'It was a horror' — 12 killed in Kyiv and suburbs, including 6 rail workers, as Russia's barrage enters 6th day
A firefighter sifts through the rubble in Kyiv on Sept. 1, 2026 following a Russian strike on the capital. (Ukraine's State Emergency Service/Telegram)
on Google- At least eight people have been killed and eight others injured, including three children, in Kyiv amid the latest Russian attack
- A further four people were killed and 13 injured in the surrounding oblast
- Ballistic missiles targeted Kyiv as air raid sirens sound for the third time since late on Aug. 31
- Six of the dead were employees of Ukrainian Railways
- Dozens of explosions rocked the city within the span of 15 minutes, starting at around 2:23 a.m. local time
- Drone attacks continued through the day
At least 12 people were killed and 21 others injured in Kyiv and the surrounding oblast overnight on Sept. 1, as Russia launched a ballistic missile attack amid a days-long drone barrage against the capital.
Officials reported that at least eight people were killed and eight others injured in the capital, while four were killed and 13 injured in Kyiv Oblast.
Six of those killed were Ukrainian Railways employees who died when a ballistic missile hit a "depot and other railway facilities," Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, Chairman of the Board of Ukrainian Railways, said in a post on social media.
"Everything was on fire," Mykhailo Kostash, a security guard at the Ukrainian Railways depot that was hit, told the Kyiv Independent.
"Some of the walls had collapsed, the roof was on fire, and there was a huge blaze, a terrible tragedy."
Halyna, a railway worker who asked to be identified by first name only, told the Kyiv Independent that she came to work this morning to hand in her notice and retire as she can no longer take the stress of Russian attacks.
"I've cried so much. I just don't feel like doing anything anymore," she said.
Andrii, a 45-year-old electrical engineer who asked to be identified by first name only, said there is a shelter at the depot but the speed of Russia's ballistic missile attacks gives little time to get there.
"We railway workers are like suicide bombers here, honest to God. Nobody gives a shit about us," he said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said nearly 350 emergency workers were involved in responding to the aftermath of the attack in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast alone.
"Russia always plans its strikes in a way designed to cause maximum destruction to people’s lives, and it succeeds only when there are not enough air defense systems," he added.
In the city of Brovary, east of Kyiv, at least four people were killed and 13 injured in the overnight attack. Eight of those injured were in a five-story residential building that was badly damaged.
"It was a horror, it was incredibly scary," Olena Malynka, a kindergarten tutor who lives nearby, told the Kyiv Independent.
Malynka lives with her parents, both in their 80s. She described the missile as "a monster flying."
"There was a loud explosion. We had recovered a little, but we were all scared, so we immediately ran to our parents. We were terrified. What news channels show now, it doesn't look that scary at all," she said.
As she spoke, other residents were sifting through items damaged during the attack. Some stood with their belongings, waiting for relatives. Nearby, schoolchildren sat on the playground, watching as people cleared away the rubble.
Borys Bolsky, a military recruiter, travelled to Brovary from Kyiv to help his mother, whose apartment was damaged.
"My mum rang me to say that something utterly absurd had happened. I calmed her down and helped her make sense of it all. The windows were smashed, the front door was broken down, and there were shards of glass all over the flat. The cat went missing but they found him," Bolsky said.
"(The Russians) are arseholes. But the main thing is that (mum) is alive and everything is fine," he added.
Kyiv and Odesa oblasts were the primary targets, according to Ukraine's Air Force. Russia launched ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as 218 drones, around a third of which were jet-powered.
Ukraine's air defenses intercepted or suppressed 199 drones or missiles, including five ballistic missiles, five Kalibr cruise missiles, two S8000 Banderol missiles, and 187 drones. Strikes were recorded at 28 locations across the country, while debris from intercepted targets fell at 10 others.
Russia resumes attacks
Overnight on Sept. 1, Ukraine's air defenses were engaged in Kyiv's city center for the sixth straight day as several Russian drones were downed over the city, Kyiv Independent reporters said.
Fires were recorded throughout the city as Russia's attack on Kyiv continued, Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said at 9:30 p.m. local time on Aug. 31.
A blaze broke out in the city's Darnytskyi district as a result of a downed drone, in the Solomyanskyi district a wooded area caught fire, and in the Holosiivskyi district drone debris was found at two different locations.
A "very loud" explosion then rocked Kyiv's city center at around 10:17 p.m., Kyiv Independent Deputy Chief Editor Toma Istomina said.
The Kyiv City Military Administration cleared the air raid alert later at 10:27 p.m. local time after it began hours earlier at 7:46 p.m.
Russia deploys missiles
Another alert was declared at 11:32 p.m. and then cleared at 12:15 a.m. on Sept. 1, with another alert following at 2:10 a.m. local time as Ukraine's Air Force warned Kyiv was targeted by several missiles.
Amid the casualty count, four people, including two children in the Solomyanskyi district, were injured in the Russian attack, the military administration reported.
Dozens of explosions then rocked Kyiv from 2:23 a.m. through 2:34 a.m. shortly after the latest alert was declared, Istomina said.
"This is the biggest missile attack on Kyiv in a while," Editor-in-Chief Olga Rudenko said as explosions continued to rock the city.
At around 10 a.m., a drone fell in an open area near a five-story residential building in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi District, while a fire broke out on the 14th and 15th floors of a 16-story residential building in the Podilskyi District, Klitschko said, later adding that three people were injured.
Kyiv Oblast Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko reported that a five-story residential building and an unspecified "enterprise" was damaged in the attack in Boryspil, located in Kyiv Oblast, just outside the capital.
Explosions continued into the evening of Sept. 1, with air defenses working. Shortly after explosions were heard, a fire broke out in the Shevchenkivskyi district, burning grass and trees, the Kyiv City Military Administration reported at 6 p.m. local time.
In the Svyatoshynskyi district a fire near residential buildings was reported at 6.30 p.m. local time by the Kyiv City Military Administration.
At 8 p.m. local time, Kyiv Independent staff heard two loud explosions in the city's center.
Russian forces launched 99 strike drones, including 72 jet-powered UAVs, at Ukraine between 6.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sept. 1, according to reports from Ukraine's Air Force.
Air defenses claimed 82 drones, including 52 jet-powered UAVs, shot down or suppressed.
As of 6.30 p.m. about 10 jet-powered drones remained in Ukrainian airspace and new UAV groups are approaching, warned Ukraine's Air Force.
Recent days in Kyiv
Kyiv has recorded a record number of air raid alerts over the past week as Russia shifts its strategy to launching jet-powered drones in near-hourly attacks rather than its usual massive overnight barrages of ballistic and cruise missiles preceded by waves of drones.
On Aug. 28, the capital recorded 13 alerts, the highest number since Russia launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine.
Zelensky said on Aug. 30 that around 800 Russian jet-powered drones were launched over the first four days of prolonged attacks.
Russia is increasingly using jet-powered drones, which can travel up to 600 kilometers per hour, more than three times faster than piston-powered Shaheds.
"Right now, Russia’s tactic is to wear down Ukraine and Ukrainians – first and foremost, our people," Zelensky said in his evening address on Aug. 28.
As Ukraine continues to search for effective defense against the jet-powered drones, Ukraine's new Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara told reporters on Aug. 29 that Ukraine has tested four potential interceptors against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.
