A large-scale Russian drone assault overnight on 20 June struck Odesa and Kharkiv, damaging residential buildings, infrastructure, and injuring at least 16 people across both cities, local authorities and the Emergency Service reported. Ukrainian air defense neutralized 70 of 86 launched drones, according to the Air Force.

Odesa: Homes ablaze, 600 evacuated, train station damaged

Odesa mayor Hennadii Trukhanov, the State Emergency Service, and Odesa Oblast Military Administration head Oleh Kiper reported that the Russian drone attacks ignited more than ten fires across the city, with the most intense occurring at a four-story residential building. That structure was fully engulfed in flames, and emergency workers rescued three people and evacuated six more.

During the rescue operation, parts of the burning building collapsed, injuring three firefighters who were hospitalized in stable condition. In total, nine people were injured in this incident alone.

Fires were also recorded in five other residential homes and three vehicles. On the coastline, a drone crash caused a blaze that damaged recreational infrastructure. A higher education institution’s building and a gas pipeline were also struck.

Ukrainian railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia confirmed that the railway infrastructure at Odesa’s central station was damaged. The contact network and rail-bed structure were hit. Repair crews are already working at the site, and train traffic continues without delays.

Kharkiv: Double drone strike leaves three injured, homes damaged

Kharkiv experienced two separate drone attacks overnight, according to mayor Ihor Terekhov and Oblast Military Administration head Oleh Synehubov. The first strike occurred late on 19 June in the Shevchenkivskyi district. A drone hit an uninhabited new building, causing the roof to catch fire. Another impact hit a residential courtyard, damaging windows and around 50 vehicles.

The second attack targeted the Osnovianskyi district, damaging at least five detached houses and a utility structure. Fires broke out, and parts of the energy grid were affected.

According to the Kharkiv City Council’s emergency department director Bohdan Hladkykh, a 10-square-meter structure burned following the drone impact. Windows were shattered in multiple homes.

The State Emergency Service later confirmed fires at four sites across Kharkiv, including a six-story unfinished building, a utility structure, and three civilian business hangars.

Syniehubov says six drones targeted Kharkiv city, with a total of 15 Shahed-type drone strikes recorded across the region.

Air defense response: Most drones downed

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 86 drones from multiple directions including Millerovo, Kursk, Orel, Bryansk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, and Chauda in occupied Crimea. These included Shahed-type one-way attack drones and decoy UAVs.

Ukrainian defenses reportedly downed 70 drones—34 with kinetic weapons and 36 suppressed via electronic warfare. Despite the success rate, drone debris and remaining impacts caused destruction in at least eight locations, with falling wreckage noted in eleven areas, according to the report.