Massive Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine have killed many, injured dozens

A series of Russian missile and drone strikes have killed at least nine people and injured dozens across Ukraine, authorities said Tuesday, just days after President Volodymyr. Zelenskyy warned that Moscow was preparing for a “new big strike.”

Russia has attacked Ukraine almost every day since it launched the attack in 2022, which often provokes Kyiv, as the talks are about to end. The deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II stay put.

Russia launched 656 drones and 73 missiles into Ukraine on Monday night and Tuesday night, the Ukrainian military said, according to Reuters citing a statement in Telegram.

The Air Force said 40 missiles and 602 drones were downed or intercepted, but the missiles and drones hit 38 locations in Ukraine, with Kyiv being the main target.

AFP reporters heard several explosions in the Ukrainian capital, where local authorities said Russia had fired rockets, started fires, cut power to many regions and trapped people in damaged buildings.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people were killed and at least 58, including two children, were injured in “multiple enemy attacks.”

“Fireworks in town. Air defenses are active! Stay in shelters!” Klitschko had warned before.

Residents rushed to shelters clutching bags and blankets, AFP reporters said, as heavy smoke billowed from downtown Kyiv.

“The enemy is attacking with ballistic missiles,” said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the City Military Administration of Kyiv.

“We couldn’t understand what was happening – some kind of apocalypse?” Reuters quoted Olha Mudra as saying at one strike site. She had her six-year-old daughter. “Everything was covered in debris, there was smoke, you couldn’t see anything,” he said in front of the destroyed building and damaged cars.

Deadly strikes, including both missiles and drones, were also reported elsewhere.

In the city of Dnipro, a Russian attack killed five people and wounded 25 others — three of them in critical condition — local governor Oleksandr Ganzha said.

Ten people, including a child, were injured in the city of Kharkiv, according to the Mayor, Igor Terekhov.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian airstrike killed one person in Russia’s Kursk region, near the Ukrainian border, regional governor Alexander Khinshtein said.

Another drone caused a fire at an oil refinery in the southwestern city of Krasnodar, its headquarters told Telegram.

The strikes in Ukraine came after Zelensky said on Friday “we have intelligence information about Russia preparing a new major strike” and asked people to “protect your lives.”

“Please pay attention to the warnings of the wind, protect your lives,” he said. “Our services are efficient and prepared; the Air Force and other sky protectors will be on duty 24/7, as usual.”

Ukraine’s president has also called on his allies to allow and finance the supply of Patriot missiles, which can intercept Russian missiles.

He wrote to President Trump and Congress last week asking for Patriot programs to respond to Russia’s escalating air strikes.

Ukraine has also increased its strikes on occupied territories and on Russia in retaliation for Russia’s daily bombings.

Russia launched a record 8,150 long-range drones in Ukraine in May, an AFP analysis of Ukrainian military data showed, up 24 percent from April.

Kyiv intercepted nearly 90 percent of incoming drones and missiles in May, according to air force data.