Russia launches 650-drone attack

Russia launched 73 missiles and 656 drones at Ukraine overnight into Tuesday, according to Ukraine’s air force, in one of the largest aerial assaults of the war. Kyiv was the main target, the air force said, and strikes also hit Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava and other regions. Ukrainian officials said at least 14 people were killed and more than 100 injured, with the dead including five in Kyiv and nine in Dnipro. Ukraine’s air force said it shot down or suppressed 642 of the incoming weapons. The attack followed days of Ukrainian warnings that Russia was preparing a heavier barrage. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike was “a completely transparent statement from Russia” that attacks would continue if Ukraine was not better protected from ballistic and other missiles. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four medical facilities were among the buildings damaged in the capital. (hromadske.ua) ### How large was this attack, exactly? Ukraine’s air force said Russia used 729 aerial weapons in the overnight strike: 73 missiles and 656 drones. The missile mix included 33 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, 27 Kh-101 cruise missiles, five Kalibr cruise missiles and eight Zircon anti-ship missiles, according to the air force account cited by Hromadske. (abcnews.com) The same account said Ukrainian defenses intercepted or otherwise suppressed 40 missiles and 602 drones, for a total of 642 targets. That left dozens of weapons getting through or falling outside the interception tally, even with one of Ukraine’s largest air-defense efforts in recent months. (hromadske.ua) ### Which cities took the heaviest hits? Kyiv and Dnipro appeared to suffer the deadliest damage on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials cited by ABC News said five people were killed in Kyiv and nine in Dnipro, including a child in Dnipro. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the most significant damage was in Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv regions. (hromadske.ua) Kyiv’s Podilskyi district was hit especially hard. Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, said a Russian strike caused a nine-story residential building to collapse in part and that people might still be trapped under the rubble. Klitschko said 63 people were injured in Kyiv and 40 were hospitalized, including two children. (abcnews.com) ### What do the casualty numbers show so far? Tuesday’s toll was still moving as rescue crews searched damaged buildings. ABC News reported at least 14 dead and more than 100 injured, while other early reports carried lower death counts as local officials updated figures through the morning. The variation reflected the pace of rescue work rather than a settled final total. (hromadske.ua) In Kyiv, officials said damage was recorded across multiple districts. Debris and blast effects set off fires at a clinic, a gas station and other non-residential sites, according to Klitschko’s account cited by ABC News and Bloomberg’s early report. ### What was Zelenskyy asking allies to do? (abcnews.com) Zelenskyy used the aftermath of the strike to press allies for more air-defense support. He said Europe needed its own anti-ballistic defense and said Ukraine urgently needed U.S. help supplying missiles for Patriot systems. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also called on partners to move beyond condemnation and expand funding for NATO’s PURL program so Ukraine could obtain more U.S. weapons and ammunition, including missile defenses. (abcnews.com) Those appeals came as Ukrainian officials described the attack as centered on civilian areas and essential urban infrastructure. Klitschko said medical facilities were among the sites hit in Kyiv, and emergency crews were still working through damaged residential blocks on Tuesday. (abcnews.com) ### What happens next? Rescue operations were still underway on June 2 in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Ukrainian officials and emergency-service updates cited in reporting through Tuesday morning. Zelenskyy and Sybiha both said they would continue pressing partners for additional Patriot missiles and broader air-defense support as casualty counts and damage assessments were updated. (abcnews.com)