Punjabi: Russia and Ukraine War Like Situation

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Russia-Ukraine exchange prisoners June 12, 2025

June 12, 20259:10 PM GMT+5:30Updated 18 hours ago

Freed Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) return after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Ukraine June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Maksym Kishka

Ukraine and Russia exchanged another group of ill and severely wounded servicemen on Thursday, officials from both countries said.
All of the Ukrainian troops need treatment, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a message on the Telegram messaging app that did not go into details on the numbers involved.
The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Kyiv and Moscow agreed to a large exchange of POWs and the remains of thousands of dead soldiers during talks in s in Istanbul earlier this month.

Since then, Russia and Ukraine have swapped dozens of prisoners of war, focusing on under-25s and the severely wounded and sick. There are hopes they could build into some of the biggest exchanges in the war that was triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia's defence ministry said a group of Russian troops had returned from Ukraine and crossed into neighbouring Belarus, in accordance with the agreements made on June 2.
"They are being provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance," the ministry said on Telegram.
On Wednesday, Ukraine said it had bought home the bodies of 1,212 bodies of troops killed in the war with Russia. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said Ukraine had returned the bodies of 27 Russian soldiers.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

A concentrated, nine-minute-long Russian drone attack on Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv on Wednesday killed six people and injured 64, including nine children, Ukrainian officials said.
The attack followed Russia's two biggest air assaults of the war on Ukraine this week, part of intensified bombardment that Moscow says are retaliatory measures for Kyiv's recent attacks in Russia.
The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day.

A new wave of drone attacks on four city districts was reported early on Thursday by Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, including a drone that landed in a school courtyard and smashed windows. There were no other reports of casualties or damage.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Russia has hit Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, with a massive drone and bomber attack, killing four people and injuring nearly 60, officials say.

Two people were also killed in Russian strikes on Kherson, in southern Ukraine, local authorities said.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 48 drones, two missiles and four glide bombs had been used against his city on Friday night, while more glide bombs were reportedly dropped on Saturday.

Earlier, Moscow said a massive wave of drone and missile attacks across Ukraine on Thursday night was in response to "terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime", after attacks on Russian railway infrastructure and air bases last weekend.
n another development, Russian and Ukrainian officials released conflicting accounts about when a prisoner swap agreed at earlier talks would happen.
In Kharkiv, some 18 apartment buildings and 13 other homes were hit on Friday night, the mayor said. A baby and a 14-year-old girl were among the injured, he added.
One civilian industrial facility was attacked by 40 drones, one missile and four bombs, Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said, adding that there might still be people buried under the rubble.
In the later Russian attack using glide bombs on Kharkiv on Saturday evening, one more person was killed and at least another 18 people injured, the city's mayor said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha urged allies to increase pressure on Moscow and to take "more steps to strengthen Ukraine" in response to Russia's latest attacks.
Six people were killed and 80 injured across Ukraine on Thursday night, when Russia attacked the country with more than 400 drones and nearly 40 missiles.

EPA
A psychologist provides assistance to a woman near the site of an air strike in Kharkiv on Saturday

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes on Kharkiv made "no military sense" and were "pure terrorism".
He accused his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of "buying himself time to keep waging the war", and said "pressure must be applied" to stop the attacks.
During the latest round of direct talks in Istanbul earlier this week, the two warring sides agreed to exchange all sick and heavily wounded prisoners of war, those aged under 25, as well as the bodies of 12,000 soldiers.
Moscow's chief negotiator at the meeting, Vladimir Medinsky, said on Saturday that Ukraine had "unexpectedly postponed both the acceptance of bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war for an indefinite period".
He further said that the bodies of more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been taken to an agreed exchange point but that Ukrainian officials had never arrived.
A list of 640 prisoners-of-war had also been handed to Ukraine "in order to begin the exchange", Medinsky wrote on social media.
Ukrainian officials responded angrily to the allegations, telling Russia to "stop playing dirty games".

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

An overnight Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed 15 people and injured 156, local officials said Tuesday, with the main barrage demolishing a nine-story Kyiv apartment building in the deadliest attack on the capital this year.

Rescuers with service dogs prepare to look for residents, who could still be under the rubble of a destroyed apartment building, which was hit during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv(REUTERS)
At least 14 people were killed as explosions echoed across the Ukrainian capital for almost nine hours, Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said, destroying dozens of apartments.
Russia fired more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Zelenskyy said, calling the Kyiv attack “one, of the most terrifying strikes" on the capital.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry said 139 people were injured in Kyiv. Mayor Vitalii Klitschko announced that Wednesday would be an official day of mourning. The attack came after two rounds of direct peace talks failed to make progress on ending the war, now in its fourth year.

Russia has repeatedly hit civilian areas of Ukraine with missiles and drones. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it strikes only military targets. Russia has in recent months stepped up its aerial attacks. It launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine on June 10 in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the war. Russia also pounded Kyiv on April 24, killing at least 12 people.​

The intensified long-range strikes have coincided with a Russian summer offensive on eastern and northeastern sections of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where Ukraine is short-handed and needs more military support from its Western partners.

