The Daily Populous Wednesday June 4th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by kyivindependent.com and submitted by AdSpecialist6598

This audio is created with AI assistance

Ukraine would not have launched its drone strike on Russian strategic bombers if Moscow had accepted Kyiv's calls for a ceasefire, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a June 4 meeting with journalists attended by the Kyiv Independent.

Kyiv has repeatedly urged Russia to accept a Western-backed 30-day ceasefire as the first step toward a broader peace deal — a move that Moscow again rejected during a recent round of negotiations in Istanbul on June 2.

"If there had been a ceasefire, would the operation have taken place? No," Zelensky said when asked about the massive June 1 drone operation, codenamed Operation Spiderweb.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed responsibility for the strike, which reportedly hit 41 Russian military aircraft and caused an estimated $7 billion in damage.

Zelensky added that roughly half of the planes will be impossible to repair, while others will require significant time to be put back into service.

When asked about a potential reaction from U.S. President Donald Trump, Zelensky said he was unaware of any public comment.

Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, acknowledged that the strike demonstrated Ukraine was "not lying down," but he warned it could escalate the war further. The U.S. president has not yet commented on the strike.

"We should choose the game rules," Zelensky said, underscoring that Ukraine would continue to respond as long as Russia carries out attacks against Ukrainian territory.

The SBU said 117 drones, launched from trucks hidden across Russia, struck four different Russian air bases, some of them thousands of kilometers from the Russia-Ukraine border.

The targeted facilities reportedly housed Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, essential carriers of long-range cruise missiles used in Moscow's air strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Talking about the recent peace talks, Zelensky dismissed Russia's engagement as "artificial diplomacy," calling the "peace memorandum" it presented an "ultimatum." He noted that there is no sense in continuing negotiations with lower-level Russian delegates, calling instead for a meeting with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia used the talks to list its peace conditions, which reportedly included official recognition of Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territories, Ukraine's full withdrawal from four partially occupied regions, a ban on joining NATO, limits on the military, and other demands.

Like the first round of talks on May 16, this week's negotiations ended without any tangible progress toward a long-term ceasefire or a peace deal. Instead, the two parties agreed on a new prisoner exchange, which could involve up to 1,200 prisoners on each side.

JPR_FI on June 4th, 2025 at 13:44 UTC »

Putin / Russia is likely in total paranoid mode, checking all freight is huge undertaking so might be very efficient to fake bogus operations with only goal to force Russia spend the resources.

skucera on June 4th, 2025 at 13:22 UTC »

Ukraine wouldn't have killed over 100,000 Russian combatants if Russia hadn't invaded in the first place.

TopEagle4012 on June 4th, 2025 at 13:07 UTC »

When I think of asking Russia for a ceasefire I think of how many times do you have to put your hand in electrical outlet before you realize you're going to get continuously shocked?