Ukraine returned 7 civilians unlawfully held by Russia for years
Ukraine has secured the return of seven civilians who had been unlawfully held by Russia for several years, Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets announced on June 27.
The civilians, aged 35 to 66, were detained by Russian forces during the occupation of Mariupol and parts of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk oblasts in 2022.
"After years of unlawful detention by Russia, our people are finally home and can breathe free Ukrainian air," Lubinets said.
According to the ombudsman, one man was abducted from his home because his sons serve in Ukraine's military, while another was detained on his way to work on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Among those released was also a volunteer with Tyra's Angels medical evacuation unit in Mariupol, who was captured on the same day as the unit's commander, Yuliia Paievska, who was freed in 2022.
Russia's Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova said that seven Russian civilians also returned to Russia as part of the exchange, including five residents of Kursk Oblast, parts of which were temporarily held by Ukrainian forces in 2024.
Lubinets said the exchange was made possible through direct negotiations with Lantratova, who took over the post in May. He noted that communication with the new Russian ombudsman had "started from scratch."
He also thanked Ukraine's Security Service of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service and other agencies involved in the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, stressing that Ukraine will continue efforts to bring home all civilians and military personnel held by Russia.
The civilian release came one day after Ukraine and Russia conducted a prisoner exchange in which 160 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home.
Thirteen people, including two children, were injured in Russian attacks on Sumy
Russian attacks on the city of Sumy on the morning of June 27 injured 13 people, including two children, Ukrainian authorities said.
According to Ukraine's State Emergency Service, the strikes damaged a five-storey apartment building, several private houses and civilian vehicles.
Emergency crews responded at the scene, while the Sumy Oblast Military Administration said all 13 victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Ukraine loses MiG-29 aircraft, pilot ejected - Air Force
Ukraine's Air Force lost contact with a Mikoyan MiG-29 during a combat mission over Poltava Oblast on the night of June 26–27.
The Air Force confirmed the loss of the aircraft, adding that the pilot successfully ejected after the incident.
The pilot established contact with a search and rescue team and was quickly evacuated to a medical facility. No further details about the circumstances of the incident were provided.
Polish FM criticizes President's Nawrocki decision to strip Zelensky of top honor
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on June 26 that President Karol Nawrocki made "an inappropriate" decision by stripping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Poland's Order of the White Eagle amid the recent diplomatic dispute between Warsaw and Kyiv.
Speaking to TVN24, Sikorski said the move "humiliated the president of Ukraine personally" and argued that, had Nawrocki consulted him, he would have recommended a different response, such as renaming Jasionka Airport after victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
At the same time, Sikorski said Zelensky should have taken Poland's historical sensitivities into account when approving the name of a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces unit honoring the Heroes of the UPA.
"He should have thought: all right, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army fought against Soviet rule, but it also killed Poles," Sikorski said, suggesting Ukraine could instead have honored a specific individual who fought against Soviet occupation.
Nawrocki revoked Zelenskyy's Order of the White Eagle on June 19 following criticism over the unit's new name. The UPA, which fought for Ukrainian independence during and after World War II, remains highly controversial in Poland because of the Volyn massacres, in which tens of thousands of Polish civilians were killed.
The decision triggered a diplomatic dispute between Kyiv and Warsaw, with several senior Ukrainian officials returning Polish state honors in protest.
Sikorski said Nawrocki's decision had deprived the Polish president of "the opportunity to conduct dialogue with the president of an important country that is waging a war."
Zelensky received Poland's highest state honor in 2023 from then-President Andrzej Duda.
Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that escalating the dispute was a "strategic mistake" that would ultimately harm both Poland and Ukraine.
Putin and Lukashenko hold an unexpected closed-door negotiation for the second day
Negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko have entered a second day. According to Russian media, the meetings were unexpected and are being held in a completely closed format with no press access. The two leaders are reportedly discussing a wide range of issues, though no official details have been released so far.
The timing of the talks comes amid heightened tensions and growing speculation about Belarus’s potential deeper involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Many observers see the closed-door nature of the meetings as a sign that sensitive military and political issues are on the agenda. No joint statements have been issued yet, leaving analysts and officials in both Ukraine and the West watching closely for any outcomes that could affect regional security.