France and Germany have decided to abandon the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) fighter jet program, according to multiple media reports citing French and German government sources.

The Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), a state-controlled pollster, has reportedly stopped publishing President Vladimir Putin's "open" trust rating after it fell to its lowest level since the start of the full-scale war, the Moscow Times reported on June 8.

Candace Owens billed her trip to Russia last week as a family vacation. It turned into something far more useful for the Kremlin.

The U.S. far-right conspiracy theorist — boasting 35 million followers across all social media platforms — ended up appearing at Russia's flagship economic forum

YEREVAN, Armenia — The best of a bad lot was how many Armenians described victorious Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ahead of Sunday's pivotal election — the first since the bitter defeat in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan.

While the election has frequently been framed outside Armenia as

Key developments on June 8:

• Russia rejects Ukrainian, European peace initiatives, says battlefield will decide war
• NATO jets shoot down drone over Latvia in 1st such interception, military says
• Ukraine strikes Russian oil depot, radar station, other military targets, General Staff confirms
• Ukraine foils Russian plot to assassinate senior military

"I thank His Majesty, the people, and the entire United Kingdom for their ironclad support for our people," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"For the time being, I think this issue has been solved at the working level," the EU's Enlargement Chief Marta Kos said in a meeting with journalists in Kyiv on June 8, referring to Poland's objection.

This weekly update from the Kyiv Independent aims to shed light on the situation facing Ukrainians living under Russian occupation and the ever-tightening control of information imposed by the Kremlin.

Key news as of June 8:

• Crimea faces food shortages amid Ukraine's intensified drone attacks
• Bridge linking Crimea

Some names have been changed to protect the identities of those featured in the story

As a war crimes researcher at the Reckoning Project, my job was to listen to Ukrainians who had fled the occupation. What they had to say reshaped how I understand life in Russian-occupied territories.

Simplistic

The decision represents the most high-profile conviction in a corruption case in Ukraine's independent history.

The heaviest fighting is taking place in the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast, the Oleksandrivka sector, which lies at the junction of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, and the Huliaipole sector in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the commander-in-chief said.

The target was Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence and deputy head of Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, he confirmed later in the day.

"I don't know how we can even talk about negotiations," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Russian forces launched 155 drones, 124 of which were intercepted, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

The drone entered the country after being diverted by Russian electronic warfare systems, Latvia's military said.

The number includes 1,330 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Ukraine's military reportedly launched another onslaught of middle strikes on Russian and Russian-occupied regions overnight on June 8, striking multiple oil depots and electrical substations, Russian Telegram media channels reported.

Ukrainian drones continued their medium-range on western Russia, as well as Russian-occupied territories on June 7, damaging and destroying several military targets, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) reported.

The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, and Ukraine issued a joint statement on June 7 setting out five conditions that must be met between Kyiv and Moscow to bring a resolution to Russia's war in Ukraine.

Zelensky said in a June 7 interview with Sky News that he asked Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to deliver a message to Putin: Ukraine will never surrender Donbas, and Zelensky is ready to meet with Putin.