Authorities in Kyiv said early on Monday the Ukrainian capital was being subjected to “another massive attack” by Russian drones, reporting at least one person wounded. “Another massive attack on the capital. Possibly several waves of enemy drones,” said a statement from Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration that urged people to stay in shelters.

Ukraine’s top military commander has vowed to increase the “scale and depth” of strikes on Russia in remarks made public on Sunday, saying Kyiv would not sit idly by while Moscow prolonged its three-year invasion. Diplomatic efforts to end the war have stalled in recent weeks. The last direct meeting between the two sides was almost three weeks ago and no follow-up talks have been scheduled. “We will not just sit in defence. Because this brings nothing and eventually leads to the fact that we still retreat, lose people and territories,” Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky told reporters including AFP.

In wide-ranging remarks, Syrsky conceded that Russia had some advantages in drone warfare, particularly in making fibre-optic drones that are tethered and difficult to jam. “Here, unfortunately, they have an advantage in both the number and range of their use,” he said.

About 10,000 Russian soldiers are fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, about 90 sq km (35 sq miles) of which is controlled by Ukraine, Ukraine’s top military commander said. “We control about 90 sq km of territory in the Hlushkov district of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, and these are our preemptive actions in response to a possible enemy attack,” Oleksandr Syrsky said without elaborating, in remarks released by his office for publication on Sunday.

This month, Russia’s wartime toll of dead and wounded reached a historic milestone: according to the British Ministry of Defence, more than one million Russian troops have been killed or injured since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022. Since the start of its war in Ukraine, Russia’s military casualties have remained a closely guarded state secret. But the signs of devastation are unmistakable – from the booming funeral industry to the rising number of veterans returning home without arms or legs.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed forces had taken control of two villages in Ukraine – Petrovske in the eastern Kharkiv region and Perebuda in the Donetsk region.

Ukraine said on Sunday that US and Israeli strikes on Iran were justified to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, praising the military intervention as a “clear signal”. “Ukraine is convinced that Iran’s nuclear programme must be stopped so that it never again poses a threat to the countries of the Middle East or any other state,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said.

President Donald Trump is floating the idea of a regime change in Iran following the U.S. military’s devastating airstrikes on the country’s top nuclear sites this weekend.

Trump, in a post to his Truth Social account Sunday, praised the success of the high-stakes operation that targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

“The damage to the Nuclear sites in Iran is said to be ‘monumental.’ The hits were hard and accurate. Great skill was shown by our military. Thank you!” Trump wrote.

But it was his follow-up post that raised eyebrows around the globe:

The message echoes Trump’s signature slogan, repurposed to apply to one of the United States’ most hostile adversaries. (RELATED: JD Vance Says US ‘Not At War’ With Iran)

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine detailed the success of the strikes during a Sunday press briefing at the Pentagon. He said the operation, codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, struck three nuclear sites with “deliberate and precise” coordination.

“This was a complex and high-risk mission, executed with remarkable precision,” Caine said. “Very few people in Washington knew about the timing and nature of the plan.”

The airstrikes aimed to cripple Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure and limit its ability to pursue uranium enrichment for potential weapons-grade development, according to the Pentagon.

The strikes come at a moment of rapidly escalating tension between the U.S. and Iran following months of drone and proxy attacks across the region, including Israeli targets and U.S. bases.

Iranians lift flags and placards during a rally protesting the US attack on Iran in Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran on June 22, 2025. (AFP Photo)

United States President Donald Trump on Sunday publicly floated the possibility of regime change in Iran, just hours after authorizing a wave of airstrikes on three of the country’s nuclear facilities, further escalating tensions in the region.

“It’s not politically correct to use the term ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!” Trump wrote on social media, invoking a modified version of his “Make America Great Again” slogan.

In a photo released by the White House via X, US President Donald Trump (R) and Vice President JD Vance (L) are seen in the Situation Room of the White House in Washington, US on June 21, 2025. (AFP Photo)

US strikes nuclear sites in Iran

The remarks came after the U.S. carried out coordinated strikes early Sunday targeting Iran’s Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. The Pentagon said B-2 stealth bombers dropped bunker-buster bombs on the fortified Fordo facility, while submarine-launched cruise missiles struck the other two sites.

U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine confirmed that more than 125 American aircraft participated in the mission, including stealth bombers, fighter jets, refueling tankers, surveillance planes and a guided missile submarine.

An infographic titled “Details of US plan to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities” created in Ankara, Türkiye on June 22, 2025. (AA Photo)

The operation marks a sharp escalation in the ongoing hostilities that began June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on multiple locations across Iran, including military and nuclear installations. Tehran responded with retaliatory missile attacks on Israeli territory.

Israeli officials say at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured in Iranian missile attacks. In Iran, at least 430 people have died and more than 3,500 have been wounded in Israeli strikes, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.