A bridge linking Russia and Crimea has been blown up in a massive explosion carried out by Ukraine’s special forces.
The 12-mile-long Crimean Bridge, or Kerch Bridge, links Russia with the occupied peninsula which Russian troops annexed in 2014.
Footage showed an underwater explosion destroying a pillar of the bridge as Ukraine’s SBU vowed there was “no place for any illegal Russian facilities on the territory of our state”.
The SBU said it rigged the bridge’s pillars with 1,100kg of explosives. “The Crimean Bridge is an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops,” it said.
It comes after Moscow told Ukraine that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, according to a memorandum.
Ukraine has rejected the Russian conditions as tantamount to surrender, and called for further Western sanctions on the Kremlin after a missile attack killed three and injured dozens in Sumy on Tuesday.
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Key Points
- Russian attack on Ukraine city of Sumy kills three, injures 25
- Zelensky announces shakeup of Ukraine's military
- Ukraine's SBU hit Crimea's bridge under water with explosives
- Putin doesn't want ceasefire, says Zelensky's aide
- Ukraine and Russia peace talks in Istanbul end with little progress
Zelensky announces shakeup of Ukraine's military
00:40
,
Alex Ross
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a shakeup in Ukraine's military on Tuesday, including the appointment to a new post of a commander who tendered his resignation over a deadly Russian attack.
Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, said Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, who offered to quit as commander of Ukraine's land forces over an attack on a training area, would now serve as the new commander of joint forces.
Zelensky said another commander, whom he did not identify, would take charge of land forces.
He said the appointment had also been approved of Oleh Apostol as commander of paratroops and Robert Brovdi as commander of unmanned systems.
Britain pledges to deliver 100,000 drones to Ukraine by April 2026
00:39
,
Alex Ross
Britain has pledged to supply 100,000 drones to Ukraine by the end of the current financial year in April 2026, marking a tenfold increase, after saying the unmanned aerial vehicles had transformed the way wars are fought.
The government on Monday endorsed an independently-produced Strategic Defence Review, which calls for a more lethal, tech-driven army to counter emerging threats, including possible Russian aggression.
Britain, one of Ukraine's staunchest Western supporters, plans to learn from Kyiv's more than three-year fight against Russian invasion, during which drones have transformed the battlefield.
The £350m drone package is part of a broader 4.5-billion-pound military support initiative for Ukraine, the government said.
Defence Secretary John Healey will make the announcement at a 50-nation Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels, co-hosted with Germany.
"The UK is stepping up its support for Ukraine by delivering hundreds of thousands more drones this year and completing a major milestone in the delivery of critical artillery ammunition," Healey said in a statement ahead of the meeting.
In addition to the drone deliveries, Britain said it has completed the shipment of 140,000 artillery shells to Ukraine since January and will spend a further 247 million pounds this year training Ukrainian troops.
Watch: Four injured as Russia launches new strike on Ukraine
00:01
,
Alexander Butler
Russian attack on Ukraine city of Sumy kills three, injures 25
23:00
,
Alexander Butler
A Russian artillery attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Sumy on Tuesday killed three people and injured 25, including children, the city council and the health ministry said.
A Reuters video showed rescuers and police assessing damage on a street littered with debris. One body, covered with a sheet, lay prone near cars peppered with splinters.
The country's health ministry said 25 people sought medical attention.
"Eight of the wounded are in serious condition, and three of them are children," the ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said at least one rocket fired from a multiple rocket launcher had failed to detonate and lodged itself in an apartment building.
Commenting on the attack, Zelenskiy said on his Telegram channel: "That's all one needs to know about the Russian wish to end this war."
Russia says its troops capture Andriivka in Ukraine's Sumy region
22:00
,
Alexander Butler
Russian forces took control of the village of Andriivka in Ukraine's Sumy region, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.
Ukraine has not commented on the claim and it has not been independently verified.
Andriivka has seen some of the most bitter fighting of the war, with Putin said to have used “meat grinder” tactics last year.
'Savage' Russian attack on Sumy shows need for sanctions, says Zelensky
21:00
,
Alexander Butler
Russia’s “savage” attack on Sumy shows the need for further sanctions on the Kremlin, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“It is obvious: without global pressure – without decisive actions from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who has the power – Putin will not agree even to a ceasefire,” he said.
