Wang Yi has said the Asian neighbors should engage as partners rather than competitors
China-India diplomatic ties have improved over the course of the last eight months, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a meeting with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in Beijing on Monday.
Doval, who is also a special representative for the India-China boundary question, is in the Chinese capital for a meeting of national security advisers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). “China-India relations have made some positive progress,” Wang said. “China and India should adhere to the important consensus of being development opportunities for each other and not posing a threat to each other, and being partners rather than competitors,” he added.
The meeting between Wang and Doval is seen as the latest step in the diplomatic thaw between the neighbors that began after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on the sidelines of the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan. Relations had been strained since a 2020 border clash in the Himalayas claimed the lives of soldiers from both countries.
“It is essential that both sides further enhance communication, build mutual trust, and work toward resolving practical issues,” the Chinese foreign minister said, while highlighting the potential for a win-win outcome when the two nations work together. “Only when the dragon and elephant dance together can there be a win-win outcome,” he added.
Chinese FM Wang Yi met with Ajit Doval, India’s National Security Advisor and Special Representative on the China-India boundary question, in Beijing.
China and India should adhere to the important consensus that both sides are opportunities for each other’s development, pose no… pic.twitter.com/A9HxwoCoAi
Doval expressed New Delhi’s eagerness to work with Beijing in several areas. “India is willing to strengthen collaboration with China in multilateral fields and fully supports China’s role as the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in hosting a successful summit,” he said.
Wang also stressed the need for both countries to properly handle sensitive issues and maintain peace and tranquility in the border regions.
🔹Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Ajit Doval, NSA of India and special representative for the India-China boundary question in Beijing on June 23. 🔹Wang said that China-India… pic.twitter.com/3whsS44Tu0
In October of last year, the countries announced an agreement on disengagement from areas of tension and said they would work towards normalizing their relations. Following multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks, certain proposals to ease trade and investment restrictions between India and China have gained momentum, driven by industry demands.
The proposals include relaxing visa restrictions for Chinese nationals, reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers on certain imports, and resuming direct flights between the two countries. This week, a group of Indians crossed over into Tibet for the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra, one of the holiest pilgrimages in Hinduism. The pilgrimage, which traverses two sacred sites, was resumed after a five-year hiatus.
Nearly 150 people were killed and more than 600 injured in the 2024 terrorist attack
Last year’s terrorist attack on a concert hall outside Moscow, which killed nearly 150 people, was intended to destabilize Russia to Ukraine’s benefit, Russia’s Investigative Committee (Sledkom) said on Monday, marking the conclusion of its criminal investigation.
On March 22, 2024, four gunmen opened fire inside the Crocus City Hall concert venue and set the building ablaze, killing 149 people and injuring 609 others. One person remains missing.
According to Sledkom, all of the attackers were detained after fleeing the scene and attempting to reach Ukraine by car. All 19 individuals charged in connection with the attack are ethnic Tajiks. The four alleged gunmen – Dalerdhzon Mirzoyev, Saidokrami Rachabalizoda, Shamsiddin Fariduni, and Muhammadsobir Faizov – are citizens of Tajikistan.
Although the Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), a regional offshoot of the Islamic State jihadist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested at the time that Ukraine may have played a role. Kiev has denied any involvement.
“This heinous crime was planned and carried out in the interest of Ukraine’s leadership, with the goal of destabilizing the political situation in our country,” Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said. She confirmed that the accused are members of ISIS-K.
Petrenko added that some of the suspects received training abroad and had also planned to attack “an entertainment venue” in the city of Kaspiysk, located in the Muslim-majority Russian republic of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea.
Russia has experienced a recent surge in Islamist terrorism, including a June 2024 attack on several synagogues and Christian churches in Derbent, Dagestan, which left 27 people dead.
The IDF put foreigners in danger during its bombing campaign, the French foreign minister has said
France has accused Israel of endangering its citizens by striking Evin Prison in Tehran on Monday.
Iranian officials said parts of the facility were damaged in the attack. A video circulating on social media appears to show that the front entrance of the prison was targeted.
In a statement on X, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called the strike “unacceptable” and said it had endangered French nationals Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who were arrested during a tourist visit to Iran in 2022 on espionage charges, which they deny. Kohler’s sister, Noemie, condemned the strike as “irresponsible,” saying it had placed prisoners “in mortal danger.”
Barrot said he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart and received confirmation that both Kohler and Paris were unharmed.
🚨 BREAKING: The Israeli Air Force bombed the gates of Iran's Evin Prison in Tehran, which holds Iranians opposed to the Islamic regime. No word if any prisoners escaped. pic.twitter.com/rcsygRewcD
French President Emmanuel Macron said the attack had “nothing to do” with Israel’s stated goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Speaking during a visit to Norway, Macron further condemned the US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday, calling them illegal under international law. “There is no legal basis for these strikes, even if France shares the objective of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons,” he said.
In response to the American strikes, Iran launched missiles at the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday. According to American officials, there were no casualties.
Later that evening, US President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire had been reached between Israel and Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, denied that any such agreement was in place, though he stated that Tehran would end hostilities if Israel did so first.
The move follows accusations from Moscow that Belgrade is secretly supplying munitions to Ukraine
Serbia has temporarily stopped all ammunition exports and will focus on replenishing its domestic stockpiles, President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Monday. The move comes in response to Russian accusations that Belgrade has been secretly supplying arms to Ukraine.
The president made the remarks following a meeting of the extended board of Serbia’s General Staff. Speaking to local media, Vucic said the country has “now stopped literally everything and [is] sending it to our army.”
Belgrade is seeking new markets for its military production, Vucic noted, adding that he would not deprive some 150,000 Serbs – military plant workers and their families – of their livelihoods. However, Serbia will tighten its export rules, and any shipments abroad will now require special approval, he said.
“It will no longer be the case that permission is given by two ministers and the goods flow smoothly. We’ll see what will happen in the future in accordance with the interests of Serbia,” Vucic stressed.
