Russian Missile and Drone Attack on Kyiv Kills 5, Injures 35

Five Killed in Overnight Attack

Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight on Sept. 8, killing five people and injuring 35. Explosions began around 3:30 a.m. local time and continued in several waves, igniting fires and sending smoke across the capital.

Residential buildings, a school, warehouses, garages and vehicles were damaged. Emergency crews reported destruction and fires in the Holosiivskyi, Solomianskyi, Darnytskyi, Podilskyi and Dniprovskyi districts.

Fourteen injured people were hospitalized, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who said three were in serious condition. Rescuers evacuated two people from a damaged 16-story apartment building and freed 10 others trapped in a five-story building.

Air raid alerts and explosions continued through the day as additional jet-powered drones targeted the city.

Missiles and Drones Target Kyiv

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 32 cruise missiles, 166 Shahed-type drones and an unspecified number of ballistic missiles. More than half of the drones were described as jet-powered.

Ukrainian forces intercepted two ballistic missiles, 31 cruise missiles and 142 drones, according to the Air Force. Missile or drone impacts were recorded at 29 locations. Monitoring channels reported that at least 12 ballistic missiles targeted Kyiv within about an hour.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack involved ballistic, cruise, and anti-ship missiles as well as jet-powered drones. He described the interception of nearly all cruise missiles as a positive result but said Ukraine needed additional interceptor missiles and a U.S. ballistic missile defense package.

TV Channel and Homes Damaged

A drone struck the building of the We-Ukraine television channel during a live broadcast, injuring at least five people. The broadcaster, part of Ukraine’s national telethon, said its newsroom and offices were hit.

In the Solomianskyi district, residents reported shattered windows, damaged furniture and debris entering apartments. Dariia Kolisnyk said she reached her child and husband after windows and a door broke during the blast. Her husband suffered minor cuts from glass.

Another resident, Liudmyla Akhremenko, said her home had been damaged for a second time and that no nearby shelter had yet been built.

“These attacks destroy people’s lives and livelihoods,” resident Yevhen Panchenko said. “They have nowhere to live or work.”

Kyiv Region Also Hit

Russian attacks also damaged residential areas and civilian infrastructure across Kyiv Oblast from the evening of Sept. 7 into the following morning. Three people were injured, including a 2-year-old girl who suffered a shrapnel wound to the eye and was hospitalized.

In Bila Tserkva, two apartment buildings, a house, a warehouse and a production facility were damaged. Homes, warehouses, businesses and vehicles were also affected in the Brovary, Boryspil, Fastiv and Obukhiv districts.

Air raid alarms sounded overnight in other parts of Ukraine, including Rivne Oblast, after the Air Force warned that Russia had likely launched cruise missiles from Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers.

Brief Aerial Truce Ends

The attack ended a short pause in aerial strikes on the two countries’ capitals. Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt such attacks for three days while U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Kyiv for peace talks.

Moscow announced the pause on Sept. 6 but did not clearly specify its starting time. Kyiv was not attacked during the envoys’ visit, but Russian drones began targeting the capital again after their departure on Sept. 7.

Before the pause, Kyiv had faced nine consecutive days of sustained Russian drone attacks.