Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and National Police shut down a Kyiv-based network of several dozen people who allegedly used fake cryptocurrency investment platforms and malicious code to steal digital assets from citizens of EU countries, the SBU said on 1 September.

Investigators identified the alleged organizer as a 25-year-old Kyiv IT specialist, according to the SBU. The case reaches beyond Ukraine because the agency says the alleged victims were EU citizens. The agency said the network’s monthly turnover from funds obtained illegally could reach $1 million during its most lucrative periods.

The SBU said investigators had documented alleged crimes by every member of the group. However, its statement did not specify how long the network had operated, how many EU citizens were affected, which countries they lived in, or the total amount allegedly stolen.

The agency did not name any foreign law enforcement partners involved.

How the crypto ring operated

The alleged organizer of the crypto ring recruited other tech workers in the capital, the SBU said. Posing as cryptocurrency-platform representatives, they offered targets seemingly profitable ways to invest in digital assets.

The network found victims by posting about supposedly lucrative crypto projects in popular Telegram channels, then showed them fabricated trading results and fake profits to make the operation look legitimate, investigators said.

Engaged targets were sent a link to a counterfeit site that mimicked a real crypto service and were persuaded to connect their wallets and approve a transaction, the SBU said. The site carried malicious code called a “drainer” that, the agency said, let the operators withdraw the victims’ assets to addresses they controlled—emptying the wallets.

During 23 searches of the suspects’ offices and homes, officers seized phones, computers, money believed to be criminal proceeds, and 16 high-end cars, including Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz models, the SBU said.

Authorities were still deciding whether to serve notices of suspicion, while the investigation continued under the Prosecutor General’s Office, the SBU said. Those involved could face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Ukraine’s role in combating cross-border cybercrime

Ukraine has previously joined with foreign agencies to pursue cross-border cyber threats. In April, the SBU said it worked with the FBI, EU law enforcement, and Polish counterintelligence to disrupt Russian military-intelligence spying through hacked routers. The operation blocked more than 100 servers and removed hundreds of routers in Ukraine from Russian control.

A shootout involving Ukrainian security personnel in Kyiv left several people wounded on 2 September, with Ukrainian authorities now saying the confrontation occurred during an investigation into an alleged Russian plot to assassinate a Russian opposition figure in Ukraine.

The incident took place overnight in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district, amid reports that Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander for combat operations of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), had been abducted.

Shootout follows reported abduction

Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing Kaplunov’s lawyer Taras Borovskyi, that law enforcement officers arrived at the serviceman’s home after his reported disappearance.

According to Borovskyi, Kaplunov’s fellow soldiers came to the location after being alerted, after which gunfire broke out. The lawyer also published video from the scene, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

The RDK had previously said that unknown individuals abducted Kaplunov from the courtyard of his home.

Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation confirmed to Ukrainska Pravda that it had received a complaint from Kaplunov’s lawyers alleging his abduction and was examining it for possible registration as a criminal proceeding.

Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources in Ukraine’s security services, reported that the confrontation involved the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR). Its sources said three HUR personnel had been wounded as of Wednesday morning.

SBU links confrontation to Russian plot

The SBU later said the confrontation occurred during an investigation into an alleged terrorist attack organized by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

The agency said its investigators were conducting a search at one of the addresses connected to the case when a group of people launched an armed attack on them. The group allegedly blocked the investigators’ vehicles with cars and attempted to prevent the search.

The SBU said its Alpha special operations unit was deployed to stop the armed resistance. Officers used their weapons, and several people who resisted were wounded, according to the agency.

The attackers were detained, the SBU said. Initial investigative work found that they belonged to one of Ukraine’s Defense Forces units, while weapons and documents were seized from them.

The agency did not identify the detainees or their military unit.

Alleged assassination attempt

Earlier on 2 September, the SBU said it and HUR had jointly foiled an FSB plot to assassinate a leader of a Russian opposition nationalist political movement who had traveled to Ukraine for Independence Day.

The SBU did not name the alleged target or provide details of the planned attack.

RBC-Ukraine, citing sources, reported that the target was Kaplunov. The outlet also reported that HUR later deleted a statement about the foiled attack.

The SBU’s later statement about the shootout did not name Kaplunov or explicitly identify the armed group involved as HUR personnel.

The Russian Volunteer Corps is a unit operating within Ukraine’s military intelligence structures and composed of Russian nationals fighting against Russia’s invasion.

Budanov calls for investigation

Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, said the incident should be thoroughly and impartially investigated, according to RBC-Ukraine.

He said no one should be allowed to abduct servicemen, open fire in Ukrainian cities, or give or carry out criminal orders with impunity.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has opened a pretrial investigation into threats against and an attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer, the SBU said.

Authorities have not publicly provided a full account reconciling the different reports surrounding the incident. Investigative actions are ongoing.

Ukraine and Russian opposition figures

Ukraine has become a base for some Russian opposition figures and anti-Kremlin activists since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Some have joined Ukrainian military units or otherwise supported Ukraine’s war effort.

That has also made some of them targets for Russian intelligence operations.

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, leader of the opposition European Solidarity party, has offered to unite with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a new type of government. He has explained his initiative as necessary to save the country and adopt crisis-response measures amid a new phase of the war.

Russia's strike campaign has become a governance problem as much as a military one. Each attack on Kyiv costs the city about $12 million, and they now arrive almost twice a week. Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said on 28 August that, roughly speaking, 90% of retail chains' food logistics had been destroyed in the latest attacks, which included jet-powered drones that trigger an air alert in Kyiv every hour.

"We are the opposition, but we are ready to cooperate with the authorities in the legislative provision of all necessary decisions, up to the creation of a coalition and a government of national unity," he said.

Speaking in a video address on 31 August, he set out five issues to solve for the parliamentary session.

One: keep the capital running

The current barrage has forced Kyiv to a near-standstill, with alerts sounding through the working day. If they are permanent, Poroshenko argued, the rules for how the city runs must change, and the government, military, transport operators, and business must agree on a single published procedure. When the capital is shut down for hours, much of the economy stops with it, and the lost billions never reach the army, he added.

"Let us say honestly what Putin is doing. He wants to switch Kyiv off. To make people finally say: it is impossible to live here," Poroshenko said.

Two: give parents a school plan

The school year opens on 1 September under a rule allowing in-person classes only where a school has a shelter with room for everyone. Kyiv's administration told UNN that 94% of city schools have basic shelters, but capacity limits set the ceiling, forcing shifts or blended formats when a shelter cannot hold every child at once.

"Tomorrow is 1 September. Thousands of parents still do not understand how their children will study, especially where there are no proper shelters," Poroshenko said.

Three: return Kyiv's money

Kyiv has lost revenue to the central budget even as its defense costs climb, a dispute with the government that predates the barrage. Poroshenko demanded the return of about $180 million to the budget, along with the personal income tax paid by combat brigades.

"This week Kyiv is forced to carry out a budget sequester for the first time," he explained, cutting spending on doctors, teachers, and the socially vulnerable to fund the city's own defense.

Four: scale up war-risk insurance

Russia's strikes have hit businesses faster than any recovery system can answer, with warehouses and logistics hubs among the targets this month. Business needs war-risk insurance, money for rapid recovery after strikes, new logistics, and the ability to invest in its own protection, including private air defense, Poroshenko said.

Five: fund energy resilience now

Putin has named energy as his main target, the former president pointed out, and the coming winter is the pressure point. Kyiv's small, maneuverable generation, cogeneration, and backup power for hospitals, water utilities, and communications must be installed now, he added.

A Russian drone hit a fire truck driving to a call in the village of Kushuhum outside Zaporizhzhia on 1 September, injuring four rescuers, the head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ivan Fedorov, reported. The crew was on its way to a house fire that Russian shelling had started. The strike came hours after a countrywide Russian air assault overnight.

A drone hit the crew before they reached the fire

Fedorov said a Russian drone struck the State Emergency Service vehicle in Kushuhum as it drove to put out a fire. The truck took damage, and the crew was hurt. He said the men were under the supervision of medics.

The Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service in Zaporizhzhia Oblast confirmed the attack, and added that all four injured firefighters had been taken to hospital with injuries of differing severity. The directorate specified what the crew had been sent to: a fire in a detached house in the suburb, started by Russian shelling.

Over the past 24 hours, Russian attacks on Zaporizhzhia city and district killed two people and injured eight, Fedorov said. Russian forces carried out strikes on 57 settlements across the region.

The night before: a countrywide strike

Overnight into 1 September, Russia attacked with ballistic and cruise missiles, anti-radar missiles, Banderol munitions, and 218 Shahed-type strike drones, about a third of them jet-powered, Ukraine's Air Force reported. By preliminary data, air defenses downed or suppressed 199 targets. Odesa and Kyiv oblasts were the main directions of the strike.

Russia killed 12 people across Ukraine, among them a citizen of India, and injured dozens, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Russia killed four people and injured 13 and damaged a five-story residential building, and 50 people were evacuated. Nearly 350 rescuers worked in Kyiv and the surrounding oblast alone.

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In Kyiv, a ballistic strike on Ukrzaliznytsia railway facilities killed seven people, six of them railway workers, and one more employee remains hospitalized. The capital's overall toll for the night stood at eight killed.

In Odesa Oblast, Russian drones, guided bombs, and missiles injured seven civilian men, four of whom went to hospital, and struck the Orlivka ferry crossing on the border with Romania again, the regional prosecutor's office found. 

Ukraine has documented Russia striking the people who respond

As of May, Ukraine has documented 11,000 Russian first-person-view drone attacks on civilians, among them repeat strikes on the same spot once medics and firefighters arrive. Ukraine's UN envoy has built part of the case for expelling Russia from the Security Council on that practice.

Rescue workers in Zaporizhzhia have been caught that way before. After a strike on a Poltava Oblast gas site, Russia hit the crews who came to the fire. Firefighters in Chernihiv Oblast went to hospital mid-rescue. In Kryvyi Rih in August, a second Russian attack reached rescue workers thirty minutes after a drone strike on a shopping center, and a repeat strike killed a 20-year-old volunteer paramedic in Kyiv the same month.

On 1 September — the day Ukraine marks Knowledge Day, when schoolchildren and students are meant to begin the new academic year — Russia launched a massive attack on Kyiv and its region with ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones. Moscow used different types of its fast, deadly weapons, including ship-launched Kalibr, and hypersonic Zircon missiles, and jet-powered drones to target the Ukrainian capital.

This attack was the culmination of a 6-day assault on the capital and region that began on 27 August. It started two days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on 25 August. US President Donald Trump announced that the visit was linked with US-initiated peace efforts to end the war against Ukraine. Throughout this 5-day period, air raid sirens sounded every hour in the capital and region, paralyzing life in Kyiv, according to Sky News.

As early as the day after the 5-day attack began, Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotsky stated that Russia had destroyed about 90% of the food logistics infrastructure of retail chains, according to UkrInform.

Russia injures three children and continues the attack

As a result of the "ballistic" attack on Kyiv and the region, hits from enemy missiles and strike drones were recorded at 28 locations, and debris from downed targets fell at 10 locations, according to the Air Force of Ukraine.

In addition, some enemy missiles did not reach their targets, and the locations of those missiles are being clarified.

"Unfortunately, as a result of the Russian attack, there are dead and injured. The attack continues, with more than ten Russian drones in the airspace," the military reported.

According to the Kyiv City Military Administration, civilian infrastructure was damaged in 5 of Kyiv's 10 districts — Holosiivskyi, Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, and Solomianskyi.

"As a result of the attack, unfortunately, 8 people died. Another 7 people were injured, including 3 children," the Kyiv authorities said.

Railway workers are still receiving treatment and remain hospitalized

Russia struck a railway facility, a critical link in the country's logistics chain, as its airways have been closed since 2022.

Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, head of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways), stated that Russia carried out a targeted ballistic attack on Kyiv's railway infrastructure. Russia killed six railway workers.

According to him, another employee was injured and is in the hospital, where they are receiving the necessary care.

He added that dozens of employees managed to take shelter and survive the attack. They are now being helped to recover from what they experienced.

Pertsovskyi noted that the strike caused "extensive destruction," including the complete destruction of one workshop, and that efforts to extinguish fires at the facility were still ongoing.

He said that, due to the attack's consequences, movement was temporarily restricted on two railway sections, but it was later restored.

Earlier, a source close to the Russian president told The Economist that Vladimir Putin most likely regarded Ratcliffe's visit as a sign of American weakness. He already interpreted former CIA Head Bill Burns' meeting with Russian authorities in 2021 the same way, where he warned about the consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine. Three months after the meeting, Russia launched the full-scale invasion.

More than half the drones Russia fired at Ukraine over the past four days were jet-powered, and Kyiv was the main target. Of the more than 1,500 drones launched, about 800 were jet-powered, Colonel Yurii Ihnat, head of the communications department of Ukraine's Air Force Command, said, UNIAN reports.

A massive attack on Kyiv and the Kyiv region began on 27 August, two days after US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow. According to President Donald Trump, the visit was related to efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, per Sky News.