The announcement came after Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused Serbia of covertly sending munitions to Ukraine, despite Belgrade’s assertion of neutrality in the conflict and traditionally strong ties with Moscow.
“The ammunition produced at Serbian defense plants, primarily for heavy long-range systems, is sent to NATO countries in the interests of Ukraine in the form of full assembly kits. This allows Kiev to formally receive military products that are no longer Serbian but assembled at defense factories in Western countries,” the SVR said.
A similar accusation was made by the SVR in late May, when the agency alleged that Serbian companies had covertly supplied around 100,000 munitions for multiple rocket launchers and one million small arms rounds to Ukraine. The ammunition was reportedly funneled through various countries and accompanied by falsified end-user certificates.
At the time, Vucic denied the existence of any direct contracts with Kiev, noting that Serbian law prohibits arms sales to nations at war. He blamed third countries for possibly redirecting shipments to Ukraine and pledged to crack down on any attempts to circumvent Belgrade’s export restrictions.
The Middle East arch-rivals will end their “12-day war,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform
Iran and Israel have agreed to end hostilities, US President Donald Trump claimed on Monday evening. The announcement came hours after Iran fired missiles at a US military base in Qatar, in response to American strikes on its nuclear facilities.
“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL,” he added.
“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR,’” Trump wrote.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied that a ceasefire agreement is in place, but added that Iran would end its attacks if Israel does the same by 4 am Tehran time (12:30 am GMT).
Open war between Israel and Iran broke out on June 13, when the IDF launched strikes on military and nuclear facilities across Iran and carried out assassinations of senior Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran, which denies having a military nuclear program, responded by firing missiles and drones into Israel.
On June 22, US B-2 bombers and Tomahawk missiles struck three Iranian nuclear sites, including uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz and Fordow. The following day, Iran responded by firing missiles at the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Some NATO members are concerned that Berlin’s requests for clarity could prompt Trump to pull American forces out
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has repeatedly asked US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide a “roadmap” for the withdrawal of US troops from Europe, the Financial Times has said, citing three anonymous sources “briefed on their discussions.”
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused European NATO members of failing to equitably share the burden of defense spending. His administration has also suggested the US could reduce its military footprint on the continent in the coming years, as its geopolitical focus increasingly shifts toward the Asia-Pacific region.
In a piece on Monday, FT reported that ahead of a NATO summit in The Hague slated for June 24, European leaders have been preoccupied with Washington’s troop drawdown plans. The fact that the US has yet to provide details has contributed to the concerns, the publication reported, citing unnamed sources.
According to the outlet, in recent months Pistorius “has pushed Hegseth, his US counterpart, to provide a ‘road map’ for a US pullback from Europe.” FT quoted an anonymous senior German official as explaining that “we all have trauma from Afghanistan,” referring to the botched withdrawal of US troops there in 2021.
Germany’s attempts have, however, reportedly come in for criticism from other members of NATO, supposedly wary that Berlin might unwittingly boost Trump’s case for a withdrawal of US forces.
Another source cited by the publication described the somewhat schizophrenic dilemma faced by European leaders as follows: “Engage with the Americans like hell to keep them as close as possible, while at the same time preparing as fast as we can for them to walk away.”
Giuseppe Spatafora, an analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies, told FT that “European allies in Nato may fear that they could set in motion the very outcome they seek to avoid.”
The piece quoted an unnamed French diplomat as similarly insisting that “we [must] do nothing that would encourage the Americans to leave, because that’s not in our interest.”
Carlo Masala, a professor of international politics at Bundeswehr University in Munich, concluded that at present “all the Europeans are looking at the US like the rabbit looks at the snake… hoping that the snake won’t bite them.”
The US clothing brand pulled out of the country’s market in 2022
US fashion brand Calvin Klein has joined a growing number of foreign companies seeking to re-establish their trademarks in Russia, more than three years after halting operations following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict and subsequent Western sanctions.
According to a filing with the Russian patent office, Rospatent, the company submitted an application on June 16 to register its brand across a broad range of goods and services, from cosmetics, clothing, and accessories to furniture, textiles, and advertising.
If approved, the trademark would allow Calvin Klein to sell products such as perfume, soap, deodorants, shampoo, sunglasses, backpacks, T-shirts, watches – and even furniture and carpets – under its name. The filing also includes bookcases and wardrobes, suggesting a push beyond the brand’s core fashion line.
The rights are being sought by Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH), the US-based owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. PVH was among the many Western companies that exited Russia in 2022 due to sanctions, supply disruptions, and public pressure. At the time, it operated more than 150 stores across the country. It first announced it was suspending operations, followed by a full shutdown.
Calvin Klein has made no official statement on plans to resume business in Russia. Its filing comes amid signs of renewed interest from some foreign brands in re-entering the market through licensing or third-party deals, despite ongoing restrictions.
Rospatent has not yet ruled on the application. Calvin Klein now joins a list of global brands – including McDonald’s, Hyundai, Intel, Microsoft, LG, IKEA, Chanel, Rolex, and Louis Vuitton – that have sought to maintain or restore their intellectual property rights in Russia, regardless of whether they are currently operating in the country.
According to Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, foreign businesses that left three years ago have been quietly returning. He told reporters last month that US companies lost over $300 billion from their withdrawal.
Moscow and Washington have begun rebuilding ties that were frayed under former President Joe Biden. Since Donald Trump returned to office in January, both sides have held high-level talks aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict and improving diplomatic relations. Trump and Putin have each voiced support for reviving economic cooperation.
In March, Putin ordered the government to draft clearer rules for Western companies seeking to return, with the aim of protecting domestic producers.
The Russian president has met distinguished military graduates, and gave an address about the challenges faced by the country’s armed forces
President Vladimir Putin on Monday hosted distinguished graduates of Russian military and security institutions in the Kremlin, speaking on the country’s challenges and outlining the priorities for its armed forces.
