Ukraine Strikes Prompt Putin to Increase Attacks on Infrastructure
Ukraine strikes deep into Russian territory have prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to announce that Moscow will increase strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. Putin stated that the goal is to discourage attacks on Russian civilian facilities, while Ukrainian forces continue drone operations on targets including occupied Crimea and Tatarstan.
Putin's Threat to Escalate Strikes on Ukraine
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has said that Russian forces will be stepping up strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure to "discourage" attacks on targets inside Russia. [1] Putin spoke at a meeting with Russian servicemen, as quoted by the Russian press. [1] He added that given Ukrainian actions, Russia must respond appropriately and will continue to increase strikes on the enemy's infrastructure so as to discourage them from attacking Russian civilian facilities. [1] Putin also admitted that Ukrainian strikes are damaging Russia's economy but claimed that everything is recovering quickly. [1] He stated that as regards the economy, of course, damage is being done, but everything is recovering quickly and they won't be able to create any serious problems for Russia. [1] Putin judged that the objective of Ukraine strikes is to divide Russian society, sow confusion, and inflict economic damage, but asserted that they will not succeed. [2] He added that Moscow must strengthen its system of air defense. [2] Ukraine's Air Force has warned that there is a high probability of Russian ballistic missile launches from the Kapustin Yar test range within the next 24 hours. [1]
Ukrainian Drone Attack Disrupts Russia Day in Tatarstan
Ukrainian strike in Russia prompts Putin to escalate attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. — Source: gdelt
An attack by Kyiv targeted a city in Tatarstan in central Russia, far from the Ukrainian border, causing injuries and prompting the cancellation of celebrations on Friday, according to local authorities. [2] Radmir Beliaev, the mayor of the industrial city of Nizhnekamsk in the Republic of Tatarstan some 1600 km from the Ukrainian border, reported on Telegram a Ukrainian drone attack on a residential building. [2] According to the mayor, the attack injured four people. [2] For security reasons, it was decided to cancel all public events planned for today, he said. [2] June 12 is Russia Day, a national holiday. [2] Following this strike, more than 20 people were displaced to temporary accommodations, according to the mayor. [2] The Ukrainian General Staff claimed on Telegram nocturnal strikes in Tatarstan targeting two oil refineries located in Nizhnekamsk. [2] Kyiv has intensified its retaliatory strikes in Russia in recent months, targeting Russian cities as far as the Ural Mountains, hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border. [2] Ukrainian drone strikes, which have intensified in recent months, aim to sow division within Russian society and damage the economy, Vladimir Putin judged on Friday, while assuring that they will not succeed. [2]
Repeated Ukrainian Strikes Target Chonhar Bridge in Crimea
Satellite images show the Chonhar Bridge after two attacks by FP-2 and Behemoth drones, according to Dnipro OSINT analyst Harbuz. [3] On the night of 6-7 June, fighters from Ukraine's 475th Separate Assault Regiment and the 1st Separate Assault Regiment struck the bridge using Behemoth drones and assets produced by the Ukrainian company Fire Point. [3] It was reported that the drone strikes had created holes approximately one metre in diameter in the bridge deck. [3] Ukrainian forces carried out another drone attack on the Chonhar Bridge on the night of 8-9 June. [3] The strike was confirmed by the 1st Separate Assault Regiment. [3] The attack was carried out using Ukrainian-made FP-2 drones. [3] The operation involved drone pilots from the 1st Separate Assault Regiment, the CODE 9.2 unit (475th Separate Assault Regiment), and fighters from the Falanha Multi-Domain Operations Centre. [3] The consequences of the strikes on the Chonhar Bridge are visible in released images. [3]
Fuel Shortages and Panic in Occupied Crimea
Ukraine aims to isolate the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula from Russia. [4] Ukrainian media report that strikes have caused panic among Russians when fuel is no longer available. [4] Ukraine has carried out several strikes in recent days on military supply routes, and according to Reuters, gas stations in Crimea have run out of gasoline. [4] Isolating Crimea in the near future, drone forces commander Robert Brovdi told Reuters in an interview published on Thursday. [4] Fuel is delivered to Crimea mostly by land and rail through areas captured by Russia in southern Ukraine, according to newspapers Kyiv Post and Kyiv Independent. [4] Ukraine has struck bridges and roads connecting southern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula. [4] Ukrainian commander Dmytro Filatov told Ukrainian media on Thursday that the Ukrainian army had caused critical damage to the Chonhar Bridge, a key route between Crimea and Kherson region. [4] According to Filatov, the strike halted traffic on the bridge. [4] He said Ukraine had also struck the city of Armyansk on the narrow isthmus that is the only land connection route between the Crimean peninsula and the mainland. [4] According to Kyiv Independent, Ukraine destroyed 50 military vehicles in Armyansk. [4] According to Kyiv Post, Ukrainian drones maintain continuous fire on the Novorossiya highway running from east to west, which is Russia's primary land route for transferring fuel, ammunition, and equipment through southern Ukraine. [4] Drone forces commander Robert Brovdi told Kyiv Independent that traffic on the Novorossiya highway had dropped nearly 80 percent in the past two weeks. [4] The highway connects Crimea to Mariupol, Berdyansk, and Melitopol. [4] Ukrainian commander Yuri Nastenko told Kyiv Post on Friday that the Ukrainian strikes are only the beginning. [4] He suggested that everyone simply buy popcorn, sit down, watch, and enjoy. [4] According to Kyiv Post, Ukraine strikes are fueling panic in Russia as tourists have become stranded in Crimea due to fuel shortages. [4] Several sources report fuel shortages in the Russian-illegally occupied Crimean peninsula. [4] Reuters interviewees also report fuel shortages in Crimea's largest city Sevastopol and long queues at gas stations in most localities. [4] Russian authorities have admitted that Ukraine strikes have caused damage. [4] On Wednesday, Russian-backed Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev admitted that gasoline rationing had been delayed because trucks had been unable to bring fuel to the city due to Ukrainian strikes. [4] The Russian-backed governor of Kherson region admitted that Ukraine strikes on bridges in the region had caused damage. [4] According to Kyiv Post, the timing of Ukraine strikes is a serious blow to Russia. [4] Drone strikes and empty pumps disrupt Crimea's summer tourism season. [4]
