Ukraine softens Russia's 'retaliatory' attack with 'preventive' strike
Ukraine's defence forces claim to have launched a "preemptive" strike as Russia was preparing for a large-scale drone and missile attack on Ukrainian cities.
The General Staff reported that Ukraine hit a Russian airfield and military facilities on the eve of Moscow's massive attack overnight on Friday.
Kyiv says on the night of 6 June it hit Engels airfield in Russia's Saratov region, a place of concentration of Russian aircraft left over from the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) operation.
Also in the Saratov region, numerous hits were confirmed on at least three fuel reservoirs on the eve of a Russian attack, followed by a large-scale fire at the facility, Kyiv reported.
Apart from that the airfield of Dyagilevo in Russia's Ryazan region was it. Kyiv says this is where air refuelling and escort fighters are based and used to support missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine.
Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine also hit a Russian missile base in the Bryansk region, damaging Iskander missile launchers, the Ukrainian military said.
The targeted unit near the city of Klintsy had attempted to fire on Ukrainian territory — likely aiming at Kyiv — before it was hit, according to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
The Iskander is a short-range ballistic missile system used by Moscow for precision strikes against military and infrastructure targets. Overnight on Friday Russia launched six Iskander ballistic missiles at Ukraine — and Kyiv managed to intercept four of them.
Russia's Bryansk region borders Ukraine's Sumy region, which has become a major target of Moscow's assault operations.
Three days after Ukraine's daring Operation "Spiderweb" against Russian military airfields and heavy bombers, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to "retaliate" against Ukraine, which he invaded over three years ago, with Moscow launching daily missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian cities and civilian targets since then.
US President Donald Trump said Putin told him about it during the phone call on Wednesday.
The Russian president did not make any public comments about Kyiv's operation since Sunday, when Ukraine hit over 40 Russian bombers at four airfields with the FPV drones launched from Russian territory near the airfields.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would not have launched its drone strike on Russian strategic bombers if Moscow had accepted Ukraine's calls for a ceasefire.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged Russia to accept the US-backed 30-day ceasefire proposal, which Kyiv says could be the first step to putting an end to Russia's all-out war against Ukraine.
Commenting on Russia's "retaliatory" attack on Friday, Ukraine's president said that "Russia's doesn't change its stripes – another massive strike on cities and ordinary life," pointing to Moscow's regular attacks on civilians in Ukraine.
'Russia must be held accountable for this. Since the first minute of this war, they have been striking cities and villages to destroy life,' Zelenskyy added, calling for more pressure to be put on Moscow by Ukraine's western partners, specifically the US.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions on Russia if he does not see progress in peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, but hasn't done it.
When asked by reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday as to whether a deadline exists for the implementation of sanctions, Trump replied: "Yes, it's in my brain the deadline," without specifying a date.
'We've done a lot together with the world to enable Ukraine to defend itself. But now is exactly the moment when America, Europe, and everyone around the world can stop this war together by pressuring Russia," Zelenskyy said.
"If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives – that is complicity and accountability. We must act decisively.'
Less than a week after lavishing praise on each other in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man, fell out spectacularly and publicly.
In a war of words that escalated on Thursday, both men took to their own social media platform to attack the other.
Although many political analysts had predicted that their alliance would not last, the speed with which it imploded was nevertheless dramatic.
Just last Friday, Trump was celebrating Musk's work as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), overseeing the slashing of billions of dollars in federal spending.
The South Africa-born billionaire had decided to step away from his work with the US government to focus on his businesses, which have suffered as a result of his foray into politics.
Speaking at his send-off at the White House last Friday, the US president called Musk 'one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced'.
'He stepped forward to put his very great talents into the service of our nation and we appreciate it,' Trump said.
'Just want to say that Elon has worked tirelessly helping lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations,' he added.
In reply, Musk, who was presented with a golden key featuring the White House insignia, said he would continue to visit Trump as 'a friend and adviser'.
Looking around the room at Trump's new golden decorations, the entrepreneur said: 'The Oval Office finally has the majesty that it deserves thanks to the president.'
But the sheen of their formerly close relationship has now fully disappeared.
After the billionaires' friendship soured this week and their dispute became deeper, questions have been raised about the damage that two of the world's most powerful men could potentially do to one another.
While Musk can withhold tens of millions of dollars in promised campaign donations, Trump has threatened to cut billions in government contracts and subsidies to Musk's companies.
The public rift between the two men started to open up on Tuesday, when Musk took to X to criticise Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'.
The bill, which narrowly passed the House of Representatives last month but faces challenges in the Senate, includes large tax cuts and the raising of the national debt ceiling.
Musk, who says the bill undermines all the savings made by DOGE, started to forcefully condemn it this week.
The bill is 'massive, outrageous, pork-filled' and a 'disgusting abomination', Musk said.
The Tesla CEO also lambasted House Republicans for voting for what he calls the 'big ugly bill', which he claims will increase the US deficit to $2.5 trillion (€2.19 trillion).
Despite the strength of Musk's language, it wasn't until Thursday that the feud between him and Trump fully escalated.
On Thursday morning, Musk reposted some old Trump social media posts, including one in which the now US president said that 'no member of Congress should be eligible for reelection' unless the country's budget was balanced.
'I couldn't agree more,' Musk wrote, in direct criticism of Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.
At around midday on Thursday, Trump responded in the Oval Office during a visit from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Trump said he was 'very disappointed' by Musk, before expressing doubts about whether their 'great relationship' would continue.
The dispute then became more personal, with Musk, who gave the Trump campaign hundreds of millions of dollars last year, saying that the US president would not be in the White House without him.
'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk wrote on X.
'Such ingratitude,' he concluded.
Things came to a head later on Thursday afternoon.
'The easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's governmental subsidies and contracts,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
'I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' he added.
Musk retaliated by claiming that Trump's name appears in the files of the paedophile and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, alleging that this was the 'real reason they have not been made public'.
The White House said on Thursday evening that Musk's Epstein claim was an 'unfortunate episode'.
The Trump administration has suggested the tech billionaire's criticism of the landmark bill stems from his disappointment that it does not contain policies favourable to him, something Musk has denied.
By Thursday evening, it appeared that Musk was open to de-escalating the situation.
After Bill Ackman, a Trump ally and hedge-fund billionaire, wrote that the two men 'should make peace for the benefit of our great country', Musk replied that he was 'not wrong'.
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