Russia launched 315 drones and multiple missiles across Ukraine overnight into Tuesday, in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as "one of the largest" attacks on Kyiv since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. The bombardment also struck a maternity hospital in the southern port city of Odesa, killing at least three people and injuring more than a dozen, Ukrainian officials said.
"For yet another night, instead of a ceasefire, there were massive strikes with Shahed drones, cruise and ballistic missiles," Zelensky said Tuesday. "In Odesa, even a maternity hospital became a Russian target. Thirteen people were injured. Tragically, there are fatalities."
The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that 315 drones, including 250 Iranian-designed Shahed UAVs, were deployed, alongside two North Korean-made KN-23 ballistic missiles and five Iskander-K cruise missiles. The attack followed an even larger aerial barrage Monday, when Russia launched 479 drones in a single night - the most in a 24-hour period since the war began.
In Kyiv, air raid sirens began just after midnight, followed by nearly three hours of relentless drone activity. Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said seven districts in the capital were hit by debris and explosions, leaving homes, warehouses, vehicles, and apartment buildings in flames. It was a "tough night for all of us," he said, confirming one death and four injuries.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said the city endured "a terrifying night," with CNN staff reporting nonstop air defense activity from the city center. The magnitude of the drone assault - dozens flying overhead simultaneously - marked a notable escalation from previous waves.
In Odesa, two people were killed and at least nine others wounded, according to the regional Prosecutor's Office. Video footage released by Reuters showed shattered glass strewn across the floors of the maternity ward that was hit.
A 78-year-old Odesa resident identified only as Violetta said her apartment building sustained heavy damage. "My garage with my car is destroyed... We've had a terrible time. Thank God I'm not hurt. I heard the siren in time and ran into the hallway to hide. It was just in time, because the roof of my apartment collapsed," she told CNN.
"I heard other explosions in Odesa, but nothing compares to this," she added. "My neighbor, a boy, was wounded, his shoulder was cut by glass, and last night they took him to get stitches."
Another local woman, Lyudmila, 60, described a barrage of explosions and shattered glass. "It's very scary because it's close by. Drones were flying around all the time, banging and banging. It was very scary, but in four years this is the first time we've been hit. It's very hard mentally," she said.
