Russian attacks kill 3 as drones hit Kharkiv and other parts of Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces launched a new drone assault across Ukraine overnight on Wednesday, killing three people and wounding 64 others, Ukrainian officials said.
One of the hardest-hit areas was the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, where 17 attack drones struck two residential districts, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Emergency crews, municipal workers and volunteers worked through the night to extinguish fires, rescue residents from burning homes, and restore gas, electricity and water services.
'Those are ordinary sites of peaceful life -- those that should never be targeted,' Terekhov wrote on Telegram.
Three people were confirmed killed, according to Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov. In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 64 people had been wounded and reiterated his calls for greater international pressure on Moscow.
'Every new day now brings new vile Russian attacks, and almost every strike is telling,' he said. 'We must not be afraid or postpone new decisions that could make things more difficult for Russia. Without this, they will not engage in genuine diplomacy. And this depends primarily on the United States and other world leaders. Everyone who has called for an end to the killings and for diplomacy must act.'
Kharkiv has been frequently targeted in recent months as Russia launched repeated large-scale drone and missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Moscow's forces have launched waves of drones and missiles in recent days, with a record bombardment of almost 500 drones on Monday and a wave of 315 drones and seven missiles overnight on Tuesday.
The attacks come despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. The two sides traded memorandums at direct peace talks in Istanbul on June 2 that set out conditions. However, the inclusion of clauses that both sides see as nonstarters make any quick deal unlikely.
Wednesday's strikes also caused widespread destruction in Kharkiv's Slobidskyi and Osnovianskyi districts, hitting apartment buildings, private homes, playgrounds, industrial sites and public transportation. Images from the scene published by Ukraine's Emergency Service on Telegram showed burning apartments, shattered windows and firefighters battling the blaze.
'We stand strong. We help one another. And we will endure,' Terekhov said. 'Kharkiv is Ukraine. And it cannot be broken.'
Ukraine's air force said that 85 attack and decoy drones were fired over the country overnight. Air defense systems intercepted 40 of the drones, while nine more failed to reach their targets without causing damage.
In other developments, Russia has returned 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers in line with an agreement reached during the talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for Treatment of Prisoners of War said that the bodies came from Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as well as Russia's Kursk region where Ukrainian forces waged an incursion. It said that authorities would work to determine their identities as quickly as possible.
Russia has received the bodies of 27 fallen soldiers as part of an exchange with Ukraine, said Vladimir Medinsky, who led Russia's delegation at the Istanbul talks.
Illia Novikov, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Gaza to be sidelined in G7 summit, senior government source says
Vehicles pass a security gate and fence outside the site of the G7 Leaders meeting in Kananaskis, Alta., Monday, June 2, CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Details are emerging on the agenda for next week's G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., including that discussions on the war in Gaza may not make the cut, and climate change will be addressed through other topics. Set to begin early next week, the meeting's priorities are said to include international peace and security, economics, technology, global migration and private investment, among others. A senior government source shared in a technical briefing Thursday that while the security of Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific region will be discussed between G7 leaders and invited guests, the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and its associated humanitarian crisis, is not on the official agenda. Meanwhile, climate change is likely to be addressed through related issues rather than as a distinct line item. 'With respect, climate is integrated in (the) agenda,' the source said. 'The focus on critical minerals and supply chains, those are essential to tackling climate change that's required for energy transition … When you think about wildfires. You think climate change – and you would expect that climate change is behind the wildfires.' In addition, this year's summit is not expected to end with a joint communique from the pact's leaders, unlike previous years. Instead, some brief joint statements may emerge on individual issues discussed at the talks. At a previous Canadian meeting of G7 leaders in 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump departed the Charlevoix, Que., summit without signing that years' joint communique. Roland Paris, a University of Ottawa professor of international affairs, told CTV News in an interview that Trump's presence in the room will be 'a challenge.' With global relations now so strained amid a far-reaching trade war, talks may be a matter of managing the U.S. president's mood, he says. 'There will be private sessions for just the G7 leaders. This is part of what has been historically quite special about the G7, is that you could have an unscripted, private discussion among the leaders of these industrialized democracies,' he told CTV. 'But, they're not so likeminded now, and it'll be important to try and come out of that private meeting without Trump having gone completely off the rails.' Officials say that Carney will attempt to arrange bilateral discussions with each of the leaders in attendance, time permitting. While planning for this year's Alberta meeting began under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, the decision not to release a single statement from leaders came from Prime Minister Mark Carney, CTV News has learned. '(Prime Minister) Carney will be host of the summit and the approach we are taking to this summit is under his direction,' the government official said. 'The G7 is a consensus body – we want to focus on actions we can take together.' Who will be attending? In addition to G7 member countries, leaders in attendance will include those of Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa and Ukraine. The government source said that foreign interference has been a topic of discussion at the G7 for 'quite a number of years now' and this year there will be a 'specific focus on transnational repression.' But the official did not offer further details about what that would entail. This comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney faces criticism from within his own caucus about extending an invitation to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The G7 Summit begins just three days before the two-year anniversary of the murder of Sikh-Canadian activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023. Canadian police authorities have linked his killing to agents working with the Modi government. Carney has also extended invitations to president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. While the UAE leader has accepted the prime minister's invitation, CTV News has learned that the Saudi crown prince will not be in attendance next week. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will also attend the summit, and according to the Office of the Prime Minister, so will NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank. Most leaders are expected to arrive in Kananaskis on Sunday, with official events beginning the following day. With files from The Canadian Press
