Intensive Russian drone and missile attacks in June have caused a record number of civilian casualties in more than three years of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations (UN) warned on Thursday, TASR reports, citing AFP.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
A web of death: This is what the Ukrainian forest looks like after the rise of a new weapon – completely covered with optical fibers from drones
The video was published by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense at the end of June 2025 with the caption:"This is what the forest near Serebryanka looks like now – completely covered with optical fibers from drones. Just imagine how many such drones are flying here.
19:50 Britain announced on Thursday that the coalition of states willing to guarantee the security of Ukraine after the ceasefire with Moscow will have its headquarters in Paris. In the future, a coordination cell is also planned to be established in Kiev.
This new headquarters, which will oversee all tactical and operational measures, will move to London after twelve months, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the British Prime Minister's office.
Britain announced this after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, which took place as part of his state visit to the United Kingdom.
Macron announced at a joint press conference with Starmer in Northwood that the number of members of the joint Franco-British expeditionary force (Combined Joint Expeditionary Force – CJEF), which is to serve as the basis for a future international force guaranteeing a ceasefire in Ukraine, will increase to 50,000 soldiers ready for a large-scale intervention.
He added that the CJEF is moving from the brigade level to the army corps level with a capacity that allows not only deployment in a major operation, but also the involvement of other European countries and the connection of this structure with NATO.
The leaders of the Coalition of the Willing, who met in a hybrid format on Thursday with Macron and Starmer in attendance, called on Russia to stop attacks on Ukrainian civilians and commit to a full and unconditional ceasefire with the aim of negotiating a lasting peace. They also confirmed their plans to provide Ukraine with at least €40 billion in military aid by 2025.
"It has been four months since Ukraine agreed to a full and unconditional ceasefire. During that time, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian civilians, with the heaviest airstrikes of the invasion killing more than 700 people and injuring over 3,500," the statement said after the meeting.
The leaders praised US President Donald Trump's efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in the war in Ukraine and noted that representatives of the new US administration were attending the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing for the first time.
The meeting of the Coalition of the Willing also resulted in an agreement to intensify restrictive measures against Russia's war economy. They also agreed to develop further restrictive measures against Russia's energy and financial sectors - including Russian oil and gas exports, the so-called"shadow fleet" and supplies from third countries.
19:45 After constructive talks with US President Donald Trump, Ukraine has received all the necessary political signals regarding the resumption of military aid, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in Rome. He also met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He thanked Germany for its military support, especially for air defense systems, which he said protect Ukrainians from attacks by Russian forces every day.
18:30 An unmanned aircraft made of plywood and foam, which arrived from Belarus, violated Lithuanian airspace on Thursday. In response to the object's entry into Lithuanian airspace, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas and Parliament Speaker Saulius Skvernelis were briefly taken to air raid shelters, Reuters reported. President Gitanas Nauséda is currently visiting Ireland, the news website LRT added.
NATO aircraft, which were on a training flight, were dispatched to the area after detecting the airspace violation. When it was discovered that the object had crashed - about a kilometer from the border, near the closed Šumskas border crossing - the Alliance aircraft were withdrawn, Lithuanian Armed Forces spokesman Gintautas Ciunis said at a press conference.
"The object does not pose any danger now, but we do not yet know what its purpose was," the spokesman added. An investigation has been launched into the case - the aim is to find out what the object was used for and where it came from.
The Lithuanian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the object appeared to be homemade. Defense Minister Dovilé Šakalienė later confirmed that it was a Gerber drone, which is an imitation of the more dangerous Shahid drones, the LRT news website reported.
Photos and video footage released by the military show an object resembling a small plane. The drone's fuselage was cut open in two places, revealing an empty compartment and cables inside.
A statement from the Lithuanian Border Guard said that according to preliminary findings, the object was made of plywood and foam and there is currently no indication that it was carrying any cargo.
Reuters recalled that in September 2024, a Russian military drone carrying explosives crashed in Latvia, approximately 90 kilometers from the border with Belarus, likely intended for use in Ukraine.
