Newsletter 16/06/2025
A daily news digest covering important war, political, economic, and cultural topics in Ukraine
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Bodies of 1,245 fallen Ukrainians repatriated to Ukraine
Ukraine has received the remains of another 1,245 fallen individuals, marking the completion of the repatriation component of the Istanbul agreements with Russia.
This was the final stage of the repatriation measures outlined in the Istanbul negotiations.
The remains, reportedly of Ukrainian citizens—including military personnel—were transferred by the Russian side. This brings the total number of bodies returned under the Istanbul framework to 6,057.
Ukrainian law enforcement and forensic experts from the Interior Ministry will now carry out the necessary examinations and identification procedures.
The successful execution of the repatriation efforts was made possible through the joint work of the Coordination Headquarters, the Joint Center at the Security Service of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Interior Ministry, the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Persons Gone Missing under Special Circumstances, the State Emergency Service, and other structures within Ukraine's security and defense sector.
Read also: Ukraine’s MIA claims Russia returns own soldiers’ bodies in latest repatriation
Ukraine, Austria sign five documents, including on return of children from Russia
A communiqué on the protection and return of Ukrainian children from the Russian Federation, and four other documents, were signed in Vienna in the presence of the Presidents of Ukraine and Austria, Volodymyr Zelensky and Alexander Van der Bellen.
As an Ukrinform correspondent reports, the documents were signed ahead of a joint press conference of the two leaders.
The following documents were signed between Ukraine and Austria:
A joint communiqué on the protection and return of Ukrainian children from the Russian Federation;
A memorandum of understanding on the development of interregional and municipal cooperation;
A memorandum of understanding on the development of cooperation between Odesa region and the federal state of Upper Austria;
Declaration of Intent on Political Cooperation, as well as Cooperation in the Reconstruction of Ukraine.
Ukraine rejects Russia’s offer to exchange their soldiers for abducted Ukrainian children
President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that the Russians proposed exchanging their prisoners of war for the Ukrainian children they had abducted. According to him, such an idea is unacceptable.
"We don’t trade them (the children abducted by Russia – ed.) for anything. This is absolutely unjust. And frankly, it’s madness. The Russians actually proposed this: we give them soldiers, and they give us children. It’s simply beyond comprehension and beyond international law," Zelensky said.
He emphasized that returning the children requires skilled diplomacy and "personal bilateral relations".
"That’s why we involve so many countries, so many proactive people who, little by little, as much as each can, will bring home the thousands of children abducted by Russia — back to their families and loved ones," the President added.
Russia plans to disseminate fake lists of dead during final stage of POW exchanges – intel
Russia is preparing to launch a disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting Ukraine during the final stage of prisoner exchanges, with the dissemination of fake lists of deceased individuals.
The campaign is set to culminate next week, and the decision to initiate it was made personally by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The campaign is being coordinated by a senior deputy chief of the Russian presidential administration, who is responsible for orchestrating the actions of officials and ensuring an immediate media response across Russian state and aligned outlets.
"The goal of the campaign is clear – to provoke outrage within Ukrainian society (among service members and their families) with the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, demoralize the public, and simultaneously undermine Ukraine's credibility on the international stage as a party that fails to honor its commitments," the intelligence service said.
The entire Kremlin-controlled media ecosystem is engaged in the Russian-language information space. This includes well-known propagandists such as Margarita Simonyan and Vladimir Solovyov, along with various military bloggers and so-called "war correspondents." They are actively generating emotionally charged content, manipulating statistics, and portraying any delays in the exchange process as deliberate actions by the Ukrainian government, aimed at avoiding the return of Ukrainian citizens, the Foreign Intelligence Service said.
Common disinformation themes include: "Ukraine refuses to accept the bodies of its dead," "the remains of nearly 6,000 soldiers have yet to be returned to Ukraine," and "relatives of the deceased must continue to wait due to Ukrainian government inaction."
Russia may carry out 'demonstrative actions' near Ukraine border during Belarus exercises – Demchenko
Ukrainian border guards are closely monitoring the situation in Belarus, where joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises are set to take place. It is possible that the enemy could resort to provocations or demonstrative actions near the Ukrainian border during these drills.
