WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Ukraine strikes Russia, the UK's new submarines, and Bitcoin's unbearable buzz

 
today's international story

Ukraine destroys £5bn worth of Russian bombers

What happened
Ukraine has launched its first long-range attack deep inside Russia, targeting a military base in Siberia yesterday along with three other airfields. A Ukrainian security official told Reuters that 41 Russian warplanes were hit in the strikes, which occurred more than 4,300 kilometres from the front lines.

Who said what
Operation Spider's Web was an "extremely complex" attack on the four separate airfields involving the smuggling of first-person view, or FPV, drones to Russia, which were then set up in mobile wooden houses, a Ukrainian military source told the Associated Press. "Later, drones were hidden under the roofs of these houses while already placed on trucks. At the right moment the roofs of the houses were remotely opened and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers," said the source.

These were the "most ambitious simultaneous strikes on Russian air bases carried out by Ukraine since the war began", said CNN. Ukraine's SBU domestic intelligence agency claimed that it struck Russian military aircraft valued at a total of $7 billion (£5.2 billion).

What next?
The attack comes on the eve of expected peace talks in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine and "may go down as one of the most significant days of this war", said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon in The Telegraph. It is a "sign that the pendulum is at last swinging in Ukraine's favour". Restrictions on the use of Western weapons by Ukraine are now apparently being lifted, which "brings into range anything within 500km of Ukraine – including Moscow", meaning "at last, that (Vladimir) Putin is getting a taste of his own medicine".

 
 
today's defence story

UK to build up to 12 new nuclear submarines

What happened
The UK will construct up to 12 new conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarines, Keir Starmer will announce today as part of a sweeping Strategic Defence Review. The vessels, due to replace the Royal Navy's current Astute class fleet from the late 2030s, are part of a broader push to prepare British forces for "warfighting readiness". The review includes a £15 billion investment in the nuclear warhead programme and commits £1.5 billion to building six new munitions factories, alongside funding for advanced missile systems and cyber operations.

Who said what
The new submarines will help "keep Britain and Nato safe for decades", said the PM. Defence Secretary John Healey added that the review was a decisive response to "increasing threats" and aimed at countering Russian aggression.

Britain has "never before disclosed how many nuclear-powered attack submarines will be built" to replace the Astute class, or the "scale of investment in its warhead programmes", said The Times. Writing for The Telegraph, the authors of the review – George Robertson, General Sir Richard Barrons and Fiona Hill – said the new world posed a "potentially 'existential' risk" to the UK and urged the public to "support this vital work and insist that it is delivered".

What next?
The government is expected to accept all 62 recommendations in the review, but questions remain about whether the planned spending will meet Nato's expectations.

 
 
Today's health story

Disposable vapes ban comes into force

What happened
A UK-wide ban on the sale of single-use disposable vapes came into effect yesterday, aiming to protect children's health and reduce environmental damage. The new law prohibits retailers from stocking disposable vapes, although rechargeable and refillable alternatives remain legal.

Who said what
Environment Minister Mary Creagh said the ban marked the end of "nasty devices" that litter streets and addict children. Health experts, however, urged caution. Hazel Cheeseman of Action on Smoking and Health warned that the ban alone wouldn't reduce youth vaping, pointing instead to the need for stronger regulation of marketing and packaging.

The ban follows the "soaring use of disposable vapes in schools" and a "flood of plastic rubbish" from the discarding of the devices, said The Independent. But some worry that the ban may "drive users back to cigarettes", said The Times. John Dunne, from the UK Vaping Industry Association, argued the move was "not the answer" and that it could create a black market for disposable vapes.

What next?
The ban is part of a broader Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is still under review, that would regulate marketing and branding.

 
 

It's not all bad

A landmark international trial has found that structured exercise after cancer treatment can cut patients' risk of death by 37% and disease recurrence by 28% – results more effective than many drugs. The eight-year study involving colon cancer patients across six countries showed that coaching-supported activity significantly improved outcomes. Experts say the findings, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, will likely transform global cancer care guidelines and highlight exercise as a powerful, low-risk intervention.

 
 
under the radar

The noise of Bitcoin mining is driving Americans crazy

Bitcoin mining has exploded in the US over the past decade, accelerated by Donald Trump's embrace of cryptocurrency. But it's an energy-intensive process: the computers that create the cryptocurrency need fans to be on the go constantly to cool them down. And across rural, mostly Republican towns, residents are getting sick of the noise – and getting sick, full stop.

The relentless "mechanical howl" of a Bitcoin mining facility has become "the soundtrack to life" in Granbury, a small rural town in Texas, said The Guardian. One resident said it was as though a "jet engine is forever stationed nearby".

People are being "worn thin from strange, debilitating illnesses", said Time magazine. Some are experiencing fainting spells, chest pains, migraines and panic attacks; others are "wracked" by debilitating vertigo and nausea. Their "singular grievance": the "dull aural hum" that exceeds legal noise limits every day. The mine is causing "mental and physical" health issues, according to one local. "Imagine if I had a vuvuzela in your ear all the time." Similar medical complaints are being registered near Bitcoin facilities in Arkansas and North Dakota.

There are at least 137 Bitcoin mines across 21 US states, said the BBC, and reports of "many more being planned", attracted by "record-high cryptocurrency prices and cheap and abundant energy" to power the computers. But in some places Trump's crypto-friendly policies are "meeting resistance" from the very rural voters who "drove his return to the White House". Officials in Republican-voting areas are "likely to find themselves coming under continued pressure" from residents who oppose Bitcoin mining expansion, often in the form of legal battles. "If this happens, could Trump's crypto dreams be derailed in his own backyard?"

 
 
on this day

2 June 1692

In a trial that lasted just one day, Bridget Bishop became the first person to be convicted of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. She was hanged eight days later. A new revival of Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible", a fictionalised account of the witch trials, is running at Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London until 12 July.

 
 
Today's newspapers

Keir Starmer's defence strategy is "in disarray" says The Telegraph, reporting that the defence secretary seemed to backtrack on his pledge to boost defence spending to 3% GDP by 2034. "Don't leave us defenceless" says the Daily Mail. Britain has sent a "warning" to Vladimir Putin with 12 new attack submarines, says The i Paper, which reports that the expanded fleet will support "30,000 jobs". The country will move to "warfighting readiness", Starmer will announce today. 

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Wax snack

London's Madame Tussauds is home to waxworks portraying many British icons, including Winston Churchill, William Shakespeare, members of the royal family, and now – for a limited time only – the humble Greggs sausage roll. A wax replica of the bakery favourite will begin its three-week stint on display at the Baker St institution on 5 June (National Sausage Roll Day). "Our artists have put in numerous hours to capture every detail," said studio manager Jo Kinsey.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Rebecca Messina, Harriet Marsden, Ross Couzens and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly.

Image credits, from top: Ukraine's Security Service; Oli Scarff / Pool / AFP / Getty Images; Peter Dazeley / Getty Images; Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images.