War in Ukraine: Another deadly day for civilians and support for direct dialogue with Putin

Have you missed the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Here is the gist of this Monday, June 8, 2026, on the 1,566th day of the conflict.

Fact of the day

Another deadly day for civilians. Russian bombings killed at least four people and injured more than 30 people across Ukraine on Monday. In the town of Zaporizhia, drone strikes killed two women and injured 18 civilians, including four children aged 5 to 12, authorities report.

A 49-year-old woman was also killed during a Russian bombing in Nikopol, in the east-central Dnipropetrovsk region, where ten other people were injured in other strikes. In the Sumy region (north-east), a 71-year-old civilian riding a bicycle was killed by Russian fire in the town of Seredyna-Bouda located on the border with Russia. Other Russian strikes are said to have injured at least ten civilians in the Donetsk and Odessa regions (south).

Furthermore, a Ukrainian drone attack against a train linking Moscow to Simferopol, in Crimea, left one dead and one injured, announced the leader of the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

Today’s statement

« The current contact line should serve as a starting point for negotiations. International borders must not be changed by force »

The lyrics are by Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz. The French, German and British leaders gave their support to Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal for a “direct dialogue” between Ukraine and Russia, “with the active participation of the United States and Europe”, following a meeting with the Ukrainian president in London.

Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz “welcomed the call launched by President Zelensky for an end to the war, negotiated through diplomatic channels”, after he proposed to Vladimir Putin to meet him directly, in a letter sent on Thursday.

The Russian president responded that he did not see “the point” as long as an agreement to end the war had not been negotiated beforehand.

The number of the day

2. This is the number of French NATO fighters stationed in the Baltic countries who shot down a drone in Latvia, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said on Monday. “Thank you to our French allies for shooting down the drone that entered Latvian airspace!” she wrote on X.

The Latvian army said in a statement that “a foreign unmanned aircraft had entered Latvian airspace as a result of Russian electronic warfare,” without revealing the origin of the drone.

An investigation was opened to determine the origin of this drone. On May 19, a NATO fighter shot down a Ukrainian drone in Estonian airspace, the first interception of a foreign drone in the skies of a Baltic state by NATO air police since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The trend

Ukrainian and French pilots, a “more massive” parade: the military parade of July 14 on the Champs Elysées will have this year’s theme “the strategic awakening of Europe” and will endeavor to show that the France is “determined” and “is not alone,” the military governor of Paris announced on Monday.

The parade will mobilize nearly 8,500 participants, of which 6,500 will parade on foot. Nearly 300 vehicles, including around a hundred motorcycles, 95 planes, 35 helicopters, as well as 193 horses from the Republican Guard will also participate.

Our file on the war in Ukraine

Ukraine, entering its fifth year of war launched by Russia in 2022, will be in the spotlight. The Patrouille de France will open the air parade, accompanied by two Mirage 2000s piloted by Franco-Ukrainian crews.

The 35 countries of the Coalition of the Willing, ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine once a ceasefire is reached, were invited to participate by President Emmanuel Macron, who will attend his 10th and final parade as head of state. The President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen and General Grynkewich, Supreme Commander of NATO, were also invited.