As of Sunday, June 29, 2025, here’s the latest update:
Conflict Developments
- A Russian drone assault in Odesa, Ukraine, tragically resulted in the deaths of a teacher and her husband, along with injuring 14 additional individuals. Among the wounded, three, including a child, are reported to be in critical condition.
- On Friday, Governor Vadym Filashkin confirmed that at least two lives were lost due to another Russian strike targeting the villages of Kostiantynivka and Ivanopillia in the eastern Donetsk region.
- Explosions erupted in Kyiv on Saturday night, prompting Mayor Vitali Klitschko to advise residents to seek shelter amid warnings of ongoing Russian drone threats to the city, as reported by the Ukrinform news agency.
- According to Russia’s Ministry of Defence, Russian troops have captured the settlement of Chervona Zirka in Donetsk and claimed to have secured the territory between the Vovcha and Mokri Yaly rivers.
- Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskii stated via Telegram that Russian forces are intensifying their offensive towards the strategic city of Kostiantynivka but have suffered significant casualties without achieving meaningful progress.
- In the Kursk region of Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack reportedly injured a 43-year-old man, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury, as reported by the TASS news agency.
- Ukraine’s SBU security service announced successful drone strikes on the Kirovske military airfield in Crimea, resulting in the destruction of three attack helicopters and an anti-aircraft missile system.
- The Russian military claimed to have intercepted and destroyed 64 Ukrainian drones over western Russia and in Russian-controlled Crimea overnight into Saturday.
Political Landscape
- During his visit to Kyiv, Poland’s outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, urged Ukraine to “please be patient” as his nationalist successor, Karol Nawrocki, prepares to take office. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed he would extend an invitation to Nawrocki post-inauguration.
- Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, noted during an ongoing marathon television session that a legislative proposal is being developed to facilitate elections following the conclusion of the war, as reported by Ukrinform.