Russia Steps Up Bombing Raids on Ukrainian Cities as Ground Fighting Slows

Russia has been launching repeated missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities through mid-2026, killing dozens of civilians. At the same time, Russian troops have made much slower progress in taking new territory compared to the year before.

On June 2, 2026, Russia attacked three major Ukrainian cities at the same time—Kyiv, Dnipro, and Kharkiv—killing at least 18 people and injuring over 100. This attack fits a pattern: Russia regularly targets neighborhoods and apartment buildings where civilians live, and children are often among those killed.

A Series of Deadly Strikes

Since early April, Russia has carried out numerous deadly attacks. A missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih on April 4 killed 19 people, including nine children, and injured 75. Another strike on May 14 killed 24 people, including three children. A separate attack destroyed an apartment building and killed 22 residents, four of them children. In Kyiv, one strike killed 12 people and injured 87. A strike on Kharkiv killed at least 11 and injured more than 16.

Added together, these attacks have killed over 100 people and injured hundreds more. Russia is targeting cities spread across Ukraine—from the capital Kyiv to cities in the east and south—rather than focusing only on areas near the front lines.

Ground Fighting Has Slowed Down

While Russia keeps bombing, its troops on the ground have made much less progress taking new territory. According to the Institute for the Study of War's report on June 1, Russian forces captured only 515.84 square kilometers in 2026—that is about 1/12 of the territory they captured in the same period the previous year.

When troops get stuck or face heavy losses in ground fighting, sustained bombing becomes a way to continue pressure. It strains Ukraine's air defenses, pulls military resources away from the front, and puts psychological pressure on the civilian population.

Why Civilians Are Being Hit

Russia is repeatedly striking apartment buildings and residential neighborhoods, and children are frequently killed. This pattern indicates strikes on areas where civilians live, not military targets. International law says that deliberately or carelessly bombing civilian areas is a war crime, though determining intent in individual strikes requires formal investigation—work currently underway at the International Criminal Court.

Ukraine has air defense systems supplied by Western countries that shoot down some incoming missiles and drones. However, Russia is firing so many different types of weapons at once—ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and attack drones—that some always get through. When Russia attacks three cities simultaneously, as it did on June 2, this saturation approach overwhelms Ukraine's defenses.

As ground fighting slows, air strikes appear to be Russia's main tool for continuing the war. Whether this shift changes the military situation or leads to peace talks depends largely on whether Ukraine can keep getting air defense supplies from Western countries—a decision that is still in play.

The people killed in these cities are the result of a deliberate military choice. That is what the death toll reveals.