Russian missiles kill 3, injure 21 in Kharkiv

Kyiv, June 8: A large Russian drone-and-missile attack targeted Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday, killing at least three people and injuring 21, local officials said. The barrage — the latest in near daily widescale attacks — included aerial glide bombs that have become part of a fierce Russian onslaught in the three-year war.

The intensity of the Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past weeks has further dampened hopes that the warring sides could reach a peace deal anytime soon — especially after Kyiv recently embarrassed the Kremlin with a surprising drone attack on military airfields deep inside Russia.

According to Ukraine's Air Force, Russia struck with 215 missiles and drones overnight, and Ukrainian air defenses shot down and neutralized 87 drones and seven missiles.

Several other areas in Ukraine were also hit, including the regions of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and the city of Ternopil, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X.

"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.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the latest attack.

Kharkiv's mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said the strikes also damaged 18 apartment buildings and 13 private homes. Terekhov said it was "the most powerful attack" on the city since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Kharkiv's regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said two districts in the city were struck with three missiles, five aerial glide bombs and 48 drones. Among the injured were two children, a baby boy and a 14-year old girl, he added.

In the Dnipropetrovsk province further south, two women aged 45 and 88 were injured, according to local Gov. Serhii Lysak.

Russian shelling also killed a couple in their 50s in the southern city of Kherson, close to the front lines, local Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported in a Facebook post. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 36 Ukrainian drones overnight, over southern and western Russia, including near the capital. Drone debris injured two civilians in the suburbs of Moscow, local Gov. Andrei Vorobyov reported. (AP)