Russia launched a significant overnight drone assault on Ukraine, striking multiple districts of Kyiv and targeting a maternity ward in Odesa, officials reported early Tuesday. The attacks resulted in two fatalities and multiple injuries, with extensive damage to civilian infrastructure across the capital and southern port city.
The drone strikes came a day after Russia’s largest such assault, part of intensified operations Moscow described as retaliation for Kyiv’s recent attacks within Russian territory. Air raid sirens blared across Kyiv and most Ukrainian regions for about five hours, as explosions lit up the night sky and sparked fires in residential areas.
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Kyiv officials confirmed that seven out of the city’s ten districts were hit, hospitalizing at least four people. Despite the destruction, government leaders remained defiant. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to President Zelenskiy, declared that such terror attacks will not break the Ukrainian spirit. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for tougher sanctions on Russia and stronger air defenses to protect the country.
In Odesa, a “massive” drone strike damaged an emergency medical building and a maternity ward, killing two men and injuring nine others. Authorities emphasized that patients and staff had been evacuated safely from the hospital. Both sides continue to deny targeting civilians, but the conflict has led to thousands of civilian deaths, predominantly Ukrainians.
The attacks come amid ongoing ground advances by Russia in eastern Ukraine and despite renewed but limited diplomatic talks between Moscow and Kyiv. The violence underscores the fragile and volatile nature of the conflict, with no immediate resolution in sight.
