukraine's allies "make things more difficult" for Moscow.

Posting on social media, Ukraine's president said recovery efforts were still under way in Kharkiv after an overnight Russian drone attack killed three people and injured 64.

"Every new day now brings new vile Russian attacks, and almost every strike is telling," he said. "Russia deserves increased pressure, and it proves with every hit on ordinary life that the current pressure is not enough. 

"We must not be afraid or postpone new decisions that could make things more difficult for Russia. Without this, they will not engage in genuine diplomacy."

US-Russia talks to take place in Moscow, envoy says

Talks between the US and Russia to resolve issues in their bilateral relations will move to Moscow and take place "very soon", Russia's ambassador to Washington says.

Officials from the two countries met for talks in February and April in Turkey, aimed at restoring diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington. The third round of talks will now move to Russia, Alexander Darchiev told Russia's TASS news agency.

Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said Moscow will seek "clearer answers" over its proposal to resume direct flights between the US and Russia.

Wider global issues, such as developments in the Middle East and talks over Iran's nuclear program, will also be discussed, Ryabkov said.

-SKY NEWS