Ukraine war latest: Russian attacks kill 14, injure 57 across Ukraine in 'mass strike'

Key developments on Sept. 27:

• Russian attacks kill 14, injure 57 across Ukraine, with Odesa Oblast targeted in 'mass strike'
• Russia launches third consecutive attack on Kyiv, killing 1, injuring at least 4, setting off fires
• Zelensky says over 10,000 Russian troops killed or wounded this week as Ukrainian military advances in Lyman sector
• Ukrainian military delivers 4 tons of food to occupied Oleshky by drones, according to regional authorities

At least 14 people were killed and 57 others injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day as Odesa Oblast in particular came under mass attack, local authorities said on Sept. 26-27.

In southern Odesa Oblast, Russia launched "a mass strike," damaging a residential building, a medical facility, a hotel, a shop and a grain storage facility, local governor Oleh Kiper said. One person was killed while two others were injured, he added.

Overall, overnight on Sept. 27, Russian forces launched 170 Shahed-type attack drones, including 76 jet-powered versions, as well as Gerbera and Parodiya decoy drones, Ukraine's Air Force said.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 147 drones, while strikes were recorded at 18 locations. Debris from downed drones fell at eight locations, the Air Force said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 27 that residential buildings, energy infrastructure, and other civilian infrastructure were attacked in Odesa, Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Poltava, Zhytomyr, and Kyiv oblasts overnight.

In southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, four people were killed, and five were injured in Russian attacks across the region, local authorities said. Over the past day, Russia carried out 989 attacks on 59 settlements of the region.

In eastern Donetsk Oblast, three people were killed, and five were injured in Russian attacks across the region over the past day, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said.

In the northeastern city of Sumy, a Russian glide bomb attack hit a residential area, killing two people and injuring 28 others, including four children, regional authorities said.

Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast killed two people and injured six others over the past day, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Sept. 26 and Sept. 27.

In northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, over the past day, Russia attacked the city of Kharkiv and the surrounding regions, killing two people and injuring three others, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

In Kyiv, Russian drones injured five people over the past day, damaging residential buildings and warehouses, local authorities reported.

In Kyiv Oblast, Russian attacks over the past day damaged 23 facilities, injuring two people, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, said.

In southern Kherson Oblast, Russian attacks in the region injured one person, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. He added that, as a result of the attacks, a high-rise apartment building, nine houses, a shop, and vehicles were damaged.

In Poltava Oblast, power lines have been damaged following the crash of a Russian drone, local governor Vitalii Diakivnych said. Around 500 customers were temporarily left without power while power company staff worked to restore the electricity supply, he added.

Zelensky said that over the past week, Russian forces launched more than 2,200 attack drones against Ukraine, as well as around 1,650 aerial bombs and 38 missiles of various types.

Russia launches third consecutive attack on Kyiv, killing 1, injuring at least 4, setting off fires

Russia launched another drone attack on Kyiv on the night of Sept. 26-27, marking the third consecutive day of attacks on the Ukrainian capital, according to authorities.

"Just today, and only in Kyiv, Russian kamikaze drones 'defeated' two kindergartens and two schools, a residential building, a car repair shop, several warehouses, and communication facilities," President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "Everywhere in the world, such a choice of targets would be called one word: terrorism."

The Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office said on Sept. 27 that a pre-trial investigation was launched into the commission of a war crime by the Russian military, which resulted in the death of a man.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at 5:17 p.m. local time that a drone struck a nine-story residential building in the Darnytskyi district of Kyiv.

Klitschko also said at 4:09 p.m. local time that an administrative building in the Holosiivskyi district was hit, according to preliminary reports.

In the morning of Sept. 27, Russia struck a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, Klitschko said at 9:26 a.m. local time. At least three people, a woman and two 16-year-old children, were injured in the area.

Air defense units were operating over the city, Klitschko said in an evening update. Kyiv Independent reporters on the ground also heard air defenses operating in the city.

In the Shevchenkivskyi district, a Russian drone struck an uninhabited residential building at around 10 p.m. local time on Sept. 26, according to Klitschko.

A fire at the building was later brought under control, while emergency crews continued working at the site.

In the Solomianskyi district, a drone fell in an open area overnight. The resulting blast wave damaged a five-story residential building, breaking windows and damaging its facade, Klitschko said.

A fire also broke out at a warehouse in the district after the site was struck by a Russian drone, he added. Ukraine's State Emergency Service said that a car service center was on fire as a result of the attack.

A woman was injured in the attack and handed over to medics, and a man was killed, the State Emergency Service said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that on the morning of Sept. 27, Russian forces struck a data center in Kyiv twice.

Ukraine's largest mobile operator Kyivstar said that its headquarters was damaged during the drone attack on Sept. 27, as reported by the Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne.

In Kyiv Oblast, Russian attacks killed one person and injured three others, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, said.

In Vyshneve, five cars were damaged, and a fire broke out after a drone struck the area. In Brovary, the attack caused fires in a warehouse and an office building, according to Tkachenko.

The latest attack follows a series of Russian drone strikes on Kyiv that began overnight on Sept. 24.

Russian drones continued targeting Kyiv during the day on Sept. 26, with further damage and casualties reported. By the evening, Ukrainian officials said five people had been injured in attacks on the capital during the day.

In recent months, Russia has increased its use of jet-powered drones, placing additional strain on Ukraine's air defenses.