Previous interceptors won't work

The attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region, accompanied by repeated air-raid alerts, has continued for all five days since then.

A jet-powered Shahed is a version of the strike drone fitted with a turbojet engine in place of a propeller, which makes it three times faster and far harder to shoot down.

Ukraine intercepts about 88 to 90 percent of all drones, but the rate against jet-powered ones is lower precisely because of their speed, Ihnat noted.

The problem is structural: Ukraine's interceptor drones reach roughly 300 kilometers per hour and physically cannot catch a target moving faster and flying at about five kilometers' altitude, beyond the reach of mobile fire teams and portable SAM systems.

Russia adds jet drones every month

Moscow began using jet-powered UAVs in large numbers in July, launching five times as many as in June, Ihnat noted. Their number may rise further by the end of August, he added.

The jet-drone attacks come from every direction. Ihnat said the debris of recovered Shaheds shows they were manufactured just two weeks earlier, meaning production is running without pause.

Banderols fly like cruise missiles

Russia has also stepped up its use of Banderols, systems that combine features of drones and missiles and fly at up to 600 kilometers per hour, Ihnat said. They are harder to shoot down, so short-range surface-to-air missile systems and aircraft with air-to-air missiles are used against them.

Jet-powered drones are significantly more expensive than conventional ones, Ihnat noted.

The strikes hit specific targets

Russia's attacks are aimed not only at psychological pressure on the capital's residents but at specific targets, Ihnat said. These are logistics and shopping centers, postal terminals, critical infrastructure, and other strategic sites.

Strikes of this kind have destroyed about 90 percent of Ukraine's modern warehouse space in recent weeks and slowed grain exports through the Black Sea corridor.

Another Russian strike has destroyed tens of thousands of Ukrainian books around Kyiv, adding to a summer of attacks that has wiped out millions of copies and damaged the warehouses, printing plants and markets that keep Ukraine’s publishing industry running.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, Ukrainian publishers, printers, bookstores, warehouses and other parts of the literature industry have repeatedly been hit by Russian attacks. 

The destruction has drawn comparisons to earlier Russian and Soviet efforts to suppress the Ukrainian language, culture and national identity, with publishers and cultural figures warning that the current attacks are damaging not only businesses and infrastructure but the means through which Ukrainian culture is produced and preserved.

The latest loss came on 28 August, when a Russian drone struck a Nova Post fulfillment and sorting center in Sviatopetrivske, Kyiv Oblast. More than 60,000 books stored there were destroyed, including books belonging to Ukrainian publishers and retailers such as Vivat, A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA, Osnovy, Readeat and Book.ua.

The destruction is taking a growing toll on Ukrainian culture

Nova Post director Yevhen Tafiichuk said the strike destroyed the company's most modern robotic fulfillment center, along with books from several publishers and stores. He said the company is working with affected partners to compensate their losses and is moving toward a decentralized fulfillment system to reduce the risk of losing large inventories in a single strike.

“For centuries, the enemy has tried to destroy the Ukrainian language, culture and memory. Once, it burned libraries and banned printing; today, it launches missiles at printing plants and warehouses filled with books,” Tafiichuk said. 

The latest destruction comes after the Ukrainian publishing industry estimated that Russian attacks had already destroyed about 13 million books in July and August – nearly a third of the number of books Ukrainian publishers printed during all of 2025.

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Another warehouse full of books goes up in flames

The Sviatopetrivske strike hit a logistics facility rather than a publishing house itself, but the consequences spread across much of the book market.

Readeat founder Dmytro Feliksov said more than 60,000 physical books were destroyed and estimated his company's losses at more than UAH 23 million. The warehouse held stock for several publishers and booksellers.

Vivat CEO Yuliia Orlova said the publisher also lost books stored at the Kyiv warehouse in the attack. The company had already begun moving some print runs to other parts of Ukraine, including Lviv, after earlier Russian strikes destroyed publishing infrastructure. But many new releases and books by Ukrainian authors remained in Kyiv.

The same attack destroyed a warehouse used by A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA to fulfill direct orders. The losses came as publishers were already trying to spread their inventories across multiple locations to reduce the risk posed by Russian strikes.

Millions of books destroyed across Ukraine, publishers hit again and again

On 1 August, a Russian strike on the warehouses of RNK-Ranok destroyed nearly 8 million books, including hundreds of thousands of school textbooks. The Ukrainian Book Institute said the loss from that strike alone was equivalent to about 30% of the country's annual book production.

A separate Russian strike on 19 July destroyed the Konvi printing facility and about 250,000 books belonging to Knyholav, along with print runs and materials belonging to numerous other publishers.

BookChef has suffered some of the largest losses around Kyiv. A Russian strike in July destroyed about 800,000 books at its main warehouse. A second strike in August hit a backup warehouse opened after the first loss, destroying more than 100,000 additional books, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

The attacks have also damaged publishing offices and warehouses. On 16 August, Russian strikes near Kyiv’s Pochaina metro station damaged the offices and warehouses of BookChef and RM, including areas where books were stored.

Kyiv’s Pochaina market also burned

The damage is not limited to modern distribution centers.

On 16 August, a Russian strike set fire to Kyiv’s Pochaina book market, one of the capital’s best-known places to buy new, used and second-hand books. Much of the market burned, with the fire covering more than 2,000 square meters of commercial space.

The market, formerly known as Petrivka, had operated for about 30 years and was a major hub for second-hand books and other goods. Dozens of thousands of books were destroyed, according to local reporting.

The destruction was extensive enough that 60–70% of the market's commercial space was lost. The surviving Bukinist section began reopening later in August, with booksellers returning to trade where their stock had survived, RBC reported.

The market's destruction also meant the loss of a part of Kyiv's book culture that cannot simply be replaced by reprinting new editions. Second-hand books, older editions and used collections had been traded there for generations.

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The losses are hitting an already fragile industry

The Ukrainian publishing sector had been growing before Russia's latest attacks, helped in part by rising demand for Ukrainian-language books during the full-scale invasion.

But publishers now face the repeated cost of replacing destroyed print runs, warehouses and equipment while also trying to keep books moving to stores and readers.

Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta, director general of Mystetskyi Arsenal, said the Ukrainian book industry had only recently begun to grow, making the latest losses especially painful.

“Losses are accumulating, while the tools to minimize them are being built extremely slowly,” she said. “Culture will not disappear, but it will once again be drained of its strength.”

Publishers seek help to rebuild and protect a supply chain under attack

The Ukrainian Publishing Association has called for additional support, including war-risk insurance for book stocks, affordable financing to rebuild printing capacity and the restoration of state purchases of books for libraries.

The Ukrainian Book Institute has also appealed for international support for the publishing sector, saying Russia has systematically targeted publishing houses, bookstores, printing facilities and warehouses since the start of the full-scale invasion.

For publishers, the latest strikes show that moving books from a printer to a reader has itself become a wartime vulnerability. A single warehouse can contain the output of dozens of publishers, and losing it can erase months of work and leave books unavailable even when the companies themselves survive.

Nova Post says it is responding by distributing inventory across more locations rather than relying on large centralized facilities. The strategy may help reduce future losses, but it also reflects how deeply Russia’s ongoing attacks have altered the basic infrastructure through which Ukrainians produce, store and buy books.

Russia has kept Kyiv and surrounding areas under near-continuous attack for four days, repeatedly sending drones and missiles toward the capital and other Ukrainian regions.

The prolonged attacks have kept air defense crews and emergency workers operating almost constantly, while disrupting civilian life across Kyiv and the surrounding oblast.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 30 August that Russia had launched nearly 2,000 attack drones, more than 1,600 guided aerial bombs and 31 missiles of various types against Ukraine over the past week. The missiles included North Korean ballistic weapons.

The current attacks follow months of increasingly heavy Russian aerial strikes against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Russia has ramped up its use of ballistic missiles while also expanding its use of newer jet-powered Geran drones, which have repeatedly targeted the capital and surrounding areas.

Four days of attacks

Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast have been under repeated attack since 27 August, with waves of drones arriving throughout the day and night.

The attacks have hit residential buildings, warehouses, businesses and other civilian infrastructure. They have also repeatedly forced firefighters and rescue crews to stop their work and move to safety before returning once the immediate threat passes.

In Myla, Kyiv Oblast, rescue workers are still clearing the aftermath of the 28 August attack that killed 38 people, injured 20 and left four people missing.

The continuing attacks have also affected movement around the capital. Air raid alerts, damaged infrastructure and the threat of further strikes have disrupted traffic and travel both within Kyiv and on routes connecting the city with the surrounding region.

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Air defenses under pressure

The attacks are putting Ukraine's air defense network under some of its heaviest pressure since the full-scale invasion began.

Ukraine has to defend a vast area against increasingly large drone barrages while also dealing with ballistic and other missiles that are more difficult to intercept.

Ukraine relies on US-made Patriot systems to counter ballistic missiles, but limited stocks of Patriot interceptors and insufficient deliveries from partners have left a critical gap in its air defenses, which Russia is now exploiting to cause major damage to civilian infrastructure and greater civilian casualties. 

The repeated use of jet-powered drones adds another challenge. Russia has increasingly deployed these faster Geran drones, adapted from the Iranian Shahed design, in attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, including against civilian infrastructure.

Zelenskyy said the government’s priority now is to provide greater protection against the Russian attacks.

Attacks continue across Ukraine

The pressure is not limited to Kyiv.

Zelenskyy said Russian forces are carrying out attacks virtually around the clock against frontline and border communities, including Nikopol, Kramatorsk, Kherson and communities in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Sumy oblasts.

Across these areas, the attacks are keeping emergency services active while damaging homes, businesses and civilian infrastructure.

In Kyiv, meanwhile, the fourth day of attacks has left residents dealing with repeated air raid alerts, disrupted movement and the continuing risk of new strikes even as crews are still clearing the damage from previous ones.

Russia has spent the past two days repeatedly attacking Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast with jet-powered drones, hitting commercial and logistics infrastructure and disrupting businesses and supply chains around the capital.

The attacks have struck civilian enterprises, food warehouses, hypermarkets, postal terminals, and warehouses storing books, according to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi. Fires have broken out at multiple warehouse sites, while repeated strikes have forced emergency crews to repeatedly stop their work and seek shelter.

The attacks are also affecting the movement and storage of essential goods around Kyiv, with damage to food warehouses and other logistics facilities contributing to supply disruptions and shortages.

Russia expands its aerial campaign against Kyiv

The latest wave comes after Russia dramatically ramped up its use of ballistic missiles against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in recent months. Now, improved Russian jet-powered drones are being used to sustain repeated attacks on the capital and surrounding oblast.

Russian forces have been launching the jet-powered drones at Ukrainian regions almost continuously for the previous two days.

The pattern has left Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast under prolonged air raid alerts while putting emergency crews under the threat of repeated strikes.

In Kyiv alone, air raid alerts were issued 13 times on 27 August and lasted for more than 14 hours in total. 

Across Ukraine, Russian attacks killed 16 people and injured another 50 during the day, Vyhivskyi said.

38 attacks hit Kyiv Oblast

Kyiv Oblast has been among the hardest-hit areas. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (DSNS) said on Friday morning the oblast had come under 38 Russian attacks since the first strike overnight on 27 August.

In Bucha district, firefighters worked at several locations where Russian drone strikes caused fires at warehouses and damaged vehicles.

At one site, a drone struck again while rescuers were working. After checking the area, emergency crews returned to the site and continued fighting the fire.

Firefighters also extinguished a fire involving 13 passenger cars. A nearby apartment building was damaged by the blast wave, which shattered windows.

At three locations, crews were still working to extinguish fires at warehouse buildings caused by the repeated attacks.

Repeat strikes put rescuers at risk

The repeated attacks have made emergency operations particularly dangerous. Since rescuers began working, air raid alerts in the oblast had sounded 20 times as of Friday morning, according to the DSNS.

Firefighters have repeatedly been forced to stop their work and move to shelters or safe distances because of the threat of another strike, before returning to the fires once the danger passes.

Vyhivskyi said one person was killed and others injured in Kyiv Oblast on the morning of 28 August after civilians remained near a site where crews were clearing the aftermath of an earlier strike despite the threat of another attack.

Commercial sites targeted across Ukraine

The attacks on Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast are part of a broader recent pattern of Russian strikes on commercial infrastructure across Ukraine. In recent weeks, Russian drones have hit shopping centers, hypermarkets, warehouses, postal terminals and other civilian businesses.

In Kharkiv, a Russian jet-powered drone struck a closed shopping center in the city’s Kyivskyi district on 28 August, partially damaging the building and starting a fire among equipment and furniture. Firefighters extinguished the blaze despite the threat of repeat strikes. No casualties were reported.

In Zaporizhzhia, another Russian drone strike injured five people and set a shopping center on fire. The blaze covered about 14,000 square meters, and firefighters had to repeatedly take shelter because of the threat of follow-up attacks.

