In pictures: A week of Russian jet drone terror in Kyiv
Smoke from a Russian drone strike rises over a residential area in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 23, 2026. (Roman Chop/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
on GoogleEditor's note: The Kyiv residents quoted in the story asked to be identified only by their first names.
Russian drones have filled the skies over Kyiv, striking at the city around the clock, making it feel increasingly like there is nowhere safe to hide.
The attacks once came in waves, followed by periods of relative calm. Now, Russian strikes are coming almost nonstop. Using newer jet-powered versions of Shahed-type drones, the onslaught began last month, but has increased in intensity each day over the past week.
The city is filled with the constant noise of drones striking their targets and the thunder of air defenses firing back. Then there is the sound of a drone approaching — a distant roar that can swell in seconds as it tears through the sky at speeds of up to 600 kilometers per hour (370 miles per hour), leaving little time to act.
"At any moment, you don't know where a strike might land," Kyiv resident Khrystyna told the Kyiv Independent after an attack on Sept. 23 set a historic market near the central railway station ablaze.
The latest barrage stretched from night into day. At 12 hours and 44 minutes, the air raid alert in Kyiv on Sept. 30 was one of the longest single alerts the city has ever recorded. Several more have sounded since, and at the time of writing, another was stretching into the late evening.
Preceding the daylight drone barrage, Russian forces attacked the capital overnight with ballistic missiles.
Earlier this week, Russia struck the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences in the center of Kyiv, forcing people trapped inside to climb out through upper-floor windows to escape the flames. About two hours later, another Russian strike hit a medical center a mere 15-minute walk away.
Kyiv's data centers and internet hubs have also been among Russia's latest targets. Strikes on this infrastructure can disrupt Ukrainian online services far beyond the capital, degrade connectivity in Kyiv, and potentially cut people off from the internet they rely on to track drone movements.
Another troubling sign came on Sept. 30, when Russia resumed strikes on the capital's energy infrastructure.
Under a seemingly endless barrage of Russian drones, and with no certainty about what the next morning will bring, Kyiv continues to push through the attacks as it braces for colder weather — and another difficult winter.
"We try to put it out of our minds and stay composed. But lately, our morale has taken a hit," Yana, a real estate agent who survived a Sept. 25 attack in the city center, told the Kyiv Independent.
