Ukraine war latest: Russia unleashes large-scale aerial assault on Ukraine, leaving 22 dead, 130 injured
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Key developments on June 2:
- Kyiv reels after Russia unleashes massive missile, drone attack on Ukraine, killing at least 22
- Ukraine strikes Russia's Ilsky oil refinery for at least 16th time since start of full-scale war
- Neva radar, Pantsir air defense, and a tugboat — Ukraine releases latest drone strike video hit list
- Russia demands access to investigation into its own drone strike in Romania
Russia launched one of the largest aerial attacks of the full-scale war overnight on June 2, targeting various Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, with missiles and drones. Across the country, at least 22 people, including two children, have been killed and 130 others injured, officials said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv bore the brunt of the attack. At least six people were killed and 90 others, including two children, were injured in the capital, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko. Fifty-two people remained hospitalized, including two children, as of 8 p.m. local time, Klitschko added.
Dnipro also suffered heavy casualties. Sixteen people, including two children and a first responder, were killed, and 42 others were injured in the central-eastern Ukrainian city, officials said. One of the children pulled out from the rubble of a partially destroyed four-story apartment building was born in 2023, and another was an eight-year-old boy, according to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Oleksandr Hanzha.
"(The massive overnight attack is) a completely transparent statement from Russia: if Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these strikes will continue," Zelensky said on Telegram, calling on Western allies to ramp up the supply of ballistic missile interceptors, such as the U.S.-produced Patriot, to Ukraine.
Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov claimed that Russia had used cluster munitions in the latest attack on Dnipro to "deliberately" try to cause more casualties among civilians, police, rescue workers, and utility crews. Cluster munitions, which are widely banned under international humanitarian law, scatter small explosive bomblets across a wide area. Some may fail to explode immediately, posing a continued danger to civilians.
State Emergency Service named the rescuer killed in Russia's double-tap attack as Anton Yarmolenko, a major of a civilian protection service.
Ukraine's Air Force said Russian forces launched 73 cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles, as well as 656 attack drones. Of those, 40 missiles and 602 drones were downed or intercepted. Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said eight Zircon anti-ship missiles were used in the strike in two waves of four.
Thirty ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles, and 33 attack drones struck 38 locations, the Air Force added.
Russian forces continued their attack later on June 2, deploying approximately 100 additional drones, Zelensky said.
Ukraine strikes Russia's Ilsky oil refinery for at least 16th time since start of full-scale war
Ukrainian forces struck the Ilsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai during an overnight attack on June 2, Ukraine's General Staff said.
Located roughly 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Ukrainian-controlled territory, the refinery is among the largest in southern Russia, producing nearly 6.6 million tons of fuel annually.
The attack on the oil refinery caused a major fire, according to the General Staff.
Photos and videos purportedly showing the attack began appearing on social media at around 4:20 a.m. local time, with local residents reporting a fire at a Russian oil industry facility.
Russian authorities have not disclosed the consequences of the attack or provided an assessment of the damage.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 148 drones overnight over eight Russian regions, as well as over Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.
Kyiv has targeted the Ilsky oil refinery multiple times in the past. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the facility has been struck at least 16 times, according to the Russian independent media outlet Astra.
Before the overnight attack on June 2, the refinery had been hit twice in February 2026.
Neva radar, Pantsir air defense, and a tugboat — Ukraine releases latest drone strike video hit list
Ukrainian drones hit Russian targets across occupied Crimea and Donetsk Oblast overnight on June 2, striking two Pantsir air defense systems, a command post of the Russian 3rd Army Corps, and a tugboat, Unmanned Systems Forces Commander Robert "Magyar" Brovdi reported.
"The targets are coordinated by the newly created Center for Deep Destruction of the Unmanned Systems Forces. You have no rear in operational depth, worms," he said in a post on Telegram.
The Pantsirs and tugboat were hit in occupied Crimea, while the command post was hit in the village of Shyrokyne, Donetsk Oblast.
Ukraine's medium-range drones attack ammunition depots, fuel storage sites, and command posts, forcing the Russian military to move these assets farther from the front lines and straining Moscow's logistics.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in early May that the number of Ukrainian middle strikes has increased "significantly."
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Russia demands access to investigation into its own drone strike in Romania
Moscow on June 1 requested to take part in a probe of its own drone strike in Romania, part of Russia's broader efforts to deflect blame from an incident that injured two civilians last week.
Romanian authorities said a Russian Shahed-type drone armed with explosives struck a residential building in Galati on May 29, just a few kilometers from the tri-border with Ukraine and Moldova.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan said the drone likely strayed into Romanian territory after being hit by Ukrainian air defense, but stressed that the ultimate responsibility lies with Russia.
While NATO denounced Moscow for its "reckless" attack and Romania shut down a Russian consulate in response, the Kremlin has sought to deny blame.
"All circumstances of the incident must be established through a thorough, objective, and depoliticized investigation, primarily with the involvement of the Russian side," Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's U.N. envoy, said during an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council called by Bucharest.
"We are ready to participate in such an investigation, but, of course, only if we are provided with objective data and the drone debris for analysis."
The Russian diplomat nevertheless acknowledged that Russia carried out strikes against Ukraine early on May 29, even as he attempted to blame Kyiv and its Western partners for the ongoing hostilities.
He also suggested that the incident may be a result of a Ukrainian "provocation" aimed at dragging NATO countries into the war.
