A Russian missile strike killed five people and wounded 23 others in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region. Meanwhile, Moscow summoned the German ambassador over the "persecution" of Russian journalists.
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Below, you can read a roundup of events regardingRussia's war in Ukrainefrom Friday, June 27, 2025.
US President Donald Trump said Friday that he believes a development could soon bring Russia's war in Ukraine to an end, referencing a recent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin but providing no further details.
"We're working on that one. President Putin called up and he said, I'd love to help you with Iran. I said, do me a favor: I'll handle Iran. Help me with Russia. We got to get that one settled. And I think something's going to happen there," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin credited Trump for reinvigorating diplomatic channels between Russia and Ukraine.
Putin said he remained open to future talks despite significant differences between the demands put forward by Moscow and Kyiv in recent negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.
"I am always willing to engage in dialogue and meet," he said.
A German Foreign Ministry official has dismissed what they called “unfounded accusations” from Russia’s Foreign Ministry, which alleged that Berlin had persecuted Russian journalists working in Germany.
“In contrast to Russia's increasingly harsh repression of journalists, Germany upholds the principles of the rule of law and freedom of the press,” the official said in a statement.
Earlier Friday, Russia summoned the German ambassador to notify him of its plans to retaliate over the alleged harassment of Russian journalists based in Germany.
Russian media reports say the case involves a journalist employed by a Russian state media outlet whose visa was not renewed by Berlin’s immigration authorities.
In a similar dispute in November 2024, Russia expelledtwo employees of the German public broadcaster ARD. At the time, the residency permits of two Russian state television employees working in Berlin were also not renewed.
PresidentVladimir Putinsaid Russia is ready for a third round of talks with Ukraine, potentially to be held in Istanbul, although the time and venue have yet to be agreed upon.
According to Putin, Russia and Ukraine will continue their contacts following the completion of humanitarian exchanges. He added that Russia is prepared to return the bodies of 3,000 more Ukrainian soldiers.
Putin also noted that there were significant differences between the memorandums submitted by the two sides during previous talks, describing them as "absolutely contradictory." However, he expressed hope that continued dialogue would help bridge the gap.
The Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Istanbul on May 17 and June 2. However, the negotiations did not result in a breakthrough, with the only concrete outcome being a series of prisoner exchanges.
Following an arson attack on sixBundeswehrtrucks in Erfurt, the capital of the eastern German state ofThuringia, investigators are exploring the possibility of Russian involvement.
“We are also investigating in this direction,” said a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor's office in Erfurt. However, she emphasized that the investigation is currently pursuing all possible leads.
On Saturday evening, six Bundeswehr trucks parked at a workshop in Erfurt caught fire. On Thursday, photos showing the trucks both before and after the damage, along with a video of the blaze, appeared on the Russian-language Telegram channel "Obsessed with War."
The video apparently captures the beginning of the incident, according to the spokeswoman. "We are investigating who may have posted this video," she added. The Thuringian State Criminal Police Office announced that it is currently verifying the clip’s authenticity and origin.
The post accompanying the video claimed the trucks were intended for the Ukrainian army. "Our people decided that it was all unnecessary and that the Ukrainian armed forces didn't need such equipment. So they simply burned it," the post said in Russian.
However, the German Defense Ministry stated that the trucks were not destined for Ukraine. "These are the troops' tools of the trade," said a ministry spokeswoman in Berlin. She added that the vehicles were in no way connected to potential deliveries to Ukraine.
The Bundeswehr's local command in Thuringia confirmed awareness of the video. "In our opinion, it is still pure speculation at this stage as to whether it is an act of sabotage by pro-Russian actors or a misinformation campaign," said a spokesperson.
Thuringia's Interior Minister Georg Maier said it is still too early to determine who was behind the attack. "If it is confirmed that a foreign power — such as Russia — deliberately carried out sabotage here, then this is yet another attack on our democracy. I condemn such hostile acts on German soil in the strongest possible terms," he stressed.
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German ChancellorFriedrich Merzsaid he does not intend to speak with Russian PresidentVladimir Putinby phone for the time being.
When asked by theSüddeutsche Zeitungwhether he planned to call Putin, as his predecessor Olaf Scholz had occasionally done, the chancellor replied: "The Hungarian Prime Minister's recent visit to Moscow was met by Russia with heavy bombing of Kyiv and a hospital. The last phone call with my predecessor was followed by bombing of a children's hospital. So if that is the result of such phone calls, I would refrain from making them for a long time to come."
Asked whether he observed US PresidentDonald Trumpdistancing himself from Putin, Merz said Trump is showing growing skepticism and becoming more critical.
"This is a process. There is a great deal of consensus in Europe on the assessment of this war. I believe President Trump is moving closer to this assessment," the chancellor said.
On the topic of possible new US sanctions against Russia, Merz acknowledged that sanctions also affect the US economy. "But the US Senate is now intensively debating the imposition of sanctions, in which the president would have the final say. I am doing everything I can to ensure that the European Union and the United States impose tougher sanctions in unison," he said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the German ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff to announce retaliatory measures against the "persecution" of Russian journalists working in Germany, Russian state news agencies reported.
The dispute began after the head of Russia's state media company in Berlin, Sergei Feoktistov, accused German police of confiscating his family's passports, prompting Moscow to threaten retaliation.
According to RIA state news agency, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman had warned last week that Moscow was preparing countermeasures and urged German correspondents in Moscow to "get ready."
Russia has repeatedly accused Western countries of mistreating journalists and imposing restrictions on foreign media.
However, Russia itself has blocked access to dozens of Western media outlets and restricted coverage of the war in Ukraine.Deutsche Welle was banned in Russia in 2022, shortly after Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A Russian missile strike in Ukraine's industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk killed five people and injured 23 as Russian forces triedto gain a foothold in the regionfor the first time in the war.
According to regional Governor Sergiy Lysak, the attack targeted the town of Samar, outside the region's main city Dnipro.
Russian forces attacked both Dnipro and Samar with missiles earlier this week, killing at least 23 people. Ukrainian military officials said previous Russian attacks near Samar had hit Ukrainian military training facilities.
Separately, authorities in the northern Kharkiv region reported that one person was killed and three others injured in Russian attacks.
In the southern Kherson region, authorities urged residents to prepare for an extended period without electricity after a Russian strike hit a key energy facility.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 363 long-range drones and eight missiles overnight into Friday.
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We are following the latest developments concerningRussia's war in Ukraine.
On Thursday, EU leaders agreed at their summit in Brussles to extend sanctions on Russia for an additional six months and called for even greater efforts to deliver more military support for Ukraine.
The leaders also underlined the need to help Kyiv's defense industry, which can manufacture weapons and ammunition more quickly and cheaply than its European counterparts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was present for the summit via videolink. He urged the European Council to send "a clear political signal" that Brussels supports Kyiv's efforts to join the European Union and repeated his call to crack down on Russian oil revenues.
Meanwhile, Russia continues its air strikes on Ukraine and exerts further pressure on the front lines.
Stay tuned for more news and analyses.