Ukraine remains ready to continue issuing permits for Polish exhumation work despite intensifying historical disputes between Ukraine and Poland, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi says, per Ukrinform. Exhumation work at the site of the Huta Pieniacka continues. 

The current Polish-Ukrainian historical dispute centers on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 27 May decision to confer the honorary title "named after UPA Heroes" on the Separate Center of Special Operations "Pivnich" of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces. The Polish Foreign Ministry condemned the decision.

The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) is a deeply contested figure in Polish-Ukrainian historical memory. Ukrainian historiography presents UPA as anti-Soviet and anti-Nazi independence fighters. Polish historiography emphasizes UPA's association with the 1943-44 Volhynia massacres.

Zelenskyy UPA-naming decision and Polish reaction

Tykhyi also stated that the honoring of UPA heroes had no anti-Polish subtext. He noted that the history of the Polish and Ukrainian peoples contains both glorious and tragic pages.

The diplomat added that preparations for the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026), scheduled for June 25–26 in Gdańsk, are proceeding as planned and in a regular working mode.

“We hope that the conference will be held successfully,” Tykhyi emphasized.

Historical memory disputes spill into modern cooperation

The Vinnytsia-Kielce bus dispute earlier this week is the latest concrete example of how historical memory tensions have affected practical Polish-Ukrainian cooperation, Euromaidan Press reported. Polish sister-city Kielce refused to transfer 20-year-old municipal buses to Vinnytsia, a Ukrainian city under regular Russian strikes, over a street named after Bandera.

Stepan Bandera, the Ukrainian nationalist leader, led the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the UPA.  

Russia actively uses its propaganda, referring to Ukrainians as “Banderites” and portraying Ukrainian statehood as a continuation of Nazism. 

Read also

• Ukraine confirms strikes on two Tatarstan refineries and rocket-fuel rubber plant in Tolyatti

• Poland reverses 17-month bus halt at Shehyni-Medyka after Ukrainian ministerial push

• Nawrocki vetoes one-year language reprieve as 441 mostly Ukrainian doctors lose right to practice

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) have struck Russian targets worth nearly $40 billion in the year since the branch's creation, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. On 10 June, the Ukrainian president signed a decree establishing the Day of Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS Day).

The $40 billion cumulative damage figure Zelenskyy cited represents a 57% increase over the $25.5 billion in cumulative Russian losses that Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported in April 2026.

The SBS Day decree institutionalizes the unmanned forces as a permanent feature of Ukraine's military doctrine, alongside the army, navy, and air force.

What Zelenskyy said about SBS's achievements

"Only a year since the creation of the SBS group, Russian targets at various levels worth nearly $40 billion have already been hit," Zelenskyy said in his evening address.

He added that SBS is really a model for many other armies, and "these months we are especially grateful for middlestrikes."

"Russian military logistics across the entire depth of the temporarily occupied territory is now accessible to Ukrainian drones. The Russian border zone also experiences our impact," he stated.

The president added that Russia already feels the effect of these strikes, and Ukraine will continue to scale them.

"The most important thing is that these are different types of strikes, and each one adds to our ability to save lives," the Ukrainian president added.

What does middlestrike mean operationally? 

The middlestrike concept Zelenskyy invoked refers to Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian military logistics in the depth of occupied territory and across the Russian border zone. The depth zone covers Donetsk, Luhansk, Crimea, and parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts. The Russian border zone reaches Belgorod and Kursk. Middlestrikes sit between the very-long-range deep strikes against strategic Russian infrastructure, such as the Volgograd refineries, and the tactical frontline FPV operations. The SBS is led by Brigadier General Robert Brovdi, call sign "Madiar".

