Ukraine claims it has hit the Kerch Bridge with explosives. Meanwhile, an ally of Vladimir Putin has warned “retribution is inevitable” after Ukraine’s drone raids on Russian bombers. Follow the latest and submit a question for our next Q&A with analyst Michael Clarke below.
Tuesday 3 June 2025 14:51, UK
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Security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke will be answering your questions on the war in Ukraine tomorrow. Submit yours in the form at the top of the page.
Clarke takes a look at them each week and offers his insights on the likes of peace negotiations, the latest from the battlefield and Donald Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin.
A fourth person has died after the Russian attacks on Sumy last night.
The local government administration said a 43-year-old man had died in hospital.
His daughter, aged seven, was said to be “seriously injured”.
“We wish the girl and everyone who suffered from this cynical, vile attack by Russia on a peaceful city a speedy recovery,” the local administration said.
We’ve reported throughout the day on the attack – one of a number of overnight Russian strikes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack that left 24 people injured.
At least 24 people have been injured in the Russian attacks on Sumy, including one girl who was left in an “extremely serious condition”.
We previously reported that three people were killed during the strikes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks as “savage”, warning “many are wounded” – see our 10.27 post.
The strikes took place at around 9am local time, and images of the aftermath show destroyed cars.
In an update this afternoon, the local administration said: “At the moment, 24 people have been injured.
“15 people remain in the hospital, eight of whom are in serious condition, including three children.
“One girl is in extremely serious condition.”
By Rob Harris, sports correspondent
Since being seen at peace talks early in the war, Roman Abramovich has been low-key in the last three years.
The oligarch has neither supported nor condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine publicly – positions that could bring risks and consequences.
What we do know is he has not approved the release of funds from the government-enforced sale of the football club that provided his status beyond Russia.
Under the threat of sanctions, Abramovich had tried to hold on to Chelsea while relinquishing control.
Sanctions quashed that plan – as the government oversaw the unprecedented sale of one of the country’s most successful teams.
But one of Abramovich’s last public statements, in March 2022, was to express a desire for “all victims of the war in Ukraine” to benefit from the sale proceeds.
That conflicts with the desire in Westminster for cash to only flow into humanitarian causes in Ukraine and not potentially into Russia – the instigator of the war.
So, the £2.5bn generated from selling the Blues remains frozen, unable to be released to a new foundation to help those most in need.
The threat of legal action from the government is an escalation to pressure Abramovich.
Perhaps the dynamic would have changed had Donald Trump fulfilled a campaign pledge to swiftly end the war on his return to the Oval Office?
The slow pace of any peace talks delays any prospect of sanctions on Abramovich being lifted anytime soon.
Were they to be lifted, could Abramovich be in control of the destination of the windfall?
Overseeing a foundation personally could provide a route back into public life.
But will the close association with Vladimir Putin – something Abramovich has sought to deny – be too damaging in the long term?
And there is still a trail of questions about Abramovich’s business dealings.
To Chelsea supporters, though, there is some longing for the days of relative stability and constant silverware under the Russian, whose investment transformed their fortunes from 2003 to 2021.
Here are more of the latest images from Ukraine.
These show the aftermath of a drone strike overnight in Chernihiv.
This is the moment Ukraine claims it struck the Kerch Bridge in an underwater operation.
An SBU official said the attack was months in the making.
However, it isn’t clear how much damage it has caused, as a Telegram account associated with the bridge said traffic resumed across it as of 9am local time, before later being suspended again.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov gave his regular briefing before Ukraine revealed it had launched an underwater attack on the Kerch Bridge.
These are the first lines from the Kremlin’s spokesman since the talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul yesterday.
While negotiations made no progress on peace efforts, a prisoner and dead body exchange was agreed.
What did he say?
Peskov repeated a common line among Russian spokespersons, saying any peace would take time.
He also told reporters that the agreement reached in Turkey would be honoured.
Russia previously told Ukraine at the peace talks that it would only stop fighting if Kyiv gave up huge chunks of new territory – demands Ukraine has previously rejected.
Peskov also said Russia was up for further high-level contact with the US.
Once one of Russia’s main opponents on the international stage, under President Donald Trump, some have said the two administrations have brought the countries closer together.
When asked about Ukraine’s daring drone raid over the weekend, Peskov only said that Vladimir Putin was being updated and an investigation was under way.
This also repeats a trend from Russian officials of not focusing too much on the surprise drone raid over the weekend.
This belated, and muted, response was something our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett brokedown in our 11.24 post.
The Kerch Bridge – which Ukraine’s security service says it has attacked with underwater explosives – is Vladimir Putin’s “pride and joy”, according to our military analyst Michael Clarke.
He was asked about the ramifications of an attack on the bridge to Crimea in his regular Ukraine war Q&A last week.
Here’s what he said:
The Kerch Bridge is used by Russia to transport supplies and weapons to its forces in occupied Crimea.
There have been two previous attacks on the bridge during the war. The first was possibly from a truck bomb, Clarke said, which did a “tremendous” amount of damage, while the second was from small UAV drones.
“The bridge is now very heavily defended,” Clarke said.
Why is the bridge important?
Before the bridge that connects Russia and Crimea was built, there was only a ferry linking the two, Clarke explained.
“After 2014, when the Russians took over Crimea illegally, they built this very long bridge, which is Putin’s pride and joy. And he drove over it in a big truck in 2018 to show how important it was.”
Clarke added: “The point is, the bridge is an absolutely legitimate military target because it’s an illegal bridge.”
The bridge transports material backwards and forwards into Crimea, which then goes north into Zaporizhzhia and Kherson for the war against Ukraine.
“Dropping that bridge would have a strategic impact, but a big, big symbolic impact. And it would annoy the bejesus out of Putin,” Clarke said.
Michael Clarke is back tomorrow for his regular Q&A – submit your questions in the box at the top of the page.
Ukraine’s security service has just said it has hit a bridge to Crimea with underwater explosives.
In a post on X, the SBU also shared a video showing a blast at the Kerch Bridge.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 during a period of political turmoil in Ukraine, and has continued to hold the territory illegally.
The operation was a result of “several months” of work, the SBU said, adding mines were detonated at 4.44am this morning without civilian casualties.
Russian media had earlier reported the bridge was closed, but did not give a reason why.
“The underwater supports of the pillars were severely damaged at the bottom level,” the SBU said.
Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, who oversaw the operation, said there is “no place for any illegal Russian objects on the territory of our state”.
“Therefore, the Crimean bridge is an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops,” he added.
Ukraine previously hit the same bridge in 2022 and 2023.
A Telegram account that provides information on the bridge said traffic to the Kerch Bridge resumed at 9am local time, so it isn’t clear how badly damaged it is.
By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor
The UK will be forced to agree this month to increase defence spending to 3.5% of national income within a decade as part of a NATO push to rearm and keep the US on side, Sky News understands.
The certainty of a major policy shift means there is bemusement in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) about why Sir Keir Starmer’s government has tied itself in knots over whether to describe an earlier plan to hit 3% of GDP by the 2030s as an ambition or a commitment, when it is about to change.
The problem is seen as political, with the prime minister needing to balance warfare against welfare – more money for bombs and bullets or for winter fuel payments and childcare.
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