(Image by NEIVANMADE)
The cost:
Ukrainian artist 0lha_art visualized this heart-wrenching moment. Eternal memory to the fallen.
— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Air raid alerts are up over 3/4 of Ukraine, including parts of western Ukraine, as of 2:30 AM local time in Ukraine/7:30 PM EDT. As of 3:00 AM local time/8:00 PM EDT, the air raid alert maps are showing MiG-31Ks (Foxhounds), as well as what’s left of Russia’s other strategic fixed wings, up over western Russia and the air raid alerts have been extended to all of Ukraine. The K in MiG 31K stands for 47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles as they are the Foxhound variant designed to carry and fire them.
Here it goes. 😒 bloodthirsty neighbors are bombing us again
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Monitoring channels warn that tonight, russia may launch yet another massive combined attack on Ukraine with 400–500 drones and dozens of missiles.
What will they call it “retribution” for this time — Ukraine’s very existence?
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 2:51 PM
My thoughts every time I review one of Adam’s updates (for which I am very grateful) are always complicated and confused. With the understanding that I’m sort of thinking out loud, I wonder about the following things:
1) Ukraine has all these successes; shooting down and destroying or damaging expensive aircraft, preventing drone and missile attacks from being even worse terrorist attacks than they are, and now more and more being aggressive with their own drone warfare. Are these successes completely disconnected from tactical reality, or are they creating strategic environments for future success at halting and reversing Russian advances?
2) Speaking of Ukrainian air defense, while every strike and every loss is a tragedy, I’m wondering how attacks that cause as much property damage as we see take so few lives. Is it just the magnificence of Ukrainian emergency response? Or are the Russians screwing up their attempts at terrorism? (For the sake of completeness, a third low-probability option: Russian drone operator units are pulling their punches because they see the horror of the orders they’ve been given; drones are flying with little to no explosive.)
3) Earlier in the war these updates often included maps of current front line placements and movement. Have those gone away, or are they not as useful as the war transitions into a more stand-off posture, or is this one of the things that’s been tossed by the wayside because you’re working way too hard?
Let’s take these in order:
- No, the successes are tactical reality within Ukraine’s theater strategy and campaign plan and their overall strategy for withstanding Russia’s genocidal re-invasion. Moreover, they are adaptations – branches and sequels – to the existing plans as the Ukrainians are able to bring their own new advances in military tech online or something else changes.
- The Ukrainians have gotten very good at getting the air raid alerts up and getting their people into hardened shelters. I highly doubt the Russian drone operators are tanking their own efforts.
- One of the reasons the map use fell of was the switch to using Bluesky. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense’s Bluesky account was up and down for about three weeks, then went down, and I’ve just not checked to see if it’s back. Chuck Pfarrar hasn’t skeeted in six months. Illia Ponomarenko has gone back to X/Twitter. Another reason is I got tired of being yelled at in the comments by people with no experience reading maps prepared by and for military personnel that the maps were wrong or misleading because they didn’t understand what was being visualized on the maps. The final reason is, as Jay mentioned in his answer to your question, that the front lines are not moving much. I’ve seen some reporting that Russians may be in trouble with their own salient in Kursk, but right now maps will obscure more than they clarify as things look static day to day despite all the activity. I’ll poke around and see if I can find someone who posts maps that I’m comfortable with.
I’ve posted a few of the early released clips from President Zelenskyy’s interview with ABC News. Here’s the full video of the interview:
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
Russia’s Intentions Remain Unchanged, and Everything Depends on Our Warriors and on Everyone Who Helps the State – Address by the President
8 June 2025 – 19:58
I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!
We are already preparing for the upcoming international events in the coming weeks. Important meetings and negotiations will take place in Ukraine. We are also doing everything to ensure that the June summits – the G7 Summit in Canada and the NATO Summit in the Netherlands – are not hollow. A lot depends on Europe’s resolve, as well as on our relations with the United States. I’m grateful to everyone helping to keep those relations grounded in reality. We must increase pressure on Moscow. We must tighten sanctions. We must explore ways to use frozen Russian assets to support our defense. Russia only truly understands one language — the language of force. That is precisely the language that must become the working one across all formats of international engagement in the coming months.