Uncertainty about U.S. policy on the war has fueled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Zelenskyy had been set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at a G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday to press him for more help. But Trump returned early to Washington on Monday night because of tensions in the Middle East.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer denied that Trump’s refusal to back new sanctions on Russia or provide U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine makes it all but impossible to compel the Kremlin to accept a ceasefire.
The U.K announced new sanctions Tuesday on Russia’s defense industry and its oil-carrying “shadow fleet” of about 500 ships of uncertain ownership that allowed Moscow to dodge sanctions. The announcement coincided with Zelenskyy’s arrival as a guest at the G7 summit.

Zelenskyy is seeking to prevent Ukraine from being sidelined in international diplomacy. Trump said earlier this month it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while” before pulling them apart and pursuing peace, but European leaders have urged him to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into accepting a ceasefire.​

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday it is unclear when another round of talks might take place.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia’s attacks during the G7 summit showed Putin’s “total disrespect” for the U.S. and other countries.
“Russia not only rejects a ceasefire or a leaders’ meeting to find solutions and end the war. It cynically strikes Ukraine’s capital while pretending to seek diplomatic solutions,” Sybiha wrote on social media.
Ukrainian forces have hit back against Russia with their own domestically produced long-range drones.
The Russian military said it downed 203 Ukrainian drones over 10 Russian regions between Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
Russian civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia reported briefly halting flights overnight in and out of all four Moscow airports, as well as those in the cities of Kaluga, Tambov and Nizhny Novgorod as a precaution.
Overnight Russian drone strikes also struck the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, killing one person and injuring 17 others, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the regional administration.
Putin "is doing this simply because he can afford to continue the war. He wants the war to go on. It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it,” Zelenskyy said.

The Russian attack delivered “direct hits on residential buildings," the Kyiv City Military Administration said in a statement. "Rockets — from the upper floors to the basement,” it said.​

A U.S. citizen died in the attack after suffering shrapnel wounds, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told reporters.
Thirty apartments were destroyed in a single residential block after it was struck by a ballistic missile, Klymenko said.
“We have 27 locations that were attacked by the enemy. We currently have over 2,000 people working there, rescuers, police, municipal services and doctors,” he told reporters at the scene of one attack.
Olena Lapyshniak, 49, was shaken from the strike that nearly leveled her apartment building. She heard a whistling sound and then two explosions that blew out her windows and doors.
“It's horrible, it's scary, in one moment there is no life,” she said. “There's no military infrastructure here, nothing here, nothing. It's horrible when people just die at night.”
People were wounded in the city's Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts. Fires broke out in two other city districts as a result of falling debris from drones shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, the mayor said.
Moscow escalated attacks after Ukraine's Security Service agency staged an audacious operation targeting warplanes in air bases deep inside Russian territory on June 1.​​

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock
Russia attacked Ukraine with Missiles where 17 people died. The attacks targeted the region's main city Dnipro and the nearby town of Samar
At least 17 people were killed in Russian air strikes on southeastern Ukraine on Tuesday, damaging schools, hospitals and a passenger train, according to Ukranian officials.
The strikes, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, wounded more than 100 others, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Three more people, including a toddler, were reported killed in separate strikes on the northeastern city of Sumy.
The rare daytime attack came as Zelensky arrived at the Nato summit in the Netherlands for meetings with European leaders.
Zelensky is also expected to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit to discuss defence arrangements and further sanctions on Russia.

Writing about the Dnipropetrovsk strikes on social media, Zelensky accused Russian forces of a "complete disregard for life".
"This is not a fight where it's hard to choose a side," he wrote. "Standing with Ukraine means defending life. I am grateful to everyone who is helping."
Emergency services in the region published images of rescuers helping civilians covered in blood after the attack.

Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration handout/EPA/Shutterstock
A train en route from Odesa to Zaporizhzhia was also damaged in the Russian attack


Although no-one was killed on the train, dramatic footage filmed by a passenger showed her being rocked and bloodied by the moment of impact.
The local military administration said it was damaged by the blast from a ballistic missile that landed nearby.
Dnipropetrovsk has come under threat from Russian battlefield advances in recent weeks, with small units crossing the border into the industrial region and Russia claiming to have gained a foothold there.
Ukrainian military officials say they have been successful in pushing Russian forces back from the border area.
In the Sumy region, the head of the military administration, Oleh Hryhorov, said a five-year-old boy was pulled from the rubble of a destroyed house.
"The strike took the lives of people from different families. They all lived on the same street. They went to sleep in their homes but the Russian drones interrupted their sleep - forever," Hryhorov said.
Two people were also killed in the town of Samar, close to Dnipro, state emergencies service said.
The timing of Tuesday's strikes – as President Zelensky arrived in the Hague for the Nato summit – has led to accusations from Kyiv that Russia is deliberately sabotaging peace talks between the two warring countries and seeking to prolong the war.
Last week, on the eve of anticipated talks between Zelensky and Trump at the G7 summit in Canada, Russia launched another barrage of strikes which pounded Kyiv for nine hours and killed more than 30 people across the country.
Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine held last month in Istanbul produced only an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war and the bodies of the dead, and no further negotiations have been scheduled.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Kyiv vows deeper strikes on Moscow; 'will increase scale and depth,' says army chief​

Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrsky, has vowed to escalate attacks on Russian territory, targeting only military infrastructure, as peace talks remain stalled. Syrsky acknowledged Russia's drone warfare advantage and asserted that Ukrainian forces still control territory within Russia's Kursk region.

