The Night That Changed Everything – Russia’s Unprecedented Attack Shakes Odesa and Kyiv

It began with a humming sound, barely distinguishable from the wind or distant machinery - but soon it became the sound of destruction that tore the cities of Kyiv and Odesa from the darkness. In the early hours of Tuesday, Russia unleashed one of the most massive attacks since the war began over three years ago. More than 315 Shahed-type kamikaze drones and at least seven missiles struck Ukrainian territory. Two people were killed, at least thirteen were wounded. A maternity hospital in Odesa was hit. Residential buildings collapsed. And in the capital’s metro stations, families with small children huddled on blankets while debris rained down outside. As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later stated, it was "one of the biggest attacks since the start of the war." The number of drones used exceeded anything seen before - and at the same time sent an unmistakable message: Russia is responding with maximum force to Ukraine’s June 1 drone strike, in which Ukrainian units attacked Russian airbases far behind the front lines.

But the war does not only strike military targets. In Odesa, the historic port city on the Black Sea, a rocket hit a maternity ward. Two people were killed in the rubble, nine more were injured. In Kyiv, rooftops caught fire, flames flared in four city districts. Debris from intercepted drones fell on residential buildings and warehouses. Four people were injured - by shrapnel, shockwaves, collapsing walls. "These Shaheds - I always pray they fly over me," said Vasyl Pesenko, a 25-year-old from Kyiv standing in his destroyed kitchen. "But this time it came closer, closer - and then everything blew away." It’s an experience many now share. In Kyiv’s subway tunnels, hundreds sought shelter. Some simply lay there, motionless, frozen. A young mother, Nina Nosivets, held her eight-month-old baby in her lap: "I try not to think. Like a mouse - quiet, still, waiting for it all to pass."

The reactions to the attacks remain powerless. "Russian missiles are louder than the efforts of the US and Europe to force Russia into peace," Zelenskyy wrote. Once again, he called for "concrete action" instead of empty appeals. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko also spoke out: 19 fires had been sparked by the assault. "Russia must answer for every single crime it commits. Without justice, there can be no security - not for Ukraine, and not for the world."

At the same time, the situation is also escalating on the Russian side. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 102 Ukrainian drones were shot down that same morning - not only along the border but deep inside Russia, including over Moscow and the Leningrad region. Numerous airports - including all four in Moscow as well as Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg - temporarily suspended operations. It is a battle intensifying on both sides, but one fought on the backs of those who have little choice - the civilian population. While negotiations over ceasefires and prisoner exchanges continue in Istanbul, the only visible "success" of diplomacy remains the regular exchange of prisoners of war. Peace, however, remains a distant thought.

The night of June 9 to 10, 2025, will be etched into the collective memory of Ukraine. Not only because of the number of drones. But because it once again revealed what this war truly means - fear in the dark, flight to basements, small children enduring the cold concrete - and the question of how much longer the world will keep looking away.