Putin trying to divert attention from war against Ukraine - ISW
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is trying to shift international attention away from Russia's war against Ukraine by offering the United States help in the Middle East settlement.
Putin continues to portray Russia as an effective and necessary international partner for the United States amid tensions between Iran and Israel, the latest review says.
Analysts recalled that US President Donald Trump stated on June 14 that he and Putin spoke by phone for about an hour about the ongoing Israel-Iran strikes and spent “much less” time talking about Ukraine than Iran.
Ukraine conducts fourth POW exchange with Russia in one week
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the fourth prisoners of war exchange with the Russian Federation within a week.
War
Russian forces intensify summer offensive across eastern frontlines – Ukrainian military
There is high activity of Russian invading forces observed in the Pokrovsk, Novopavlivka, Lyman, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Toretsk, and Kramatorsk sectors of the front. This indicates a renewed enemy offensive that had been previously announced.
"The enemy is very active. If we take just the previous day, there were 46 attacks in the Pokrovsk sector, 32 in Novopavlivka. That’s a very high number for Novopavlivka — currently, there is particular enemy activity there. 14 in Lyman, 11 in Kupiansk, seven in Kharkiv. That's also unusually high number for Kharkiv. 15 in Toretsk, and 10 in Kramatorsk. All of this represents high activity and indicates the kind of summer escalation we expected and which had been essentially forecasted," said Major Viktor Trehubov, Spokesperson for the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group of Troops.
Another warzone appears in Ukraine’s daily battlefield updates
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces renamed the Kharkiv axis to South Slobozhanshchyna, adding the North Slobozhanshchyna axis to the daily war updates after the Russians intensified their offensive efforts in the border areas of Sumy region.
Russians using chemical weapons in Siversk axis over past three weeks
"For the third week in this area, the enemy has been using chemical weapons, which, unfortunately, is causing a lot of trouble to our defenders. These munitions are known by the extremely rapid spread of the poisonous substance, which instantly disperses across dugouts and lowlands," reported Rubizh Brigade of the National Guard
In the brigade's zone of responsibility, Russian troops have intensified offensive efforts.
Over the past week, offensive actions by enemy assault groups on the positions of adjacent units have been recorded from several directions at once. Also, reconnaissance units are seeing enemy reserves in the operational rear of up to two full-fledged companies (up to 250 servicemen), ready to attack.
DeepState reveals fortifications on Dnipropetrovsk-Donetsk border
The DeepState project has revealed engineering and fortification structures (EFS) prepared for defense on the administrative border between Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.
"There has been increasing discussion online about the problems of building defenses, and quite rightly, there have been frequent questions and calls for the preparation of EFS in the Dnipropetrovsk region with the enemy approaching <...> In conversations with soldiers, we saw and knew that the EFS on the administrative border was being prepared quite well, but we did not know the scale. We chose the most reliable way — to go and see for ourselves," the message says.
According to DeepState, the IFAs on the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions are being built as a layered defense system designed to delay and exhaust the enemy, inflicting maximum losses on them. In particular, great attention is paid to the construction of engineering barriers, which combine various types of obstacles: anti-tank ditches, concrete tetrahedrons (also known as “dragon's teeth”), barbed wire, minefields, mine barriers, etc.
They are also combined with the construction of various types of positions, including underground ones.
Air defenses intercept 125 out of 138 drones used by Russia to attack Ukraine
Over 200 artists, 106 media workers killed in Ukraine since start of full-scale war
Russian infantry activity near Ukraine's border drops sharply due to heavy losses – SBGS
Russians attack Kharkiv region with drones, glide bombs
Politics
Trump calls for return to G8 format with Russia at table
In his opening statements at the G7 summit in Canada, U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized that he considers it necessary to return to the G8 format with the participation of Russia, thus repeating his long-standing rhetoric that is in line with the Kremlin’s interest.
Russia says U.S. cancels "normalization" talks
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. has canceled another round of talks on "normalization of relations and the work of diplomatic missions".
As per Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the next round of talks between representatives of Russia and the U.S. on the normalization of bilateral relations, which Moscow announced for later this week, will not take place.
She added that Washington allegedly canceled consultations where it was planned to discuss the elimination of mutual "irritants" and normalization of the work of diplomatic missions.
