KYIV - Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles early on Tuesday, killing 22 people and wounding 130, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Moscow could launch a new assault for the second night in a row.

The strikes on cities including Kyiv and Dnipro followed Russian warnings of "systematic" attacks on the capital after a drone attack on a dormitory in Ukraine's Russian-held region of Luhansk last month. Kyiv denies targeting the dormitory.

It was the third heavy assault on Kyiv in under a month, but Russia has been relentlessly attacking Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, since it invaded its smaller neighbour in 2022.

U.S.-brokered talks on the war in Ukraine have stalled with Washington focusing on Iran, while Russian advances on the battlefield have slowed this year and Kyiv has stepped up strikes on Russian oil refineries.

ZELENSKIY CALLS FOR AIR DEFENCE SUPPLIES

Zelenskiy said there was evidence Russian forces could strike again on Tuesday night.

"According to our intelligence, another large-scale attack may occur tonight," he said in his nightly video address.

"Please, I strongly urge you to pay attention to air raid alerts."

Zelenskiy repeated that Ukraine was short of weapons to counter incoming Russian missiles. "Unfortunately, the current level of supplies for our air defence does not enable us to intercept a significant portion of the missiles," he said.

He said more than 70 missiles and 650 drones had been deployed overnight and Russian forces had deployed 100 more drones throughout the day on Tuesday.

Earlier, the Ukrainian president urged Washington to send additional Patriot missile interceptors.

"This was a large-scale attack and an absolutely clear statement from Russia: if Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these attacks will continue," Zelenskiy said on Telegram.

The Kremlin said the war had entered "a new paradigm" after what it called "inhumane acts of terror" by Ukraine's military against civilians, echoing accusations Kyiv has made against Russian forces. Moscow warned last week of systematic strikes and urged foreigners to leave Kyiv.

Zelenskiy sent a letter last week to U.S. President Donald Trump and Congress, asking for air defence systems. As of Monday, officials said he had not received a response.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged partners to take "concrete steps" to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow and provide more military support.

"Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this. What we can change is Russia's ability to continue terror," he said on X.

The U.S. has been Ukraine's main foreign supplier of weapons but Kyiv has also been purchasing Patriot missiles through a NATO initiative, financed by its European allies.

'SOME KIND OF APOCALYPSE'

Moscow's war in Ukraine has killed tens of thousands, forced much of the population out of their homes and devastated cities, towns and villages. Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine.

Ukraine has also hit civilian targets during attacks on Russia or Russian-occupied areas, though on a much smaller scale. Both sides deny targeting civilians.

In New York, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "strongly condemned" the Russian attacks. He repeated Guterres' appeal for "immediate de-escalation, leading to a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire in this conflict."

Photographs on Tuesday showed large explosions and smoke billowing over high-rise buildings in Kyiv, where officials said six people were killed and over 80 wounded.

"We couldn't understand what was happening - some kind of apocalypse?" Olha Mudra, her face and clothes covered in dust, said at the site of one strike, accompanied by her six-year-old daughter Natalia.

Sixteen people were killed overnight, including two young boys, in the southeastern city of Dnipro, local officials said. New attacks later on Tuesday injured at least two more people.

In Kyiv, at least nine high-rise buildings, a kindergarten, a clinic, offices and administrative buildings were damaged. The attack cut power to 140,000 residents, power company DTEK said.

More than 40,000 took shelter in the Kyiv subway system - the biggest number in recent years. Some carried pets, belongings and mattresses.

HYPERSONIC MISSILES

Ukraine's Air Force said the attack included 33 hard-to-shoot-down ballistic missiles and eight Zircon hypersonic missiles, which appeared to be the largest number of such missiles used at once during the war.

The Zircon has a range of 1,000 km (625 miles) and travels at nine times the speed of sound, Moscow says. Ukrainian Air Force units shot down or neutralised 40 missiles and 602 drones, but no Zircon was listed among them.

Russia's defence ministry said it had launched a "massive strike" on defence industry targets using high-precision long-range weapons, hitting 10 military production sites in Kyiv.

Russian regions also came under attack. The Ilsky oil refinery, in the southern Krasnodar region, caught fire after a drone attack, local authorities said on Telegram. Ukraine's military confirmed the strike.

Russia downed 148 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russian news agencies said, citing the defence ministry.

Reuters could not independently verify all the reports.

(Reporting Reuters, Writing by Jekaterina Golubkova, Lincoln Feast and Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Daniel Flynn, Clarence Fernandez, Timothy Heritage, Gareth Jones, Rod Nickel and Ron Popeski)

The site of a Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine June 2, 2026. Press service of the National Police of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE Reuters

Residents gather outside an apartment building damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Valentyn Ogirenko Reuters

An employee carries a tree while he removes debris inside a building of a private medical clinic damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Valentyn Ogirenko Reuters

Emergency workers respond to a fire in a car dealership that was struck during overnight Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Thomas Peter Reuters

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 11:51 AM.

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