Here are the key takeaways from Putin’s speech:
Ukraine conflict
The Ukraine conflict is a part of the “fight for our future,” the president told the graduates, stating that today’s Russian soldiers are “the direct heirs of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, all generations of defenders of thousand-year-old Russia.”
Putin said that the conflict was providing invaluable military experience, which Russia must preserve, expand, and pass on to make the country’s military even stronger.
“Today, the experience of the special military operation is becoming a key advantage of the Russian Armed Forces. It is important to preserve this unique resource, pass it on to the next generations of servicemen, and integrate it into the process of training,” he stressed.
West never learns
Certain politicians in the West are still dreaming about inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia and continue to pump Ukraine with assorted weaponry, Putin stated, adding that previous attempts by Western nations to advance eastward apparently taught them nothing.
“They continue to send weapons and money to the Kiev regime, and provide military-technical and intelligence support, essentially as direct participants in the conflict,” the president said.
Military modernization
Further modernization of the country’s military remains a priority for Russia, Putin said. That goal is particularly important given “growing geopolitical tensions,” the president stressed.
“Given the increased role of unmanned aerial vehicles in modern conflicts, a new branch of the armed forces is being formed – the Unmanned Systems Troops,” he said.
Nuclear forces
Russia continues to upgrade and expand its nuclear deterrent, the president said, revealing that the country’s arsenal will receive a few additions this year, including new intercontinental ballistic missiles and upgraded strategic bombers.
“We are paying special attention here to our ‘nuclear triad’. The Strategic Missile Forces will be supplied with modern Yars systems, and the aviation component of the strategic nuclear forces will be replenished with modernized Tu-160M missile carriers this year,” Putin stated.
Hypersonic Oreshnik system
Russia is launching serial production of hypersonic Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile systems, the president said. The system was battle-tested in Ukraine last November, when the missile, which boasts multiple independently guided warheads, was used against the sprawling Yuzhmash military plant.
“Serial production of the latest medium-range missile system Oreshnik, which has fared very well in combat conditions, is being launched,” Putin announced.
From London to Ahmedabad, grief ripples across continents as the full toll of the tragedy comes into focus
What began as a joyful Eid homecoming turned into an unimaginable tragedy for the Syed family in Malad, a suburb of Mumbai in Maharashtra’s western region.
Their son, Javed Ali Syed – an award-winning hotel manager based in the UK – had returned home with his wife, Mariam, and their two young children, six-year-old Amani and four-year-old Zayn, to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the annual Muslim festival that fell on June 7 this year.
On June 12, the family of four boarded their flight back to London, carrying memories and promises of a future reunion. But fate had other plans.
“I still can’t believe my brother and his entire family are gone,” said Syed Imtiaz Ali, Javed’s younger brother, as he waited anxiously for the DNA identification process at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad.
“I still look at his messages, his photos… I can’t accept that he’s gone,” Ali said, his voice heavy with grief. “I keep thinking he’ll call, that he’ll come back. We haven’t even told our mother – she’s a heart patient. She wouldn’t be able to bear this loss.” He added that he hasn’t slept in days.
It was Javed’s wife, Mariam, who had booked Air India Flight 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick. But the journey ended in catastrophe – the plane crashed just moments after takeoff, leaving only one survivor. Javed, Mariam, and their two young children were among the youngest victims of what is now counted as one of India’s deadliest aviation tragedies.
The tragedy of June 12 unfolded in mere seconds – a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner burst into flames shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, crashing into a medical college in a densely populated residential area. Thick plumes of black smoke choked the sky for hours. A journey of celebration for many left the whole of India in mourning.
“We didn’t know this would be his last Eid,” Javed’s father said, his voice breaking. “All four of them were British citizens. We had no idea it would be the last time we saw them.”
He spoke of Javed’s long struggle to build a life in the UK. “He worked so hard to get settled there. He had finally made it. He had promised to support everyone back home. He was happy about a promotion, and he wanted to buy a house for his mother, to take her to London. But our world has collapsed.”
“We are a lower-middle-class family. Javed was our hope. We can’t come to terms with losing four members of our family. We just can’t accept it.”
The family of Javed Ali from Mumbai, who was killed in the Air India crash in Ahmedabad on June 12.
Only one person miraculously survived the London-bound Air India flight, walking away from the wreckage with impact injuries. Many have called it nothing short of a miracle. The rest, authorities said, were burned beyond recognition, their identities still being confirmed through DNA testing.
At Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital, grieving families refuse to leave until they see what remains, no matter how devastating.
“We want to see them one last time,” said Imtiaz, adding that his eyes are locked on his phone, scrolling through photos of his niece and nephew – snapshots taken just before the family boarded the doomed flight.
He shared a twist of fate that spared another member of the family. “My elder sister had planned to travel with them,” he said. “But she couldn’t get a ticket and had to take a different flight. She reached London – they didn’t.”
India’s federal government has launched a high-level inquiry into the crash, with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) leading the probe, supported by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and international experts from the UK, US, and the aircraft’s engine manufacturers.
In response to growing safety concerns, the Civil Aviation Ministry has also ordered enhanced maintenance checks across Air India’s entire Boeing 787 fleet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the crash site and met with survivors in hospital, called the tragedy “heartbreaking beyond words.”
’It was like a big blast’
For residents living near the crash site, the sound was deafening.
“It was like a massive blast, followed by thick black smoke billowing into the sky,” said Nitin Sirkar, 45, who lives just ten minutes away from where the aircraft went down in Ahmedabad. “We couldn’t understand what had happened.”
An official involved in the rescue operation told RT that fragments of the aircraft were scattered across the area, and the victims’ bodies were charred beyond recognition.
“The smoke from the wreckage didn’t stop for hours,” the official added.
Four days on, authorities are still in the process of identifying victims through DNA testing – a painstaking task that has left grieving families in anguish. While officials say they are working around the clock, the sheer scale of destruction has made the process agonizingly slow.
“The most haunting part was receiving fragments instead of whole bodies – it broke everyone,” said a hospital worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity. According to him, medical staff have been working nonstop to expedite the DNA matching process so the remains can be handed over for the final rites.