Lithuanian border guards have recently been frequently recording cases of attempts to transport smuggled cigarettes from Belarus to Lithuania using drones, balloons and home-made aircraft.
18:05 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for an international"coalition for the reconstruction" of Ukraine in Rome on Thursday. He also repeated his call for a Marshall Plan for Ukraine, modeled on the massive investments the United States provided to Germany and other countries after World War II.
"Ukraine needs investment... Everything we are building now to protect Ukraine will help protect you too," he emphasized in a speech to participants in a conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine, urging them to use Russia's seized assets - along with the interest that will accrue from them - to support Ukraine.
The issue of investment was also addressed in their speeches by European leaders, who appealed to private companies and capital companies to invest in the reconstruction of Ukraine now, even though Russia is currently escalating its attacks on Ukraine, including targeting civilians.
"The message we want to send to companies today is: Do not be afraid to invest in the construction and reconstruction of Ukraine," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a speech. According to her,"the reconstruction of Ukraine is not a risk, but an investment in a nation that has shown greater resilience than any other."
Italian organizers said 100 official delegations, along with 40 international organizations and development banks, were attending the conference. Around 2,000 companies, civil society entities and Ukrainian local governments also sent representatives.
Ukrainian-British businessman Olexandr Temerko pointed out that the Rome conference differs from the three previous ones - in Berlin, London and Lugano - in that it focuses on specific sectors and problems, not just"vague talk about the need for renewal."
Temerko appreciated that the conference program includes practical workshops on topics such as reducing investment risk and panel discussions on investing in the Ukrainian rare earths industry, pharmaceuticals, or domestic arms industry.
17:55 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, at a video conference with representatives of the so-called Coalition of the Willing states on Thursday, called on allies to put even more pressure on Russia by imposing new sanctions in order to force it to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. According to Macron, peacekeeping forces to ensure this possible ceasefire are ready to be deployed.
The coalition brings together states willing to provide Ukraine with security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire, a proposal to which Kiev has repeatedly agreed. On the contrary, Russia has repeatedly rejected a ceasefire, saying that it would only give Ukraine an opportunity to consolidate its forces, and instead demands a permanent contractual solution to the conflict that takes into account its demands.
"It has been four months since Ukraine agreed to a full and unconditional ceasefire. (President) Volodymyr Zelensky has shown real leadership on this issue. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's response, by contrast, has been completely barbaric," Sky News quoted Starmer as saying in a video call he and Macron held from a military base near London.
They were joined by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Zelensky and US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal from Rome, where a two-day conference on Ukraine's reconstruction is taking place from Thursday, AFP reported. Other European leaders joined from elsewhere.
Zelensky expressed his belief that it is clear to all of Ukraine's partners that"Russia is blocking all peace efforts," and he also urged allies to impose additional sanctions on Moscow.
Similarly, the French president said that pressure on Russia needed to be stepped up."We clearly need something new... something that can change the pressure on the Russian economy," Macron said, according to AFP.
The British Prime Minister, in turn, declared that the coalition of the willing was ready to support a future peace in Ukraine, but as leaders they should redirect their efforts"from preparing for peace to making it happen". According to him, this can be done by forcing Putin to sit down at the negotiating table."This coordinated pressure will bring about change," Starmer added.
Regarding the plan to deploy peacekeepers in Ukraine, Macron said he was ready to do so immediately after a ceasefire. Starmer added that the proposals had"matured" after months of negotiations.
The video conference was the first meeting of the Coalition of the Willing since March, as coalition members had been unable to agree on the need and extent of American support for security forces in Ukraine.
16:26 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that he had conveyed to his Russian counterpart the US's"disappointment and frustration" over the lack of progress in resolving the war in Ukraine.
"I echoed what the president (Donald Trump) said, both the disappointment and the frustration with the lack of progress," Rubio told reporters after meeting with Sergei Lavrov during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Malaysia.
