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Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles on Friday in the largest aerial attack of the three-year war — just hours after President Trump admitted he was “disappointed” with his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A total of 539 drones and 11 missiles were fired at Kyiv over a seven-hour onslaught — injuring at least 23 people and damaging scores of buildings across the capital, Ukraine’s Air Force said.

Vladimir Putin has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at the USA as the nation gears up to celebrate its Independence Day on July 4. The Russian President couldn't resist pointing out that he considers Russia to have played a key role in helping the much younger country achieve statehood during a call with his American counterpart on Thursday. Putin said: "Russia played an important role in the formation of American statehood, including through the War of Independence 250 years ago, and then during the Civil War, which ended 160 years ago." Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov added: "Of course, he congratulated Trump...

Vladimir Putin has claimed in a phone call with Donald Trump that Russia played a role in the formation of the United States. Speaking a day before America celebrates Independence Day, the Russian leader reportedly congratulated Mr Trump about its national holiday, held on July 4. According to a report by Tass, a state-owned news agency, Yury Ushakov, the Russian presidential aide, said during the call “it was noted from our side that Russia played an important role in the formation of American statehood including during the War of Independence 250 years ago, and then during the Civil War, which...

President Trump spoke by phone Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine but made no headway on halting the fighting. “I didn’t make any progress with him today at all,” Trump said of Putin, speaking to reporters as he left Washington to deliver a speech in Iowa. According to a Kremlin briefing on the call, Trump urged Putin to quickly end the war in Ukraine but Putin refused. It was the two leaders’ first conversation since U.S. officials said this week they had paused a series of weapons shipments for Ukraine. Trump indicated the U.S. hadn’t...

The Kremlin has doubled its funding in 2025 for Yunarmiya ("Youth Army"), the state-sponsored youth organization that combines ideological indoctrination with military training for children and teenagers. According to documents reviewed by the independent Mozhem Obyasnit news outlet, Yunarmia is receiving 1 billion rubles (approximately $11 million) in funding this year, the largest amount since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This year, Yunarmiya is set to receive 800 million rubles ($9.7 million) in state subsidies through the Youth and Children national project, which was launched in 2024 by presidential decree to create “advanced schools” across Russia’s regions. The funds will...

Russian President Vladimir Putin swiftly exited an interview to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump. A video that emerged online shows Putin amid a panel interview with a packed crowd, informing them that he needs to leave to speak with Trump or risks upsetting him. "Please don't be angry, I understand that we could talk more, but it's so awkward to make [Trump] wait, he could get offended. Thank you very much, good luck," Putin told the crowd.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump told him he would attend potential peace talks between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia in Turkey, if Russian President Vladimir Putin also agreed to take part. On his return flight from the NATO summit, where he met Trump for the first time since he returned to office, Erdogan said he told the U.S. president Ankara aims to bring the Russian and Ukrainian leaders together in Turkey for peace talks. "He (Trump) said, 'if Russian President Vladimir Putin comes to Istanbul or Ankara for a solution, then I will also...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his United States counterpart Donald Trump held a phone call lasting over an hour on Thursday, during which the two leaders addressed the ongoing war in Ukraine as well as the situation in the Middle East. According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Putin reaffirmed Russia's stance, insisting Moscow would not abandon its aims of addressing what he called the "root causes" of the conflict. Trump, for his part, again emphasized the need for a rapid cessation of hostilities. Despite speculations, Ushakov said the issue of halting US arms supplies to Ukraine was not brought up....

United States President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to speak over the phone tomorrow and discuss Washington's unexpected pause in arms deliveries to Kiev, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. Pentagon's decision to stop supplying some advanced weapons systems to Kiev, including munitions and missiles, prompted Ukraine to summon the acting US envoy, fearing the move would jeopardize the country's defense amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. Furthermore, sources familiar with the matter indicated that Zelensky will press the topic of potential new US arms sales. Trump's last meeting with his Ukrainian colleague came during...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he will speak on the phone with United States President Donald Trump later in the day. He made the remark while visiting a Russian business fair and did not elaborate on the topics he will discuss with Trump. More to come...

Major General Mikhail Gudkov, the deputy head of the Russian Navy who also led a brigade fighting against Ukraine, has been killed in Russia's Kursk region, Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of a far eastern Russian region, said on Thursday. Unofficial Russian and Ukrainian military Telegram channels had earlier reported that Gudkov had been killed along with 10 other servicemen in a Ukrainian attack on a command post in Korenevo in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine. He is one of the most senior Russian military officers to have been killed by Ukraine since Moscow launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in...

