A picture of destruction in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, shows the devastating impact of Russia’s latest drone and missile attacks. At least three people are dead and 21 injured after the assault, which targeted residential areas and a civilian industrial facility.
Ihor Terekhov, Kharkiv’s mayor, revealed that Russia sent at least 48 drones, two missiles, and four loitering munitions to attack the city overnight. The victims include a toddler and a 14-year-old girl, who were among those injured in the blast.
The attack followed a wave of similar strikes across Ukraine on Thursday, with over 400 drones and nearly 40 missiles launched by Russia. The Kremlin claimed these attacks were a response to Ukraine’s “terrorist” actions, referencing a major drone strike on a Russian airbase on June 1.
Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, reported that a civilian industrial facility was hit by 40 drones, one missile, and five explosions, causing significant damage and potential casualties. In addition to the attacks in Kharkiv, the southern city of Kherson also suffered, with two fatalities reported.
Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, urged allies to increase pressure on Russia and provide more support to Ukraine to counter the latest attacks. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Vladimir Putin is trying to prolong the war and that more pressure is needed to stop the attacks.
Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian officials are at odds over a prisoner swap agreement, which was previously negotiated in Istanbul. The deal aimed to exchange wounded or seriously ill prisoners, as well as those under 25, and repatriate 6,000 bodies of the deceased. However, Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, claimed that Ukraine has postponed the exchange indefinitely, despite Russia’s delivery of over 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers’ bodies to the exchange point.
Ukrainian officials vehemently denied this, accusing Russia of playing “dirty games” and citing that the Russian-provided list of prisoners did not match the agreed-upon format.
Source: BBC