Europe

Ukraine has destroyed Russian strategic bombers in an unprecedented undercover drone operation while Russia launched its biggest-yet air raid on Ukraine’s cities and intensified attacks on its northern region of Sumy, when the two sides met for peace talks in Istanbul.

The two respective drone operations were emblematic of how direct peace talks, which began on May 15, have not abated the intensity of the conflict and may have deepened it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly pledged a response.

Russia’s drone-and-missile attack on Saturday night involved 472 Shahed kamikaze drones, four cruise missiles and three ballistic missiles. Ukraine neutralised 385 aerial targets, its air force said, including three of the cruise missiles.

Ukraine’s operation Spiderweb came a day later, and hit the types of planes Russia has used to launch those cruise missiles – Tupolev-22M3, Tupolev-95 and Tupolev-160, among others.

Spiderweb involved 117 drones smuggled into Russia and launched simultaneously near Russian airfields where the bombers were parked.

Video released by Ukraine showed Tu-95s exploding in orange flames as the drones passed over them, demonstrating that their fuel tanks were full and they were in service.

Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU), which carried out the operation, told Ukrainian media 41 planes were hit, which, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, amounted to “34 percent of the strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases”. The SBU estimated the damage at $7bn.

Western military analysts and open-source media had not fully corroborated Ukraine’s story by Wednesday, but fires and explosions were reported at five Russian bases.

For the first time, Ukraine claimed to have hit the Olenya airbase in the Russian Arctic, almost 2,000km (1,240 miles) from Ukraine, where all Tu-95 bombers were reported destroyed.

Also reportedly struck were the Belaya airbase in Irkutsk, more than 4,000km (2,500 miles) from Ukraine, where three Tu-95 strategic bombers were reported destroyed; the Dyagilevo airbase in Ryazan, only 175km (110 miles) from downtown Moscow; and the Ivanovo airfield, 250km (155 miles) northeast of the Russian capital, where at least one A-50 was destroyed – a $500m airborne radar Russia uses to identify Ukrainian air defence systems and coordinate Russian fighter jet targeting. Fire was reported at a fifth airfield, also near Moscow.

Zelenskyy called it “an absolutely brilliant result, an independent result of Ukraine”, and said it had been “a year, six months and nine days from the start of planning”.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence admitted that “in Murmansk and Irkutsk Regions, as a result of [First Person View] drones launched from an area in close proximity to airfields, several aircraft caught fire,” but that similar attacks were repelled in Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur.

Russia also said “some participants of the terrorist attacks were detained,” although Zelenskyy said “our people who prepared the operation were withdrawn from Russian territory on time.”

“Russia regularly deploys Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 to launch … cruise missiles against Ukraine,” wrote the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, adding, “The downing of Russian A-50 aircraft has previously temporarily constrained Russian aviation activities over Ukraine.”

Russian pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Rybar and Ukrainian military observer Tatarigami said Russia no longer builds chassis for Tu-95s and Tu-22s, making them impossible to replace. Bloomberg reported that Russia’s reliance on sanctioned Western components will keep it from putting even damaged aircraft back into service.

The New York Times estimated Ukraine may have destroyed or damaged 20 aircraft, but it is possible that not all strike video has yet been posted on open-source media.

“If even half the total claim of 41 aircraft damaged/destroyed is confirmed, it will have a significant impact on the capacity of the Russian Long Range Aviation force to keep up its regular large scale cruise missile salvoes against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure,” aviation expert Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute told The New York Times.

The operation “will force Russian officials to consider redistributing Russia’s air defence systems to cover a much wider range of territory”, said the ISW.

Ukraine’s SBU struck again on June 3, damaging the Kerch Bridge, a vital Russian supply line to Crimea, for the third time during the war. Video showed an underwater explosion against one of the bridge’s stanchions, suggesting Ukraine had used an underwater unmanned vehicle.

Moscow denied there was any real damage.

Russia creeps forward

Marring Ukraine’s success was the news of persistent Russian advances.

The most alarming were near the northern city of Sumy, only 30km (20 miles) from the Russian border.

Geolocated footage showed that Russian troops took the villages of Konstyantynivka on the border and Oleksiivka, 4km (2.5 miles) from the border, on Sunday.

By Tuesday, Russian forces were close enough to launch rocket artillery into the city of Sumy, reportedly killing four people and wounding 30.

“Rocket artillery against an ordinary city – the Russians struck right on the street, hitting ordinary residential buildings. Sleazebags,” said Zelenskyy.

On Sunday, Russian troops also appeared to have seized the settlements of Dyliivka and Zorya, north and west of Toretsk in Ukraine’s east.

Geolocated footage indicated that Russian troops had also advanced towards Lyman and Kurakhove, two other key targets in Ukraine’s east.

These gains were part of a slow advance that has gone on for more than a year, but they were signs of Putin’s determination to complete his conquest of Ukraine’s east.

Talks secure another POW exchange

That determination was on display in Istanbul, where Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met on Monday for a second round of peace talks.

Russia presented a ceasefire memorandum that demanded Ukraine formally cede all the territory Russia has taken in Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, plus the parts of those regions it has not yet seized, which could take years to conquer and come at great cost.

Syrskii said Russian casualties this year alone passed the 200,000 mark on Tuesday – a figure Al Jazeera is unable to independently verify.

Russia’s memorandum also demanded a limit to the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, and a commitment that Ukraine will neither join foreign military alliances nor allow foreign troops on its soil.

It also demanded a Ukrainian election within 100 days of signing the ceasefire agreement, underlining Moscow’s desire to replace the pro-Western Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

These demands are consistent with the terms Putin laid out in a speech in June 2024, and Ukrainian negotiators, who had not seen Russia’s memorandum before arriving at the talks at 1pm on Monday, departed after little more than an hour.

