Russia Strikes Kyiv, 12 Dead

PHOTO CAPTION: Residents stand in front of their apartment building damaged by a Russian missile strike in the town of Boryspil, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine September 1, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KYIV, Sept. 1 — Russian air attacks killed 12 people and injured many more in Kyiv and the surrounding region early Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities said, marking a sixth consecutive day of intense strikes on the capital.

Russia has stepped up its air campaign in recent months as its battlefield advances have slowed sharply. Since last week, Moscow has increasingly sent waves of drones toward Kyiv and nearby areas during both daytime and overnight attacks, including newer jet-powered models that Ukrainian officials say are faster and more difficult to intercept.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russian drones and ballistic missiles targeted residential areas and railway infrastructure overnight. He urged Ukraine’s allies to increase economic pressure on Moscow, revisit proposals to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s war effort and provide more air-defense systems as Kyiv runs critically low on U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of stopping ballistic missiles.

“It is time to signal (to) the Kremlin that imitating diplomacy does not work anymore,” Sybiha wrote on X.

Eight killed in Kyiv, four outside capital

Eight people were killed in Kyiv during the overnight attacks, most of them railway workers, officials said. More explosions were heard Tuesday morning, when another drone attack injured three people and sparked a fire at a high-rise apartment building, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

In Boryspil, just outside Kyiv, four people were killed and 13 others injured after a strike hit a residential building and other locations, Governor Tymur Tkachenko said. One of those killed outside Kyiv was an Indian citizen.

“There’s the crater. My car was parked here, and the blast threw it over there,” Yevhen Zavhorodniy, 44, told Reuters while pointing to a large crater in front of a damaged building in Boryspil.

“But we're alive and well, thank God. My wife, my son and our dog,” said Zavhorodniy, who recently moved his family from Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine.

Russian strikes also targeted a border crossing with NATO member Romania in Ukraine’s Black Sea region of Odesa. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said thousands of families in the area were left without electricity.

Jet-powered drone attacks increase

Russian forces have regularly attacked Ukrainian cities overnight throughout the war, but the newer waves of daytime strikes have further disrupted life in Kyiv.

Russia launched more than 2,800 jet-powered drones against Ukraine in August, Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said. Moscow had already increased its use of the drones fivefold in July compared with June.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down five ballistic missiles during the latest attacks. Kyiv recently received a small batch of Patriot interceptors, but Ukrainian officials say supplies remain critically limited.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces struck military and energy facilities in Kyiv and Odesa overnight, as well as targets in the surrounding regions.

Ukraine also steps up attacks inside Russia

Ukraine has increased its own attacks on Russian territory, targeting oil refineries, logistics infrastructure and warehouses used by online retailers.

Russian regional governors said Ukrainian air attacks caused a fire in the port area of Ust-Luga, a major export hub in northwestern Russia, and damaged civilian facilities in the Samara region, which is home to several oil refineries.

A civilian was also killed in an attack on Russia’s Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border, the acting regional governor said.

Estonia’s defense forces said drones involved in a Ukrainian strike on Russia briefly entered Estonian airspace. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said the incident, the latest in a series in recent months, demonstrated the importance of providing Ukraine with additional air-defense assets.

Peace efforts remain stalled

U.S.-led peace efforts stalled this year as Ukraine rejected Russian demands that it surrender territory and Washington became increasingly focused on its conflict with Iran.

Zelenskiy said Monday that he held a “detailed and constructive” call with President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and that the sides were working to finalize dates for a visit to Ukraine.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi separately told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the war needed to end for humanity’s sake.

Putin said Moscow was “moving forward along this path.”

(Source: Reuters)