An ally of Vladimir Putin has warned “retribution is inevitable” after Ukraine’s drone raids on Russian bombers. At least three people have been killed in strikes on Ukraine overnight. Follow the latest and submit a question for our next Q&A with analyst Michael Clarke below.
Tuesday 3 June 2025 11:46, UK
Security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke will be answering your questions on the war in Ukraine this Wednesday.
You can submit a question via the form at the top of this page.
Clarke takes a look at them each week and offers his insights on the likes of peace negotiations, the latest from the battlefield, or Donald Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin.
Catch up on last week’s Q&A below…
The following are the latest pictures from one of Ukraine’s divisions, on the frontline.
Soldiers with the 28th Separate Mechanised Bridge fired towards Russian troops in the photos released today – but taken on Monday.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
Dmitry Medvedev is the first senior Russian official to comment on Sunday’s drone attack, and his words are predictably combative.
“Retribution is inevitable,” he warned on Telegram, adding: “Everything that needs to be blown up will be blown up, and those who must be eliminated will be.”
The former Russian leader, who was seen as a moderniser during his 2008-2012 presidency, is now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, where he has reinvented himself as Vladimir Putin’s most hawkish hardliner, regularly threatening nuclear apocalypse on Ukraine and its Western allies.
Though often outlandish and at times bordering on the absurd, his comments do offer an insight into the more extreme thinking within the Kremlin’s leadership.
In this case, it’s a clear warning that Russia will retaliate.
The most interesting thing about his words, though, is how long it’s taken to type them.
Normally, the fury flows from his fingertips unabated.
But here it’s taken almost 48 hours to respond to something that caused headlines around the world.
And at the time of his post, there still hadn’t been any word from the Kremlin. Extraordinary.
I think it’s a clear sign that Moscow doesn’t want to draw attention to what was a humiliating attack. The more they comment on it, the more prominent it becomes.
It might also be because they are still figuring out how to respond.
Medvedev states what we all knew already – that there will be a riposte at some point.
But we still don’t know what it will be, nor when it will come.
And maybe they don’t either.
Watch Ivor Bennett’s analysis of the Russian media’s response in the video below:
A Russian rocket attack has damaged a Ukrainian energy facility overnight, according to one minister.
German Galuschenko, energy minister, didn’t name the power plant, but said it was a large energy facility.
We reported earlier on allegations of attacks on infrastructure traded between the two sides.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian power systems – damaging both generation capacity and distribution.
As both Ukraine and Russia come out the other side of more peace talks, with a long way to go before any serious compromise is reached, fighting continues on the battlefield.
Scroll through the maps below to view different parts of the battlefield, including the situation in key regions such as Luhansk, Donetsk, Kursk and Belgorod.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has responded to the Russian attack on Sumy – which we reported on at 8.46.
He described it as a “savage strike” that was a “fully deliberate attack on civilians.”
Three people are said to have died, up from two previously, according to the Ukrainian leader.
Suspline reported that 25 people were injured, with three children and three adults said to be in a serious condition.
Images from the scene of the attack show destroyed cars in the city’s centre.
A rescue operation is said to be under way and “many people have been wounded,” Zelenskyy said.
“At least one [artillery] shell was a dud. It pierced the wall of an ordinary apartment room on the 9th floor,” he added.
He went on: “That alone says everything one needs to know about Russia’s so-called ‘desire’ to end this war.
“It is obvious: without global pressure – without decisive actions from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who has the power – Putin will not agree even to a ceasefire.”
He called for tougher sanctions on Russia for their “aggression and the killing of people”.
Russia has reportedly captured the Ukrainian settlement of Andriivka in the Sumy region, according to state media.
RIA reported the move, citing the defense ministry, which later repeated the claims.
The reports from the battlefield have not been independently verified.
A delegation from Ukraine has arrived in Washington DC today.
The group is headed by minister Yulia Svyrydenko and includes members from her treasury team as well as Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff.
Yermak posted about the trip and said they would be meeting with members of Donald Trump’s team.
He outlined a range of topics they would discuss with the administration, as well as both Democratic and Republican politicians.
This included the signed minerals deal and the talks in Istanbul.
“The truth is on our side,” he said.
It comes as Senator Lindsey Graham’s bill to impose more sanctions on Russia is set to move ahead this week.
The South Carolina politician has outlined the legislation which sets a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products.
The UK government has threatened to sue the former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, over how the money from the sale of the London football club will be used.
Britain sanctioned Abramovich in a crackdown on Russian oligarchs after Russia’s invasion in 2022.
It triggered a rushed sale of the Premier League club and the freezing of the proceeds – £2.5bn.
The government wants the money spent only in Ukraine – in line with a wider European push for Moscow to foot the bill for the death and destruction in the country.
However, Abramovich wants the money to go to all victims.
In a rare joint statement, British Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Tuesday the government was ready to step up efforts to secure the money.
Read more below:
Here are the latest pictures from the city of Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region, after a Russian attack.
Locals were left to pick through the rubble amid the destruction.
Russia has seemingly responded to Ukraine’s daring drone raid over the weekend.
Dmitry Medvedev, in apparent reference to the Saturday night attack, said: “Retribution is inevitable”.
One of Putin’s key allies, he seemed to say Russia would be taking revenge.
He posted cryptically on Telegram, saying: “To all who are worried and waiting for retribution.
“You need to worry – this is a normal person’s quality.
“Retribution is inevitable.”
‘Istanbul talks not for compromise’
He also touched on the peace talks that made little ground this week, but led to another prisoner exchange.
“The negotiations in Istanbul are needed not for a compromise peace on unrealistic conditions invented by someone, but for our speedy victory and the complete destruction of [Ukraine’s government]”, he said.
He also explicitly said Russia’s army would continue to advance, all raising further questions of Moscow’s commitment to achieving peace.
Who is Medvedev?
The deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, he served as the country’s president from 2008 to 2012 – with Vladimir Putin both his predecessor and successor.
Putin also served as prime minister during his term, with many questioning who really held the power.
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