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A Russian rocket onslaught targeted the northeastern Ukrainian metropolis of Sumy connected Tuesday (June 3, 2025), sidesplitting astatine slightest 4 radical and wounding 25, officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the assault, saying it underscored that Moscow has nary intentions of halting the 3-year-old war.
The onslaught came a time aft direct bid talks successful Istanbul made nary advancement successful ending the fighting. Local authorities said the barrage of rockets struck flat buildings and a aesculapian installation successful the centre of Sumy.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Secret Service said they struck wrong Russia again, 2 days aft a spectacular Ukrainian drone onslaught connected aerial bases heavy wrong the country.
A captious span to Crimea
The Ukrainian Security Service, known by its acronym SBU, claimed it damaged the foundations of the Kerch Bridge linking Russia and illegally annexed Crimea — a cardinal artery for Russian subject supplies successful the war.
The SBU said it detonated 1,100 kilograms (2,400 pounds) of explosives connected the seabed overnight, successful an cognition that took respective months to acceptable up. It was the 3rd Ukrainian onslaught connected the span since Russia's penetration of its neighbour successful February 2022, the SBU said.
"The span is present efficaciously successful an exigency condition," the SBU claimed.
The bureau said nary civilians were killed oregon injured successful the operation. It was not imaginable to independently corroborate those claims.
Traffic crossed the Kerch Bridge was halted for 3 hours aboriginal Tuesday (June 3, 2025), but it reopened astatine 9 a.m., authoritative Russian societal media channels said. It closed for a 2nd clip astatine 3:20 p.m. and reopened aft 2 and a fractional hours.
President Zelenskyy appeals for unit connected Moscow
The Ukrainian President called the onslaught connected Sumy a "completely deliberate" onslaught connected civilians.
"That's each you request to cognize astir Russia's tendency to extremity this war," the Ukrainian President wrote connected societal media.
President Zelenskyy appealed for planetary unit and “decisive enactment from the United States, Europe, and everyone successful the satellite who holds power”. Without it, helium said, Russian President Vladimir Putin “will not hold adjacent to a ceasefire”.
The Russia-Ukraine war has killed much than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations, arsenic good arsenic tens of thousands of soldiers connected some sides on the astir 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) beforehand enactment wherever the warring grinds connected contempt U.S.-led efforts to broker a bid deal.
A stunning Ukrainian drone onslaught
Though Russia has a bigger Army and much economical resources than Ukraine, the Ukrainian drone onslaught implicit the play damaged oregon destroyed much than 40 warplanes astatine aerial bases heavy wrong Russia, Ukrainian officials said, touting it arsenic a superior stroke to the Kremlin's strategical arsenal and subject prestige.
The Russian Defence Ministry acknowledged that the Ukrainian onslaught acceptable respective planes ablaze astatine 2 aerial bases, but said the subject repelled attempted attacks connected 3 different aerial bases.
Both President Zelenskyy and President Putin person been anxious to amusement U.S. President Donald Trump that they stock his ambition to extremity the warring — and debar imaginable punitive measures from Washington. Ukraine has accepted a U.S.-proposed ceasefire, but the Kremlin efficaciously rejected it. Mr. Putin has made it wide that immoderate bid colony has to beryllium connected his terms.
Delegations from the warring sides agreed Monday (June 2, 2025), to swap dormant and wounded troops, but their conditions for ending the warfare remained acold apart.
Dmitry Medvedev, a erstwhile Russian President who present serves arsenic lawman caput of the country's Security Council, chaired by Mr. Putin, indicated connected Tuesday (June 3, 2025) that determination would beryllium nary let-up successful Russia's invasion.
"The Istanbul talks are not for striking a compromise bid connected idiosyncratic else's delusional presumption but for ensuring our swift triumph and the implicit destruction" of Ukraine's Government, helium said.
In an evident remark connected the latest Ukrainian strikes, helium declared that "retribution is inevitable."
A Putin-Zelenskyy-Trump gathering is improbable anytime soon, Moscow says. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to suggestions that a face-to-face gathering betwixt Mr. Putin, Mr. Trump, and Mr. Zelenskyy could interruption the deadlock, saying the anticipation was “unlikely successful the adjacent future”.
Meanwhile, a elder Ukrainian delegation led by First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko has traveled to Washington for talks astir defence, sanctions, and postwar recovery, said Andrii Yermak, the Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office.
The delegation volition conscionable with representatives from some large U.S. governmental parties, arsenic good arsenic with advisers to Trump, Mr. Yermak added.
Ukrainians successful Kyiv welcomed the strikes connected Russian aerial bases, but were gloomy astir prospects for a bid agreement.
"Russia has invested excessively galore resources successful this warfare to conscionable … halt for nothing," said Ukrainian Diplomat, Oleh Nikolenko, 43.
His wife, Anastasia Nikolenko, a 38-year-old designer, said diplomacy cannot halt the fighting. "We request to amusement by force, by carnal force, that we cannot beryllium defeated," she said.
Russia precocious expanded its attacks connected Sumy and the Kharkiv portion pursuing President Putin's committedness to make a buffer portion on the borderline that mightiness forestall long-range Ukrainian attacks from hitting Russian soil. Sumy, astir 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the border, had a prewar colonisation of astir 250,000.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its troops had taken the Ukrainian colony of Andriivka, adjacent to the borderline successful the Sumy region. Ukraine made nary contiguous remark connected the claim, which could not beryllium independently verified.
Russia besides fired rocket artillery astatine Chystovodivka colony successful the Kharkiv region, sidesplitting 2 radical and injuring 3 others, determination Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said.
Published - June 04, 2025 12:55 p.m. IST
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