Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kherson hit by glide bombs twice in same day as Putin ramps up attacks
Russia fired multiple rounds of glide bombs at the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Thursday, local authorities have said, as Vladimir Putin ramped up attacks across the country.
Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of the Kherson region, reposted footage of the aftermath of the attacks, which destroyed a government building and injured two people.
Several high-rise buildings were damaged, while a huge chunk of the top of the administrative building is seen missing in the video.
'Four KABs flew through this place,' Mr Prokudin wrote, using the Ukrainian phrase for glide bombs, which are modified, Soviet-era munitions carrying up to 1,500kg of explosives.
Additional footage posted by Mr Prokudin at around 2pm GMT appeared to show the building having sustained further damage after reports of a second round of glide bomb attacks.
Separately, a Russian drone strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Pryluky on Thursday killed at least five civilians, including a one-year-old child.
It comes as US president Donald Trump has warned that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will respond to Ukraine 's Operation Spiderweb, after the two leaders spoke on a phone call for around one hour and 15 minutes on Wednesday.
New German leader plans to discuss Ukraine and trade with Trump in Oval Office visit
Germany's new leader is meeting President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday as he works to keep the U.S. on board with Western support for Ukraine, help defuse trade tensions that pose a risk to Europe's biggest economy and further bolster his country's long-criticized military spending.
You can read the full story below.
New German leader plans to discuss Ukraine and trade with Trump in Oval Office visit
Germany's new leader is meeting President Donald Trump in Washington as he works to keep the U.S. on board with Western support for Ukraine, help defuse trade tensions that pose a risk to Europe's biggest economy and further bolster his country's long-criticized military spending
Tom Watling5 June 2025 15:00
Russia drone attack hits northeast city of Kupyansk
Ukraine's state emergency services have posted photos showing the aftermath of a Russian drone attack on the city of Kupyansk.
Russian forces are within five miles of the city's outskirts.
'As a result of discharges from Russian First-Person-View drones in the city of Kupyansk, fires broke out in the private sector, a 74-year-old woman was injured,' the emergency services wrote.
'A house, a car and outbuildings were on fire. 13 rescuers from the State Emergency Service fought the fire, risking their lives due to the threat of repeated shelling.'
Tom Watling5 June 2025 14:30
Brazil, India, China should put pressure on Russia to end war in Ukraine, Macron says
Brazil, India and China should put pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine, French president Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday during a joint press conference with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is on a state visit in France.
Tom Watling5 June 2025 14:14
Russia planning to make 2 million FPV drones in 2025, says Kyiv
Russia plans to produce two million first-person-view drones in 2025, Ukraine's foreign intelligence service has claimed.
Intelligence official Oleh Aleksandrov told Politico that Moscow has rapidly upped its production of the lethal but cheap drones, which have become one of the most common weapons on the frontlines in Ukraine.
'They aim to produce about 30,000 long-range drones of those types plus 30,000 false target drones they use to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses in 2025,' Aleksandrov said.
'As for the FPV drones, Russians are aiming to produce a whopping 2 million of them in 2025.'
Ukrainian forces working on tight budgets pioneered FPV drones, which are essentially affordable quadcopters retrofitted with small-munitions and cameras connected to a headset, allowing the drone pilot to steer it using a live, first-person-view feed.
They are short-range weapons operating on a timer.
Ukraine upscaled FPV production in 2024, creating around a million sets. They are aiming to produce 2.5 million this year.
Tom Watling5 June 2025 14:05
In pictures: Civilians clean up aftermath of deadly Russian strike
Below you can see pictures from the site of a Russian drone strike in the central city of Pryluky .
At least five people were killed in the strikes, including a one-year-old boy. The baby's mother and grandmother, who was the wife of the local fire chief, were also killed when a Russian drone hit their house.
Tom Watling5 June 2025 13:41
Zelensky launched a string of daring raids against Russia. He's proving to Trump that Ukraine has the cards after all
First came dozens of armed drones launched from trucks traveling deep inside Russia, swarming over military airfields across the country and raining down nuclear-capable long-range bombers. Then, two days later, a massive underwater bomb targeted a key bridge linking occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland.
The two daring raids by Ukrainian special forces have stunned the Kremlin, bolstered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and sent shockwaves through defence departments around the world.
But there has been an uncharacteristic silence from the White House, and its usually verbose inhabitants.
Zelensky's daring raids on Russia proves to Trump that Ukraine has the cards
Zelensky's dramatic military strike deep inside Russia may have changed Trump's perception of Putin as a 'winner' — with the U.S. president uncharacteristically quiet, write Richard Hall and Andrew Feinberg.
Tom Watling5 June 2025 13:18
The Dutch queen unveils a bell made from Russian weapons to show solidarity with Ukraine
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands handed over a bell made partly from Russian weapons to a church in the Czech Republic on Thursday in a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.
Known as the Bell of Freedom, it was manufactured by the Dutch Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry that used fragments of artillery shells and other weapons fired by Russia against Ukraine.
'This bell has a lot of symbolism in it and it's a very special project for us,' the owner of the bell foundry, Joost Eijsbouts, told the Czech public radio. 'To use material designed for violence and turn it into something peaceful is a good idea.'
Read the full story below.
The Dutch queen unveils a bell made from Russian weapons to show solidarity with Ukraine
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands has handed over a bell made partly from Russian weapons to a church in the Czech Republic in a sign of solidarity with Ukraine
Tom Watling5 June 2025 12:48
Footage shows Russian attack on Kharkiv
Footage published by officials from the northeast Ukrainian city of Kharkiv show the moment a Russian drone smashed into a high-rise building last night.
The video, shared by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's chief advisor, Andriy Yermak, is doing the rounds on Ukrainian social media.
Igor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second most-populated city, home to some 1.3 million people, posted the footage this morning.
No one was killed in the attack shown below; Mr Terekhov said the couple at home at the moment of the strike 'only escaped because they were sleeping in another room'. 'It's a miracle that everyone is alive,' he added.
He said 13 people were injured in total overnight after multiple Russian strikes on Kharkiv.
Mr Yermak wrote in a post on X alongside the video that it showed Vladimir Putin was only posing as a peacemaker by talking about negotiating an end to the conflict.
'Putin is a terrorist who tries to pose as a 'peacemaker' and makes hoax calls,' the official wrote. 'What about the ceasefire?'
Tom Watling5 June 2025 12:29
Nato near consensus on 5% defence spending commitment, claims US
Here we have some footage from today's meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels.
US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth says the alliance is 'nearing consensus' on Nato members hitting a pledge to spend five per cent of GDP on defence.
It will be a massive jump for most of the 32 Nato members to hit this increase; many have only just reached the two per cent threshold demanded of them a decade ago.
Tom Watling5 June 2025 12:24
Railway track damaged after blast in Russia's Voronezh region, state TV reports
A railway track in Russia's Voronezh region was damaged after an blast, state television Vesti Voronezh reported, citing an unidentified source.
There were no casualties as a result of the explosion, state TV reported.
Regional governor Alexander Gusev said via his channel in Telegram that several trains were stopped as a result of the damage to the railway. Gusev did not mention any blasts.
Russia's FSB security service also said that a railway track in the Voronezh region was damaged by the detonation of an explosive device, Interfax news agency reported.
The issue of opening a criminal case on terrorism is currently under consideration, the FSB said.
Tom Watling
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
36 minutes ago
- The Independent
Ukraine-Russia war latest: US warned that cut to military aid to Kyiv ‘will lead to more casualties'
Cuts to US aid for Ukraine in the Trump administration's forthcoming defence budget will lead to more casualties for Kyiv, a top Kyiv MP is warning. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said military aid to Ukraine would be reduced – the latest sign of Washington's waning support for Kyiv's war effort. But Oleksandr Merezhko, head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said cuts would play into Russia 's hands. "Such a reduction will lead to more casualties on the Ukrainian side, including casualties among [the] civilian population," he told Newsweek. And he warned: "Anyone in the US who is acting in support of the reduction of the military aid to Ukraine becomes morally responsible for the increased casualties among civilians." A massive Russian overnight drone strike killed three people and injured more than 60 others in the eastern city of Kharkiv. Mr Hegseth said the to the conflict despite Russia's having launched some of its largest aerial attacks of the war so far in the past week.
Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
US envoy plans to meet Iran's foreign minister on Sunday, US official says
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Sunday and discuss Iran's response to a recent American proposal for a nuclear deal, a U.S. official said late on Wednesday. Iran said on Monday it will soon hand a counter-proposal for a nuclear deal to the United States in response to a U.S. offer that Tehran deems "unacceptable," while U.S. President Donald Trump said talks would continue. Trump told a podcast on Monday he was less confident that Iran will agree to stop uranium enrichment in a nuclear deal with Washington. Trump has been seeking a new nuclear deal to place limits on Iran's disputed uranium enrichment activities and has threatened the Islamic Republic with bombing if no agreement is reached. Iran has long said it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons and is only interested in atomic power generation and other peaceful projects. During his first White House term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed limits on Tehran's uranium enrichment drive in exchange for relief from international sanctions. Uneasy relations between Iran and the U.S. go back decades. Tehran says Washington has interfered in its affairs, citing events ranging from a 1953 coup against a prime minister to the 2020 killing of its military commander in a U.S. drone strike. Washington cites Iran's backing of militant groups in the Middle East including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen to say that Iran poses a threat to U.S. ally Israel and Washington's interests in the region. The militant groups describe themselves as the "Axis of Resistance" to Israeli and U.S. influence in the Middle East. Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place." The decision by the U.S. to evacuate some personnel comes at a volatile moment in the region. Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked and U.S. intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Critical minerals give China an edge in trade negotiations
China's dominance over critical minerals in global supply chains was a powerful bargaining chip in trade talks between Beijing and Washington that concluded with both sides saying they have a framework to pursue a deal. China has spent decades building the world's main industrial chain for mining and processing such materials, which are used in many industries such as electronics, advanced manufacturing, defense and health care. Mines and factories in and around Ganzhou, a key production hub for rare earths, underpin China's control over the minerals. Many residents grew up collecting rocks containing the valuable minerals from the forested hills surrounding the southern city and today make a living from mining, trading or processing them. Critical minerals as a trade issue Responding to ever higher tariffs and other controls on advanced technology, China told exporters of certain key rare earths and other critical minerals to obtain licenses for every shipment abroad. Approvals can take weeks, leading to supply chain disruptions in the U.S. and other countries. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that China would make it easier for American industry to obtain much-needed needed magnets and rare earth minerals, clearing the way for talks to continue between the world's two biggest economies. In return, Trump said, the U.S. will stop efforts to revoke the visas of Chinese nationals on U.S. college campuses. But details remain scarce. Beijing has not confirmed what the negotiators agreed to, and Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump himself have yet to sign off on it. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said Saturday it had approved a 'certain number' of export licenses for rare earth products, apparently acknowledging Trump's personal request to Xi during a phone call last week. And on Wednesday, the Ganzhou-based rare-earth conglomerate JL MAG Rare-Earth Co. confirmed it had obtained some export licenses for shipments to destinations including the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia. Experts say, however, Beijing is unlikely to do away with the permit system enabling it to control access to those valuable resources. The only scenario in which China might deregulate its critical minerals export is if the U.S. first fully removes tariffs imposed on Chinese goods as part of the trade war, said Wang Yiwei, a professor of international affairs at Renmin University, echoing the Chinese government's earlier stance. 