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Ukraine war latest: 'Vicious and unrelenting' Russian revenge for Ukraine's bomber raid still to come, Western officials say

Western sources believe Russia's retaliation to Ukraine's attacks on its strategic bombers has not yet begun in earnest, with a significant, multi-pronged strike expected. Watch back our Q&A with Yalda Hakim, Michael Clarke and Dominic Waghorn below - and scroll down to follow the latest.

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Sky's Yalda Hakim, Michael Clarke and Dominic Waghorn answered your Ukraine questions
Why you can trust Sky News
Explained: What was Operation Spider's Web

Earlier this morning, we reported on the beliefs of Western officials that Russia will retaliate with a "huge", multi-pronged attack for Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web.

Here we take a look at the operation in detail.

A week ago today, Kyiv launched 117 drones deep from within Russian territory.

They were smuggled into Russia beneath the retractable roofs of wooden sheds, transported to locations close to military bases on lorries and piloted remotely to hit strategic, nuclear-capable bombers.

An image shared by Ukrainian authorities showed an example of around 20 drones placed in wooden cavities below a roof.

Baza news service, which has close contacts in Russian security and law enforcement, said the drivers of four trucks, who apparently did not know about the cargo, were told to drive to different destinations across Russia.

Ukraine released footage on Wednesday showing its drones striking Russian strategic bombers and landing on the dome antennas of two A-50 military spy planes, of which there are only a handful in Russia's fleet.

Sky News military analyst Michael Clarke takes a look at a video of the attack here...

Russia's defence ministry acknowledged Ukraine targeted airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions.

Volodymyr ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y said 41 Russian aircraft were struck and half were too damaged to be repaired.

US officials put the number at 20 warplanes hit and 10 destroyed.

Satellite imagery shows what appear to be damaged Russian Tu-95 heavy bombers and Tu-22 Backfires, supersonic strategic bombers that Russia has used to launch missile strikes against Ukraine.

Ukraine's domestic security agency, the SBU, said its attack did $7bn-worth of damage and hit 34% of the strategic cruise missile carriers at Russia's main airfields.

Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow closes airports

Russia says Ukraine launched a drone attack targeting Moscow early this morning.

It forced the closure of two of the key airports serving the capital, Russian authorities said.

Air defence units destroyed nine Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow by 3am (UK time), Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

One drone attack sparked a fire at the Azot chemical plant in the Tula region, injuring two people and seven drones were destroyed over the Kaluga region, regional governors said. 

Both regions border the Moscow region to the south of the capital. 

Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said it was halting flights at the Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports. 

Sky News cannot independently verify these reports.

Western officials believe 'vicious and unrelenting' Russian retaliation still to come

The US believes that Vladimir Putin's retaliation for Ukraine's attack on Russia's strategic bombers has not taken place yet.

The Russian defence ministry had said its barrage of missile, bomb and drone attacks on Friday was in response to the Ukrainian operation, but a US official has told Reuters the complete response is yet to come.

Moscow is likely to launch a significant, multi-pronged strike, they said.

The timing was unclear, with one source saying it was expected within days. 

A second US official said the retaliation was likely to include different kinds of air capabilities, including missiles and drones.

The first official said Moscow's attack would be "asymmetrical," meaning that its approach and targeting would not mirror Ukraine's strike last weekend against Russian warplanes.

A Western diplomatic source said that while Russia's response may have started, it would likely intensify with strikes against symbolic Ukrainian targets like government buildings, in an effort to send a clear message to Kyiv.

Another senior Western diplomat anticipated a further devastating assault by Moscow. 

"It will be huge, vicious and unrelenting," the diplomat said. "But the Ukrainians are brave people."

Michael Kofman, a Russia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said he expected Moscow might seek to punish Ukraine's domestic security agency, the SBU, for its role in last weekend's assault on its airbases.

To send a message, Russia could employ intermediate-range ballistic missiles for the attack, he said.

"In general, Russia's ability to substantially escalate strikes from what they are already doing - and attempting to do over the past month - is quite constrained," he said.

Good morning

Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine, after at least four people were killed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv by a series of Russian attacks.

Before we resume our live coverage, here is a recap of the key developments that took place yesterday.

  • A planned Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap descended into a blame game and uncertainty;
  • The warring nations were supposed to exchange 500 prisoners as the first step in a 1,000-for-1,000 swap, but it has not taken place yet;
  • Meanwhile, Kyiv's airforce said it shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet.
Goodbye

That's all for our live coverage of the war in Ukraine - we'll be back tomorrow with more updates and analysis.

Before we go, here is a recap of the key moments from today.

  • Russia and Ukraine have exchanged blame for delays to an expected prisoner swap this weekend;
  • The warring nations were supposed to exchange 500 prisoners as the first step in a 1,000-for-1,000 swap;
  • Meanwhile, Kharkiv suffered what its mayor called the worst attack of the war, with at least three killed and 22 injured;
  • Russia used glide bombs, missiles and drones to attack the city, leaving apartment blocks in flames;
  • And Kyiv's airforce said it shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet.
Russian bombs hit Kharkiv again, says mayor

The mayor of Kharkiv says the city is being attacked again.

Guided bombs are being dropped by Russia, says Ihor Terekhov.

Kharkiv has already suffered what Terekhov called the most powerful attack on the city of the war so far, with three killed and 22 injured this morning.

'Putin came to the park to kill kids': ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y refutes Trump's war analogy

Volodymyr ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y has refuted Donald Trump's characterisation of the war as "two young people fighting" in a park.

The US president had said: "Sometimes you're better off letting them fight for a while."

ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y told : "We are not kids with Putin at the playground in the park. He is a murderer who came to this park to kill the kids."

He said 631 Ukrainian children have been killed in the war.

Ukraine denies Russian claims that it is delaying bodies exchange

Russia's claims that Ukraine is delaying the exchange of soldiers' bodies are untrue, a Ukrainian security official has said.

There have been reports back and forth today about the anticipated exchange of prisoners of war and bodies of fallen soldiers.

A Ukrainian spokesperson from The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said: "Today's statements by the Russian side, do not correspond to reality and previous agreements on either the exchange of prisoners or the repatriation of bodies."

They added that Ukraine has submitted lists for the prisoner exchange and alleged that the Russian side "submitted other lists that did not meet the agreed approach".

On the subject of repatriation of bodies, the spokesperson said an agreement had been reached but a date had not been set. They claimed Russia "resorted to unilateral actions that were not agreed upon".

They added: "We call on the Russian side to stop playing dirty games and return to constructive work to return people to both sides and to strictly implement the agreement in the coming days."

Prisoner exchange postponed by Ukraine, Russia claims

Some news now on the anticipated prisoner exchange between Russian and Ukraine.

Vladimir MedinAG百家乐在线官网, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, said the first list of 640 prisoners of war had been given to Ukraine.

He also said the frozen bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers have been brought to the exchange area in refrigerated trucks.

But MedinAG百家乐在线官网 claimed that Ukraine "postponed both the acceptance of bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war for an indefinite period".

There has not yet been a response from the Ukrainian side.

Russian Su-35 warplane shot down near Kursk, Ukraine claims

A Russian Su-35 jet has been shot down by Ukraine, Kyiv's air force has said.

The plane was reportedly brought down following an operation around Kursk.

In a statement on Telegram, the air force said: "This morning, June 7, 2025, as a result of a successful Air Force operation in the Kursk direction, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet was shot down!

"Together to victory!"