“The families are devastated and angry. Each day feels like a year to them,” he said. “We understand their pain, but the damage is beyond comprehension. The bodies are burned, charred, and reduced to unrecognizable pieces.”
Building a life between two worlds – India and UK
Dr Prateek Joshi was the only son of Mohan and Sunita Joshi from the northern state of Rajasthan.
In his last selfie, Prakeet’s family of five is sitting across from each other on the flight, wide smiles lighting up their faces, as if a long-awaited dream had finally taken flight. They didn’t know it would be their last.
According to his family, Dr Prateek Joshi had spent years building his life between two worlds – India, where his roots ran deep, and the UK, where a promising future awaited. The consultant radiologist had recently started working at Royal Derby Hospital and Queen’s Hospital Burton.
After over two years of working away from his family, he was finally bringing them over to begin a new chapter in the UK. On June 12, he boarded the Air India flight from Ahmedabad with his wife, Komi Vyas, a physiotherapist, and their three young children – daughter Miraya and twin sons, Pradyut and Nakul.
“The family had been preparing for this moment for months. Komi had resigned from her job in India to join her husband, and the children were excited to settle into a new home in Leicester, where my son had already set up a life for them,” relayed Mohan Joshi, father of Prateek, from his home in Banswara, Rajasthan.
Joshi said that their world had ended in a single instant.
“I had bought new school bags for my grandkids, and during the last night in India, they kept them close to themselves and said they would use them in London. I cannot forget their faces, their voice still rings in my ears. Prateek always spoke of reuniting and a bright future ahead. Now, that future has vanished,” Mohan added, his voice shaking with grief.
Prateek’s mother is unable to hold on to the shock of losing her son and his whole family in the crash.
“He worked so hard for a better future, only to end like this. Now, our lives and our home are empty without them and with the thought that they will never be back,” Sunita Joshi said.
The families have spent sleepless nights in the corridors of Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital – crying, waiting, hoping against hope to take their loved ones home, or what remains of them. The Air India flight had crashed into the residential quarters of BJ Medical College, setting off a firestorm that sent thick plumes of black smoke spiraling into the sky – a scene captured in haunting eyewitness videos.
Among the victims was former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, whose death sent shockwaves through the state. Of the 242 people on board, the passenger list included two pilots and ten cabin crew. A total of 169 were Indian nationals, while 53 were citizens of the United Kingdom.
India has faced several major air disasters. The worst was the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, which killed 349 people. In 1985, the bombing of Air India Flight 182 off Ireland killed 329. The 1978 Mumbai crash claimed 213 lives, and the 2020 Kozhikode crash killed 21. Most recently, the 2025 Ahmedabad Air India crash left 241 dead out of 242 on board, marking one of the deadliest in India’s aviation history.
Raveena Christian is mourning the loss of her son, Lawrence Christian, at their home in Ahmedabad. The 30-year-old, who worked in Britain, had returned to India just two weeks earlier to perform the last rites of his father. On June 12, he was on his way back – but never made it.
“Just 17 days ago, I lost my husband,” Raveena said, her voice trembling. “My daughter is still studying, and Lawrence was the one holding our family together. He had taken a loan for our home… he was everything to us.”
She recalled frantically searching the hospital for signs of hope. “I kept wandering from ward to ward, thinking maybe – just maybe – he had survived.” “We don’t know how to go on without him,” she said.
The president’s call comes after Iran threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade route for crude
US President Donald Trump has warned oil producers against pushing prices higher, amid rising market volatility following American strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and Tehran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz – a key shipping lane for global crude exports.
US forces targeted nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz on Saturday, just a day after Trump said he would decide “within the next two weeks” whether to act. The strikes surprised investors, briefly sending crude prices to five-month highs before easing.
“EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I’M WATCHING! YOU’RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON’T DO IT!” Trump wrote Monday on his Truth Social platform.
In a separate post, he called for an immediate increase in domestic production: “To the Department of Energy: DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! And I mean NOW!!!”
Crude prices have climbed roughly 10% since Israel’s surprise strike on Iran ten days ago, amid growing fears of a broader regional conflict and potential supply disruptions.
Traders are now closely watching for possible retaliation from Iran, which could target energy infrastructure across the Middle East. Tehran, which controls the Strait of Hormuz – a route for about 20% of the world’s oil – has threatened to shut the waterway in response to the US strikes. Its parliament approved the move on Sunday, though the final decision rests with the country’s national security council.
While Iran has issued similar threats in the past, analysts say fully closing the strait would be difficult, as Tehran also relies on the channel to export oil to China and other key buyers.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday urged China to pressure Iran not to carry out the threat, arguing that, as Iran’s top oil customer, Beijing has significant leverage. The US Energy Information Administration has called the Strait of Hormuz the “world’s most important oil transit chokepoint.”
Analysts warn that any disruption to traffic through the strait or to Iranian oil exports could drive prices higher and weigh on global economic growth. “The main economic risk is a rise in energy prices,” wrote Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius in a note seen by CNBC.
Hatzius projected that a prolonged closure could reduce global GDP by more than 0.3 percentage points and push inflation higher. S&P Global also warned that natural gas flows could be “severely impacted.”
As of Monday, Brent crude was trading around $72 a barrel. US benchmark WTI briefly surged 4.6% to $78 before slipping back to around $70. Analysts say Brent could climb as high as $110 a barrel if the strait is blocked.
A senior military commander in Kiev recently resigned over a similar incident
Russian forces have conducted strikes on two sites used by Kiev to train newly mobilized troops, the Defense Ministry said. The announcement follows the resignation of a senior Ukrainian military commander, who criticized what he described as a lack of accountability for such incidents.
Ukraine’s armed forces rely on compulsory conscription to bolster their ranks, typically sending draftees to remote training facilities for basic instruction before deploying them to the front.
According to the Russian military, Iskander missile strikes recently targeted two such facilities.