Ukraine’s top military commander has pledged to intensify attacks on Russian territory, insisting that Kyiv will only target military infrastructure.“Of course, we will continue. We will increase the scale and depth,” Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said on Sunday.Syrsky described the strikes as “effective” and said Ukraine would not remain passive in the face of continued aggression. “We will not just sit in defence. Because this brings nothing and eventually leads to the fact that we still retreat, lose people and territories,” he said, quoted by AFP.His comments come amid a standstill in peace efforts. The last face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia took place nearly three weeks ago, with no follow-up discussions planned.Syrsky also acknowledged Russia’s edge in drone warfare, pointing to Moscow’s use of fibre-optic drones that are difficult to jam. “Here, unfortunately, they have an advantage in both the number and range of their use,” he noted.The commander further claimed that Ukrainian forces still hold 90 square kilometres of territory inside Russia’s Kursk region, despite Moscow’s assertion in April that it had regained full control.

Kyiv launched a cross-border incursion into the area last August.“These are our preemptive actions in response to a possible enemy offensive,” Syrsky explained.Russia currently occupies about one-fifth of Ukraine, including four regions it claims to have annexed since its 2022 invasion, along with Crimea, seized in 2014.Kyiv has accused Moscow of deliberately stalling peace efforts to prolong its offensive and grab more land.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

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Pokrovsk in peril? Tensions surge as 111,000 Russian troops gather near Ukraine’s frontline hotspot
Global DeskLast Updated: Jun 28, 2025, 09:41:00 PM IST

Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi reports that Russia has amassed over 110,000 troops near Pokrovsk, designating it the "hottest spot" on the frontline. Despite repeated offensives and numerical superiority, Russia has failed to capture the city, a key strategic point for connecting military hubs. Russia's persistent efforts are driven by a desire for symbolic victories and psychological impact.​

Describing Pokrovsk as the “hottest spot” along Ukraine’s 1,200-kilometre frontline, Syrskyi said that Russia appears determined to break through Ukrainian defenses, according to the report. This comes as Russian forces had already been trying to capture Pokrovsk for over a year, staging one grinding offensive after another, and even though they had an advantage in terms of the number of troops and weapons available, Moscow has failed to take over the city, as reported by CNN.
Even Russian President Vladimir Putin had asserted that his goal is to seize all of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk his forces partially occupy, according to the report. While Kyiv and its allies have accused Putin of delaying peace efforts so that his forces can seize more Ukrainian territory, as reported by CNN.

Pokrovsk is a strategic target for Moscow because it is has key supply road and railroad that connect it with other military hubs in the area, and along with Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, it forms the backbone of Ukrainian defenses in the part of Donetsk region that is still under Kyiv’s control, according to the report.​

Last year, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based conflict monitor, had revealed that Ukrainian defensive operations in Pokrovsk had forced Russia to leave its initial plan to take over Pokrovsk in a frontal assault as Ukrainian troops started using drones in their defensive strategy and integrated it with their ground forces, according to the CNN report. Meanwhile, Russia was not even able to increase the number of troops in the area a lot, as it was trying to contain the surprise incursion of Ukrainian troops into its own territory in the southern Kursk region, as per the report.
Last week, Syrskyi highlighted that “This allowed us to weaken the enemy’s pressure on the main fronts and regroup our troops. And the enemy’s capture of Pokrovsk, announced back in September 2024, has not yet taken place, thanks in part to our Kursk operation,” as quoted by CNN.
Then on Friday, Syrskyi revealed that Russia continued to try to break through to the administrative border of the Donetsk region, and he said, “They want to do this not only to achieve some operational results, but primarily for demonstrative purposes. To achieve a psychological effect: to put the infamous ‘foot of the Russian soldier’ there, plant a flag and trumpet another pseudo-‘victory,’” as quoted by CNN.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Russian air strikes killed one person and wounded two others in Uktaine's southern region of Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
Russian troops have taken control of the village of Shevchenko in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which is close to a lithium deposit, after fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces, a Russian-backed official in the occupied region said.
Russian troops also took control of the settlement of Novoserhiivka also in Donetsk, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Ukraine’s forces stopped Russian advances in the border area of Ukraine’s northern region of Sumy this week, the country’s top general, Oleksandr Syrskii, said in a statement.
Syrskii has also ordered defensive lines to be built more quickly in the Sumy region, as Russian forces gain ground towards the industrial Dnipropetrovsk region.

North Korea will send more troops to Russia to assist in its war against Ukraine, possibly as early as July, a South Korean lawmaker said, citing information from Seoul’s spy agency.

Ukraine and Russia exchanged anew group of captured soldiers, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps agreed at peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Neither side said how many prisoners were released, but they had pledged to swap at least 1,000 soldiers each during their direct meeting in Istanbul on June 2.
Russia said there was no progress yet towards setting a date for the next round of peace talks with Ukraine, Interfax news agency reported. Another state news agency, TASS, quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Russia was in favour of continued United States efforts to mediate talks.
The European Union’s 27 leaders have agreed to extend sanctions on Russia for another six months, resolving fears that Kremlin-friendly Hungary would let the measures lapse, officials said. The sanctions include the continued freezing of more than $234bn in Russian central bank assets until at least early 2026.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the European Council to send “a clear political message” that Brussels backs Kyiv in its effort to join the EU.
Earlier, Hungarian PM Victor Orban said that a state-organised consultation gave him a “strong mandate” to oppose neighbouring Ukraine’s EU accession at the EU summit in Brussels.
The international chemical weapons watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said that it had found a banned tear gas in seven samples submitted by Ukraine, which has accused Russia of using the riot control agent on the front line. It was the third time the OPCW confirmed the use of CS gas in areas where fighting is taking place in Ukraine.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said a new arms race could lead to the fall of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “regime”, just like it toppled the Soviet Union.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

n what is the "biggest air strike" since the beginning of the war, Russia launched 477 drones and 60 missiles on Ukraine amid the escalating tensions between the two nations. According to Ukrainian officials the attack was the 'most massive air strike'. Jun 29, 2025, 04:13 PM IST

