Ukraine Russia war live: Kyiv says its forces hit one of Putin’s most advanced Su-57 warplanes

Ukraine’s main intelligence agency has shared satellite images that it says show the impact of its latest strike deep inside Russian territory, targeting one of Moscow’s most advanced warplanes.

The photos show the aftermath of what was likely a drone strike on the Akhtubinsk base in southern Russia, hitting an Su-57 aircraft.

The Su-57, which is capable of carrying stealth missiles across hundreds of kilometres (miles), was among “a countable few” of its type in Moscow’s arsenal, Kyiv’s intelligence agency said. Russia has not issued any comment over the weekend addressing the Ukrainian claims of the attack on its airbase.

In a before photo taken on 7 June, Friday – a day before the attack – the airbase has an aircraft on its tarmac but the after photo taken on Saturday showed black soot spots on the same spot and craters around the parked Sukhoi.

According to reports by Russian agencies, Moscow’s armed forces obtained “more than 10” new Su-57s last year, while 76 are set to be produced by 2028.

Between now and Sunday evening, several hundred million people will vote in elections for the next EU parliament, in what is billed as the second-largest exercise in representative democracy in the world after elections in India.

But the numbers actually voting have habitually been far fewer than in national elections, with turnout overall barely registering above 50 per cent, and a lot less in some countries, especially those further east.

There are hopes that this year could see that pattern change. The reason is that these are the first EU-wide elections to be held since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Ninety states and organisations have so far registered to take part in a summit aiming to pave the way for peace in Ukraine that Switzerland will host from June 15-16, the Swiss government said on Monday.

Russia has not been invited to the summit due to be held in central Switzerland, but the government said in a statement that the gathering will aim to “jointly define a roadmap” on how to involve both it and Ukraine in a future peace process.

Switzerland in January agreed to host the summit at the behest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and has tried to drum up support for it among countries that have better relations with Moscow than leading Western powers.

Russia has dismissed the summit as a waste of time. It was not invited to participate, Switzerland says, because it signalled it had no interest in attending. Switzerland also stresses though, that Russia must be part of the peace process.

Russian president Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea and Vietnam in the coming weeks, the Vedomosti newspaper reported today, citing a diplomatic source.

Russia’s ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora confirmed to Vedomosti that the president’s visit to Pyongyang will happen and is being “actively prepared”.

The newspaper said Putin could visit Vietnam as early as June and most likely immediately after his visit to North Korea. Putin’s only previous trip to North Korea was in 2000, the first year of his presidency.

The Kremlin has said Russia wants to build a partnership with North Korea “in all areas” but has yet to confirm the date of the visit. Russia has stepped up ties with North Korea and other countries hostile to the United States such as Iran since the start of the war with Ukraine – relations that are a source of concern to the West.

Angry Russian military bloggers have slammed Moscow and the Russian military command after a drone strike by Ukraine damaged a top-tier warplane.

Mil-bloggers “seized on the 8 June strike to criticise the Russian military command for not constructing hangars to hide Russian aircraft from Ukrainian strikes and claimed that Russian forces could construct hangars at every military airfield in Russia for the cost of one Su-57 aircraft,” said the Washington-based think-tank The Institute for the Study of War.

An Su-57 costs an estimated $35m, it added.

Citing Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command, the ISW said that the Ukrainian forces struck one of Russia’s six operational Su-57 aircraft and that Russian forces are constructing another six aircraft.

“GUR Spokesperson Andriy Yusov stated that there may have been two Su-57 aircraft at the airfield during the 8 June strike and that the GUR is assessing battle damage,” the ISW said in its latest analysis.

France plans to provide Mirage 2000 warplanes to Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots this summer, the French president said.

It was not confirmed how many single-engine jet fighters would be provided, by when or under what financial terms.

Mr Macron added that France had proposed to train 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers but did not say where the soldiers would be trained.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has threatened to retaliate against Western countries that are allowing Ukraine to hit Russia with their long-range missiles.

US officials expect the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy democracies to send a tough new warning next week to smaller Chinese banks to stop assisting Russia in evading Western sanctions, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Leaders gathering at the 13-15 June summit in Italy hosted by prime minister Giorgia Meloni are expected to focus heavily during their private meetings on the threat posed by burgeoning Chinese-Russian trade to the fight in Ukraine, and what to do about it.

Those conversations are likely to result in public statements on the issue involving Chinese banks, according to a US official involved in planning the event and another person briefed on the issue.

The United States and its G7 partners – Britain, Canada France, Germany, Italy and Japan – are not expected to take any immediate punitive action against any banks during the summit, such as restricting their access to the Swift messaging system or cutting off access to the dollar.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he is aiming to amp up support for the war-hit nation and hinted a new agreements of support for Kyiv in progress in a long-term plan for Ukraine’s recovery.

“One of our primary goals right now is to increase support for Ukraine in order to strengthen our society’s resilience in terms of energy, recovery after strikes, and all of the other foundations of normal life. We must protect life despite Russia’s attempts to bring more pressure and destruction,” he said last night.

Mr Zelensky added: “We are working with European partners on new agreements, particularly on additional support steps from Germany. These days, we are also working diligently to prepare a bilateral security agreement between Ukraine and the United States.”

“We are making every effort to ensure that America’s leadership is felt. I am grateful to everyone who helps,” he said.

The war in Ukraine has entered 837th day today.

Ukrainian forces have hit an ultra-modern Russian warplane stationed on an air base nearly 600km (370 miles) from the frontline, after its Western allies allowed Kyiv to use their weapons for limited strikes inside Russia.

If confirmed, it would mark Ukraine’s first known successful strike on a Su-57 fighter plane, a twin-engine stealth fighter lauded as Moscow’s most advanced military aircraft.

Satellite photos shared by Kyiv’s main intelligence agency showed the aftermath of the attack. In one photo, black soot marks and small craters can be seen dotting a concrete strip around the parked aircraft.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, the strike took place on Saturday at the Akhtubinsk base in southern Russia, some 589km (366 miles) from the frontline. It wasn’t immediately clear what weapons were used, but the airfield’s distance from Ukraine suggests that it was likely hit by drones.