Russia launches massive drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, killing at least seven civilians
Moscow launched another large-scale drone and missile strike on Ukraine’s capital and other parts of the country early on Friday, officials and media, including BBC News, reported.
At least seven people were killed and 49 were injured in the strikes in Ukraine.
The aerial raids targeted the capital, Kyiv, the city of Lutsk, and the Ternopil region in northwest Ukraine. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that after it finished rescue operations in Lutsk, the rescuers recovered two bodies from the rubble of the destroyed nine-storey building. The attack injured a total of 30 people in this city. The rescuers evacuated five residents, as well as several pets.
In Lutsk, a young couple who were planning to get married were killed as a result of a Russian attack, as reported by Lutsk City Council deputy Roman Kravchuk and Lutsk Mayor Ihor Polischuk.
Mykola and Ivanna lived on the 8th floor of the building that was hit.
Ivanna and Mykola“Their car is parked next to the building, but they are not responding. We were hoping for a miracle… But, unfortunately, they were killed at the hands of Russian terrorists…” Kravchuk wrote.
“After the impact, their apartment, bedroom, all the floor structures – collapsed, and their bodies ended up in the basement of the building,” reported correspondent of the national joint 24/7 newscast Volodymyr Mykolaichuk from the scene.
The attack came after Russian ruler Vladimir Putin warned US President Donald Trump he would respond to Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russian airbases.
Russia’s latest attack on Ukraine comes days after Kyiv launched its largest long-range drone strike on at least 40 Russian warplanes at four military bases.
Previously, the Ukrainian President stated that the Security Service of Ukraine used 117 drones in the so-called Pavutyna operation, striking “34% of [Russia’s] strategic cruise missile carriers.” On May 6, Colonel Ants Kiviselg, Head of the Estonian Defence Forces Intelligence Centre, reported that the Russian Tu-95s hit during the Ukrainian operation (Web) were intended to carry out a missile strike on Ukraine.
Kiviselg noted that all the damaged aircraft were actively used in missile attacks on Ukraine.
“The damaged aircraft were preparing to carry out combat missions. Thus, the strike was carried out against Russia’s strategic aviation at the moment of its highest combat readiness,” the ERR cites the words of Kiviselg.
The Air Force of Ukraine reported that Russia attacked Ukraine with 452 air targets – missiles and drones – on the night of 5-6 June. Ukrainian air defence downed 406 targets, with strikes in 13 locations and debris falling elsewhere.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that three members of the State Emergency Service were killed in Kyiv while dealing with the aftermath of Russian strikes, namely Pavlo Yezhor, Danylo Skadin, and Andrii Remennyy.
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“They were working under fire to help people. Nine more emergency workers were wounded. Some are in a serious condition, and doctors are trying to save their lives,” Klymenko wrote.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy added on X that “now is exactly the moment when America, Europe, and everyone around the world can stop this war together by pressuring Russia.”
He also made a thinly veiled reference to Trump’s apparent unwillingness to put pressure on Russia.
“If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives – that is complicity and accountability,” Zelensky wrote. “We must act decisively.”
Tens of thousands of civilians in the capital spent a restless few hours in underground shelters.
From the centre of the city, prolonged bursts of machine gun fire could be heard as air defences on the outskirts attempted to bring down scores of drones aimed at the capital.
From time to time, the distinctive buzz of drones overhead could also be heard.
Bright flashes of light, sometimes reflected on nearby buildings, were followed five or ten seconds later by thunderous explosions.
The cities of Kharkiv and Sumy were also under air raid alerts.
Elsewhere, Ternopil’s military chief, Vyacheslav Negoda, said Friday’s strike was the “most massive air attack on our region to date”.
The Mayor of Ternopil said five people were injured in the attack while homes, schools, and a government facility had been damaged.
In Lutsk, five people were injured in an attack using 15 drones and six missiles, according to Mayor Ihor Polishchuk.
The Atlantic, citing three administration officials and an outside White House adviser, reported that Donald Trump is outraged by Ukraine’s decision to strike Russian aircraft that had been attacking Ukraine. The attack has caused anger in the White House and triggered a new wave of debate over the advisability of further support for Kyiv.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump’s administration urged Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to soften sanctions against Russia in the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which has strong bipartisan support in the Senate.
On June 3, 2025, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and former president of the Russian Federation, declared that the true purpose of the so-called peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul is to ensure Russia’s swift and complete victory.
Medvedev stated that the Istanbul negotiations were not intended to achieve a “compromise peace” based on what he called “imaginary, unrealistic conditions.” Instead, he said they are needed to secure Russia’s “fastest possible victory.”
“This is the purpose of the Russian memorandum published,” he added.
Zelenskyy called the Russian Federation’s “memorandum” an ultimatum and explained why.