“Not a single day goes by without Russia striking Ukrainian cities and villages. Every day, we lose our people to Russian terror. Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defence.
“I am grateful to everyone around the world who is promoting exactly this agenda: sanctions for aggression and the killing of people, and assistance in defending the lives of Ukrainians.”
Inside Operation Spiderweb: Ukraine’s drone triumph is a blow against Russia that will spook friend and foe alike
20:00
,
Alexander Butler
Medvedev says Russia seeks victory, not compromise, in talks with Ukraine
19:00
,
Alexander Butler
Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the point of holding peace talks with Ukraine was to ensure a swift and complete Russian victory.
"The Istanbul talks are not for striking a compromise peace on someone else's delusional terms but for ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction of the neo-Nazi regime," the hawkish deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council said on Telegram.
"That's what the Russian Memorandum published yesterday is about."
Sanctions on Russia needed as Putin doesn't want ceasefire, says Zelensky's aide
18:00
,
Alexander Butler
Russia does not want a ceasefire and new sanctions are needed now to force it to pursue peace, the chief of staff to the Ukrainian president said yesterday.
"The Russians are doing everything to not cease firing and continue the war. New sanctions now are very important," said Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office.
Mr Yermak posted his remarks on Telegram, hours after the conclusion of peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Watch moment Russia’s Crimean bridge blown up in huge explosion by Ukraine forces
17:00
,
Alexander Butler
Pictured: Crimean bridge underwater explosion
16:00
,
Alexander Butler
Pictured: Soldiers of Ukraine's 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade fire a Grad multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions in Donetsk
15:30
,
Alexander Butler
Ukraine invited to Nato summit, says Zelensky
15:00
,
Alexander Butler
Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has received an invitation to attend the upcoming Nato summit at The Hague.
There had been uncertainty about whether Kyiv would be invited given Donald Trump’s stance on blocking Ukraine from joining Nato.
“We were invited to the Nato summit. I think this is important,” the Ukrainian president said after he held a meeting with the military alliance’s secretary general Mark Rutte in Vilnius.
Russia accuses Ukraine of terrorism after railway bridge blasts
14:47
,
Alexander Butler
Russia's state Investigative Committee accused Ukraine on Tuesday of carrying out "acts of terrorism" by blowing up two railway bridges in Russia over the weekend.
The attacks were planned to target hundreds of civilians, the committee said on Telegram. It said seven people were killed and 113 injured, including children, when two trains crashed in Russia's Kursk and Bryansk regions as a result of the attacks.
Watch: Ukraine blows up bridge linking Russia and Crimea
14:10
,
Alexander Butler
'Savage' Russian attack on Sumy shows need for sanctions, says Zelensky
14:00
,
Alexander Butler
Russia’s “savage” attack on Sumy shows the need for further sanctions on the Kremlin, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“It is obvious: without global pressure – without decisive actions from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who has the power – Putin will not agree even to a ceasefire,” he said.
“Not a single day goes by without Russia striking Ukrainian cities and villages. Every day, we lose our people to Russian terror. Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defence.
“I am grateful to everyone around the world who is promoting exactly this agenda: sanctions for aggression and the killing of people, and assistance in defending the lives of Ukrainians.”
Russia says traffic on Crimea bridge temporarily suspended after explosion
13:50
,
Daniel Keane
Road traffic on the bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula has been temporarily suspended, Russian authorities said on Telegram.
Ukraine's SBU security service said it had hit the road and rail bridge, a key supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine, with underwater explosives.
Russia demanded Ukraine give up its territory in negotiations - reports
13:30
,
Alexander Butler
Russia demanded that Ukraine give up territory and limit the size of its army during peace talks in Istanbul on Monday, according to reports.
It comes after delegations from both sides met for barely an hour in Turkey for the second direct round of negotiations since March 2022. They agreed to exchange more prisoners of war and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers.
The Interfax news agency reported that the memorandum would require international recognition of Crimea - a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 - and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory.