I’ve spoken both today and yesterday with Defense Minister Umerov, Chief of the Defense Intelligence Budanov, and Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Maliuk – Ukraine continues to do everything possible to secure the release of our POWs and the return of our fallen Ukrainian warriors. Unfortunately, the full lists from Russia for the exchange of over one thousand people, as agreed in Istanbul, have still not been provided. In typical fashion, the Russian side is once again trying to turn even these matters into a dirty political and information game. It’s important to achieve the result. It’s important that people be brought back home. We believe we’ll be able to keep the exchange track moving forward. And for our part, we are doing everything we can to make it happen. And if the Russians fail to comply with agreements even on such humanitarian issues, it will cast serious doubt on all international efforts – in particular those of the United States – regarding negotiations and diplomacy.
Today, Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi delivered a report. The Pokrovsk direction, the Lyman direction, other directions in the Donetsk region, as well as the situation along Ukraine’s border in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. In some areas, the situation is very difficult, but everything depends on the resilience of our units. I want to thank each and every one who ensures Ukraine’s defense. Russia’s intentions remain unchanged, and everything depends on our Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine – on our warriors and on everyone who helps the state. This week, I would like to especially commend the warriors of the 68th Separate Jaeger Brigade and the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade for their results in the Pokrovsk direction. In the areas of the Kursk operation, the 33rd and 225th Assault Regiments have been particularly effective. In the Lyman direction, special thanks go to our warriors of the 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade. I thank everyone who is fighting for Ukraine and everyone who works for our state and our people. And be sure to pay attention to air raid alerts these days. Please take care of yourselves. Take care of yourselves and Ukraine.
Glory to Ukraine!
Georgia:
1/ Bishop Giorgi (Jamdeliani) of Marneuli and Hujabi says that a member of the current government was planning to poison him and that they had a nun under their influence who was passing information from the diocese. He spoke about this during his sermon.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 12:34 PM
2/ The bishop claims that the person involved is a representative of the security service. According to him, for a year, the nun was instructed either to put poison in his food or to apply it to his hand, which would have resulted in his death within an hour.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 12:34 PM
3/ Jamdeliani also told the parish that this nun was expelled from the diocese two months ago, that the person who was ordering his poisoning was beaten along with the security guards, and that now any provocation can be expected from her.
— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 12:34 PM
France:
Renault to launch drone production in Ukraine with two French defense firms, per Franceinfo. Located away from the frontline, it’ll leverage Ukrainian drone expertise.
www.franceinfo.fr/monde/europe…— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 1:00 PM
The US:
We agreed with Biden on transferring 20,000 missiles to Ukraine to fight ‘Shaheds.’ We counted on them, but the US recently sent them to the Middle East instead, says Zelenskyy.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 11:02 AM
The Biden administration’s strategic incoherence and malpractice, let alone their cruelty, of announcing weapons shipments to Ukraine and then not actually sending them continues to impede Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s genocidal re-invasion. Biden and his natsec team didn’t do what they said they were doing when they said they were doing it and, as a result, this has allowed the Trump administration to do nothing, which is what the latter wants to do anyway.
Back to Ukraine.
Somewhere in the southern area of responsibility:
AASM Hammer air strike by the MiG-29 on Russian base with ammunition. Judging by the explosion pattern something with solid rocket fuel was stored there. t.me/soniah_hub/1…
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 10:17 AM
RBC Ukraine has details on other Ukrainian action in the southern AOR:
Ukrainian forces struck a Russian railway convoy with a powerful attack. The strike destroyed more than 10 tanks, informs the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine.
The Southern Defense Forces said they successfully hit a locomotive carrying a column of Russian military equipment. The enemy’s losses included:
- 13 tanks;
- more than 100 armored and automotive vehicles.
Kharkiv:
Russian drones in Kharkiv skies right now ‼️
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Two explosions have been heard in Kharkiv ‼️ russian glide bombs.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The drone attacks on Kharkiv are relentless, daily, and people are dying almost constantly. It’s the same grim reality across all frontline regions. Russian drones are killing people every single goddamn day here.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Kherson:
Russia murdered 4 people in the Kherson region today, when shelled the area with FPV drones and artillery. 15 others were injured.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Kyiv:
Rumors abound in Kyiv of coming Russian mass air attack on night of June 8-9. Record-breaking 500 Shahed drones, followed by waves of cruise and then ballistic missiles feared to strike civilian infrastructure. Shakespeareanly, there’s a thunderstorm in Kyiv.
— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Russian occupied Crimea:
Russia reinforces Crimean Bridge with two lines of anti-drone defenses, notes Supernova.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 12:43 PM
The Toretsk front:
Azov 12th Brigade air defenders down Russian drones with UAR-15 rifles and FPV drones on the Toretsk front.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast:
Fire breaks out at the Hydromash factory in occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 3:44 AM
The Kursk cross border offensive:
Russians confirmed that one Su-35S was destroyed in the Kursk sector. According to Ukrainian sources the Russian plane was downed by a F-16.