One strike, near the Ukrainian city of Sumy, reportedly resulted in up to 100 casualties and destroyed as many as 14 military vehicles, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The second strike, reported on Sunday, hit an area under Kiev’s control in Russia’s Kherson Region, the ministry said. This operation involved an Iskander missile equipped with a cluster warhead that allegedly killed around 70 Ukrainian troops while destroying more than 10 vehicles.
Ukraine’s military confirmed the attack on a training site but reported a significantly lower toll – three soldiers killed and 14 wounded.
In early June, Ukrainian General Mikhail Drapaty resigned as commander of the Land Forces following a similar deadly incident. In a social media post, he condemned what he called a culture of impunity within the military leadership regarding troop losses.
According to Ukraine’s Suspilne news outlet, a Russian strike killed at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers and injured 60 others on June 1. Authorities in Kiev did not disclose the exact location, but the report, citing anonymous sources, indicated it may have occurred in the Dnepropetrovsk Region.
Around the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had struck the Novomoskovsky training ground in that region.
Days later, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky appointed Drapaty to oversee all frontline operations as part of a broader reshuffle in military leadership, assigning a different official to supervise conscript training.
In a report on Saturday, the Financial Times said that the newly appointed commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces, Brigadier General Gennady Shapovalov, has been tasked with reforming the “unpopular” forced mobilization and training system.
Ukraine declared general mobilization in 2022, barring most men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. In 2024, Kiev tightened conscription laws and lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 in response to mounting battlefield losses. The mobilization campaign has sparked numerous violent confrontations between draft officers and unwilling conscripts, while many have attempted to flee the country despite serious personal risks.
The US leader has criticized the former Russian president for suggesting some nations may provide Iran with nuclear weapons
US President Donald Trump has cautioned the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev against “casually” talking about nuclear weapons. The comment came after the former Russian president suggested that several unnamed countries were prepared to provide Iran with weapons of mass destruction.
On June 22, the US bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan and claimed that its warplanes had severely degraded the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. The attack was preceded by massive air raids against Iran by Israel.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump wrote: “Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran?”
The US head of state asked for immediate confirmation or rebuttal, insisting that “the ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually.”
Trump went on to boast about America’s superior military capabilities, both air- and sea-borne, citing the weekend bombardment of Iran as proof.
In a series of X posts on Sunday, Medvedev claimed that a “number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.” The Russian official stopped short of naming those nations but suggested the American bombardment had done nothing to stop the “enrichment of nuclear material – and… the future production of nuclear weapons” by Tehran. Medvedev asserted that Iran’s leadership will emerge “even stronger” in light of Washington’s actions.
With the “vast majority of countries around the world [opposing] the actions of Israel and the United States,” President Trump “can forget about the Nobel Peace Prize,” as he “has now pushed the US into another war,” he concluded.
On Monday, Medvedev responded to Trump, stressing that “Russia has no intention of supplying nuclear weapons to Iran because, unlike Israel, we are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
However, the ex-Russian president added that “other countries might – and that’s what was said.”
He urged Washington to refrain from “arguing over who has more nukes,” emphasizing that the New START arms-control treaty, which was signed by Moscow and Washington on Medvedev’s watch, is still in force.
“The question is: what comes next?” he concluded.
Speaking during a meeting in Moscow on Monday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Russian President Vladimir Putin characterized the US attack on Iran as an “unprovoked aggression” in breach of international law, for which “there can be no justification.”
Serbian companies continue to send munitions to Ukraine via third countries, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service
Ukraine’s military continues to receive weapons from Serbia, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has stated in a press release published on Monday, in which it accused Belgrade of betraying its historic friendship with Moscow.
Officially, Serbia has avoided backing Kiev in the conflict and asserted its neutrality.
Despite this, Serbian defense firms have been increasing their supply of ammunition to Ukraine, according to the SVR. The agency asserts that this has been made possible through indirect export schemes designed to obscure the weapons’ true destination.
The SVR said that Serbian-made munitions are being exported as kits to NATO countries, where they are assembled before being transferred to Ukraine. The components are reportedly shipped primarily to the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, allowing Kiev to formally receive fully built weapons from NATO soil rather than directly from Serbia.
According to the Russian intelligence agency, Serbian arms producers are fully aware that their products are ultimately destined for the Ukrainian military and that their munitions “will kill Russian servicemen and civilians.”
“It is regrettable that now these traditions of friendship and mutual assistance are being erased by the thirst for profit and cowardly multi-vectorism,” the SVR concluded.
Following the report, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Monday that Belgrade has suspended the export of ammunition and that special permissions will now be required for such shipments.
”We have now stopped literally everything and are sending it to our army,” he said.
The accusation follows a similar claim made by the SVR in late May, in which it alleged that Serbian companies had secretly shipped 100,000 rockets and one million small arms rounds to Ukraine. The weapons were allegedly rerouted through various states, using falsified end-user certificates.
Vucic responded at the time by denying the existence of any direct contracts with Kiev, and emphasized that Serbian law prohibits the supply of weapons to countries at war. He insisted that any such arms that do reach Ukraine must have done so via third countries, and pledged to clamp down on attempts to circumvent export controls.
Moscow has consistently criticized foreign military aid to Ukraine, stating that it only prolongs the conflict and leads to more bloodshed without affecting the final outcome.
A barrage of at least ten ballistic missiles has reportedly been fired at airbases in Qatar and Iraq
Tehran has launched retaliatory strikes against US military installations across the Middle East, Iranian state-run media reported on Monday. Operation ‘Herald of Victory’ has so far hit facilities in Qatar and Iraq.
Unverified footage circulating online shows multiple projectiles in the skies above Qatar. Anti-aircraft defenses were apparently activated, with multiple interceptor missiles fired.
The attack reportedly targeted Al Udeid Air Base, a sprawling military installation used by the Qatari, US and UK militaries. It was not immediately clear whether any incoming projectiles made it through.
