BREAKING: The number of victims increases after a massive bombing by Moscow against urban centers in Ukraine
International Briefing:
Global attention remains focused on this evolving story as officials and analysts assess the broader implications.
Moscow’s warnings of a major assault came true. Severely damaged residential buildings, burned vehicles and a destroyed playground were what remained of the Russian airstrikes, from Monday night to Tuesday, against the main Ukrainian cities, including kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv. At least 11 people died and 100 were injured, authorities reported in the most recent report, without clarifying in which specific places they died. The Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russia launched 73 missiles and 656 drones against Ukraine since 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Monday, hitting 38 facilities across Ukraine, while 40 missiles and 602 drones were shot down or neutralized. In the southeastern city of Dnipro, five people were killed and 25 injured in a Russian missile and drone attack, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha reported via the Telegram messaging application. All of the injured were hospitalized and were reported to be in moderate condition, he said. A resident removes his belongings from his apartment building after a nearby building was hit during overnight Russian missile and drone attacks, part of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in kyiv, Ukraine, June 2, 2026. © Thomas Peter, Reuters In kyiv, at least four people were killed and 51 injured, including children, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Additionally, people are likely trapped under rubble after a suspected missile hit a 24-story apartment building. Other buildings, including a nine-story apartment block, caught fire due to suspected missile debris, the mayor said. “In the Obolon district, there are vehicles burning after being hit by falling missile debris. There are also fires in two locations in open areas, one of them near a kindergarten,” Klitschko explained. After airstrike scares blanketed much of the country early Tuesday, thousands of kyiv residents took shelter in subway stations, witnesses said. The Russian night attack left 140,000 residents of the capital without electricity, of which 110,000 have already recovered service after repair work that left two engineers injured, according to the energy company DTEK. In the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, 10 people, including a child, were injured in drone and missile attacks, Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported on Telegram. For its part, the Russian Ilsky oil refinery, in the southern region of Krasnodar, caught fire after a drone attack, according to local authorities on Telegram. The air defense systems also repelled drone attacks on Sevastopol, a Russian naval fleet base in Russian-occupied Crimea. An attack warned This Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry declared that it targeted Ukraine’s defense industry facilities in response to what it called “terrorist attacks.” “The objectives of the attack have been achieved, all designated points have been hit,” the ministry said. He detailed that Russia used hypersonic missiles and drones to attack seven Ukrainian regions, including kyiv, Zaporizhia and Kharkiv, successfully hitting facilities useful to the Ukrainian armed forces, such as transportation and fuel centers, as well as military airfields. A resident inspects a destroyed car at the site of an attack with Russian drones and missiles, within the framework of Russia’s attack against Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine, on June 2, 2026. © Reuters This Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported through his account on the social network The president emphasized that this large-scale offensive demonstrates the urgency for Europe to develop its own anti-ballistic defense to end the war, while calling United States assistance in the supply of missiles for the Patriot systems “absolutely necessary.” On Monday, Zelensky had reiterated warnings about a potentially major assault and urged residents to pay close attention to airstrike alerts. “Intelligence warnings about Russian attacks remain in force. A massive attack is possible, they have prepared one…Our defenders are ready 24/7, to the greatest extent possible with currently available supplies,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. Russia had last week warned that it intended to launch “systematic attacks” against targets in kyiv linked to the Ukrainian military, as well as decision-making centres, and urged foreigners to leave. An action that the Kremlin justified as a response to a drone attack against a student dormitory in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region of Ukraine, which killed 21 people last May. Read alsoDrone attack leaves 18 dead in Luhansk university residence, according to Moscow Ukraine denied having attacked civilians, stating that it had carried out a series of attacks against military assets. The war in Ukraine has raged for more than four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia has targeted Ukraine’s power supply and infrastructure, while Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russian oil facilities in 2026. Efforts to end the conflict have made little progress, with US President Donald Trump’s administration focused on Middle East conflicts. With Reuters
Why This Matters:
Analysts believe this development may influence future diplomatic, political, or economic discussions internationally.
Political and economic analysts are paying close attention to the potential consequences of these events.
More details may emerge as official sources continue releasing new information.
Source: This article was originally published by France 24 – Noticias y actualidad internacional en vivo and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
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