Read also

• Ukraine confirms strikes on two Tatarstan refineries and rocket-fuel rubber plant in Tolyatti

• Poland reverses 17-month bus halt at Shehyni-Medyka after Ukrainian ministerial push

• Nawrocki vetoes one-year language reprieve as 441 mostly Ukrainian doctors lose right to practice

Read also

• Poland reverses 17-month bus halt at Shehyni-Medyka after Ukrainian ministerial push

• Nawrocki vetoes one-year language reprieve as 441 mostly Ukrainian doctors lose right to practice

• Russia can’t attack NATO right now—ISW explains what the new border bases are really for

Military activity has been reported near all Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants: Khmelnytskyy, Rivne, and South Ukraine, and the Chornobyl site, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). IAEA teams recorded more than 100 drones within observation zones around nuclear facilities over the past two weeks, with some as close as 2 kilometers from the facilities.

The Chornobyl drone strike landed at a centralized spent-fuel storage facility in the exclusion zone, just hundreds of meters from where spent nuclear fuel from Ukrainian operating reactors is kept in containers.

“Attacking a facility with large amounts of nuclear material is extremely dangerous. It must not happen,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said.

What happened at Zaporizhzhia NPP on 30 May 

On 30 May 2026, a drone struck the turbine hall of Unit 6 at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP.

During subsequent inspections, IAEA specialists documented a hole in the wall and local damage to the metal cladding of an empty pipe located several meters from the impact point.

Experts are continuing to assess the condition of the affected area and the potential consequences of the incident.

“This is the first time since April 2024 that military activity has directly impacted the ZNPP site,” Grossi said.

ZNPP has been under Russian military occupation since March 2022 and remains a continuous focus of IAEA monitoring. The IAEA statement does not attribute the drone strike to either Russia or Ukraine.

Legal frame: Geneva Convention Article 56 protection

Nuclear power plants and similar installations containing dangerous forces are explicitly protected under Article 56 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits attacks that may release dangerous forces and cause severe losses among the civilian population.

The IAEA does not formally categorize incidents at Ukrainian nuclear sites as war crimes within this framework, which would require a UN Commission of Inquiry or ICC finding. The IAEA's role is technical and monitoring-focused. 

Read also

• Russia can’t attack NATO right now—ISW explains what the new border bases are really for

• Polish foundation crowdfunds $39,500 for Vinnytsia after PiS opposition sank Kielce bus donation

• Ukraine’s drone output grew 12.7% month-on-month, but chief commander says don’t relax

Russian forces may capture Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast by the end of summer 2026, Ukrainian military observer Denys Popovych said on Radio NV. The warning comes as DeepState analysts have documented the Russian conversion of Kostiantynivka into ruins, and as Russian forces continue to consolidate in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad.

Popovych says Russia could capture the city despite what he himself characterizes as the broader operational failure of Russia's spring-summer offensive.

Russian success would come even as Ukraine's deep-strike envelope reaches 1,800 km into Russia and the "Logistics Lockdown" campaign degrades Russian rear-area infrastructure. 

Pokrovsk tactic that may be repeated

"We are now talking about the general failure of the spring-summer phase of Russian army offensive actions in the east and the south. But the prize in the form of Kostiantynivka they may take during this summer," Popovych said.

He added that Russian occupiers in Kostiantynivka are attempting to apply the same tactic they used in Pokrovsk: entrenching on the outskirts, then progressively infiltrating into the city itself by occupying multi-story buildings.

"Those enemy infiltration groups are being destroyed. But the question is whether we have enough resources to destroy every group," he continued. 

According to the expert, if one of them holds, settles in, and Ukraine doesn't notice it, then that chain, that path, will be trampled by the Russians.

"They will spread further through the city. This is the standard scenario the Russians have used during those cities that held defense for a long time," Popovych believes.

Russian drone crews may take same actions used in Pokrovsk, but now in Kostiantynivka

After the seizure of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad per DeepState's assessment, Russian forces continue to build up forces inside them, particularly drone crews who have taken control of urban airspace. 

"The enemy is establishing itself in the cities and currently maintains the active task of advancing into the depths of our defense," DeepState noted in its analysis.

The combination of Russian drone control of urban airspace in already-captured cities and the slow-infiltration approach for the next target city is what makes Kostiantynivka's risk, as Popovych described, not hypothetical. Russia has demonstrated that the tactic produces results, slowly, against cities that hold out for extended periods.

