Exclusive

Tiny Latvia sends thousands of drones in heavyweight military aid to Ukraine. Latvia got burned by the USSR. Now it’s sending 12,000 drones to help Ukraine return the favor in 2025.

Russia sends ordinary criminals unrelated to war for exchanges instead of soldiers or activists. Ukraine claims it had limited ability to influence the composition of exchange lists. That’s why among the 120 civilians returned in the recent three-day exchange, many were individuals who had lived and worked in Russia before being convicted of non-war crimes, rather than Ukrainians who remain in captivity due to war since 2022 or even 2014.

Who is dancing and where if journalism is dead? Trump and Orbán know. When journalism dies, propaganda doesn’t mourn—it gets to work. At the Lviv Media Forum, experts showed how Trump and Orbán turned media into their loudest ally.

Why is Russia bombing Ukraine with 1990s-era training drones?. The Dan-M target drone was designed to simulate US cruise missiles. Now it’s been turned into one, kind of—and launched at Ukraine.

Hungary and Slovakia expand Russian fuel use while EU cuts imports. New findings show both countries increasing reliance on oil, gas, and nuclear fuel from Russia despite available alternatives.

Russia just spent $ 3 mn to blow up planes that don’t even fly. Ukraine’s 1970s drone shotguns were so vexing that Russia decided to blow them into bits with a $3mn Iskander missile. But an epic intel failure got in the way.

Military

Russia claims evening drone attack in occupied Crimea. Russian forces claimed they shot down a Ukrainian drone over occupied Crimea on Saturday evening, marking another reported attack on the peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014.

Second Russian pocket emerges in Sumy Oblast near Oleksandria village – Deep State. Russian forces seized territory near Oleksandria village in Sumy Oblast within 24 hours, creating a second pocket of occupied land along Ukraine’s northern border, according to DeepState military analysts.

Russia “significantly” intensifies activity in Zaporizhzhia sector – Syrskyi. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukraine struck 58 military targets inside Russia during May while defending against escalated Russian offensive actions in the Zaporizhzhia direction.

Frontline report: Drones become pivotal in countering Russian advance to Ukraine’s most strategic Donbas cities. Ukraine deploys elite drone units to counter Russian forces that have punched through Ukrainian defenses using “suicide squads” to locate positions, gaining 10 km (6 miles) in just two months.

Drones hit alleged Russian military positions in Kursk amid threats of new offensive from this direction. Russians officials claim that the attack struck residential buildings and injured civilians.

Russia’s estimated losses in Ukraine as of day 1193 of its all-out war, according to the Ukrainian Army’s General Staff.

International

“Not very serious”: Zelenskyy criticizes Russia’s lack of clarity before talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has cast doubt on Russia’s commitment to peace negotiations, saying Moscow has not provided clear information about its agenda for talks scheduled in Istanbul on 2 June.

Former Secretary of State Pompeo: US did not do enough to stop the war in 2014. Speaking at the Black Sea Security Forum, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said America “lost deterrence” against Vladimir Putin in 2014 and regretted the US failed to prevent Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Merz-Trump face-off: Ukraine war tops agenda in first White House meeting. German Chancellor will come to the White House on 5 June, sitting down with US President to discuss Ukraine aid, Middle East policy, and trade disputes that have strained transatlantic ties.

“Let’s get real”: European officials abandon hope for US backing in Ukraine. European officials have quietly shifted from deploying peacekeeping troops to providing long-term military support for Ukraine without US involvement, following concerns that President Trump will abandon his mediator role.

Top EU diplomat says US criticism of Europe shows “love nonetheless”. Europe’s top diplomat welcomed criticism from Washington as a sign of continued American engagement during weekend defense talks in Singapore.

Lithuania at risk: Ex-CIA chief warns Russia to target Baltic State after Ukraine. Former CIA director David Petraeus warned that Lithuania faces the highest risk of Russian invasion among NATO countries if Moscow succeeds in Ukraine.

Erdogan urgently calls Zelenskyy as Istanbul braces for Russia peace talks. Ahead of the Istanbul talks, Erdogan pressed Zelenskyy to hold direct talks with Putin and Trump “without delay.”

Humanitarian and social impact

Ukrainian high-schoolers hold graduation ceremony at cemetery. Russian missile killed their classmate and his two siblings. The students brought toys, cards, and pieces of birthday cake to the gravesite on the graduation day that “should have been filled with joy, hugs, tears of happiness” but turned into a day of mourning.

Russian bomb kills child, injures teen in massive attack. Terror of Ukrainian civilians continues.. On the night of 31 May, Russian forces launched over 100 drones and 5 missiles at Ukraine, damaging homes and other civilian infrastructure.

Political and legal developments

Swedish music competition secretly funded Russian war supporters, investigation finds. A prestigious music competition in Stockholm has been secretly channeling entry fees to a sanctioned Russian bank while employing jury members from institutions that support the war in Ukraine, a Swedish media investigation reveals.

The MT: Kremlin stages Putin helicopter drone incident to portray “heroic leader” sharing “war suffering”. The alleged drone strike was designed to counter public dissatisfaction as ordinary Russians face flight cancellations and internet outages due to increasing Ukrainian drone attack on military-industrial targets.

Read our earlier daily review here.