The two sides did agree to an exchange of at least 1,000 prisoners of war, and possibly as many as 1,200, prioritising the young (18-25) and wounded. They also agreed to an exchange of 6,000 bodies a side.

They agreed to hold a third round of talks in the last 10 days of June, with Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, suggesting it involve Putin and Zelenskyy, “because decisions can only be made by those who really make decisions”.

Some observers thought it was possible that the two leaders would meet at the first round of talks on May 15, but only Zelenskyy showed up.

“The Istanbul talks are not for striking a compromise peace on someone else’s delusional terms but for ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction of the neo-Nazi regime,” explained Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, on his Telegram channel.

“Our army is pushing forward and will continue to advance. Everything that needs to be blown up will be blown up, and those who must be eliminated will be,” he concluded.

More sanctions for Russia?

United States President Donald Trump has refrained from imposing new sanctions on Moscow, but his stance is now losing supporters in the US Congress.

Sidney Blumenthal, a former presidential adviser, and Lindsey Graham said they would this week table legislation imposing 500 percent tariffs on any country that imports oil, gas and uranium from Russia. Graham called it “the most draconian bill I’ve ever seen in my life in the Senate.”

They made the announcement after a weekend trip to Kyiv and a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

“What I learned on this trip was he’s preparing for more war,” Graham said of Putin.

The bill would target China and India, which account for the bulk of Russian energy exports, totalling 233bn euros ($266bn) last year, according to a BBC investigation.

But it could theoretically include European Union members, who spent a reported 23bn euros ($26bn) on Russian oil and gas last year.

A number of EU members sought exceptions from Russian oil bans in early 2023, and the EU has never banned Russian gas, though it has almost completely stopped importing it.

These are the key events on day 1,197 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here’s where things stand on Thursday, June 5:

Fighting

• Russian drones have struck apartment buildings in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, triggering fires and injuring at least nine people, the city’s mayor said early on Thursday.
• New Ukrainian drone attacks hit energy infrastructure in Russian-occupied parts of the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions in southern Ukraine, Russian-installed officials said. The Russian-appointed governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said the attacks left 97 settlements, with some 68,000 residents, without power.
• Russian forces have taken control of the settlements of Ridkodub in eastern Ukraine and Kindrativka in Ukraine’s Sumy region, the Russian Ministry of Defence said.
• Commenting on Ukraine’s attack on the Crimean bridge – a major Russian-built road and rail bridge linking Russia and the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula – the Kremlin said that while there was an explosion, the bridge was undamaged.

Ceasefire talks

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said he does not think Ukraine’s leaders want peace after accusing them of ordering a bomb attack in Western Russia on Saturday, which killed seven people and injured 115.
• Putin described the attack, which struck a highway bridge over a railway line carrying passenger trains, as a “terrorist” action aimed at wrecking the peace talks.
• Putin also told United States President Donald Trump during a phone call that he would have to respond to Ukraine’s Sunday drone attacks, which targeted Russia’s nuclear-capable bomber fleet deep in Siberia and Russia’s far north.
• Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy aide to Putin, said the Russian leader told Trump on the call that ceasefire talks “on the whole were useful”, despite attempts by Ukraine to “disrupt” them.
• Two unnamed US officials have told the Reuters news agency that Ukraine’s drone attack in Siberia hit about 20 Russian warplanes, destroying about 10 of them, a figure that is about half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, said the risk of escalation from the war in Ukraine was “going way up” after Ukraine’s drone attack over the weekend.
• Zelenskyy has proposed implementing a ceasefire until a meeting can be arranged with Putin. “My proposal, which I believe our partners can support, is that we agree a ceasefire with the Russians until the leaders meet,” he told a briefing in Kyiv.
• Pope Leo urged Russia to take steps towards ending its war on Ukraine when he spoke to Putin for the first time over the phone, the Vatican has said.

International diplomacy

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met Russia’s Security Council secretary, Sergei Shoigu, as he pledged unconditional support for Moscow’s position on Ukraine.
• Ukraine is invited to the NATO summit in The Hague, which will take place in a few weeks, Mark Rutte, the military bloc’s chief, said.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will tell Trump on his upcoming visit that Europe is firmly on Ukraine’s side and that no chance for peace must be passed up, Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, has said.
• Wadephul also said that Germany is pushing for new sanctions against Moscow, which should be coordinated with the US, as he accused Russia of not seriously engaging in peace talks.
• Ukraine has discussed with the US how to make a minerals fund operational by the end of the year. The fund’s first meeting is expected in July, Ukraine’s economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, who is also a deputy prime minister, said during her visit to Washington, DC.
• Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, DC, during his visit there.
• Kyiv’s allies have voiced a willingness to pay for defence manufacturing by Ukrainian companies in allied countries, Ukrainian Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov said after meeting Western counterparts at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.
• United Kingdom Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK will increase tenfold the number of drones it will deliver to Ukraine, aiming to ship 100,000 of the devices.

Portugal beat Germany 2-1 to reach the final of the UEFA Nations League as Cristiano Ronaldo nets the winner.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored again as Portugal came from behind to beat Germany 2-1 in their Nations League semifinal on Wednesday.

The 40-year-old Ronaldo captained Portugal and scored his 137th international goal five minutes after substitute Francisco Conceição equalised with a blistering shot in the 63rd.

Ronaldo became the oldest player to ever score against Germany while ending his “curse” against the country. The former Real Madrid star lost each of the previous five games he played against Germany.

Liverpool target Florian Wirtz had given the home team a 48th-minute lead with a perfectly placed header inside the right post, but Portugal coach Roberto Martínez made his changes count as he brought on Conceicao and Champions League winner Vitinha among the substitutes.

Vitinha excelled as Portugal finished the game in the ascendancy just four days after he helped Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) win the Champions League final against Inter Milan in the same stadium on Saturday.