Footage of a PATRIOT SAM battery engaging an incoming Iranian ballistic missile attack over Qatar. pic.twitter.com/YUvuBoerhR
The Qatari military said it has intercepted all the Iranian missiles, with no deaths or injuries on the ground. The emirate’s Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, stating that Doha reserves the right to respond to the attack.
Iranian media, however, reported that at least three missiles made it through the anti-air defenses and struck the air base. Some outlets put the figure twice as high, claiming that at least six projectiles reached the target.
Footage being appearing in Iranian media purports to show the moment missiles were launched at the US air base in Qatar. The weapons were fired from mobile launchers at an undisclosed location, according to reports.
Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the attack on Al Udeid base, describing the facility as “the largest strategic asset of the US terrorist army in the West Asia region.” Tehran “will not leave any attack on its territorial integrity, sovereignty, and national security unanswered under any circumstances,” the IRGC stressed.
Iran warned Qatar of the impending attack beforehand to minimise the potential casualties and collateral damage, The New York Times reported citing Iranian sources. The strike was primarily of symbolic value, needed to demonstrate retaliation for US attacks while leaving room for de-escalation, the sources claimed.
Other countries in the region, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq have closed their airspace in case of further Iranian strikes on US assets. According to Iranian media, another missile salvo has been fired at American installations in Iraq.
Later in the day, US President Donald Trump described the Iranian strike as a “very weak response,” claiming 13 out of 14 missiles it fired were intercepted and the last one missed its target. He also claimed Tehran warned Washington of the impending attack beforehand.
“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured,” the US president wrote on Truth Social, expressing hopes Iran will now “proceed to peace and harmony” and promising to “enthusiastically encourage Israel to do the same.”
“Congratulations world, it’s time for peace,” Trump added in a subsequent all-caps post.
Facts and numbers make his Russia-Hitler comparisons laughably hypocritical
Anniversaries can be opportunities. For better or worse. In the case of the recent anniversary of Nazi Germany’s massive attack on the Soviet Union of 22 June 1941 – code-named Operation Barbarossa by the Germans – Ukraine’s beyond best-by-date president Vladimir Zelensky went for the worst. Using his own Telegram channel, Zelensky shared his bizarre view of why that anniversary mattered. In short, because it can serve in the information war against Russia.
“Eighty years ago,” the Kiev regime leader wrote, “the world overcame Nazism and swore ‘Never again.’ But today Russia is repeating the crimes of the Nazis […] Now Ukrainians are fighting against rashism [a pejorative term fusing the words “Russia” and “fascism”] with the same courage with which our ancestors defeated Nazism…”
Where to begin? Why not with the obvious: IF Russia were following Nazi examples, then much of Ukraine would now look like, for instance, Gaza. And while every death is a tragedy, the numbers of Ukrainian civilians killed in the Ukraine War would be of an entirely different order of magnitude.
This is not a matter of opinion. It’s a fact that can be quantified and proven: As of the end of May, the UN counted about 13,279 Ukrainian civilians killed, since the beginning of the large-scale fighting in February 2022. It is true that the UN also warns that these are conservative, minimum figures.
Yet consider some figures for Gaza under Israeli genocidal assault since October 2023. As of early June, the enclave’s health ministry – generally acknowledged as reliable and also conservative with its numbers, notwithstanding Israeli and Western propaganda – has counted over 55,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza alone (Israel’s victims in the West bank and elsewhere should, of course, not be forgotten.)
The Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between resistance fighters and civilians, but there is a virtual expert consensus that the share of the latter is unusually high, as you would expect during a genocide. A peer-reviewed study in the prestigious and unbiased medical journal The Lancet, for instance, has estimated that 59.1% of deaths between October 2023 and June 2024 were women, children, and the elderly. Other equally reputable organizations have even estimated around 90% of civilian casualties in Gaza.
Keep in mind that the above is deliberately restricted to minimum estimates. As The Lancet has also shown, the real death toll in Gaza is likely to be far higher. Let’s also not even dwell here on “details,” such as that Gaza now has the highest concentration of child amputees in the world.
For even the bare figures cited suffice to gain a sense of proportion and perspective: Gaza, before the Israeli mass murder attack had a total population of between 2.2 and 2.4 million. Ukraine’s total population on the eve of the large-scale escalation of February 2022 was just over 41 million, according to Ukrainian official sources.
And now compare the numbers of civilian casualties and the total populations. It is obvious: If Vladimir Zelensky is looking for a state that uses methods – if that is the word – of Nazi warfare, then that would be Israel, not Russia. But he cannot say that because Israel is aligned with the US and the West, just like his own regime.
Figures can help expose blatant lies, especially when they are as stunningly unambiguous as in this case. But the quantitative isn’t everything, obviously. What about what social scientists and historians – such as me – call the qualitative dimension? In other words, what about what makes people tick?
In that regard, the West’s proxy war against Russia and via Ukraine has seen one of the most successful operations of political whitewashing in recent memory. Before Kiev, first under Zelensky’s predecessor Petro Poroshenko and then under Zelensky himself, turned Ukraine into a Western tool and battering ram against Russia, at least some Western experts and even mainstream media were well aware that Ukraine had a rapidly growing, increasingly powerful, and extremely subversive (domestically and internationally) far-right movement.
As of 2014, even the BBC was still admitting that Ukrainian media and politicians were deliberately “underplaying” the potency and significance of their far-right. But then, as if on command, Western mainstream media united to belittle this malevolent force, pretending that it was either hardly there (and any impressions to the contrary were, of course, “Russian disinformation”), really harmless (a handful of misunderstood “patriots” with a few tattoos that look Nazi but are really just Tolkien), or on the mend, undergoing a steady and, of course, totally honest conversion to mainstream politics.
What happened in reality was that instead of adjusting to the Western “value” mainstream or Center – wherever that supposedly might be – the Ukrainian far right succeeded in making that mainstream adjust to its will. Probably because real-existing Western “values” have a genuine affinity to fascism anyhow.