Watch: Four injured as Russia launches new strike on Ukraine
13:15
,
Alexander Butler
Trump was not informed about Ukraine attack which destroyed huge fleet of Russian planes, reports claims
12:53
,
Alexander Butler
Ukraine's SBU hit Crimea's bridge under water with explosives
12:30
,
Alexander Butler
Ukraine's SBU security service said on Tuesday it had hit the road and rail bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula below the water level with explosives.
The SBU said in a statement on the Telegram app that it had used 1100 kilograms of explosives which were detonated early in the morning, damaging underwater pillars of the bridge, a key supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine.
Russian attack on Ukraine city of Sumy kills three, injures 25
12:11
,
Alexander Butler
A Russian artillery attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Sumy on Tuesday killed three people and injured 25, including children, the city council and the health ministry said.
A Reuters video showed rescuers and police assessing damage on a street littered with debris. One body, covered with a sheet, lay prone near cars peppered with splinters.
The country's health ministry said 25 people sought medical attention.
"Eight of the wounded are in serious condition, and three of them are children," the ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said at least one rocket fired from a multiple rocket launcher had failed to detonate and lodged itself in an apartment building.
Commenting on the attack, Zelenskiy said on his Telegram channel: "That's all one needs to know about the Russian wish to end this war."
Watch: Russia strikes Ukrainian port city of Odesa just hours after peace talks
11:36
,
Alexander Butler
Russia says its troops capture Andriivka in Ukraine's Sumy region
11:34
,
Alexander Butler
Russian forces took control of the village of Andriivka in Ukraine's Sumy region, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.
Ukraine has not commented on the claim and it has not been independently verified.
Andriivka has seen some of the most bitter fighting of the war, with Putin said to have used “meat grinder” tactics last year.
Kremlin says Ukraine peace efforts are complex, no quick decisions to be expected
11:24
,
Alexander Butler
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that work on trying to reach a settlement to end the war in Ukraine was extraordinarily complex and that it would be wrong to expect any imminent decisions.
It was commenting after Russia told Ukraine at peace talks in Turkey on Monday that it would only agree to end the fighting if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, demands Ukraine has repeatedly rejected.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that agreements reached at the Istanbul talks to exchange prisoners and the bodies of dead soldiers would be honoured however, and that work on agreeing a possible settlement would continue.
'Savage' Russian attack on Sumy shows need for sanctions, says Zelensky
11:02
,
Alexander Butler
Russia’s “savage” attack on Sumy shows the need for further sanctions on the Kremlin, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“It is obvious: without global pressure – without decisive actions from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who has the power – Putin will not agree even to a ceasefire,” he said.
“Not a single day goes by without Russia striking Ukrainian cities and villages. Every day, we lose our people to Russian terror. Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defence.
“I am grateful to everyone around the world who is promoting exactly this agenda: sanctions for aggression and the killing of people, and assistance in defending the lives of Ukrainians.”
Pictured: Police officers stand at the site of Russian missile strike on Sumy
10:54
,
Alexander Butler
Inside Operation Spiderweb: Ukraine’s drone triumph is a blow against Russia that will spook friend and foe alike
10:49
,
Alexander Butler
Pictured: Ukrainian troops fire a Howitzer at Russian front line
10:23
,
Alexander Butler
UK threatens to sue Abramovich over use of money from Chelsea sale
10:20
,
Alexander Butler
Britain has threatened to take Russian businessman Roman Abramovich to court over the frozen £2.5bn ($3.4 billion) in proceeds from his sale of Chelsea soccer club that he wanted to go to victims of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Britain sanctioned Abramovich in a crackdown on Russian oligarchs after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, triggering a rushed sale of the Premier League club and freezing of the proceeds.
Britain wants the funds spent only in Ukraine in line with a wider European push for Moscow to foot the bill for the deaths and destruction triggered by its invasion. Abramovich is seeking more flexibility and wants the money to go to all victims.
Medvedev says Russia seeks victory, not compromise, in talks with Ukraine
10:06
,
Alexander Butler
Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the point of holding peace talks with Ukraine was to ensure a swift and complete Russian victory.
"The Istanbul talks are not for striking a compromise peace on someone else's delusional terms but for ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction of the neo-Nazi regime," the hawkish deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council said on Telegram.
"That's what the Russian Memorandum published yesterday is about."
