Ukraine: UN condemns overnight attack on Kyiv

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, said on Sunday that the large-scale overnight attack also damaged homes, shops and a metro station.

It came a day after a deadly strike on the Odesa region that killed and wounded several people, including children, at an amusement park.

Devastating toll

“The increasing toll of these attacks on civilians across the country is devastating, including in urban centres far from the frontline,” Mr. Schmale said in a statement posted on X.

Recalling that civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected under international law, he stressed that “civilians, their homes, and life-saving humanitarian assistance must never be a target.”

The UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA said aid workers provided meals, shelter materials and psychological and legal support to affected residents in the aftermath of the attack which “damaged homes and destroyed livelihoods.”

Women bearing the brunt

UN Women posted a tweet with a photo of several people standing amid the wreckage of an outdoor market in the Lukianivska district, one of the hardest-hit areas.

Women sellers there “survived what Ukrainian authorities describe as one of the largest and most intense Russian attacks on Kyiv and the Kyiv region,” the agency said, noting that “41 missiles were launched within just 40 minutes overnight according to officials.”

The market sellers had returned to work “as soon as the air raid ended.” Although “their determination testifies to Ukrainian women’s remarkable resilience”, it also serves as “a stark reminder that women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of this war.”

Between January and May of this year, civilian casualties among women and girls increased by an estimated 34 per cent compared with the same period in 2025, UN Women said, underscoring the war’s devastating impact on women and the urgent need to end the violence and ensure gender-responsive humanitarian assistance and recovery efforts.

WHO warehouse damaged

A warehouse used by the UN World Health Organization (WHO) in the Kyiv region was also damaged in the attack.

While all staff were reported safe and no medical supplies were stored there, “still, it was key to WHO's operations,” the agency tweeted, adding that “such attacks make it harder to support health systems.”