Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv’s audacious Operation Spiderweb ‘was like raid that killed Bin Laden’

Vladimir Putin’s troops more than doubled their gains of Ukraine in May compared to April, figures show.

Blackbird Group analysis showed Russia seized 538 square kilometres of Ukraine throughout May, compared with 185 square kilometres in April.

This was the quickest rate of advance this year and second highest since Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the group said.

The highest rate of advance since then was November 2024, which Ukraine called the “most powerful Russian offensive” since the war began.

Russia captured 750 square kilometres throughout this month, equivalent to 25 square kilometres a day, according to the group.

Russia occupies around 115,432 square kilometres of Ukraine, or roughly 20 per cent of the country.

By Kate Devlin, Whitehall Editor

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has told member countries to “we have to go further and faster” on defence spending, amid an expectation the alliance will force Keir Starmer to agree to allocate 3.5 per cent of GDP.

Defence spending “keeps us safe” Mr Rutte told a press conference ahead of a meeting of defence ministers.

On Monday the prime minister’s bold plans to transform the UK’s defences were overshadowed by a row over money after the prime minister failed to commit to a firm date to raise spending to 3 per cent of GDP.

The Labour leader was warned Britain may not be moving quickly enough to counter the rapidly growing threats from countries such as Russia.

Sir Keir and other Nato leaders are under pressure from US president Donald Trump to rapidly increase spending, to wean Europe off a dependence on Washington for military support.

US President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy said the risk of escalation from the war in Ukraine was “going way up” after Ukrainian forces used drones to strike nuclear-capable bombers at several airbases deep inside Russia.

Ukraine said it attacked airfields in Siberia and Russia’s far north over the weekend, striking targets up to 4,300 km (2,670 miles) from the front lines of the conflict.

“I’m telling you, the risk levels are going way up – I mean, what happened this weekend,” Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, told Fox News.

“People have to understand in the national security space: when you attack an opponent’s part of their national survival system, which is their triad, the nuclear triad, that means your risk level goes up because you don’t know what the other side is going to do. You’re not sure.”

The UK pledged on Wednesday to supply 100,000 drones to Ukraine by the end of the current financial year in April 2026, marking a tenfold increase, after saying the unmanned aerial vehicles had transformed the way wars are fought.

The government on Monday endorsed an independently-produced Strategic Defence Review, which calls for a more lethal, tech-driven army to counter emerging threats, including possible Russian aggression.

Britain, one of Ukraine’s staunchest Western supporters, plans to learn from Kyiv’s more than three-year fight against Russian invasion, during which drones have transformed the battlefield.

The key northeast Ukrainian city of Sumy is under threat as Russian troops advance along the frontline, Ukrainian officials warned.

Vladimir Putin’s forces have taken around 9 miles of the frontline in the region, with Sumy’s surrounding farms and villages facing “constant shelling”.

“The situation in the border area of Sumy region remains complex, dynamic, but controllable,” head of the military administration, Oleh Hryhorov, said.

“The Russian army is constantly shelling border villages, hitting residential buildings, farms, and civilian infrastructure facilities.”

Ivan Shevtsov, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian brigades, said on Monday Sumy would be under direct threat if Russian advances take the town of Yunakivka to the north.