Saturday June 7, 2025|
Russia launched a sweeping overnight air assault on Ukraine early Saturday, killing at least five civilians and injuring dozens in what authorities described as one of the most intense bombardments since the war began in 2022.
The northeastern city of Kharkiv—Ukraine’s second largest city—suffered the worst of the attacks. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the pre-dawn strikes involved at least 48 Iranian-made drones, two missiles, and four guided bombs, targeting residential neighborhoods and high-rise apartment buildings.
“Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the beginning of the full-scale war,” Terekhov posted on Telegram at 4:40 a.m. local time, adding that aerial threats were still present over the city of 1.4 million, located just 50 kilometers from the Russian border.
The assault left three people dead and 17 others wounded, including two children, according to regional governor Oleh Synehubov. Rescue teams pulled a woman alive from the rubble of a collapsed apartment block.
The strikes came just days after Kharkiv was hit by a separate bombardment on Thursday that injured at least 18 people, including four children.
In the southern port city of Kherson, Russian shelling claimed the lives of a couple and damaged multiple high-rise buildings, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin confirmed.
In Dnipro, two women—aged 45 and 88—sustained injuries, while a second fatality was confirmed in Lutsk, a city near the Polish border, where rescuers discovered the body of a young woman in the aftermath of Friday’s drone attack.
The nationwide escalation follows a covert Ukrainian drone operation that struck Russian airbases deep behind enemy lines earlier this week. The bold attack damaged nuclear-capable aircraft and prompted immediate threats of retaliation from the Kremlin.
According to reports, the Ukrainian operation—18 months in planning—involved more than 100 miniature drones smuggled into Russia and hidden near airbases before being launched in a coordinated strike. President Vladimir Putin has vowed retribution.
As military tensions rise, Ukraine has renewed calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, proposing the idea at peace talks held in Istanbul earlier this week. But Moscow has rebuffed all truce efforts, insisting that the war represents an “existential” issue for Russia.
“For us, it is an existential issue — about our national interest, our safety, our future, and the future of our children,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday, reacting to comments from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who likened Russia and Ukraine to “brawling children” during a recent call with Putin.
Putin has also issued new demands for any future peace agreement. These include a full withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the four partially occupied regions claimed by Russia, an end to all Western military assistance to Ukraine, and a legal commitment barring Ukraine from joining NATO.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the conditions as outdated ultimatums and has called for a three-way summit between himself, Putin, and Trump, saying the time has come for direct and decisive dialogue.
As diplomatic channels falter and air raids intensify, civilians across Ukraine brace for further attacks—underscoring the war’s unrelenting toll on both lives and hopes for peace.
