PROTECT YOURSELF with Orgo-Life® QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY
Orgo-Life the new way to the future Advertising by AdpathwayUkraine has intensified attacks on Russia's supply routes to Crimea, turning a key highway into what Russian troops reportedly call the "highway of death".
The R-280 highway – Moscow's only one of two reliable overland routes to the annexed peninsula – has come under heavy bombardment from Ukraine in recent months.
The campaign has left Russia with increasingly limited options for supplying Crimea. The Kerch Bridge, Moscow's alternative route into the peninsula, has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian strikes and is considered too vulnerable for the transport of fuel and military cargo.
That has placed greater importance on the R-280 highway, which is now under constant threat from Ukrainian drone attacks.
The pressure on the route is forcing Moscow to confront growing challenges in keeping Crimea supplied after more than four years of war.
It comes as a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and sparked a fire at a sea terminal in the southern Russian port of Temryuk, governor Veniamin Kondratiev said on the Telegram messaging app.
Meanwhile, the ambassadors from the European Union's 27 member states agreed to advance accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, paving the way for the first phase of negotiations to begin Monday.
Ukraine turns key bridge to Crimea into 'highway of death' with relentless drone strikes
Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russia's supply routes to Crimea, turning the R-280 highway – Moscow's last reliable overland route to the annexed peninsula – into what Russian troops reportedly call the "highway of death".
The campaign has left Russia with increasingly limited options for supplying Crimea. The Kerch Bridge, Moscow's alternative route into the peninsula, has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian strikes and is considered too vulnerable for the transport of fuel and military cargo.
That has placed greater importance on the R-280 highway, which is now under constant threat from Ukrainian drone attacks.
On 27 May, Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov formally launched a $113m (£84m) campaign to disrupt Russian logistics along the R-280 highway, turning weeks of escalating drone attacks into an official strategy aimed at cutting a key supply route to Crimea.
Military analysts have told The Telegraph the strategy reflects a classic focus on logistics rather than direct battlefield confrontation. Convoys travelling along the exposed highway in southern Ukraine have few places to hide from aerial surveillance and drone strikes.
The pressure on the route is forcing Moscow to confront growing challenges in keeping Crimea supplied after more than four years of war.
Shweta Sharma13 June 2026 11:06
Ukrane drone strikes kills one in Russia's Temryuk port
A Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and sparked a fire at a sea terminal in the southern Russian port of Temryuk, in the Krasnodar region, governor Veniamin Kondratiev said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine continues to pummel Russia's energy infrastructure as peace talks to resolve the Ukraine war have stalled.
Temryuk was previously targeted by Ukrainian drones in late May, when Kyiv's security service said it had struck a gas terminal there.
A separate strike on Saturday sparked a fire in an industrial area of the Kotovo district in the Volgograd region, regional authorities said, citing governor Andrei Bocharov.
Bocharov did not disclose details of the damage or identify the facilities affected.
On 1 June, Reuters reported that the Lukoil-owned Volgograd oil refinery in Russia's south, has suspended oil processing since 29 May following a Ukrainian drone attack.
Shweta Sharma13 June 2026 11:00
Putin says Russia developing satellite-based drone control system, Ifax says
Russia is developing a satellite-based system for controlling combat drones, president Vladimir Putin said on Friday during a meeting with military officials, the Interfax news agency reported.
Russian news agencies later said Putin issued a decree setting the size of the Russian military at 2,399,130 individuals, including 1,510,000 service members.
Shweta Sharma13 June 2026 10:30
Recap: Ukrainian attack on Crimea bridge ‘destroys 50 Russian military vehicles’
The Ukrainian military claims to have destroyed 50 Russian military vehicles in a strike on the Armiansk bridge, which connects occupied Crimea to mainland Ukraine.
Ukraine's 1st Separate Assault Regiment Da Vinci stated the attack "completely paralysed" this crucial logistical route, rendering it unusable for Russian forces.
Kyiv reported that the targeted Russian vehicles were laden with ammunition and fuel, intended for use near the Zaporizhzhia oblast.
Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, asserted that Ukraine possesses the capability to fully sever Russia’s access to Crimea in the "near future".
Shweta Sharma13 June 2026 10:00
In photos: Fuel crisis hits Crimea
Crimea is seeing lines for fuel and gas rationing after Ukrainian strikes.
It's not immediately clear how the fuel disruptions will affect Russian military operations, but residents of Crimea and other occupied territories are keenly feeling the blow.
The peninsula has had periodic fuel shortages from Ukrainian strikes before, but this crisis is the worst since its 2014 annexation.
At the end of May, authorities restricted the sale of gasoline to 20 liters (5 1/3 gallons) per vehicle owner per week using prepaid coupons. Those were snapped up immediately following their release on an official messaging app channel, and motorists lined up for hours, waiting to refuel.
Social networks have been abuzz with requests and advice on where to find fuel, and authorities launched a hotline for tourists who have found themselves trapped.
