Russian forces carried out the third largest combined drone and missile strike against Ukraine since the start of the war on the night of June 16-17. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 440 drones at the cities of Kursk, Orel and Bryansk; Shatalovo, Smolensk region; Millerovo, Rostov region; and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar region, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched two Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal" missiles from the airspace over Tambov Oblast, 16 Kh-101 cruise missiles from the airspace over Saratov Oblast, four "Kalibur" cruise missiles from the Black Sea, nine Kh-59/69 cruise missiles from the airspace over Belgorod and Bryansk Oblasts, and one Kh-31P anti-radar missile from an unspecified location. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces had shot down 239 drones, one Kh-47M2 missile, 15 Kh-101 missiles, and seven Kh-59/59 missiles, and that 163 drones, one Kh-47M2 missile, one Kh-59/69 missile, and one Kh-31P missile were "lost" or suppressed by Ukrainian electronic warfare systems. Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Colonel Yuriy Ignat said the drones aimed at Kiev were flying from different directions, including along the Dnieper River and from the east and west.
Ignat and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Ukrainian authorities had found cluster munitions at the site of the missile explosions. A Ukrainian source has released footage showing a Russian cluster munition missile hitting Kiev overnight.
Ukrainian officials said the strikes hit residential areas and civilian infrastructure in Kiev and the Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Odessa, Sumy and Zaporizhia regions.
Civilian casualties were reported in the cities of Kiev and Odessa and the Chernihiv region.
The series of strikes from June 16 to 17 were heavily targeted at Kiev and hit residential areas in the capital, with Russian officials and bloggers calling for Russia to step up its strikes against Ukraine. Authorities in Kiev said Russian forces fired 175 drones, more than 14 cruise missiles and at least two ballistic missiles at the city overnight.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes killed at least 15 people in the city and wounded at least 114 others.
Ukrainian officials said a Russian ballistic missile hit a nine-story apartment building in the Solomiansky district, collapsing the building's entrance and destroying 30 apartments.
Ukrainian officials said Russian forces had struck other civilian and residential infrastructure in Kiev.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported on June 17 that Russian forces had struck at least 30 locations in seven districts of Kiev.
The latest strike on Kiev, with comparable or higher casualties among civilian population was on July 8, 2024, which killed at least 32 civilians and injured 85, including at the "Okhmatdit" children's hospital in Kiev.
The first deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, Alexei Zhuravlev, argued on June 17 that Russia should step up its strikes against Ukraine to prevent the country from regrouping and receiving additional Western aid.
A Russian blogger called on Russia to expand its strikes while Volodymyr Zelensky is president.
The Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, announced that North Korea would send 6,000 sappers and military engineers to help with reconstruction in the Kursk region. Shoigu met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on June 16 during Shoigu's second visit to North Korea in June 2025.
Shoigu said that Kim had agreed to send 1,000 North Korean sappers and 5,000 North Korean military construction workers to demin and rebuild the Kursk region. ISW had previously observed reports that North Korean military personnel and "technical advisors" were operating in the occupied Donetsk region, including near the occupied city of Donetsk and Mariupol.
Russia may deploy North Korean sappers and engineers to occupied Ukraine in engineering and support roles in the future.
On June 16 and 17, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom announced packages of sanctions against Russia. London sanctions additional parts of Russia's financial, military-industrial and energy sectors, including Russia's covert navy and its operating companies.
Also sanctions two UK residents accused of facilitating the supply of over $120 million worth of electronics to Russia. The EU Council renewed its package of sanctions targeting imports of products from occupied Crimea to the EU and exports of goods and technology to transport, telecommunications, energy, oil, gas and mining companies in Crimea.