Have you missed the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Here is the gist of this Tuesday, June 2, 2026, on the 1,560th day of the conflict.
Fact of the day
kyiv had feared this show of force for several days. It took the form of a rain of fire this Tuesday morning. According to the Ukrainian authorities, Russia launched no less than 73 missiles and 656 drones. This massive raid left at least 21 people dead – six in the capital kyiv and fifteen in the industrial city of Dnipro, located in the center-east of the country – and dozens injured.
These strikes constituted “a massive attack and a clear statement from Russia: if Ukraine is not protected against ballistic missile strikes and others, these attacks will continue”, commented Volodymyr Zelensky on social networks.
On the Russian side, a civilian was killed by a Ukrainian drone in the Kursk border region.
Today’s statement
« Once again, we emphasize that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited by international humanitarian law and must stop. »
The recall of the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, relayed by his spokesperson, after the Russian raid of the day.
The number of the day
7. The number of localities in the Kharkiv region, on the Russian border, in the northeast of the country, of which the Ukrainian authorities called for evacuation this Tuesday. “Taking into account the security situation and the systematic attacks by the enemy, we are extending the compulsory evacuation zone,” regional governor Oleg Synegoubov said on Telegram. This measure concerns more than 7,000 residents, including some 1,700 children.
The trend
Ukraine took back some 282 km2 from the Russians in May, reducing for the second month in a row the area of its territory controlled by Moscow, according to AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Since October 2023, Russia had been steadily gaining ground month after month, but its progress had begun to stall at the end of 2025, going from an increase of 579 km2 in November to only 23 km2 in March. In April, the area controlled by Moscow had decreased for the first time in two and a half years, by around 120 km2.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
The decline in Moscow’s forces reported by the ISW is, however, not total: Russian soldiers remain infiltrated in most of the areas where Ukraine has regained ground. The Russian army constantly sends small groups of soldiers to take up positions in parts of the front and hide there to then encourage the advance of the main body of troops.
Ukrainian gains in April and May are, moreover, marginal on the scale of the country (0.07% of Ukrainian territory, Crimea and Donbass included) and on the scale of the territories controlled by Russia (0.4%).
