Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb, While Russia Stalls On Their Proposed 'Memorandum' For Peace
There were numerous talks on holding ‘the talks’, then Ukraine pulled a rabbit out of the bag with Operation Spider Web on 1 June 2025, which had been planned 18 months. It was a coordinated drone attack across Russia, where 100 plus drones were activated remotely, and had been hidden in Russian trucks whose destinations were airfields. The Russian lost aircraft and their bases were damaged.
Then on 3 June 2025, Ukraine sabotaged the illegal Kerch Bridge in Crimea, with underwater explosives. Needles to say, the 2 June 2025 talks in Istanbul only resulted in an agreement to exchange POWs and to return the bodies of the dead. Russia will no doubt retaliate, and said that if Ukraine continues to attack them then there can be no more talks.
Russia also delivered their ‘memorandum’ for peace or rather to end the war, and nothing has changed, since 2022 where Russia wants Ukraine to surrender. The only difference is that they want the occupied regions of Ukraine to be officially recognised as part of the Russian Federation, and for Ukrainian soldiers to leave what is Ukrainian territory.
As a Ukrainian said, this is to show the US that Russia can be beaten and that Ukraine can put up a good defence, because the US has more or less told Ukraine they can’t win and should agree to a peace deal to stop the fighting. The problem with the US at present is that the government is unstable, one minute they say one thing, then the next day it’s another. Trump has admonished Putin telling him to ‘stop’ the fighting, and the Kremlin responds that Trump is just ‘emotional’. What is evident is that the US cannot be relied on to support Ukraine, where one minute they tell them that they will provide weapons to defend themselves, and the next minute that they need to cede territory for the sake of peace. The message is inconsistent and confusing to use observing let alone the allies and Ukraine.
The new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, seems much more forthright than Scholz, his predecessor, where Germany has stated it will finance long-range missiles for Ukraine. The missiles will be made in Ukraine, and Germany will purchase them for Ukraine. This is a positive step although there has been no talk of Taurus missiles, with Merz stating that training takes several months.
All in all, Russia has been stalling to regroup, train new recruits and to acquire further weapons from North Korea, China, and Iran, all under the radar of course. No one expected the talks to amount to any advancement towards peace, and with summer on the horizon, there will be an inevitable new Russian offensive that is already happening in Sumy and Kharkiv as Russia seeks to advance further into Ukraine. Hardly the actions of a country that is seeking an end to the war or peace.
What is NATO doing? Asking members of the alliance to increase spending on defence to 5% of their GDP. I’d rather they did something about Hungary and Slovakia who are pro-Putin and are doing nothing to help the alliance or to create stability in the region.
Day 1183 (22 May)
The Polish Air Force intercepted a Russian Su– 24 bomber that performed manoeuvers that were considered dangerous and deliberate in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.
The leader of the G7 have pledged to freeze Russian assets until the end of the war in order to support the recovery of Ukraine.
Russia shuts down a number of airports in Moscow due to Ukrainian drone strikes.
Day 1184 (23 May)
Ukraine and Russia carry out the largest prisoner swap since the start of the invasion. 390 soldiers and civilians were exchanged.
Ukraine has handed over 70 collaborators to Russia as part of the 1000 for 1000 prisoner swap.
Two Russian jets are alleged to have violated Finnish airspace.
Day 1185 (24 May)
Kyiv was attached by Russia with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 drones overnight damaging homes are more than a school. This is one of the largest attacks since 2022.
Russia has rejected unconditional ceasefire in peace talks according to Ukraine stating it is unacceptable.
As part of the final phase of the thousand for 1000 prisoner exchange with Russia, 303 prisoners of war return to Ukraine.
Zelensky says that the US silence on the attacks in Ukraine encourages Putin and calls for a stronger sanctions from the US and other countries that have remained silent.
Russia said it would reveal its peace terms a memorandum after the final prisoner exchange. However, it did not appear until the 31st May, less than 48 hours before the meeting in Istanbul on 2 June, and most of the demands were repeats of what has been put on the table before which has effectively been to tell Ukraine to surrender. The addition is that the occupied territories in Ukraine be international recognise as part of the Russian Federation as part of the ceasefire demands.
Day 1186 (25 May)
Russian launches 355 drones and 9 missiles at Ukraine, a record number according to Ukraine.
