Putin says Russia will bolster its air defenses in response to Ukrainian drone attacksPresident Vladimir Putin has vowed that Russia will strengthen its air defences to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over his showcase economic forum in his hometown of St Petersburg.Speaking in response to a question from The Associated Press during a meeting with heads of international news agencies, Putin acknowledged the damage from Ukrainian drone attacks.“To our regret, some of them break through,” Putin said of the drone strikes. “Russia has an air defense system, we need to improve it, strengthen it, and we will do that.”Arpan Rai5 June 2026 06:02Putin says Russia used Oreshnik missile to attack Ukraine to 'observe' results for future useRussian president Vladimir Putin said that his forces fired the medium-range Oreshnik ballistic missile on Kyiv last month as a test to observe the impact of the deadly missile."I'll reveal a major military state secret. We simply struck where it was convenient to observe the results," Putin told reporters yesterday in a press briefing."We haven't had a single combat use of the Oreshnik missile in the true sense of the word on Ukrainian territory," he added.“It was important for making a decision on the future on the full-format use of the Oreshnik on designated targets, including those in populated areas,” Putin said.(AFP/Getty)Arpan Rai5 June 2026 05:42Arpan Rai5 June 2026 05:15Republican leaders tried to stop the bill for Ukraine aidRepublican leaders urged their members to oppose the legislation. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said there are good-faith negotiations between members of Congress and the White House to boost Ukraine.He described the negotiations as complicated.“I think they are going to yield positive results, but you set that back if you pass legislation that doesn't go as far as the negotiations are going,” Scalise said.US-led peace efforts have fizzled out as the sides made no progress on key differences and after the war in Iran grabbed Washington’s attention.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by Trump, but Vladimir Putin has refused.(AFP/Getty)Arpan Rai5 June 2026 04:52Trump says would be great if Zelensky and Putin meetPresident ⁠Donald Trump has welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky’s initiative to call for a direct meeting with Vladimir Putin.The US president said ​it ⁠would ⁠be ​great ⁠if ‌the leaders ‌of Ukraine ‌and Russia ⁠met to discuss ending the ‌war ​in ‌Ukraine.Arpan Rai5 June 2026 04:44EU considers limiting protection for Ukrainian men of fighting ageEU ministers have broadly supported a proposal to limit access to temporary protection for Ukrainian men of military age, Sweden's migration minister said.The European Union activated the ⁠Temporary Protection Directive after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine to manage large-scale arrivals of displaced people.The scheme, which has been extended three times and is due to expire in March 2027, grants beneficiaries residence permits, access to the labour market and social welfare.Swedish migration minister Johan Forssell ⁠said his country was in favour of the proposal ​which ⁠was discussed at ‌a Justice and Home Affairs meeting in Luxembourg. Any restrictions should apply only to new arrivals seeking temporary ‌protection status, not to those already ‌covered by the scheme, he added.“It is essential for us to provide Ukrainians with protection, but at the same time the war needs to be fought and won. For that to happen, it is essential that more men stay in Ukraine and fight," Forssell said ahead of the meeting.The European Commission would need to propose any extension or modification of the ‌scheme, which must then be approved ​by EU countries.More than 4.33 million people who have fled Ukraine currently benefit from the directive, according to Eurostat data. Germany ⁠hosts the largest share of Ukrainians under the scheme, about 29 per cent ‌of the ​EU total, followed by ‌Poland and Czechia, Eurostat data ​showed.Arpan Rai5 June 2026 04:25Putin sticks to hardline stance on war in Ukraine, says will end war if Kyiv compromisesPresident Vladimir Putin stuck to his hardline stance on the war in Ukraine and said his troops were advancing on the battlefield every day, but added that US president Donald Trump's proposals for peace could end the fighting if Kyiv was ready to compromise.He made his comments to foreign media editors, including Reuters, on the sidelines of Russia's showcase annual economic forumPutin's spokesperson said the Kremlin chief was aware of the message, but had not yet had a chance to familiarise himself with its contents in detail. Trump said it would be great if the two leaders met.Speaking in what is the fifth year of Europe's deadliest land war since the Second World War, Putin said that manpower, industrial