Russia carried out a large-scale overnight drone attack on Ukraine, killing two people and injuring several others, while damaging infrastructure across Kyiv and striking a maternity hospital in the southern port city of Odesa, Ukrainian officials said early Tuesday.
The assault followed Russia’s largest drone offensive against Ukraine the day before—an escalation Moscow claims is retaliation for recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil.
In Kyiv, the attack lasted for hours, hitting seven of the capital’s ten districts and injuring at least four people. Fires broke out in residential areas and open spaces, with powerful explosions reported by witnesses throughout the city.
“You can’t break Ukrainians with terror,” said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a Telegram post.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged for immediate, tougher sanctions against Russia and enhanced air defenses, stating, “Russia rejects any serious peace efforts and must face new, devastating sanctions—now. There’s no more time to wait.”
Air raid alerts were active across Kyiv and much of Ukraine for nearly five hours, ending around 5 a.m. local time. “It was a difficult night for all of us,” said Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military district. “The enemy relentlessly targeted civilian infrastructure and residents.”
Footage shared on social media showed plumes of smoke rising from various parts of Kyiv, though the full extent of the damage was not immediately clear.
In Odesa, regional governor Oleh Kiper reported a “massive” drone strike that hit an emergency medical center, a maternity hospital, and nearby residential buildings. Nine people were injured, and two men were killed, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. Hospital staff and patients were safely evacuated.
Photos posted by Kiper showed broken windows and damaged facades on several buildings.
The latest strikes come amid Russia’s intensifying military operations, following Ukrainian attacks on Russian airbases and infrastructure on June 1. Moscow also blamed Ukraine for deadly bridge explosions on the same day.
Despite renewed negotiations—the first in over three years—progress between Moscow and Kyiv remains minimal beyond limited prisoner exchanges. Meanwhile, Russia has also made gains on the eastern front, claiming new territorial advances.
Both sides continue to deny deliberately targeting civilians, though the war has already claimed thousands of civilian lives, most of them Ukrainian.
