Russia strikes Ukraine with 400 drones, 40 missiles; kill four

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.

–IANS