Russian drone and missile strikes kill at least 4 in Ukraine in latest attack

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 07, 2025 8:18 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 7

Ukrainian officials accidental a monolithic Russian drone and rocket onslaught successful the eastbound metropolis of Kharkiv connected Saturday has killed astatine slightest four people and wounded implicit 2 twelve others, the latest successful astir regular wide attacks.

The archetypal question connected Ukraine's 2nd largest metropolis was a ample Russian drone and rocket onslaught successful the aboriginal hours. It killed astatine slightest 3 radical and wounded 21 others, according to section officials.

In the afternoon, Russia dropped aerial bombs connected Kharkiv's city centre, sidesplitting astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic and wounding 5 more, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

The two sides besides accused each different of trying to sabotage a planned captive exchange, astir a week aft Kyiv launched a surprise drone onslaught connected subject airfields heavy wrong Russia.

Saturday's attacks included aerial glide bombs that have become portion of a fierce Russian onslaught successful the warfare that began connected Feb. 24, 2022.

Later successful the day, the Russian Defence Ministry confirmed its forces carried out strikes utilizing high-precision long-range weapons and drones on military targets successful Ukraine overnight.

"The nonsubjective of the strikes has been achieved. All designated targets person been hit," the ministry said.

The Defence Ministry said its forces changeable down 36 Ukrainian drones implicit the country's southbound and west, including adjacent the capital. 

Four Ukrainian unmanned boats person besides been destroyed in the Black Sea, Russian quality agencies reported, citing the 
ministry.

However, determination was nary comment from Moscow connected the reports of casualties successful Kharkiv.

In caller weeks, the strength of the Russian attacks, on with Kyiv's caller astonishment drone attack, appear to beryllium dampening hopes the warring sides could scope a bid woody anytime soon.

The attacks person killed much than 12,000 civilians, according to the United Nations.

On Saturday, Ukraine's aerial unit said Russia struck with 215 missiles and drones overnight, and Ukrainian aerial defences changeable down and neutralized 87 drones and 7 missiles.

Terekhov said the onslaught successful Kharkiv besides damaged 18 flat buildings and 13 backstage homes.

Kharkiv residents picture destruction

As firefighters and exigency workers bustled astir onslaught sites successful Kharkiv, residents described the strikes that damaged their homes and astir took their lives.

Alina Belous said she had tried to extinguish flames with buckets of h2o to rescue a young miss trapped wrong a burning gathering who had called retired for help.

"We were trying to enactment it retired ourselves with our buckets, unneurotic with our neighbours. Then, the rescuers arrived and started helping america enactment retired the fire, but determination was fume and they disquieted that we couldn't enactment there. When the ceiling started falling off, they took america out," she said.

WATCH | Tackling a lasting interaction of the war: 

Another Kharkiv resident, Vadym Ihnachenko, said that helium thought astatine archetypal that it was a neighbouring gathering going up successful flames.

"But erstwhile we saw sparks coming from the top, we realized it was our building," helium said.

Several different areas successful Ukraine were besides hit, including the regions of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa, and the metropolis of Ternopil, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said successful a station connected X.

"To enactment an extremity to Russia's sidesplitting and destruction, much unit connected Moscow is required, arsenic are much steps to fortify Ukraine," helium said.

Kharkiv's determination governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said 2 districts successful the metropolis were struck Saturday with 3 missiles, 5 aerial glide bombs and 48 drones. Among the injured were a babe lad and a 14-year-old girl, helium added.

In the Dnipropetrovsk state further south, 2 women ages 45 and 88 were injured, according to section Gov. Serhii Lysak.

Russian shelling besides killed a mates successful their 50s successful the confederate metropolis of Kherson, adjacent to the beforehand lines, section Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported successful a Facebook post.

U.S. President Donald Trump said this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him Moscow would respond to Ukraine's onslaught past Sunday connected Russian subject airfields.

Trump besides said that it mightiness beryllium amended to fto Ukraine and Russia "fight for a while" earlier pulling them isolated and pursuing peace.

His comments appeared to beryllium a detour from his often-stated appeals to halt the warfare and signalled helium whitethorn beryllium giving up connected caller bid efforts.

Prisoner swap called into question

Amid Saturday's attacks, Russia and Ukraine accused each different of endangering plans to swap 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed successful action, agreed upon during nonstop talks this past Monday successful Istanbul that different made nary advancement in ending the war.

Vladimir Medinsky, a Putin adjutant who led the Russian delegation, said Kyiv called a last-minute halt to an imminent swap.

In a Telegram post, Medinsky said refrigerated trucks carrying much than 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian troops from Russia had already reached the agreed speech tract astatine the borderline erstwhile the quality came.

WATCH | Russia, Ukraine impeach each different of stalling prisoner swap: 

In response, Ukraine said Russia was playing "dirty games" and manipulating facts.

According to the main Ukrainian authorization dealing with specified swaps, nary day had been acceptable for repatriating the bodies. In a connection Saturday, the bureau besides accused Russia of submitting lists of prisoners of warfare for repatriation that didn't correspond to agreements reached connected Monday.

Reconciling the conflicting claims wasn't instantly possible.

Monday's talks unfolded a time aft a drawstring of long-range attacks by some sides, with Ukraine launching a drone battle connected Russian airbases and Moscow launching its largest drone onslaught of the warfare against Ukraine.

A erstwhile circular of negotiations successful Istanbul, the archetypal clip Russian and Ukrainian negotiators sat astatine the aforesaid array since the aboriginal weeks of the full-scale invasion, led to 1,000 prisoners connected some sides being exchanged.