Ukraine claims that Russia is stalling on discussions, an office no specifics or proposals and are wasting time. The only way to force Russia to discuss matters is through sanctions.
In an interview with Gen Oleh Ivashchenko, he stated that Russia's objective is to fully capture the Ukrainian regions that it partly controls, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporihzhia and Kherson.
Day 1187 (26 May)
Trump calls Putin ‘crazy’ after a large scale attack overnight killed 12 people in Ukraine and injured more. Zelenskyy had said that the US’s silence on Russia was encouraging Putin, and Trump has delayed imposing further sanctions against Russia, claiming it would hinder peace talks. Rather, if sanctions were imposed then Russia would be more likely to negotiate.
I don't know what's wrong with him. What the hell happened to him? He's killing a lot of people. I'm not happy about that.
I've always gotten along with him, but he's sending rockets into cities and killing people and I don't like it at all. (Trump)
I've always said that Putin wants all of Ukraine, not just a piece of it and maybe that's proving to be right but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia. (Trump)
If Trump understands that Putin wants Ukraine, then why is he pushing for Ukraine to give up land when it will encourage Putin to take more?
Russia responds saying that Trump has ‘emotional overload’ rather than to criticise him.
This is a very crucial moment which is associated with the emotional overload of everybody absolutely and with emotional reactions. (Peskov)
Macron commented that Trump has finally realised that Putin had been lying, and hoped that it would encourage Trump to take action. Alas, Trump still has stalled on imposing further sanctions against Russia.
Finland summons the Russian ambassador over airspace violations, where two Russian military aircraft were suspected of entering finish airspace off Porvoo.
A note was found inside of a Russian drone that was launched into Ukraine that refers to a new drone control algorithm. It is suspected that the note was left by a Russian engineer stated that drones are now controlled by Telegram bots and send real time video and flight data to operators.
Latvia calls upon the EU to halt Russian visas over security concerns. Some EU countries have already restricted visas for Russian citizens.
Germany has set a 2029 deadline to be fully armed momentarily due to fears of a Russian attack.
Day 1188 (27 May)
Medvedev of Russia makes a threat against Trump calling Putin ‘crazy’, and threatens WWIII
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The Russians are seeking to reconnect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to their own energy system while trying to construct the power lines in the occupied Ukrainian regions.
The Council of the European Union is holding another hearing regarding the potential loss of Hungary’s voting rights. Hungary has been a stumbling block in providing aid for Ukraine where the leader Orban is pro-kremlin while being a member of the EU and NATO. This comes as a spy ring was discovered in Hungary near the border of Ukraine.
Ukraine and security services detained an electrician driver who was working in a military unit in Kirovohrad who allegedly was directing Russian air attacks on behalf of the FSB. The driver allegedly collected the coordinates of the hospitals where the defence forces and other medical facilities of injured soldiers were being treated. He also shared information of the roots of the military units that were heading towards the front line and detail details of what weapons they had. Information also indicated that he would also then join the military army of Russia to fight against Ukraine.
The UK will use $3 billion from frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukrainian weapon purchases, equipment repairs another defence projects.
In Sumy, Russia has taken control of 4 settlements, Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka. Reports claimed that the settlements had been evacuated a while ago.
Zelenskyy says that the US will not support a full withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the 4 partially occupied regions. Either way, even if US does support it, they have no say in what the Ukrainian army does.
The US blocks the G7 who wish to tighten the price of Russian oil. The proposal was dropped after the US treasury secretary Scott Bessant declined to support it.
Trump has admitted to protecting Russia from ‘really bad things’ during Ukrainian peace talks which suggests some bias and that under Trump, the US cannot be trusted to be an ally towards Ukraine.
What Vladimir Putin doesn't realise is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would've already happened to Russia, and I mean really bad. (Trump)
Day 1189 (28 May)
Ukraine has charged a Russian soldier with shooting to Ukrainian prisoners of war, who is a rifle man from the 40th separate marine grade of the Russian armed forces. This was near Kursk, and two days after the crime the soldier was captured.
Reports claims that Putin will demand a written promise from western leaders that NATO will not expand eastwards, and that would include Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova stating that these countries another former Soviet republics will not become NATO members in the future. This is a good indication that Putin is seeking to reassemble the Soviet Union, therefore there is good justification to assist Ukraine to prevent Russia from becoming the Soviet Union again.