In what is the "biggest air strike" since the beginning of the war, Russia launched 477 drones and 60 missiles on Ukraine amid the escalating tensions between the two nations. According to Ukrainian officials the attack was the 'most massive air strike'.

The attack comes amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement that Moscow is ready for a fresh round of direct peace dialogue with Kyiv. According to a report by Mint, the F-16 warplane Ukraine received from its Western partners was also downed in the Russian attack. Moreover, the pilot also died as the fighter jet went down.
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As per an Ukrainian official, the deadly assault is a part of Russia's escalating bombing campaign. Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine's air force, told the Associated Press that Russia's overnight onslaught was “the most massive air strike” on Ukraine.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

A Russian drone attack killed a teacher and her husband in Ukraine’s Odesa, and wounded 14 others, according to Ukrainian officials. Three of the victims, including a child, were in critical condition. At least two others were killed in another Russian attack on the villages of Kostiantynivka and Ivanopillia in the eastern region of Donetsk on Friday, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin. Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Saturday night, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko warning residents to take shelter from Russian drones “heading for the city”, according to the official Ukrinform news agency.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Chervona Zirka in Donetsk. The ministry later said it had also seized the area between the Vovcha and Mokri Yaly rivers.
Top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskii also said on Telegram that Russia’s military was “surging towards” the key city of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk, but that “apart from sustaining numerous losses, [it] has achieved nothing”.
In Russia, a Ukrainian drone attack caused several injuries to a 43-year-old man, including a traumatic brain injury, in the village of Glushkovo in the Kursk region, the TASS news agency reported, citing a local official.
Ukraine’s SBU security service said Ukrainian forces using special drones attacked Kirovesky Military airfield in Russian-occupied Crimea, destroying three attack helicopters and an anti-aircraft missile system.
Russia’s military said it destroyed 64 Ukrainian drones over western Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea overnight and into Saturday.

Poland’s outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, during a visit to Kyiv, asked Ukraine to “please be patient” during the handover to his nationalist successor, Karol Nawrocki. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters he would “of course” invite Nawrocki to Ukraine after he assumed office.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker and chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament, told Ukraine’s ongoing marathon television broadcast that a bill is being drafted to hold elections after the war, Ukrinform reported. Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

​

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Russia says it controls Luhansk as US halts some weapons pledged to Ukraine​

As Kyiv was dealt new blows on the front lines, Ukrainian troops continued to strike targets within Russia.
The Russian occupation governor of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region claimed it had been entirely conquered on Tuesday, making it the first of the four eastern Ukrainian regions Russia has annexed that it fully controls.

“Just a couple of days ago, I received a report that the territory of the Luhansk People’s Republic has been 100 percent liberated,” Leonid Pasechnik told Russia’s TV Channel One. Not everyone agreed.
Russian military reporters said two villages remained free, and pointed out that Luhansk had been declared conquered once before, in 2022, before being partially reclaimed in a Ukrainian counteroffensive in September of that year.
Undoubtedly, though, Russian forces have inched towards reconquering the entire territory in the intervening 33 months, and that constitutes a second milestone within the past month on Ukraine’s eastern front.
Russia’s advance dealt another blow to Ukraine, more than three years after the full-scale invasion began. On the same day as Pasechnik’s announcement, the United States said it would not be sending Kyiv some weapons that had been promised by the administration of Joe Biden, the former US president.
“This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,” said the White House.

People take shelter inside a metro station during a Russian attack in Kyiv on June 29, 2025 [Yan Dobronosov/Reuters]
Russian troops reached the border of the Dnipropetrovsk region over the weekend of June 7-8, marking the first time in the war they had conquered the entire breadth of the Donetsk region at any point, even though about a third of it remains in Kyiv’s hands.

These milestones may be strategically meaningless, as they do not mark a breakthrough or a pace change in the Russian forces’ crawling advance, but they demonstrate that Ukrainian forces are also unable to turn the tide.
The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed its forces had taken the villages of Zaporizhzhia, Perebudova, Shevchenko and Yalta in Donetsk on June 27, proceeding to Chervona Zirka the following day and Novoukrainka on Sunday.

“Naturally, the Russian armed forces are now tasked to continue operations to establish a buffer zone. According to experts, it should stretch at least 70 to 120 kilometres (40 to 75 miles) deep inside Ukraine,” Igor Korotchenko, the editor of National Defense magazine, told TASS.​

Such statements have come before from Russian officials and pro-Moscow pundits.
Last March, when Russian forces recaptured Kursk, a Russian region Ukraine had counter-invaded, battalion deputy commander Oleg Ivanov told TASS it was now necessary to create a buffer zone “no less than 20km [12 miles] wide, and preferably 30km [19 miles], extending deep into Ukrainian territory,” so that residents of Kursk would be safe from Ukrainian counterattack.