In pictures: Firefighters extinguish cars hit by Russian strike on Sumy
09:45
,
Daniel Keane
Firefighters were working to extinguish a blaze in the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Tuesday following a Russian strike.
Two people were killed in the strike and at least seven more injured, according to local prosecutors.
Russia demanded Ukraine give up its territory in negotiations - reports
09:17
,
Daniel Keane
Russia demanded that Ukraine give up territory and limit the size of its army during peace talks in Istanbul on Monday, according to reports.
It comes after delegations from both sides met for barely an hour in Turkey for the second direct round of negotiations since March 2022. They agreed to exchange more prisoners of war and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers.
The Interfax news agency reported that the memorandum would require international recognition of Crimea - a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 - and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory.
Russian attack on Sumy kills two
08:54
,
Daniel Keane
A Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy killed two people and injured at least seven more on Tuesday, including four children, local authorities said in a statement.
The attack came after negotiations in Istanbul between the two sides failed to agree on terms for a ceasefire.
Separately, at least three people were killed and two wounded in an attack on the Kramatorsk district in the Donetsk region.
Zelensky’s deputy chief of staff and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister ‘travelling to US’
08:25
,
Daniel Keane
The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff and the First Deputy Prime Minister are travelling to the US on a Goverment visit.
A source told the Reuters news agency that chief of staff Andriy Yermak and Yulia Svrydenko will visit Washington DC during the trip.
Their visit comes a day after Ukrainian and Russian representatives met for a second direct round of talks in Istanbul.
Moscow indicated that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big chunks of its territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, according to Russian media.
Sanctions on Russia needed as Putin doesn't want ceasefire, says Zelensky's aide
07:44
,
Arpan Rai
Russia does not want a ceasefire and new sanctions are needed now to force it to pursue peace, the chief of staff to the Ukrainian president said yesterday.
"The Russians are doing everything to not cease firing and continue the war. New sanctions now are very important," said Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office.
Mr Yermak posted his remarks on Telegram, hours after the conclusion of peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Russia handed Ukraine a memo on terms for ceasefire, says Kremlin aide
07:18
,
Arpan Rai
Russian negotiators have handed a detailed memorandum to their Ukrainian counterparts outlining Moscow's terms for a full ceasefire, Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky told reporters after talks in Istanbul yesterday.
Mr Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, also said Russia had suggested a ceasefire of two to three days in certain areas.
Inside Operation Spiderweb: Ukraine’s drone triumph is a blow against Russia that will spook friend and foe alike
07:15
,
Arpan Rai
When the lorry stopped close to the Belaya airfield at the weekend, and the wooden sheds onboard opened their roofs to release a swarm of quadcopters, warfare changed for ever.
The success of Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, which destroyed more than 40 Russian bombers, will have elicited both delight and terror in the hearts of Kyiv’s allies.
The homegrown operation to hide drones in false compartments within prefabricated sheds and unleash them simultaneously many thousands of miles apart – and many thousands of miles behind enemy lines – has clipped the wings of Vladimir Putin’s strategic air operations.
Ukraine claims that its SBU intelligence service destroyed 41 Russian aircraft, causing $7bn (£5bn) worth of damage to long-range bombers that carried the cruise missiles Putin has been using against Ukraine.
Trump hasn't ruled out meeting with Zelensky and Putin, says White House
06:59
,
Arpan Rai
Donald Trump has not ruled out taking part in a future meeting between the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, the White House said.
The US president is “open to” participating in a meeting between Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin “if it comes to that”, said White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
"But he wants both leaders and both sides to come to the table. And we saw them do that today at president Trump's request," Mr Leavitt added.
Zelensky says Operation Spiderweb 'seriously weakened' Putin's military
06:57
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine’s major drone strikes against Russian airbases, which damaged dozens of Russian warplanes, shows what a “modern war really looks like”.
Speaking in his nightly video address, Mr Zelensky said: “Today, I addressed the participants of the Summit in Vilnius and emphasised that the key to lasting peace is clear – the aggressor must not receive any reward for war. Putin must get nothing that would justify his aggression.
Any reward would only show the Russian president “that war pays off”, he said.