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Russia's military losses top 1 million in 3-year-old war, Ukraine's military says
Article content Ukraine responded to the Russian attacks with drone raids. Russia's Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 52 Ukrainian drones early Thursday, including 41 over the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine. Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said three people were injured by Ukrainian attacks. Article content The recent escalation in aerial attacks has come alongside a renewed Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line. Article content While Russian missile and drone barrage have struck regions all across Ukraine, regions along the front line have faced daily Russian attacks with short-range exploding drones and glide bombs. Article content Article content On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed its troops captured two more villages in the Donetsk region, Oleksiivka and Petrivske. The Ukrainian military had no immediate comment on the Russian claim. Article content The attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During their June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters, making a quick deal unlikely. Article content The only tangible outcome of the talks was an agreement to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers. Article content Russia and Ukraine conducted another POW swap on Thursday that included severely wounded and gravely ill captives, although the sides did not report the numbers. Article content 'Our people are coming home,' Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram. 'All of them require medical treatment, and they will receive the necessary help. This is already the second stage of returning those who are severely wounded and seriously ill.' Article content According to Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, some of the repatriated soldiers had been listed as missing in action. The oldest among them is 59, the youngest is 22, he said. Article content At the same time, Rutte criticized Putin for appointing his aide Vladimir Medinsky as the top negotiator for the talks in Istanbul. Medinsky ascended through the Kremlin ranks after writing a series of books exposing purported Western plots against Russia and denigrating Ukraine. Article content 'I think that the Russians sending this historian now twice to these talks in Istanbul, trying to start with the history of 1,000 years ago and then explaining more or less that Ukraine is at fault here, I think that's not helpful,' Rutte said. 'But at least step by step, we try to make progress.' Article content Article content Also on Thursday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit, noting the stepped-up Russian attacks send a message from Moscow that it has 'no interest in a peaceful solution at present,' according to German news agency dpa. Article content Pistorius said his visit underlines that the new German government continues to stand by Ukraine. Article content 'Of course this will also be about how the support of Germany and other Europeans will look in future — what we can do, for example, in the area of industrial cooperation, but also other support,' he said. Article content
Globe and Mail
5 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
At least three killed, scores injured as Russia targets Ukraine with new attacks
Russian forces have pummelled Ukraine with drones and other weapons, killing three people and injuring scores of others despite international pressure to accept a ceasefire, officials said Thursday. According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia launched a barrage of 63 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight. It said that air defences destroyed 28 drones while another 21 were jammed. Ukraine's police said two people were killed and six were injured over the past 24 hours in the eastern Donetsk region, the focus of the Russian offensive. One person was killed and 14 others were also injured in the southern Kherson region, which is partly occupied by Russian forces, police said. The head of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said that 15 people, including four children, were injured by Russian drone attacks overnight. Opinion: Ukraine showed that drones are the new bullets. Why doesn't Canada get this? Kharkiv city mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian drones targeted residential districts, educational facilities, kindergartens and other civilian infrastructure. 'Kharkiv is holding on. People are alive. And that is the most important thing,' Terekhov said. The Russian military has launched waves of drones and missiles in recent days, with a record bombardment of almost 500 drones on Monday and a wave of 315 drones and seven missiles overnight on Tuesday. The recent escalation in aerial attacks has come alongside a renewed Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 1,000-kilometre front line. While Russian missile and drone barrage have struck regions all across Ukraine, regions along the front line have faced daily Russian attacks with short-range exploding drones and glide bombs. Ukraine hit back with drone raids. Russia's Defence Ministry said that air defences downed 52 Ukrainian drones early Thursday, including 41 over the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine. Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said three people were injured by Ukrainian attacks Thursday. The attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During their June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as non-starters, making any quick deal unlikely. Speaking at a meeting of leaders of southeast European countries in Odesa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the European Union to toughen its latest package of sanctions against Russia. He argued that lowering the cap on the price of Russian oil from $60 to $45 as the bloc has proposed isn't enough. Opinion: In Ukraine, the bold drone attacks against Russia are a rare chance for celebration 'Real peace comes with a $30 cap – that's the level that will truly change thinking in Moscow,' Zelensky said. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv Thursday on an unannounced visit, noting that the stepped-up Russian attacks on Ukraine send a message from Moscow that it has 'no interest in a peaceful solution at present,' according to German news agency dpa. Pistorius said his visit underlines that the new German government continues to stand by Ukraine. 'Of course this will also be about how the support of Germany and other Europeans will look in future – what we can do, for example, in the area of industrial co-operation, but also other support,' he said.
