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Kyiv shortens curfew to 1-5 am

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Kyiv shortens curfew to 1-5 am
A young man and a woman walk along a street where an automatic irrigation system is operating in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 4, 2026. (Oleksandr Magula/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

The curfew in Kyiv will be shortened to 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. amid intensified Russian aerial attacks on the Ukrainian capital, the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, announced on Sept. 7.

The changes will take effect at midnight on Sept. 10, and the public transportation services in Kyiv will also be extended by an hour, according to Klitschko. He said that the working hours of restaurants, cafes, shopping malls, and other venues would remain unaffected.

The curfew reduction comes as the security situation in Kyiv deteriorates, with air raid alerts going off regularly and restricting movements within the city. Round-the-clock Russian drone attacks have targeted Kyiv for over a week, from the end of August to the beginning of September, leaving the city's residents to worry about what awaits them in the upcoming winter.

Facing a severe shortage of air defense missiles, Ukraine is increasingly strained in its efforts to protect cities, including Kyiv, from heavy Russian missile and drone attacks.

With trains often arriving in the city late, the city will organize four bus routes during curfew so people can get home from Kyiv's central railway station, Klitschko said.

Most restaurants and bars work until 11 p.m. in Kyiv, and the metro currently operates from around 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Earlier in September, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine will change how air raid alerts operate and introduce red and yellow levels, a change from the previous single air raid alert.

The yellow level corresponds to incoming drones, whereas the red level indicates threats from missiles, including ballistic missiles, and massive combined attacks, according to Zelensky.

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The changes will take effect at midnight on Sept. 10, and the public transportation schedule in Kyiv will also be extended by an hour, according to Klitschko.

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