resources and will power were on Russia's side.His army had "recently" pushed Ukrainian forces out of nearly 2,500km (1,553 miles) of territory, he said, though he conceded that Moscow had to and would improve its air defences to contend with a growing threat from Ukrainian drones.Some Western and Ukrainian military analysts say Russia's advance has slowed significantly, however, and argue that Russia is still a long way from achieving its own stated military goals. Striking a bullish note, Putin said: "The offensive is ongoing on a daily basis. At present, the Russian Federation has taken full control of the Luhansk People’s Republic – 100 per cent. And Russia has brought over 85 per cent of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic under its control. (And) 80 per cent of the territory of the Zaporizhzhia region," he said, referring to three of the four regions in Ukraine which Moscow claimed as its own in 2022 in a move Kyiv and most Western countries rejected as an illegal land grab."Naturally, under these circumstances, the Ukrainian side would like us to halt the advance. But rather than stopping that, it would be better to bring the war to an end altogether by agreeing to the compromises that were discussed in Anchorage," he said, referring to a summit he held in Alaska with Trump in August last year.Russian president Vladimir Putin speaks to president of Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua during a meeting on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Constantine Palace in Saint Petersburg (AFP/Getty)Arpan Rai5 June 2026 04:17'Biden's war' has become 'Trump's war', says Russia's Lavrov after Rubio commentsUS secretary of state Marco Rubio's remarks in support of Ukraine demonstrate that what Russia used to call "Biden's war" had now become "Trump's war," Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, the RIA state news agency reported.Lavrov was cited as saying that the fighting in Ukraine would have already been over if the US had been genuinely seeking a peace deal.Rubio told a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday that there would be news “pretty soon” on $400 million that Congress had approved for Ukraine-related needs but which had been delayed at the Department of Defense.Rubio’s comments in support of Ukraine demonstrated that there are no fundamental differences between the US and European approaches, Lavrov was quoted as saying.Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Wednesday (Reuters)James Reynolds5 June 2026 04:00US House backs Russia sanctions and Ukraine aidThe US House of Representatives passed legislation on Thursday to provide aid to Ukraine and impose new sanctions on Russia, the latest sign that some Republicans are willing to defy party leaders and push back against president Donald Trump.The House voted 226 ⁠to 195 for the Ukraine Support Act, which reached the floor after languishing for months. A handful of Republicans joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition to force the vote.On Thursday, 18 Republicans and one independent who normally votes with them joined Democrats to pass the bill. It was the latest sign of a crack in what had been virtually unanimous support among members of Trump's party for his policies.Passage came a day after a smaller group of House Republicans joined Democrats to pass a resolution that would force the withdrawal of troops from hostilities with ⁠Iran unless Congress declares war or orders the use of military force.Arpan Rai5 June 2026 03:58Occupied Crimea tightens fuel rationing following Ukrainian strikesRussian-controlled Crimea tightened its rationing of fuel supplies on Thursday, suspending all cash sales of gasoline and the issuance of new coupons to buy it as the peninsula grapples with a shortage linked to Ukrainian drone strikes.Drivers in the region, annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, have faced long lines at filling stations in recent days after attacks by Kyiv constricted supplies from adjoining Russian-controlled territory in southeast Ukraine.Sergei Aksyonov, the Kremlin-installed head of Crimea, announced the new measures in a statement, tightening restrictions on petrol sales that were first imposed on May 31.Cars queue for fuel at a gas station in Crimea (Reuters)"Starting today, for several days, the sale of gasoline for cash will be completely suspended," he said, adding that no new coupons would be issued for the purchase of fuel either. Transactions with existing coupons will be capped at 20 litre. He blamed "difficult circumstances" for the rationing, without providing further details.Ukraine has for months been attacking fuel infrastructure close to Crimea, and elsewhere in an effort to limit Moscow's ability to finance its more than four-year war in Ukraine at a time of high global oil prices.James Reynolds5 June 2026 03:00