Russia initiates one of the most extensive aerial assaults of the war on Kyiv

Russia executed one of its most significant air strikes on Kyiv in over three years of conflict, targeting a maternity ward in the southern city of Odesa, resulting in the deaths of at least three individuals, officials reported on Tuesday. These overnight strikes came after Russia‘s largest drone attack of the war on Ukraine on Monday and were part of a series of intensified bombings that Moscow claims are in retaliation for Ukrainian assaults on Russia.

The Russian offensive also caused damage to Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site situated in the historic center of Kyiv, according to Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi. “The enemy has once again struck at the very core of our identity,” Tochytskyi stated on Facebook regarding the site he referred to as “the soul of all Ukraine.”

Russia’s war is now primarily on Ukraine’s homes, apartment buildings and shopping areas. pic.twitter.com/qySyqf0MRe

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 10, 2025

Loud explosions reverberated through Kyiv, and blasts and fires illuminated the sky in the early hours of Tuesday morning, leaving thick smoke hovering over the city, as reported by Reuters. Authorities dispatched two firefighting helicopters to extinguish the flames. One individual was reported dead in the attack on Kyiv, according to city authorities. At least four others received hospital treatment after seven of the capital’s ten districts were impacted, city officials indicated.

“Today marked one of the largest assaults on Kyiv,” stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “Russian missile and Shahed (drone) strikes overshadow the efforts of the United States and other nations worldwide to compel Russia towards peace.”

In Kyiv, Kateryna Zaitseva, 38, and her 14-year-old son surveyed the debris in their apartment, which was directly hit by a drone. The explosion obliterated one room, damaged another, and forced open the bathroom door where they had taken refuge. “We began to move blindly towards the entrance door. I heard the voice of an emergency worker… I called out that there were two of us, that we were unharmed, and he assisted us,” recounted Zaitseva, a laboratory technician.

In the southern port city of Odesa, an overnight drone strike targeted an emergency medical facility, a maternity ward, and residential buildings, as reported by regional governor Oleh Kiper on Telegram. The attack resulted in the deaths of two men, but patients and staff were successfully evacuated from the maternity hospital, he stated.

Iryna Britkaru, 23, who gave birth to a girl on June 6, recounted that projectiles began striking the building in Odesa just as she and other patients were hurried to the basement by hospital personnel. “The third (impact) was already very loud, and shrapnel flew… (it) rained down in the corridor,” she told Reuters.

Natalia Kovalenko, 34, who also welcomed a girl five days prior, expressed her hope for an end to the war. “If we don’t have hope, then no one will be giving birth,” she remarked. Both parties deny targeting civilians, yet thousands of civilians have lost their lives in Europe’s most severe conflict since World War Two, with the vast majority being Ukrainian.

Russia’s defense ministry confirmed that its forces had struck military targets in Kyiv using high-precision weapons and drones overnight, as reported by Russia’s TASS state news agency.

Air raid alerts in Kyiv and most regions of Ukraine persisted for five hours, lasting until around 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to military information. “A difficult night for all of us,” Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration, stated on Telegram.

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia had launched 315 drones across the nation, of which 277 were intercepted. All seven missiles fired by Russia were also shot down, it noted. Moscow has escalated its assaults on Ukraine following Kyiv’s strikes on strategic bombers at air bases within Russia on June 1.

Moscow further accused Kyiv of being responsible for bridge explosions on the same day that resulted in seven fatalities and numerous injuries. Over the past week, Russia has deployed 1,451 drones and 78 missiles in its attacks on Ukraine, according to data from the Ukrainian air force.

Russia has temporarily suspended flights overnight at four airports serving Moscow, at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport, and at airports in nine other cities following the defence ministry’s announcement that Ukraine had launched additional drones at Russia, according to officials. Most flights were resumed later on Tuesday, and no damage was reported. Zelenskiy has called on Ukraine’s allies to take measures to compel Russia towards peace, while Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has urged for immediate new sanctions and air defence systems. Despite Moscow and Kyiv having conducted two rounds of direct peace negotiations in recent weeks, the only significant outcome has been an agreement on prisoner of war exchanges, with Russia continuing its advance along the eastern Ukraine front line. Both Moscow and Kyiv hold each other responsible for the stagnation in efforts to end the war, which has persisted since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced his frustration with both parties.