While fuel shipments over the Kerch Bridge long have been suspended for security reasons since the Ukrainian attacks, fuel also has been carried by ferries. Those shipments are expected to increase.
Some motorists bring their own gas over the bridge from the mainland, but they are restricted to carrying 100 liters (about 26 1/2 gallons) per vehicle. Some speculators are selling gas at double the market price.
Crimea attracted nearly seven million tourists last year, and it had hoped to top that number this year.
Shweta Sharma13 June 2026 09:30
Zelensky signs law to remove Russian as protected language
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a law removing Russian from the list of languages protected under Ukraine's implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said the move was aimed at protecting Ukraine's linguistic space and preventing what he described as continued Russian imperial influence.
"The language of the aggressor state cannot benefit from protection mechanisms created to support the languages of indigenous peoples and national communities," Stefanchuk said.
The law, which had been awaiting Zelensky's signature for more than six months, also removes the non-existent "Moldovan" language from the list of protected languages.
Ukraine says it remains committed to linguistic and cultural diversity while strengthening its linguistic security amid the war with Russia.
Shweta Sharma13 June 2026 09:00
Trump pushes for Europe to pay more as US plans major Nato force reduction: report
The Trump administration is reportedly planning a significant reduction in the aircraft and warships it allocates to Nato operations in Europe, according to a New York Times report citing two senior European officials.
This decision could severely curtail Nao’s capacity for long-range strikes and surveillance.
The proposed cuts include reducing the number of F-16 and F-15E fighter jets from approximately 150 to 100, scaling back maritime reconnaissance aircraft from 26 to 15, and withdrawing all eight aerial refueling tanker jets previously available to Europe.
Shweta Sharma13 June 2026 08:30
Ukrane drone strikes kills one in Russia's Temryuk port
A Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and sparked a fire at a sea terminal in the southern Russian port of Temryuk, in the Krasnodar region, governor Veniamin Kondratiev said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine continues to pummel Russia's energy infrastructure as peace talks to resolve the Ukraine war have stalled.
Temryuk was previously targeted by Ukrainian drones in late May, when Kyiv's security service said it had struck a gas terminal there.
A separate strike on Saturday sparked a fire in an industrial area of the Kotovo district in the Volgograd region, regional authorities said, citing governor Andrei Bocharov.
Bocharov did not disclose details of the damage or identify the facilities affected.
On 1 June, Reuters reported that the Lukoil-owned Volgograd oil refinery in Russia's south, has suspended oil processing since 29 May following a Ukrainian drone attack.
Shweta Sharma13 June 2026 08:08
Russia launches over 100 drones overnight
Russia launched 118 drones at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
Ukrainian air defences said they destroyed or jammed 110 of the drones across the country's north, south and east. However, strikes by three UAVs were recorded at three locations, while debris from downed drones fell at six sites.
The attack was still ongoing this morning, with several Russian drones reportedly remaining in Ukrainian airspace.
Separately, Ukraine's military said Russia lost 1,310 troops killed or wounded and 88 artillery systems over the previous day.
Shweta Sharma13 June 2026 08:00
Kyiv military chief accuses Russia of recruiting teenage Ukrainian teen girls to kill soldiers
Ukraine's police chief has accused Russia of recruiting teenage Ukrainian girls to kill Ukrainian military personnel, following the arrest of a 17-year-old suspected of murdering a serviceman on the instructions of a Russian operative.
In an interview published on Wednesday by Ukrainian media outlet Cenzor.NET, national police chief Ivan Vyhivskyi said there had this year been six cases of contract killings arranged via the Telegram messaging app, one of which was prevented.
"We are talking about planned murders organised by the special services of the aggressor state and carried out by Ukrainian citizens," he said.
Russia's FSB security service was not immediately available for comment. Russian security services accuse Kyiv of recruiting Russians for bombings in Russia, and Ukrainian military intelligence has claimed responsibility for assassinating several senior Russian officers since Moscow's 2022 invasion.
Vyhivskyi said Russian recruiters found young women via messaging platforms, promising them easy money and coordinating their actions remotely.
Devon Spurgeon, a Telegram spokesperson, said in an emailed comment that attempts to recruit people for sabotage on Telegram were routinely detected and removed. "Telegram is a platform for peaceful communication and privacy, not war."
The young women were instructed to search for Ukrainian military personnel on dating websites, and received money from their handlers to rent apartments to meet them, Vyhivskyi said.
They were told of places where they could obtain methadone, a synthetic opioid used as a painkiller that can be lethal in high doses, for lacing drinks, he said.
More than 1,100 Ukrainians have been accused of committing arson, terrorism or sabotage in betrayal of their country during the war, Ukraine's security service has said.
Police detained a 17-year-old woman in the western region of Zhytomyr last week following the poisoning of a serviceman and said she had been communicating via Telegram with a man who was likely a Russian security services agent.
She had received a parcel containing a crystalline substance which investigators presumed was methadone, police said.
Shweta Sharma13 June 2026 07:30
English (US) · 
French (CA) · 
French (FR) ·