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Morning Headlines
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine successfully brought back five children who had been forcibly taken to Russia as well as Russian-occupied territory, Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak announced on June 12.
ISW: Russian forces are likely attempting to level the frontlines in the Novopavlivka and Kurakhove directions to advance into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
France 24: After three years of doom-defying growth, Russia's heavily militarised economy is slowing, facing a widening budget deficit and weak oil prices, all under the threat of more Western sanctions.
More News
AP News: The number of Russian troops killed or wounded in Ukraine has topped 1 million, military officials in Kyiv said Thursday, describing the huge price that Moscow has paid for its 3-year-old invasion. The claim by the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces, which came on a holiday celebrating Russia’s sovereignty, is in line with Western intelligence estimates.
Politico: Former commissioner Ylva Johansson is expected to become the European Union’s new special envoy for Ukrainians in the bloc.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces are gradually driving Russian troops back from parts of Sumy Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 12, amid escalating cross-border assaults in the region.
Reuters: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday that Germany is not considering delivering Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine despite Kyiv's repeated requests.
AFP: Germany was set to approve another 1.9 billion euros of military support for Ukraine, Pistorius said in a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
The Kyiv Independent: Kerch Airport in occupied Crimea is being repurposed from civilian to military use, according to a June 12 investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Schemes project, citing satellite imagery and Russian real estate registry data.
Bloomberg: Lithuania accused Russian importers of using medical sanctions exemptions to receive goods for the use of Moscow’s military, its deputy foreign minister said (archive).
The Times: European Union states are concerned Russia’s growing influence in Libya will allow Putin to “switch mass migration on and off” as a geopolitical weapon against the continent, Poland’s foreign minister has said (archive).
Reuters: Most countries in the Group of Seven nations are prepared to go it alone and lower the G7 price cap on Russian oil even if Trump decides to opt out.
Defense News: NATO and Ukrainian officials are slated to stage a trial of unmanned aerial vehicle technologies aimed at addressing a dogged threat: Russian first-person-view drones with fiber-optic cables that cannot be brought down with electronic interference.
The Moscow Times: Russia has relocated dozens of its strategic bombers to more remote airbases across the country in the wake of this month's sweeping Ukrainian drone assault on Moscow's military aircraft, satellite imagery suggests.
AFP: Ukraine and Russia said Thursday they had swapped a fresh group of prisoners of war, the third exchange this week as part of a deal agreed at peace talks in Turkey.
Kyiv Post: Cyber specialists from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate have disrupted the operations of one of the largest internet providers in Russia’s Siberia – Orion Telecom.
The Moscow Times: EU countries on Thursday gave final approval to new tariffs on fertilizer imports from Russia, a move aimed at cutting off revenue that could support Moscow’s war in Ukraine, despite concerns from European farmers.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia is quietly building a pro-Kremlin power base across Africa by targeting the continent's youth and academic institutions with state-funded educational programs and cultural influence campaigns, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said on June 12.
Reuters: Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, will soon leave her post, her embassy said on Thursday, after serving through one of the most tense and difficult periods in relations between Moscow and Washington.
Forbidden Stories: Since arriving in Mali in 2021, Russian Wagner mercenaries have abducted and detained hundreds of civilians in former UN bases and military camps shared with the Malian army. An investigation reveals secret prisons where abuse and torture are carried out with total impunity.
Bloomberg: NATO is expanding its satellite surveillance capacities to scan large swaths of land, enabling the alliance to monitor military movements in Ukraine and on Russia’s borders with its eastern members, top commander Pierre Vandier said (archive).
worth mentioning
Reuters Special Report: Russia recruited a teenage spy. His arrest led to a crypto money trail
Ghost of a city: The true story of life in Mariupol three years after occupation
Russian Occupation Update, June 12, 2025 - ISW
Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear and missile sites and kills top military officials
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