Ukraine pleads for Patriot Missiles as Russian attacks kill at least 17 overnight

Date: 02 June 2026
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A Russian missile and drone attack has killed at least 17 people across Ukraine, 11 in Dnipro and six in the capital Kyiv, according to the local authorities.

A nighttime photograph showing the aftermath of a strike on a multi-story residential building. Several floors display severe structural damage and blown-out windows. A firefighter in protective gear stands on an extended aerial ladder near a damaged, smoking window. The "State Emergency Service of Kyiv" logo is visible in the top-left corner. The aftermath of Russian attack on Dnipro

Dozens were also injured, including several children, after the overnight air strikes hit apartment blocks, with emergency crews racing to find people feared trapped beneath rubble in Kyiv.

Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, reported that rescuers have recovered the bodies of a woman and an 8-year-old boy from the rubble of a destroyed building in Dnipro, bringing the death toll from the Russian strike to 11.  Another 37 Ukrainians were injured. 22 of them remain in hospitals.

The upper floors of a multi-story brick apartment building show severe structural damage, with collapsed walls, blown-out windows, and ruined balconies. An official emblem and text in the bottom right corner read "ДНІПРОПЕТРОВСЬКА ОБЛАСНА ВІЙСЬКОВА АДМІНІСТРАЦІЯ" (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration). The aftermath of Russian attack on Dnipro

“They have shrapnel wounds, fractures, lacerated and incised wounds, mine-explosive injuries, and acoustic barotrauma,” Hanzha stated.

Russia’s defence ministry stated that the strikes were a response to previous Ukrainian attacks and added that the “strike objectives” had all been achieved.

Moscow last week warned it would launch “systematic strikes” after accusing Kyiv of a deadly attack on a student dormitory in an occupied part of eastern Ukraine.

The attack caused fires near a petrol station, a construction site, several apartment blocks, and two houses, the capital’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Blackouts were also reported across the city. According to Klitschko, the number of people injured had risen to 65, including three children aged 3, 11 and 17.

 

Ukraine’s Ministry of Health stated that Russian shelling damaged or destroyed five medical facilities in Kyiv. These include two specialised medical institutions and primary healthcare centres in the Podilskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, and Holosiivskyi Districts. The latter was hit the hardest, with its second and third floors completely destroyed.

Russians also destroyed the official Zeekr electric vehicle dealership in Kyiv’s Podil District. The company temporarily suspended operations. 

Elsewhere, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov stated that Russians injured 10 people, including a child, in overnight drone and missile strikes on the north-eastern city, while an industrial facility was also attacked further south in Zaporizhzhia.

In the Poltava Oblast, an enterprise, residential buildings, and outbuildings were damaged, leaving one person injured.

In the Chernihiv Oblast, an injured teenager was reported following an overnight strike, while in the Sumy region, two civilians suffered acute stress reactions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russians had launched 656 strike drones and 73 missiles of various types – ballistic, cruise, and anti-ship – in the overnight attack.
 
An infographic map of Ukraine shows the movement of airborne targets over its territory from June 1 to June 2, 2026. Colorful trajectory lines, explosion icons, and labeled launch sites illustrate flight paths originating from Russia, Belarus, and occupied territories toward various Ukrainian cities.

“We urgently need help from the United States in supplying missiles for Patriot systems”, Zelenskyy stated, referring to interception hardware used to intercept Russian missiles. Patriot missiles have been in short supply, exacerbated by the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.

Ukrainian experts point out that countries, including China, the United States of America, North KoreaHungarySlovakiaIran, and Brazil, assist Moscow in killing Ukrainians in its war against Ukraine by funding the Russian budget through trade.

You may also want to read: European, Japanese, and U.S. parts helped Russia build missiles that killed 24, including three children, in Kyiv – Zelenskyy

Human rights organisations and Ukrainian authorities emphasise that structural economic pressure remains a key tool to halt such atrocities. They urge every nation and individual government worldwide to strictly enforce global sanctions, close existing regulatory loopholes, and completely sever remaining commercial and technological ties with the Russian Federation. Civil society groups stress that any continued cooperation by foreign businesses directly contributes to the resources Moscow uses to sustain its ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

Cover photo: Vladyslav Musiienko

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