[Al Jazeera]
In May, deputy chairman of Russia’s National Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that “if military aid to the regime of bandits continues”, referring to Kyiv, “the buffer zone could look like this” – and he posted a map on his Telegram channel, showing almost all of Ukraine shaded.
When Russian troops reached the Dnipropetrovsk border last month, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said they had begun new offensive operations in that region “within the framework of the creation of a buffer zone”.
Officially, the Kremlin has annexed only Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, but given that Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 20 revealed he still regarded all of Ukraine as Russian territory, many experts believe these buffer zones are little more than an excuse to continue capturing as much Ukrainian territory as possible.
On June 27, Putin referred to his goals more cryptically, telling journalists at the Eurasian Economic Union summit in Minsk that “we want to conclude the special military operation with the result that we need”.
Ukraine on Ukrainian territory, leaving it to his lieutenants to define it. One general thought it should comprise six Ukrainian territories, and legislators in the Russian Duma backed him.
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On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was withdrawing from the Ottawa Treaty banning antipersonnel landmines.
The move would allow Ukraine to manufacture, stockpile and use such mines to defend itself.
“Antipersonnel mines … very often have no alternative as a tool for defence,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine continued to score tactical successes of its own inside Russia, using long-range weapons.​

On Friday and Saturday, June 27-28, Ukrainian drones struck the Kirovske airfield. The Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) said it was behind the attack and claimed to have destroyed at least three attack helicopters.
Also last week, Ukraine’s General Staff said an aerial attack had destroyed at least four Sukhoi-34 fighters at Russia’s Marinovka airbase. Russia uses the fighters to drop glide bombs on the Ukrainian front lines.
Intelligence sources reported that Ukraine may have destroyed a Russian intelligence base in the Bryansk region on June 26.
“Russia is investing in its unmanned capabilities. Russia is planning to increase the number of drones used in strikes against our state,” Zelenskyy said on June 30.
The previous day, Russia had conducted the largest unmanned air strike of the war so far, sending 447 drones and 90 missiles into Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down or electronically suppressed all but one of the drones and 38 missiles.

The increase in scale and intensity of Russian unmanned air attacks this year, and particularly since bilateral talks between the warring sides resumed in May, have led Ukrainian military experts to conclude that Moscow is marking Ukrainian territory it intends to launch a ground war against.
“We are not talking about the front lines. We are talking actually about [rear] areas and even the residential areas of Ukraine, so not so-called red line cities or communities but actually yellow cities and communities, which means slightly farther from the red line zones,” Cambridge University Centre for Geopolitics expert Victoria Vdovychenko told Al Jazeera.
When Zelenskyy spoke on Monday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited Kyiv for the first time.
Zelenskyy said most of the nine billion euros ($11bn) in military aid Germany has promised this year would go towards the “strategic objective” of launching “systematic production of air defence systems”.
He had elaborated on what that meant last week, when he said he was “scaling up Ukraine’s potential, particularly regarding interceptors”, the missiles used to target incoming missiles.
“The scale of our production and the pace of drone development must be fully aligned with the conditions of the war,” he said. Russian attacks have been increasing in scale, and Zelenskyy meant that Ukraine had to keep up in its defensive response.
Regarding drones, he said on Monday, “The priority is drones, interceptor drones and long-range strike drones.”

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Ukraine said it struck the Russian Borisoglebsk airbase in the Voronezh region, describing it as the “home base” of Russia’s Su-34, Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets.
Russia fired 322 drones and decoys into Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force said, with the western Khmelnytskyi region the main target of the attack. Of these, 157 were shot down and 135 were lost, the air force said. Russian air defences have downed dozens of Ukrainian drones in widely dispersed parts of the country, including two near the country’s second-largest city, Saint Petersburg, according to officials.
All external power lines supplying electricity to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine were down for several hours before being restored, the UN nuclear watchdog said.
Ukrainian authorities blamed Russian shelling for the power cut, adding that technicians had to take action to restore it.
Dutch and German intelligence agencies say that Russia is increasing its use of prohibited chemical weapons in Ukraine, including the World War I-era poison gas chloropicrin. Moscow denies this.
United States President Donald Trump said he discussed sending Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine in calls with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A German government spokesman said the country was exploring the possibility of purchasing more Patriot air defence systems from the US for Ukraine.
Trump said that he discussed sanctions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a Thursday call, who is worried about them and understands they might be forthcoming.
The US president repeated that he was “very unhappy” with his Russian counterpart, adding: “He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people – it is no good.”
Zelenskyy says he agreed with Trump, to work to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences, as concerns mounted in Kyiv over US military aid deliveries. The two leaders had a “very important and fruitful conversation” by phone on Friday, Zelenskyy said.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will travel to Washington later this month for talks with his US counterpart about air defence systems, as well as production capacities, the ministry said.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Russia fires 728 drones, 13 missiles at Ukraine​

The city of Lutsk, which lies in Ukraine’s northwest along the border with Poland and Belarus, was the hardest hit, though 10 other regions were also struck, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Lutsk is home to airfields used by the Ukrainian army.

Ukrainian firefighters extinguish a blaze after a Russian attack in the Kyiv region, on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

Russia fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, as well as 13 missiles, the Ukrainian air force said on Wednesday, in the latest escalation after mounting Russian aerial and ground attacks in the more than three-year war.

