Articles in this Cluster
08-06-2025
Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, killing four people and injuring nearly 60. The attack involved 48 drones, two missiles, and four glide bombs on Friday night, with further glide bombs dropped on Saturday, killing one more person and injuring 18. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the strikes as "pure terrorism" and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "buying himself time to keep waging the war". The attacks came after Ukraine's alleged drone strikes on Russian air bases and railway infrastructure, with Russia claiming it was responding to "terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime". Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine exchanged conflicting accounts over a prisoner swap agreement, with both sides accusing each other of not sticking to the agreed terms.
08-06-2025
A large Russian drone and missile attack targeted Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, on Saturday, killing at least three people and wounding 21 others. The attack included 215 missiles and drones, with Ukrainian air defenses shooting down 87 drones and seven missiles. The strikes damaged 18 apartment buildings and 13 private homes, with Kharkiv's mayor saying it was the most powerful attack on the city since Russia's invasion began. Two children were among the wounded, and six people are believed to be trapped under the rubble of an industrial facility. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of trying to sabotage a planned prisoner exchange.
08-06-2025
Ukraine has released dozens of its citizens convicted of collaborating with Russia as part of a prisoner exchange, in an attempt to secure the release of Ukrainian civilians held illegally in Russian jails. The Ukrainian government claims the released collaborators went into exile voluntarily, but human rights groups and international lawyers say the move is desperate and worrying, and could put more people at risk. At least 16,000 Ukrainian civilians are known to be detained in Russia, with many held without charges or trial, and Ukraine has been trying to pressure Russia to release them. The Ukrainian government launched a program called "I want to go to my own" which allows Ukrainian collaborators to be sent to Russia in exchange for detained civilians, but the scheme has been criticized by human rights groups, who argue that civilians should be released unconditionally. The prisoner exchange did not yield the results Kyiv was hoping for, with Ukraine not knowing ahead of time who would be returned, and many of those released being people convicted of unrelated crimes.
08-06-2025
Russia claimed on Sunday that its forces had advanced into the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk, an area it has been trying to reach for months, potentially creating new problems for Ukraine's stretched forces. The Russian Ministry of Defense said subunits from its 90th tank division had reached the border of Dnipropetrovsk with Donetsk and continued into the region, but Ukraine denied the claim. If confirmed, the advance would be a setback for Ukrainian forces amid stalled peace talks. Russia now controls nearly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, and its forces have made incremental progress in other areas, including the Sumy region. The conflict has intensified in recent weeks, with both sides exchanging blows and peace talks yielding no major breakthroughs.
08-06-2025
Russia has vowed to repair warplanes damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack, with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stating that the planes were "not destroyed but damaged" and will be repaired. Ukraine claimed its forces destroyed 40 of Russia's most powerful bomber jets and surveillance planes in "Operation Spider's Web", a series of coordinated drone strikes that penetrated deep into Russian territory. Satellite images show extensive damage to the planes, with two US officials telling Reuters that up to 20 warplanes were hit and 10 destroyed. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally oversaw the strike, which was over 18 months in the making. Russia's President Vladimir Putin said he would have to respond to the drone strikes in a phone call with US President Donald Trump.
08-06-2025
At least four people were killed and over two dozen injured in eastern Ukraine after Russia launched drone and missile attacks on Saturday. Russia launched 215 missiles and drones on Kharkiv, killing three people and wounding over 40 others, and later dropped bombs on the city center, killing at least one more person and injuring five. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks, saying Russia was seeking to destroy life and that Ukraine needed to strengthen its air defense. The attacks came after Ukraine launched a drone attack on Russian territory, destroying 40 Russian planes, and after a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former US President Donald Trump, in which Putin said he planned to retaliate.
08-06-2025
At least four people have been killed and dozens injured in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv after a series of Russian attacks, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy describing one of the strikes as a "savage killing". The attacks, which included a drone-and-missile strike and aerial bombing of the city centre, have been condemned by Ukraine, while Russia has claimed to have targeted military sites. The strikes come as US-led diplomatic efforts to broker peace between the two nations appear to be stalling, with both sides also accusing each other of trying to sabotage a planned prisoner exchange.
