Three killed in 'massive' Russian strikes on Ukraine, Zelensky says
Russia launched large-scale drone and missile strikes on Ukraine's capital and other parts of the country early on Friday, local officials said.
At least three people were killed and 49 injured in the strikes, according to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The aerial raids targeted Kyiv, as well as the city of Lutsk and the Ternophil region in the north-west of the country.
The attack came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned US President Donald Trump he would respond to Ukraine's recent strikes on Russian airbases.
"As of now, three deaths have been confirmed - all of them were employees of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine," Zelensky said.
He said the attack used more than 400 drones and more than 40 missiles, and the number of people injured "may increase".
In an earlier statement, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people had been killed in the country's capital.
Air raid alerts were in place in the capital, as well as the cities of Kharkiv, Sumy and Luhansk. Kyiv's train system was disrupted after shelling damaged metro tracks.
Outside of the capital, Ternopil's military chief Vyacheslav Negoda said Friday's strike was the "most massive air attack on our region to date".
Mayor of Ternopil, Igor Polishchuk, said five people were wounded in the attack and there was damage to homes, schools and a government facility.
In Lutsk, five people were injured in an attack using 15 drones and six missiles, according to mayor Ihor Polishchuk.
Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry said its air defences shot down 174 Ukrainian drones overnight in parts of Russia and occupied Crimea.
The ministry said Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles were also intercepted over the Black Sea.
Russia's latest attack on Ukraine comes days after Kyiv launched its biggest long-range drone strike on at least 40 Russian warplanes at four military bases.
Zelensky said 117 drones were used in the so-called "Spider's Web" operation by the SBU security service, striking "34% of [Russia's] strategic cruise missile carriers".
Moscow had previously said that military options were "on the table" for its response to Ukraine's attack.
Ukraine drones strike bombers during major attack in Russia
Putin will seek revenge for Ukraine drone attack, warns Trump
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Russia pummels Ukraine's Kharkiv in 'most powerful attack'
Russia launched a massive air assault across Ukraine early Saturday, killing three people in what appeared to be retaliation for recent strikes on its air bases. The Kremlin has intensified attacks in recent weeks as ceasefire talks stall. Ukraine's air force reported intercepting 206 drones and nine missiles using a mix of aircraft, air defenses, and electronic warfare systems. Here are the main developments in Russia's war in Ukraine on Saturday, June 7, 2025: Besides the large Russian aerial assault on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, there were also strikes on Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and the city of Ternopil, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on social media. "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. Russia continues its terror against civilians. Hundreds of drones and missiles rained down on Ukraine had a particularly terrible night. 53 drones, four guided aerial bombs, and one missile. At least three people were killed, with 21 were… — Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) June 7, 2025 Russia, meanwhile, said it downed 36 Ukrainian drones on Saturday. At least two people were injured in the Moscow region as a result of the Ukrainian drone attack, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said. Russia's aviation watchdog said the Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky airports in the Moscow region had temporarily suspended operations to ensure flight safety but that flights had resumed. The Ukrainian military said Russia launched 206 drones, 2 ballistic and seven other missiles against Ukraine overnight. It said its air defense units shot down 87 drones while electronic measures jammed another 80 drones. The intensity of the Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past week has further dampened hopes that the warring sides could reach a ceasefire agreement. Ukraine has offered a 30-day unconditional ceasefire as an attempt to end the war but Russia has continuously rejected such overtures. On Friday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday called for allies to increase pressure on Russia to end its war of aggression. Earlier in the week US President Donald Trump said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, told him Moscow would respond to Ukraine's attack last weekend on Russian military airfields. At least three people were killed and more than 20 injured in a large Russian drone-and-missile attack on Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv. "Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war," Kharkiv's mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said on the Telegram messenger app early on Saturday. He said the attack damaged apartment buildings and homes. It comes a day after Russian strikes hit six Ukrainian territories, killing at least six people and injuring about 80 others. Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city and just a few dozen kilometers from the Russian border, has endured relentless shelling throughout more than three years of war. But last night's assault, described by the city's mayor as the "most powerful attack" since the full-scale invasion began, marks a grim new chapter. In this blog, we'll bring you the latest updates on the strike and its aftermath—likely part of Russia's response to Ukraine's daring attack on a Russian bomber fleet last week. We're also monitoring reports of a possible prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia expected later today. If that happens, we will bring you the details here. Stay with DW for real-time news, analysis, and insights from our correspondents on the ground as we continue to cover Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