Disputed Starobilsk Strike Becomes Russian Propaganda Focus
When a Ukrainian strike hit Russian-occupied Starobilsk on May 22, Moscow seized on the attack almost instantly, with Russian officials claiming that 21 students of a local vocational college were killed and dozens more injured and portraying the strike as a deliberate attack on civilians, which Ukraine denied. [5] The incident soon became a centerpiece of Russian state messaging, used to accuse Ukraine of terrorism, rally public outrage, and justify subsequent strikes on Kyiv on May 24 and June 2. [5] Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly invoked the strike, including on June 5 while responding to President Volodymyr Zelensky's open letter proposing direct talks to end Russia's war. [5] He questioned why Kyiv was seeking negotiations while carrying out strikes, citing the attack on Starobilsk. [5] Russia has long weaponized claims of civilian casualties from Ukrainian strikes, whether real, disputed, or fabricated, to portray Ukraine as deliberately killing civilians in the occupied Donbas. [5] Moscow used that narrative to justify both its 2022 invasion and its 2014 invasion in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, falsely portraying the conflict as a civil war between Ukrainians and Russia as a protector rather than an aggressor. [5] Following the strike, Russian officials and pro-war commentators pushed several recurring narratives, according to a disinformation monitoring team at the Ukrainian-founded tech company LetsData. [5] Its analysis of 277 Russian-language posts on Telegram and X found that the attack was predominantly portrayed as a terrorist act targeting students, implying a possible coordination of phrasing. [5] Russian officials also accused Western media outlets of ignoring the incident, presenting limited coverage as evidence of Western complicity. [5] Moscow further called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on May 22, where it accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting students and civilians. [5] Ukraine rejected Russia's accusations over the Starobilsk strike as disinformation, saying the attack targeted military sites, including one of the headquarters of Russia's elite Rubikon drone unit in the Starobilsk area in Luhansk Oblast. [5] Starobilsk is a city in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast with a pre-occupation population of 17,000 people. [5] It lies roughly 65 kilometers from the front line, making it part of Russia's rear logistics network in the region. [5] Ukraine regularly strikes military targets in Russian-occupied territories, including command posts, logistics hubs, ammunition depots, and drone units behind the front line. [5] The city was targeted several times during the full-scale war. [5] In April, a Ukrainian drone strike heavily damaged the building of the former district administration in Starobilsk, which occupation authorities had been using for administrative purposes. [5] The latest strike in Starobilsk took place overnight on May 22. [5] At 10 p.m. local time on May 21, an air alert was issued in the Starobilsk district, according to local authorities. [5] The Telegram channel Starobelsk Online reported explosions in the city shortly after the air alert was issued. [5] At 10:26 p.m., a fire was reported. [5] The channel also said that jet-powered drones were flying over the city. [5] Russia later claimed that 16 drones were used in the attack. [5] Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said on May 24, after search and rescue operations were completed, that 21 students were killed and 42 injured in the attack. [5] A list containing the victims' full names and dates of birth was published the next day, May 23, by the Russian occupation authorities in Luhansk Oblast. [5] Following the strike, Russian authorities, including the Russian Foreign Ministry, claimed that the victims were children aged 14-18, framing the attack as one that killed minors. [5] The published list, however, showed that the listed victims were between 18 and 22 years old. [5] The Kyiv Independent reviewed open-source evidence, official statements, and reporting from both sides to establish what is known about the strike, who the victims were, and which questions remain unanswered. [5] Satellite imagery from Planet Labs suggests that at least five buildings in the college area were struck. [5] Two of them belonged to educational institutions. [5] No reliable information is available about the other three. [5] The Kyiv Independent found the accounts of 19 out of the 21 alleged victims on social media. [5] Their names and ages matched the list published by Russian occupation authorities, and none of the reviewed accounts showed activity after May 21, the day of the attack. [5] Russian state media covered the funerals of some of the students. [5]
Civilian Casualties on Both Sides
In Suzemka in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, at least two civilians were killed in artillery fire, said acting governor Egor Kovalchuk on Telegram. [2] On the Ukrainian side, a woman was killed and another injured in a Russian drone strike in Sumy, in northeastern Ukraine, affirmed on Friday on Telegram the head of the regional military administration, Oleg Grygorov. [2] Unfortunately, a 44-year-old woman was killed in the attack, he specified. [2] Another woman, aged 33, was seriously injured, he added. [2] According to him, a three-story non-residential building was also seriously damaged in the strike. [2] According to Ukrainian railways, the woman killed was an employee. [2] The mayor of Moscow indicated that about ten Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow were intercepted during the night. [2]
What to watch next: Ukraine's Air Force has warned of a high probability of Russian ballistic missile launches from the Kapustin Yar test range within the next 24 hours, while Ukrainian forces maintain strikes on supply routes to Crimea.
