KYIV, Ukraine (BN24) — Russia launched one of the largest air strikes on Kyiv since the start of its full-scale invasion, striking multiple civilian targets including a maternity hospital in Odesa and damaging a UNESCO world heritage site in the Ukrainian capital, officials said Tuesday.
At least three people were killed and several others were injured in the overnight barrage, which came a day after Moscow conducted its largest drone attack of the war. Ukrainian authorities reported widespread damage and described the assault as part of a stepped-up campaign Moscow says is in retaliation for recent attacks on Russian soil.
In Kyiv, explosions rocked the capital in the early hours, igniting fires and sending plumes of smoke into the sky. According to local officials, seven of the city’s ten districts were hit. One person was killed and at least four were hospitalized. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it “one of the largest attacks on Kyiv” since the invasion began in February 2022.
Amid the destruction, the revered Saint Sophia Cathedral—a UNESCO heritage site in central Kyiv—suffered damage, according to Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi. “The enemy struck at the very heart of our identity again,” he wrote in a Facebook post, calling the cathedral “the soul of all Ukraine.”
In the southern port city of Odesa, a drone attack struck a maternity ward, residential buildings, and an emergency medical facility, according to regional governor Oleh Kiper. Two men were killed, but all patients and staff at the maternity hospital were safely evacuated.
Iryna Britkaru, 23, who had given birth just days earlier, said the attacks began just as hospital staff moved patients to the basement. “The third [strike] was already very loud, and shrapnel flew… it rained down in the corridor,” she told Reuters.
Natalia Kovalenko, 34, who also gave birth recently, said she was holding on to hope. “If we don’t have hope, then no one will be giving birth,” she said.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed responsibility for the attacks, stating its forces targeted military infrastructure using precision-guided missiles and drones. The statement was reported by Russia’s state news agency, TASS.
Air raid sirens sounded across Kyiv and much of Ukraine for more than five hours, starting around midnight and lasting until approximately 5 a.m. local time. “A difficult night for all of us,” said Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration.
Ukraine’s air force reported intercepting 277 of the 315 drones launched nationwide, and said it had downed all seven missiles aimed at the capital. The attack followed Kyiv’s recent strikes on Russian strategic bombers and alleged sabotage of critical infrastructure, including bridge explosions that Moscow says killed seven people.
The latest escalation has also prompted a disruption in Russian domestic air travel. Flights were temporarily suspended at several major airports, including those in Moscow and St. Petersburg, due to incoming drone threats. Flights resumed later Tuesday without reports of damage.
President Zelenskyy renewed calls for stronger international support, urging allies to expedite military aid and impose additional sanctions on Moscow. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha echoed the plea, demanding new air defense systems to protect civilians from future attacks.
Despite two rounds of recent peace talks, progress has stalled, with both Moscow and Kyiv accusing the other of obstructing negotiations. The only notable outcome so far has been an agreement on prisoner exchanges. Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to press forward along the eastern front.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been vocal about ending the conflict, has expressed frustration over the ongoing stalemate.
