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Russia’s war against Ukraine
A firefighter suppresses a fire in an apartment block damaged by a massive overnight Russian strike in Kharkiv on June 7, 2025. Fires and widespread destruction are reported at a civilian enterprise and a residential building. (Viacheslav Madiievskyi/Ukrinform via Getty Images)
‘Putin is a murderer’ — Zelensky rejects Trump’s claim that Russia, Ukraine are like ‘kids’. “We are not kids with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin at the playground in the park,” Zelensky said, as quoted by the TV network. “He is a murderer who came to this park to kill the kids.”
Ukraine refutes Russia’s claims of disrupting POW exchange. “If the Russian side is now backing away from what was promised in Istanbul, it raises serious questions about the reliability and capability of their negotiating team,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on June 7.
Ukraine downs fighter jet in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Air Force says. Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024. Reinforced by North Korean troops, Russia launched a push to recapture the region in early March, with Ukraine being forced to pull back from much of the initially taken territory.
Russia hits Ukraine with 206 drones, 9 missiles overnight, Air Force says. Ukraine also downed 87 Russian combat drones, while 80 drones were neutralized by electronic warfare systems or disappeared from radars, the Air Force said.
Ukraine used only domestic drones in Operation Spiderweb, Zelensky says. “I wanted very much to use only what we produce and to have the separation (be) very clear,” President Volodymyr Zelensky told ABC News.
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‘I am against Ukraine’s entry into the European Union,’ Polish president-elect Nawrocki says. “Ukraine must understand that other countries, including Poland, Hungary, and other European countries, also have their own interests,” Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki said.
France to produce drones in Ukraine, minister says. “We are going to embark on a completely unprecedented partnership where a large French car company – I won’t name it because it’s up to them to announce it – will join forces with a French defense SME (small to medium-sized enterprise) to equip production lines in Ukraine to be able to produce drones,” French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.
Ukrainian drone strikes Russian Tu-22 bomber: SBU releases new footage of Operation Spiderweb. The video shows the flight path of an FPV drone from the moment it takes off from the roof of a modular building to the moment before it strikes a Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber at the Belaya air base in Siberia.
Zelensky urges US to act on Ukraine’s request to buy air defenses after deadly Kharkiv bombing. “These Russian strikes are not ‘retaliation’ but acts of destruction,” the president said as Russia attacked the city of Kharkiv with KAB guided bombs the evening of June 7, killing at least two people.
Chemical plant in Russia’s Tula Oblast reportedly hit 2nd time in drone attack. The Azot chemical plant in Novomoskovsk caught fire after it was reportedly targeted a second time in a drone attack overnight on June 8, independent news channel Astra reported.
Read our exclusives
Wondering where to start with Dostoevsky? Try his Ukrainian contemporaries instead
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a growing debate has emerged over the cultural and political legacy of Russian literature — particularly the global reverence for classic Russian authors.
Photo: Kirill Chubotin / Ukrinform / Getty Images
‘Find and destroy’ – how Ukraine’s own Peaky Blinders mastered the art of bomber drones
With Russian forces stepping up infantry-based attacks against an overstretched Ukrainian defense, the work of top drone units able to quickly eliminate enemy soldiers from the sky is more crucial than ever.
Photo: Francis Farrell / The Kyiv Independent
Human cost of Russia’s war
Russia bombs Kharkiv day after deadly overnight attack, killing 2, injuring 18. One of the bombs hit the Children’s Railway, killing a 30-year-old woman who worked for Ukrainian Railways. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia’s relentless assaults against the city of Kharkiv.
Six people likely trapped under rubble in Kharkiv after Russian attack. Russian forces attacked Kharkiv with drones, missiles, and KAB guided bombs overnight on June 7, killing at least three people and injuring 22, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
International response
Baltic states issue statement backing Ukraine’s EU, NATO membership. They argued that Ukraine’s NATO accession would “consolidate a just and lasting peace not only in Ukraine but also in all of Europe” and help uphold the rules-based international order globally.
Canada pledges $25.5 million in military aid for Ukraine, including armored vehicles. The country pledged to provide Ukraine with almost $22 million worth of Coyote and Bison armored vehicles, as well as new equipment and ammunition supplied by Canadian companies.
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