Now with the West’s war going badly, as even Western media have to recognize, even French paper of record Le Monde – as russophobic and rarara-proxy war as its worst peers in the US – has noticed that far-right, indeed strictly Neo-Nazi tendencies – polite expression – are alive and kicking in key units of Ukraine’s armed forces. Dear colleagues from France: Congratulations! And you should see the politics.
Since the West and Ukraine are losing the war, expect more of such shocked re-discoveries of what every objective observers has known for a long time: In the Ukraine War, the home of men and women who genuinely enjoy displaying Nazi symbols – from the swastika to the Wolfsangel to the sun wheel – is in Ukraine.
That does not mean that the majority of Ukrainians side with them. But their regime and its controlled media do. The same regime and media droning on about Russia and Nazis. As they – rightly – say about Israel, so about the Zelensky regime: Every accusation is a confession.
Moscow is eyeing deeper Latin American trade links via the Caribbean nation’s strategic Port of Mariel
Russia and Cuba are working to establish a joint logistics hub at the Caribbean nation’s most significant deep-water port to boost cooperation, RIA Novosti reported on Monday.
The project, aimed at streamlining trade flows between Moscow and Latin America, was confirmed on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025), which wrapped up last week.
Tatyana Mashkova, head of Russia’s National Committee for Economic Cooperation with Latin American Countries, told the outlet that the two sides are working “in parallel” to set up the hub at Cuba’s Port of Mariel.
Situated at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, Mariel features a container terminal, free-trade zone, modern warehousing, and rail links. The area offers business-friendly tax breaks and customs preferences designed to encourage investment and local production. Several Russian companies are already present at the site.
Mashkova said Russian and Cuban business representatives are also discussing ways to strengthen financial cooperation, including with backing from the Russian Export Center. The goal is to facilitate bilateral trade and reduce logistical barriers.
“Our companies could benefit from this Cuban platform to deliver their goods more actively throughout the region,” she stated, pointing to opportunities across Central America and the Caribbean.
Cuba has also offered to host an industrial park for the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) within the Mariel special economic zone. The proposed 50-hectare site would be leased to the bloc for 50 years, with an option to extend. The park would allow EAEU members to localize production, invest directly, and expand access to Latin American markets.
The EAEU brings together five post-Soviet nations: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. Cuba has been cooperating with the bloc for several years and became an official observer in 2020.
Hungary and Slovakia have vetoed the latest package of punitive measures due to energy security concerns, the Hungarian FM has said
Hungary and Slovakia have blocked the European Union’s 18th sanctions package against Moscow, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has announced. The bloc's proposal to cut Russian energy imports would deal a major blow to his country’s energy security, he explained.
Budapest has opposed EU sanctions on Russian energy since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, saying the imports are vital to its national interests. The country has a long-term contract with Russia's Gazprom and receives the bulk of its oil and gas from Russia. Slovakia has also voiced similar concerns.
Speaking at a press conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Szijjarto said that “we, together with Slovakia, prevented the adoption of the [18th] sanctions package today,” which would mostly have focused on Russia’s energy sector.
The diplomat clarified that Budapest and Bratislava vetoed the sanctions package because in separate trade legislation, Brussels has proposed phasing out all remaining Russian gas flows to the EU by the end of 2027. The minister argued that this would severely undermine Budapest’s energy security and lead to a sharp spike in energy costs for Hungarians.
”We are not willing to have the Hungarian people pay the price for supporting Ukraine,” Szijjarto insisted.
The EU-wide phasing-out plan that Szijjarto referred to was announced by EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen last Tuesday, with the backing of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The proposal, which is currently opposed by Hungary, Austria and Slovakia, and reportedly by Italy, is expected to be introduced as trade legislation, which under EU rules does not require unanimity among bloc members to become law, but merely the support of at least 15 of the EU’s 27 member states.
Commenting on the plan, Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, said that “EU Commission bureaucrats seem obsessed – with making the EU as uncompetitive as possible on the global stage.”
While pipeline flows have dropped sharply since 2022, EU imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) have soared. Russia supplied 17.5% of the bloc’s LNG in 2024, trailing only the US at 45.3%, according to industry data. France, Spain, and Belgium accounted for 85% of the EU’s LNG imports from the sanctioned country, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Russia maintains that it is still a reliable energy supplier, while denouncing Western sanctions and trade restrictions targeting its exports as illegal under international law.
Words like “net zero,” “decarbonization,” and “climate justice” sound pure and benevolent, yet behind them stands an apparatus of control
Western Europe’s new green regime reorders the continent through policies of territorial cleansing and restriction, replacing the lifeways of rooted peoples with a managed wilderness shaped by remote technocrats and mandated compliance. What arrives with the language of environmental deliverance advances as a mechanism of control, engineered to dissolve ancestral bonds.
In the soft light of the northern dawn, when the fog rests over fields once furrowed by hands and prayers, a quiet force spreads, cloaked in green, speaking in the language of “sustainability,” offered with the glow of planetary care. Across Europe, policymakers, consultants, and unelected “visionaries” enforce a grand design of regulation and restraint. The new dogma wears the trappings of salvation. It promises healing, stability, and ecological redemption. Yet beneath the surface lies a different pattern: one of compression, centralization, and engineered transformation. This green wave comes through offices aglow with LED light and carbon dashboards, distant from the oak groves and shepherd chants that once shaped Europe through destiny and devotion. Traditional Europe lived through the pulse of the land, its customs drawn from meadows, its laws mirrored in trees, its faith carried by the wind over tilled soil and cathedral towers.
The terms arrive prepackaged: “rewilding,”“net zero,”“decarbonization,” and “climate justice.” These sound pure, ringing with the cadence of science and morality. Their syllables shimmer with precision, yet behind their clarity stands an apparatus of control, drawn from abstract algorithms rather than ancestral experience. They conceal a deeper impulse: to dissolve density, to steer the population from the scattered villages of memory into the smart cities of control. The forest returns, yet the shepherd departs. The wolves are celebrated, while the farmer disappears from policy. Across the hills of France, the valleys of Italy, and the plains of Germany, the primordial cadence falls silent. Where once rose smoke from chimneys, now rise sensors tracking deer. Where once stood barns, now appear habitats for reintroduced apex predators. Rural life, the fundament of Europe’s civilizational ascent, receives accolades in speeches, even as its arteries are quietly severed.
