Major Russian attack on Ukraine kills 13, destroys apartment building

Massive air barrage spotlights disputes over civilian protection, air-defense capacity and international response.

A large-scale Russian combined missile-and-drone assault struck multiple Ukrainian cities on June 1–2, 2026, killing at least 13 civilians and toppling or heavily damaging apartment buildings and infrastructure. While there is broad agreement about the facts of the attack and its human toll, public reaction and media framing diverge over the upstream causes and the correct policy response: some focus on legal and moral condemnation and the need to protect civilians and document possible war crimes; others emphasize the operational problem—how to prevent such salvos in future through more air-defense aid, intelligence, and deterrence—and warn against escalatory responses that could widen the conflict. Disagreements therefore revolve less around whether the attack occurred and more around which institutions, capabilities, and narratives should be trusted to prevent recurrence and deliver accountability.

Key facts

• Russia launched a combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine involving at least 656 drones and 73 missiles.
• At least 13 civilians were killed in the attacks across Ukraine, including nine in Dnipro and four in Kyiv.
• A four-story apartment building collapsed in Dnipro during the attack, leaving several people unaccounted for under the rubble.
• The attack also damaged Kyiv heavily: four people were killed there and at least 58 wounded, including two children; infrastructure damage cut electricity to about 140,000 residents though much was restored.
• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko condemned the attack, characterizing it as a massive strike that targeted civilian infrastructure; Klitschko warned that people were likely trapped under the rubble of a 24-storey apartment building in Kyiv.
• The attack involved a large-scale drone and missile barrage—Ukraine’s air force reported that hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles were launched, of which a significant number were intercepted; still, dozens of civilian sites including apartment buildings were hit.
• The human impact included at least 13 civilians killed, including one child in Dnipro when a four-story apartment building collapsed; in Kyiv, four people were killed and dozens wounded, with many injured in eight city districts.
• Infrastructure and essential services were disrupted: in Kyiv, power was cut for approximately 140,000 residents though most service was later restored; damaged apartment buildings left many homeless or without basic shelter, exacerbating civilian hardship.
• Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Moscow has repeatedly struck civilian residential areas, often using missiles, drones, and loitering munitions, resulting in mass destruction of apartment buildings and high civilian casualties.
• Russia has increasingly employed massive combined salvos of drones (including Shahed-type) and missiles aimed at overwhelming Ukraine’s air defenses, often targeting urban centers and infrastructure to inflict civilian harm and disrupt essential services.
• These types of strikes on civilian buildings are widely seen by legal experts and human rights organizations as potentially constituting unlawful or war crime-like actions under international humanitarian law, including violations of the prohibitions on indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks.