Kyiv: Russia unleashed another large-scale drone assault on Ukraine overnight, killing one person and injuring several others, according to Ukrainian officials. The attack damaged multiple neighborhoods in Kyiv and struck a maternity ward in the southern port city of Odesa.
The strikes followed what Ukraine described as Russia’s largest drone attack since the start of the war, which took place just a day earlier. Moscow has claimed its recent escalations are in retaliation for Kyiv’s recent attacks on Russian soil, including strikes on strategic bombers and deadly bridge explosions.
In the capital, Kyiv city authorities reported that seven of the city’s ten districts were hit, with at least four people hospitalized. The strikes caused fires across residential and industrial zones, and loud explosions were heard throughout the night.
“A difficult night for all of us,” wrote Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military district, on Telegram. “Throughout the night, the enemy relentlessly terrorized Kyiv with attack drones. They targeted civilian infrastructure and peaceful residents of the city.”
Photos and videos circulating on Telegram showed smoke rising from several parts of Kyiv, though the full extent of the damage was still being assessed. Air raid sirens sounded for five hours until about 5 a.m., according to Ukraine’s military data.
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Presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak commented after the attacks, saying, “You can’t break Ukrainians with terror.”
In Odesa, Governor Oleh Kiper reported a “massive” drone attack targeting medical facilities, including an emergency medical building and a maternity ward. A 59-year-old man was killed in the attack on a residential area, and four others were wounded. Fortunately, all patients and staff were safely evacuated from the maternity hospital. Images shared by Kiper showed broken windows and damaged facades of medical and residential buildings.
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The wave of strikes came as Russia ramped up both aerial assaults and ground offensives following Ukrainian attacks on June 1 that targeted Russian air bases and infrastructure. Despite the renewed violence, Moscow and Kyiv recently held their first direct talks in over three years. However, aside from a mutual agreement on prisoner exchanges, little progress has been made toward resolving the broader conflict.
Both Russia and Ukraine continue to deny targeting civilians, though thousands of non-combatants — the majority of them Ukrainian — have been killed since the war began.
