Overview

• Russian forces carried out a massive aerial campaign across multiple Ukrainian regions, causing extensive infrastructure damage and civilian casualties.
• President Trump compared the conflict to two children fighting in a park and suggested pausing intervention during a June Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned Trump’s analogy and insisted the war is an existential issue tied to Russia’s security and national future.
• Trump has expressed frustration over the slow pace of peace negotiations and has urged European partners to intensify diplomatic pressure on Moscow.
• German Chancellor Merz called on the United States to take a more assertive stance against Russia to help bring the fighting to an end.