Ukraine says around 730 drones and missiles fired in Russian attack that killed at least 13

02 Jun 2026, 09:26 by AFP, https://www.thejournal.ie/author/afp/ · TheJournal.ie

LAST UPDATE | 13 mins ago

RUSSIA PUMMELLED UKRAINE overnight with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, killing at least 13 people, after having threatened a large-scale attack and warning foreign citizens to leave Kyiv.

AFP journalists in the capital heard air raid sirens wailing over the city before a series of loud explosions that lasted throughout the night sent residents with bags and blankets rushing to shelter in crowded metro stations.

Ukraine’s foreign minister said the latest Russian attack was a sign of Russian desperation, that President Vladimir Putin was bombing civilians since his forces were struggling on the battlefield.

“Putin is a war criminal and loser who has no cards except terror. Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said in a statement on social media.

A resident looks at the site of a Russian missile strike that hit a residential building in Kyiv. Alamy Stock PhotoAlamy Stock Photo

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the latest attack showed Europe needed to develop its own air defence systems and that support from the United States remained crucial.

“Europe needs its own anti-ballistic defence so that this war can finally be brought to an end. And assistance from the United States in supplying missiles for Patriot systems is absolutely necessary,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 73 missiles and 656 drones, adding it had downed 602 of the drones and 40 of the missiles.

Moscow has bombarded Ukraine almost daily since launching its invasion in February 2022, a war that is now the bloodiest on European soil since World War II, with hundreds of thousands killed and millions displaced.

Russia said it had carried out a huge strike, including with hypersonic missiles, targeting Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.

It denies that its forces target civilians.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people were killed and at least 65 were wounded, including two children.

And in the industrial city of Dnipro further south, nine people were killed including a child, when a four-storey apartment building collapsed, Zelenskyy said. Several people were still unaccounted for, he added.

A maternity hospital with newborns and women in labour was also struck in the southern port city of Odesa, authorities said, adding there were no casualties.

A McDonald's restaurant against a backdrop of black smoke in the sky after the Russian shelling. Alamy Stock PhotoAlamy Stock Photo

AFP journalists saw explosions and huge plumes of smoke billowing across Kyiv’s skyline at dawn, while rescue workers cleared debris beneath multi-storey residential buildings gutted in the attack.

At least one part of the city was cut from electricity in the attack, AFP reporters said, while the operator of Ukraine’s electricity grid announced there were outages in six regions of the country.

Fifteen people, including a child, were also wounded in the eastern city of Kharkiv that lies near the Russian border, according to the mayor, Igor Terekhov.

‘Protect your lives’

Moscow and Kyiv last month had agreed a three-day ceasefire mediated by the United States. The truce was marred by allegations of violations on both sides but had raised the prospect of a longer halt in fighting.

An uptick in strikes since has dulled peace prospects, particularly with the White House distracted by fighting with Iran.