Read also

• Ukraine’s drone output grew 12.7% month-on-month, but chief commander says don’t relax

• German company that already supplies Ukraine with drones has unveiled Shahed-hunter aircraft with four weapons categories on single airframe

• 15 tons of diesel, $22,500 in damages: Ukraine charges eight in Poltava military fuel-theft scheme

Ukraine's Defense Ministry codified the domestic NEO-1 sapper robot for military use, the ministry announces. It is a 60-kilogram modular ground platform capable of remote demining, 70-kg cargo transport, and towing carts of up to 120 kg. 

The codification sits within an aggressive Ukrainian ground-robot procurement scale-up: the Defense Procurement Agency plans to contract more than 25,000 ground robotic complexes in the first half of 2026, which is twice the volume of all of 2025.

NEO-1's primary purpose is remote demining to minimize risks for Ukrainian sappers and other military personnel operating in areas contaminated with Russian mines and unexploded ordnance.

Ukraine has identified approximately 460,000 hectares of Ukrainian territory requiring clearance. The NEO-1 codification fits Ukraine's stated strategic goal of maximally transitioning frontline logistics, engineering, and other personnel-exposed tasks to unmanned platforms. 

Remote demining as primary mission

NEO-1 was developed by a Ukrainian manufacturer based on the operational experience and stated needs of Ukrainian military units on the frontline.

The platform's primary mission is to remotely drag detection equipment across mine-contaminated terrain, allowing sappers to clear areas without physically entering them.

The same chassis can be reconfigured for logistical roles: carrying up to 70 kilograms of cargo across rough terrain, or towing a separate cart loaded up to 120 kilograms.

This dual-use profile means a single NEO-1 platform can rotate between engineering tasks (demining, EOD support) and logistics tasks (resupply, casualty evacuation prep) as needed.

Multi-channel metal detector finds low-metal mines and filters out small-debris false signals 

For demining, NEO-1 is equipped with a multi-channel metal detector that can identify both large explosive devices and mines with minimal metal content.

The system also incorporates filtering algorithms that suppress signals from small metal debris (shell fragments, wire, casing remnants from artillery), reducing the false-positive rate that consumes operator time during clearance operations in heavily contested terrain.

The robot operates in both automatic and manual modes, with onboard cameras transmitting real-time imagery to the operator throughout the mission.

Compact specifications make NEO-1 deployable by small infantry

The NEO-1 platform weighs approximately 60 kilograms, reaches a top speed of 7 km/h, and operates for up to eight hours without recharging. The standard control range is 500 meters, which can be extended to 3 kilometers when operationally required. The compact weight and modular construction allow NEO-1 to be deployed by a small infantry team without specialized launching equipment, distinguishing it from heavier ground robotic systems that require dedicated transport vehicles or fixed launching infrastructure.

Read also

• Ukraine’s drone output grew 12.7% month-on-month, but chief commander says don’t relax

• German company that already supplies Ukraine with drones has unveiled Shahed-hunter aircraft with four weapons categories on single airframe

• 15 tons of diesel, $22,500 in damages: Ukraine charges eight in Poltava military fuel-theft scheme

Some 61% of Ukrainian citizens trust President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a new poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted between 7 May and 3 June 2026. Meanwhile, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov tops the trust-balance ranking among Ukrainian political and public figures at +32%, followed by Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov at +29% and Zelenskyy at +27%.

Terekhov leads as Mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, which has been under sustained Russian missile and drone attack since 2022. Fedorov leads Ukraine's drone-development push and the broader $113 million "Logistics Lockdown" rear-area strike program announced in May. 

Zelenskyy numbers in detail

Among the 61% who trust Zelenskyy, 33% reported "complete" trust and 28% "rather" trust. Among the 34% who do not trust him, 20% reported "complete" distrust and 13% "rather" distrust. The 5% remaining were undecided or refused to answer.

Compared with KIIS's April 2026 reading, trust and distrust shares are within the margin of error, with the trust-distrust balance improving slightly from +22% to +27%.