One of Russia's newer jet-powered drone models, the Geran-5, can reportedly reach speeds of up to 600 km/h (373 mph), has an estimated range of up to 950 kilometers (590 miles), and can fly at altitudes of up to 6,000 meters (19,700 feet).

Ukraine is developing interceptor drones aimed at countering Russia's jet-powered drones, with some systems having undergone successful tests, according to Ukrainian officials. The government has not announced plans for mass production.

Zelensky says over 10,000 Russian troops killed or wounded this week as Ukrainian military advances in Lyman sector

Ukrainian forces have killed or wounded 10,660 Russian troops over the past week while making gains in the Lyman sector of Donetsk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 27.

"The occupiers continue to be eliminated, and the designated objectives are being achieved," Zelensky wrote on X, citing a report by Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi.

According to Zelensky, Ukrainian forces have video evidence confirming every Russian loss included in the weekly figure. Russia does not routinely disclose its military losses, and the figures could not be independently verified.

Ukraine's General Staff said on Sept. 15 that Russian forces have lost more than 300,000 troops killed and wounded since the beginning of 2026. After the summer campaign on the battlefield in Ukraine ended, Russian losses exceeded 1.5 million since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Zelensky said the past week's results were achieved as part of Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi in the Lyman sector and another active defense operation involving Ukraine's Air Assault Forces.

Zelensky added that the heaviest fighting has been taking place in the Pokrovsk, Kostiantynivka, and Lyman sectors, while Ukrainian forces are also carrying out operations in Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Sumy oblasts.

He did not provide further details on the territorial gains.

Operation Vivaldi, Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps offensive operation around Lyman in northern Donetsk Oblast, was only made public on Sept. 15, although Russian pro-war Telegram channels and independent open-source intelligence (OSINT) researchers on social media had been tracking Ukrainian attacks in the area since late spring 2026.

On Sept. 20, the 3rd Corps said it liberated a further 40 square kilometers (15.4 square miles) of territory in Donetsk Oblast and retook several villages during the ongoing offensive.

Ukrainian military delivers 4 tons of food to occupied Oleshky by drones, according to regional authorities

Ukrainian forces have delivered around four tons of food to residents of the occupied front-line town of Oleshky in Kherson Oblast, distributing supplies to 100 locations across the city with the help of drones, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration head said on Sept. 27.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with several Ukrainian military and law enforcement units, according to Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.

Residents of Oleshky have reported that the town is running critically low on food due to a lack of supplies, while only a small number of residents have managed to evacuate.

The drone delivery is part of an effort that has been supplying food to Oleshky residents by drone since March 2026, according to the governor.

A local resident who left Oleshky in April told the Kyiv Independent that drones had previously delivered food.

"(Drones) dropped the packages in several places. (The packages) contained a little bit of medicine and food. I don't know whose drone it was, but I reckon it was Ukraine that dropped them for us," the resident said.

Prokudin said Russian forces have attempted to disrupt the deliveries, including by shooting down the drones carrying food. He also accused Russian forces of confiscating or reselling humanitarian supplies and detaining residents who receive aid.

"The occupiers are detaining residents of Oleshky for receiving humanitarian aid parcels, throwing them 'into the cellar', beating them brutally and resorting to violence," Prokudin said.

Volunteers who used to organize the evacuation from Oleshky raised concerns about such deliveries in local Telegram groups, saying they feared this might lead to checks from the Russian side and a "nightmare for people".

The last successful food delivery to the city by vehicles was on May 26. Further attempts to supply the city on June 2 and Sept. 1 were disrupted by Russian drone attacks that killed two and injured others.

Oleshky lies on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the regional center of Kherson. The town has been under Russian occupation since Feb. 24, 2022.

Oleshky's population has fallen from around 24,000 to approximately 2,000 as of spring 2026, according to the Foreign Ministry.

While Russian troops occupy Oleshky and the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, the Ukrainian military controls the western bank. Russian troops use towns and villages on the eastern bank to launch attacks across the river, including on the liberated city of Kherson.

Russian forces have placed guns, mortars, and mines in and around residential neighborhoods due to the city's proximity to Ukrainian-controlled territory, Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, deputy head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, told the Kyiv Independent.

Tolokonnikov said Russia shields its positions from Ukrainian strikes through the continued presence of civilians.

"Oleshky and its people are necessary for Russian troops so that Ukrainian troops cannot actively attack them in these settlements," he said.

In spring 2026, evacuation volunteers still managed to help people from Oleshky leave for other occupied settlements in Kherson Oblast or Ukraine-controlled areas in exhausting multi-day trips. Now, they said, the high risk made evacuation impossible.

In recent weeks, some residents have started walking out of Oleshky to the neighboring village of Radensk alone or in pairs, on roads mined by Russian forces.

Russian forces are preventing Ukraine and international humanitarian organizations from accessing the occupied territories to provide aid.

On Sept. 25, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O'Flaherty, raised concerns about the worsening humanitarian situation in Oleshky. O'Flaherty said civilians, including children, were struggling to access adequate food, medicine, medical care, clean water, and electricity, warning that some could face a serious risk to their lives.

O'Flaherty said international humanitarian law requires occupying authorities to ensure civilians have access to food and medical supplies and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

"The hardship and suffering of people caught along the frontlines of the war and in occupied territories demand international attention and action," O'Flaherty said.