Russia says ‘future of our children’ hinges on Ukraine war outcome

Russia unleashed hellfire on Ukraine with a swarm of 400 drones and 40 missiles in retaliation for Kyiv’s jaw-dropping raid on their air force as the Kremlin outlined why victory must be theirs.

The Kremlin said on Friday the Ukraine war was “existential” for Russia, after it launched a wave of retaliatory drone and missile strikes that killed three rescue workers in Kyiv and injured 49 others.

The comments are Moscow’s latest to dampen hopes for a breakthrough amid a flurry of meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, as well as telephone calls between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, aimed at stopping the fighting.

Firefighters extinguish a blaze in an industrial facility following Russian strike in Ternopil region. Picture: AFP

On Friday - days after the second round of Ukrainian-Russian ceasefire negotiations in Turkey ended without meaningful progress - the Kremlin cast its three-year invasion as nothing short of a battle for the “future” of Russia.

“For us it is an existential issue, an issue on our national interest, safety, on our future and the future of our children, of our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The attack also damaged buildings in the Poltava region. Picture: AFP

Peskov’s comments came shortly after the Russian defence ministry said its forces had launched the “massive” missile and drone strike in “response” to “terrorist acts by the Kyiv regime.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to take aim at Mr Trump in a post on X.

“If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives – that is complicity and accountability,” Mr Zelensky wrote.

“We must act decisively.”

FOLLOW UPDATES BELOW:

UKRAINE STRIKES RUSSIAN ARMY BASE

Ukraine struck a Russian army base and is believed to have destroyed a missile launcher as President Donald Trump is said to have privately praised “Russia’s Pearl Harbour” as “bad a**”.

The June 5 strike was aimed at Russian missile troops near the city of Klintsy in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast, according to a post on Telegram, by the General Staff of the Armed Forces in Ukraine.

Moscow’s troops had attempted to fire on Ukrainian territory — likely aiming at Kyiv — before it was hit, the agency said.

One Iskander missile launcher detonated, and two more were most likely damaged, they reported.

The agency added that there were no civilian casualties, and assessments of Russian losses are ongoing.

Explosion is seen after Russian air strike on Kyiv, Ukraine. Picture: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka

The Iskander is a short-range ballistic missile system used by Russia for precision strikes against military and infrastructure targets.

It comes after a surprise Ukraine drone attack on June 1 destroyed $11bn of Vladimir Putin’s war planes in Russia.

TRUMP PRAISED ‘BADA**’ UKRAINE DRONE ATTACK ON RUSSIA

President Donald Trump is said to have privately described Kyiv’s June 1 drone attack on Russia as “bada**”, Axios reported, but he was concerned it would make his truce effort more difficult.

Mr Trump said Thursday he had asked the Russian President to not retaliate after Ukraine’s drone attacks on its air bases.

“I said ‘don’t do it, you shouldn’t do it, you should stop it,’” Mr Trump told reporters, adding that Mr Putin had told him he had “no choice” but to respond.

President Donald Trump at the White House. Picture: AP

In a White House meeting on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged President Trump to put more pressure on Russia to bring an end to its three-year-old war against Ukraine

“You know that we gave support to Ukraine and that we are looking for more pressure on Russia,” Merz told the US leader.

The United States also called for an end to North Korea’s co-operation with Russia after leader Kim Jong-Un vowed “unconditional support” to Moscow in the Ukraine war.

“North Korea’s military deployment to Russia, and any support provided by the Russian Federation to the DPRK in return, must end,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told reporters, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

NATO CLOSES IN ON AGREEMENT TO MEET TRUMP SPENDING DEMAND

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said Thursday that NATO allies were close to a deal on spending ahead of a summit later this month, in a bid to satisfy Mr Trump’s demand that it reach five per cent of GDP.

Mr Trump is pressuring alliance members to announce a massive boost in the target for their military budgets at the June 24-25 summit in the Netherlands.

“Countries in there are well exceeding two per cent and we think very close, almost near consensus, on a five per cent commitment for NATO in The Hague later this month,” Mr Hegseth said after meeting his NATO counterparts in Brussels.

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth (C), British Secretary of State for Defence John Healy (R) and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (L) during the NATO Defence Ministers' meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Picture: Getty Images

The threat from Russia after more than three years of war in Ukraine and worries about US commitment to Europe’s security under Mr Trump are driving up military budgets in Europe.

It comes as the United States on Thursday named an American general as NATO’s new top commander in Europe, allaying fears Washington could relinquish a key role it has held since the alliance was founded.

Airforce general Alexus Grynkewich was nominated by Mr Trump and approved by NATO’s 32 allies, the US defence department and NATO said in statements.

- with AFP

Originally published as Russia says ‘future of our children’ hinges on Ukraine war outcome