The Daily Populous Tuesday June 2nd, 2026 morning edition
Authored by cnn.com and submitted by Beadyeyed12

Summary Russia launched a wave of heavy drone and missile strikes on Kyiv early Tuesday.

Ukrainian authorities fear there may be people trapped under the rubble of an apartment building.

Russia had previously warned it was going to ramp up attacks on Kyiv and called for foreign diplomats to leave the capital.

Russia launched a large-scale deadly attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Tuesday, damaging residential buildings, authorities said, as part of a broad offensive on targets across Ukraine.

At least 13 people have been killed in the overnight assault that Ukraine’s military said involved more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles, including advanced hypersonics. Four people were killed in Kyiv and nine in the central city of Dnipro, with more than 100 wounded across the country, according to Ukrainian officials.

In the capital, the attacks damaged several residential and commercial buildings, sparking fires and burning cars, authorities said.

Kyiv’s air defenses appeared to be less active during a ballistic missile strike around 7 a.m. local time, with CNN producers in the city center hearing ongoing explosions, but not the firing of counter-air systems. A strong smell of smoke permeated the air in the city on Tuesday morning.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko described the overnight assault as a “massive enemy attack.”

There are fears people remain trapped under the rubble of a multi-story apartment block in Podilsky district that partially collapsed after a “double tap” Russian strike, according to Klitschko.

Emergency responders at a property damaged in Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on June 2. State Emergency Service of Ukraine

Images from Ukraine’s State Emergency Services show a fire engulfing a badly-damaged house as firefighters doused the flames, and the windows and facade of what appears to be the front room of another debris-filled home completely blown away.

“Throughout the night, the enemy launched massive attacks on the Kyiv region using drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Our peaceful towns and villages were once again under attack,” said Mykola Kalashnyk, the Kyiv regional governor.

At least 65 people were wounded across the city, Ukrainian officials said, in strikes that caused power outages and sent residents scrambling to shelters as air raid sirens sounded.

A suspected missile strike hit a 24-story residential building in Shevchenkivskyi district, sparking a fire, and a blaze broke out in a nine-story building in Podil after debris struck the roof, the mayor said. Elsewhere in the city, Russian strikes damaged a clinic and debris fell on the grounds of a kindergarten, Klitschko added. In Bucha, three homes, warehouse facilities and non-residential buildings were damaged, Kalashnyk said.

A residential building damaged in a Russian attack on Ukraine's capital Kyiv on June 2. State Emergency Service of Ukraine

An emergency worker surveys damage at a property struck during a large-scale attack on Kyiv on June 2. State Emergency Service of Ukraine

Russian attacks were also reported in Dnipro, where 35 people were wounded, and Kharkiv, where 14 were wounded including a child, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.

Altogether, Russia fired 656 drones and 73 missiles at Ukraine overnight, according to Ukrainian Air Force figures, which said the vast bulk of the drones and just over half of the missiles were shot down.

Russia fired eight of its advanced hypersonic Zircon missiles toward Ukraine, the air force said, but none were intercepted. Experts have previously told CNN the Zircon missiles are near impossible to shoot down.

The main targets of the strike were Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Poltava, according to the air force statement.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its “massive strike” targeted Ukrainian defense, military, fuel and transport facilities in several key regions, in retaliation for what it said was “terrorist acts committed by the Kyiv regime,” Russian state news agency TASS reported on Tuesday.

The assault involved “high-precision long-range weapons,” including drones and “hypersonic aeroballistic missiles” launched from the air and sea, according to TASS.

Russia said it intercepted 148 Ukrainian drones, but said an oil refinery in Krasnodar had caught fire after a drone attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday had reiterated his warning to citizens of a possible large-scale Russian strike.

The warning came after Russia said last week that it was beginning “systematic strikes” against military facilities in Kyiv, according to Russian state media.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry had also warned foreign nationals, including staff of diplomatic missions and international organizations, to leave Kyiv “as soon as possible.”

The Russian strikes also came as Ukraine has expanded attacks on Russian oil assets.

Zelensky said in his nightly address Monday that between between January and May, Ukrainian troops have struck 15 Russian oil refineries, knocking out 40% of Russia’s main oil refining capacity. CNN cannot independently verify the report.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CaptainFrugal on June 2nd, 2026 at 01:23 UTC »

Did I not just read Russian wanted to end war to save economy lol

LividWheel9779 on June 2nd, 2026 at 01:09 UTC »

Are Russian drones this inaccurate or are they likely targeting civilian infrastructure?

Glittering-Gene7215 on June 2nd, 2026 at 01:08 UTC »

"putin wants peace"