Zelensky warns Russian strikes 'drown out' efforts for peace as 7 killed in drone ambush

Russian attacks across Ukraine "drown out" global efforts to force Vladimir Putin into peace, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned after another wave of brutal strikes on several cities.

Seven people have been killed and more than 34 injured in the past day, according to Ukrainian regional authorities. Zelenskyy said Kyiv experienced "one of the largest" attacks since the start of the war, which has raged for three years.

Moscow’s forces fired over 315 drones, including 250 Shaheds, and 7 missiles, 2 of which were North Korean-made ballistic missiles, overnight, according to the Ukranian president. Four people were injured in the captial while fires broke out across multiple regions,mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

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In Odeasa, a drone attack killed two men and injured eight others. Four people were hospitalized, governor Oleh Kiper said. Zelenskyy said a maternity hospital in the city was also targeted by Russia.

Russian attacks in Dnipro killed one person and injured another yesterday while two men were also injured overnight, governor Serhii Lysak said.Three people were killed in Donetsk and eight were injured while one person was also injured in Kharkiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

In the Kherson region, one person was killed and eight were injured and in Zaporizhzhia an elderly woman was injured, officials said.

"Russian missile and Shahed strikes drown out the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace," Zelenskyy said in a statement. "For yet another night, instead of a ceasefire, there were massive strikes with Shahed drones, cruise and ballistic missiles. Today was one of the largest attacks on Kyiv. Odesa, Dnipro region, and Chernihiv region were also targeted."

He called for action from the rest of the world, adding: "It is vital that the response to this and other similar Russian attacks is not silence from the world, but concrete action. Action from America, which has the power to force Russia into peace. Action from Europe, which has no alternative but to be strong.

"Action from others around the world who called for diplomacy and an end to the war – and whom Russia has ignored. There must be strong pressure for the sake of peace."

The fresh attacks came hours after Moscow launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment in the three-year war. Ukrainian and Western officials have been anticipating a Russian response to Ukraine’s audacious June 1 drone attack on distant Russian air bases.

Plumes of smoke were visible in Kyiv as air defense forces worked to shoot down drones and missiles Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Ukrainian residents took shelter and slept in metro stations during the hourslong attack.

Nina Nosivets, 32, and her 8-month-old son Levko were among them. “I just try not to think about all this, silently curled up like a mouse, wait until it all passes, the attacks. Distract the child somehow because its probably the hardest thing for him to bear,” she said.

Russia has been launching a record-breaking number of drones and missiles targeting Ukraine while the two countries continue to swap prisoners of war, the only tangible outcome of recent direct peace talks held in Istanbul. A ceasefire, long sought by Kyiv, remains elusive.