The city of Lutsk, which lies in Ukraine’s northwest along the border with Poland and Belarus, was the hardest hit, though 10 other regions were also struck, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Lutsk is home to airfields used by the Ukrainian army. Cargo planes and fighter jets routinely fly over the city. Western regions of Ukraine are a crucial logistical backbone in the war, as airfields and depots there receive vital foreign military aid before forwarding it to other parts of the country. Russian long-range attacks have increasingly sought to disrupt those supply corridors.

Russia has recently tried to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences by launching massive aerial assaults, including adding more decoy drones to its attacks. Russia launched its previous largest aerial assault late in the night of July 4 into the following day, with the biggest prior to that occurring less than a week earlier.
Zelensky said that the Kremlin was “making a point” with the overnight attack on western parts of Ukraine, as US-led peace efforts flounder. He urged Ukraine’s partners to impose stricter sanctions on Russian oil and those who help finance the Kremlin’s war by buying it.
Europe’s top human rights court delivered two rulings against Russia on Wednesday, stating that Russia violated international law during the conflict in Ukraine — the first time an international court has found Moscow responsible for human rights abuses. The court also ruled Russia was behind the downing of Flight MH17 — the first time Moscow was named by an international court as being responsible for the 2014 tragedy that claimed 298 lives.
Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg are ruling on four cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia, encompassing a wide range of alleged human rights violations since the start of the war, including the downing of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and kidnapping Ukrainian children.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Russia's escalation of drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities led to a three-year high in the number of civilians killed or wounded in June, the United Nations said. The UN verified at least 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded during the month – the highest combined toll since April 2022.
Russia unleashed heavy air strikes on Ukraine, killing two and wounding 26, before a conference in Rome at which Kyiv won billions of dollars in aid pledges, and US-Russian talks at which Washington voiced frustration with Moscow over the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s latest assault involved about 400 drones and 18 missiles, primarily targeting the capital.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it had hit “military-industrial” targets in Kyiv as well as military airfields. It denied targeting civilians, although towns and cities have been hit regularly in the war, and thousands have been killed.
Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defences had brought down four Ukrainian drones bound for the Russian capital. Three airports in the Moscow area – Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky – suspended operations temporarily but later resumed, Russia’s aviation authority said.
One civilian was killed and another was injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Tula region, around 200 km (124 miles), south of Moscow, the local governor said.
In the Kursk region in western Russia, Acting Governor Alexander Khinstein said a Ukrainian drone had killed a man in his own home, two days after four people died in a drone attack on the city’s beach.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said 14 drones were shot down over the Bryansk region and another eight over the Belgorod region, which border Ukraine. A later ministry bulletin said 26 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over the Kursk and Bryansk regions.
The Vatican’s embassy in Kyiv was slightly damaged during Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, the embassy said in a statement. Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, the Vatican’s envoy to Ukraine, told Vatican News he had witnessed drones circling the embassy grounds and heard several explosions.
Trump for the first time since returning to office, will send weapons to Kyiv under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor, two sources familiar with the decision told Reuters. The package could include defensive Patriot missiles and offensive medium-range rockets, the sources said.
Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has signed a previously announced deal to supply Ukraine with more than 5,000 air defence missiles from Thales. The deal was first announced by

Participants in a Rome conference on the economic recovery of Ukraine have pledged more than 10 billion Euros ($11.7 bn) to help the war-torn country, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced.
Meloni said Russia should face tougher sanctions to increase pressure on it to halt the war in Ukraine. She also said that firms that have helped Russia fund its war on Ukraine by doing business with the country should be excluded from profiting from Ukraine’s reconstruction.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had reinforced the message that Moscow should show more flexibility in dealing with Kyiv during his 50-minute talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ summit in Malaysia.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged President Trump to “stay with us” in backing Ukraine and Europe. Speaking in Rome, where a Ukraine summit was being held, Merz said Germany was prepared to buy Patriot air defence systems from the US and provide them to Kyiv.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has complained that the Trump administration’s contradictory actions and words made it difficult to work with, though Moscow was dedicated to working on improving ties with Washington. However, he denied that there was a slowdown in efforts to normalise US ties.
France and the United Kingdom agreed to reinforce cooperation over their respective nuclear {censored}nals, as the two European countries seek to respond to growing threats to the continent and uncertainty over their US ally. The deal was reached after French President Emmanuel Macron concluded a three-day visit to the UK.
The UK has announced that Paris would be the new headquarters for the so-called “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, with plans under way for a future coordination cell in Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said he would replace Ukraine’s ambassador to the US and was considering his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, for the post. He said the main task would be to strengthen Ukraine in its defence efforts in the war against Russia, and Umerov was a key figure in doing that.
Hungary has summoned the Ukrainian ambassador after a report that a Hungarian-Ukrainian dual citizen was beaten to death during forced mobilisation, an allegation Ukraine’s army rejected, saying he died of a pulmonary embolism.
Beijing said it was still “verifying” the case of a Chinese father and son detained by Ukraine for allegedly trying to smuggle navy missile technology out of the war-torn country. Relations between Kyiv and Beijing, a key Russian ally, are strained, with Ukraine accusing China of enabling Russia’s invasion through trade and of supplying technology, including for deadly drone attacks.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Countries prepared to provide troops for a post-ceasefire force in Ukraine agreed to set up a headquarters in Paris for a rapid deployment after hostilities end in Russia’s war on its neighbor. A U.S. delegation was present for the first time at a meeting of the group Thursday.

