Russia attacked Ukraine with a barrage of missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 11 people, injuring dozens and trapping others.
Moscow unleashed 73 missiles and 656 drones across the country, with the main targets including Kyiv, the central city of Dnipro, and the eastern cities of Poltava, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
The ‘massive strike’ using ‘high-precision weapons’ targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, including energy and transport infrastructure used by the army.
Hits of 30 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and 33 drones were recorded in at least 38 locations, while debris from destroyed drones fell on 15 locations.
At least four people were killed in Kyiv and 58 people were injured, including three children, as residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were damaged in eight of the city’s districts.
In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, at least six people were killed and 36 others injured after Russian strikes hit the city of Dnipro. A second attack as first responders arrived at the scene killed one rescuer.
In Kharkiv, at least 14 people were injured and residential homes, garages and cars were damaged.
A two-story residential building and part of a four-story apartment block were damaged, with people trapped beneath the rubble of the larger building.
Smoke billowing during missile strikes in Kyiv on June 2
Russian missile and drone barrages rocked parts of Ukraine overnight
Ukrainians were urged to take shelter on Tuesday as Russia targeted Kyiv with ballistic missiles
Ukrainian air defence forces destroyed and suppressed 40 missiles and 602 drones.
The boom of explosions echoed through most of the night and into the early morning.
Kyiv had been bracing for another mass attack for days, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing a renewed assault and urged people to remain cautious and seek shelter during air raid alerts.
In the Podilskyi district, there was partial damage to the upper floors of a nine-story building, trapping people under the rubble. Rescue operations were still underway in the early hours of the morning, even as the air raid alert remained in effect.
In the Solomianskyi district, a 20-story building and a 24-story building were damaged.
Ukrainian officials have been pressing allies for more air defense missiles to counter Russia’s ballistic missile attacks.
While Ukraine continues to intercept a high percentage of drones, ballistic missiles remain a major vulnerability for the country’s air defences.
The mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said a fire had broken out at a nine-storey apartment block after debris from a nearby non-residential property, which was also up in flames, fell onto its roof.
Residents were reported to have been left trapped under rubble near the building.
Mr Klitschko said on Telegram: ‘In the Obolon district, cars are burning after being struck by falling missile debris. There are also fires at two locations in open areas, including one near a kindergarten.’
Earlier in the day, the country’s Air Force warned citizens of incoming ballistic missiles before the military urged Ukrainians to find shelter.
Pictures showed frightened locals packed into subway stations with overnight rucksacks, sleeping bags and camping chairs flung over their shoulders.
President Zelensky had warned his people on Monday that a ‘massive’ strike from Russia could be inbound.
The country’s leader said: ‘Intelligence warnings regarding Russian strikes remain in effect. A massive strike is possible, they have prepared one.
‘Our defenders are ready 24/7 to the fullest extent possible with the supplies currently available.’
The strike comes a little more than a week after Russia’s foreign ministry threatened to launch ‘systematic strikes’ on its neighbouring country, which it said would target ‘decision-making centres and command posts’.
Russia called on foreign nationals and diplomats to leave ‘as soon as possible’ while warning civilians to stay clear of government and military buildings.
It said the action was in response to a drone strike last week on a dormitory in Ukraine’s Russian-held Luhansk region.
Russia claimed the attack killed 21 people, though Ukraine denied carrying it out.
Strikes on Kyiv between May 22 and May 24 left four people killed and around 11 injured, according to Zelensky.
However, over the weekend, Ukraine launched an attack of its own – and struck an oil pumping station some 800 miles into Russian territory.
Plumes of smoke were seen drifting into the air above Lazarevo pumping station in Kirov, around 500 miles north-east of Moscow, on Sunday.
Ukraine claimed to have deployed drones to a number of energy and industrial sites far beyond the frontline, with a ‘civil infrastructure’ in Saratov another which was hit.
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It came after the country’s Air Force warned of incoming missiles – just days after Russia threatened Ukraine with ‘systematic strikes’
Locals were seen crammed into Metro stations with overnight rucksacks, sleeping bags and camping chairs
Zelensky later confirmed that his soldiers had taken aim at Russian fuel supplies in an X post on Sunday evening.
The Ukrainian leader shared a video of the aftermath of the strikes, which showed fires erupting and large clouds of smoke drifting into the sky over Russian territory.
He said: ‘During the night, our soldiers applied long-range sanctions against an oil refinery in Saratov, Russia.
‘This is about 700km (430 miles) from the front line. There were also strikes in the Rostov and Kirov regions, as well as at a military base on the Caspian Sea coast.’
In an earlier post on X, Zelensky stressed that operations on Russia’s fuel supplies directly affect Vladimir Putin’s capacity to wage war.
He said: ‘This is what genuinely impacts Russia’s potential for aggression. Russia could have ended this war with peace long ago, but it continues to choose prolongation and escalation.’
