NATO Shoots Down Drone Over Latvia; Ukraine Recaptures 100 sq km, Hits Russian Sites
NATO forces shot down a drone over Latvia, the country's first such intercept. Ukraine recaptured 100 sq km in May, inflicting $1 billion in damage on Russian sites, including a key oil depot. Meanwhile, Ukraine is advancing drone and EW technology, while international support for its peace terms grows.
NATO fighters from the Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle over Latvia's eastern Latgale region. This marks Latvia's first intercept and the second in the Baltics in three weeks, as spillover from Russia's war in Ukraine accelerates.
Ukraine recaptured 100 square kilometers in May, with deep strikes costing Russia $1 billion. Commander Syrskyi reported 111 Russian sites hit. One strike targeted the Grushovaya depot near Novorossiysk, a key point for Russian crude oil reaching the sea via tunnels. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests these strikes will disrupt Russia's rear supply network, which relies on two highways to supply occupied Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk.
In technology, Belarus claims its AI-driven 'Ross' counter-drone EW system, capable of detecting drones, jamming signals, and adapting in real time, is nearing completion. Ukraine has codified an armored vehicle with 10 EW modules to counter FPV drones and approved an 80 km/h electric motorcycle that defeats thermal imaging and acoustic detection. Ukraine also used an AI drone to shoot down a Russian Shahed, automating 95% of the kill.
Internationally, over 350 leaders from 50 countries adopted the Bern Declaration at the first Global Ukrainian Summit, outlining a seven-point wartime action plan. 61% of Ukrainians reject a ceasefire without security guarantees but would accept one with European troops on the frontline. President Zelenskyy told Sky News that freezing the war along current lines is the quickest way to peace, not a concession, aiming to save children and bring soldiers home with monitoring missions and allied guarantees. Britain, France, and Germany support Ukraine's peace terms and press Putin for a ceasefire.
Humanitarian concerns include rising premature births in Ukraine's front-line regions, attributed to the war. A food shortage in occupied Rubizhne is reported, with Russia blocking civilian deliveries and blaming drones, a tactic previously seen in Oleshky. Politically, Russians withdrew a 30-year record of cash from banks in May due to geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. A Ukrainian defense official faces trial for sending 300,000 pairs of useless gloves to the front, and a sergeant was arrested for stealing and attempting to sell 16 FPV drones. Hungary's anti-corruption watchdog calls for prosecuting Orbán's former inner circle over billions in missing EU funds. The WSJ reports Putin's sanctioned inner circle continues buying Western business jets via middlemen. Ukraine foiled a Russian plot to assassinate a GUR spokesman with an FPV drone.