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, was on hand for the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the fourth annual conference on Ukraine’s recovery held in Rome.

Also present were Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal , who have co-sponsored a new sanctions bill against Russia, calling in part for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil.

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined the meeting via videoconference from Britain, where Macron is on a state visit.
In a statement, coalition members said they had agreed on a Paris headquarters for the first year of the force, which is to be known as the Multinational Force Ukraine, and then rotating it to London, with plans for a coordination cell in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.


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The force, whose 30 or so members weren’t identified, is expected to provide logistical and training experts to help reconstitute Ukraine’s armed forces, secure Ukraine’s skies and the Black Sea. No specific commitments were announced and Blumenthal and Graham ruled out any plans for U.S. troops on the ground.
Starmer said the “reassurance force” is essential for delivering security to Europe.

“That is why the coalition of the willing is ensuring we have a future force that can deploy following a ceasefire to deter Russian aggression for years to come,” he said in a statement.

Italian Premier Meloni said she was proud that Washington’s participation in the coalition meeting, the sixth since the war began, happened in Rome and said it was a “fundamental” sign of Western unity in backing Kyiv.
“I do agree on the fact that we must also increase pressure on Moscow to achieve as soon as possible a ceasefire that will finally make way for diplomacy,” she said. “But as always we have to remind that it only can happen thanks to deterrence, it only can happen thanks to deterrence, as anyone who is not naive perfectly understands.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his part, also thanked Kellogg, Graham and Blumenthal for their attendance, as well as recent signs from Trump of support for Ukraine.

He repeated a comment that Blumenthal had made in the closed-door meeting, when he noted the number of countries willing to back Kyiv on the ground. Blumenthal said the picture of so many leaders “was worth more than 1,000 words.” “The announced aid packages for Ukraine, and very decisive signals about sanctions — I believe that these words aren’t empty, and the picture, as our American partner said today, is speaking for itself,” Zelenskyy said.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says he struck deal to supply weapons to Ukraine through Nato. Ukrainian intelligence officer shot dead in Kyiv car park in broad daylight with assailant still at large.​

Trump ‘flat-footed’ by Pentagon's weapons halt to Kyiv and pledges more arms. Trump has announced that the United States will supply weapons to Ukraine via Nato, with the alliance covering the full cost.
“We’re sending weapons to Nato, and Nato is paying for those weapons, 100 per cent,” Mr Trump told NBC News. He also said he would make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday.

Mr Trump is expected to authorise the use of the Presidential Drawdown Authority to send arms worth around $300m from US stockpiles to Ukraine for the first time since returning to office.

Meanwhile, a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer was shot dead in broad daylight in a Kyiv car park. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) did not name the victim, but Ukrainian media identified him as Colonel Ivan Voronych. The agency has been at the forefront of counter-intelligence and cross-border sabotage operations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio met Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Malaysia. Mr Rubio conveyed Mr Trump’s frustration with Moscow’s lack of flexibility in ending the war. “There’s not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict,” he told Mr Lavrov.

One civilian was killed and another was injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Tula region, around 200 kilometres, or 124 miles, south of Moscow, the local governor said on Friday.​

Russian defence ministry's air defence units destroyed 13 drones during the night combat operations to protect the region's airspace, Tula's regional governor, Dmitry Milyaev, said on Telegram.
11 July 2025 06:48

A senior officer from Ukraine’s domestic intelligence agency has been shot dead in a car park in broad daylight in the capital, Kyiv, according to officials.​

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed the fatal shooting but did not release the name of the victim. Ukrainian media outlets have identified him as Colonel Ivan Voronych.
The attack took place around 9am local time in the southern Holosiivskyi district on Thursday.
Footage from the scene, verified by the Reuters news agency, shows a man in a dark T-shirt and jeans leaving a building before reportedly approaching the officer and opening fire. The assailant fled the scene and remains at large.
Kyiv police confirmed in a statement that officers arrived at the location to find a man dead from gunshot wounds. “Measures are being taken to detain him,” the statement added, referring to the unidentified attacker.
The SBU said it was carrying out “a comprehensive set of measures to clarify all the circumstances of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice”. Colonel Voronych is believed to have served in an internal security role. The SBU is responsible for counter-intelligence and domestic threats, similar to the UK's MI5. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, however, the agency has also taken part in covert operations deep inside Russian territory.
While Ukraine has not officially acknowledged involvement, its security services have been widely linked to high-profile assassinations and sabotage missions. These include the car bombing of Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik in Moscow earlier this year and the killing of General Igor Kirillov in December 2024.
Officials in Kyiv have yet to suggest a motive for Thursday’s shooting. The SBU said it would continue its investigation to establish whether the attack was related to Colonel Voronych’s role in the agency.
Namita Singh11 July 2025 06:24

Around 400 Russian drones attack Ukraine, says Zelensky​

Volodymyr Zelensky said that Thursday's assault by Russia had involved around 400 drones and 18 missiles, primarily targeting the capital.
Explosions and anti-aircraft fire rattled the city. Windows were blown out, facades ravaged and cars burned to shells. In the city centre, an apartment in an eight-storey building was engulfed in flames."