General Staff: Russia has lost 995,030 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost 995,030 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on June 7. The number includes 1,120 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day. According to the , Russia has also lost 10,904 tanks, 22,737 armored fighting vehicles, 51,079 vehicles and fuel tanks, 28,850 artillery systems, 1,410 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,181 air defense systems, 413 airplanes, 337 helicopters, 39,493 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine. Read also: 'Find and destroy' – how Ukraine's own Peaky Blinders mastered the art of bomber drones We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
News24
an hour ago
- News24
Russia launches major attack on Ukraine, killing 5
A Russian attack on Saturday killed at least five people. The Kremlin has accelerated its attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks. The latest ceasefire negotiations have failed to broker an end to the three-year war. Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles, drones and bombs across Ukraine early Saturday, killing five people as it retaliated for a brazen attack on air bases days earlier. The Kremlin has accelerated its attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, while the latest ceasefire negotiations have failed to broker an end to the three-year war. The Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired 206 drones and nine missiles and added that "the air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces". In Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv, Mayor Igor Terekhov counted 48 Iranian-made drones, two missiles and four guided bombs before dawn and said the attack was unprecedented. The northeastern city of some 1.4 million residents is located less than 50 kilometres from the Russian border. Unprecedented attack "Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the beginning of the full-scale war," Terekhov posted on Telegram around 4:40 am (0140 GMT), adding that drones were still buzzing overhead. The Russian strikes pummelled homes and apartment blocks, killing at least three people and wounding 17 more, the mayor said. A woman was also pulled alive from the rubble of a high-rise building. Kharkiv region Governor Oleg Synegubov said the wounded included two children. "Medical personnel are providing the necessary assistance," he wrote. Kharkiv was already reeling from an attack on Thursday that wounded at least 18 people, including four children. In the southern port city of Kherson, Russian shelling killed a couple and damaged two high-rise buildings, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, governor Sergiy Lysak said Ukrainian forces had repelled 27 drones and two missiles overnight, but two women aged 45 and 88 were injured. Rescuers in the western city of Lutsk, near the Polish border, meanwhile discovered a second fatality from Friday's strikes, describing the victim as a woman in her 20s. The aerial bombardments come days after Ukraine launched a brazen attack well beyond the frontlines, damaging nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases and prompting vows of revenge from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia's defence ministry meanwhile said Saturday that 36 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles had been downed across a wide swath of territory. Ukraine has been pushing for an unconditional and immediate 30-day truce, issuing its latest proposal during peace talks in Istanbul on Monday. But Russia, which now controls around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, has repeatedly rejected such offers to end its three-year war. The Kremlin said on Friday the Ukraine war was "existential" for Russia. Ceasefire hopes dim The comments are Moscow's latest to dampen hopes for a breakthrough amid a flurry of meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, as well as telephone calls between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, aimed at stopping the fighting. "For us it is an existential issue, an issue on our national interest, safety, on our future and the future of our children, of our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, responding to remarks by Trump on Thursday comparing Moscow and Kyiv to brawling children. Ahead of the talks this week in Istanbul, an audacious Ukrainian drone attack damaged nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases, including thousands of kilometres behind the front lines in Siberia. Putin had told Trump he would retaliate for the brazen operation, 18 months in the planning, in which Ukraine smuggled more than 100 small drones into Russia, parked them near Russian air bases and unleashed them in a coordinated attack. Putin has issued a host of sweeping demands on Ukraine if it wants to halt the fighting. They include completely pulling troops out of four regions claimed by Russia, but which its army does not fully control, an end to Western military support, and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the demands as old ultimatums, questioned the purpose of more such talks and called for a summit to be attended by him, Putin and Trump.
