KYIV -- Despite more than four years of full-scale war and repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure, Ukrainians were shocked by the intensity of the latest Russian missile and drone barrage overnight that left death and destruction in Kyiv, Dnipro, and other cities.
The June 2 attack came days after Moscow warned of further strikes on the capital, including against what it called Ukraine's "decision-making centers," and urged foreign citizens and diplomats to leave the city.
Russia pummeled the Ukrainian capital in a major drone-and-missile assault, the second such attack in less than a month, killing at least six people and wounding more than 70 others, including three children. The southeastern city of Dnipro was also hammered, with 12 people killed.
"The blast was so strong that debris ended up in my pockets, and I could barely find my apartment keys," Serhiy, a Kyiv resident who was outside the building at the time of the strike, told RFE/RL at the scene of the attack.
Ukrainians Face The Devastation After Massive Russian Attacks
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An explosion lights up the sky in Kyiv early on June 2.
Serhiy Nuzhnenko
Reuters
At least 13 people were killed and scores hurt throughout Ukraine following a massive missile and drone barrage on the country in the early hours of June 2.
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A wounded man reacts at the site of a Russian strike on a suburb of Kyiv. According to Ukraine's State Emergency Service, 13 people were killed in cities throughout Ukraine and over 100 were injured as a result of a Russian missile and drone attack in the early hours of June 2.
Serhiy Nuzhnenko
Reuters
At least 13 people were killed and scores hurt throughout Ukraine following a massive missile and drone barrage on the country in the early hours of June 2.
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The body of a person discovered under rubble in Dnipro is carried away following a wave of strikes that hit the eastern city on June 2.
Serhiy Nuzhnenko
Reuters
At least 13 people were killed and scores hurt throughout Ukraine following a massive missile and drone barrage on the country in the early hours of June 2.
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A firefighter at work extinguishing a blaze in Kyiv. Kyiv authorities say four people were killed in the Ukrainian capital during the overnight barrage.
Serhiy Nuzhnenko
Reuters
At least 13 people were killed and scores hurt throughout Ukraine following a massive missile and drone barrage on the country in the early hours of June 2.
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A damaged luxury vehicle at a car dealership in Kyiv following the strikes
Serhiy Nuzhnenko
Reuters
At least 13 people were killed and scores hurt throughout Ukraine following a massive missile and drone barrage on the country in the early hours of June 2.
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A woman sits near a damaged apartment building in Dnipro early on the morning of June 2.
Serhiy Nuzhnenko
Reuters
At least 13 people were killed and scores hurt throughout Ukraine following a massive missile and drone barrage on the country in the early hours of June 2.
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A woman hugs her cat close to the site of a missile or drone impact in Kyiv.
Serhiy Nuzhnenko
Reuters
At least 13 people were killed and scores hurt throughout Ukraine following a massive missile and drone barrage on the country in the early hours of June 2.
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A woman walks through rubble at the entrance to a strike-damaged building in Kyiv.
Serhiy Nuzhnenko
Reuters
At least 13 people were killed and scores hurt throughout Ukraine following a massive missile and drone barrage on the country in the early hours of June 2.
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Rubble-covered cars in Kyiv
Serhiy Nuzhnenko
Reuters
At least 13 people were killed and scores hurt throughout Ukraine following a massive missile and drone barrage on the country in the early hours of June 2.
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A man carries his dog through the rubble at the site of a strike in Kyiv. The Kremlin framed the attack as targeting "defense industry plants" in cities across Ukraine, in response to unspecified "terrorist acts" by Kyiv.
Serhiy Nuzhnenko
Reuters
At least 13 people were killed and scores hurt throughout Ukraine following a massive missile and drone barrage on the country in the early hours of June 2.
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"We were just about to get into the car and leave," said Yulia, another Kyiv resident.
"The blast threw us onto the car," she added.
"It's some kind of incredible miracle," she said, describing how she and her family survived the attack.
Russia Confirms 'Systematic Strikes'
Russia's Defense Ministryconfirmedits forces carried out the large-scale strikes using "long-range precision weapons" in response to what it called "terrorist acts" against targets inside Russia, adding that it hit several military facilities in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
"The Russian Armed Forces are carrying out systematic strikes against Ukraine's military infrastructure, including targets in Kyiv and other cities," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a briefing on June 2.
Russia launched 73 missiles and 656 drones overnight, with strikes recorded at 38 locations across Ukraine, primarily targeting Kyiv, the Ukrainian Air Forcesaid.
In Kyiv, a victim told Current Time that "it was just terrible."
"I'm still shaking, my whole body is shaking. I don't know how to explain it," said Yevhen Dniprovskiy.
"It was absolutely terrifying," a Dnipro resident told RFE/RL, describing the Russian strike on the city. "The building was shaking so violently that I thought it was going to collapse," she added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyycondemnedthe deadly attacks, saying "dozens of residential buildings and other purely civilian infrastructure" were damaged.
"A large-scale attack and an absolutely clear statement from Russia: If Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these attacks will continue," he wrote in a post on X.
Russia's June 2 strikes relied heavily on ballistic missiles, including Iskander, Kinzhal, S-400, and reportedly North Korean missiles, Ukrainian military expert Pavlo Lakiychuk said in an interview withCurrent Time.
According to Lakiychuk, defending against Russia's ballistic missile attacks remains extremely difficult, particularly in cities like Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhya, where flight times are so short that air defenses have virtually no time to react.