NATO officials reject the Russian demand to halt expansion, with reports saying that the demand is unrealistic and it is not something that they can just get. It would also be against the NATO charter which allows any country to apply for membership to alliance.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had carried out a coordinated strike of 400 small drones on 40 Russian units.
Russia has tried to create a buffer zone near the border of Sumy with a reported concentration of 50,000 soldiers.
Ukraine orders mandatory evacuation from 11 additional villages in Sumy due to the buildup of troops around the borders.
Turkey and Belgium join the drone coalition making it 20 member states to date.
The EU has proposed a new Black Sea security strategy called the Black Sea Maritime security hub that would monitor and protect infrastructure.
Zelenskyy visits Germany. The German chancellor Merz has said it is possible for the transfer of long range TAURUS missiles in the future said that it takes months to train in order to use them. He also announced a new €5 billion military aid package and signed in agreement to finance long range weapons to be made in Ukraine. This means that Germany will provide long range weapons for Ukraine that will be manufactured there rather than being transferred from Germany.
Germany will also help finance Starlink operations in Ukraine.
Day 1190 (29 May)
Evidence that China is assisting Russia comes to light as the Chinese company DJI that produces Mavic drones has a production base in Russia.
Russia has claimed that Serbian defence companies are supplying ammunition to Ukraine despite being a military neutral territory and that to Serbia is ‘shooting Russia in the back’. Serbia responded by saying that its interests are only to protect Serbia and denies supplying ammunition to Ukraine.
Last year, monitors report that North Korea sent Russia at least 100 ballistic missiles. These are illegal arms transfers have increased the missile attack against Ukrainian cities and have talked to civilians.
Day 1191 (30 May)
Reports claim that Russia is making billions from fossil fuels from the West, and that this is funding the war against Ukraine. Figures show that the West has paid more to Russia than it has given in aid to Ukraine.
Russia calls for a buffer zone, claiming border regions are not habitable. Of course they aren’t and no one should be living there while a war is on. They want a buffer zone in Belgorod to force the Ukrainians back.
Russia is trying to enter the villages of Khotin and Yunakivka on the border of Sumy, and Ukraine is defending the borders as Russia continues to advance in Ukraine.
Ukraine carried out an operation in Desantnaya in Vladivostok damaging the base of the 47th assault battalion of Russia's 155th Marine brigade.
Trump shows his inexperience and disillusion saying he was very surprised and disappointed at Russian attacks on Ukraine amid peace talks.
I've gotten to see things I was very surprised at. Rockets being shot into cities like Kyiv during a negotiation that was maybe very close to ending. All of a sudden rockets got shot into a couple of cities and people died. I saw things I was surprised at and I don't like being surprised so I'm very disappointed in that way. (Trump)
Day 1192 (31 May)
A Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian training Centre killed 12 Ukrainian soldiers and injured 60. The report did not identify where the training ground was.
Claims are made that Russian soldiers have surrendered because abuse in their units is worse than captivity.
Former US State Secretary Mike Pompeo visited Odessa and urges Trump not to the demise the occupied territories in Ukraine.
Day 1193 (1 Jun)
Ukraine carried out Operation Spiderweb, where lorries in Russia had been secretly loaded with drones. The lorries were bound for Russian airbases, and the drones were activated remotely and destroyed 40 aircraft and damaged the surrounding infrastructure
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The drones attacked 4 Russian military airbases in central, northern Russia and Siberia. Among the aircraft that was hit were.A-50, Tu-95, and Tu-160 models. An estimated $7 billion worth of damage was the result of operation Spidersweb.
This boosted morale in Ukraine, and the operation had taken 18 months to plan. Russia said it was an act of terrorism.
Day 1194 (2 Jun)
Talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations take place in Istanbul, and lasted 1 hour. The only thing to come out of the talks was the agreement for further prisoner swaps and for the repatriation of bodies. This came as no surprise as Russia presented Ukraine with a ‘memorandum’ that effectively told them to surrender and that the occupied territories needed to be formally recognised as part of the Russian Federation, and that Ukrainian soldiers must leave Ukraine!
National security advisors from the US, Germany, France and the UK also took part in the peace talks that included NATO membership. At this point, no one has been privy to the Russian memorandum that the country has said would lay out the terms for a ceasefire.
