Ukrainian defense in action. How the Ukrainians shot down hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in one night
The Ukrainian military command has published video images of the night interventions of air defense units in the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Central regions of the country. Military experts and monitoring platforms that analyzed the flight paths noted a change in tactics on the part of Moscow: the massive waves of drones were used mainly as a diversionary tool, to saturate radars and distract attention from the main attack vectors — ballistic and cruise missiles.
The attack on Kiev on the night of June 2/FOTO: X
“Despite exhaustion and fatigue, the Defense Forces of Ukraine protect the country 24/7 from Russian missiles and drones. Day and night we guard the sky, we stand in defense of our homeland for the future of the country and our children,” Air Force representatives said under the images that capture the dramatic interceptions at night.
The main targets of the Russian offensive were the capital Kiev, as well as the Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporozhye and Poltava regions. Drone attacks continued at a high intensity throughout yesterday, with dozens of aircraft being shot down successively by Ukrainian defenders.
In an unprecedented show of force, the Russian military launched a massive airstrike on Ukraine on the night of June 2, using a combined missile and drone strategy designed to exhaust and confuse Kiev's air defenses. According to the Air Force of Ukraine, the attack involved a record number of 73 missiles of various types and no less than 656 attack drones.
Kiev, targeted by hypersonic missiles
In the capital, the attack was extremely violent, with Moscow also using hypersonic missiles of the “Zircon” type, extremely difficult to intercept. The rescue and intervention teams acted at an alert pace on 29 different locations in the city.
The preliminary toll indicates at least seven dead and dozens injured in Kyiv, including two children. The raids caused significant damage to residential buildings and civil infrastructure in no fewer than nine districts of the capital, including Podilski, Shevcenkivski, Obolonski, Sveatosinski, Solomenski, Goloseevski, Pecerski and Darnitski.
The worst situation was registered in the city of Dnipro, where successive attacks during the night and day of June 2 directly hit a residential area.
Local authorities reported a tragic toll: 16 people lost their lives and 42 others were injured. Among the civilian victims who died as a result of the explosions are also two boys, only 3 and 8 years old. A 7-year-old girl and a 17-year-old teenager are also among the injured.
As a result of this tragedy, the local administration of Dnipro declared June 3 as an official day of mourning in memory of the victims. The massive attack reaffirms Moscow's strategy to put pressure on critical infrastructure and civilian morale in Ukraine's major urban centers.