— (((Tendar))) (@tendar.bsky.social) June 7, 2025 at 7:06 PM
New footage shows a Russian Su-35 fighter jet destroyed yesterday by Ukrainian Air Forces.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Saratov Oblast, Russia:
Oil depot in russian Engels is burning for the 3rd day 👀🔥
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Belgorod Oblast, Russia:
Logistics of the Russians moving toward Ukraine’s border destroyed in Belgorod region. Losses include a BRDM and various vehicle types. Ukrainian pilots of the Perun unit, 42nd Mechanized Brigade, carried out the strike.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Tula:
Russians claim Ukraine hit the Azot plant in Tula with drones overnight, sparking a fire. They say air defense downed 61 drones over Bryansk, Belgorod, Kaluga, Tula, Oryol, Kursk, Moscow, and Crimea. Novomoskovsk reported up to 12 explosions.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 4:06 AM
That’s enough for tonight.
Your daily Patron!
There are no new Patron skeets or videos today. Here is some adjacent material.
DUCK OF WAR:
Today, we have a duck of war that swam peacefully along the Dnipro River in Kyiv, unfazed by the massive Russian attack overnight on Friday. It showed its friendliness to Mariana and her friends by diving playfully into the water every minute!
— Tim Mak (@timkmak.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Open thread!
Jay
As always, thank you, Adam.
Adam L Silverman
@Jay: You’re welcome.
YY_Sima Qian
Thank you Adam!
frosty
Thanks for these updates. I don’t read every word, but I usually follow the Georgia updates. They give me hope for the US.
I have a R Representative who’s always voted 100% for every Ukraine bill. I will keep calling him from time to time for encouragement. While denouncing all the other shit he’s voted for, of course,
Adam L Silverman
@YY_Sima Qian: @frosty: You’re both welcome.
strange visitor (from another planet)
adam, thanks for the updates. i asked this question a little while back but you may have missed it. what happens to the wires controlling the cable-fed drones after they detonate?
Westyny
Thank you, Adam.
Chetan Murthy
@strange visitor (from another planet): I saw a pic of a Ukrainian field (probably taken at a time when the light was somewhat horizontal) with what seemed like -hundreds- of fiberoptic cables crossing left-to-right of the image. Just a ton, in any case. I think the cables just stay there. I’ve read reporting that it’ll be yet another pollution source that’ll need to be remediated after the war.
YY_Sima Qian
@Chetan Murthy: A consequence of Chinese suppliers selling optical fibers at “cabbage prices”. Now both sides are attaching 50 km long spools to FPVs.
strange visitor (from another planet)
@Chetan Murthy: thanks. yeesh, whatta mess.
Chetan Murthy
@strange visitor (from another planet): when you don’t vanquish your enemy quickly, you give them the opportunity to learn and in the process to defeat your weapons systems and tactics. We let Russia learn how to defeat a number of our weapon systems (Excalibur, gsldb). Ukraine has been very Innovative, but they didn’t need to be an Innovative if we’d supplied them with enough Weaponry and support at the beginning of the war so that they could have ended it quickly.
trollhattan
May duck of war live long enough to enjoy being duck of peace.
Traveller
There are a couple of issues:
1. Chetan Murthy addressed pretty well what I wanted to say last evening…Others have answered the drone question, but I sensed that your query was broader…We have seen, and been hearten by, a number of almost spectacular victories, The Moskva, the recent drone strikes on Russian airfields, etc.
But let us also remember Snake Island…a seemingly small blip on the map in the Black Sea, but I think regaining control of Snake Island was an actual strategic victory…not tactical, but the approaches to Odessa and control of the Black Sea Coast from Romania to Crimea…this was of incredible importance.
It was Ukraine that brought to the fore the Drone Warfare that we all know so well now, but it was the Russians that soon began to dominate in their skills and development in EW, electronic warfare, jamming of signals and so-such.
The Ukrainians really have no business being in this fight, (except they have nowhere else to go). However, back in 2014 I argued strenuously for, if nothing else was available, assassination squads across Eastern Ukraine and for the Ukrainian Navy to shoot its way out of the Crimea to Odessa.
People argued against me that really what was needed was the development of Ukraine’s NCO Corps and if anyone should know this, it was me.
Well, they were right and I was wrong, (this is also a backdoor admission that Adam, Dr Silverman, was right and I was substantially wrong in my long defense of the Biden Administration’s support of Ukraine. I had my reasons, long laid out here, but in truth, more sooner would have been vastly better).