In a landmark case highlighting a deepening purge within Russia's defense and security establishment, a court in Moscow sentenced former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov to 13 years in prison. The Moscow City Court on July 1 found Ivanov, the most visible figure in a massive probe into alleged military corruption that also targeted several other top officials close to former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, guilty of large-scale embezzlement and money laundering. In addition to the prison sentence, Ivanov was fined 100 million rubles ($1.1 million), and stripped of his state honors, including the prestigious Order "For Merit to the...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been seen mourning over his soldiers believed to have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war, images aired by state media showed on Tuesday. Aired by Korean Central Television, the images showed Kim solemnly placing a North Korean flag over a coffin during a ceremony for the return of the remains of North Korean soldiers who were deployed and killed in the conflict. The images showed photos of Kim in the background footage during a joint cultural event co-hosted by North Korea and Russia in Pyongyang on Sunday, marking the first anniversary of the...

Until today, there have been no confirmed reports of Storm Shadows being deployed since November last year. VLADIMIR Putin's officers have been killed in droves in the first British-made Storm Shadow strike in months, reports claim. Bombshell footage showed the damage in Donetsk amid claims of “massive casualties among Russian officers” and the “crippling” of a mad Vlad fighting force. If confirmed, it would be the first use of the British-supplied missiles in months. Red-faced Russian authorities admitted only that a woman had died and three people were wounded, including a teenager. A building collapsed in the combined missile and...

Two Cameroonian men fighting for Russia were captured by Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region. The men, identifying themselves as Metugena Una-na Jean Pafe and Anatole Frank, initially claimed to Ukraine's 20th Separate UAV Regiment that they had come to Russia for work, with one claiming "to make shampoo" and the other claiming "to fix teeth." However, they later admitted that they had signed contracts to join Russia's fight in Ukraine in exchange for 1.1 million rubles ($13,000), which is way less than Russian citizens are earning but still substatial for people from developing countries such as Cameroon and reports...

Vladimir Putin has been dealt a massive setback after more than 20,000 soldiers deserted the front line in the war against Ukraine – leaving Kremlin forces even more depleted. Courts have received 20,538 cases of service personnel absent without leave, desertion or refusing orders since the illegal invasion began in February 2022, according to Russian independent news service Mediazone. The majority – 18,159 – were for soldiers going awol, with 17,721 being prosecuted under Russia’s Criminal Code. The maximum punishment is a 10-year jail term. However, those found guilty could commute their sentences by serving in the Storm-Z convict assault...

"This violent mutiny did not emerge in a vacuum; it is directly tied to the hopeless bloodbath unfolding near the Kupiansk front, specifically at the Pischane funnel. For months, Russian forces have tried and failed to break through Ukrainian defenses here. The Ukrainians have created a deadly trap by controlling the flanks, exposing any Russian assault to relentless drone and artillery fire from both sides. Yet commanders continue to send wave after wave of infantry into the funnel, hoping to drive a wedge through Ukrainian lines. Every new wave knows exactly how it will end, as almost no one from...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has refrained from providing military support to Iran amid its recent 12-day standoff with Israel and the United States, despite years of defense cooperation between the two nations. Observers say this calculated distance, particularly during Iran’s time of need, signals a shift in Moscow’s foreign policy priorities — one that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely watching with unease. On June 23, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Moscow amid the conflict, seeking at least diplomatic backing. Putin’s response was limited to describing the airstrikes as “acts of aggression.” There was no mention of...

THE Russian invasion of Ukraine has been advancing at an incredibly slow pace - with Kyiv's "dronegrinder" warfare miring Putin's summer offensive. The rate at which Moscow is capturing land has been dubbed "slower than a snail" - all while the human cost of Russian casualties is sky high. After 448 days of fighting inside Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, the Russians reportedly only managed to take control of 50 per cent of the city. Which means the troops, on average, are only able to take 0.00629 square miles of land per day - which is a painfully low conversion...

Russia’s summer offensive in Ukraine is faltering just weeks after it began, despite a record number of attacks across multiple fronts. Data analysis by The Telegraph shows Moscow is on track to break its own record, which was set last month, for offensive operations in June. Yet the sheer volume of assaults has not translated into meaningful breakthroughs on the battlefield. The offensive – launched in May but planned over the winter – stretches from the northern border regions of Sumy and Kharkiv to the front lines in Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, into which Russian forces are attempting to break for...