At least five dead and dozens injured in a Russian overnight attack with 103 drones and an Iskander-M/KN23 ballistic missile in the Ukrainian regions of Chernihiv (north), Kharkiv (northeast), and Odesa (south). The victims from this past night add to the thousands of people killed and injured since Russia invaded the former Soviet republic in February 2022.
In the northern city of Priluki, the fire chief's wife, daughter, and one-year-old grandson died along with two others. In Kharkiv, there were at least 19 injured, including four children, a pregnant woman, and a 93-year-old woman. There are already 632 children dead in this war.
Far from reaching a ceasefire agreement or holding direct talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian leader has promised to retaliate for Ukraine's attacks, which he has labeled as "terrorist." The war, now over three years old, which the President of United States, Donald Trump, was supposed to end as soon as he arrived at the White House, shows no signs of ending.
The new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is traveling to the US, where he will convey to Trump that Europe firmly stands with Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Following Ukraine's bold attacks inside Russian territory in recent days, including the destruction of bombers and damage to the Crimean bridge, North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has pledged unconditional support to Russia in the war against Ukraine.
Russia says it will repair damaged warplanes in Ukrainian drone attacks
Russian combat aircraft were damaged but not destroyed in an attack carried out by Ukraine on June 1 and will be restored, declared Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Ukrainian drones targeted airfields in Siberia and the Far North, where Russia houses heavy bombers that are part of its strategic nuclear forces.
The US assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit, with around 10 being destroyed, according to two US officials who spoke to Reuters.
It was not immediately clear how quickly Russia could repair or replace the damaged aircraft - if it could do so - given the complexity of the technology, the age of some of the Soviet-era planes, and Western sanctions restricting Russian imports of sensitive components.
Russia has an estimated fleet of 67 strategic bombers, including 52 Tu-95s, known as Bear-H by NATO, and 15 Tu-160s, known as Blackjacks, with around 58 believed to be deployed, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Additionally, it has 289 non-strategic fighters and bombers, including Tu-22, Su-24, Su-34, and MiG-31, according to the Bulletin. Russia has not provided details on which aircraft were damaged, but has stated that Ukraine attacked five air bases.
Yulia Navalnaya calls for EU collaboration and support for Russian democratic opposition
Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, urged European institutions on Thursday to increase contacts and support, both economically and politically, towards Russian democratic movements that represent "the engine of change," especially after the US policy shift towards the Kremlin, reports Efe.
"There cannot be a safe and prosperous Europe if Russia is not also a democratic country," Navalnaya emphasized before the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, accompanied by other Russian opposition figures who also stressed the need to increase dialogue between the EU and the Russian democratic opposition.
Navalnaya rhetorically questioned why "no one has been able to stop Putin's excesses" in 25 years and answered herself that Europe and the Russian opposition "have not yet joined forces" to achieve it.
"It is easy to say because we face gigantic obstacles, but we have to start working together, launch projects that, even if small, have an impact," she said, proposing, for example, funding independent Russian media activities.
Along the same lines, she emphasized that the commitment to support Russian civil society and those Russians opposing the war in Ukraine "must become actions, something practical," and not remain "a mere statement."
Thus, faced with the fact that the new US administration "has different priorities" from the previous one, she urged not to remain "idle" and asked the EU to "fill the void" left by Washington.
After Ukraine's bold attack on Russia, Kim Jong-un unconditionally supports Putin
North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has promised unconditional support to Russia in the war against Ukraine and to fulfill the mutual defense treaty signed between Pyongyang and Moscow, as reported by North Korean state media on Thursday.
Kim made this commitment during his meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary, Sergei Shoigu, held the day before in the North Korean capital. Kim Jong-un promises unconditional support to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine
Among the 19 injured in Kharkiv, four are children
In Kharkiv, a large city in the northeast near the Russian border, regional authorities reported that 19 people, including four children, were injured in Russian attacks, reports Afp.
In the southern part of the country, in the Mykolaiv region, a Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying civilians seriously injured a 70-year-old man on Thursday morning, according to Governor Vitali Kim.
In the part of the Kherson region (south) occupied by Kremlin forces, local Russian official Vladimir Saldo stated that more than 120,000 people were without electricity due to the fighting that had damaged the power facilities.
The six drones with which Russia attacked the city of Priluki last night killed five people, three of them from the same family. The fire chief's wife, daughter, and one-year-old grandson. With the death of this baby, there are now 632 who have lost their lives since the start of the war over three years ago.
The baby killed today by the impact of a Shahed drone in his home while sleeping is a child born during the war and died in it.
The Priluki fire chief, in the Chernihiv region, was leading the rescue operation at his own home, where three members of his family died, to deal with the aftermath of a drone attack.