Victory Chronicles-DAY 1203

Ukrainian heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk has extended an irresistible offer to U.S. President Donald Trump to come spend a week at his house near Kyiv — and enjoy the authentic local experience of missile alerts, drone buzzes, and the occasional rocket overhead. No golf carts would be provided. 

Speaking with CNN Sports, Usyk responded to Trump’s bold campaign promise to end the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war in just “24 hours,” or one day. 

“He said he’d stop the war in a day,” Usyk said. “But he doesn’t stand by his words. Why say things like that?” To assist in Trump’s peace education, Usyk generously offered up his own home in Vorzel, just outside Kyiv. 

“I’ll give him my home, my security guards. He’ll be safe,” Usyk said. “Let him spend a week there and hear what we hear—sirens, explosions, rockets flying overhead.”

Guests may also enjoy a crash course in local air raid shelters. There is one small request: the visit should be kept secret, so Russian forces don’t tone down the action for the cameras. 

 “If they know he’s here, they’ll stop bombing. But if he comes quietly and lives in a place like Obolon or Troieshchyna [northern districts in Kyiv  –Eds], where real people live and die—he’ll finally understand.”

Vorzhel, and surrounding suburbs of Kyiv were among the first hit during Russia’s full-scale invasion of February 2022. Since then, missile strikes and civilian casualties have become tragically routine across Ukraine – a harsh reality that no 24-hour peace plan can magically undo. A Flak jacket is recommended to any of Usyk’s guests. 

Ukraine mobilizes 27,000 troops monthly, Russia up to 50,000 – but quality trumps quantity, Zelenskyy says. Ukraine is calling up around 27,000 new soldiers each month  – roughly half of Russia’s 40,000 to 50,000, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a June 10 interview with Hungary’s Valasz Online. 

Technology, weapons, and financial pressure matter more. Zelenskyy noted. Ukraine, he said, is intentionally avoiding drafting its youngest citizens – offering yearlong voluntary contracts instead of conscripting 18- to 24-year-olds. 

In contrast, Russia continues to rely on large-scale conscription to maintain its war effort. Yet Ukraine’s recent Operation Spiderweb that struck Russia’s difficult to replace strategic bombers, highlights a different strategy: leveraging innovation and precision over brute force.  “We don’t need mass mobilization; we need the right tools to stop Putin,” Zelenskyy said. 

He continued: “We don’t need mass mobilization; we need the right tools to stop Putin,” he said – underscoring Kyiv’s commitment to a smarter, more adaptive military posture. 

Aftermath of Russian drone strikes on Kyiv: roaring fires, shattered homes, twisted metal. In the pre-dawn hours of 10 June, the sky over Ukraine’s capital city lit up with explosions as a massive Russian drone attack rained destruction across multiple districts across the city. 

The assault injured four civilians and ignited nearly a dozen fires that raged until the morning. Falling debris tore through residential blocks, crumpled cars, and set parts of the city ablaze. 

early hours of The falling debris caused damage to residential buildings, a business center, warehouses, railway infrastructure, and dozens of vehicles.

According to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES), scenes of devastation unfolded in Kyiv: n Darnytskyi district; a warehouse and apartment building burned in Obolon; and debris damaged the top floors of a business center in Holosiivskyi.

Perhaps the most dramatic was the sight in one district where flames licked at the roof of a 16-story building, casting a flickering orange glow across the skyline. 

Also, in Shevchenko, Podil, and Solomianskyi districts, non-residential buildings caught fire, while in Desnianskyi, the smoldering hulks of several destroyed vehicles lined the streets.

In total, 441 rescue workers and 102 firefighting vehicles swarmed the affected areas, their sirens wailing and hoses snaking through debris-strewn streets as they worked to contain the chaos.

Ukrainian air defense downs seven Shahed drones over Odesa region. Ukrainian air defense units shot down seven Russian Shahed attack drones over the Odesa region overnight on June 10, according to the Air Force Command. The intercepts were carried out by mobile fire teams from the Odesa brigade of the “South” Air Command. Footage released by the Air Force shows the drones being hit and crashing into the sea.

Key Takeaways:

• Russian forces recently advanced to the Dnipropetrovsk-Donetsk administrative border as Kremlin officials continued to demonstrate that Russia has wider territorial ambitions in Ukraine beyond Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts and Crimea.
• The Kremlin appears to be dangling the prospect of bilateral arms control talks with the United States to extract preemptive concessions from the United States about the war in Ukraine.
• Western security officials continue to assess that Russia is preparing for a protracted confrontation with NATO.
• Russian forces conducted the largest combined missile and drone strike of the war overnight on June 8 and 9.
• Ukrainian forces continue to conduct drone strikes against Russian military and defense industrial targets that are involved in Russia’s long-range drone and missile strikes against Ukraine.
• Ukraine and Russia on June 9 conducted the first round of the prisoner of war (POW) exchanges that the parties agreed to during the latest bilateral talks in Istanbul on June 2 as Russian officials continued to baselessly accuse Ukraine of failing to repatriate the bodies of killed in action (KIA) soldiers.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Lyman. Russian forces recently advanced near Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, Novopavlivka, and Kurakhove.

In Memoriam: Denys Hyrlian, a hero of Ukraine’s defense forces

Private Denys Hyrlian, known by the call sign “Dep,” was killed on December 28, 2024, during a combat mission near the village of Zelenyi Hai in Kharkiv region. He died as a result of a mortar attack by enemy forces. He was 34 years old.

Hyrlianwas born in Kropyvnytskyi. He graduated from Secondary School No. 16 and later earned a degree in economics from the Cybernetics and Technical College. He completed his compulsory military service in Crimea, serving as a naval firefighter. Before the war, he worked in the Czech Republic and enjoyed diving. One of his dreams was to climb Mount Hoverla.

In 2022, Hyrlian returned to Ukraine. The following year, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and served in the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. Initially a combat medic, he later became a rifleman-assistant grenadier after completing specialized training in the United Kingdom. He fought in the battles for Avdiivka. In February 2024, he was wounded in combat. After undergoing surgeries, treatment, and rehabilitation, he returned to the frontline to rejoin his comrades.

For his bravery, Hyrlian was awarded the Ministry of Defense’s medal “For Wounds” and, posthumously, the Order “For Courage,” 3rd Class. “He was cheerful and always ready to help others—even strangers. He was determined and persistent, always striving to reach his goals. He loved children dearly,” said his niece Valeriia. “My son had a great sense of humor. We were very close—he loved us all deeply. He was kind, gentle, and had a deep affection for animals,” shared his mother Valentyna. Hyrlian was laid to rest on the Alley of Heroes in his hometown of Kropyvnytskyi. He is survived by his mother, grandmother, brother, and niece.

*Denys’s story on the Heroes Memorial – a platform for stories about the fallen defenders of Ukraine.

• Rutte acknowledges ceasefire would let Russia stockpile weapons and increase risks for NATO
• European Commission to present 18th package of sanctions against Russia on 10 June
• Survey: 43% of Ukrainians are ready to accept de facto Russian occupation of some territories without legal recognition, if Ukraine receives security guarantees
• Russian attack damages building near EU delegation in Kyiv
• Budanov: Russia will help North Korea establish production of Shaheds