June 10, 2025
Russia launches one of war’s largest air attacks on Kyiv
Russia launched one of its largest air strikes on Kyiv in these past three years. and struck a maternity ward in the southern city of Odesa in attacks that killed at least three people,
- In Summary
- Russia carries out one of largest attacks of war on Kyiv
- Russia launched biggest drone attack on Ukraine on Monday
- Two people killed in Odesa, one in Kyiv, officials say
- Maternity ward struck in Odesa, officials say
KYIV, June 10 (Notes from Reuters)
The overnight strikes followed Russia’s biggest drone assault of the war on Ukraine on Monday and were part of intensified bombardments in what Moscow says is retaliation for attacks by Ukrainian forces on Russia.
The Russian attack also damaged Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site located in the historic center of Kyiv, Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi said.
“The enemy struck at the very heart of our identity again,” Tochytskyi wrote on Facebook about the site he called “the soul of all Ukraine”.
Loud explosions shook Kyiv and blasts and fires lit up the sky in the early hours of Tuesday morning, leaving palls of heavy smoke over the city, Reuters witnesses said. Authorities deployed two firefighting helicopters to douse flames.
Many complain/compare; Ukrain attacks military sites, Russia attacks innocent civilians who are essentially trapped where they live.
One person died in the attack on Kyiv.
At least four people were treated in hospitals after seven of the capital’s 10 districts were hit.
“Today was one of the largest attacks on Kyiv,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. “Russian missile and Shahed (drone) strikes drown out the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace.”
In Kyiv, Kateryna Zaitseva, 38, and her 14-year-old son looked at the rubble in their apartment, which received a direct hit by a drone. The explosion destroyed one room, damaged another and blew in the door of the bathroom in which they were hiding.
“We started moving blindly to the entrance door. I heard the voice of the emergency worker … I shouted that there were two of us, that we were unhurt and he helped us,” said Zaitseva, who works as a laboratory technician.
In the southern port of Odesa, an overnight drone attack hit an emergency medical building, a maternity ward and residential buildings, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.
Two men were killed in that attack, but patients and staff were safely evacuated from the maternity hospital, he said.
Iryna Britkaru, 23, who gave birth to a girl on June 6, said projectiles had started hitting the building in Odesa as soon as she and other patients had been rushed to shelter in the basement by hospital staff.
The third bomb was very loud, and shrapnel flew raining down in the corridor.
Natalia Kovalenko, 34, who five days ago also gave birth to a girl, said she was hoping for an end to the war.She expressed that we must maintain hope.
A State Department spokesperson said Washington was monitoring the situation closely, adding that it was time for an end to the war.
“Russia’s strikes against Ukraine’s cities need to stop immediately,” the spokesperson said.
“We condemn these strikes and extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected.”
Both sides deny targeting civilians, but thousands of civilians have been killed in Europe’s worst conflict since World War Two, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
Russia’s defense ministry confirmed that its forces had attacked military targets in Kyiv with high-precision weapons and drones overnight, Russia’s TASS state news agency reported.
‘A DIFFICULT NIGHT’
Air raid alerts in Kyiv and most Ukrainian regions lasted five hours until around 5 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to information released by the military.
“A difficult night for all of us,” Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration, said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had fired 315 drones across the country, of which 277 were downed. All seven missiles launched by Russia were also brought down, it said.
Moscow has intensified its attacks on Ukraine following Kyiv’s strikes on strategic bombers at air bases inside Russia on June 1. Moscow also blamed Kyiv for bridge explosions on the same day that killed seven and injured scores.
Over the past week, Russia has launched 1,451 drones and 78 missiles to attack Ukraine, according to Ukrainian air force information.
Russia temporarily halted flights, overnight at four airports serving Moscow, at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport and at airports in nine other cities after the defense ministry said Ukraine had launched more drones at Russia.
Most flights were restored later on Tuesday. No damage was reported.
Zelenskiy urged Ukraine’s allies to take steps to force Russia into peace, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for immediate new sanctions and air defense systems.
Although Moscow and Kyiv have held two rounds of direct peace talks recently, the only progress has been an agreement on exchanges of prisoners of war, and Russia has continued to advance along the front line in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the lack of progress towards ending the war, which has raged since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with both sides.