As to other uses for fiber optic cables…see below, a bird’s nest. (I wanted to end on a hopeful note).
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1l42961/wartouched_nature_birds_in_ukraine_are_building/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Best Wishes, Traveller
Jay
@Traveller:
If you read Chris O Wiki, or War Translated, which translate many ruZZian Telegram accounts,
ruZZia is not “winning” the “drone war”.
The UAF is not operating under a constant fear of drone attacks. The RUF are.
The difference is that precisely guided UAF drones and glide bombs, are hitting RUF forces.
ruZZia prefers “human safaris” and civilian targets, terrorism.
ruZZia thinks they can break the will of Ukraine to fight with terror attacks.
Ukraine thinks that they can break the ability of the RUF to effectively fight.
Keep in mind, Ukraine, “invented” the fiber optic drone and lately, “machine vision” drones.
Jay
@Traveller:
Eg. Operation Spider Wed.
Traveller
@Jay: You have always been the voice of calm reason here, and yet it appears that the Russians are about to take Sumy back, (they are 18mi from the city center).
Three or four weeks ago I noted that I had seen the use of Russian fiber optic drones in the direction of Sumy…that the retreating Ukrainian forces and the loss of equipment seemed like the Iraqi Highway of death…these Russian drone videos were, as I said then, extremely distressing to me, (seeing dead Russians I am good with seeing Ukrainians come to harm, is always depressing…undoubtedly this is a personal flaw of mine, but there you have it).
The Second Nagorno-Harabakh War (2020) with its fixed wing, night vision destruction of Armenian troops was…terrifying to me, I did not see how any ground Infantry soldiers could withstand such a relentless assault, (as proved true when Armenia sued for peace after 44 days of pummrling).
Of course in the short 4 plus years hence, all my…seemingly deep thoughts (Ha!) on War have been completely upended, necessarily abandoned.
I don’t know, I don’t think Russia is winning, but I don’t see Ukraine winning either, Yet.
I am confounded…
Best Wishes, Traveller
AlaskaReader
Thanks Adam
Traveller
Jay: As a PS…the Russians seem to be making the same mistake as the German High Command did during the Blitz, terror bombing London rather than concentrating on the coastal radar and Southeast English airfields…Is it good that the Russians keep killing people in apartment blocks instead of the Ukrainian war making factories? Or, is it even that Russian targeting is so bad that apartment buildings is all they can hit? Damned if I know….Traveller
Jay
@Traveller:
The ruZZian’s have been pushing towards Sumy for over 8 months now. Their advance there has averaged 1.2km a month, at the cost of over 100,000 casualties per month.
Keep in mind, that none of these “advances” are “strategic’. They are basically “capturing” empty spaces on a map.
Also keep in mind that a standard ruZzian “unit’s” Command and Control is to get 2 guys into a place, raise the ruZZian flag, and have them, send a vid back to get the bonus. That the 2 guys get quickly “whacked”, isn’t their problem. They have “proof” that they “captured” a place. And they get 1.5 million rubles for doing so.
Jay
@Traveller:
ruZZian glide bombs are as accurate as the NATO ones. So,…………………….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zslw3vKX-iY
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
Thank you, Adam.
Does anyone know anything more about the above b-skeet (or whatever they’re called) talking about a poisoning attempt on the bishop? It sounds rather complicated. Is this bishop outspoken about the government?
Jay
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat):
He’s a Ukrainian Orthodox Bishop, and a strong Ukrainian Nationalist, which split off from the ruZZian Orthodox church, which ruZZia has used as a proxy and spy hub in Ukraine, the ruZZian Orthodox Church that is.
After all, the head of the ruZZian is KGB.
Gin & Tonic
@Jay: Bishop Jamdeliani is Georgian, not Ukrainian.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo ex-pat)
@Jay: @Gin & Tonic: Thank you both, I’ll see if I can find any more information. I recall the split that occurred in Ukraine, but had not heard much about the church in Georgia.
Scott
I have found https://liveuamap.com/ to be interesting to browse through.
Gloria DryGarden
@Scott: grateful to be looking at this map. Thank you.
Traveller
@Scott:
Link bookmarked…Thanks
MountainBoy
Thanks to all of you commenters here for your perspectives, inquiries, and shared knowledge. I value these posts more than any other media source.
And always, thanks to you Adam!
razzle dazzle raz flavor
The resilience of Ukrainian defenses is impressive, but the constant pressure wears on both infrastructure and morale. We owe even more support for air-defense systems and rapid munitions production. This conflict has entered a grim new phase.