Ukrainian firefighters extinguish a fire in a residential building following a Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv on 10 July 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
This is terror because it happens every night when people are asleep," said Karyna Volf, a 25-year-old Kyiv resident who rushed out of her apartment moments before it was showered with shards of glass.
Air defences stopped all but a few dozen of the drones, authorities said, a day after Russia launched a record 728 drones at Ukraine.

$12bn pledged for Ukraine as Russia launches heavy airstrikes​

Russia unleashed heavy airstrikes on Ukraine on Thursday before a conference in Rome at which Kyiv won billions of dollars in aid pledges, and US-Russian talks at which Washington voiced frustration with Moscow over the war.
Two people were killed, 26 were wounded, according to figures from the national emergency services, and there was damage in nearly every part of Kyiv from missile and drone attacks on the capital and other parts of Ukraine.

A Russian drone is shot down by Ukrainian air defences during a night mass drones and missiles strike in Kyiv on 10 July 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
Addressing the Rome conference on Ukraine's reconstruction after more than three years of war, Mr Zelensky urged allies to "more actively" use Russian assets for rebuilding and called for weapons, joint defence production and investment.
Participants pledged over $12bn to help rebuild Ukraine, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said. The European Commission, the EU's executive, announced $2.7bn in support.
At talks with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov while in Malaysia, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said he had reinforced the message that Moscow should show more flexibility.
"We need to see a roadmap moving forward about how this conflict can conclude," Mr Rubio said, adding that the Trump administration had been engaging with the US Senate on what new sanctions on Russia might look like.
"It was a frank conversation. It was an important one," Mr Rubio said after the 50-minute talks in Kuala Lumpur. Moscow's foreign ministry said they had shared "a substantive and frank exchange of views".

What would Trump’s weapons supply to Ukraine include?​

Donald Trump on Tuesday said the US would send more weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against intensifying Russian advances.
The package could include defensive Patriot missiles and offensive medium-range rockets but a decision on the exact equipment had not been made, sources said. One of the people said this would happen at a meeting on Thursday.

Ukrainian service personnel use a searchlight as they search for drones in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine 6 February 2025 (Reuters)
The Trump administration had so far only sent weapons authorised by former president Joe Biden, who was a staunch supporter of Kyiv. The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Trump had pledged to swiftly end the war but months into his presidency, little progress has been made. The Republican president has sometimes criticised US spending on Ukraine's defence, spoken favorably of Russia and publicly clashed with Ukraine's leader.
However, sometimes he has also voiced support for Kyiv and expressed disappointment in the leadership of Russia.

New round of bilateral Russia-US talks may take place by summer-end, Moscow says​

A new round of talks between Russia and the United States on bilateral problems may take place before the end of the summer, RIA news agency cited Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying in remarks published on Friday.
"Yes, it could well happen by the end of summer," RIA cited Mr Ryabkov as saying.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio talks to Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov at Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur on 11 July 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
"But I need to understand how this issue was discussed during the recently concluded meeting between (Russian foreign minister Sergei) Lavrov and (US) secretary of state Marco Rubio."
Namita Singh11 July 2025 05:29
3 hours ago

Rubio to meet China’s foreign minister in Malaysia​

US secretary of state Marco Rubio is wrapping up his second and final day at a Southeast Asian security conference with a meeting with his Chinese counterpart as tensions grow between Washington and Beijing over issues from trade to security and China's support for Russia's war in Ukraine.
After discussions with regional countries at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum in Malaysia, Mr Rubio will close out his first official trip to Asia on Friday with his first face-to-face talks with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, the State Department said.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio attends the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' meeting during the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Foreign Ministers' meeting (AFP via Getty Images)
The meeting comes less than 24 hours after Mr Rubio met in Kuala Lumpur with another rival, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, during which they discussed potential new avenues to jumpstart Ukraine peace talks.
The meetings come against a backdrop of global and regional unease over US policies, notably on trade and large tariffs that US president Donald Trump has threatened to impose on friend and foe alike.
Since former president Joe Biden was in office, the US has also accused China of assisting Russia in rebuilding its military industrial sector to help it execute its war against Ukraine. Mr Rubio said the Trump administration shares that view.
"I think the Chinese clearly have been supportive of the Russian effort, and I think that generally they've been willing to help them as much as they can without getting caught," Mr Rubio said on Thursday, suggesting the topic would be discussed if he and Wang met.
Namita Singh11 July 2025 05:15
3 hours ago

Trump says US to supply weapons to Ukraine via Nato​

Donald Trump said on Thursday the US would supply weapons to Ukraine via Nato and that he would make a "major statement" on Russia on Monday.
In recent days, Trump has expressed frustration with Russian president Vladimir Putin over the lack of progress towards ending the war sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"I think I'll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday," Trump told NBC News, declining to elaborate.

President Donald Trump answers questions during a multilateral lunch with African leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House 9 July 2025 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)
Trump also told NBC News about what he called a new deal between the US, Nato allies and Ukraine over weapons shipment from the United States.
"We're sending weapons to Nato, and Nato is paying for those weapons, 100 per cent. So what we’re doing is the weapons that are going out are going to Nato, and then Nato is going to be giving those weapons (to Ukraine), and Nato is paying for those weapons," Trump said.
"We send weapons to Nato, and Nato is going to reimburse the full cost of those weapons," he added.
For the first time since returning to office, Trump will send weapons to Kyiv under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor, two sources familiar with the decision said on Thursday.