Germany needed goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen at his best to prevent the visitors from scoring any more.

PSG wing-backs Joao Neves and Nuno Mendes both started for Portugal, while Stuttgart forward Nick Woltemade started for his Germany debut.

Conceicao only needed five minutes to make a mark with a brilliant long-range strike inside the far post after he surged past Robin Gosens like he was not there. Mendes gave Ronaldo a simple finish five minutes after that.

“It could have been more,” Mendes said.

The match was delayed by 10 minutes due to “adverse weather conditions” in Munich.

Earlier in the day, UEFA warned matchgoers of possible thunderstorms in the Bavarian capital forecast for kickoff time.

About an hour before the originally scheduled kickoff time of 9pm, a storm swept across northern Munich, lashing the stadium with rain and leaving the arena grass carpeted in hailstones.

Goalkepers from both sides had begun their warm-up when the storm hit.

France plays Spain in Stuttgart on Thursday in the other semifinal.

Novak Djokovic beats Alexander Zverev to set up a French Open semifinal showdown with Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros.

A crucial moment arrived more than two and a half hours into Novak Djokovic’s French Open quarterfinal victory over Alexander Zverev. It was the fourth set, and Djokovic led, but Zverev was in possession of a break point and a chance to get back into the match.

They engaged in a 41-stroke exchange, the longest of a buggy and breezy Wednesday night, and Djokovic came out on top, smacking a forehand winner. He stayed in place afterwards, breathing heavily, with hands on his hips, scanning the standing ovation from thousands of Court Philippe-Chatrier spectators.

Djokovic might be 38 now. He might have slogged through a pair of three-match losing skids this season and slid to sixth in the rankings. What has not changed is Djokovic’s determination or his ability to be his best on big stages — and now he is two wins from a record 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic proved too much for third seed Zverev, a man who’s a decade younger and was last year’s runner-up at Roland-Garros, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to set up a semifinal showdown against top-seeded Jannik Sinner.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sinner continued his overpowering run through the bracket by dismissing Alexander Bublik 6-1, 7-5, 6-0. Sinner has not only not dropped a set so far, but he has ceded a total of only 36 games through five matches.

So Friday will bring a tantalising showdown between the player many consider the top player in tennis history, Djokovic, and the player who is at the top of the men’s game at the moment, Sinner. Djokovic and Sinner are tied 4-4 in their head-to-head series, but Sinner has won the last three matchups.

No one has spent more weeks at number one in the rankings than Djokovic. No one has won more major championships or reached more major semifinals than his total that now stands at 51 after becoming the second-oldest man to get that far in Paris.

Sinner, 23, is a three-time Grand Slam champion. That includes last year’s US Open and this year’s Australian Open, so his unbeaten streak at majors is now at 19 matches. He’s also won his last 26 sets at those events.

“He’s playing fast. He’s playing smart,” Bublik said. “He’s in another dimension with all the aspects of the game.”

The US president says Putin also suggested he would participate in talks aimed at reaching a new nuclear deal with Tehran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Donald Trump in a telephone conversation that Moscow would have to respond to the recent Ukrainian drone attacks, the US president said.

Trump said on Wednesday that the two men “discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes, by Ukraine, and also various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides.”

Putin “did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields”, Trump said in a social media post.

Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said that Trump described his 85-minute phone call with Putin as “a good conversation but not one that would lead to immediate peace”.

“You have to remember that Donald Trump, when he came into office, was very confident that he could end this war on day one, but here we are now in June and the fact is … this is far from resolved,” she said from the White House.

Moscow said earlier on Wednesday that military options were “on the table” for its response to Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia and accused the West of being involved in them.

Russia also urged the US and Britain to restrain Kyiv after the attacks, which Ukrainian officials have lauded as showing Kyiv can still fight back after more than three years of war.

British and US officials have said they had no prior knowledge of the weekend attacks on Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers.

In his social media post, Trump said he and Putin also discussed Iran. Putin suggested he would participate in talks aimed at reaching a new nuclear deal with Tehran, Trump said.

“I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and, on this, I believe that we were in agreement,” Trump said. He accused Iran of “slow-walking” decisions regarding the talks.

Putin told Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian that Moscow was ready to help advance talks on a nuclear deal, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

But Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier on Wednesday that Washington’s proposal was against Tehran’s national interests, amid sharp differences over whether Tehran can continue to enrich uranium.

He has been dubbed the “Dutch Donald Trump”.

Geert Wilders has pulled his Party for Freedom (PVV) out of the coalition that governs the Netherlands in a row over immigration policy.

It has plunged the NATO ally into political turmoil and new elections.

After years in opposition, the PVV won the most votes in 2023 by tapping into rising populism in Europe with promises to reduce immigration.

Wilders has pushed for a 10-point plan that calls for the militarisation of Dutch borders as well as the repatriation of all Syrian nationals – something his coalition partners rejected.

Before resigning, Prime Minister Dick Schoof labelled Wilders’s actions “irresponsible”, coming at a critical time for Europe.

So was this a reckless or strategic move by Wilders?

And will it deepen uncertainty in the region, only weeks before a NATO summit in The Hague?

Presenter:

Tom McRae

Guests: 

Henk van der Kolk – Professor of electoral politics at the University of Amsterdam

Zoe Gardner – Independent researcher covering migration policy

Pieter Cleppe – Editor-in-chief at BrusselsReport.eu

Who: Spain vs France
What: UEFA Nations League semifinal
Where: Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart, Germany
When: Thursday, June 5, 2025 – 9pm kickoff (1900 GMT)

How to follow our coverage: We’ll have all the build-up from 6pm (16:00 GMT) on Al Jazeera Sport.