“We talked about our operation inside Russia, which has seriously weakened their military. Operation ‘Spiderweb’ showed what modern war really looks like and why it’s so important to stay ahead with technology,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Today, I addressed the participants of the Summit in Vilnius and emphasized that the key to lasting peace is clear – the aggressor must not receive any reward for war. Putin must get nothing that would justify his aggression. Any reward would only show him that war pays off. pic.twitter.com/x7szJS5Nh3
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 2, 2025
Russian attacks kill at least five in Ukraine's east
06:56
,
Arpan Rai
Russian shelling killed at least five people yesterday in different frontline areas of eastern Ukraine, officials said.
Vadym Filashkin, governor of Donetsk region, the focal point of the Russian military's slow westward advance, said one person was killed and two injured in the city of Kramatorsk.
The city would be a key Russian target if its forces make further progress through Donetsk region.
Filashkin said two more people were killed and three injured further south in the town of Illinivka.
In Kharkiv region, farther to the north, prosecutors said two women were killed in a village south of Kupiansk, which has come under heavy Russian attack for months. The mayor of Kupiansk last month said his city was 90 per cent destroyed.
A Putin-Zelensky meeting? Turkey says it will work on it
06:39
,
Arpan Rai
Turkey will take steps to bring together the leaders of Russia and Ukraine for talks in either the capital Ankara or in Istanbul, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
"My desire is to bring (Vladimir) Putin and (Volodymyr) Zelensky together in Istanbul or Ankara. Also to invite (US president Donald) Trump to this meeting as well... We will take steps for this meeting after the latest talks," Mr Erdogan said, speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara.
Turkey has already hosted three rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including two in the past month.
Overnight Russian attack kills one in Ukraine
06:19
,
Arpan Rai
At least one person was killed in Russia's overnight attacks on Ukraine’s northeastern region of Kharkiv and several more were injured, officials said this morning.
A private enterprise was hit in the small town of Balakliia in the Kharkiv region that borders Russia, killing one employee and injuring several others, said Vitali Karabanov, head of the town’s military administration.
"A massive UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack on the town," Mr Karabanov said, without providing details of the scale.
Falling drones on streets and residential buildings in the northern city of Chernihiv also sparked several fires, including at residential houses, said Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, the head of the city's military administration.
As a result of the attacks, at least four people were hospitalised, Mr Bryzhynskyi said. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said another 20 people, including eight children, received medical assistance at the site.
The service posted photos on its Telegram account showing firefighters battling blazes in the dark and medics attending to a group of children.
In the southern port city of Odesa, Russian overnight air attacks damaged residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, but there were no injuries, mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov wrote on Telegram.
What are Russia's demands from Ukraine in Istanbul talks?
06:15
,
Arpan Rai
Russia has set out its ceasefire conditions in a long-awaited memorandum that was provided to Ukrainian negotiators yesterday. It proposes two options for what Ukraine must do in order to secure a truce – neither of which is likely to be acceptable to Kyiv.
Here’s a closer look at Russia’s demands:
The Russian memorandum, which was published by the Interfax news agency, said a settlement of the war would require international recognition of Crimea – a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 – and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory.
Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from all of them, according to Russia’s memorandum papers.
It restated Moscow's demands that Ukraine become a neutral country – ruling out membership of Nato – and that it protect the rights of Russian speakers, make Russian an official language and enact a legal ban on glorification of Nazism. Ukraine rejects the Nazi charge as absurd and denies discriminating against Russian speakers.
Russia also formalised its terms for any ceasefire en route to a peace settlement, presenting two options that both appeared to be non-starters for Ukraine.
Option one, according to the text, was for Ukraine to start a full military withdrawal from the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Of those, Russia fully controls the first but holds only about 70 per cent of the rest.
Option two was a package that would require Ukraine to cease military redeployments and accept a halt to foreign provision of military aid, satellite communications and intelligence. Kyiv would also have to lift martial law and hold presidential and parliamentary elections within 100 days.
Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow had also suggested a "specific ceasefire of two to three days in certain sections of the front" so that the bodies of dead soldiers could be collected.
According to a proposed roadmap drawn up by Ukraine, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Kyiv wants no restrictions on its military strength after any peace deal, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow's forces, and reparations.
Zelensky responds to question if Operation Spiderweb 'enraged' Russia: 'No one cares'
06:02
,
Arpan Rai