Rubio added that Lavrov had presented a “new idea” on Ukraine during their meeting in Malaysia. “It’s not a new approach. It’s a new idea or a new concept that I’m going to deliver to the president,” Rubio told reporters. He cautioned, however, that it’s not something that “automatically leads to peace, but it could potentially open the door to some path.”
Ukrainian UJ-26 drones attacked deep in occupied Crimea
Exclusive footage of the combat deployment of Ukrainian UJ-26 Bober drones. The Ukrainian attack targeted key Russian military assets, such as the Pantsir-S1 air defense system, several radar systems, and a Su-30 fighter jet./Source: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
15:42 Intensive Russian drone and missile attacks in June caused a record number of civilian casualties in more than three years of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The United Nations (UN) warned about this on Thursday, TASR writes, citing AFP.
In June 2025, the UN reported that 232 civilians were killed and another 1,343 were injured in Russian attacks. More victims died in April 2022 in the initial stages of the Russian aggression.
“Civilians across Ukraine are facing suffering on a scale not seen in more than three years,” said Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. “The increase in long-range missile and drone strikes across the country has brought further death and destruction to civilians far from the front lines,” she warned.
AFP recalls that there is no reliable data on the number of civilian deaths since the start of the war in Ukraine. The UN has so far confirmed more than 13,500 civilian deaths. However, it warns that the real number of victims is likely much higher, as many cases cannot be verified and it does not have access to Russian-occupied areas.
15:06 The man who was shot at close range in Kiev on Thursday morning has been identified by Ukrainian media as SBU secret service colonel Ivan Voronych.
14:57 Above all, representatives of the largest European countries at the international conference for the reconstruction of Ukraine in Rome made it clear several times today that they will neither let the country attacked by Russia fall nor leave it to the aggressor. Czech President Petr Pavel told reporters today.
According to the Czech head of state, top representatives of several states assured that they would continue to provide military, financial, and material support so that Ukraine could defend as much of its territory as possible."That we would put more pressure on Russia to finally decide to participate in peace negotiations. The moment a peace agreement is reached, the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine will begin without any delay," said Pavel. He considers this to be a sufficient argument for the business community, but also for guarantee agencies, not to be afraid of investing in the reconstruction of the country."Because it will be a process that will have great political support," he added.
Pavel presented a total of eleven points at the conference today, which he considers essential for the successful post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. According to him, the basis must be a global political coalition that unites the member states of the European Union with democratic partners such as the United States, Britain, Canada and Japan. According to the president, the priorities of reconstruction, securing resources and supplies must be decided centrally, and the reconstruction must also be led by private investors.
The proposal makes it clear that it should not be just a European initiative, but that it should also be open to non-European democratic actors, Pavel warned reporters. He noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Ukraine would work hard to ensure that only states that have supported it for a long time participate in the reconstruction.
14:48 The European Commission today announced financial support of 2.3 billion euros to Ukraine to help it rebuild after the damage caused by the Russian invasion. The aid package consists of 1.8 billion euros in loan guarantees and 580 million euros in grants from international and bilateral public financial institutions, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at an international conference in Rome on the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The aforementioned 2.3 billion euros is part of the so-called Ukraine Investment Framework, which, according to von der Leyen, should mobilize investments in Ukraine of up to 10 billion euros.
The EU executive also announced today the creation of a new capital fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, supported by the European Investment Bank, France, Germany, Italy and Poland. With an initial capital of €220 million, the fund aims to mobilise €500 million by 2026.
14:42 The meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his American counterpart Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial meeting in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur ended after approximately 50 minutes. They talked about the current situation in Ukraine, Iran and Syria, writes TASR based on reports from the AFP, Reuters and TASS agencies.
The US Secretary of State described the meeting as sincere and important. He told his counterpart, according to Reuters, that the United States wants to see a Russian plan to end the war in Ukraine. US President Donald Trump is reportedly disappointed by the lack of progress and flexibility from Moscow in resolving the conflict.
The Russian news agency TASS reported that Lavrov was the first to leave the meeting room. According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the ministers agreed on a number of geopolitical issues and stressed the importance of normalizing bilateral relations. Both countries reportedly want to continue to resolve conflicts peacefully.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the ministers also discussed re-establishing economic ties. They agreed that the countries would continue communication and potentially resume flights between Russia and the United States.