Defending champions Spain face France, the team that beat them in the 2021 final, in the second semifinal of the 2025 UEFA Nations League.

Hosts Germany or inaugural winners Portugal, who play on Wednesday, await in Sunday’s final.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the game, which will provide the second finalist for a tournament that has replaced the ever-devaluing international friendly setup on the continent.

Who did Spain and France beat in the Nations quarterfinals?

Spain beat the Netherlands 5-4 on penalties after their quarterfinal finished 5-5 on aggregate over the two legs.

France also needed penalties to progress from their last-eight tie against Croatia after a 2-2 draw on aggregate. The Croatians had won the first leg 2-0 on home soil.

Both nations topped their League A groups.

What happened the last time Spain played France?

The sides played out a dramatic Euro 2024 semifinal, won by Spain 2-1.

Trailing after Randal Kolo Muani headed in a Kylian Mbappe cross in the ninth minute, Spain turned the match around in a rapid four-minute flurry, scoring twice against a side that had only conceded one goal in five previous games in the tournament.

The match is best remembered for 16-year-old Spain sensation Lamine Yamal, who became the youngest-ever goal scorer at a European championship when he unleashed a mesmerising strike from outside the box in the 21st minute to find the equaliser.

Spain then took the lead for good on 25 minutes when Dani Olmo expertly gathered a loose ball and fired a low shot into the net with the aid of a deflection off Jules Kounde.

Who did Spain beat in the 2023 Nations final?

Spain – who were defeated finalists in the 2021 edition of the tournament, which is staged over a two-year period – beat Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in June 2023.

In the 2021 final, the Spaniards were beaten 2-1 by France, who they face in Thursday’s second semifinal. Their victory in 2023 ended an 11-year search for silverware.

Is this the start of Spain’s resurgence?

Spain are aiming to become the first side to defend the Nations League trophy, with Luis de la Fuente’s side going from strength to strength on the international stage before next year’s World Cup.

Their 2023 victory proved the springboard to Euro 2024 glory. Retaining the Nations League would bode well before the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer, where Spain will be among the favourites.

After European Championship wins in 2008 and 2012, sandwiching their World Cup 2010 triumph in South Africa, the Spanish national team slumped.

Poor outings at the Russia and Qatar World Cups started to fade from memory, though, as De la Fuente’s side beat Italy and Croatia to win the 2023 Nations League.

Spain then beat Italy, Germany and France on the way to the Euro 2024 final, where they got the better of England to claim their first major trophy for 12 years.

The side is very much led by Barcelona’s teenage winger Lamine Yamal, who turned 17 on the eve of the Euro final, and on the opposite flank, Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, 22, also has his best years ahead of him.

Spain team news

Out: Rodri, Carvajal, Laporte, Ayoze Perez, Ferran Torres

Manchester City’s Rodri, who has yet to return to action after missing most of the season injured, remains Spain’s major headache.

They are blessed with depth, however, most especially in midfield, where former Real Madrid playmaker Isco could be given additional playing time, having helped Real Betis to the UEFA Conference League final this season.

France team news

Out: Camavinga, Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano

France are without a quartet of defenders who ply their trade in Europe’s top leagues, with Real Madrid’s Eduard Camavinga, Barcelona’s Jules Kounde, Arsenal’s William Saliba and Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano all sitting out the game.

The French also had nine international players feature in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League final victory against Inter Milan on Saturday.

Possible lineups:

Spain: Unai Simon; Mingueza, Cubarsi, Huijsen, Cucurella; Pedri, Ruiz; Yamal, Olmo, Williams; Morata

France: Maignan; Gusto, Konate, Lucas Hernandez, Digne; Tchouameni, Kone, Rabiot; Olise, Mbappe, Kolo Muani

Form guide: Last five matches

Spain: D-D-W-W-W (Most recent match first)

France: W-L-W-D-W

Head-to-head

The nations have met on 15 occasions, with Spain emerging victorious seven times, including their Euro 2024 win, while France have won six of the encounters.

What the managers said before the semifinal?

Luis de la Fuente, Spain coach: “We have in this tournament the three previous winners of the Nations League, three previous World Cup winners and a previous Euro winner. So you certainly can’t call it a minor tournament, and we place huge importance upon it.

“I’ve always said since I arrived that this tournament is actually more difficult than the Euro in the group stage. We’ll give it everything, and we want to make history by becoming the first team to win the Nations League twice. We will keep competing at the highest level against these teams that could easily be in a World Cup final or another major final tomorrow.”

Didier Deschamps, France coach: “This Spain team have already shown their quality, and they are the best side in Europe and probably the best in the world. They also may have a few players who are fresher. But still, my team always have the ability to maintain a strong collective and technical rhythm.

“I haven’t yet seen a team that has truly found a solution to stop Yamal. Add in the likes of Nico Williams and it’s clear Spain have a lot of pace. But that doesn’t mean we’ll be approaching this match waving the white flag.”

Where will the UEFA Nations League final be staged?

The Allianz Arena in Munich, which was also picked for the first semifinal, will stage the final on Sunday.

Does Nations League success bring World Cup qualification?

The teams that finish in the top two of their World Cup qualifying groups in Europe will automatically progress to the FIFA World Cup.

The four highest-placed teams from the Nations League that did not finish in the top two of their World Cup qualifying groups are then given an extra shot at reaching the global game’s showpiece event.

It is an added incentive to all teams as a backup plan should their official World Cup qualifying campaign fall flat.

Rally is held as British PM Keir Starmer calls Israel’s actions ‘intolerable’, addressing lawmakers in Parliament.

Pro-Palestine campaigners have rallied against Israel’s punishing war on Gaza, gathering outside the British Parliament in London and demanding a full arms embargo and that hard-hitting sanctions be imposed on the Israeli government.

Wednesday’s march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), came as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took weekly questions from parliamentarians.

