Zelenskyy Signs Latvia Drone Deal as Russia Suffers High-Level Assassination

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a military cooperation agreement with Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs during a Nordic-Baltic (NB8) summit in Tallinn on June 9, 2026. The deal makes Latvia the sixth nation to join Ukraine's drone initiative, focusing on joint production and the deployment of Ukrainian combat experts to help Latvia build a low-cost air shield against Russian electronic interference and drone incursions.

As the summit concluded, the conflict escalated with high-profile casualties and infrastructure attacks. Damir Davydov, head of the Russian Defence Ministry's missile and artillery wing, was killed by a car bomb in Balashikha. Simultaneously, Ukraine launched widespread drone strikes against Russian oil refineries in Novokuibyshevsk and fuel tanks in the Rostov region, triggering fuel panic-buying in Krasnodar.

Diplomatic efforts intensified as Zelenskyy urged the European Union to open accession negotiations and proposed in-person peace talks with President Vladimir Putin via an open letter, though Putin rejected the offer. Zelenskyy also held discussions with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and met with Roman Abramovich in Kyiv. Despite these outreach efforts, Russia continued missile strikes in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, killing four people, including a pregnant woman.

In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a 21st sanctions package targeting nearly 90 Russian banks, cryptocurrency networks, and the Russian energy sector, including a first-time ban on cod.