Latest news with #Tochytskyi
MTV Lebanon
3 days ago
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
Russia launches one of war's largest air attacks on Kyiv
Russia launched one of its largest air strikes on Kyiv in over three years of war and struck a maternity ward in the southern city of Odesa in attacks that killed at least three people, officials said on Tuesday. 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 centre 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. One person died in the attack on Kyiv, city authorities said. At least four people were treated in hospital after seven of the capital's 10 districts were hit, city officials said. "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, 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 whisked to the basement by hospital staff. "The third (impact) was already very loud, and shrapnel flew... (it) rained down in the corridor," she told Reuters. Natalia Kovalenko, 34, who five days ago also gave birth to a girl, said she was hoping for an end to the war. "If we don't have hope, then no one will be giving birth," she said. 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 defence 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 data. Russia temporarily halted flights, opens new tab overnight at four airports serving Moscow, at St Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport and at airports in nine other cities after the defence ministry said Ukraine had launched more drones at Russia, officials said. 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 defence systems. Although Moscow and Kyiv have held two rounds of direct peace talks in recent weeks, the only tangible 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.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian aerial attack on Ukraine leaves at least three dead
June 10 (UPI) -- Officials in Ukraine confirmed Tuesday that Russia attacked in four different places overnight with drones and missiles, leaving several dead and injured. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted to X Tuesday that the cities of Kyiv and Odessa were struck by missiles and drones, as were places in the Dnipro and Chernihiv regions. Zelensky said that 315 drones were used, as were seven missiles, two of which he claimed were North Korean-made ballistic weapons. Homes and areas of infrastructure were damaged, and in Odessa a hospital was allegedly targeted. Thirteen people were injured, and there were fatalities, Zelensky said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram Tuesday that the two people were killed and four injured in Odessa "as a result of a night attack on the city." He further stated that a hospital was targeted there in a series of posts that described several drone strikes. Tuesday evening Klitschko described the drones as they attacked, which left residential buildings damaged and burnt by fires ignited during the strikes. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine also reported Wednesday that a woman was found dead under the rubble from a damaged domicile. The Ukrainian Air Force posted to Telegram Tuesday that Russia used 322 types of weaponry during their air assault, including 315 Shahed drones, five Iskander cruise missiles and two KN-23 ballistic missiles. Despite all the reports of destruction, the air force said in the same post that much of the attack was repelled with the use of anti-aircraft missiles, aviation, its electronic warfare units, drones and mobile fire groups from the Defense Forces of Ukraine. The Air Force data, which was confirmed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, noted that 284 item launched by Russia were eliminated, with 220 shot down and 64 that failed to reach their targets. Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi posted to Facebook Tuesday that a vital landmark in Kyiv, the Sofia Cathedral, was damaged by an "explosive wave" that he claims, "caused the destruction of the cornice on the main apse of the monument of national importance." "This temple of the [eleventh] century is the soul of all Ukraine," Tochytskyi added. He also said the Odessa Film Studio, "the place where Ukrainian cinema was made," was struck, leaving several portions of the studio damaged. Tochytskyi further said that the attack "completely destroyed decorations to the movie Dovzhenko a national project about the most famous Ukrainian director." "Russia is not only at war with our cities, it is waging a war against our culture, memory, future," Tochytskyi concluded.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Kyiv's UNESCO site St Sophia Cathedral damaged in Russian attack
A Russian overnight attack on Ukraine's capital has damaged Saint Sophia Cathedral, one of the most famous and cherished monuments in Ukraine and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Officials reported that a blast wave destroyed the cornice on the central apse of the cathedral, damaging the monument that embodies the country's spiritual and cultural heritage. "Last night, the enemy struck at the very heart of our identity again," Ukraine's culture minister Mykola Tochytskyi said after the attack. Tochytskyi said St Sophia Cathedral was "a holy place that has survived through centuries and symbolises the birth of our nationhood." 'The 11th-century cathedral is the soul of all Ukraine. Russia is raging its war not only against our cities, it is waging a war against our culture, memory and future," he emphasised. The management of St Sophia Cathedral has informed UNESCO about the damage caused to the historic site by a recent Russian airstrike, according to Nelia Kukovalska, General Director of the National Reserve "Sophia of Kyiv". Located in Kyiv's historic city centre, St Sophia was initially designed to rival the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. UNESCO describes it as "a unique monument of architecture and monumental art of the early 11th century, having the biggest preserved collection of mosaics and frescoes of that period." Following Russia's full-scale invasion in early 2022, UNESCO has put St Sophia Cathedral and other historic sites in Ukraine on the UN danger list, saying, "faced with the risk of direct attack, these sites are also vulnerable to the shockwaves caused by the bombing." Iran has executed nine members of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group who were detained after a deadly clash in 2018 with the country's Revolutionary Guard, state media reported on Tuesday. According to the judiciary-run Mizan news agency, the death sentences had been upheld by Iran's Supreme Court and carried out by hanging. The men were reportedly apprehended following clashes in western Iran, in which three members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and several IS fighters were killed. Iranian authorities said they had recovered a substantial cache of weapons from the militants' hideout, including