Thousands of protesters created a “Red Line for Palestine”, wearing red while encircling the building.

Starmer told Parliament that Israel’s actions in the besieged and bombarded enclave are “appalling” and “intolerable”.

“It is right to describe these days as dark,” Starmer said. “We have strongly opposed the expansion of Israeli military operations, and settler violence, and the blocking of humanitarian aid.”

Starmer added that the UK has imposed sanctions, suspended free trade negotiations, and is currently considering further sanctions.

But the UK leader, his Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and his government have come under heavy criticism in the UK for not speaking more forcefully backed by actual action earlier in the war, and for not doing enough now as Palestinians face what United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the “cruellest phase of this cruel conflict”.

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from London, said the protest went on for several hours and throughout Starmer’s entire speech to Parliament.

“There was a red line around the whole of Parliament,” Challands said.

“These protesters had formed a cordon, essentially all the way down from Parliament to the first bridge … that goes across to the other side of the [River] Thames, and they came back up … and returned over Westminster Bridge to join up here to make a full loop,” he added.

According to Challands, protesters say that their “red line” is to show that the UK government should have its own red lines when it comes to Gaza.

It has not had “sufficient” red lines in place, he said. “The protesters say there should have been red lines before 54,000 deaths.”

In his remarks, Starmer also called for an end to the siege and said humanitarian aid must reach Gaza quickly and in the required quantities.

Israel has maintained a crippling blockade on the territory, barring the entry of much-needed aid, including food, medicine, clean water, and fuel required by generators. A famine now looms as more than two million people are facing starvation, the UN has warned.

Meanwhile, a controversial, United States-backed group that runs aid distribution points in Gaza – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – has suspended operations for a full day. The move came after Israeli forces opened fire at hungry aid seekers several times, killing dozens of Palestinians and injuring hundreds more since the organisation started operating in the enclave on May 27.

The killing of people desperately seeking food supplies has triggered mounting international outrage as many say aid is being weaponised and with the UN’s Guterres demanding an independent inquiry.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 54,607 Palestinians and wounded 125,341, according to the Health Ministry.

The Dutch government collapsed on Tuesday after far-right politician Geert Wilders pulled out of the right-wing coalition after a dispute over anti-immigration measures his party had proposed.

Wilders’ decision prompted the Dutch cabinet and Prime Minister Dick Schoof to resign.

Here is what triggered the government’s collapse, and what happens next:

Why did Wilders withdraw?

Wilders announced the withdrawal of his right-wing party, the Party for Freedom (PVV), from the 11-month-old right-wing Netherlands coalition government. Wilders said the other three parties in the coalition had failed to back his plans to crack down on asylum for refugees.

“No signature under our asylum plans. The PVV leaves the coalition,” Wilders wrote in an X post on Tuesday after a brief meeting in parliament with party leaders. Besides PVV, the coalition comprised People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) and the New Social Contract (NSC).

On May 26, Wilders announced a 10-point plan to extensively slash migration, deploying army officials at the Dutch land borders and rejecting all asylum seekers. Wilders threatened, back then, that his party would pull out of the coalition if migration policy was not toughened.

The four parties cumulatively held 88 seats in the country’s 150-seat House of Representatives.

The PVV won the latest November 2023 election with 23 percent of the vote and 37 seats, the highest number of seats in the parliament out of all parties.

The majority mark in the House is 76 seats. The withdrawal leaves the coalition with only 51 seats.

When did Schoof step down?

After Wilders announced the withdrawal, an emergency cabinet meeting was called. After this, Schoof announced that he would step down, hours after the PVV withdrawal.

“I have told party leaders repeatedly in recent days that the collapse of the cabinet would be unnecessary and irresponsible,” Schoof said in the emergency cabinet meeting. “We are facing major challenges both nationally and internationally that require decisiveness from us.”

How did other Dutch leaders react?

Other leaders in the coalition called Wilders “irresponsible” and blamed him for putting his own political interests ahead of the country.

“There is a war on our continent. Instead of meeting the challenge, Wilders is showing he is not willing to take responsibility,” said Dilan Yesilgoz, leader of the VVD, which has 24 seats in the the House.

“It is irresponsible to take down the government at this point,” NSC leader Nicolien van Vroonhoven said about Wilders. The NSC has 20 seats.

Head of the opposition GreenLeft-Labour alliance Frans Timmermans said he could “see no other way to form a stable government” than early elections.

What’s next?

Schoof will now formally submit his resignation to the head of state, Dutch King Willem-Alexander. After this, elections are expected to be called. It is likely that the election will be held sometime in October or November, based on previous cycles.

As of May 31, polls show that Wilders’ PVV has lost a little of its support, from 23 percent in the 2023 election to 20 percent.

This brings the party almost at par with the GreenLeft-Labour alliance, which has 19 percent of support and 25 seats in the lower house of parliament, the second highest number of seats after the PVV.

The fragmented politics of the Netherlands makes it difficult to predict which party will win the election. It is unlikely for a single party to win the 76-seat majority and it takes months for a coalition to form. According to the Dutch election authority’s data, no single party has ever won a majority since the first direct elections in 1848.

What happens until elections?

Schoof has said he and the other ministers of the coalition will continue with their positions in a caretaker government until a new government is formed after elections.

The political crisis comes as the Netherlands is scheduled to host a summit of NATO leaders at The Hague on June 24-25. Mark Rutte, the current secretary-general of NATO, was the prime minister of the Netherlands from 2010 to 2024. Rutte was affiliated with the VVD.

Schoof had also been involved in European efforts to provide support to Ukraine in its war against Russia. In February, the Dutch PM was present at a meeting with other European leaders in Paris where the leaders pledged to provide Ukraine with security guarantees.

