RismadarVoice Reporters, June 2, 2026
At least 12 people have been killed and dozens more injured following a large-scale Russian aerial assault across Ukraine, Ukrainian authorities said, in one of the most intense bombardments in recent weeks.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 656 drones and 73 missiles overnight, targeting multiple regions including the capital Kyiv, the central city of Dnipro, and parts of Kharkiv, Poltava and Zaporizhzhia.
Officials said Ukrainian air defence systems intercepted and neutralised a significant number of the incoming weapons, including 40 missiles and more than 600 drones, though several strikes still reached populated areas.
In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that at least four people were killed and 58 others injured, including children, as explosions rocked the city and air raid alerts forced residents into shelters.
Authorities in the Dnipropetrovsk region reported even heavier casualties, with at least eight deaths and 36 injuries, including minors, following strikes on residential and infrastructure targets. In Kharkiv, officials said 10 people were wounded in separate attacks.
Emergency services described widespread destruction, with firefighters deployed to extinguish fires at damaged buildings and infrastructure sites across multiple cities.
Eyewitness accounts and local officials said metro stations and underground shelters were filled overnight as residents sought protection from the sustained bombardment.
Ukraine’s military said Russia’s strikes targeted what it described as military-industrial facilities as well as energy and transport infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces. Russia’s Defence Ministry, however, said the operation was aimed at Ukraine’s defence industry and related strategic assets, using precision-guided weapons.
The latest assault comes amid escalating cross-border attacks, with Ukrainian officials also reporting a drone strike in Russia’s Kursk region that killed at least one person, as well as a refinery fire in Krasnodar following another drone incident.
Analysts say the intensity of recent exchanges highlights a renewed escalation in the conflict, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned of further large-scale strikes, urging civilians to remain alert and follow air raid instructions as Russian attacks continue to intensify.
The latest wave of violence comes at a time when diplomatic efforts led by the United States to end the war appear to have stalled, with global attention divided by other international conflicts.