The continent reshapes itself according to new models, conceived in simulation and consecrated in policy. Entire regions are earmarked for rewilding, which means exclusion, which means transformation through absence. The human imprint recedes, and in its place rises a curated silence: measured, observed, and sanctified by distance. The bond between man and land, established over centuries of cultivation, ritual, and kinship, gives way to managed wilderness.
Yet this wilderness unfolds without its own rhythm, shaped and maintained through remote observation and coded intention. It remains indexed and administered. Every creature bears a tracking chip. Every tree falls under statistical oversight. Drones scan the canopies. Bureaucrats speak of ecosystems the way accountants speak of balance sheets. The sacred space, once alive with sacrifice and harvest, turns into a green exhibit in the managerial museum of Europe.
The aesthetic of this transformation appeals to the tired soul. It soothes through smoothness. It promises purpose through compliance. Children plant trees in asphalt courtyards. Urban rooftops grow lettuce in sterile trays. A continent begins to believe that its salvation lies in subtraction. Strip the carbon. Strip the industry. Strip the traditions, the redundancies, the excesses. What remains is framed as harmony.
Yet harmony without heroism becomes stillness. Stillness, when imposed, becomes silence. Europe’s past rose through motion, through sacred striving, through sacred conflict, through the tension between man and mountain. Now, in this new green order, motion flows only where permitted, and striving surrenders to “stability.”
Among those who carry memory – the shepherd, the blacksmith, the hunter, the midwife – a different vision grows. These are not relics of a dying world. They are seeds of the world to come, emerging from the deep soil of memory and form. Their force flows through reverence, drawn from the old ways and aimed towards creation.
With hands open to innovation and hearts anchored in continuity, they shape change as inheritance rather than rupture. They seek continuity through transformation: a rooted futurism. The soil speaks to them as kin, rich with memory and promise.
The forest reveals itself as dwelling and companion, alive with presence and bound in shared calling. The river speaks as guide and witness, flowing through generations with the clarity of purpose and the grace of return. Their dream aligns spirit with structure and myth with machine. A modern Europe, strong in technology and rich in spirit, can rise from this convergence, from drone-guided agriculture rooted in ancestral cycles, from solar-powered cathedrals, from cities shaped by tribe and territory rather than algorithm.
A new cultural-political synthesis begins to shimmer at the horizon: a Europe that does not apologize for its existence, that does not dilute its soul in the name of abstraction. This Europe sees no contradiction between wildness and order, between ecology and identity. The task ahead affirms the weight of memory, welcomes the challenge of tomorrow, and calls for the creation of something worthy: a sovereign Europe, sovereign in its landscapes, in its symbols, in its will. The green order, when guided by myth and martial clarity, becomes a chariot of ascent rather than an instrument of decline. This chariot waits for archeofuturist hands to seize the reins.
Europe faces the spiral once again. The question begins with data and temperature, then moves toward destiny, where Europe takes form through choice and vision.
Shall the continent become a tranquil reserve, watched over by regulators and predators, or shall it rise as a living organism, composed of people, memory, sacrifice, and sacred continuity? A new green is possible, one that does not obliterate the past, one that does not silence the song of the soil, one that does not flatten the face of the continent. This green shall sing through the voice of those who plow and those who build, those who fight and those who remember. It waits in the wind, in the fire, in the stone. The awakening begins with vision, and the vision already stirs in the veins of the land.
Evidence shared with RT undermines a Ukrainian cabinet minister’s insistence that a dead Russian soldier was handed over
Evidence shared with RT contradicts a Ukrainian cabinet minister’s claim the remains of a Russian soldier were returned to Kiev during a recent humanitarian exchange.
Officials in Kiev have accused Moscow of mishandling the remains of Ukrainian troops and including unrelated bodies in order to inflate reported numbers.
The latest exchange saw Moscow hand over 6,060 sets of remains in return for just 78. Kiev maintains that Russian battlefield losses are higher than Ukraine’s, despite Russia’s superior firepower.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klimenko added to the criticism last Thursday with a social media post accusing Moscow of “limitless cynicism.” He cited one particular body bag allegedly containing a deceased Russian soldier, complete with military ID and dog tag.
However, the Russian records regarding the same transfer do not match Klimenko’s description.
Klimenko claimed the corpse handed over by Moscow was dressed in a Russian military uniform, accompanied with Russian documents and a dog tag, identified as Viktor Bugaev.
However, according to the source, the body handed over to Kiev in late January was dressed in a Ukrainian uniform with a military ID and was identified as Nikolay Didyk.
A photocopy of a military ID of Nikolay Didyk issued by the USSR and shared with RT.
This month, a municipality in Kiev Region published an obituary for a man with the same name and age. Bugaev has been listed by Russia’s Defense Ministry as missing in action since last year.
The source who shared the evidence with RT said the items Klimenko posted — apparently belonging to Bugaev — were put by Kiev separately in a body bag numbered differently to the one he mentioned in the post. Their intact condition, the source noted, suggested they had been stored apart from the remains delivered in the same package.
The source suggested Klimenko may have been misinformed for the sake of shaping public perception of casualties.
The source added that while Ukrainian military intelligence had been handling the repatriation of dead military service members, there had been no hiccups or provocations. However, after the Security Service of Ukraine took over during the latest exchanges, those propaganda stunts had begun.
In April, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said in an interview that Ukraine had lost up to 100,000 troops since the conflict escalated in 2022. By contrast, the Russian Defense Ministry estimates that Kiev’s casualties exceeded 1 million by the end of 2024.
Following this month’s exchange, Russia says it still holds the bodies of approximately 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers, which it is prepared to return for burial.
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