NPR
Russian attack on Ukraine kills at least 14 and traps others in damaged buildings
+714 words added -669 words removed
By
The Associated Press
People react as they look at the site of a Russian missile strike that hit a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
"Thank God we're alive.
Putin is keen to generate some positive news from the conflict that began with Russia's February 2022 invasion of its neighbor and hasn't gone according to plan.
Western officials and analysts say Ukrainian drones are pinning down Russian troops on the front line, choking Russian supply lines in occupied regions of Ukraine and disrupting oil facilities deep inside Russia that provide vital revenue for Moscow. That has made the war, which Moscow refers to as a "special military operation," more visible to Russians and increased pressure on Putin.
Zelenskyy accepted an unconditional ceasefire demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump but Putin refused.
Putin signaled that Russia won't let up its attacks.
Debris from destroyed drones fell on 15 locations, the air force said.
"I ran out into the front door and started calling my husband from the room, but he was also blown out by the blast wave."
"Now I have nowhere to live, the apartment is completely destroyed, no doors, no windows, no balcony. You can step straight from the room out onto the street," she said.
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− Efrem Lukatsky/AP hide caption
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least 16 civilians and wounding more than 100 others, authorities said Tuesday.
+ Efrem Lukatsky/AP hide caption
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least 22 civilians and wounding 138 others, authorities said Tuesday.
− Ukraine invasion — explained Ukraine strings nets over cities as killer drones turn streets into war zones The damage trapped some people under the rubble of apartment buildings. Emergency crews digging through the wreckage pulled out the body of a 3-year-old child and the bodies of a mother and her 8-year-old son in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, officials said.
+ The Picture Show Photos: Russian drone and missile strikes hit Kyiv Ukraine invasion — explained Ukraine strings nets over cities as killer drones turn streets into war zones Russian President Vladimir Putin has escalated Moscow's aerial campaign in recent weeks in an apparent bid to take advantage of Ukraine's shortage of U.S.-made air defense systems and persuade an increasingly pessimistic audience at home that Moscow is prevailing in the 4-year-old war.
− The attack stretched from night into day and the boom of explosions reverberated across cities.
+ Emergency rescue crews digging through the wreckage of apartment buildings pulled out the bodies of a 3-year-old child as well as those of a woman and her 8-year-old son in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, officials said.
− Kyiv residents had been on edge for days after Russia warned that a massive aerial attack was coming and warned foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital.
+ State of the World from NPR Shifting momentum in the Russia-Ukraine war The attack stretched past dawn, with explosions reverberating across cities.
− None appeared to heed the call.
+ Officials said 16 people were killed in Dnipro and six in Kyiv.
− "A large-scale attack and an explicit statement by Russia: If Ukraine is not protected from ballistic missiles and other missile strikes, those strikes will continue," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in response to the attack, urging more support from the U.S.
+ Residents of the capital have been on edge for days after Russia warned last week that a massive aerial attack was coming and told foreign diplomats to leave.
− and European countries.
+ None appeared to heed the call and no embassies immediately reported damage Tuesday.
− Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped up Moscow's aerial campaign against Ukraine, with Russian forces recently launching a powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile for only the third time in the four-year war.
The Russian strategy seeks to take advantage of Ukraine's shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles, with international stocks depleted by the Iran war.
+ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for more U.S.
− That has left civilians especially vulnerable to the Russian ballistic missile barrages, even as air defenses stop most of the attack drones.
+ and European support, describing the massive overnight attack as "an explicit statement by Russia: If Ukraine is not protected from ballistic missiles and other missile strikes, those strikes will continue."
Putin has stepped up his aerial campaign against Ukraine, with Russian forces recently launching another of their powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missiles. Ukraine's shortage of air defense systems, in part because of depleted U.S. stocks from the Iran war, has left civilians especially vulnerable to ballistic missiles, even as Kyiv's defenses stop most of Moscow's drones.
− State of the World from NPR Shifting momentum in the Russia-Ukraine war Kyiv mother and daughter shelter in a bath tub At least 64 people were wounded in the capital, emergency services said.
