Four Dead in Russian Attacks on Ukraine Amid Ongoing Retaliation for Kyiv’s Drone Strike

Ukrainian authorities reported that at least four individuals lost their lives and over 24 were injured, including an infant and a teenager, when Russia unleashed a series of drone, missile, and bomb assaults in eastern Ukraine on Saturday. 

Early Saturday morning saw Russia deploying 215 drones and missiles targeting Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, resulting in the deaths of three people and injuries to more than 40, according to Ukrainian officials. 

Later in the day, Russia dropped bombs on Kharkiv’s city center, killing at least one more person and injuring five. 

“What the Russians want is the complete destruction of life,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday after the attacks. 

Last Sunday, Ukraine launched a surprise drone attack on Russian territory that destroyed 40 Russian planes, according to Kyiv. 

During his evening briefing, Zelenskyy mentioned that 117 drones were utilized in the attack. He alleged that the operation was directed from an office situated next to the local branch of the FSB, Russia’s intelligence organization.

An elderly man is assisted after a Russian attack that hit a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

On Friday, Russia launched another drone attack on six territories in Ukraine that killed six people, including a baby, and injured 80, according to Ukraine officials.

The attack came after President Donald Trump had a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which the Russian leader said he planned to retaliate. 

Trump responded to the attacks Friday, telling reporters on Air Force One, “Well, they gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night. … When I saw it, I said, ‘Here we go, now it’s going to be a strike.’”

On Thursday, Trump also compared the Russia-Ukraine war to children. 

Firefighters tackle a blaze after a Russian attack hit a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, June 7, 2025.  (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

“Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy. They hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart, they don’t want to be pulled,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.”

Ukraine and Russia have so far held two rounds of peace talks with few tangible results.