Explosions rock Kyiv in Russian strikes amid intelligence warnings of mass attack

Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russia launched a large-scale aerial attack against Ukraine overnight on June 2, targeting Kyiv and cities across the country with missile and drone fire.

An Explosion was first heard in Ukraine's capital at around 1:30 a.m. local time, just before an air raid alert was declared, a Kyiv Independent journalist on the ground reported.

Another series of loud explosions was heard at 2:15 a.m. local time, followed by brief disruptions to the power supply, reporters said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that explosions have taken place in the city and that air defenses have been engaged.

Ballistic missiles are being used in Russia's strikes on Ukraine's capital, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said.

"In the Podilskyi district, cars are on fire as a result of an attack. At another address, missile debris fell on the roof of a building, causing a fire and breaking windows," Tkachenko said.

Drone debris fell near a kindergarten, and a fire broke out at the site of a building under construction in the Obolonskyi district, he added.

Residents of Kyiv have been bracing for another attack for days. President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on May 29 that Russia is preparing a new mass attack on Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence reports.

"Please heed air raid alerts and stay safe," he urged Ukrainians in his evening address.

The president reiterated the warning in his address the following night, saying that while Kyiv's partners were communicating with Russia in hopes of preventing a large-scale assault, Ukrainians should stay vigilant.

"There is no belief that anyone in Moscow will come to their senses," Zelensky said. "Make sure you stay safe — act on any threats."

On the eve of June 2, Zelensky again warned of a mass attack. "The intelligence warnings regarding Russian strikes remain in effect. A massive strike may happen – they have prepared it. Our defenders of the sky are ready 24/7, to the extent possible with the supplies currently available."

The warning follows Moscow's public threats of new strikes on the capital and comes after Zelensky sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump warning of Ukraine's worsening shortage of air defense systems, particularly anti-ballistic missile capabilities.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 25 that Russia planned to strike Ukrainian "decision-making centers" and urged Washington to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv.

Russia's Foreign Ministry also issued a statement urging foreign citizens, including diplomats, to leave the city. No foreign embassies in Kyiv evacuated staff following the threats.

Moscow's threats came in the wake of one of the largest strikes against Kyiv and the surrounding region in the past year, when Russia launched 90 missiles and 600 drones on May 24.

The attack struck Kyiv's administrative and cultural core, damaging the Cabinet of Ministers (Ukraine's government headquarters), the Foreign Ministry building, the Kyiv Opera Theater, the Ukrainian House, the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium, and the Chornobyl Museum, among other institutions.

Two people were killed and over 80 others injured in Kyiv alone, while a total of four people were killed and nearly 100 wounded across Ukraine.

The attack included the launch of an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), Russia's much-touted novel weapons system.

Russia's escalated bombing campaign coincides with stalled battlefield gains and a diplomatic impasse. In March 2026, Ukrainian troops launched counterattacks that successfully liberated most of the Russian-occupied areas of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Meanwhile, Russia's personnel losses continue to climb, with U.K. intelligence on May 27 reporting an estimated death toll of 500,000 Russian soldiers since the start of the full-scale invasion.