Ukraine and Russia exchange fire and accusations after Operation

Ukraine and Russia exchange fire and accusations.

This follows Operation Cobweb.

Missiles and drones shake Kharkiv.

The Ukrainian city of Kharkiv experienced its most violent night since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.

Nine missiles and 206 drones launched by Moscow detonated over residential neighborhoods, leaving at least six dead and around twenty injured, including a baby just a few months old and a 14-year-old girl.

Hours later, two glide bombs struck the city center again, heightening fears of more casualties as rescue teams removed debris from 18 apartment buildings and 13 damaged houses.

At the same time, Kyiv reported the downing of a Russian Su-35 fighter jet in the Kursk region—an achievement that Moscow has not officially confirmed, though Kremlin-aligned military outlets treat it as fact.

Ukraine and Russia exchange fire and accusations after Operation

Russia launches its biggest attack on Kharkiv, leaving 10 dead
https://t.co/DJLj5wTSRI
— El Correo (@elcorreo_com) June 7, 2025

The offensive marks the second day of Russian retaliation for Operation Cobweb, the unprecedented attack in which Ukraine destroyed part of the Kremlin’s fleet of strategic bombers on June 1.

The massive use of drones—407 on the first night and over 200 on the second—signals an escalation that is hitting the civilian population hard.

Mayor Igor Terekhov called the assault “the biggest attack” on Kharkiv since 2022.

The intensity of the bombings also reveals the difficulty Ukrainian defense systems face in intercepting such large swarms, despite shooting down more than 80% of the unmanned vehicles.

Kharkiv and the Russian border

A new wave of Russian attacks leaves at least six dead in the cities of Kharkiv and Kherson
https://t.co/srDhZDccaQ
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) June 7, 2025

Kharkiv, less than 50 kilometers from the Russian border, was one of the first cities occupied and then liberated in the early months of the war.

Operation Cobweb—which hit Russian airbases in Siberia and the Arctic—forced the Kremlin to show strength and opened a new phase of reciprocal attacks.

During the same night, dozens of Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Belgorod province and flew over Bryansk, Kaluga, Smolensk, and the Moscow area.

Kyiv insists on bringing the war into the territory of its aggressor.

What they’re saying

RUSSIA LAUNCHED THE “MOST INTENSE” ATTACK OF THE WAR AND ACCUSES KYIV OVER PRISONER EXCHANGE

? Russia launched the “most intense” attack of the war on Kharkiv, leaving dead and wounded. At the same time, it accuses Kyiv of blocking a prisoner exchange.
https://t.co/6oY4aQjpee

— Filo.news (@filonewsOK) June 7, 2025

Aliona Lukianova, a resident of Kharkiv, recounted that only 20 seconds separated the drone buzzing from the explosion that destroyed her apartment:

“We hid with our pets behind a hallway wall, and then everything blew up.”

From Moscow, negotiator Vladimir Medinsky accused Ukraine of “indefinitely postponing” a prisoner exchange agreed upon in Istanbul—a claim Kyiv officials labeled as “manipulation.”

As reported by EFE.

What’s next in the Russia-Ukraine war

Ukrainian authorities fear further nightly waves of attacks as they repair basic infrastructure and reinforce air defenses around Kharkiv and Kherson, where a married couple died following a Russian drone strike.

Military analysts warn that the partial destruction of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet may push the Kremlin to use more long-range ballistic missiles and intensify attacks on civilian targets to demoralize the population.

Meanwhile, Turkish diplomats are trying to revive talks on prisoner exchanges, though the escalation complicates any immediate diplomatic progress.

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