By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine said on Tuesday that at least two people were killed and 13 others injured due to an overnight Russian drone attack on the country’s southwestern city of Odesa and its capital Kyiv.
“Unfortunately, the number of victims of the Russian attack has increased to two. The body of a man born in 1967 was found under the rubble. … Nine people were injured, four of them are hospitalized in a moderately serious condition,” Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.
There are fires and damage to civilian infrastructure in the city due to the attack, Kiper said, adding that the strikes particularly targeted a maternity hospital, an emergency medical station, and residential buildings.
Kiper further reported that no casualties were recorded at the maternity hospital, with patients and staff managing to evacuate.
Elsewhere, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that four people were injured in the Ukrainian capital as a result of the attack, while the Kyiv City Military Administration on Telegram said seven of the capital’s districts were affected.
Ukraine’s Air Force on Telegram claimed that its air defenses shot down 213 out of 315 drones of various types launched by Russia overnight.
"Russian missile and Shahed strikes drown out the efforts of the United States and others around the world to force Russia into peace," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X following the strikes.
Zelenskyy reiterated that "concrete action" from the US, Europe and others is necessary rather than reacting to the overnight attacks simply with silence. "There must be strong pressure for the sake of peace," he stressed.
Russian authorities have not immediately commented on Ukraine’s claims, though Moscow claimed it intercepted 102 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight, which Kyiv has also not immediately confirmed or denied.