Explosions rock Kyiv during 7th straight night of Russian attacks
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Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Kyiv was hit by a Russian drone attack for the seventh night in a row late in the evening on Sept. 2.
Explosions were heard in the capital shortly before 11 p.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent reporters on the ground. The sound of the blast suggested a target had been hit. Minutes later, journalists reported another round of explosions.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that air defense units were actively repelling Russian drones targeting the capital. He urged residents to stay in shelters.
No information regarding damage or casualties is available at this time.
Air raid alerts also sounded in cities far from the front line, including Ternopil in western Ukraine, as the Air Force warned of inbound Russian drones.
The latest drone barrage follows a week of relentless Russian attacks against Kyiv — including daytime strikes, nonstop air raid sirens, ballistic missile attacks, and devastating civilian casualties.
The onslaught prompted President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce a change in Ukraine's aerial alert system. Under the new plan, alerts will be divided into red and yellow levels, with yellow corresponding to drone threats and red signaling incoming missiles and massive combined attacks.
Moscow's assault on Kyiv comes as Ukraine suffers a severe shortage of air defense systems, leaving cities with little protection against ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones. Even as Ukraine expands its own long-range strike capabilities to hit back at Russia, the air defense crisis has made summer 2026 the deadliest time for civilians since the first months of the full-scale invasion.