Mexico says tariffs make ‘no sense’ as Canada seeks negotiations to remove the levies ongoing.

In a move that has reignited trade tensions with key allies, United States President Donald Trump has doubled tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.

The new rates, which came into effect early on Wednesday, raise duties from 25 percent to 50 percent. Trump says the measure is designed to bolster the struggling US metals sector.

“We started at 25 and then, after studying the data more, realised that it was a big help, but more help is needed. And so that is why the 50 [percent tariff] is starting tomorrow,” said White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett during a steel industry event in Washington on Tuesday.

The executive order applies to all trading partners except the United Kingdom, which has reached a provisional trade deal with Washington during a 90-day pause on broader tariffs.

British exports will continue to face a 25 percent rate until at least July 9.

Allies seek exemptions

The hike is expected to weigh heavily on Canada and Mexico, two of the US’s closest economic allies and among the largest suppliers of steel. Census Bureau data shows Canada alone exports more aluminium to the US than the rest of the top 10 countries combined. Almost half of the US aluminium consumption is imported.

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office confirmed that “intensive and live negotiations” were ongoing to remove the tariffs.

Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard slammed the decision as irrational, noting the imbalance in steel trade between the two nations.

“It makes no sense for the United States to levy a tariff on a product in which you have a surplus,” he said, adding that Mexico would seek an exemption.

The European Union criticised the decision, saying it “strongly regrets” the move and warned it could take retaliatory action, accusing Washington of undermining attempts at a negotiated settlement.

OECD chief economist Alvaro Pereira told the AFP news agency that the tariffs have already dampened global trade, investment and consumption, and that the US will bear the brunt of the fallout.

While several of Trump’s tariff measures face legal scrutiny, they remain in force during the appeals process.

These are the key events on day 1,196 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here’s where things stand on Wednesday, June 4 :

Fighting

• Russian shelling on the Ukrainian city of Sumy killed four people and injured 28, including three children, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said in a post on Telegram.
• The Interior Ministry also said that two people were killed when fires broke out after a Russian attack on homes in the Kharkiv region’s village of Chistovodivka.
• Ukraine’s SBU security service said it detonated explosives targeting underwater supports on the Crimea Bridge, which links Russia with Russian-occupied Crimea, causing “severe damage” to the structure.
• The Russian Ministry of Transport said in a statement that “standard operations” had resumed on the bridge after earlier “temporary closures”, without providing a reason for the disruption, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.

Military aid

• Secretary of Defence John Healey said the United Kingdom will spend 350 million pounds ($473.5m) to deliver 100,000 drones to Ukraine as part of the UK’s 4.5 billion pound ($6bn) military support for Ukraine this year.

Politics and Diplomacy

• White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that United States President Donald Trump “was not” informed in advance of Ukraine’s unprecedented drone attack on Russian airbases earlier this week. Asked if Trump approved of the attack, Leavitt said that “the president does not want to see this war prolonged”.
• US Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate would begin working on a bill to impose sanctions on Russia as it works with Trump to “get Russia to finally come to the [negotiating] table in a real way”.
• Russia’s mission to the United Nations said it would hold an informal UN Security Council meeting at 10am New York time (14:00 GMT) on Wednesday on “understanding and eliminating the ideological root causes of the Ukrainian crisis”.
• Switzerland said it would impose sanctions on “17 individuals and 58 entities” listed in the European Union’s latest sanctions package, “in response to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine”.

🚨 The Ukrainian Red Cross #EmergencyResponse team is responding to the Russian shelling in #Sumy. Volunteers provide first aid and help transport victims to hospitals. 3 dead, 16 injured. Damage reported to homes, a warehouse, cars & hospital. #NotATarget pic.twitter.com/3ymyuJc9Hs

— Ukrainian Red Cross (@RedCrossUkraine) June 3, 2025

Who: Germany vs Portugal
What: UEFA Nations League semifinal
When: Wednesday
Where: Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany

How to follow our coverage: We’ll have all the build-up from 6pm (16:00 GMT) on Al Jazeera Sport.

Hosts Germany and Portugal, the winners of the 2019 inaugural edition, face off in the first of the UEFA Nations League semifinals.

Holders Spain and France play in the other tie on Thursday with their match being played in Stuttgart.

Al Jazeera Sport looks at the first of the games and where the tournament itself ranks:

What is the UEFA Nations League?

The competition was formed to give more meaning to international matches played outside the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championships.

Instead of a flow of international friendlies, which had become devalued by players and fans alike, nations now compete in a structured format that ends in a country being crowned Nations League champions.

Does Nations League success bring World Cup qualification?

The teams that finish in the top two of their World Cup qualifying groups in Europe will automatically progress to the FIFA World Cup.

The four highest placed teams from the Nations League that did not finish in the top two of their World Cup qualifying groups are then given an extra shot at reaching the global game’s showpiece event.

It is an added incentive to all teams as a back-up plan should their official World Cup qualifying campaign fall flat.

How is the Nations League structured?

There are four groups in League A of the Nations League, four in League B and four in League C.

The top two teams from each of the League A groups qualify for the knockout stages of the competition, which begins at the quarterfinals stage. Leagues B and C try to gain promotion to League A to incentivise all teams in their international match-ups and to offer the chance of reaching the final and lifting the trophy to all.

Cristiano Ronaldo aiming for a second #NationsLeague title 🇵🇹🏆 pic.twitter.com/VMzf5JFEMA

— UEFA EURO (@UEFAEURO) June 3, 2025

Who did Germany and Portugal beat in the quarterfinals?

Germany, who finished top of Group 3 in League A, beat Italy 5-4 in their last-eight encounter over two legs.

Portugal, who finished top of Group 1, beat Denmark 5-3 on aggregate in their quarterfinal.

Both sides were unbeaten in the six-match group stage, which concluded in November.