a machine gun and 50 grenades. IS, which once held vast swathes of Iraq and Syria under a self-styled caliphate it declared in 2014, has since lost most of its territory following a campaign by US-led coalition forces. However, it has remained active, launching attacks across the region. The group has also claimed responsibility for several attacks inside Iran, including a high-profile assault in June 2017 on the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which left at least 18 dead and over 50 injured. The 2018 clash with the Revolutionary Guard marked a spike in tensions between Iran and IS. More recently, in 2024, IS claimed two suicide bombings targeting a memorial event for Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed by a US drone strike in 2020. That attack by the militant group resulted in the deaths of at least 94 people. Analysts say IS could take advantage of the security vacuum in Syria, following the fall last year of Bashar al-Assad, to stage a comeback while its new leaders are still consolidating their control over the country and forming a national army.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Russian aerial attack on Ukraine leaves at least 3 dead
Officials in Ukraine confirmed Tuesday that Russia attacked in four different places overnight with drones and missiles, leaving several dead and injured. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted to X Tuesday that the cities of Kyiv and Odessa were struck by missiles and drones, as were places in the Dnipro and Chernihiv regions. Zelenskyy said that 315 drones were used, as were seven missiles, two of which he claimed were North Korean-made ballistic weapons. Homes and areas of infrastructure were damaged, and in Odessa a hospital was allegedly targeted. Thirteen people were injured, and there were fatalities, Zelensky said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram Tuesday that the two people were killed and four injured in Odessa 'as a result of a night attack on the city.' He further stated that a hospital was targeted there in a series of posts that described several drone strikes. Tuesday evening Klitschko described the drones as they attacked, which left residential buildings damaged and burnt by fires ignited during the strikes. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine also reported Wednesday that a woman was found dead under the rubble from a damaged domicile. The Ukrainian Air Force posted to Telegram Tuesday that Russia used 322 types of weaponry during their air assault, including 315 Shahed drones, five Iskander cruise missiles and two KN-23 ballistic missiles. Despite all the reports of destruction, the air force said in the same post that much of the attack was repelled with the use of anti-aircraft missiles, aviation, its electronic warfare units, drones and mobile fire groups from the Defense Forces of Ukraine. The Air Force data, which was confirmed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, noted that 284 item launched by Russia were eliminated, with 220 shot down and 64 that failed to reach their targets. Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi posted to Facebook Tuesday that a vital landmark in Kyiv, the Sofia Cathedral, was damaged by an 'explosive wave' that he claims, 'caused the destruction of the cornice on the main apse of the monument of national importance.' 'This temple of the [eleventh] century is the soul of all Ukraine,' Tochytskyi added. He also said the Odessa Film Studio, 'the place where Ukrainian cinema was made,' was struck, leaving several portions of the studio damaged. Tochytskyi further said that the attack 'completely destroyed decorations to the movie Dovzhenko a national project about the most famous Ukrainian director.' 'Russia is not only at war with our cities, it is waging a war against our culture, memory, future,' Tochytskyi concluded. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
3 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Russian aerial attack on Ukraine leaves at least three dead
At least three people were killed in Russian drone strikes on Kyiv and Odessa overnight, officials said on Tuesday. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE June 10 (UPI) -- Officials in Ukraine confirmed Tuesday that Russia attacked in four different places overnight with drones and missiles, leaving several dead and injured. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted to X Tuesday that the cities of Kyiv and Odessa were struck by missiles and drones, as were places in the Dnipro and Chernihiv regions. Zelensky said that 315 drones were used, as were seven missiles, two of which he claimed were North Korean-made ballistic weapons. Homes and areas of infrastructure were damaged, and in Odessa a hospital was allegedly targeted. Thirteen people were injured, and there were fatalities, Zelensky said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram Tuesday that the two people were killed and four injured in Odessa "as a result of a night attack on the city." He further stated that a hospital was targeted there in a series of posts that described several drone strikes. Tuesday evening Klitschko described the drones as they attacked, which left residential buildings damaged and burnt by fires ignited during the strikes. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine also reported Wednesday that a woman was found dead under the rubble from a damaged domicile. The Ukrainian Air Force posted to Telegram Tuesday that Russia used 322 types of weaponry during their air assault, including 315 Shahed drones, five Iskander cruise missiles and two KN-23 ballistic missiles. Despite all the reports of destruction, the air force said in the same post that much of the attack was repelled with the use of anti-aircraft missiles, aviation, its electronic warfare units, drones and mobile fire groups from the Defense Forces of Ukraine. The Air Force data, which was confirmed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, noted that 284 item launched by Russia were eliminated, with 220 shot down and 64 that failed to reach their targets. Ukrainian Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi posted to Facebook Tuesday that a vital landmark in Kyiv, the Sofia Cathedral, was damaged by an "explosive wave" that he claims, "caused the destruction of the cornice on the main apse of the monument of national importance." "This temple of the [eleventh] century is the soul of all Ukraine," Tochytskyi added. He also said the Odessa Film Studio, "the place where Ukrainian cinema was made," was struck, leaving several portions of the studio damaged. Tochytskyi further said that the attack "completely destroyed decorations to the movie Dovzhenko a national project about the most famous Ukrainian director." "Russia is not only at war with our cities, it is waging a war against our culture, memory, future," Tochytskyi concluded.
