Aftermath of a Russian strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, June 7, 2025

Friday’s Coverage: Russia Murders 4+, Injures 20 in Kyiv with Drones and Missiles

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1758 GMT:

A 30-year-old woman has been killed and at least 18 other civilians injured as Russia continues its bombing of Kharkiv city in northeast Ukraine.

The woman was slain on Saturday evening as rescuers were searching for the bodies of six victims believed to be trapped under rubble from the early morning drone, missile, and guided bomb attacks.

Russia launched four KAB bombs at central Kharkiv, targeting the Shevchenkivskyi and Kyivskyi districts. One bomb hit the Children’s Railway, a popular spot for families.

Ten of the wounded have been hospitalized, three in serious condition.

UPDATE 1415 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has knocked back Donald Trump’s portrayal of Russia’s invasion as “two young people fighting like crazy….Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while.”

Speaking to the US outlet ABC News, in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, Zelensky said, “We are not kids with Putin at the playground in the park. He is a murderer who came to this park to kill the kids.”

The President described the “limitless” suffering of a Ukrainian father who lost his wife and three children in a missile strike.

He just said, “Every morning when I wake up, I’m just looking for my family — I’m looking everywhere in the flat….I still feel that it was a nightmare…a bad dream.”

Trump “could not feel fully and understand this pain,” Zelensky noted. “And it’s not about President Trump, it’s about any person who is not here in the country, who is some thousands of miles away — [they] cannot feel fully and understand this pain.”

UPDATE 1358 GMT:

Six civilians are likely trapped under the rubble of an industrial facility in Kharkiv city, after Russian attacks that murdered three people and wounded 22.

The Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office said contact with those trapped has been lost.

UPDATE 1349 GMT:

Petro Yatsenko, of Ukraine’s Coordination for POWs headquarters, says the 1,000-for-1000 exchange of prisoners and the repatriation of Ukrainian and Russian bodies has been moved to next week.

The swap was agreed on Monday at the second set of Ukraine-Russian talks in Istanbul, Turkey.

Yatsenko said, “Statements by representatives of the aggressor state [Russia] regarding the alleged start of the return of bodies or repatriation measures following agreements in Istanbul are not true”.

Russia’s lead negotiator, Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky hjad proclaimed that Ukraine pulled out of the exchange.

The Coordination headquarters said preparations are still underway for the swap of the seriously ill and severely injured and of young people, as well as the return of bodies.

It added that a list of names provided by Russia did not match the terms of the agreement.

Unfortunately, instead of constructive dialogue, we are again faced with manipulations.

We call on the Russian side to stop playing dirty games and return to constructive work to bring people back to both sides and to clearly implement the agreement in the coming days.

UPDATE 1341 GMT:

German Maj. Gen. Christian Freuding says last Sunday’s Ukrainian mass drone attack likely damaged around 10% of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, striking some of the aircraft as they were being prepared for attacks on Ukraine.

“According to our assessment, more than a dozen aircraft were damaged, TU-95 and TU-22 strategic bombers as well as A-50 surveillance planes,” Freuding, who coordinates Berlin’s military aid to Kyiv, said in a YouTube podcast.

The general said of the A-50s, “We believe that they can no longer be used for spare parts. This is a loss, as only a handful of these aircraft exist.” He added, “As for the long-range bomber fleet, 10% of it has been damaged in the attack according to our assessment.”

Ukrainian official say 13 strategic bombers were destroyed and 28 other warplanes damaged in the drone strikes on six Russian airfields.

US counterparts estimate that the attack hit as many as 20 warplanes, destroying around 10.

UPDATE 1035 GMT:

The Ukrainian military says it downed a Russian Su-35 fighter jet “in the Kursk direction” from western Russia near the border.

UPDATE 0957 GMT:

The Ukraine Air Force says Russia fired 206 drones and nine missiles overnight.

Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Ukraine’s second city, posted, “Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war.”

Three civilians were murdered and 21 injured by Russia’s overnight assault.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted:

UPDATE 0709 GMT:

As Russia’s war economy slows, the Central Bank has cut the interest rate for the first time since September 2022.

The Bank dropped the rate by 1% to 20%. It declared in a statement:

Current inflationary pressure — including underlying pressure — continues to ease. While domestic demand still outpaces the ability to expand the supply of goods and services, the Russian economy is gradually returning to a path of balanced growth.

The Bank forecasts that inflation, currently at 10.2%, will fall to the target of 4% in 2026. Future rate decisions “will depend on “how quickly and sustainably inflation and inflation expectations decline.”

UPDATE 0652 GMT:

France will begin drone production within Ukraine.

Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced the cooperative initiative between a leading French automobile manufacturer and a specialized small- or medium-sized defense enterprise.

Lecornu did not specify the types and specific purpose of the drones. He said some will be transferred to the Ukrainian military, and others are intended for use by French troops during regular exercises.

“Ukrainians are superior to us in their ability not only to design drones, but also to develop modern combat doctrines for them,” the Defense Minister said.

In a meeting on Thursday, Lecornu and Ukraine Defense Minister Rustem Umerov discussed expansion of industrial cooperation. Umerov said:

We are ready to provide this opportunity to the best manufacturers. Ukraine has combat experience, France has a powerful industrial base. This is a mutually beneficial and strategic partnership.

UPDATE 0636 GMT:

A third civilian has been killed by Russia’s overnight strikes on Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv. The number of injured has risen to 21, including a 14-year-old girl and a 1 1/2 month-old baby.

The drone, missile, and guided bomb attacks (see Original Entry) damaged 18 apartment buildings and 13 private homes.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Donald Trump has justified Russia’s murders of Ukrainian civilians, as three first responders were among at least 13 people slain and more than 100 wounded within 24 hours by attacks across Ukraine.

The Russians launched 407 drones and 44 missiles, their second-largest aerial assault of the 39 1/2-month invasion, in the early morning. The emergency workers were killed in Kyiv as they worked at the site of an initial strike. At least 20 people were injured with fires set in residential buildings, including high rises, throughout the capital.

Two civilians perished in Chernihiv in northern Ukraine and two in Lutsk in the northwest.

Early Saturday, strikes on Kharkiv in the northeast with 54 attacks with drones, missiles, and guided bombs killing three people and injuring 19, including a 14-year-old girl and a 1 1/2 month-old baby. In Kherson in the south, two civilians were slain.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force, Trump rationalized the murders by referring to Ukraine’s mass drone strikes on Russian airfields last Sunday.

“They gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “That’s the thing I don’t like about it. When I saw it I said, ‘Here we go now it’s going to be a strike.”

In his comments on Russia’s assault, Zelensky implicitly responded to Trump:

Unfortunately, not everyone in the world condemns such attacks. This is exactly what Putin exploits. He is buying himself time to keep waging war….

If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives, that is complicity and accountability. We must act decisively.

Trump Pulls Back From Pressure on China’s Support for Invasion

Trump is pulling back from pressure on China over its support for the Russian invasion, say “US and European officials familiar with internal discussions”.

The officials said the Administration has lowered Russia’s war against Ukraine in its foreign policy priorities and is focusing on bilateral issues with Beijing. Those issues include tariffs, technology restrictions, and access to rare earth minerals.

In March, G7 foreign ministers condemned China’s support for Moscow and urged Beijing to use its influence with Vladimir Putin to help end the invasion.

Trump said on Friday that “nothing was discussed concerning Russia/Ukraine” during his call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.