What is the latest on Ronaldo?

Cristiano Ronaldo is to start the semifinal for Portugal despite the mystery surrounding his immediate club future – which looks likely to result in an appearance at FIFA’s Club World Cup this month.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star posted on social media on the final day of the Saudi Pro League that his time with Saudi Arabian top-flight team Al Nassr had come to an end.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino had already revealed that talks were under way for a loan for Ronaldo to play for one of the teams competing at the competition being staged in the United States.

A star performance by the 40-year-old in the semifinal and potential final of the Nations League would significantly up the stakes for his next move – and his potential late arrival as a headline act at the Club World Cup.

Who did Portugal beat in the inaugural final?

Portugal beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the 2019 final.

The match itself was played on home soil for the Portuguese at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao, where Goncalo Guedes scored the only goal of the game in the 60th minute.

What the managers said before the semifinal?

Julian Nagelsmann, Germany coach: “The goal is to win the Nations League title. We want to perform, deliver results and win titles, and for us as a group, it’s very important. Spain proved how important this tournament can be when they won it before triumphing at Euro 2024. When I look at the faces of our players, I see motivation and excitement. I’m looking forward to the atmosphere in the stadium.”

Roberto Martinez, Portugal coach: “There aren’t many opportunities in international football to win trophies, and there is nothing better than doing so. The important thing is that we are here, and the final four is where we have to be. This team have shown significant resilience over these two and a half years, and facing teams like Germany, followed by maybe Spain or France, are perfect challenges to continue preparing the team for the World Cup.”

Head-to-head

This will be the 12th time that the two nations have met. Germany has won on seven occasions, and Portugal has recorded just one win.

The Germans have won the last five encounters, which had all been at either FIFA World Cups or UEFA European Championships.

Portugal’s last win came in the group stage of Euro 2000 with Sergio Conceicao scoring all the goals in a 3-0 victory against the then-holders, who were eliminated.

The Germans have since exacted a heavy revenge on the Portuguese, including a 4-2 group stage win in their last encounter in 2021 at the delayed Euro 2020 championships.

Where will the Nations League final be staged?

The Allianz Arena, which is also hosting the first semifinal, will also stage the final on Sunday.

Germany team news

Out: Amiri, Bisseck, Havertz, Henrichs, Kleindienst, Musiala, Rudiger, Schlotterbeck, Stiller

Germany have a string of injuries but do welcome back long-term absentee Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal.

Who replaces Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala in midfield will be one of the key questions, but the absences of Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger and Arsenal forward Kai Harvertz will also be heavily felt.

Portugal team news

Out: Cancelo

Portugal are boosted by an almost fully fit squad with only Al Hilal defender Joao Cancelo leaving a void to be filled.

Possible Germany and Portugal lineups:

Possible Germany XI: ter Stegen; Kimmich, Tah, Koch, Raum; Goretzka, Gross; Adeyemi, Wirtz, Sane; Fullkrug

Possible Portugal XI: Costa; Dalot, Dias, Goncalo Inacio, Nuno Mendes; Vitinha, Fernandes, Neves; Silva, Ronaldo, Leao

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes confirms he rejected big-money Saudi move to stay at Old Trafford.

Bruno Fernandes has confirmed he rejected a huge offer from Saudi Arabia and chose instead to stay at Manchester United, saying he wanted to “continue to play at the highest level”.

Speaking to media in a Portugal camp ahead of Wednesday’s Nations League semifinal against Germany in Munich, the football midfielder confirmed he received an “exciting offer” from Al-Hilal but wanted to be part of manager Ruben Amorim’s rebuild at Old Trafford.

Reports said Al-Hilal were willing to pay United up to 100 million British pounds ($135m) for the 30-year-old Portugal international.

“The president of Al-Hilal called me and asked me if I wanted to move there,” Fernandes confirmed, saying the club “waited for me to think about my future”.

“I talked to the gaffer and he asked me not to go,” Fernandes revealed, adding: “Man United said they didn’t want to sell me.

“They said if I wanted to go, I could, but they didn’t need the money.”

The player said a transfer would have been “easy” with several Portuguese players already in Saudi Arabia, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves, but added: “I want to play at the highest possible level.

“I want to play major competitions. I know I still can, and I want to be happy doing the thing I love the most.

“For better or worse, this is how I see football and I’m passionate about football and this is the decision I’ve made.”

Man United ‘need’ Fernandes

United endured their worst finish of the Premier League era, finishing 15th. They also lost the Europa League final to Tottenham.

United captain Fernandes was one of the few players to emerge with credit from a disastrous season, scoring 19 goals and making 19 assists across all competitions.

Former United captain Gary Neville, now a Sky Sports pundit, said the development was “significant”.

“I think that there was an element of this situation that meant United getting that level of money, for someone of Bruno’s age, obviously, you couldn’t say that it would have been a bad deal,” he said.

“But, on the other hand, Manchester United’s star player – only player, at times – for the last four, five, six years, has been Bruno Fernandes. He’s so important.”

Neville added: “To turn that money down at a point where Manchester United are at their lowest ebb and say, ‘No, I want to fight through this, I want to see it through the other side, I want to come out and achieve things,’ I think it says a lot about him as a person, as a character.

“The club needs people who are going to run through a brick wall for them.”

United are expected to be busy in the transfer market as Amorim reshapes his under-performing squad.

The club have already signed Brazil forward Matheus Cunha from Wolves and are being heavily linked with Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo.

Departures could include Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho.

Fernandes has made 290 appearances and scored 98 goals for United since his 47 million pounds ($63m) move from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.

Video released by Ukraine’s SBU shows what the security service claims was an attack it conducted on the bridge linking Crimea and Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. The SBU says it “severely damaged” the bridge’s supports, though the extent of the damage is not clear from the footage.

