In the early hours of 6 June, Russia conducted one of the largest air attacks since the start of its full-scale invasion, targeting Kyiv, Ternopil, Lutsk, Lviv, and several other cities using a combination of missiles and drones. The Russian assault resulted in civilian casualties — with four people known to have been killed and 25 injured — along with widespread damage to infrastructure and multiple fires.

At the time of reporting, the attack was still ongoing, with several Russian drones remaining airborne over multiple regions.

Here’s what we know so far.

Known details and air defense response

So far, there is no official count of the missiles and drones used in the attack, but live reporting from Ukrainian monitoring channels indicated that Russia launched over 100 missiles, along with a significantly higher number of drones.

The Ukrainian air monitoring channel Monitor summarized that the Russian assault involved Kh-101 cruise missiles launched by Tu-95MS bombers from Volgograd Oblast, Kalibr missiles fired by the Black Sea fleet, and Iskander-M ballistic missiles launched from Kursk and Voronezh Oblasts. The attack also included Shahed drones and other types of UAVs.

The assault affected Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, Lviv Oblast, Lutsk, Ternopil and Ternopil Oblast, Rivne Oblast, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Poltava Oblast, and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district of Odesa Oblast. Energy infrastructure, residential areas, and civilian sites were hit, as confirmed by local authorities and military administrations.

Monitor stated the missile phase of the assault lasted from 03:10 to 04:40, while drone waves began at 20:10 and continued for over 10 hours.

Kyiv: Fires and casualties

Ukrainian airspace monitoring channels reported that Russia targeted the Ukrainian capital with cruise and ballistic missiles, and Shahed explosive drones. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, confirmed that as of 6:00, one person was killed and 20 others were injured, 16 of whom were hospitalized. Strikes hit multiple districts, including Solomianskyi, where a school and residential buildings were damaged.

Drone debris caused fires in Darnytskyi, where vehicles were destroyed, and in Holosiivskyi, where building structures were reportedly damaged. Fires also broke out in Shevchenkivskyi and Sviatoshynskyi. Debris fell in Desnianskyi and other parts of the city. Metro lines between “Darnytsia” and “Livoberezhna” were damaged. Some areas on the city’s left bank experienced temporary power outages.

“They were working under fire to help people. Another nine emergency workers were wounded. Some are in serious condition — doctors are fighting for their lives,” Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

Ternopil and oblast: Infrastructure and industrial sites hit

Ternopil mayor Serhii Nadal reported that industrial and infrastructure targets in the city were struck. Part of the city was left without electricity and water pressure dropped. Emergency services were working at the scene.

Head of the Oblast Military Administration, Viacheslav Nehoda, described it as “the most massive air attack on our oblast,” noting multiple strikes and ongoing firefighting efforts. Explosions were first reported during an air raid starting at 03:16.

Lutsk: Injuries and extensive property damage

In Lutsk, mayor Ihor Polishchuk confirmed five people were injured in the strikes. According to him, the Russians targeted the city with 15 drones and five missiles. It is the largest attack on the city since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

A residential building suffered partial destruction and windows were shattered in multiple buildings. Commercial facilities and private vehicles were also damaged. The Oblast Military Administration added that people were evacuated and received medical help, noting that air defenses “destroyed a lot of [aerial] targets.”

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Lviv Oblast: Air defense in action

Lviv mayor Andrii Sadovyi and regional head Maksym Kozytskyi confirmed that air defenses operated successfully and no Russian strikes reached Lviv community infrastructure. Loud explosions were heard during the air raid, which started at 00:53 and ended at 05:01.

Chernihiv: Shahed struck near apartment block

Chernihiv City Military Administration head Dmytro Bryzhynskyi reported that a Shahed drone exploded near a high-rise building on the city’s outskirts. No casualties or damage were mentioned.

Khmelnytskyi Oblast: Explosions heard during air raid

Explosions were reported by Suspilne correspondents in Khmelnytskyi during an air raid early in the morning. The Ukrainian Air Force noted that cruise missiles entered the oblast around 04:05.

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About 100 people blocked a vehicle belonging to the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center (TRC) in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast on 29 May, the Khmelnytskyi regional TRC reported.

Social media users shared several videos showing a crowd surrounding a gray SUV in the courtyard of a multi-story building. Police attempted to protect the vehicle from attacks.

The author of one video claimed that TRC employees had beaten a young man before the incident. She also said one woman was pressed against a car and another elderly woman was run over.

The TRC confirmed the vehicle in the video belonged to their mobile notification group. However, officials did not provide details about the event. They only stated that citizens’ actions “showed signs of organized resistance to the performance of official duties by Armed Forces representatives.”

The TRC emphasized that obstructing military personnel during martial law can qualify as treason under Article 114-1 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. Such actions may also constitute other serious crimes against national security foundations.

The National Police in Khmelnytskyi Oblast had not commented on the incident as of the evening of 29 May.

