A Russian drone struck a six-story residential building in central Kyiv on Wednesday, partially destroying the building and injuring at least seven people as Russia launched another major daytime attack on the Ukrainian capital.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said the drone hit the building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, causing a fire and partial structural destruction. Seven people were injured in the attack as of midday, with five hospitalized, Klitschko said.
Emergency crews were working at several impact sites across the capital.
A nearby three-story building also caught fire, while a medical facility in the district was damaged. Some of its windows were blown out, but there were no immediate reports of injuries among patients or staff.
University hit during classes
A Russian drone also struck one of Kyiv’s universities while classes were underway, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Some 160 students were in a shelter at the time of the attack. No injuries were reported.
Another drone impact was later reported in the Holosiivskyi district, where a warehouse building was damaged.
Kyiv Post correspondents in central Kyiv reported hearing multiple explosions during the attack. One correspondent said the blast wave shattered windows in their apartment.
Initial reports on social media claimed that explosions had occurred near Kyiv’s central railway station. Those reports were later not confirmed.
Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s state railway operator, said there had been no strikes on railway infrastructure in central Kyiv.
The latest strike came after Russian attacks overnight and earlier Wednesday morning had already caused fires and damage across the Kyiv region.
In Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district, debris from a Russian drone fell in an open area and caused a fire, Klitschko said. The same district was targeted during the previous evening’s attack, when falling debris also caused a fire in an open area. A private house in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district was also set on fire.
Two people were wounded in the morning attack in the Kyiv region, according to Regional Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko.
What changed in Russia’s drone war in Ukraine?
Since Thursday, Kyiv has been living under a constant drone siege.
Russia began shifting its long-range drone tactics in Ukraine on Thursday, Aug. 27 – the large swarms once or twice a week that Kyiv residents had become accustomed to have been replaced by near-continuous waves across Ukrainian airspace
As of Tuesday, Sept. 1, there has been no let-up in the strategy, with explosions ringing consistently over Kyiv and other cities, paralyzing businesses nationwide as some major chains were increasingly targeted.
The good news is that the overall number launched stayed relatively consistent and Ukraine’s interception rates remain high – but the bad news is that Russia can likely keep it up for some time.
No major spikes within the same timeframe – but not enough data on daytime launches.
The overall number of drones launched likely increased – though those recorded overnight stayed relatively consistent.
Based on the Ukrainian Air Force’s daily morning briefing, Russia launched an average of around 188 drones per night (6 p.m.-8 a.m.) between Aug. 27-31.
For comparison, the average in July recorded in the same 6 p.m.-8 a.m. window was close to 160 per day, with the lowest on July 21 (58 launched) and the highest on July 2 (496 launched).
The air force did not provide clear data on drones launched and intercepted outside the 6 p.m.-8 a.m. window, though its warnings over the past week suggest they range in the dozens per day.
For context, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said Russia launched 8,653 drones in July – a few thousand more than the 4,955 Kyiv Post calculated based on the air force’s morning briefings.
Recent months also saw a drastic drop in total numbers launched in a single swarm, with Moscow launching a record swarm of over 1,500 drones within 24 hours in May, an attack that coincided with a renewed peace push from Washington and a reiterated hardline stance from Moscow at the time.
The largest number of drones launched in a single attack was on Sept. 7, 2025, when Russia launched 805 drones overnight in an attack that killed at least four civilians.
The known numbers suggest that unless Ukraine could hit Russia’s drone production, Moscow is likely able to sustain the number of launches.