Inter Milan and Simone Inzaghi part ways after the Italian football club’s defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.

Simone Inzaghi has announced that he will leave Inter Milan following the Italian club’s defeat in the Champions League final, and amid heavy interest in his services from the Saudi Pro League.

The 5-0 rout by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the final of European football’s premier club competition on Saturday was Inzaghi’s final game in charge of the Serie A runners-up.

“The time has come for me to say goodbye to this club after a run of four years during which I gave everything,” Inzaghi wrote in a letter to Inter fans on the club’s website on Tuesday.

The loss to PSG on Saturday marked the most lopsided defeat in the 70-year history of major European finals.

Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal is reportedly trying to lure Inzaghi with an offer of more than 20 million euros ($23m) per season.

Inzaghi coached Inter to the Serie A title last year, and was also in charge when the Nerazzurri lost the 2023 Champions League title to Manchester City.

He was at Inter for exactly four years and had one more season remaining on his contract.

It’s unclear now who will coach Inter at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States starting June 14.

Inter opens against Monterrey on June 17 — a day before Al-Hilal opens against Real Madrid.

There has been speculation that Inter would go after Cesc Fabregas, who coached Como to a 10th-place finish in Serie A.

Inter finished second in the Italian league last month, one point behind champion Napoli.

The Milan-based football club was in the running for a treble until it lost to city rival AC Milan in the Italian Cup semifinals in April. Having also been beaten by Milan in the Italian Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia in January, the Nerazzurri didn’t win a trophy this season.

The coaching change at Inter is just one of many managerial moves among the top Italian teams this off season, with Milan, Roma, Atalanta and others making changes.

NGO urges Russian accountability for war crimes in targeting Ukrainians with drones.

Russian forces have been using drones to hunt and attack civilians in Ukraine and continue to do so, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In a report released on Tuesday, HRW stated that the Russian military has repeatedly deployed unmanned drones to attack civilian targets in its more than three-year war with Ukraine. The NGO said that dozens of civilians have been killed and hundreds injured in violation of the laws of war.

Referencing video from Russian drones and witnesses and survivors, the rights watchdog alleges that Russia has “deliberately or recklessly” hunted civilians and civilian objects, particularly in the southern city of Kherson, using “commercially available quadcopter drones” made domestically and in China.

“Russian drone operators are able to track their targets, with high-resolution video feeds, leaving little doubt that the intent is to kill, maim, and terrify civilians,” Belkis Wille, a director on arms and conflict at HRW, said in a statement.

“They exemplify why the international community needs to support all avenues of accountability for victims of Russian war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.”

The findings support reports from residents and officials in Kherson earlier this year that said Russian drone operators were training by targeting civilians in “human safaris”.

HRW interviewed 36 survivors and witnesses to attacks and combed through 83 videos uploaded on Russian military-affiliated Telegram channels, as well as visual materials provided by witnesses and researchers.

Overall, at least 45 “deliberate drone attacks” by Russian forces from June to December 2024 on civilians and civilian objects, including healthcare facilities, were recorded.

Authorities in Kherson reported at least 30 deaths and 500 civilian injuries from drone attacks around the same period.

A January 2025 report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said drone attacks accounted for 70 percent of civilian casualties in Kherson.

“The attacks have the apparent purpose of instilling terror in the civilian population in Kherson, part of a widespread attack against that population,” the report said.

HRW said Russia deployed commercial drones made by the Chinese companies, DJI and Autel, and by one Russian entity, Sudoplatov, which has purportedly described itself as a “volunteer organisation”.

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Here’s where things stand on Tuesday, June 3:

Fighting

• Ukrainian officials said at least five people were killed from fighting and shelling along the war’s front line in eastern Ukraine, which is mostly occupied by Russia.
• Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks on key infrastructure in Russian-occupied areas of southeastern Ukraine led to power cuts across the whole of the Zaporizhia region, according to Russian-installed officials there.
• Similar attacks damaged electrical substations in the adjacent Kherson region, leading to power loss for 100,000 residents and 150 towns and villages, according to the Russian-installed officials.
• However, there has been no effect on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, according to Russian officials who occupy the site. The station is currently in shutdown mode.

Ceasefire

• Little headway was made during talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul, but the two sides did agree to swap thousands of prisoners and the remains of 6,000 deceased soldiers. The deal will also include all injured soldiers and those aged between 18 and 25.
• Russia set out a memorandum at the talks to end its war on Ukraine. Terms include Ukrainian forces withdrawing from the four regions annexed by Russia in September 2022, but that Russian forces have failed to fully capture, Kyiv halting war mobilisation efforts and a freeze on Kyiv importing Western weapons.
• The Russian document also proposes that Ukraine end martial law and hold elections, after which the two countries could sign a comprehensive peace treaty.

• Ukraine must also abandon its bid to join NATO, set limits on the size of its armed forces and recognise Russian as the country’s official language on a par with Ukrainian, according to the memorandum.
• Ukraine – which has previously rejected all such demands by Moscow – said it would spend the next week reviewing the memorandum and proposed another round of talks between June 20 and 30.
• The White House said that United States President Donald Trump is “open” to a three-way summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• Zelenskyy’s chief of staff said in a post on Telegram after the talks that he did not believe Moscow wanted a ceasefire. “The Russians are doing everything to not cease firing and continue the war. New sanctions now are very important,” he wrote.

Sanctions

• The US Senate said it would start working on further rounds of sanctions for Russia and secondary sanctions for its trade partners if peace talks continue to stall.
• Possible sanctions include 500 percent tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports, including oil, gas and uranium. The tariffs would hit India and China, Moscow’s two largest energy customers.
• US Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that senators “stand ready to provide President Trump with any tools he needs to get Russia to finally come to the table in a real way”.