The strikes are adding pressure to Ukraine’s civilian supply and logistics networks, particularly around major population centers. Damage to food warehouses, retail facilities and logistics sites can disrupt the storage and movement of goods, contributing to shortages and delays for businesses and consumers.

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Authorities warn civilians to stay away

Ukrainian authorities have urged residents to remain in shelters or other safe locations during air raid alerts and avoid areas where emergency crews are working.

The DSNS warned people not to approach sites where the aftermath of Russian strikes is being cleared, citing the continuing threat of repeat attacks.

Vyhivskyi also urged residents to treat every air raid alert as a signal to move to a shelter or other safe location, warning that no urgent task is worth risking a life.

Ukraine has unveiled the largest robot boat in its Magura sea-drone family, and this one is built to carry and launch other drones instead of ramming enemy ships, the company UFORCE told Militarnyi. UFORCE showed the new V11 during Ukraine's Independence Day drone parade, signaling a move from single-use attack craft toward a floating base at sea.

Ukraine has fought its Black Sea war with throwaway robot boats—cheap, one-way, built to hit a ship and go down with it. Shifting toward reusable platforms that keep other machines running far from any coast marks a different bet.

A floating base, not a battering ram

The V11 is the biggest drone in its class. Earlier, Magura boats were made to hit warships. This one is a transport platform that carries other unmanned systems and gear. Its main feature is the ability to launch a larger number of unmanned systems straight from its deck, turning one boat into a mobile base for them. The company refers to the drone as both the V11 and the MV11.

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What the V11 can do

UFORCE says the drone carries up to 2,200 kg (about 4,850 pounds) and can stay at sea for up to seven days. The company built it for reconnaissance, surveillance, support of landing operations, and resupplying fuel and equipment to other naval drones.

"It is a platform that provides multi-domain capability: one carrier that carries and launches other unmanned systems far from shore for operations across all domains," said Oleh Rogynskyy, CEO of UFORCE.

He said the investment the company attracts works for Ukraine's Defense Forces.

From strikes to a US production line

UFORCE's design and engineering office in Portugal developed the V11, drawing on international investment and aiming at the needs of Ukraine's Defense Forces. Its work there was first reported in September 2025.

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In July, the company and the US firm ReconCraft signed a memorandum for the licensed production of Magura naval drones in the US. Ukraine's Magura boats have forced Russia's Black Sea Fleet back to safer ports, and some versions have even shot down Russian fighter jets.

Ukraine celebrated 35 years of independence on 24 August, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the day with an address listing what the invasion has cost Russia, published by the President's Office. He said Putin is mortal and out of time to understand Ukraine, and said Ukraine will not hand over Donbas or save the Kremlin half a million soldiers. He also asked partners for sanctions and weapons strong enough to force an end to the war.

Russia has been invading Ukraine since 2014 and fighting a full-scale war on it since 2022, and Ukraine now supplies a growing share of the missiles and drones it fights back with, while the air defense shielding its cities still hangs on decisions taken in Washington and European capitals—which is what makes a holiday speech a statement of what Kyiv will not trade and what it needs built or delivered next.

The losses he read back to Moscow

President Zelenskyy turned from his own citizens to Russia partway through the speech. 

"You wanted to take all our Ukraine, all our land; instead, you lost your oil refineries, your fleet, your profits, your entire generation that you sent into the meat grinder," he said. 

A country that wanted Ukraine erased from the map, he added, is now absent from the international agenda of the future civilization.

He set Moscow's self-image against its filling stations. 

"For 27 years, the head of Russia has talked about greatness, while Russia is standing in lines for gasoline," Zelenskyy said. 

Moscow and St. Petersburg brought back gasoline rationing this month, and Rosneft capped fills at every station in the country.

On the Russian leader he was blunt. 

"Putin hopes that we are tired. But we know that he is mortal," he said, adding that Putin never understood Ukraine and now will not have the time to.

A fifth Independence Day at war

Before the holiday, Russian ballistic missiles hit Kyiv and its main airport hub twice in 24 hours. A solution to Russian ballistic terror must be found, Zelenskyy said, and that gamble must not pay off. 

Russia does not want peace, it wants mobilization, the president said. Ukraine will not let Moscow seize the initiative or convince Europe that surrendering Donbas ends the war. Russia keeps pushing back the dates for taking all of Donetsk Oblast and will keep pushing them back, he said.

The president called Ukraine's defense industry a giant that forges independence around the clock, and demanded more from it. Mid-range strikes cut Russian logistics and long-range weapons cut Russian profits, he said, listing Moscow, Tuapse, Tula, Ryazan, Olenya, and Omsk among the places already hit. 

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Ukraine's home-built Flamingo cruise missiles should stop being a rare species and arrive en masse: "They must 'winter' in Russia," Zelenskyy noted. 

Previously, Flamingos have hit defense plants more than 1,000 km from the border, though they still appear in strikes in small numbers.

"China should no longer remain silent"

Ukraine is not asking anyone to fight for it, the president said — only for everything needed to stop the war before Putin starts the next one. He wants sanctions that make Russians howl and Moscow at a negotiating table, and said Washington has lost its illusions about Russian intentions. Europe must be Europe, he said: united, ambitious, brave. 

"China should no longer remain silent," he added, saying Beijing must cool the ardor of someone who puts on a sailor's uniform and cap and talks about a nuclear strike—a description that fits Putin.

Each Russian attack on Kyiv costs the city budget about $12 million. Russian strikes have already damaged more than four thousand buildings in the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in answer to a Novyny.LIVE journalist.

Russian forces now strike Kyiv with ballistic and cruise missiles or drones on average almost twice a week. The latest massed attack, on the night of 20 August, killed at least 16 people in Kyiv and the region.

The cumulative damage keeps growing

The toll on the city's housing is vast. More than four thousand buildings in Kyiv have been damaged by Russian strikes, Klitschko continued, with each attack adding to a repair bill the city carries alongside the human losses.

New shelters are planned, but old money went unspent

Kyiv plans to expand its shelter network. By the end of 2026, the city intends to install new mobile shelters, placed first in districts and locations that lack other accessible cover, Klitschko stated.

The plan follows a failure that the mayor acknowledged. Last year, Kyiv allocated $12 million for mobile shelters, but the district administrations did not use the money. It was returned to the city budget.

The capital also still lacks enough professional bomb shelters capable of better protecting people during missile strikes, he added. This gap persists as tens of thousands of Kyiv residents shelter in metro stations through the attacks.

The city is building a backup heating system

Meanwhile, Kyiv is preparing for winter under fire. The city has completed more than 50% of planned work to create a backup heating system, with readiness at some sites already reaching 90%, the Kyiv mayor added.

Russia has struck Ukraine's energy and heating infrastructure each winter of the war. A backup system is Kyiv's insurance that a successful strike on one heat source does not leave districts frozen, part of the same preparation for the heating season that Ukraine's government is racing to complete nationally before the cold.

On 23 August, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Norway will keep Ukraine aid unchanged in 2027, Ukrinform reported. He spoke during Ukraine’s State Flag Day ceremony in Kyiv, attended by six Nordic-Baltic leaders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked them and tied the flag to Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s war.

Norway keeps 2027 support at about $9 billion

Norway's PM Støre put Norway’s 2027 assistance at about $9 billion, the same level as this year. It will cover military, humanitarian, and financial support.

“In 2027, we will maintain aid at the same level as this year—approximately $9 billion,” Støre said.

He said every party in Norway’s Parliament supports continued aid. Støre also said the package would follow Ukrainian priorities. He noted that supporting and rebuilding Ukraine is not just aid but an investment in Europe's own security.

Støre said Norway and Ukraine were due to sign a strategic partnership declaration later on 23 August. He said it would put cooperation on a long-term footing and benefit both countries.

Zelenskyy puts Ukraine’s flag at the center of the ceremony

Ukraine marked State Flag Day on 23 August, one day before Independence Day. In his address, President Zelenskyy pointed to the historic Independence Flag displayed at the ceremony. Ukrainians carried that flag into Parliament after restoring independence on 24 August 1991.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainians had preserved their blue-and-yellow symbol through 70 years of Soviet rule. He then connected it directly to Russia’s invasions.

“In 2014 and in February 2022, Russia attacked to take away this flag, our symbols, our freedom and independence,” Zelenskyy said.

He also thanked the Nordic-Baltic leaders standing alongside him. The visitors came from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Norway.

Ukraine marks the 35th anniversary of restoring its independence tomorrow, on 24 August.

Norway’s support already spans defense, budget, and energy needs

The 2026 Nansen Program covers Norwegian support for Ukraine’s military and civilian needs.

• Norway supplied Ukraine with missiles for NASAMS air defense systems in January.
• In March, Oslo provided $200 million in budget support for pensions, teachers, emergency workers, and other civilian needs.
• Zelenskyy and Støre signed a declaration on enhanced defense and security cooperation in April.
• Norway then pledged $45 million for Ukraine’s energy resilience in May.
• In June, Støre pledged further support for Ukraine’s air defenses after a Russian attack.

Russia has struck Kyiv and its suburbs with ballistic missiles for a second consecutive day, killing civilians. Meanwhile, Ukraine lacks enough interceptors to stop them because deliveries from the US have halted.

The strikes land at a moment when Ukraine's ability to shoot ballistic missiles down has been cut off at the source. Ukraine intercepts ballistic missiles mainly with US-made Patriot systems. During the recent Oval Office meeting, President Donald Trump declined President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request for hundreds of additional Patriot interceptors, according to the Financial Times.

At the same time, when Ukraine sought to destroy Russia's ballistic launchers on Russian territory, US billionaire Elon Musk did not allow Ukraine to use Starlink to guide strikes on those launchers, The Atlantic reported. Ukraine can neither shoot the missiles down at the rate it needs nor freely strike the launchers that fire them.

A railway worker was killed in Kyiv

The overnight attack hit Ukraine's railway. On the night of 22 August, a Russian ballistic missile struck a railway enterprise in Kyiv's Darnytsia area, killing a Ukrzaliznytsia worker, the railway's board chairman Oleksandr Pertsovskyi said.

He described a strike timed to the threat.

"In Darnytsia, ballistic strikes hit one of the railway enterprises, at the same moment as, or even a second before, the ballistic threat appeared. One of our workers, a foreman, was killed on the spot. The rest we managed to evacuate quickly after the first strike," Pertsovskyi reported.

Russia launched about six ballistic missiles, with launches recorded from three directions, Kursk, Bryansk, and Millerovo, according to monitoring channels.

A morning strike on Boryspil killed two civilians

Russia struck again in daylight. In the morning, six to eight ballistic missiles attacked the Boryspil area in the Kyiv agglomeration, likely with cluster warheads, according to monitoring channels. Boryspil city is home to the Boryspil International Airport, Ukraine’s main and largest international passenger airport.

The strike killed civilians and hit infrastructure. Two civilians, a man and a woman, were killed, and the number of wounded rose to eight, including a child, with the daytime strike hitting a truck parking lot along with warehouses, a fuel station, a private household, and vehicles. Two trucks caught fire, and a blaze spread across 700 square meters of open ground, the State Emergency Service (DSNS) said.

The strikes come days before Independence Day

The attacks landed two days before Ukraine marks its Independence Day. The Security Service (SBU) has already urged citizens to be especially vigilant before and during the 24 August holiday because of the threat of attacks, warning that in wartime, Russia may use mass events for strikes, provocations, sabotage, cyberattacks, and other crimes.

The service has also warned against recruitment. It reminded Ukrainians not to publish photos or videos of military objects, critical infrastructure, checkpoints, or air-defense systems, nor to share information on the consequences of strikes or the movement of Ukrainian forces.

Russian special services may try to recruit Ukrainians to prepare attacks and sabotage, the SBU said, urging anyone offered money for arson, property damage, planting unknown objects, or collecting information on military sites to report it immediately.

Russia is deploying six launchers for North Korean ballistic missiles in Voronezh Oblast, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 20 August. The assessment cited Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR).

Russia has already used North Korean missiles in deadly strikes across Ukraine, and Pyongyang is supplying more of them. From Voronezh Oblast, the weapons could threaten Kyiv and six other regions, adding to the ballistic arsenal Moscow can use in mass attacks intended to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.

Six launchers expand Russia’s missile threat

The North Korean missiles could reach Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, ISW said.

The unit may eventually field 120 missiles. HUR said North Korea had transferred around 50 KN-23, KN-24, and upgraded KN-30 ballistic missiles to Russia by July.

The KN-30 can carry a 2,500-kilogram warhead, though ISW has seen no evidence of Russia using it against Ukraine. Other North Korean missiles have larger warheads than Russia’s Iskander-M but are less accurate, Ukrainian military expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi said.

Those missiles could join Russia’s combined attacks. ISW expects Moscow to stockpile ballistic and cruise missiles for several days before launching large barrages intended to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses.

ISW pointed to the 19–20 August attack as the latest example of that pattern. The barrage lasted nearly nine hours and killed at least 15 people in Kyiv. Ukraine’s Air Force said it intercepted most drones and cruise missiles, but no longer routinely reports how many ballistic missiles Russia launches or Ukraine intercepts.

