Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has returned Poland’s highest state honor, after the Polish president stripped him of the award as a politically charged dispute over World War II history resurfaced. Ukrainians believed the order “was meant for the Ukrainian People and our army,” Zelensky wrote in a social media post explaining the gesture. “Today, I sent the Order back to the President of Poland. I believe the future will confirm the respect Ukrainians deserve.” The message published on X is accompanied by photos of the Polish order and a postal receipt that it was about to be mailed to the Polish presidential office.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/20/europe/zelensky-returns-poland-honor-latam-intl
As the time ticked away at the end of Spain vs. Cape Verde, nerves understandably reached their natural crescendo. The giants of the sport tried to force the issue and anxiously pushed for what they felt was rightly theirs while the brave underdogs valiantly defended as if their lives were on the line. When referee Adham Makhadmeh blew his whistle confirming the shocking 0-0 draw, Mercedes-Benz Stadium burst with elation at Cape Verde’s jubilant success: The minnows pulled it off. David had bloodied Goliath. The entire world seemed to celebrate the moment – everyone, that is, except for La Roja and its fans. What will surely be one of the great moments in this World Cup was the result of a bit of luck and a lot of heroic defending, sure, but much of the blame – or credit depending on where you’re standing – lays at the feet of the Spanish contingent.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/21/sport/spain-world-cup-ambitions-cape-verde
US President Donald Trump deepened his feud with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on Saturday, doubling down on claims that she insisted on a photo with him at the G7 summit in France this week. “Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on social media of a leader who has been a key European ally. He claimed that Meloni’s popularity was plummeting, suggesting it was a result of her refusing to help the US in its conflict against Iran.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/19/politics/italy-trump-meloni-tajani
A new generation of Ukrainian mid-range drones is severely disrupting the Russian military’s supply lines to the southern front lines, striking bridges, trains and fuel trucks – and giving Kyiv a chance to derail Moscow’s plans for a summer offensive. Video and images of about 150 strikes against Russian fuel tankers, trucks and other vehicles have been geolocated and analyzed by French open-source analyst Clément Molin and the volunteer-run OSINT group Geoconfirmed, as well as CNN’s OSINT team. It’s likely that many more strikes have gone unrecorded.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/20/europe/ukraine-mid-range-drones-russia-logistics-intl-cmd
As a barrage of Ukrainian drones descended on Moscow in the early hours of Thursday, Russia’s response appeared more like a scramble, and less like a well-planned strategic defense. Videos from the streets of the capital showed glimpses of the ensuing chaos. Footage verified by CNN and analyzed by experts shows soldiers firing portable, shoulder-mounted air-defense systems from a busy highway, as traffic cautiously passes by. People run for safety as a drone, probably downed by Russian air defenses, plummets into a building in a sprawling marketplace. In another video, what appears to be a Russian defense missile likely misses its target and instead hits an oil storage tank on the outskirts of Moscow. One weapons expert from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute told CNN that it was “a Russian own-goal,” ending in a mushroom cloud of smoke and the huge top of the tank blasting into the air.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/19/europe/ukraine-broke-through-russias-air-defenses-intl