The day was dominated by the rapid escalation of US-Iran hostilities. Evening reports of US strikes on Iranian air defenses, in retaliation for a downed Apache helicopter, were followed by Iranian missile and drone attacks on US targets. State-aligned outlets framed the US as the aggressor, while independent sources tracked the tit-for-tat through multiple waves of strikes.
Simultaneously, Ukrainian long-range strikes hit deep inside Russia: a defense plant in Cheboksary and a refinery in Samara. The attack on Sevastopol's panorama museum, which state media called a deliberate destruction of cultural heritage, drew Kremlin condemnation.
Domestically, a car bomb killed a military official in Balashikha, and Putin signed a law allowing seizure of property from Russians abroad who commit offenses against state interests.