KIIS noted a methodological nuance specific to this round: questions were asked about 18 different public figures in random order, and a weak correlation emerged: respondents who were asked about Zelenskyy later in the sequence trusted him slightly more than those who were asked earlier.

Full ranking

KIIS's trust-balance ranking among politicians and public-political figures:

• Ihor Terekhov (Mayor of Kharkiv) — 52% trust, 19% distrust, balance +32%
• Mykhailo Fedorov (Defense Minister) — 50% trust, 21% distrust, balance +29%
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy (President) — 61% trust, 34% distrust, balance +27%
• Vitaliy Kim (head of Mykolaiv Oblast administration) — 47% trust, 27% distrust, balance +20%
• Oleh Lyashko (former MP, military servicemember) — 47% trust, 43% distrust, balance +5%
• Serhii Prytula (volunteer) — 46% trust, 44% distrust, balance +2%

What rankings tell us

Zelenskyy's 61% absolute trust is the highest in the ranking. But the trust-balance metric, which weights both trust and distrust, places two other figures above him: Terekhov and Fedorov.

Liashko and Prytula, despite having relatively high absolute trust (47% and 46%), have correspondingly high distrust (43% and 44%). The ranking thus differentiates two distinct kinds of public support: consensus support (Terekhov, Fedorov, Zelenskyy, Kim) versus polarized support (Liashko, Prytula). 

Methodology and coverage

The KIIS poll surveyed 2,007 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older via computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI), using random sampling of mobile phone numbers, exclusively in territory under the control of the Ukrainian government. It means that the data does not include displaced Ukrainians abroad or Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territories. 

Read also

• Ukraine’s drone output grew 12.7% month-on-month, but chief commander says don’t relax

• German company that already supplies Ukraine with drones has unveiled Shahed-hunter aircraft with four weapons categories on single airframe

• 15 tons of diesel, $22,500 in damages: Ukraine charges eight in Poltava military fuel-theft scheme

Russia is actively constructing new military infrastructure along its borders with Norway, Finland, the Baltic states, and Kaliningrad. Its potential capacity is for up to 115,000 personnel across all identified sites, according to a joint investigation by Swedish public broadcaster SVT, Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, Danish DR, and Estonian Delfi.

The Petsamo base, located 10 kilometers from the Norwegian border, is being expanded from its current capacity of 7,000 to 17,000 personnel.

"This is a threat we should take seriously. We don't think all of this is just for demonstration. This is about preparing capabilities for confrontation with NATO in a major conflict sometime later," said Thomas Nilsson, head of Swedish military intelligence (MUST).

A Ukrainian ceasefire that releases Russian military personnel from the front lines would free them to deploy to the newly constructed northern infrastructure.

Sites identified

The investigation identified Russian military construction at multiple locations along NATO's northern and Baltic flanks, based on satellite imagery analysis:

• Petsamo — 10 kilometers from the Norwegian border; current capacity 7,000, expanding to 17,000.
• Petrozavodsk and Sapyorny — near the Finnish border.
• Luga — near Pskov, close to the Estonian border.
• Baltiysk — in Russian-controlled Kaliningrad Oblast.

According to Finnish Army Commander General Pasi Välimäki, the Russian troop grouping near Finland's borders could grow from the current 20,000 to 80,000 personnel.

The total potential for all sites combined, across Northern European and Baltic directions, is up to 115,000 personnel, per the joint investigation.

Ukraine connection

The strategic timing was named explicitly by Major General Bryan Nilssen, the NATO commander for the Baltic states and Poland: "While Russia is occupied with Ukraine, the immediate military threat is low. But this could change quickly if there is a pause in Ukraine."

Norwegian Army Commander Eirik Kristoffersen echoed the concern: "If Russia is now building up forces to the volumes they have announced, and the footage shows that they are doing this, the military threat to Norway will grow." 

What satellites show

The investigation relied on commercial satellite imagery to document construction at the Russian sites. Visible elements include new barracks, ammunition warehouses, equipment concentrations, and expanded base perimeters.

