Ukraine war latest: Russian missile, drone attack on Kyiv injures at least 20

Key developments on Sept. 16:

• At least 20 injured, including children, in Kyiv following Russian missile, drone attack
• Ukrainian collaborator involved in Russia's sham 'referendums' killed in Ukrainian drone strike, Russian media claims
• Ukraine strikes 2 S-400 launchers in Russia's Bryansk Oblast, General Staff claims
• Russian drone attack on Tanzania-flagged vessel kills captain, injures 3 crew members, Ukraine says
• Russian forces strike major Ukrainian steel plant for 4th time in a month, injuring 1 worker
• Ukraine repatriates bodies of 252 fallen Ukrainians

Russia launched a drone and missile attack on Kyiv on the night of Sept. 16-17, damaging an education facility and injuring at least 20 people in Ukraine's capital, officials reported.

The attack comes as the U.S. government backed sweeping legislation that would allow tariffs of up to 100% to be imposed on countries that purchase Russian oil and gas.

Explosions rocked Kyiv's city center beginning around 12:30 a.m. local time, the Kyiv Independent's Deputy Chief Editor Toma Istomina reported.

Russia's attack resumed when ballistic missiles targeted Ukraine's capital at around 2:13 a.m. local time with "two big explosions in quick succession, then another after about a minute," War Editor Chris York said. Another eight explosions, "one after another," rocked the city at around 2:21 a.m., he added.

An air raid alert was declared across much of Ukraine, including briefly in far-western Lviv Oblast, where sirens sounded from 2:12 a.m. until 2:26 a.m. Drones were later seen around the capital as late as just after 7 a.m. local time.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitshchko said that 20 people were injured, with at least five of the injured victims being hospitalized.

Ukrainian collaborator involved in Russia's sham 'referendums' killed in Ukrainian drone strike, Russian media claims

Ukrainian collaborator Elena Astanina, who headed one of Russia's so-called election commissions in the occupied territories, was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike, Russian state-controlled media outlet TASS claimed on Sept. 17.

Astanina was killed on Sept. 15 in the village of Zhovtneve, in the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to Russia's Central Election Commission.

TASS identified the woman killed as Elena Astanina, the "chairperson of Precinct Electoral Commission No. 394," a so-called electoral body established by the Kremlin in the occupied city of Tokmak.

According to TASS, Astanina "had worked in the electoral system since 2022" and was involved in organizing Russia's sham "referendums" in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, whose results were rejected by Ukraine and the vast majority of the international community.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims. Ukraine had not commented on the reported strike on Zhovtneve at the time of publication.

Ukraine strikes 2 S-400 launchers in Russia's Bryansk Oblast, General Staff claims

Ukrainian forces struck two Russian S-400 launchers in the Vygonychi district of Russia's Bryansk Oblast, Ukraine's General Staff claimed on Sept. 17.

The strikes took place overnight on Sept. 16-17, the statement read. The General Staff did not specify the extent of the damage to the launchers or the weapons used in the attack.

The S-400 is Russia's most advanced long-range air defense system. Introduced in 2007, an S-400 system costs an estimated $500 million and has a maximum range of around 400 kilometers (250 miles).

Russia regularly employs S-400 systems to launch ballistic missiles against Ukraine, putting Kyiv's limited stock of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors under further pressure. Ukraine currently relies on partner countries for these advanced interceptors, which are the only systems in its arsenal capable of countering some of the ballistic missiles used by Russia.

Russian drone attack on Tanzania-flagged vessel kills captain, injures 3 crew members, Ukraine says

A Russian drone attacked a Tanzania-flagged civilian vessel in the Black Sea en route to a Ukrainian port on Sept. 17, killing the ship's captain and injuring three crew members, Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry said.

The ministry did not specify which Ukrainian port the vessel was heading to. Information on the ship's condition was still being clarified.

Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry said Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian ports, port infrastructure, and civilian commercial vessels in the Black Sea, posing a threat to international shipping and logistics routes.

The ministry called for an international response and coordinated measures to strengthen the protection of civilian shipping in the Black Sea.

The report comes as attacks by Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea intensified over the spring and summer.

Russian forces strike major Ukrainian steel plant for 4th time in a month, injuring 1 worker

Russia struck the Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works with two ballistic missiles on the morning of Sept. 17, injuring one staff member, according to Metinvest, the plant's owner and Ukraine's largest steel producer.

The plant was previously struck overnight on Sept. 12 by four Russian ballistic missiles, injuring four employees.

The aggressor country has fired a total of 17 ballistic missiles at Zaporizhstal since August. This is the fourth attack in a little over a month — a systemic terror against Ukrainian industry and people, Metinvest Chief Operating Officer Oleksandr Myronenko said in a statement.

No one was killed, but one employee who was unable to reach the plant's shelters before the strike was hospitalized. Metinvest said the attack caused "significant damage" to the plant's engineering equipment and railway network.

Ukraine repatriates bodies of 252 fallen Ukrainians

Ukraine brought back the bodies of 252 Ukrainians from Russia, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement on Sept. 17.

Citing Russian authorities, the headquarters said the bodies "belong to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel."

"Law enforcement investigators, together with expert institutions of the Interior Ministry, will conduct all necessary examinations and identify the repatriated bodies," the headquarters said.

The repatriation was carried out through the joint efforts of Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Joint Center under the Security Service of Ukraine, the Armed Forces, the Interior Ministry, the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Persons Missing in Special Circumstances, the State Emergency Service and other security and defense agencies, according to the statement.

Despite suffering heavier losses in the war, Russia is likely to hand over more Ukrainian bodies than Ukraine hands over Russian bodies because Russian forces have captured more Ukrainian bodies during offensive operations, according to the Kyiv-based independent analytical platform VoxUkraine.