North Korean missiles have already killed civilians

Preliminary evidence indicated that Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile in a 30 July strike on Radushne, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, that killed five members of one family.

On 10 August, a North Korean missile killed seven Zaporizhstal steelworkers and injured 21 others in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials said. The workers were heading to a shelter when the missile struck.

Ballistic missiles travel at high speed and leave civilians little time to seek cover. They are also harder to intercept than drones or cruise missiles, while Ukraine has limited supplies of the Patriot interceptors used against them.

Italian defense giant Leonardo has quietly registered a research subsidiary in Kyiv, planting a direct corporate flag in Ukraine's wartime defense ecosystem, Euractiv reported. The move reverses the company's previous public stance against opening operations in Ukraine.

European defense firms are quickly embedding inside Ukraine's defense industry, as Ukraine's wartime manufacturing base has become a draw rather than a risk for Western capital.

Kyiv-based R&D company

Leonardo Ukraine appeared in Ukraine's business register on 20 May, but the company disclosed the step only in its H1 2026 financial report at the end of July. The subsidiary's share capital stands at about $125,000. Leonardo International wholly owns it.

"We have completed the legal process to begin operations. The new company will be used to work in this region," a Leonardo spokesperson said.

The subsidiary will focus on R&D covering communications and navigation systems, software, IT services, and electronic and optical technologies. The step brings Leonardo closer to Ukraine's drone and missile industry, which has expanded rapidly during the war.

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From no factory to a Kyiv office

Just over a year ago, then-CEO Roberto Cingolani said that Leonardo had no plans to open a factory in Ukraine, as Reuters reported. At the same time, Cingolani pledged to test Leonardo's Michelangelo Dome air defense system in Ukraine. The Italian government did not reappoint him in April 2026. Lorenzo Mariani took over as CEO in May.

The subsidiary is not a factory. But it gives Mariani a registered legal presence inside Ukraine's defense innovation ecosystem, positioned near the drone and electronic warfare sectors Leonardo wants to tap.

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Leonardo is not the first major European defense firm to set up inside Ukraine. Germany's Quantum Systems established three joint ventures and made the country its second-largest international base. Rheinmetall is building an ammunition plant there. Ukrainian defense companies, in turn, have opened production facilities across Europe.

Editor's note: This is a developing story.

Russia launched a massive overnight missile and drone attack targeting Kyiv and the surrounding region, killing 14 people and injuring more than 40, Ukrainian authorities said on 20 August.

The attack involved ballistic and cruise missiles alongside hundreds of drones. Ukraine’s Air Force said the main direction of the attack was Kyiv Oblast, with strikes and debris recorded at multiple locations. Several explosions were heard in the capital around midnight on 20 August, according to Euromaidan Press reporters in the city.

Residential building hit in Kyiv

In Kyiv, strikes, damage, and fires were reported in the Sviatoshynskyi, Darnytskyi, and Solomianskyi districts.

In Solomianskyi district, the upper two floors of a nine-story residential building were destroyed, with a fire breaking out across the seventh through ninth floors. 

People were trapped in two residential buildings and a school bomb shelter, prompting emergency crews to carry out rescue operations.

Thirteen people have now been confirmed killed in Kyiv, including a woman whose body was discovered by rescuers in Solomianskyi district, Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a children's hospital and a school were also damaged in the capital.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city would observe 21 August as a day of mourning, with entertainment events banned and flags lowered.

Fires and damage across Kyiv

Around 20 residential buildings in Kyiv were significantly damaged, along with a school, children's hospital, and kindergarten, Vyhivskyi said.

In Sviatoshynskyi district, Russian strikes hit an industrial site and sparked fires at warehouses covering 500 and 1,000 square meters. Another warehouse also caught fire.

In Darnytskyi district, a non-residential site was hit, causing fires across warehouses and vehicles covering about 1,000 square meters. Rescuers saved one person and handed them over to medics.

Other locations saw damage to residential buildings, a medical facility, cars, garages, and stores.

More than 600 rescuers and police officers have been involved in clearing the aftermath since overnight. Emergency crews are currently working at two sites in Kyiv and three more in Boryspil and Brovary districts.

Rescuers are using specialized equipment and robotic systems to clear the rubble and check whether anyone remains trapped.

Police have set up assistance centers at the attack sites to register reports of damaged or destroyed property. More than 200 reports have already been processed in Kyiv, while psychologists are assisting people who lost relatives or their homes.

Kyiv Oblast casualties

The attack also hit Kyiv Oblast. One man was killed in Brovary district and another was injured.

In Boryspil district, six people were injured, four of whom were hospitalized. The attack damaged 14 private homes, four warehouses, a gas station, an apartment building, and eight vehicles.

Vyhivskyi said fires also engulfed warehouses storing household goods in Kyiv Oblast. Firefighters are working to contain the blaze, with aviation also deployed.

Zelenskyy calls for stronger ballistic missile defenses

Zelenskyy said Russia’s growing investment in ballistic missiles requires a stronger international response and more air defense for Ukraine.

He said Ukraine is working daily on its FREYJA interceptor program, but stressed that Patriot interceptors remain irreplaceable and are needed every day to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian ballistic missile attacks.

“Every additional missile saves the lives of our people,” Zelenskyy said, thanking those working to provide Ukraine with additional air defense capabilities.

Hundreds of aerial targets launched

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 168 Shahed-type attack drones, Gerbera decoy drones, and other drones, along with 36 Kh-101, Iskander-K, and Kh-59 cruise missiles, eight Kalibr missiles, two Banderyl-type loitering munitions, and ballistic missiles including Oniks, Zircon, Iskander-M, and S-400 missiles.

As of 9:30 a.m., Ukrainian air defenses had shot down or suppressed 31 cruise missiles, all eight Kalibr missiles, both loitering munitions, and 145 drones, according to the Air Force.

The Air Force reported impacts at 28 locations and debris from intercepted targets at two others. 

The attack continued into the late morning, with air raid sirens still active and several Russian drones still in Ukrainian airspace.

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Rail traffic disrupted

Russia's strikes also disrupted rail traffic around Kyiv after railway infrastructure was damaged. Several suburban and regional trains between Kyiv and Nizhyn were rerouted or canceled.

Strikes reported in other regions

Zelenskyy said the attack also caused damage in Odesa and Chernihiv oblasts.

In Odesa Oblast, Russian drones targeted a border crossing with Moldova, while strikes in Chernihiv Oblast damaged gas infrastructure.

Russia has launched another massed missile attack on Kyiv in the early hours of 20 August. Russian forces struck the capital with ballistic and Zircon hypersonic missiles, with loud explosions heard across the city and region, according to Ukraine's monitoring channel Yeradar.

The strike is the latest in Russia's campaign of massed missile attacks on Kyiv. Russia has repeatedly hit the capital with ballistic and hypersonic weapons that Ukraine struggles to intercept for lack of Patriot missiles, killing civilians in their homes.

As of 1 AM, Russian Kalibr cruise missiles are approaching Ukrainian cities from Novorossiysk.

Earlier, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said that Russia went back to using imported electronics for its Kalibr cruise missiles’ guidance system after failing to replace them with homemade alternatives.

The ship-launched missile’s homing boards “are made up of more than 80–90% foreign-made components," the Ukrainian authorities reported.

The confirmed toll so far

Casualties were mounting as the attack went on. As of the latest update, one person was killed and three wounded in the attack, the Kyiv City Military Administration said, with information still being clarified.

The strikes hit across several districts. A children's hospital was damaged in the Solomianskyi district, where people were reported to be trapped in a shelter, and a five-story residential building was hit. Warehouses burned in the Sviatoshynskyi district, and non-residential buildings were struck in Darnytskyi, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported.

The attack was still developing

Ukraine's air defenses were engaging an ongoing threat. The Air Force had warned of ballistic weapons approaching from the north and northeast, and monitoring channels reported Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers taking off, which typically precede cruise-missile launches.

"Explosions in the capital. Kyiv is under ballistic attack. Stay in shelters," Klitschko wrote as the strikes continued.

With the attack unfolding as officials reported it, the full toll and damage were not yet known; the figures provided were preliminary.

Ukrainian emergency services confirmed a large fire at the Pochaina book market in Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district after an overnight Russian ballistic attack on 16 August. Several rows of stalls were burned. The strike comes amid mounting losses across Ukraine’s book industry, as Russian strikes burn printing houses, markets, and the millions of books within them.

Pochaina’s latest fire is at least the third to damage the market or adjoining trading rows since mid-June. For decades, the sprawling market has served as part bookshop, part flea market, and part archive of Kyiv life — a place to hunt through rare titles, vinyl, and remnants of the 20th century. Officials have not said Russia deliberately targeted it, however, the damage lands amid repeated attacks on Ukraine’s publishing chain and efforts to remove Ukrainian literature under occupation.

By 9:36 a.m., rescuers had extinguished fires at four locations in Kyiv and were dismantling damaged structures. Three people were hospitalized: two in moderate condition and one with light injuries. Pochaina metro station remained open, but damage to its glass entrance temporarily closed one vestibule.

Founded in 1997, Pochaina grew into Kyiv’s largest book market, offering everything from novels to specialist literature, according to a 2020 preservation petition. Independent vendors organized to defend it after plans emerged to clear the site for another shopping center. The campaign described the market as a cultural institution that supported thousands of jobs.

The adjoining weekend flea market endured the invasion and disappearance of tourists. In 2023, the Associated Press found hundreds browsing stalls stocked with vintage medals, ceramics, VHS tapes, and cracked guitars.

Russia destroys books as part of its war against Ukraine

Russian attacks have damaged publishing houses, printing plants, warehouses, libraries, bookshops, and markets across Ukraine.

The 16 August attack was not the first time Russia had hit Pochaina. A Russian attack damaged book-market pavilions in mid-June. On 30 July, falling missile debris ignited nearby stalls and destroyed collections of antiques, vinyl, and Ukrainian household artifacts, Suspilne reported.

Russia's war against Ukraine has particularly devastated Ukraine's publishing houses and their infrastructure. A 2024 Russian strike on Kharkiv’s Factor Druk printing house killed seven workers and burned 50,000 books. On 1 August 2026, a drone destroyed about eight million books at publisher Ranok’s warehouse.

Reuters reported that Russian strikes destroyed more than 10 million books in recent months.

In occupied areas, Russian forces have also seized Ukrainian history books and burned Ukrainian literature in boiler houses, Ukrainian authorities say.

Yet the Ukrainian book industry continues to thrive, despite Russia's assault. In 2025, Ukraine registered a record 117 new publishing businesses.

A Kyiv court has sentenced an unemployed man to 15 years in prison with confiscation of his property for carrying out arson attacks on behalf of Russian intelligence, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said on 13 August. The man was recruited while looking for "easy money" on Telegram channels and carried out two arson attacks in Kyiv before fleeing to Odesa, the SBU reported.

Russian intelligence increasingly recruits Ukrainians through Telegram for arson and sabotage. It targets people seeking quick money and treats them as disposable operatives, paying small sums for a single task and discarding them once they are caught.

The Russian agent carried out two arson attacks

According to the SBU, the man first set fire to a relay cabinet belonging to a railway signaling system. Russia intended the attack to disrupt freight logistics, including supplies to areas near the front.

The agent later burned a volunteer’s SUV used to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate civilians from areas affected by Russia’s war. He carried out the attacks at night, using a flammable mixture and filming each incident on his smartphone before sending the footage to his Russian handler.

The SBU arrested him in Odesa in July 2025, where he had attempted to hide after carrying out the attacks. Investigators seized his phone, which contained evidence of his cooperation with Russia.

A court found him guilty on two counts — sabotage committed under martial law, and intentional destruction of property by arson — both carried out as part of a group acting on prior conspiracy. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of his property.

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Easy money, hard time: other Telegram recruits jailed too

The case follows several similar convictions. In a May case, an agent received 15 years for burning a railway relay cabinet near a Dnipro station in an attempt to disrupt frontline logistics. The SBU said the unemployed local, recruited through Telegram, filmed the arson and reported it to his handler, then was caught before he could carry out a planned series of attacks on the city's critical infrastructure.

In June 2026, another agent was sentenced to 15 years for preparing to burn an electrical substation in Kropyvnytskyi.

In July, SBU investigators reported that a GRU agent in Zaporizhzhia received 15 years for preparing explosives for Russian-organized attacks.

At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured across Ukraine in July, the highest monthly death toll since May 2022, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), which published the figures on 12 August. The toll was 30% higher than June and 70% higher than July 2025.

The deadliest single attack came on 2 July, when Russia launched 74 missiles and nearly 500 long-range drones at Ukraine, mainly targeting Kyiv. Ukrainian air defenses downed 524 of 570 aerial targets, but the 46 that got through — including 25 ballistic missiles — killed 30 people and destroyed a nine-story apartment block in the capital's Darnytskyi district. Russia fired at least 429 missiles at Ukraine over the course of the month, more than double June's total.