The Petsamo expansion alone represents an effective doubling of base capacity, with construction visible at multiple stages. The other sites — Petrozavodsk, Sapyorny, Luga, Baltiysk — show varying stages of expansion, all consistent with personnel-staging infrastructure rather than transit or training facilities.

Read also

• Russia trained 900 more Ukrainian children at Volgograd — the camp Britain sanctioned in 2024

• “Heroes of UPA” unit will keep its name, Budanov’s office says despite Polish pressure

• All three Rosneft Samara refineries now offline or reduced as drones halt Kuibyshevsky operations yesterday

Read also

• Russia trained 900 more Ukrainian children at Volgograd — the camp Britain sanctioned in 2024

• “Heroes of UPA” unit will keep its name, Budanov’s office says despite Polish pressure

• All three Rosneft Samara refineries now offline or reduced as drones halt Kuibyshevsky operations yesterday

Read also

• “Heroes of UPA” unit will keep its name, Budanov’s office says despite Polish pressure

• All three Rosneft Samara refineries now offline or reduced as drones halt Kuibyshevsky operations yesterday

• Russia’s fuel crisis jumps from 15 to 25 regions in five days—plus six occupied Ukrainian areas

Read also

• Ukrainian drones knocking out the northwestern entrance to Crimea: four bridges targeted in one night

• Strip out this one component and Russia’s drones fly blind. Ukraine found factory where it is made

• Afipsky oil refinery burns again as Ukrainian drones return to Krasnodar Krai

Belarus is finishing development of an AI-driven automated control system named "Ross", the Belarusian State Military-Industrial Committee announces, publishing the photos of the system developed by Belarusian state defense enterprise KB Radar. It is designed to integrate electronic warfare, radio monitoring, and counter-drone capabilities into a single unified network. 

The announcement sits within a documented Ukrainian and Western assessment of Belarusian-Russian military integration that has shifted in recent months. Institute for the Study of War analysis in May concluded that a 2022-style Belarusian ground invasion of Ukraine is "very unlikely" given how the war has evolved. However, Ukrainian defense ministry advisor Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov has separately warned that Russia could continue using Belarusian territory to launch missiles or Shahed drones at Ukrainian cities.

An AI-driven counter-drone EW capability in Belarus is consistent with — though not proof of — the latter scenario: Belarus building infrastructure that may enable or protect Russian drone and missile operations against Ukraine.

What does Belarus say system does? 

According to the Belarusian State Military-Industrial Committee announcement, the "Ross" system is designed to provide automated and manual control of radio-monitoring assets and complexes for suppressing communication channels, data transmission, and satellite navigation.

KB Radar's developers say the integration of AI algorithms is the principal innovation. The AI is said to help operators assess changes in the electromagnetic environment more quickly, detect radio emission sources, analyze the situation, predict its further development, and automatically select radio-suppression modes while minimizing impact on friendly communications.

Counter-drone system

A separate capability block within "Ross" is specifically focused on counter-drone operations, per the Committee. According to the developers, the system is intended to receive data from radio-frequency monitoring of airspace, detect UAVs, predict their flight routes, and determine the most effective countermeasures.

Belarusian officials state that the use of intelligent algorithms automates a significant share of analytical and computational processes, reducing operator workload and allowing personnel to focus on decision-making.

The system is also said to adapt to changes in the electromagnetic environment in real time and effectively distribute resources between suppression assets.

The unverified-claims caveat

The "Ross" announcement is a Belarusian state defense industry announcement, with KB Radar functioning as a state-controlled defense enterprise. Independent verification of the stated technical characteristics is absent, and the AI algorithms' actual capabilities have not been disclosed. 

