A nine-year-old Ukrainian judoka named Victoria Ivashko died during shelling in the Desnyan district of Kyiv ©Mykhailo Koshlyak/Facebook

A nine-year-old Ukrainian judoka named Victoria Ivashko died during shelling in the Desnyan district of Kyiv.

A Russian missile attack on the early hours of Thursday (June 1) killed at least three people, including two children.

According to Ukrainian Judo Federation (FJU) President Mykhailo Koshlyak, Ivashko won her first competition in an event in the capital city.

Koshlyak said the death of the judoka is "painful for the entire Ukrainian judo family".

"Vika's trainer says that she was an incredible child, very calm, brave and cheerful... but another attack by Russian missiles took the girl to the sky," FJU President Koshlyak wrote on Facebook.

"Since yesterday, when I learned this terrible news, I have not been able to find a place for myself.

"This is very painful for the entire Ukrainian judo family.

"To date, 483 children have died during the full-scale war in Ukraine.

"We have already lost 300 athletes.

"We stay awake every night because endless sirens sound, drones and missiles fly from Russia...

"In the meantime, judokas-military servicemen of the Russian army are taking to the world mats with the support of IJF - International Judo Federation, today they will start at the Dushanbe Grand Prix Olympic qualification tournament. We bury children who are judoists...

"My sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased Victoria Ivashko..."

A Russian missile attack on the early hours of Thursday killed at least three people, including two children ©Getty Images
A Russian missile attack on the early hours of Thursday killed at least three people, including two children ©Getty Images

The incident happened as they were trying to take cover in a bomb shelter during the missile strike.

A total of 10 missiles were launched at Kyiv on Thursday with Ukrainian Armed Forces saying all of them were shot down.

However, falling debris killed the three people, according to national police.

According to reports, the attack had seven Iskander-M ballistic missiles and three Iskander-K cruise missiles.

Last month, former Ukrainian ice hockey player and coach Oleksandr Khmil died fighting in the war.

In March, boxer Maksym Galinichev, a medallist at the Summer Youth Olympic Games, was killed at the age of 22.

"International Children’s Day," Andriy Yermak, chief of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, wrote on Twitter after the incident.

"At night, RF [Russian Forces] again killed a child in Kyiv.

"Since 2014, the terrorist country has been committing crimes against small Ukrainians.

"From February 24, 2022, no one has any doubts - this is a real genocide.

"And there will be responsibility for this."