A trend that keeps getting worse

"Every month this year the number of killed and injured civilians has increased," HRMMU head Danielle Bell said. "That trend accelerated sharply in July. The number of civilian casualties in July was the highest we documented in a single month since March 2022."

Child casualties also hit a new high: 17 killed and 166 injured, the worst toll since April 2022. Over the first seven months of 2026, HRMMU verified 12,477 civilian casualties — 1,839 killed and 10,638 injured — a 44% increase over the same period in 2025 and more than double the 2024 figure.

Long-range weapons still the top killer, but glide bombs surged

Long-range missiles and drones caused 38% of all July casualties (183 killed, 967 injured), most of them far from the front line in cities. Casualties from aerial glide-bomb strikes jumped 143% compared with June — from 45 killed and 308 injured to 105 killed and 753 injured — making glide bombs the second-leading cause of civilian harm. Short-range drones near the front line killed 111 people and injured 710, the highest monthly toll from that weapon since 24 February 2022.

Kyiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Sumy took the heaviest losses among the 14 regions where casualties were recorded. HRMMU also verified 25 killed and 50 injured in Russian-occupied territory, cautioning that shrinking access to information there means the real toll is likely far higher.

Attacks on Black Sea shipping and port infrastructure in Odesa and Mykolaiv oblasts also intensified, with at least 39 strikes — 20 of them on vessels — killing 19 port and crew personnel and wounding 25.

Since the full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022, the UN has verified at least 16,874 civilians killed and 51,173 injured.

Russia struck the capital with ballistic missiles early on 11 August. One of them came down on the grounds of a Kyiv children's hospital in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Rescuers also fought a warehouse fire nearby that left one man injured.

The Kyiv children's hospital strike

Two craters opened on the hospital grounds, while the impact shattered windows and ruptured a gas line, rescuers reported. Utility crews sealed the leak within the hour. Staff at the Kyiv children's hospital had moved patients into the shelter before the strike, so it hurt no one there.

"Luckily, the children and medics were in the shelter — there were no casualties," - State Emergency Service reported

A warehouse ablaze and one man hurt

At a second address in the same district, a strike ignited a fire across 1,200 square meters of warehouse space. Crews first contained the flames, then put them out. Medics soon treated the lone casualty, a 28-year-old man. Earlier, the Air Force had warned of the ballistic threat before the missiles arrived.

Kyiv Oblast also under fire

The wider Kyiv Oblast took damage as well. In the Bucha district, the strike wrecked warehouse buildings and three trucks, although it caused no casualties. Officials said the enemy had again hit the region with ballistic missiles and attack drones.

A far deadlier night beyond Kyiv

Elsewhere, the toll climbed sharply. In Zaporizhzhia, a combined missile and guided-bomb strike killed six people and injured 19, regional authorities reported. Across the oblast, meanwhile, Russian forces launched 938 strikes on 58 settlements in a single day, injuring 52 residents in total. Officials also logged 341 reports of damage to homes, vehicles, and infrastructure.

In central Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, drones and artillery hit five districts more than 20 times. The strikes killed three people, among them a 15-year-old boy, and hurt five others, including a 7-year-old girl. To the northeast, an attack on Zlatopil in Kharkiv Oblast damaged civilian infrastructure and injured a resident.

Meanwhile, in Mykolaiv, drones hurt a 75-year-old woman and damaged homes and an industrial site, and officials described her condition as satisfactory. In nearby Snihurivka, six more drone strikes damaged houses, a shop, and a car, though they caused no injuries.

The strikes add to a wave of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities this summer. The capital had already endured ballistic missiles days earlier, on the night of 8 August. That evening, explosions also echoed through Kyiv and Dnipro during a mass drone assault.

Ukraine has reached concrete agreements with the United States for monthly deliveries of interceptor missiles for its Patriot air defense systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade on 8 August.

The commitment does not close Ukraine's gap. Zelenskyy said the monthly volume remains insufficient and laid out a parallel effort to secure interceptors from Europe, the Middle East and further afield, as US shipments have thinned this year.

The US as the primary supplier

Repelling ballistic missiles has been a problem since the start of the full-scale war, and the search for a solution begins with the country that builds the systems, Zelenskyy said.

"From the first days of the war in Ukraine there was nothing to repel ballistic missiles. This is very difficult work. In which directions can this problem be solved? Well, first of all, who has anti-ballistic missiles and systems? The manufacturer. That is the United States of America, first of all. Can they help? We are working. Will they allocate us missiles every month? Yes. We have agreements," he said.

Asked whether that supply met Ukraine's needs, he answered: "Are these missiles enough? No." He added that the monthly volumes of American missiles had decreased this year compared with 2025.

Where else Kyiv is looking

Patriot missiles are also held by European countries, Zelenskyy said, naming Germany and Poland as able to substantially strengthen Ukraine's air defense. Kyiv is also in talks with Norway, the Netherlands and Middle Eastern states.

South Korea and Japan could potentially help but do not currently hand over such systems, which Zelenskyy attributed to restrictions in their domestic legislation and constitutions. Ukraine is separately discussing air defense with Israel; the president said Ukraine is ready to buy but that no such option exists at present.

"Every day I speak with one European state or another and with Middle Eastern states so that Ukraine receives additional missiles outside the American package. We are simply at the level where all our institutions must work on this, not only the president. Everyone must work, otherwise there will not be enough missiles," he said.

The Belgrade remarks came a day after Zelenskyy arrived on his first official visit to Serbia.

Zelenskyy had bilateral meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. Vucic voiced support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and its path to the European Union.

What esle Zelenskyy and Vučić discussed

The two presidents held talks that ran across the countries' European integration, trade and energy cooperation, a prospective free-trade zone, and diplomatic paths to ending Russia's war on Ukraine. Vučić had said ahead of the meeting that he would discuss both countries' route to EU membership, along with economic and energy cooperation and other opportunities

On the economy, Vučić said the sides had reviewed infrastructure projects and the involvement of Ukrainian companies in Serbia. On peace efforts, Zelenskyy said the leaders had discussed diplomatic instruments capable of bringing the war closer to an end.

Before the press conference, the sides held a ceremony to sign a memorandum on cooperation in animal health and food safety. The document was signed by Serbia's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Dragan Glamočić and Ukraine's ambassador to Serbia Oleksandr Lytvynenko.

Territorial integrity

Vučić framed Serbia's position as a matter of UN principle and tied it to Ukraine's reciprocal stance on Serbia.

"We support the UN Charter, UN resolutions, and this means the territorial integrity of all UN members, which means the territorial integrity of Ukraine as well. Likewise we are very grateful to Ukraine for supporting the territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia. And as far as we are concerned, we will continue this principled policy. There are no 'buts' on this question. This is being said very clearly and resolutely now," Vučić said.

Support on the road to the EU

Vučić said Ukraine could always count on Belgrade's support in EU accession, and the two discussed both countries' European path during the meeting.

"We wish for Ukraine to open all negotiating clusters as quickly as possible, to close them as quickly as possible, because this is the wish of the Ukrainian people, of the Ukrainian leadership. And speaking of ourselves, we have not had and will not have any problems regarding this in the future. On the contrary, everything we can do to help Ukraine on its European path, we will do," Vučić said.

Trade at $321 million in six months

Vučić said trade between the two countries is growing rapidly: while it stood at $450 million for all of last year, it had already reached $321 million in the first six months of this year.

"The most important import item is iron ore from Ukraine. And I believe that cooperation in the sphere of agriculture, but also in other spheres of energy, everywhere trade turnover can be greater. We discussed projects in the sphere of infrastructure, involving Ukrainian companies on the territory of Serbia. I believe we can have serious and good results in the future," the Serbian president said.

Vučić said he hoped cooperation between the countries would become "significantly stronger and larger-scale" after the war ends. In future, he said, Serbia and Ukraine could jointly export certain goods and enter third-country markets, in particular in Africa and Asia.

"I think we will yet see agreements on such cooperation. Yesterday we had long discussions, today the discussions were really good. I am grateful to President Zelenskyy for the visit to Serbia. I hope we received you properly. And I want to believe that our meetings in the future will be incomparably more frequent than they were before," Vučić added.

A free-trade zone by the end of 2026

Zelenskyy said negotiations on creating a free-trade zone between Ukraine and Serbia are under way, and expressed hope the agreement could be concluded by the end of 2026.

"Our teams must work well to speed up the agreement on a free trade zone between Ukraine and Serbia. These negotiations are progressing, this is positive. And it would be good to prepare everything by the end of this year for concluding the agreement on free trade between Ukraine and Serbia," the Ukrainian president said.

Damaged energy grid and a Serbian humanitarian package

Zelenskyy described the state of Ukraine's infrastructure under Russian strikes.

"For the fifth year now we in Ukraine are forced to go through all these strikes. Russian strikes are aimed mostly at facilities that work precisely for the life of the people. We have virtually no undamaged power plants left. Many railway stations are destroyed, hospitals, universities, ordinary civilian enterprises. In a time of such a war we appreciate and are very grateful for all the support that Ukraine receives from other countries, from other peoples," Zelenskyy said.

He said Ukraine continues to expand all formats of cooperation with partners to give communities and people "more resilience, more capacity to hold out despite all the challenges of the war."

Zelenskyy said Serbia would provide Ukraine with a humanitarian aid package. "We are grateful that there will be a new package of humanitarian support from Serbia for Ukraine, in particular in the sphere of medicine, in the sphere of energy. This is very important for us," he said.

Diplomacy to end the war

Zelenskyy said the leaders had discussed diplomatic instruments that could bring the war closer to an end, and pointed to capitals with influence over the process.

"It is important that everywhere in the world they know what we want, and this is true, and this is a fact, we want a dignified peace, that every opportunity be used for the sake of peace, for the sake of guaranteed security. All available opportunities that exist in Washington, and in Beijing, in the capitals of Europe, our partners in the Middle East, in the Gulf, in all the capitals of the world that have influence over the relevant processes," Zelenskyy said.

A Russian strike on the village of Pukhivka in Kyiv Oblast's Brovary raion overnight into 8 August killed three members of one family: a three-year-old boy, his grandmother, and his grandfather. Four other people were wounded, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The boy's parents and his 15-year-old brother were among the injured, along with a neighbor who came to help the family and was hit in a second, follow-up strike. The attack came as Russia leans on the ballistic missiles Ukraine can least often intercept, and as Zelenskyy again pressed partners for the interceptors his air defenses are running short of.

A family killed in their home

Zelenskyy said the strike hit an ordinary residential building. Those wounded, among them the dead child's parents, were treated for thermal burns and shrapnel injuries.

The neighbor was hurt after coming to help the family, when a second Russian strike hit the same place — the double-tap tactic of following an initial strike with another timed to catch rescuers and responders. Russia used it in Kyiv a week earlier, when a follow-up strike killed a 20-year-old volunteer medic.

Six ballistic missiles on Kyiv

Overnight, Russia also struck civilian infrastructure in Kyiv with six ballistic missiles. One person was killed, their body found by rescuers during the cleanup, the Kyiv City Military Administration reported.

A widening gap, and a renewed appeal

Zelenskyy called on Ukraine's partners to tighten sanctions on Russia's ballistic-missile production and to supply more air defense systems and interceptors. The appeal lands against a defense Russia has spent the year outpacing: in July, a third of the missiles it fired — 126 — were ballistic, the type that gives the shortest warning and that Ukraine's systems, save for the Patriot, cannot reliably stop. In the last two large attacks, Ukraine downed two of 36 ballistic missiles, roughly one in twenty, for lack of Patriot interceptors. Russia builds around three ballistic missiles a day, by Ukrainian analysts' estimates, while Ukraine's interceptor stocks stay severely limited.

The same night, Russia also attacked Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Poltava oblasts.

On 1 August, 20-year-old fourth-year psychology student Vitalina Yarovenko was killed in a double-tap strike while helping victims in Kyiv. She was a volunteer paramedic with the Hospitallers medical volunteer battalion. After completing her training, she was preparing to officially join the battalion, said Nataliia Chykhachova, head of the Hospitallers' patronage service. Kyiv bid farewell to the volunteer on 4 August.

Every day, Russia fires drones and missiles, targeting Ukrainian cities. Overnight into 1 August, Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles, killing nine people and injuring more than 30 others, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Vitalina and a group of volunteer paramedics were on their way to rescue people after a strike on Zdolbunivska Street in Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. The second strike took Vitalina's life as they were getting out of their vehicle, said Oleksandr Kostiuk, head of military training at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. The Russian troops often employ the double-tap tactic, targeting the first responders.

Vitalina was killed alongside 25-year-old paramedic Yeva Roiter, while their driver remains in critical condition.

Farewell ceremony

Several hundred people gathered in central Kyiv. Most of them were dressed in white and held white flowers at the request of Vitalina's mother. Some knew the young woman personally, while others had never met her but decided to come. The farewell ceremony began at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral and continued at Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). Vitalina was buried near the Alley of Heroes at Berkovetske Cemetery.