Ukrainian had requested an unconditional ceasefire but Russia rejected this and suggested a frontline truce for two or three days in certain areas in order to retrieve bodies of the fallen. The two sides only agreed to returning the bodies of 12,000 soldiers and to exchange sick and wounded prisoners of war and those aged under 25
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Russian media posted the memorandum, outlining the Russian conditions for a peaceful settlement. The document contained 31 points including the following demands: the withdrawal of the Ukrainian defence forces Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzia, the international recognition of the Russian occupation of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, for Ukraine to remain neutral and to agree not to join any defence alliances, to limit the size of the armed forces in Ukraine, to ensure that Russian is the official language of Ukraine, that all sanctions against Russia are lifted, and that the demand that the Russian Federation pay damages from all the hostilities to be abandoned.
Zelenskyy arrives in Lithuania for a summit with the Bucharest 9 Nordic countries.
Day 1195 (3 Jun)
Ukraine sabotages the Kerch (Crimea) Bridge for the third time by using underwater explosives by the supports. The operation has lasted for several months , and the first explosive was detonated at 4:44 am with no casualties.
A Ukrainian delegation arrived in Washington to discuss defence support, sanctions against Russia and also the minerals deal on an agreement of the establishment of the reconstruction investment fund.
Russia attacks further regions in Sumy as Russian seeks to gain more territory.
Russian troops attacked Chrystovodivka in Kharkiv using a rocket launcher, killing 2 people and injuring at least 3 others.
Day 1196 (4 Jun)
Trump holds a phone call with Putin, and states that Russia will retaliate (Operation Spiderweb) and that it won’t be pretty. He fails to address the Russian attacks on Ukraine.
Reports claim that 20 aircraft were damaged on 1 June 2025 and not the 40 that Ukraine had claimed to have destroyed. Russia also said that some of the aircraft could be repaired.
In an interview, Zelenskyy said that if Russia had agreed to a ceasefire, Operation Spiderweb would not have been carried out.
Trump has again asked the Senate to delay voting on a Russian sanctions bill.
Putin has rejected a proposed summit of leaders, claiming that the bombings in Russia were sabotage and that the Ukrainian government carries out acts of terrorism and is being governed by a terrorist that target civilians.Putin says there will be no peace talks, but in truth did he ever want them? Wasn’t he merely stalling for time again to prevent the US from imposing further sanctions against Russia?
Reports claim that the US defence secretary Pete Hegseth will not attend the meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group which would be the first time since the Ramstein format was formed. The last time a meeting was held Hegseth attended via video link after reports claimed he would not participate.
Day 1197 (5 Jun)
Ukraine has struck a Russian missile base in Bryansk, damaging two Iskander launchers and destroying another.
Trump requests that Congress delay their vote on sanctions against Russia, claiming that it would damage peace talks. This is ludicrous as the peace plan was presented to Russia 3 months ago and they have actually responded except for a memorandum requiring Ukraine to surrender and for allies to stop providing them with weapons.
Reports claim that Russians are impersonating Ukraine's security service in order to recruit saboteurs.
North Korea reaffirms the unconditional support for Russia's war in Ukraine during Shoigu’s visit, stating that they support Russian foreign policies
Russia accuses Britain for providing drones that were used in Russia leading to the damage of a number of aircraft on 1 June 2025.
Day 1198( 6 Jun)
NATO asks members to spend 5% of GDP on defences to help bolster the NATO defence line.
The EU is providing €13 million to help the reconstruction of the water supply in Kryvji Rih after the Russian attacks on the dam.
Merz of Germany failed to secure support for Ukraine from Trump after his visit. Trump did not commit to supporting Ukraine with weapons or imposing sanctions on Russia and instead hinted that sanctions could apply to Ukraine.
Russian attacks in Ukraine included a heavy attack in Kyiv in response to Operation Spiderweb.
Trump is said to be quietly pressuring the Senate to insert waivers in the sanctions bill against Russia so he can pick and choose what can be permitted.
Day 1199 (7 Jun)
Zelenskyy has stated that only domestic drones were used in Operation Spiderweb, since Russia has claimed that British drones were used in the operation and has led to threats against the country.
Ukraine has shut down a Russian SU – 35 fighter jet in Kursk, indicating that they still have a presence in the area since the incursion in August 2024.
The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint statement affirming their support for Ukraine to join NATO and the EU. They said it would ‘ consolidate a just and lasting in peace not only in Ukraine, but also in all of Europe.