By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Officials say Russian drones and missiles have killed at least five civilians in nighttime attacks on Ukraine, including in the capital Kyiv, while injuring at least 20 people. The impact of Monday’s air raids reverberated while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Britain to discuss issues such as improving Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
Shell-shocked after more than three years of war, residents of Kyiv awoke early Monday to the sound of sporadic machine gun fire as air defenses targeted waves of incoming drones. Russian drone and missile strikes killed and injured dozens, authorities said, and the attacks damaged several apartment buildings across the city and the surrounding area.
The massive strikes prompted Kyiv’s military administration to urge people to stay in shelters.
However, Kyiv warned Moscow that it would hit back if Russia prolonged the war.
The impact of the latest clashes still reverberated when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Britain to discuss Ukraine’s defense while putting additional pressure on Russia.
His spokesperson stated that Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with Britain’s King Charles, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the speakers of both Houses of Parliament.
UKRAINIAN MILITARY
He would also speak with Ukrainian military personnel who were training in Britain and representatives from think tanks.
It came amid reports that Russia suffers military setbacks too: The well-informed British Ministry of Defence said Russia’s wartime toll of dead and wounded reached a historic milestone this month, with more than one million Russian troops having been killed or injured since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.
Zelenskyy said that Russia even sent Ukraine at least 20 of its dead soldiers in recent exchanges with Kyiv, describing it as a result of Moscow’s disorganisation.
Since the start of its war in Ukraine, Russia’s military casualties have remained a closely guarded state secret.
But observers say the signs of devastation are unmistakable – from the booming funeral industry to the rising number of veterans returning home without arms or legs.
Although Russia’s defence ministry claimed forces had taken control of two villages in Ukraine – Petrovske in the eastern Kharkiv region and Perebuda in the Donetsk region, more casualties were expected.
About 10,000 Russian soldiers are fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, where about 90 square kilometers (35 miles) has been taken by Ukraine in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion.
JOURNALISTS FREED
Yet it is also believed that Ukraine suffered many casualties, and millions of people have fled the war-torn nation.
Amid death and destruction, there was some hopeful news for reporters covering the armed conflict: Ukrainian Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko was freed Sunday after four years in Russian custody in occupied Crimea on what his supporters said were trumped-up charges.
Earlier on Saturday, Russia’s ally Belarus freed the network’s former journalist Ihar Karnei after freeing another reporter, Andrei Kuznechyk, in February.
“RFE/RL extends its deepest gratitude to the U.S. and Ukrainian governments for working with us to ensure that Vlad’s unjust detention was not prolonged,” the broadcaster said.
We also thank the global press freedom community for their tireless advocacy on behalf of RFE/RL’s dedicated journalists,” it added.
However, numerous journalists have been detained, killed, or injured in the ongoing war.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The United States launched a new wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, targeting air defense and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz as President Donald Trump increased military pressure on Tehran following days of escalating attacks and stalled nuclear negotiations.
Tehran warned Wednesday it would “reassess” its participation in peace talks with the United States after President Donald J. Trump said Iran would have to “pay the price” as the two nations traded fire overnight.
The killing of a 22-year-old Christian man in Pakistan’s Punjab province has sparked grief and renewed concerns about the safety of religious minorities, Christian leaders told Worthy News on Wednesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Wednesday that Israel’s military operations in Syria and Lebanon have reached the point of threatening Turkey itself, escalating a bitter war of words with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as tensions widen across the Middle East.
U.S. inflation rose by 0.5% in May, coming up to 4.2% over the last 12 months, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Wednesday.
North Korea’s uranium-enrichment capacity could soon rise by roughly 75% once a new facility at its Yongbyon nuclear complex reaches full production, according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive citing analysis from Vertic, a London-based arms-control verification group.
Israel’s Knesset on Wednesday approved in a preliminary reading a controversial Basic Law proposal that would declare Torah study a foundational value of the State of Israel and effectively recognize long-term yeshivah study as a form of meaningful service comparable to serving in the Israel Defense Forces.