"I begged, I did not want a hero at home, I wanted my child at home. But it was her choice. Vitalina had always been a very brave girl. At the age of 20, I wrote that I once held her in my arms, and now she firmly holds the world. I wanted her to keep holding this world for a very long time. But, perhaps, now she will hold it from heaven," Vitalina's mother, Natalia Koretska-Yarovenko, shared during the farewell ceremony.

Vitalina Yarovenko

During the farewell ceremony, people recalled that during her school years, Vitalina led an active life. She took part in environmental initiatives, practiced athletics, and competed in sports competitions. In the eighth grade, she decided that she would become a psychologist. Vitalina fulfilled that dream, and while studying at university, she returned to her former school to hold workshops for children.

After the full-scale invasion, Vitalina tried to help the military. She visited soldiers in hospitals and launched more than 30 fundraising campaigns. She also conducted military training courses at her university and joined the Hospitallers, helping people at the sites of Russian strikes in Kyiv as part of the battalion.

"She truly was a friend of the Hospitallers and had our shoulder patch, which not everyone has. She was going to complete the training and officially join our ranks. But she did not manage to," Chykhachova said.

As an act of revenge, soldiers on the front line have been writing "For Vitalina" on their UAVs. One such photograph was shared in the comments under a post by freelance presidential adviser Serhii Flesh by the Lava Unmanned Systems Regiment of the Khartiia 2nd Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine.

Deliberately striking medics as they reach the wounded — the "double-tap" — is widely assessed as a likely war crime under the Geneva Conventions, which protect medical personnel, including volunteer paramedics.

Russia has damaged or destroyed close to 2,000 cultural heritage sites and thousands more cultural venues across Ukraine since its full-scale invasion began, Ukraine's Ministry of Culture reported. The losses grew again over the past month, and officials say occupied territory keeps the true scale out of reach. As the tally rises, more of Ukraine's allies are stepping in to help protect what survives.

The toll keeps rising

By the end of July 2026, Russia had damaged or destroyed 1,990 cultural heritage sites and 2,625 cultural venues, the ministry said. Russia "continues to systematically destroy" Ukraine's cultural heritage and infrastructure, it added. 

Over the past month, the count climbed by 90, adding 41 heritage sites and 49 cultural venues. Of the heritage sites, 47 are gone entirely: one of national significance, 44 of local significance, and two newly identified. The remaining 1,943 are damaged. The full list includes 192 sites of national significance, 1,605 of local significance, and 193 newly identified.

Explore further

France compares Lavra strike to bombing Notre-Dame, calls for tougher sanctions

A protected site struck in July

In July, a Russian attack damaged a site inside Odesa's historic center, which sits on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Kyiv and the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts also saw fresh strikes on monuments. In the Zaporizhzhia and Sumy oblasts and in Kyiv, Russian forces hit heritage sites they had already damaged before.

The ministry records the most damaged heritage in Kharkiv Oblast, with 358 sites, followed by Kherson Oblast with 303, Kyiv with 272, Donetsk Oblast with 229, and Odesa Oblast with 211. Cultural venues have been hit across 354 communities, or 24% of all local communities in Ukraine. Over the past month, the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Chernihiv oblasts saw the most new destruction.

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Russia loots occupied Crimea’s ancient sites through six illegal archaeological digs

Village clubs bear the brunt

Community and club venues form the largest group of damaged cultural facilities, at 1,300 sites, or 49.5% of the total. Russian attacks destroyed 283 of them and damaged another 1,017. The heaviest facility losses fall on the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Russia also re-struck previously damaged sites in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Sumy, and Donetsk oblasts.

The ministry stresses the figures understate the loss. Russia's occupation of nearly all of Luhansk Oblast and large parts of the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kherson oblasts blocks any full assessment. 

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Russia blames Ukraine for museum it destroyed in Huliaipole, erasing memory of anti-imperial fighter Nestor Makhno

Earlier, Sweden signed a heritage-preservation deal and the EU backing a UNESCO initiative to catalog Ukraine's losses.

Each month of strikes turns reversible damage into permanent loss, and much of it now sits in land Ukraine cannot yet reach. The World Heritage site already declared in danger in occupied Crimea shows how far the erasure can run if the war grinds on.

Russia's overnight missile-and-drone barrage on Kyiv and its surrounding region on 5 August destroyed the warehouses and production sites of several of Ukraine's largest retail and logistics companies, killed 17 people and wounded 44 more, and laid bare the country's dwindling ability to intercept ballistic missiles, according to Ukrainian officials.

Russia's main target on 5 August: Ukraine's warehouses

Russia has spent this year pushing its air war toward the ballistic missiles that Ukrainian defenses struggle most to stop, launching more of them than Ukraine can shoot down while its Patriot interceptor stocks run dry, and pairing them with drone waves that keep reaching homes, transit and the warehouses that feed the country.

Three Russian ballistic missiles destroyed the largest distribution center operated by Rozetka, Ukraine’s biggest online retailer, near Kyiv overnight on 5 August. Rozetka co-founder Iryna Chechotkina said the warehouse had processed more than 100,000 online orders each day and was beyond repair.

By dawn, the attack had torn through the civilian logistics network moving parcels, groceries, household goods and construction materials across the capital and its suburbs. At least 17 people were killed and 44 injured in the broader barrage, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In its 5 August 2026 strikes, Russia destroyed a sorting center owned by Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s largest private parcel carrier, as well as major facilities operated by Epicentr, the country’s largest home-improvement retailer. Sites belonging to Novus and Fozzy Group, two major Ukrainian grocery retailers, were also damaged.

Nova Poshta said cluster munitions—bombs that scatter smaller explosives across a wide area—destroyed its Kyiv sorting center. Three people were killed and eight injured. Two of those killed were drivers for a partner carrier, while the third worked for a contractor.

Epicentr lost two major warehouse complexes and much of its ceramic-tile production. One employee was killed, and three were hospitalized at the company’s complex in Kalynivka. Its logistics center on Kyiv’s Viskozna Street burned completely, while another Russian missile destroyed the factory's kilns.

During a separate overnight attack on 3-4 August, a Russian drone destroyed a Biosphere warehouse storing household and personal-care products in Dnipro, although all employees reached shelter and no one was injured.

The Kyiv attack extended beyond commercial facilities. Russia's attack killed eight people waiting for a delayed train at Kvitneva station, a commuter stop near Brovary, east of Kyiv. Missiles also hit homes and offices, damaged an ambulance and caused an ammonia leak at a non-residential site.

An earlier Euromaidan Press report detailed the destruction across Kyiv and the surrounding region.

Why Ukraine intercepted none of the missiles

Russia launched 24 ballistic missiles and four Zircon and Oniks anti-ship missiles, high-speed weapons designed primarily to strike naval targets but also used against Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine intercepted none of the 28, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Air defenses shot down or electronically disabled 98 of the 115 accompanying drones.

Missiles and 17 drones struck 26 locations, while debris fell at another six.

Zelenskyy said ballistic-missile interceptors could have saved those killed. Ukraine’s stocks of Patriot missiles, its only reliable defense against Russian ballistic weapons, are critically depleted. 

A global interceptor shortage means manufacturers cannot produce advanced air-defense missiles fast enough to meet demand.

Russia exploited the same gap on 1 August 2026, when it fired 27 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and Ukraine intercepted only one.

Moscow may point to recent Ukrainian strikes on Wildberries logistics centers to frame its attacks as retaliation. Ukrainian officials say the Russian retailer transports military goods, including drone components and navigation equipment. The Kremlin denies that Wildberries carries military cargo.

Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha rejected any comparison between the attacks. "Russian attacks cannot be justified by anything, including any actions by Ukraine," he said.

Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) identified Russian Armed Forces Major Denis Sheynov as allegedly involved in the July 2024 missile strike on Kyiv's Okhmatdyt children's hospital, HUR reported on July 8.

The strike, which killed two adults and injured at least 34 people, directly hit the country's largest pediatric medical center, where 627 children were receiving treatment at the time.

According to HUR, Sheynov is the head of the special engineering service of the 121st Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment, part of Russia's 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division, tasked with executing the strike.

Sheynov, born in Saratov on Jan. 30, 1978, was reportedly responsible for the technical preparation of the X-101 air-launched cruise missiles used in the attack.

He graduated from the Saratov Higher Military Command Engineering School Missile Forces, and previously served in Syria in 2018. Sheynov has been awarded several medals by the Russian government, including for participation in the Syrian war.

Ukrainian authorities previously charged Russian Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash in absentia for ordering the strike, which was widely condemned internationally.

Kobylash gave the order at around 9:15 a.m., while the hospital was struck at 10:45 a.m.

‘They have to be able to defend themselves’ — Trump says US will send additional weapons shipments to Ukraine, criticizes Putin

“They’re getting hit very hard. We’re gonna have to send more weapons, your defensive weapons primarily,” U.S. President Donald Trump said.

The Kyiv IndependentVolodymyr Ivanyshyn

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Explosions rocked the city of Kyiv for more than seven hours overnight on July 4, as Russia launched a record missile and drone attack targeting the capital and other cities across Ukraine.

At least one person was killed, and 23 others injured in Kyiv. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 14 people had been hospitalized, while Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, in the afternoon confirmed a body had been found during rescue operations.

"Today’s attack was like the worst nightmare come to life," Kyiv resident Olha Vershynina told the Kyiv Independent at the site of damaged residential buildings in the capital's Solomianskyi district. "Because when the strike happened, the lights went out and glass came crashing down on my head.

"It was terrifying. Our entire building was shaking."

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched a record 550 drones and missiles during the seven-hour barrage. Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground heard multiple rounds of explosions in the city beginning around 8 p.m. local time on July 3 and continuing into the early hours of July 4

The attack damaged apartment buildings, businesses, a school, a medical facility, railway lines, and other civilian infrastructure in multiple districts. Fires blazed across the city, making the air dangerous to breathe.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, warned residents to close their windows due to dangerous levels of "combustion products" in the air.

"Russia, a terrorist country, has wreaked havoc," Tkachenko wrote on Telegram. "The Russians bring nothing but terror and murder. That is a fact."

Liliia Kuzmenko, 23-years-old and eight months pregnant, moved to Kyiv a month ago with her husband from the embattled city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast.

"The kind of explosions I heard here were unlike anything I heard in Pokrovsk. It’s just beyond words," she told the Kyiv Independent. "Fortunately, everything in our apartment is intact. But in others, the windows were blown out, and everything fell apart."

Ukraine's Air Force reported that Russia had launched a ballistic missile towards Kyiv at around 12:30 a.m, and then additional missiles around 2:30 a.m.

"This time was truly terrifying.," Maria Maznichenko, a pensioner who lives in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district. "The explosions kept coming. Shaheds drones were flying in every minute, like a swarm of bees — one after another. It was very frightening."

As officials reported real-time updates on damage and casualties amid the ongoing assault, Kyiv Independent reporters in the city said that smoke from explosions clogged the air even in neighborhoods far from the attack sites.

The massive assault came hours after a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, during which Putin reaffirmed that "Russia will continue to pursue its goals" in Ukraine despite calls for a ceasefire from the West.

"The first air raids in our cities and regions began yesterday almost simultaneously with the start of media discussions of President Trump's phone call with Putin," Zelensky said in a post on social media on July 4.

"This was one of the most large-scale air attacks – deliberately massive and cynical... Russia is once again demonstrating that it is not going to end the war and terror."

Tkachenko reported that an earlier drone strike damaged a residential building in the city's Obolon district, causing a fire to break out on the roof.

In the Sviatoshynskyi district, drone wreckage caused fires at storage facilities and hit the courtyard of a 16-story apartment building, Klitschko said. Vehicles in the area caught fire after the attack. Another fire broke out at a business in the district due to falling drone debris.

In the Dniprovskyi district, drone debris fell near a school and several residential buildings, Tkachenko reported.

Fires also broke out in the Solomianskyi district, Klitschko said. An administrative building was in flames after the attack, as were storage facilities and a garage. Debris damaged "non-residential buildings" in the area.

Klitschko reported another fire on the first floor of an 8-story residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, but said the building was not inhabited. Another fire broke out at a business in the same district.

A medical facility in the Holosiivskyi district was damaged in the attack, Klitschko said.

Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) said that the attack damaged rail infrastructure in Kyiv and cautioned residents to expect delays due to diverted routes.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that the consular section of Poland's embassy in Kyiv was damaged during Russia's attack on Kyiv. "I just spoke with Ambassador (Piotr) Lukasiewicz; everyone is safe and unharmed," Sikorski said.

He added that Ukraine urgently needs air defense systems.

Russia also targeted other regions of Ukraine with overnight attacks. Downed drones struck property and a vehicle in the city of Poltava, regional Governor Volodymyr Kohut reported. The strike injured two people.

Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities have faced intensified drone and missile strikes in recent weeks, with Russia deploying Iranian-designed Shahed drones in record numbers.

Russia on June 17 launched one of its largest attacks against Kyiv since the start of the full-scale war, killing 28 people and injuring 134 others. Less than a week later, ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones assailed the city in another mass strike.

Ukrainian officials have warned that continued attacks are aimed at wearing down air defense systems and terrorizing civilians.

