Over 70 Russian Missiles Slam Ukraine as Kyiv Burns and Power Cut in New Wave of Strikes
Russia has launched one of its heaviest recent barrages on Ukraine, firing more than 70 missiles including Iskander and Zircon systems at Kyiv and multiple cities. Apartment blocks are reported damaged, people are feared trapped, power is being shut off in the capital, and air defenses are straining to keep the country’s grid and residents out of the blast radius.
Ukraine woke up to one of the most punishing nights of the war as a massive Russian missile and drone wave tore into Kyiv and other cities, leaving apartment buildings damaged, power cut in parts of the capital, and the skyline filled with smoke. For residents, the attack is not an abstraction about long-range weapons; it is another reminder that their homes, subways, and power lines remain on the front line of a grinding campaign to break Ukraine’s resilience.
Between late 1 June and the early hours of 2 June, Russian forces launched a large-scale strike package against multiple Ukrainian regions. Reports from Ukrainian officials and battlefield observers indicate that more than 70 missiles of various types were used, including Kh-101 cruise missiles, Iskander-K and Iskander-M ballistic and cruise missiles, and what Ukrainian sources describe as 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles. Kyiv was among the hardest hit: there are reports of people feared trapped under the rubble of an apartment building, heavy bombardment across the city, and visible fires sending smoke into the night and early-morning sky. Other cities named in initial accounts include Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Cherkasy, and Kherson. While Ukrainian air defenses, including Patriot systems, reportedly intercepted some incoming missiles—one Patriot interception of an Iskander over Kyiv was filmed—the full extent of casualties and damage has not yet been independently verified.
For civilians, the effect is immediate and intimate. Residents sheltering in the Kyiv Metro reported another night spent underground as air-raid sirens sounded and explosions echoed overhead. Video and imagery from the capital show burning debris and at least one residential block sheared open, with emergency services working around shattered concrete and glass. People in parts of Kyiv reported that the power was turned off, either from damage or as a protective measure, cutting electricity to homes, hospitals, and shelters. Families who managed to leave earlier now watch from abroad as loved ones again crowd into basements and subway platforms, while those who stayed are forced to decide, once more, whether to sleep near a corridor or a load-bearing wall.
Strategically, the strikes continue Russia’s pattern of using high-volume salvos to test and wear down Ukraine’s air-defense network and to hit critical infrastructure. The reported use of advanced systems such as Zircon, if confirmed, would signal Moscow’s willingness to deploy some of its most sophisticated weapons against urban targets, raising questions for NATO states about how their own defenses would handle similar threats. For Ukraine, every successful Patriot or other interception is paired with the reality that interceptor stocks are finite and expensive, while Russia appears able to regenerate missile inventories faster than many Western governments had assumed.
If such large-scale attacks become more frequent, the pressure on Ukraine’s energy grid and urban services will intensify. Turning the power off in Kyiv—whether due to direct hits or preemptive shutdowns to protect infrastructure—complicates everything from hospital operations to the command-and-control of Ukrainian forces. It also tests Western publics’ attention spans: President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned allies for days that a heavy attack was imminent, using that warning to press for more air-defense systems and munitions. Nights like this make that request harder to dismiss as theoretical.
What to watch now is twofold. First, the damage assessment: how many energy sites, command centers, or industrial facilities were affected, and how quickly can Ukraine repair them? Second, the diplomatic and military response from Kyiv’s partners: will the scale of the attack accelerate deliveries of promised air-defense systems and long-range weapons, or will support remain capped by political and production limits? For Russia, the calculus is whether repeated barrages erode Ukrainian morale and capacity faster than they consume expensive missiles and invite deeper Western involvement.
Key Takeaways
- Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone barrage against Ukraine, using more than 70 missiles, including Iskander systems and reportedly Zircon missiles.
- Kyiv suffered some of the heaviest strikes, with apartment buildings damaged, people feared trapped, and smoke visible across the skyline.
- Parts of the capital experienced power shutoffs, and residents again took shelter in the metro system.
- Ukrainian air defenses, including Patriot systems, intercepted some missiles, but stockpiles and sustainability remain a concern.
- The attack increases pressure on Western governments to supply more air-defense assets and raises questions about Russia’s willingness to expend advanced munitions on urban targets.
Outlook & Way Forward
In the short term, Ukraine will focus on rescue operations, restoring electricity and basic services, and cataloguing the damage to both civilian and military-related infrastructure. Each successful repair will be measured against the time and cost of replacing equipment that Moscow can target again, creating a war of attrition not only on the front lines but across Ukraine’s cities and utilities.
Over the longer term, sustained barrages of this kind could harden Western resolve or, if political fatigue sets in, expose Kyiv to even greater risk. NATO states face a narrowing window to replenish Ukraine’s air-defense magazines and to adapt their own systems to emerging threats such as hypersonic weapons. For Russia, the choice is whether to keep burning through high-end missiles in search of a strategic breakthrough, or to shift toward cheaper, more numerous systems that still leave civilians exposed while saving its most advanced arsenal for a possible confrontation beyond Ukraine.
Sources
- OSINT