KYIV — Russian
forces launched 400 drones and 40 missiles on Ukraine overnight on Friday,
killing at least four people and injuring dozens, Ukrainian authorities said.
All four fatalities occurred in Kyiv, where 20 other people
were injured, said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
The State Service for Emergencies confirmed that three of
the victims were emergency service workers.
Separately, the National Police reported that about 40
people were injured nationwide, with most of them in Kyiv, the northwestern
city of Lutsk and the western city of Ternopil.
According to the police, 38 facilities were damaged in the
attacks, including five apartment buildings and five private houses, Xinhua
news agency reported.
For Kyiv residents, the night brought a sadly familiar
chorus: the high-pitched buzz of drones, the wail of air raid sirens, and
thunderous explosions overhead—whether from successful air defence
interceptions or incoming missiles hitting their targets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia had
launched over 400 drones and 40 missiles in the massive overnight assault,
calling it one of the largest since the war began. He said the strikes killed
many people, injured 49 others, and targeted "almost all" of Ukraine,
naming nine regions ranging from Lviv in the west to Sumy in the northeast.
While Russia has persistently bombarded Ukraine throughout
more than three years of full-scale war, this latest attack was widely
anticipated. Ukrainians had been expecting a major reprisal since Sunday, when
Kyiv carried out a bold strike that damaged more than a third of Russia’s
strategic cruise missile bombers.
During a phone call with former US President Donald Trump on
Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would have to respond
to the Ukrainian assault.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Friday that
its forces had struck two Russian airfields overnight. These sites were
believed to be housing many aircraft that had escaped damage in Kyiv’s
“Spiderweb” operation last weekend.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia's assault included
407 drones, six ballistic missiles, more than 38 cruise missiles, and one
anti-radar missile—totaling 452 projectiles. Of those, 406 were intercepted,
including 32 cruise missiles and four ballistic missiles. The remaining two
ballistic missiles reportedly missed their targets.
Ukrainians had been bracing all week for a major retaliation
following the weekend drone strike, which hit 34 per cent of Russia’s
nuclear-capable bombers at airbases as far as Siberia.
Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian
missile unit in Bryansk region, hitting Iskander launchers, according to a
statement from Ukraine’s General Staff. The strike occurred as Russia’s 26th
missile brigade prepared to launch an attack, likely targeting Kyiv, from the
city of Klintsy.
On June 4, the Kremlin confirmed an attempted Ukrainian
strike on the Crimean Bridge but claimed it caused no damage. “There was indeed
an explosion, but nothing was harmed, and the bridge remains operational,” Kremlin
spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
On Tuesday, Ukraine also attacked the Kerch Bridge—the key
link between Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula—using 1,100 kilograms of
underwater explosives.