'Without that,' he said, 'it will be difficult to blame China for continuing to strengthen its export controls.' An industry built over decades with government support In 1992, Deng Xiaoping, the leader who launched China's ascent as the world's biggest manufacturing power, famously said 'the Middle East has oil, China has rare earths,' signaling a desire to leverage access to the key minerals. Several generations later, Beijing has made its rich reserves of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals that are abundant in the earth's crust but hard, expensive and environmentally polluting to process, a key element of China's economic security. In 2019, during a visit to a rare earth processing plant in Ganzhou, Xi described rare earths as a 'vital strategic resource.' China today has an essential monopoly over 'heavy rare earths,' used for making powerful, heat-resistance magnets used in industries such as defense and electric vehicles. The country also produces around 80% of the world's tungsten, gallium and antimony, and 60% of the world's germanium -– all minerals used in the making of semiconductors, among other advanced technologies. The risks of dependency on Chinese suppliers first came into focus in 2010, when Beijing suspended rare earths exports to Japan due to a territorial dispute. The ban was lifted after about two months, but as a precaution, Japan invested in rare earths processing plants in other countries and began stockpiling the materials. Beijing's across-the-board requirement for export licenses for some critical minerals has put pressure on world electronics manufacturers and automakers. Some auto parts makers in Europe have shut down production lines due to delays in supply deliveries, according to the European Association of Automotive Suppliers. In the U.S., Tesla CEO Elon Musk said a shortage of rare earths is affecting his company's work on humanoid robots. China's critical minerals resources are dwindling In the drab industrial hub of Ganzhou, cradled by the scenic Dayu Mountains, the U.S.-China trade war is still a distant stressor. Miners and small mineral traders interviewed by The Associated Press said they are more concerned about depleting the mountains' once-abundant resources. Zhong, a tungsten factory manager in Ganzhou who would only give his last name, worked his way up to manager from a miner, but he's unsure there is a future for him and others in the industry. 'I find growing difficulties to source tungsten these days,' he said, adding that smaller mines and trading companies are slowly disappearing as the resources are dwindling. Tungsten is an ultra-hard metal used in armor-piercing ammunition, nuclear reactors and semiconductors. At least five tungsten mines have closed in the area in recent years, according to state media. Remaining reserves are deeper and harder to extract and process after decades of exploitation, said Li Shangkui, chairman of the Ganzhou-based Jiangxi Yuean Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. Processing factories in Ganzhou now routinely source materials from other provinces or other countries. Zhong's plant imports some raw materials from places like Africa and Cambodia. Major state-owned and private companies in Ganzhou are also ramping up investments abroad. Tungsten producer Ganzhou Haisheng, for instance, announced last year a $25 million investment in a new tungsten plant in Thailand. Whatever the challenges in procuring raw materials, China likely will seek to maintain its dominance in critical minerals, said Fabian Villalobos, an engineer and critical minerals expert at the RAND think tank. The U.S. lags far behind China on critical minerals Between 2020 and 2023, the U.S. imported at least 70% of the rare earth compounds it used from China, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It has diversified its sources in recent years, but still mainly relies on China. Since beginning his second term in office, Trump has made improving access to critical minerals a matter of national security. But the U.S. has an incredibly long way to go to catch up with China, experts say. The sole operational U.S. rare earths mine, in Mountain Pass, California, is unable to separate heavy rare earths. It sends its ore to China for processing. The U.S. Defense Department has provided funding to the mine's owner, MP Materials, to build new separation facilities. It will take months to build and still only produce a fraction of what is needed. Friction over the issue has opened the way for government-backed financing that was unavailable before, said Mark Smith, who ran the Mountain Pass mine in the early 2010s and now leads NioCorp. It's seeking about $780 million in financing through the U.S. Export-Import Bank to build a processing facility in Nebraska for critical minerals including rare earths. The Defense Department has committed $439 million to building domestic rare earth supply chains, but building a complete mining and processing industrial chain like China's could take decades. 'There are going to be some real issues here unless we can figure out how to get along with China for a period of time while we're developing our own resources and our mainstream processing,' Smith said. The spotlight on critical minerals also provides opportunities for smaller miners to invest in extracting and processing some critical minerals, such as tungsten, considered 'niche' because they are needed in relatively small amounts in key industries, said Milo McBride, an expert on sustainability and geopolitics at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'For many of these companies, the business strategy hedges on a scenario where the U.S. and China become more confrontational and where trade relations become more uncomfortable,' McBride said. 'And all of a sudden, what was once an uneconomic project somewhere outside of China starts to make more sense.' ___
