Casualties: 3 fatalities, 21 injuries reported in drone and missile strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine, attributed to Russian forces.
In a turbulent turn of events, a massive Russian drone-and-missile attack hammered Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, on a Saturday morning, claiming at least three lives and wounding 21 others, as per local officials. As hopes for peace dwindled, the warring factions engaged in a blame game over alleged sabotage attempts to halt a previously arranged prisoner exchange.
Following a surprising drone assault by Ukraine on Russian military airfields deep within the Russian territory, both sides traded accusations. The Saturday offensive, one in a series of near daily wide-scale attacks on Ukraine, featured aerial glide bombs that have become staples in Russia's all-out war, initiated on Feb. 24, 2022.
As Kharkiv's residents grappled with the aftermath, firefighters and emergency workers rushed to the attack sites. Alina Belous recounted her frantic attempt to rescue a distressed girl trapped in a burning building, while Vadym Ihnachenko initially mistook the flames for those of a neighboring building.
Ukraine's air force revealed that Russia launched 215 missiles and drones overnight, with Ukrainian air defenses managing to shoot down 87 drones and seven missiles. Several other regions in Ukraine, such as Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Ternopil, also faced attacks, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
Sybiha urged greater international pressure on Moscow to end the bloodshed and further strengthen Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry, however, remained tight-lipped regarding the reported casualties in Kharkiv. Armed with new insights, the mayors and governors of Kharkiv and other affected regions detailed the extent of the destruction caused by the Russian offensive.
Amid the chaos, a potential positive development emerged, with the commencement of a prisoner exchange agreement, reached during direct peace talks in Istanbul. This exchange saw the return of wounded soldiers and those under 25 years old, with defenders of Mariupol among the freed prisoners, after spending over three years in captivity[1][2][3].
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the process will continue in several stages over the coming days, while Russia's Defence Ministry also confirmed the return of Russian POWs as part of this exchange[2]. However, Russia has yet to agree to Ukraine's push for an "all-for-all" prisoner swap[3].
The prisoner exchange negotiations continue to evolve, despite broader peace talks remaining elusive and the challenges persisting[3]. Peace talks have brought about two rounds of direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, albeit with no significant breakthroughs in sight, as both parties remain entrenched in their positions.
Remarkably, U.S. President Donald Trump recently disclosed that Putin informed him Moscow would respond to Ukraine's attack on Russian military airfields on June 1[4]. Trump's subsequent comments later in the week signaled a shift in his stance on the conflict, implying that he may no longer prioritize peace efforts[4].
In another intriguing twist, both Russia and Ukraine accused each other of jeopardizing the already fragile prisoner exchange process. The Russian and Ukrainian delegations engaged in a heated exchange regarding the proceedings of a planned exchange of 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action[5]. In an unusual development, the prisoner exchange, agreed upon during the peaceful negotiations in Istanbul, was underway[1][3].
- Ukraine
- Russia
- Kyiv
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/isteoukraina-releases-video-claiming-devastating-drone-strike-russian-airbase-2022-06-03/[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61728369[3] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/3/russian-drone-strikes-kill-at-least-3-in-ukraine-s-kharkiv[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/06/03/russia-ukraine-live-updates/[5] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exclusive-ukraine-russia-each-accuse-other-derailing-prisoner-swap-2022-06-04/
The general news reported a heated exchange between Ukraine and Russia, alleging each other's involvement in derailing the prisoner swap process. Meanwhile, in politics, international pressure mounts on Russia to end the war-and-conflicts, with Ukraine urging stronger action. The city of Kyiv, like other regions, faced attacks, as per news reports.