Zelensky, Stocker talk strengthening Russia sanctions
Strengthening sanctions against Russia and Austria's readiness for a mediation role were the main topics of the meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky had with Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker.
Russia may eventually take peace talks with Ukraine seriously, German expert says
There will likely be many more meetings between Ukrainian and Russian delegations, with their level and scope potentially changing, but the outcome will depend on various factors — and it cannot be ruled out that Russia may eventually take the negotiation track seriously.
Israel claims it destroyed third of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers
The Israeli Air Force has destroyed 120 of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers, effectively preventing the launch of nearly half the missiles the Islamic Republic had intended to fire at Israel overnight.
European Commission President urges G7 to boost pressure on Russia
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that pressure on Russia must be stepped up to ensure a ceasefire in Ukraine, and called on the G7 nations to strengthen sanctions to achieve that goal.
Defense
Ukraine plans to purchase defense equipment: Zelensky to talk details with Trump
President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that one of the topics he plans to discuss with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit is a defense package that Ukraine is ready to purchase.
Germany co-financing three drone production projects in Ukraine – expert
Germany is co-financing three drone production projects in Ukraine, though there are currently no plans to support missile manufacturing.
Economy
Russia illegally transshipping oil off Greece, Cyprus coasts - Ukraine intelligence
Since July 2024, Russia has been using an Aframax tanker, IMO 9247443, which has no Western insurance, as a floating transshipment hub for the supply of sanctioned oil.
As noted by the intelligence agency, such operations pose an environmental threat, allow the Russian Federation to conceal the origin of oil, evade international control, and ensure supply to third countries, bypassing sanctions.
It is noted that Kremlin aide Yuriy Ushakov stated on June 14 that Putin and Trump mainly spoke about military escalation in the Middle East. Ushakov claimed that Putin expressed concern over the escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel and offered Russia’s assistance in negotiating a peace settlement.
Trump said that during the conversation he reminded Putin that the war against Ukraine must end, the ISW added.
Russia’s banking sector struggling with mounting bad loans – CCD
In the first quarter of 2025, Russian banks allocated about $2.7 billion — equivalent to $25 million per day — to cover bad loans.
“According to the Central Bank of Russia, in Q1 2025, the risk of loan defaults in the retail lending sector rose to 3.6%, well above the normal level of 2%. This indicates a decline in loan quality, particularly in the consumer sector, where overdue debts are rapidly increasing,” reported on Telegram by Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) under the National Security and Defense Council.
The CCD emphasized that Russian banks are being forced to increase reserves to cover these bad loans. In total, they spent 215 billion rubles ($2.7 billion) in the first three months of 2025, averaging nearly 2 billion rubles ($25 million) per day. This reflects growing difficulties among Russians in repaying debts accumulated during the credit boom of 2023–early 2024.
Society
Around 80% of Ukrainians firmly reject Russia’s “peace plan” – poll
This was announced by Anton Hrushetskyi, Executive Director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), during a press conference titled “Dynamics of socio-political sentiments of Ukrainians during the war,” reports a Ukrinform correspondent.
“The share of those willing to accept the Russian peace plan — even despite the difficult international situation and pressure from some partners — remains at 10 – 15%. That is very low. Meanwhile, around 80% of citizens are categorically against it and reject the Russian plan. They are not ready to accept capitulation. Yes, society is tired; yes, it absolutely wants peace; yes, society is even willing to discuss difficult options — but we continue to see a stable, overwhelming majority that is against Ukraine capitulating. Let’s be honest: some people are indeed softening their stance,” said Hrushetskyi.
According to him, at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, only about 10% of Ukrainians were willing to make territorial concessions. Today, KIIS data shows that figure has risen to 38%.
“For example, at the beginning of the invasion and up to early 2024, more than 70% were ready to endure the war for as long as necessary. Now, that figure is about 60%... When we talk about the official recognition of occupied territories as part of Russia, or the transfer of non-occupied regions like Kherson or Zaporizhzhia, the overwhelming majority still firmly oppose it,” he added.
Read also: Up to 90% of Ukrainians support future accession to EU, NATO - poll
Deadly bus crash in France: Ukrainian driver charged
French police have pressed charges against one of the two drivers of the Ukrainian bus that crashed killing four people, including three Ukrainian citizens.