Despite Russia's escalating attacks and Ukraine's desperate need for air defense munitions, the U.S. has decided to halt shipments of Patriot missiles and other promised weapons to Kyiv, claiming it needs to bolster its own stockpiles.

Ukraine scrambles to clarify extent of U.S. military aid pause and ‘whether everything will continue’

When the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) halted the transfer of critical air defense missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, Kyiv and its partners were caught off-guard and are now left scrambling for clarity on the scope and length of the Trump administration’s decision. The White House confirmed the halt after a July 1 report by Politico said shipments were paused due to concerns over the size of domestic stockpiles. The decision “was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD rev

The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated as new details emerge.

Russia launched a mass missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight on June 23, killing at least nine people and injuring 33 others, including four children, local officials reported.

Kyiv Independent journalists heard explosions and kamikaze drones flying overhead from around 1 a.m. Louder explosions from ballistic missiles were heard an hour later, with the attack lasting around 3.5 hours in total.

The heaviest damage occurred in the Shevchenkivskyi district of the city, when a five-story building partially collapsed after being hit by a ballistic missile, Ukraine's military reported. At least nine people died as a result, and more may be trapped under the rubble.

An 11-year-old girl was confirmed as the ninth victim of the strike, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said. Her mother's body was recovered earlier from the rubble.

Student Veronika Sherinova, who lives in a nearby building, said she didn't sleep all night — first because she was hiding from the attack, then because the missile strike shattered the windows in her home and neighboring apartments.

"Most of my former classmates lived in this building (that was hit), most of my friends and acquaintances, too," she told the Kyiv Independent at the site of the strike. "We got dressed right away and went over."

"When my mom and I arrived, I saw them coming out in just their underwear, covered in blood, wounded. It was impossible to look at. It was pure shock. We were all in a state of shock."

At first, she just wanted to help clear the shattered glass and debris. But after seeing the extent of the destruction, Sherinova realized that some of the people she knew might not have survived the attack.

"The strike hit exactly the floors where our friends lived," she said. "Unfortunately, they didn’t survive. My other friends did — they were on the first floor," she added, her eyes filling with tears.

"It was a miracle they came out without a single scratch. But the upper floors were just blown away, there wasn’t even a chance for anyone up there to survive."

According to Sherinova, the Russian strike killed a family living on the upper floor — a father, mother, and grandfather — but their teenage son survived.

"We suspected it right away, but we didn’t want to believe it until the very end. But then we found out that they were the first ones they carried out," she said. "The boy is in shock right now; he doesn’t realize what’s happened. He’s just not reacting at all."

She said her two other friends who lived in the building left for abroad immediately after the strike.

"They went abroad — they took a bus and left right away."

State Emergency Service spokesperson Svitlana Vodolaha told journalists at the site that when rescuers arrived, they had been told only a few people would be affected there.

"As it turned out, the information we had was not reliable — there were more people here than we had been told. At this moment, we still don’t have complete information on how many people might be trapped under the rubble," Vodolaha said.

"That’s why we’ll keep working until the very end, until we’re completely sure no one is left under the debris."

Shortly after their arrival, rescuers pulled 10 people from under the rubble, including two children and a pregnant woman, Vodolaha said.

Vodolaha did not rule out the use of cluster munitions in this attack. After arriving at the site, Kyiv Independent journalists observed holes in the building across from the one that was hit, resembling those from the previous strike on the capital on June 17.

Cluster munitions are banned under international law by more than 100 countries due to their indiscriminate nature and the long-term threat they pose to civilians, especially when unexploded submunitions remain hidden in residential areas.

"It’s possible as such incidents have happened not only during today’s attack but at other times as well," Vodolaha said.

"I think everyone has noticed how our attacks have become longer and more intense, even across the capital," she added. "That’s why this morning we were working simultaneously at 15 locations."

Fifteen-year-old Roman Turko arrived at the site in the morning after the attack with his friend. His uncle lived in the destroyed building but, luckily, wasn’t home when the strike happened.

"He’s currently serving (in the military), he’s a border guard. He was on duty, so luckily he wasn’t home," Turko told the Kyiv Independent. "His apartment doesn’t really exist anymore: The balcony is gone, the walls are gone."

"If he had been there, it probably would have been the end for him."

After surviving such a heavy attack, Sherinova is now considering leaving Kyiv, at least for a while. But she says it feels like there’s nowhere left to hide from the Russian war.

"There’s a kindergarten nearby where my mom works. It has a shelter, and that’s where we usually go when we see reports of (Russian) jets taking off or a possible strike."

"But today it happened so suddenly, we wouldn’t have had time to run anywhere. We just stepped into the hallway, crouched down, and covered our eyes and ears," she said.

"It’s hitting everywhere, strikes are happening everywhere. I still can’t believe it happened to me, to my neighborhood, where I was born and have lived my whole life."

"I just can’t believe it. I’m still in such a state of shock, looking at all of this and not believing it really happened."

In the wider Kyiv Oblast, a woman was killed and eight others injured in Bila Tserkva, the Kyiv Oblast Military Administration reported.

Casualties were also reported in other areas around the capital in Kyiv Oblast, including Bucha, a town just northwest of Kyiv.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia deployed 368 aerial weapons, including 352 attack drones, 11 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, and 5 Iskander-K cruise missiles, striking primarily Kyiv. Ukraine's air defenses destroyed 354 of them.

Russian forces reportedly struck six locations directly, with debris falling in 25 sites across Kyiv and its surrounding region.

Earlier, it was reported that a high-rise apartment building was damaged as a result of the attack in the area, as well as an exit at the Sviatoshyn metro station and a nearby bus shelter.

Reports indicate that the Darnytskyi, Podilskyi, Solomianskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, and Sviatoshynskyi districts had been affected by the attack.

Fires also broke out in the Podilskyi district, where debris struck a residential building and a vehicle.

A large fire was also reported at a four-story office building in the Solomianskyi district. The fire reportedly covered an area of 800 square meters, the State Emergency Service said, with firefighting efforts ongoing.

Drone strike debris also landed in an open area of a stadium in Sviatoshynskyi without causing injuries or fire.

President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, noting that while Moscow had previously criticized strikes on Iran's nuclear program, it remained silent following its own "cynical" bombardment of Kyiv with Shahed drones and missiles.

"Only in Kyiv, five apartment buildings were damaged. These are ordinary residential buildings," he said, adding that one person was also killed in Bila Tserkva after a Shahed drone hit a hospital.

Zelensky said the attack damaged sites in four Ukrainian regions and involved 352 drones—including 159 Shaheds—and 16 missiles, possibly including North Korean ballistic missiles.

"Every country near Russia, Iran, and North Korea should be thinking about whether they can protect life if this coalition of killers continues spreading terror," Zelensky said.

The attack on the capital comes just days after Russia launched one of its largest attacks on Kyiv, killing 28 people and injuring 134 others.

Russia's latest round of large-scale attacks comes as Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi warned on June 21 that Russian forces are attempting to advance along almost the entire front in eastern Ukraine while trying to establish a buffer zone in northeastern Sumy Oblast.

Russia seeks to advance along almost entire eastern front, Ukraine holding ground in Kursk Oblast, Syrskyi says

As of mid-June, Ukrainian defenders are fighting close to 695,000 Russian troops in Ukraine across a 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) front, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek

Fred Grandy, a 62-year-old American artist and volunteer who was killed in Russia's mass missile attack against Kyiv on June 17, appears to be the first U.S. civilian killed by a Russian strike on Ukraine, the New York Times (NYT) reported on June 19.

Russia launched a massive assault on Kyiv overnight on June 17, pounding the capital with hundreds of kamikaze drones and multiple missiles in a nine-hour attack that left 30 dead and around 172 injured.

Among the vicitms was Grandy, a U.S. citizen who arrived in Kyiv in May to volunteer to clear away rubble after Russian attacks. He had hoped to volunteer in Ukraine for five or six months, his sister told the NYT.

"He was a person who wanted to make a difference so badly,"  Grandy's sister Siestka Reed said. "I talked to him about five days ago, and he told me that he felt he was right where he should be."

During the attack, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that a 62-year-old U.S. citizen had died near one of the attack sites, but the details of their death remained unclear. The U.S. State Department and Ukrainian authorities later confirmed that a U.S. citizien had been killed, the NYT reported.

According to Ukrainian authorities, Grandy died after sustaining shrapnel wounds.

Before arriving in Kyiv, Grandy had worked as a bartender, bouncer, and builder. He was also an artist, fashioning bird houses and planters out of reclaimed wood and flowers out metal. According to his family, his desire to volunteer in Ukraine stemmed from his dismay at U.S. Presidend Donald Trump's lack of support for Kyiv.

Grandy was upset by Trump's treatment of President Volodymyr Zelensky and withdrawal of military support, Reed told the NYT.  

"He thought, you just don't let a bully do that stuff, and you don't just abandon people," Reed said.

"Then he saw how hard they fought to save their country, or are fighting still. It was just hard to understand walking away, you know? And he just believed that people need a hand up."

Russian drone and missile attacks are not new, but in May and June, mass strikes on civilian targets surged. Russia has launched a number of record-breaking attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, resulting in hundreds of casualties.

Moscow's escalating aerial assaults have even directly harmed U.S. enterprises and individuals. An office used by the U.S. aerospace and defense giant Boeing was hit in a mass strike on Kyiv launched overnight June 9-10. The Financial Times (FT) reported that Russia deliberately targeted the site.

Grandy's death marks the first time a U.S. civilian has been killed in a Russian aerial attack against Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Trump's interest in securing a ceasefire in Ukraine appears to have fizzled out. He left the G7 Leaders Summit in Canada early, jettisoning a much-anticipated meeting with Zelensky, and barely responded to the mass attack on Kyiv.

Trump refuses to sanction Russia and is reportedly obstructing congressional efforts to toughen sanctions on Russian oil profits.

Trump’s peace push falters in both Ukraine and the Middle East — for similar reasons

U.S. President Donald Trump addressed a wide range of subjects during his inauguration speech. When speaking about international relations, he was adamant — “Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity,” he said, talking about Russia’s war against Ukraine and the fighting in the Middle

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv on June 18 condemned Russia's massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv that killed at least 23 people and injured more than 130 a day earlier, saying it "runs counter" to U.S. President Donald Trump's peace efforts.

"Today, with all of Ukraine, we join a day of mourning in Kyiv for the victims of Russia's June 17 attack," the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said in a statement. "We extend deepest condolences to the victims' families. This senseless attack runs counter to President Trump's call to stop the killing and end the war."

The nine-hour overnight attack, which began late June 16, has become one of the largest aerial assaults on the Ukrainian capital since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 472 aerial weapons, including nearly 280 Shahed-type attack drones and cruise and ballistic missiles. Ukraine's air defense downed 428 targets, but several struck residential areas, including a nine-story apartment building in Kyiv's Solomianskyi district.

Among the dead was a U.S. citizen, State Department Press Secretary Tammy Bruce confirmed at a briefing on June 17.

"We are aware of last night's attack on Kyiv, which resulted in numerous casualties, including the tragic death of a U.S. citizen," Bruce said. "We condemn those strikes and extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected."

President Volodymyr Zelensky called it "one of the most horrifying attacks on Kyiv" and urged stronger international support to help Ukraine defend itself.

Despite the scale of the attack, Trump appeared to be unaware of the strike when questioned by reporters aboard Air Force One early on June 17.

"When was that? When?" Trump responded when a reporter asked for his reaction. Told that the drone and missile attack had occurred "very recently," Trump said: "Just now? You mean as I’m walking back to see you, that’s when it took place? Sounds like it. I’ll have to look at it."

As of a day later, the White House had still not issued an official response to the strike.

The June 17 attack caused extensive damage across the capital. Civilian infrastructure hit included kindergartens, a university dormitory, residential neighborhoods, and industrial sites.

Fahrenheit, a Ukrainian manufacturer of military and civilian clothing, reported that its Kyiv factory was damaged and operations were suspended. Ukrposhta, the national postal service, lost two branches. Ukrainian Railways said a grain-carrying train was struck, disrupting transit.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said unexploded cluster munitions were found in the city — a type of weapon banned by some countries due to the danger they pose to civilians. June 18 was declared a day of mourning in Kyiv.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the timing of the attack, as G7 leaders gathered in Canada, a deliberate message from the Kremlin. Moscow has escalated strikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, targeting residential areas and critical infrastructure.

Ukraine has urged Western allies to respond by reinforcing air defense capabilities and tightening economic pressure on Russia.

Putin ‘cannot be trusted’ as mediator, Kallas says, urges EU to tighten Russian oil cap after deadly Kyiv strike

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas urged the European Union to press forward with lowering the oil price cap on Russian crude, even without U.S. support, warning that Middle East tensions could otherwise drive prices up and boost Russia’s revenues.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir

U.S. President Donald Trump was unaware of a deadly Russian drone and missile strike on Kyiv that killed at least 15 people and injured over 120, when asked about the attack by reporters on June 17.

