Ukrainian officials said on June 8 that Russian airstrikes overnight killed five people, including a pregnant woman and two others in the Kharkiv region, plus two in Donetsk. A missile attack on the town of Chuhuiv wounded six more and damaged residential buildings and shops.
In Kharkiv city, 16 people — among them children — were injured by a drone attack. Images released by authorities showed a building on fire and burnt-out cars. In Donetsk, two people died in Bilozerske and Druzhkivka, while 11 others were wounded in Sloviansk and Shabelkivka.
The strikes followed an uptick in Ukrainian long-range drone attacks on Russian oil facilities, which have caused fuel shortages. Russia has also been conducting large-scale air raids on Ukraine.
Diplomatic push
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on June 7 that he had a “very positive” phone call with US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “I am grateful for their readiness to work as actively as possible in the coming weeks to advance diplomacy to end Russia’s war against Ukraine,” he wrote on X.
Zelenskyy spoke with the US envoys on his way back from London, where he met British, French and German leaders to discuss ending the four-year-old conflict. He also held an “in-depth” discussion with French President Emmanuel Macron afterwards and said he was preparing for the upcoming G7 summit in France.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Macron reaffirmed their “unwavering” support for Ukraine in a joint statement. They said they discussed using the G7, NATO and the Coalition of the Willing summits to coordinate aid for Ukraine, including increasing pressure on Russia’s war economy and strengthening military and defence commitments.
In an interview with The Guardian, Zelenskyy said: “I think there are many different people around Putin. Half want to continue this war. Half want to stop it.” Last week he sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin proposing a face-to-face meeting, but at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin called it “pointless” and said experts should resolve issues before they meet to sign an agreement.