+ At least 81 people were wounded in the capital, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.
− Kyiv resident Iryna Salikova, 37, spent the night lying in a bath tub for protection with her 3-year-old daughter, as blasts reverberated across the city.
+ Iryna Salikova, 37, spent the night lying in a bathtub for protection with her 3-year-old daughter, as blasts reverberated across the city.
− "Our window was broken, a cobblestone flew into the children's room," Salikova said, though they weren't hurt.
+ "Our window was broken.
+ A cobblestone flew into the children's room," Salikova said, although they weren't hurt.
− Today we're alive, today we're lucky."
Russia unleashed 73 missiles and 656 drones across Ukraine, according to the country's air force, with the main targets including Kyiv, the central city of Dnipro, and the eastern cities of Poltava, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
+ Today we're alive, today we're lucky."
Firefighters work on the site of a burning building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
− Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed or suppressed 40 missiles and 602 drones.
+ Efrem Lukatsky/AP hide caption
Russia unleashed 73 missiles and 656 drones across Ukraine, according to the country's air force, with the main targets including Kyiv, Dnipro and the eastern cities of Poltava, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed or suppressed 40 missiles and 602 drones.
+ Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov proclaimed Wednesday would be a day of mourning for the dead in his city. That announcement came 20 minutes before Filatov said another drone had struck a residential building there about 2:40 p.m.
− U.S.-led peace efforts have fizzled out as the sides made no progress on key differences and after the Gulf and Middle East grabbed Washington's attention.
+ U.S.-led peace efforts have fizzled out as the sides made no progress on key differences and after the war in Iran grabbed Washington's attention.
− Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the military launched a "massive" strike with long-range precision weapons on military-industrial facilities in the Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Khmelnytsk and Sumy regions.
+ Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that Tuesday's bombardment struck military-industrial facilities in the Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi and Sumy regions.
+ Ukraine said residential, energy and civilian infrastructure was hit but did not confirm or comment on damage to any military-related sites.
− He said Tuesday that Ukraine's May 22 drone attack on a college dormitory in Starobilsk in the Russia-controlled Luhansk region of Ukraine that killed 21 had given the war "a whole new dimension."
Ukraine said it hit a Russian drone pilot training center in Starobilsk.
+ He said Tuesday that Ukraine's May 22 drone attack on a college dormitory in Starobilsk in the Russia-controlled Luhansk region of Ukraine that killed 21 had given the war "a whole new dimension."
Ukraine said the attack in Starobilsk hit a Russian drone pilot training center.
− Firefighters work on the site of a burning building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
+ Hits of 30 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and 33 drones were recorded in at least 38 locations across Ukraine, according to regional authorities.
− Efrem Lukatsky/AP hide caption
Hits of 30 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and 33 drones were recorded at at least 38 locations across Ukraine, according to regional authorities.
− At least four people were killed in Kyiv and 63 people were injured, including three children, Ukraine's state emergency service said. Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were damaged in eight Kyiv districts.
+ Damage was recorded to residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure in eight districts of Kyiv.
− Olena Dniprovska, 65, and her husband Yevhen, 64, were wounded in their apartment in Kyiv's Podilskyi district during the attack.
+ Olena Dniprovska, 65, and her husband Yevhen, 64, were wounded in their apartment in Kyiv's Podilskyi district.
− "I went out into the corridor with the phone, and before I understood what happened, everything fell on my head, the glass, and the door blew off," said Dniprovska, dried blood streaked across her face and a bandage wrapped around her chin.
+ "I went out into the corridor with the phone, and before I understood what happened, everything fell on my head, the glass, and the door blew off," said Dniprovska, dried blood streaked across her face and a bandage on her chin.
− In Kharkiv, at least 14 people were wounded and residential homes, garages and cars were damaged. People were also trapped beneath the rubble of a four-story apartment block.
+ In Kharkiv, at least 19 people were wounded in residential areas in the past two days — including 11 on Tuesday.