Record Russian drone, missile attack kills at least 5, injures 44 across Ukraine, hits government building for first time

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect additional comments made by residents of the affected buildings.

A record mass Russian drone and missile attack on cities across Ukraine overnight on Sept. 7 has killed at least 5 people and injured 44 others.

In Kyiv, a woman and her newborn child were killed and 20 people were injured, according to local officials.

Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, reported at 7:35 a.m. on Sept. 8 that the death toll in the city had increased to three.

Multiple Ukrainian regions, as well as the capital, came under attack. The overnight strikes damaged multiple residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, causing power outages in some regions, and struck the Cabinet of Ministers building in central Kyiv.

In the aftermath of the attack, the Kyiv Independent spoke to residents directly impacted by the attack.

"I went to the kitchen to drink water and a minute later there was a strike. If I had stayed in the kitchen any longer, I would have died because there was nothing left of that place," Sava, a resident of the building that was struck by a Russian drone in the Sviatoshynskyi district, told the Kyiv Independent. Sava's family apartment was destroyed in the strike.

"As soon as I returned to bed, I heard an explosion so loud that I thought I had gone deaf, everything was covered in smoke in an instant. There was a fire and a flood at the same time, so not much was left."

While grateful to be alive, Sava, who describes herself as an artist, said she was devastated to see her family's art and literature destroyed in the attack.

"I have been creative all my life and my mother carefully preserved every work from under my hands. My huge artistic path through my youngest years and art academies is now destroyed. Russia is killing not only us but also our culture — I am a part of this culture."

Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 810 Shahed-type drones during the attack, making it the largest such attack of the full-scale invasion. Thirteen cruise and ballistic missiles were also launched.

"There was a young woman living on the 6th floor, who had recently given birth. She was thrown out into the street by the blast wave," Inna, a resident of a building in the Sviatoshynskyi district next to one that was struck by a Russian drone, told the Kyiv Independent.

"She was found under the slab of the building at 5 a.m. The child was also found dead."

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least seven people have been hospitalized, including a pregnant woman.

The pregnant woman injured in the Russian attack gave birth to a son after being transferred to Kyiv City Clinical Hospital, where she remains in extremely serious condition, public broadcaster Suspilne reported, citing doctor Olena Frantseva.

The woman was urgently induced into labor, and doctors are now fighting to save the newborn's life, Valentyna Hinzburh, the head of the Kyiv City Administration's health department, told Suspilne.

Hinzburh added that three other patients injured in the same attack are in serious condition and are being treated in the hospital's burn unit.

An elderly woman has also died in a shelter in the Darnytskyi district following the attack, although the cause of death was not immediately clear.

"Such killings, especially now when genuine diplomacy could have started long ago, are deliberate crimes that only prolong the war. Washington has repeatedly warned that sanctions will follow if talks are refused. We must fully implement all agreements made in Paris," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, reacting to the recent Russian strikes.

As of 2 p.m. local time, rescue teams and emergency services were still responding to the aftermath of Russian attacks across Ukraine, according to Zelensky.

"We have coordinated our diplomatic efforts, follow-up actions, and contacts with partners to ensure an appropriate response. Together with France, we are preparing new measures to strengthen our defenses," Zelensky said.

Officials reported that a fire broke out at the Cabinet of Ministers building in the central Pecherskyi district, the first time the main government building has been hit in such an attack.

A Kyiv Independent reporter on the ground said the fire appeared to have been extinguished by 9:25 a.m. local time. It's not presently clear if it was struck by a drone, missile, or debris. Sources told Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian media outlet, that the building had been deliberately targeted.

Officials in Kyiv first warned of active air defenses around 7:30 p.m. local time. Explosions were later heard by Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground around 3:30 a.m.

Mayor Klitschko reported that Russian drone debris had struck three multi-story residential buildings in the Sviatoshynskyi district of Kyiv, and another in the Darnytskyi district, leading to fires at the buildings.

Klitschko added that the third floor of a four-floor residential building in the Darnytskyi district has partially collapsed, while the forth to eighth floors of a nine-story building in the Sviatoshynskyi district have been damaged.

Multiple car fires have also been reported in the Sviatoshynskyi district as well as a fire at multiple warehouses.

"I was in the apartment... turned on my phone and saw that one (drone) was flying, and then the second one started flying... behind the apartment building, and then there was a blast," Valerii Panchenko, a resident of the building that was struck in Sviatoshynskyi district, told the Kyiv Independent.

"Shrapnel was hitting everything. My wife and I ran out with the the children in fright. It hit the wall like that, right through the wall... there were screams…"

Explosions were again heard in Kyiv around 6:05 a.m. local time, according to a Kyiv Independent journalist on the ground, amid a series of approaching Russian missiles.

Amid a third round of explosions around 7:45 a.m, a Kyiv Independent journalist described a heavy smell of burning in the city.

Heorhii Sudakov, a Ukrainian footballer player, said his apartment was hit and damaged by the attack.

"The wife, child and mother were at home at the time," said the Benfica midfielder who was away on international duty during the attack. Sudakov's pregnant wife Lisa said the family is safe.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, damage and additional casualties were reported amid the large-scale attack.

In Kyiv Oblast, multiple houses were damaged in the Bucha, Brovary, and Fastiv districts, according to the regional military administration. An 18-year-old woman was injured and hospitalized in Brovary district.

In Kryvyi Rih, missiles and drones struck around 10 apartment buildings, homes, an educational institution, as well as local businesses, the chair of the city's Defense Council Oleksandr Vilkul said.

At least three people have been hospitalized as a result of the attack on Kryvyi Rih, Vilkul added.

In Odesa, Russia drones struck civilian infrastructure and residential buildings, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said, causing several fires. Information on casualties and damaged caused is being clarified.

In Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces struck a workshop building in the city's industrial area, regional Governor Ivan Federov said, adding that the strike did not result in any casualties.

In Poltava Oblast, the Russian attack damaged a bridge, a private enterprise, as well as home in the city of Kremenchuk. A municipal administrative building was also damaged amid falling drone debris in the Poltava district, Governor Volodymyr Kohut said. Railway infrastructure in the region was also damaged, according to Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, the CEO of Ukraine’s state railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia.

Explosions were heard in various cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv, Odesa, Kremenchuk, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and Zaporizhzhia, amid a long-lasting drone attack.

Poland's Air Force, with the assistance of Dutch F-35s, scrambled fighter jets to protect the country's own airspace around 5 a.m. Russian drones have repeatedly violated Poland's airspace during attack against Ukraine, with such incidents intensifying in recent weeks.

As Russia continues to launch attacks at civilian targets in Ukraine, progress on peace talks has increasingly stalled in recent weeks.

Russian President Putin has thus far repeatedly refused to attend an in-person meeting with Zelensky in a neutral setting — suggesting, instead, that Zelensky meet with Putin in Moscow.

Zelensky on Sept. 5 dismissed the proposal to meet in Moscow, suggesting the Russian leader should come to Ukraine instead.

"He can come to Kyiv," Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News, laughing and shaking his head after being asked about the Moscow invitation. "I can't go to Moscow when my country's under missiles, under attack, each day. I can't go to the capital of this terrorist."

Despite attempting to broker the meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a meeting was unlikely on Aug. 25, saying Putin didn't want to meet with Zelensky because "he doesn't like him."

On Aug. 28, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz became the first Western leader to write the meeting off, saying it "obviously" wasn't going to go ahead.