On board Air Force One as he flew back from Canada, Trump was questioned about the attack by a reporter. A clock in the plane shows it was shortly after 1:30 a.m. Washington time, 8:30 a.m. Kyiv time, two-and-a-half hours after the nine-hour-long attack ended, and after reports of casualties had been made public.

When asked for his reaction, he responded: "When was that? When?"

The reporter then says the "Russian drone attack on Kyiv" occurred "very recently."

"Just now? You mean as I’m walking back to see you, that’s when it took place? Sounds like it. I’ll have to look at it," Trump replies.

At the time of writing some seven hours later, the White House has still yet to comment on the attack.

The comments came a few hours after Ukraine endured the largest aerial attack on Kyiv in 2025. According to Ukraine's Air Force, Russia launched 472 aerial weapons overnight, including nearly 280 Shahed-type attack drones, 16 Kh-101 cruise missiles, two Kinzhal ballistic missiles, and other guided munitions, primarily targeting the capital.

Air defenses downed 428 of them, including 239 Shaheds and 15 cruise missiles, while at least one Kinzhal was intercepted.

The almost nine-hour assault killed 15 people and injured 124, according to local authorities. A nine-story residential building in the Solomianskyi district was struck and partially collapsed, killing residents.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said cluster munitions were discovered in the city, a type of weapon banned under international conventions due to their indiscriminate nature and long-term threat to civilians. June 18 has been declared an official day of mourning in Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called the strike "one of the most horrifying attacks on Kyiv" and urged international partners to respond decisively. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the timing of the strike, as G7 leaders meet, was a deliberate message from the Kremlin.

Civilian sites hit in the capital include kindergartens, residential areas, a university dormitory, and production facilities. Ukrainian manufacturer Fahrenheit, which produces military and civilian clothing, announced its factory was damaged and all orders suspended indefinitely. Ukrposhta, the national postal service, lost two branches. A Ukrainian Railways train carrying grain was also struck, temporarily halting traffic.

Russia has escalated attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, including mass strikes on energy infrastructure and residential areas.

US group designed to pressure Russia into peace in Ukraine disbanded by Trump administration, Reuters reports

“It lost steam toward the end because the president wasn’t there,” an official told Reuters.

The Kyiv IndependentChris York

Emergency services in Kyiv have recovered fragments of cluster munitions following the overnight Russian missile and drone attack on June 17, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported, calling it further evidence of Russia's "genocide" against Ukrainians.

"In the capital's Nyvky neighborhood, emergency workers are now finding these kinds of cluster munition parts," Klitschko said in a statement shared on social media. "Another clear sign of the genocide Russia is committing against Ukrainians."

Cluster munitions are banned under international law by more than 100 countries due to their indiscriminate nature and the long-term threat they pose to civilians, especially when unexploded submunitions remain hidden in residential areas.

While Russia and Ukraine are not signatories to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, international humanitarian organizations have repeatedly condemned the use of such weapons in populated areas. Ukraine uses cluster munitions on the battlefield against Russian forces.

The mayor's comments came hours after one of the largest and deadliest attacks on the Ukrainian capital in months, in which at least 15 people were killed and nearly 100 injured. The Russian strike, which lasted nearly nine hours, included waves of kamikaze drones, ballistic missiles, and what authorities now confirm were banned explosive parts.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called the assault "one of the most horrifying attacks on Kyiv," saying more than 440 drones and 32 missiles were launched across Ukraine overnight.

"Such attacks are pure terrorism," he said in a statement on social media. "And the whole world, the U.S., and Europe must finally respond as civilized societies respond to terrorists."

Zelensky confirmed that damage had been reported in eight districts of Kyiv, with emergency workers still searching for survivors beneath the rubble of a destroyed apartment block.

He added that strikes also hit Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv regions. "Fifteen people are confirmed dead. My condolences to their families and loved ones," Zelensky said.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also condemned the attack, calling it a "massive and brutal strike" timed deliberately to coincide with the G7 summit, which is taking place in Canada on June 16-17.

Russian drone strike on Odesa injures 13, including 1 child

Russian drone strikes on Odesa early June 17 injured 13 people, including one child, regional authorities reported.

The Kyiv IndependentLucy Pakhnyuk

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated as new details emerge.

At least 14 people have been killed and 117 others injured after a mass Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight on June 17.

Ukraine's National Police initially reported 15 dead and 124 injured in the attack, but Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko later revised the death toll to 10. The State Emergency Service subsequently updated the figure to 14.

Klymenko said operational data may change, as body parts found during rescue efforts can sometimes be mistakenly counted as multiple victims.

According to the State Emergency Service, one body has been recovered from the rubble of the nine-story building, and rescue operations are still ongoing.

The almost nine-hour-long attack saw Moscow's forces launch large numbers of kamikaze attack drones, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles at Ukraine's capital.

Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground reported the sounds of drones, missiles, and multiple rounds of explosions throughout the night.

The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that Russia launched 472 aerial weapons overnight, including nearly 280 Shahed-type attack drones and two Kinzhal ballistic missiles. The strike primarily targeted Kyiv.

Ukraine's air defense forces reportedly destroyed 428 air targets, including 239 Shahed drones and 15 Kh-101 cruise missiles. Air defenses also intercepted one Kinzhal missile, while another was reportedly lost from radar tracking.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called the assault "one of the most horrifying attacks on Kyiv," saying more than 440 drones and 32 missiles were launched across Ukraine overnight.

"Such attacks are pure terrorism," he said in a statement on social media. "And the whole world, the U.S., and Europe must finally respond as civilized societies respond to terrorists."

Zelensky confirmed that damage had been reported in eight districts of Kyiv, with emergency workers still searching for survivors beneath the rubble of a destroyed apartment block.

In a video posted on Telegram, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said cluster munitions had been found in one area of the city. He later added that June 18 would be an official day of mourning in Kyiv.

Many of the deaths and injuries occurred when a Russian missile hit a nine-storey residential building in the Solomianskyi district, "completely destroying" one section, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said.

"I saw the missile because it was low," Olena Kushnirova, a 46-year-old  nurse who lives in a neighboring building to the one that was hit, told the Kyiv Independent.

"I grabbed my daughter by the hand and shouted 'run!' It was literally 15 seconds. We ran to the toilet, and then there was a very powerful explosion."

During the attack on the capital, a 62-year-old U.S. citizen died in the Solomianskyi district in a building across from where medics were assisting the injured, Klitschko reported. Medical personnel confirmed biological death.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also condemned the attack, calling it a "massive and brutal strike" timed deliberately to coincide with the G7 summit.

"Putin does this on purpose... He sends a signal of total disrespect to the United States and other partners who have called for an end to the killing," Sybiha said. "Only strong steps and real pressure on Moscow can prove him wrong."

A Russian drone also hit a multi-storey building Darnytskyi District.

"At first there was shock," Tatiana Bratus, a 50-year-old resident of the building told the Kyiv Independent.

"People started running outside, shouting, some in panic, because the attack wasn't over yet. They said there were still rockets flying. People ran to the bomb shelter.

A kindergarten in the Darnytskyi district was also damaged, Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration said. No casualties were reported at the site.

The upper floors of residential buildings in the Solomianskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts were also damaged.  

A dormitory at the Kyiv Aviation Institute was hit by drones during the attack, the news outlet Suspilne reported. Drones struck the institute's 10th floor and broke windows on three other floors.

Outside the capital, the attacks also caused damage and injured civilians in Kyiv Oblast towns. At least one woman was injured and multiple homes were damaged, according to the regional administration.

The Russian strike damaged the production facility of Fahrenheit, a Ukrainian clothing manufacturer that supplies apparel and undergarments for both civilians and the military. The company announced it was forced to cancel all current orders and suspend new ones indefinitely following the destruction of its Kyiv site.

Russian forces also hit a Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) freight train carrying grain. Several railcars overturned, temporarily halting operations and spilling grain from the damaged wagons. Ukrzaliznytsia said the damage would be "promptly repaired" and train traffic would not be affected.

Ukrposhta, Ukraine's national postal service, reported the destruction of two of its branches in Kyiv during the attack, according to CEO Ihor Smiliansky. The company's team is working to "quickly restore services," he said.

The attack followed a series of drone strikes overnight on June 16 targeting Kyiv Oblast, including both the capital and surrounding settlements. In the Obukhiv district, a 60-year-old man was injured, according to regional authorities.  

Russian attacks against Ukraine have intensified in May and June, with Moscow launching several record-breaking mass strikes against Kyiv and other cities.

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The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova

Ukraine has accused Russia of "lying about everything" after yet another drone attack on Kyiv injured two people overnight on June 16, saying the strike once again rubbished Kremlin claims that only military objects are being targeted.

The strike hit Rusanivka Gardens, a private neighborhood in the capital’s Dniprovskyi District, creating a crater near civilian homes, and injuring a 20-year-old man and a woman, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said.

"The Russians lie about everything. When they claim to have hit military targets, they are actually targeting our homes and our people," he wrote on Telegram.

"This is a deliberate tactic of terror."

The injured man was hospitalized in serious condition, while the woman is being treated on an outpatient basis, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

"Miraculously, significant damage and casualties were avoided," Tkachenko said.

Despite Moscow's denials, Russia has repeatedly hit civilian areas throughout its full-scale war. On July 8, 2024, one of the deadliest strikes on Kyiv killed 33 people and wounded 121 others, including patients at Ohmatdyt, Ukraine's largest children's hospital.

The Russian Defense Ministry continues to insist it targets only military infrastructure, dismissing reports of civilian casualties as "absolutely untrue." The pattern of destruction across cities like Kharkiv and Kherson shows civilians are often the primary targets.

Moscow launched 138 drones at Ukraine overnight, including Iranian-designed Shahed-type drones. Ukraine's Air Force reported that air defenses intercepted 125 of them, while another 41 went off radars — likely used as decoys to overwhelm air defense systems.

The strike comes as Russia intensifies its air campaign against Ukraine and continues to reject Western-backed proposals for a ceasefire. Kyiv, located along the Dnipro River in the country's north-center, remains one of the most heavily targeted cities in the war.

‘Spit in the face’ — Zelensky condemns Russia’s mass attack, dismisses idea of Putin as peacemaker

“This is Russia’s spit in the face of everything the international community is trying to do to stop this war ... At the same time as Putin tries to portray himself as a mediator for the Middle East. The level of cynicism is staggering.”

The Kyiv IndependentLucy Pakhnyuk

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated as new details emerge.

Russia launched a series of drone attacks on Kyiv Oblast overnight on June 15-16, targeting both the capital city and regional settlements, according to government officials.

In the Obukhiv district of Kyiv Oblast, a 60-year-old man was injured as a result of Russia's drone strike, reported regional governer Mykola Kalashnyk at 1:37 a.m. local time.

The injured man received medical assistance, Kalashnyk confirmed.

Civilian targets, including a private home, were also damaged in the attack. Emergency services are currently working at the scene.

Earlier in the night, explosions were also heard in Kyiv.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that the city's air defenses were operating and that drones were entering the city late on Sunday night, at about 11:29 p.m. local time.

Russia reports Ukrainian drone attack on drone factory in Tatarstan

The drones were shot down, but the debris fell on a plant in the town of Yelabuga, where Shahed-type attack drones are manufactured, causing a fire.

The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell

Kyiv Pride held a parade with over 1,500 participants in the Ukrainian capital on June 14, which was met with counterprotests.

"Other Ukrainian Prides also participated — including Kharkiv Pride and Ukraine Pride. Kyiv’s student community was represented, among others, by the Student Parliament of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Ukraine Global Scholars," Kyiv Pride said in a post to Facebook.

On June 7, a drone charity event for Kyiv Pride took place outside the Foreign Ministry building and was met with a nearby counterprotest.

The march was joined by representatives from the EU, Canada, the U.K., and various other countries, including France, Germany, and Spain.

The march was joined by the LGBT+ Military non-governmental organization (NGO) as Russia's war against Ukraine continues.

"Among the marchers was veteran Viktor Pylypenko, head of the NGO LGBT+ Military for Equal Rights. He drew public attention to the growing loss of military personnel and veterans who are dying at war — while their families remain unrecognized by law," Kyiv Pride said in its statement.

The march raised 20,000 hryvnia for the Serhiy Sternenko Foundation to purchase drones for the military.

Representatives, including Canada's ambassador to Ukraine, Natalka Cmoc, joined the event.

"Ambassadors, the Canadian embassy team, along with many diplomats, joined (the) Kyiv Pride march this morning," Cmoc said.

The Kyiv Pride event was met with a nearby counterprotest.

"With regret, we must note that those who incite violence still have broader access to public space and freely walk through the central streets, while participants of Kyiv Pride March are surrounded by police and restricted in their route. We continue to witness the spread of hate speech," Kyiv Pride said.

Kyiv Pride held a march in June 2024 for the first time since Russia began its full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022.

‘Europe hasn’t decided what to do if US steps back’ — key takeaways from Zelensky’s closed-door briefing

“Both teams are working to ensure we meet,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir