Zelensky: ‘I think we’ll meet Trump again tomorrow.’ Refinery in Moscow hit

Although Ukraine has made significant technological progress in repelling Russian attacks, it remains dependent on Western systems when it comes to countering the most advanced missiles. Ukraine has a number of US-made Patriot air defence systems at its disposal, but it is chronically short of missiles. This shortage has been further exacerbated by the war with Iran, after some of the supplies originally intended for Kyiv were diverted to the Middle East.

Moscow has not received any proposal for a summit in the US between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This was stated by Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov, after Zelensky said he had discussed the possibility of such a summit with US President Donald Trump. Putin’s adviser added that the Russian and US presidents did not discuss such a possibility even during their telephone conversation on Sunday, which lasted nearly an hour.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his satisfaction with the atmosphere of the talks held with US President Donald Trump and the other G7 leaders.

At the conclusion of the summit in Évian, France, Merz emphasised the constructive nature of the discussions, particularly regarding the conflict in Ukraine. Referring to Trump, the Chancellor said he had found him to be “very cooperative” and particularly attentive during the discussions on the war in Ukraine. This attitude, according to Merz, fuels cautious optimism regarding the possibility that Europe and the United States might act in a coordinated manner to bring about an end to Russian aggression against Kyiv. Merz had previously highlighted how the talks between the G7 countries had been characterised by “great transatlantic and European unity”, a sign of a convergence of views on the main international challenges and on support for Ukraine.

The United Kingdom and Germany have called a new meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group for Thursday 18 June at NATO headquarters in Brussels. This was announced by NATO. The Ukraine Defence Contact Group, also known as the Ramstein format, brings together around 50 allied and partner nations that have been coordinating military support for Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion.

EU leaders met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian. It was confirmed at the meeting that the next EU-UK summit will take place on 22 July. “An excellent discussion with Keir Starmer. Close cooperation between the EU and the UK is vital for our shared security, resilience and prosperity in Europe. We are working closely together to ensure the success of our forthcoming second summit, which will take place in Brussels on 22 July,” wrote the President of the European Council Antonio Costa on X. “It was a pleasure to meet Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the Évian summit. We discussed the latest developments in the Middle East, as well as the need to continue supporting Ukraine, its armed forces and its preparations for the winter. We also discussed our bilateral relations and preparations for our summit on 22 July,” emphasised the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, also on X.

The expectation for the next European Council is that the 27 member states will reach a consensus on the Ukraine chapter following Orbán’s departure from Hungary and Peter Magyar’s debut at the summit of EU leaders. This is according to a senior European official. Volodymyr Zelensky is expected in Brussels, and there will be a debate on enlargement, building on the new momentum provided by the opening of negotiation chapters for Ukraine and Moldova (as well as the swift progress made on Montenegro). However, the time allocated to enlargement is limited, so the more in-depth debate will be postponed until the October summit. That said, the leaders are expected to address, first and foremost, the ideas put forward by France and Germany on the concept of progressive enlargement and the various creative options circulating in Brussels (though these are not particularly welcomed by Zelensky, who is focused on substance and does not favour the prospect of not having voting rights). “The moment of truth is approaching; enlargement is a reality, but there has not yet been an opportunity for the 27 member states to discuss the next steps in full,” notes the official.

No specific dates have yet been set for the visit to Russia by US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today. “It is true that there was talk of an imminent arrival of the American negotiators, but there are still no specific dates. As you know, the Americans are still busy with preparations for the signing of the memorandum of understanding with Iran. We understand that the signing is scheduled to take place in Switzerland at the end of this week. After that, it will probably be a matter of seeing whether they can actually fly to Moscow,” Peskov told reporters.

Meanwhile, the Russian authorities have reported that a major refinery in Moscow was hit during a large-scale attack by Ukrainian drones on the capital. Kyiv has claimed that the action was a ‘just’ response to Russian bombardments on its territory.

“Enemy drone attacks on Moscow have continued over the past 24 hours. One of the drones damaged an oil refinery site in Moscow. There were no casualties,” said the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin, on social media.

According to Sobyanin, Russian forces intercepted 60 drones heading for Moscow during the night between Monday and Tuesday. According to a tally by the state news agency TASS, based on data published by the Russian Ministry of Defence, this was one of the most significant attacks of the year against the capital.

«Russia’s attacks on the Cathedral of the Dormition in Kyiv are deplorable. It is precisely because of attacks such as these that I have announced targeted sanctions against ships, funds and actors that support the Russian war economy and, consequently, threaten European security. ‘We will ramp up the pressure on Putin and his inner circle until the Russian war machine is stopped and peace returns to our continent,’ wrote British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on X, who is attending the Evian summit this morning.