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A WAVE of Russian missile and drone strikes has killed at least 10 people and injured approximately 100 others across Ukraine, with residential buildings collapsing in Kyiv and widespread destruction reported in several major cities.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the overnight assault struck Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv, marking one of the most significant attacks in recent weeks and coming just a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that intelligence assessments pointed to a major Russian offensive.
In the capital, four people were killed and 58 wounded, including children, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Emergency crews were deployed to multiple impact sites after a suspected missile strike caused part of a 24-storey residential tower to collapse.
Authorities said residents were feared trapped beneath the rubble as rescuers searched through debris.
A separate nine-storey apartment building was also damaged after being struck by falling missile fragments, sparking fires and forcing evacuations.
Thousands of residents sought refuge in Kyiv's underground metro stations as air raid sirens sounded and air defence systems engaged incoming missiles and drones throughout the night.
In the southeastern city of Dnipro, six people were killed and 36 injured in missile and drone attacks that damaged residential buildings, vehicles and public recreational areas.
Regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said all injured victims were receiving hospital treatment and were reported to be in moderate condition.
Images released by local authorities showed heavily damaged apartment blocks, burnt-out vehicles and a children's playground scarred by the blasts.
The latest assault followed renewed warnings from President Zelenskiy regarding a possible escalation by Moscow.
"Intelligence warnings regarding Russian strikes remain in effect. A massive strike is possible. They have prepared one," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
"Our defenders are ready 24/7 to the fullest extent possible with the supplies currently available."
Russia last week warned that it intended to carry out what it described as "systematic strikes" against military-linked facilities and decision-making centres in Kyiv.
Moscow said the planned attacks were retaliation for a drone strike on a dormitory in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region that reportedly killed 21 people. Ukraine has denied responsibility for that attack.
While Ukraine was grappling with the latest bombardment, Russian authorities also reported attacks on their territory.
Officials in Russia's Krasnodar region said a drone strike triggered a fire at the Ilsky oil refinery, while authorities in the Belgorod region reported that an 11-year-old boy was injured after a Ukrainian drone struck a residential property.
In occupied Crimea, officials said air defence systems were responding to drone activity over Sevastopol, home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
Reuters was unable to independently verify all claims made by either side.
The renewed exchange of attacks underscores the continuing escalation in the conflict, with both Russia and Ukraine intensifying long-range strikes against strategic infrastructure and urban centres despite ongoing international efforts to reduce hostilities.
For many residents caught in the latest assault, the scenes were reminiscent of the war's darkest moments.
At one strike site in Kyiv, resident Olha Mudr stood with her six-year-old daughter beside a destroyed apartment block and damaged vehicles as emergency crews worked through the wreckage.
“There was smoke everywhere, you couldn't see anything. We couldn't understand what was happening — some kind of apocalypse?”
“Everything was covered with debris, everything in smoke, you could see nothing,” she said. - June 2, 2026