13:45 Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that he does not think that peace talks on the war in Ukraine have stopped. TASR reports this based on a report by Reuters.
Trump made it public after his phone call with Putin last week that he was disappointed with the Russian president's approach. He said their conversation did not bring a ceasefire in Ukraine closer, a proposal that Kiev has repeatedly agreed to. Putin said in the call that Russia would not abandon its goals in Ukraine.
"If you want to know the truth, Putin throws a lot of bullshit at us. He's very nice all the time, but it turns out it doesn't mean anything," Trump said.
"No, I don't think so. You can't say that," Peskov said when asked if the process seemed to be stalled because of Trump's remarks."Russia is waiting for a signal from Kiev about whether or not it wants to join the third round of talks that started in Istanbul in May," he continued.
13:09 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday called on partners to increase defense investments so that Kiev can continue to resist intensifying Russian attacks. TASR reports on this based on a report by the AFP agency.
"We must stop Russian drones and missiles," Zelensky stressed at the fourth conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine in the Italian capital Rome."I urge all our partners to increase their investments. When Russia intensifies its attacks, we cannot lack funds," the Ukrainian leader stressed. According to him, Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to destroy"all life" in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy reported on Thursday morning that Russia had attacked Ukraine overnight with 400 drones and 18 missiles. In this regard, he also called on allies to impose additional sanctions on Moscow and speed up the process itself.
11:44 Russia is increasing attacks against civilians in Ukraine and is targeting infrastructure that is essential for the population. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this today in Rome at the opening of an international conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine. She stressed the importance of continued assistance to the besieged country as well as assistance in its reconstruction.
According to Meloni, it is important to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities, build its position for peace negotiations, but also focus on what will happen after the war."We need to rebuild what was destroyed - schools, roads, hospitals," she said.
According to her, Russia is trying to bring darkness, hunger and fear to Ukraine. However, this Russian plan was not successful because the Ukrainian people are stronger than they thought, and also because the international community united against such a plan, the Italian Prime Minister believes.
10:46 At least 12 Ukrainians have been killed and 52 others injured in Russian attacks over the past day, according to the Kyiv Independent news website, citing reports from regional authorities on Thursday.
Nine civilians were killed in the Donetsk region, according to its governor, Vadym Filashkin. In the Ukrainian capital, which Moscow attacked for the second night in a row, two people did not survive the Russian strikes. One person died in the Kherson region.
10:10 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday morning that Russia attacked Ukraine with 400 drones and 18 missiles overnight. In this regard, he called on allies to impose additional sanctions on Russia, and according to him, this process should be faster. He wrote this on the social network X, TASR reports.
Zelenskyy explained that Russian forces had been attacking across Ukraine overnight, including the capital Kiev, where two people were killed and 16 others were injured.
"This is a clear escalation of terror by Russia - hundreds of Shahids (Iranian drones. TASR note) every night, constant strikes and massive attacks on Ukrainian cities," Zelensky stressed. For these reasons, according to him,"sanctions must be imposed faster and the pressure on Russia must be great enough for it to feel the consequences of its terror."
Machine Guns as Obsolete Weapons? Ukrainians Use Them to Mow Down Russian Drones
A video from Ukraine's 28th Mechanized Brigade shows a tactical response to threats from Russian drones, highlighting the effectiveness of machine guns in eliminating them. This approach contrasts with the claim of a Russian strategist that machine guns are becoming obsolete due to the development of drone technology, as reported in a recent analysis by Business Insider. Source: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
**8:16 Over the past day in Ukraine, according to Kiev, Russia lost 920 soldiers. The number of Russian armed forces members killed in combat since the beginning of the war has increased to 1,030,580, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook on Thursday. Over the past day, Moscow also lost 11 tanks, three armored infantry fighting vehicles, 38 artillery systems and three rocket launchers, it said.
Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has lost a total of 11,011 tanks, 22,972 armored infantry fighting vehicles, 30,140 artillery systems, and 1,437 rocket launchers, according to Kiev.
7:19 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he had an"important" conversation in Rome with US President Donald Trump's envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg. In addition to US arms supplies, they also discussed the possible imposition of further sanctions on Russia, TASR reports, citing Reuters.
"We discussed arms supplies and strengthening air defense. Given the increase in Russian attacks, this remains one of our top priorities," Zelensky said on Platform X."We also discussed the purchase of American weapons, joint defense production, and localization efforts in Ukraine," he added.
I had a substantive conversation with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg @generalkellogg. I thanked him for participating in the Ukraine Recovery Conference, where the General leads the U.S. delegation.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelenskyi (@ZelenskyyUa) July 9, 2025
We discussed weapons supplies and strengthening air… pic.twitter.com/nIHPaPktrA
Zelensky said he and Kellogg also discussed proposals to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow, which the Ukrainian leader has long seen as the best way to persuade the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire.
The Ukrainian president met with Trump's envoy to Italy ahead of an international conference on the reconstruction of war-torn Ukraine, which will take place in Rome on Thursday and Friday. The conference aims to mobilize support for Ukraine's reconstruction, including private investment.
6:51 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Malaysia, a senior US official said.
Citing an official US diplomatic document, the TASS agency reported that the meeting of ministers is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. local time (12:00 p.m. CEST).
Rubio will meet Lavrov for the second time. Their first meeting took place in Saudi Arabia in February as part of the Trump administration's efforts to restore bilateral relations between the United States and Russia and help negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Rubio will meet with ASEAN members and Malaysian government officials in Kuala Lumpur, his first visit to Asia since taking office, Reuters reported. The trip is aimed at renewing the US focus on the Indo-Pacific region and reassuring Southeast Asian partners that they are a priority for Washington despite the announcement of import tariffs on their goods.
6:00 Two people lost their lives in the early hours of Thursday morning during Russian attacks on Kiev. The head of the military administration in the Ukrainian capital, Tymur Tkachenko, reported this on Telegram. He had previously said that 13 people were injured.
"Unfortunately, we have two dead. These people were killed by the Russians," Tkachenko wrote, expressing condolences to the victims' loved ones. He also said that there was a lot of smoke from fires in the city after the enemy attack."After returning home from shelters, close the windows. There is a lot of smoke," he requested.
Russia attacked Kiev in several waves with the deployment of drones and ballistic missiles, writes Ukrainska Pravda. Explosions were heard in the city. Smoke from fires enveloped the affected neighborhoods and the smell of burning was in the air, the RBK Ukraine telegram channel described the situation. Authorities advised people to close their windows.
According to Tkachenko, the debris of Russian drones shot down by air defenses hit several city districts. They caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure in the Shevchenkivskyi district in the center, where residential buildings are damaged. Their roofs, facades and interiors are damaged. The RBK Ukraine channel published photos of firefighters extinguishing an approximately eight-story building, in which the top floor burned down. Debris from the downed drones also hit non-residential buildings in many places.
According to Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, nine people had to be taken to the hospital.
Russia attacks Ukrainian cities every night with drones and missiles of various types. Ukraine also sends drones into Russian territory, targeting mainly industrial and military infrastructure. It claims that its intention is to weaken the fighting capacity of the neighboring country, which has been waging an offensive war against it for the fourth year.
5:55 The fourth international conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine, organized by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, will begin in Rome on Thursday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, heads of EU institutions and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof will also arrive in the Italian capital.
The key topics of the conference, which will last until Friday, will be private capital mobilization, human capital development, decentralized reconstruction, and strengthening the absorption capacity of Ukrainian institutions.
Czech President Petr Pavel announced that he wants to use the conference to encourage partners to make coordinated efforts for the benefit of the planned reconstruction of Ukraine. The Czech head of state has long emphasized the need to push through a plan that is closer in ambition to the Marshall Plan, with which the United States contributed to the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. In Italy, Pavol will present 11 points that he considers important for the success of the reconstruction plan.