Read also

• Lukashenka announces war preparations—Ukrainian official calls it Russian “information agenda”

Read also

• Ukraine launches “Logistics Lockdown” program with $113 million for middle-strike drones against Russian rear

• Russia is bolting jammers onto its Shahed drones to survive Ukraine’s cheap interceptors

• Russia turns to 500-km/h Geran-4 jet drones to outrun Kyiv’s cheap interceptors

Read also

• Ukrainian strikes have wiped $25.5 billion off Russia’s war machine, Syrskyi says

• Drones set Moscow Oblast fuel and military sites on fire as Russia claims it downed more than 1,000

• Russian shadow war is escalating. NATO railways and sea cables are in the crosshairs.

Read also

• Putin warns Armenia of a “Ukrainian scenario” over its push toward the EU

• Russia is now losing 95% of its Shaheds to Ukrainian interception. Moscow’s response will be jet-powered variants and border-area targeting

• Russian shadow war is escalating. NATO railways and sea cables are in the crosshairs.

Read also

• Ukraine’s Vector drone supplier Quantum Systems is developing super-speed interceptor with Porsche-subsidiary battery cells

• Drones set Moscow Oblast fuel and military sites on fire as Russia claims it downed more than 1,000

• Russia is now losing 95% of its Shaheds to Ukrainian interception. Moscow’s response will be jet-powered variants and border-area targeting

Read also

• Ukraine’s Vector drone supplier Quantum Systems is developing super-speed interceptor with Porsche-subsidiary battery cells

• Ukraine launches “Logistics Lockdown” program with $113 million for middle-strike drones against Russian rear

• Drones set Moscow Oblast fuel and military sites on fire as Russia claims it downed more than 1,000

Read also

• Russia was preparing targeted terror attacks against Ukrainian defense engineers. SBU detained spy compiling “card index”

• Ukraine launches “Logistics Lockdown” program with $113 million for middle-strike drones against Russian rear

• Russia is now losing 95% of its Shaheds to Ukrainian interception. Moscow’s response will be jet-powered variants and border-area targeting

Read also

• Russia is now losing 95% of its Shaheds to Ukrainian interception. Moscow’s response will be jet-powered variants and border-area targeting

• Russia turns to 500-km/h Geran-4 jet drones to outrun Kyiv’s cheap interceptors

• Russian shadow war is escalating. NATO railways and sea cables are in the crosshairs.

A senior combat medic in a Ukrainian mechanized battalion based in Donetsk Oblast was charged with stealing 16 FPV drones manufactured by Ukrainian defense-tech company General Cherry. He also tried to sell these drones, worth approximately $12,600, for $2,370, the Eastern Region Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office said on Facebook.

The sergeant's theft removed 16 FPV drones from frontline combat operations for nearly 5 months, from the January 2026 theft to the May 2026 sale.

Case mechanics

The stolen drones were on the military unit's balance sheet and had been issued specifically for combat operations. On 30 May 2026, the sergeant sold the stolen drones for $2,370, which is roughly 19% of their actual value, to an undisclosed buyer.

The officers arrested him immediately after the funds transfer under Article 208 of Ukraine's Criminal Procedure Code, recovering the cash, all 16 drones, and their components.

Charge and bail

The sergeant has been charged under Part 4, Article 410 of Ukraine's Criminal Code, for theft of military property during wartime, the most serious classification of the offense. A Ukrainian court ordered detention with the option of release on bail of $6,009.

General Cherry's response

General Cherry thanked Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko and the Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office for "principled action against the theft of military property" in a statement on social media.

"FPV drones are a property of critical necessity, used daily along the entire line of combat contact. The availability of such weapons directly affects the ability to defend positions and preserve the lives of military personnel," the company said.

Earlier, General Cherry and Croatia's ORQA signed a memorandum of cooperation. They agreed to jointly develop and manufacture interceptor drones and counter-drone systems, including an underground factory under the Build in Ukraine localization program, the companies announced.

Read also

• Ukraine launches “Logistics Lockdown” program with $113 million for middle-strike drones against Russian rear

• Russia turns to 500-km/h Geran-4 jet drones to outrun Kyiv’s cheap interceptors

• Russia is now losing 95% of its Shaheds to Ukrainian interception. Moscow’s response will be jet-powered variants and border-area targeting