LONDON — A minimum of 10 Ukrainian drones have been shot down on their method to Moscow in a single day into Sunday morning, in keeping with the town’s mayor, with short-term restrictions launched at two of the capital’s airports.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin mentioned emergency companies have been dispatched to the affect websites of the downed drones. Russia’s Protection Ministry mentioned the uncrewed plane attacking Moscow have been amongst 67 Ukrainian drones shot down in a single day.
To the south of the capital area, Tula area governor Dmitry Milyaev reported a drone assault on the Azot chemical plant in Novomoskovsk and a hearth there attributable to falling particles. Two individuals have been injured, Milyaev wrote on Telegram. “The scenario is beneath management,” he mentioned.
Andriy Kovalenko, the top of the Counter-Disinformation Middle working as a part of Ukraine’s Nationwide Safety and Protection Council, mentioned in a Telegram submit of the Azot facility. “It’s right here that explosives are produced, specifically TNT, which is utilized in artillery shells, plane bombs and missiles.”
Russian forces continued their very own long-range strikes into Ukraine in a single day, with Ukraine’s air pressure reporting 49 drones and three missiles fired into the nation. The air pressure mentioned on Telegram that it shot down or in any other case neutralized 40 drones.
PHOTO: An artist paints a panorama of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on June 5, 2025. (Pavel Bednyakov/AP)
Current weeks have seen either side intensify their long-range strike operations, whilst U.S.-brokered peace talks proceed in a bid to finish Russia’s 3-year-old invasion of its neighbor.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned on Saturday night that his nation must “urgently” strengthen its air protection capabilities in response to Russia’s intensifying missile and drone assaults on cities nationwide.
The northeastern metropolis of Kharkiv — which sits round 19 miles from the Russian border — was amongst these attacked this weekend. A minimum of three individuals have been killed and 23 injured there on Saturday, in keeping with the top of the native navy administration. A minimum of 4 extra individuals have been killed by strikes elsewhere within the nation, officers mentioned.
“We’re working to strengthen Ukraine’s air protection,” Zelenskyy mentioned, in keeping with a readout posted to his workplace’s web site. “We urgently want optimistic indicators from america — concrete indicators concerning air protection methods. We’re nonetheless ready for a response to our request to buy methods that may assist — concrete indicators, not phrases.”
“I want to thank the European nations for the provides,” he added. “We should additionally obtain leads to the joint manufacturing of air protection methods and missiles for them — that is completely important for our complete Europe. Solely time separates us from that consequence, and what issues most is shortening that point.”
MORE: Ukraine targets Russian airfields in main drone assault
Zelenskyy and his high officers have framed Russia’s increasing assaults — and rising Ukrainian civilian casualty figures — as proof that Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t real in his obvious willingness to barter a peace deal.
Russia’s newest barrages adopted final weekend’s covert Ukrainian operation during which brokers used greater than 100 drones hid in massive vans to assault strategic bomber bases deep inside Russia. Moscow vowed revenge for the strikes, which Ukrainian officers celebrated as a historic success.
Zelenskyy mentioned on Saturday that Russia’s current strikes on Ukrainian cities can’t be excused as “retaliation,” and once more urged Western companions to do extra to pressure Putin to ease maximalist peace calls for that equate to Ukrainian capitulation.
“No type of stress on Russia might be eased,” he mentioned. “The Russians are making ready to proceed the struggle and are ignoring all peace proposals. They should be held accountable for this.”
PHOTO: Hearth and smoke rise from the positioning of a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on June 7, 2025. (Anatolii Lysianskyi/AP)
“We’re conscious that the Russians at the moment are attempting to point out that they’re allegedly resistant to any stress,” Zelenskyy added. “However it is extremely essential for the world to grasp: simply as stress pressured Russia into the negotiation course of, stress can pressure Russia to grow to be life like in negotiations.”
“That is doable exactly due to the stress, and above all, sanctions on Russian oil and those that nonetheless commerce with Russia,” he mentioned. “Russia should finish this struggle that it began. They should be pushed into this consequence.”
ABC Information’ Oleksii Pshemyskyi, Anna Sergeeva and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.
Ukraine drone barrage targets Moscow as Zelenskyy calls for accountability for Putin initially appeared on abcnews.go.com