Attacks on TRC employees have increased recently across Ukraine. In Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast, two military recruitment office servicemen were attacked. Police detained and arrested two attackers.

Later, in Novyi Rozdil, Lviv Oblast, a group of men beat a TRC serviceman who had been transferred to the recruitment office after front-line service. In Chernihiv Oblast, a man brought to the military recruitment office stabbed a military officer who had also been transferred there from the front.

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In the early hours of 26 May, Russia launched what Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as the “largest drone attack since the start of the full-scale war.” A total of 355 explosive and decoy drones and 9 air-launched cruise missiles targeted Ukraine from various directions including Bryansk, Kursk, and occupied Crimea, according to the Air Force. The air assault targeted factories and residential areas in multiple cities, injuring a teenager in Odesa. Other Russian attacks killed four and injured at least 17 Ukrainian civilians, according to local authorities and Ukraine’s Emergency Service.

Ukraine’s Air Force reported intercepting all 9 Kh-101 missiles and neutralizing 288 drones, using a combination of aviation, air defense missile systems, electronic warfare, and mobile fire groups. Despite these efforts, drone impacts were recorded in five locations, and debris fell in ten areas.

Figures from the Air Force indicate that over 60 Russian drones may have reached their targets — marking a notably lower interception rate compared to previous attacks.

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Kharkiv Oblast: Explosions, fires, and casualties

According to Suspilne Kharkiv, 13 explosions were heard starting at 00:33 in Kharkiv. Kharkiv and its suburbs were under Russian drone attack, confirmed by Oleh Syniehubov, head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration (OVA). In Vasyshcheve near Kharkiv, a private enterprise caught fire after being hit by drones, as reported by the State Emergency Service.

While not attributing any casualties to the Shahed drone assault, Syniehubov stated that over the past 24 hours, other Russian strikes on six settlements in Kharkiv Oblast killed two women, 84 and 58, and injured a 60-year-old man and two women aged 76 and 68. 

Kyiv: Third night of aerial terror

According to Kyiv’s City Military Administration, Kyiv was attacked for the third consecutive night. A six-hour air raid saw damage in Dniprovskyi and Desnianskyi districts, including shattered windows in a residential building and drone fragments hitting a garage and a restaurant area.

Officials reported no injuries.

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Odesa Oblast: Teenager injured, homes damaged

Odesa’s OVA and Emergency Service confirmed that drones caused the destruction of a detached home and fires in Velikodolynske. Several private homes, outbuildings, and vehicles were also damaged.

A 14-year-old boy was injured, suffering leg wounds, and received on-site medical treatment.

Khmelnytskyi Oblast: Missiles and drones hit Starokostiantyniv area

In the Starokostiantyniv community, hosting one of Ukraine’s airbases, Russia used a combined missile and drone strike, according to Khmelnytskyi Oblast head Serhii Tiurin.

Though no civilians were hurt, four enterprises suffered damage to warehouses, workshops, and admin buildings, while 18 residential homes, one outbuilding, and a power line were damaged.

Zaporizhzhia: Two injured in Yurkyvka

Zaporizhzhia’s Yurkyvka village was shelled by Russian forces on 26 May, said oblast head Ivan Fedorov. A 60-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man were injured and received medical assistance. A detached house was destroyed in the attack.

Sumy: One dead, one wounded in artillery strike

Russian artillery hit Kindrativka in Sumy’s Khotin community, killing a 48-year-old man and injuring a 52-year-old civilian, who was treated at the scene, the Oblast Administration reported.

Donetsk Oblast: Six civilians injured

On 25 May, six civilians were injured in Donetsk Oblast due to Russian attacks, regional officials confirmed.

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Kherson: Civilian deaths and injuries

Between the mornings of 25 and 26 May, one person was killed and four others wounded in Kherson Oblast, according to its administration.

At around 10:00 this morning, a drone strike in Kherson’s Korabelnyi district injured a 46-year-old woman, who suffered a blast injury and concussion, and was treated as an outpatient.

Poland scrambles jets as precaution

Due to Russian air activity over Ukraine, Poland’s Armed Forces deployed Polish and allied aircraft, warning of increased noise over southeastern Poland.

The operational command called it the second consecutive “very intense night” for their air defense systems.

Zelenskyy: Political message, not military strategy

President Zelenskyy commented that the sheer scale of the Russian air attack had “no military logic”, arguing it was instead a political signal.

“Only the feeling of total impunity can allow Russia to strike like this,” he said.

The Ukrainian President called on international partners to increase sanctions and block Russian oil trade and financial flows to deprive Moscow of its war resources.

“This is how Putin shows his contempt for a world that puts more effort into “dialogue” with him than into applying pressure. Like any criminal, Russia can only be restrained by force. Only through strength — the strength of the United States, the strength of Europe, the strength of all nations that value life — can these attacks be fully stopped and real peace achieved,” Zelenskyy said.