9-Minute Long Drone Attack on Ukraine’s City Causes Chaos

Russia carried out a concentrated, nine-minute-long drone assault on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv overnight on Wednesday, June 11, a day after it launched one of the largest airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Knewz.com has learned that the overnight barrage killed six people and injured 64, including nine children, according to officials in Ukraine.

According to reports, Kharkiv has been a regular target of drone, missile, and guided aerial bomb attacks since the beginning of the Ukraine war.

The Ukrainian military reported that Russia had launched a total of 85 drones overnight on Wednesday, 40 of which were reportedly shot down.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a statement that the “intense” drone strike on the city sparked fires in 15 units of a five-storey apartment building and caused significant damage in other parts of the city.

“There are direct hits on multi-storey buildings, private homes, playgrounds, enterprises and public transport,” Mayor Terekhov reported on Telegram.

Oleh Sinehubov, the governor of the broader Kharkiv region, reported that nine of the injured, including a 2-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, have been taken to the hospital to seek medical attention.

“Prosecutors in Kharkiv region said on the Telegram messaging app that the death toll had risen to six as rescue teams pulled bodies from under the rubble. They said three people were still believed to be trapped,” reports have mentioned.

The drone assault coincided with a Russian aerial attack on an important energy facility in Southern Ukraine, leaving the cities of Mykolaiv and Kherson without electricity.

“It is currently impossible to predict the duration of the work. Residents of the region, I ask you to show understanding and prepare for a prolonged power outage,” Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram in the aftermath of the drone strike, “Every new day now brings new despicable blows from Russia, and almost every blow is telling. Russia deserves increased pressure; with literally every blow it strikes against ordinary life, it proves that the pressure is not enough.”

The overnight drone attack on Kharkiv came right on the heels of one of the largest Russian airstrikes on Kyiv and Odesa, reportedly targeting seven districts of the Ukrainian capital.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said in a statement that June 10 was a “tough night for all of us.”

According to Tkachenko, one person was killed in the overnight airstrike on Kyiv, while Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported on Telegram that four other people were wounded in the attack and rushed to the hospital by medical personnel.

President Zelensky commented on Tuesday’s airstrike on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, “Today was one of the largest attacks on Kyiv… Russian strikes with missiles and Shaheds [drones] are louder than the efforts of the United States and others in the world to force Russia to peace.”

“Every night, instead of a ceasefire, there have been massive strikes with Shaheds, cruise missiles and ballistics. Today was one of the largest strikes on Kyiv. Odesa, the Dnipro region and Chernihiv region were also targeted,” Zelensky further wrote.

“Ordinary houses and urban infrastructure were damaged, and even a maternity hospital in Odesa became a Russian target. Thirteen people were injured. Unfortunately, there are fatalities. My condolences to the relatives.”

President Zelensky also called for “concrete actions” in response to Russia’s escalated aerial attacks in his social media statement, writing:

“It is important that the response to this and other similar Russian strikes is not the silence of the world but concrete actions. Actions by America, which has the power to force Russia to peace. The actions of Europe, which has no alternative but to be strong. The actions of others in the world who have called for diplomacy and an end to the war and who have been ignored by Russia. Hard pressure is needed for peace.”

It is worth noting that the massive airstrike on Kyiv and Odesa came a day after Russia launched what is being considered the biggest drone assault of the Ukraine war.

The overnight salvo fired on June 9 included nearly 500 kamikaze attack drones and 20 missiles of various types targeting central and western Ukraine.

Russian officials have said that the intensified aerial assaults on Ukraine are part of a series of retaliatory strikes for “Operation Spiderweb“—the most extensive and far-reaching Ukrainian drone attack to date.

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