Russian drone strikes killed two people in Ukraine, officials said on June 7, as European leaders gathered in London to discuss piling pressure on Moscow over its four-year war.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia targeted the country with 236 drones overnight, with 215 intercepted.
The Russian attack came after a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack that targeted St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, underscoring Kiev’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia.
Ukraine fired hundreds of drones at Russia early on June 6, leaving one person dead and setting an oil depot ablaze on the final day of the country’s flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg, officials said.
The strikes come a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal for a meeting, drawing criticism from Zelensky, who accused him of “choosing war again.”
Moscow and Kiev have intensified drone strikes on each other in recent months as U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the war, now in its fifth year, remain stalled and sidetracked by the conflict in the Middle East.
Ukraine recaptured more territory than it lost to Russian forces in May for the second straight month, AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) showed earlier this month.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz June 7 to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine .
The U.K., France and Germany, the so-called E3 group of European nations, have been prominent backers of Ukraine . The U.K. and France lead the “coalition of the willing” initiative to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace process.
