Russian drones and missiles target Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv,
killing 3, officials say
[June 07, 2025]
By SAMYA KULLAB and VOLODYMYR YURCHUK
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A large Russian drone-and-missile attack targeted
Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday, killing at least three
people and injuring 21, local officials said. The barrage — the latest
in near daily widescale attacks — included aerial glide bombs that have
become part of a fierce Russian onslaught in the three-year war.
The intensity of the Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past weeks has
further dampened hopes that the warring sides could reach a peace deal
anytime soon — especially after Kyiv recently embarrassed the Kremlin
with a surprising drone attack on military airfields deep inside Russia.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia struck with 215 missiles and
drones overnight, and Ukrainian air defenses shot down and neutralized
87 drones and seven missiles.
Several other areas in Ukraine were also hit, including the regions of
Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and the city of Ternopil, Ukrainian
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X.
“To put an end to Russia’s killing and destruction, more pressure on
Moscow is required, as are more steps to strengthen Ukraine,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the latest attack.
Kharkiv’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said the strikes also damaged 18
apartment buildings and 13 private homes. Terekhov said it was “the most
powerful attack” on the city since Russia's full-scale invasion of
Ukraine in February 2022.
Kharkiv’s regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said two districts in the
city were struck with three missiles, five aerial glide bombs and 48
drones. Among the injured were two children, a baby boy and a 14-year
old girl, he added.
In the Dnipropetrovsk province further south, two women aged 45 and 88
were injured, according to local Gov. Serhii Lysak.
Russian shelling also killed a couple in their 50s in the southern city
of Kherson, close to the front lines, local Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin
reported in a Facebook post.
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Firefighters tackle a blaze after a Russian attack that hit a
residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, June 7, 2025.
(AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 36
Ukrainian drones overnight, over southern and western Russia,
including near the capital. Drone debris injured two civilians in
the suburbs of Moscow, local Gov. Andrei Vorobyov reported.
On Friday, Russia struck six Ukrainian territories, killing at least
six people and injuring about 80. Among the dead were three
emergency responders in Kyiv, one person in Lutsk and two people in
Chernihiv.
A U.S.-led diplomatic push for a settlement has brought two rounds
of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine,
though the negotiations delivered no significant breakthroughs. The
sides remain far apart on their terms for an end to the fighting.
Ukraine has offered an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and a meeting
between its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader
Vladimir Putin to break the deadlock. But the Kremlin has
effectively rejected a truce and hasn’t budged from its demands.
U.S. President Donald Trump said this week that Putin told him
Moscow would respond to Ukraine’s attack on Russian military
airfields last Sunday.
Trump also said that it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia
“fight for a while” before pulling them apart and pursuing peace.
Trump’s comments were a remarkable detour from his often-stated
appeals to stop the war and signaled he may be giving up on recent
peace efforts.
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