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'A miracle that Dad didn't die today' — Russian daytime drone attack on Kyiv injures at least three

• 4 min read
'A miracle that Dad didn't die today' — Russian daytime drone attack on Kyiv injures at least three
An emergency worker at the site of a Russian attack in Kyiv's Darnytskyi District on Oct. 12, 2026. (Chris Occhicone / The Kyiv Independent)

Russia launched yet another drone attack against Kyiv on Oct. 12, hitting multiple districts of Ukraine's capital and injuring at least three people, city authorities said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko first said at 11:32 a.m. local time that air defenses were operating in the city. Three people, including an elderly woman, were injured as a result of Russian drone attacks, he added.

Drone debris fell in an open area near residential buildings in the Solomyanskyi District of Kyiv and on a house in Darnytskyi District, while in the Pecherskyi District, a fire caused by wreckage of a drone that had crashed near a building was brought under control, Klitschko said.

Yuliia Sheremet, 38, the owner of the house that was damaged in Darnytskyi District, told the Kyiv Independent that her elderly, disabled father was at home when the attack occurred.

Sheremet was working not far away at the time, so she "immediately ran" to her house when she heard explosions and saw the smoke rise.

"And I saw there was no home anymore..."

Her father was injured but survived. Neighbors helped her to get him out. "It's nothing short of a miracle that Dad didn't die today," Sheremet said.

"I'm in shock... It's impossible to live like that, and I don't know how to carry on. We're all exhausted. We need help so that we can defend Ukraine."

Kyiv resident Yana Mohal, 25, woke up to a "horrible and loud" sound in Darnytskyi District, she told the Kyiv Independent. She went outside to see whether she could help Sheremet's father, an "elderly man with a dog," who was trapped in a damaged house.

Mohal added that it was the first time that the Russian attack had struck so close to her.

Russia is regularly attacking Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine. At least 16 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in Kyiv and the surrounding region between Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, according to a Kyiv Independent count based on official reports.

Ahead of winter, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 11 that Russia had carried out more than 200 strikes on Ukraine's electricity generation and transmission facilities over the past week, as well as 17 strikes on gas and oil facilities. Russian attacks killed more than 150 people and wounded more than 700 during that period, he added.

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Yuliia Taradiuk

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Yuliia Taradiuk is a Ukrainian reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She has been working with Lutsk-based misto.media, telling stories of Ukrainian fighters for the "All are gone to the front" project. She has experience as a freelance culture reporter, and a background in urbanism and activism, working for multiple Ukrainian NGOs. Yuliia holds B.A. degree in English language and literature from Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, she studied in Germany and Lithuania.

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