Russian strikes in Ukraine kill six, wound dozens

KYIV – Russian strikes across Ukraine on July 1 killed six people and wounded some 50 others, local authorities announced.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, seven glide bombs hit three districts, killing a 15-year-old and injuring 32 people, mayor Ihor Terekhov reported on Telegram.

In the southern region of Odesa, two people were killed and 15 injured in a ballistic missile strike that started a fire, according to regional governor Oleh Kiper.

A minibus was also attacked by a drone in the Kherson region, also in the south, killing an 18-year-old woman and another person, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said, adding that nine people were wounded.

In another drone attack in the Kherson region targeting an administrative building, one person was killed and two others wounded, he said.

More than four years after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, strikes from both sides of the front occur daily and continue to claim increasing numbers of civilian victims.

In June, the number of long-range drones and Russian missiles launched against Ukraine fell sharply compared with May, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Ukrainian air force.

Diplomatic efforts mediated by the United States have been at a standstill since late February, when the war in the Middle East was triggered by Israeli-American bombardments of Iran. AFP