Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Russia launched hundreds of attack drones and a number of missiles towards Ukrainian cities overnight on Sept. 6-7, striking multiple residential buildings in Kyiv, officials reported.
At least one person has been killed and 11 others have been injured in the attacks on the capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
An elderly woman has also died in a shelter in the Darnytskyi district following the attack, although the cause of death was not immediately clear.
Klitschko added that five people have been hospitalized, including a pregnant woman.
Officials in Kyiv first warned of active air defenses around 11:30 p.m. local time. Explosions were later heard by Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground around 3:30 a.m.
Mayor Klitschko reported that Russian drone debris had struck three multi-story residential buildings in the Sviatoshynskyi district of Kyiv, and another in the Darnytskyi district, leading to fires at the buildings.
Klitschko added that the third floor of a four-floor residential building in the Darnytskyi district has partially collapsed, while the forth to eighth floors of a nine-story building in the Sviatoshynskyi district have been damaged.
No information was immediately available as to the extent of the damage caused amid the attack. No casualties have been reported thus far.
Multiple car fires have also been reported in the Sviatoshynskyi district as well as a fire at a warehouse.
Emergency crews are currently working on-scene.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian forces struck a workshop building in Zaporizhzhia’s industrial area, regional Governor Ivan Federov said, adding that the strike did not result in any casualties.
Explosions were heard in various cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and Zaporizhzhia, amid a long-lasting drone attack. Ukraine’s Air Force later warned around 4 a.m. local time that Russia had launched several missiles towards Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Air Force has warned of multiple drone grouping targeting nearly all of Ukraine’s regions. The total number of drones launched towards Ukraine cannot be immediately confirmed, although Russia occasionally launches over 500 drones in large-scale attacks.
In a recent large-scale attack, Russia launched 537 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys against Ukraine overnight on Aug. 30, in addition to 37 missiles. The attack primarily targeted Zaporizhzhia and killing one person, injuring another 34.
As Russia continues to launch attacks at civilian targets in Ukraine, progress on peace talks has increasingly stalled in recent weeks.
Russian President Putin has thus far repeatedly refused to attend an in-person meeting with Zelensky in a neutral setting — suggesting, instead, that Zelensky meet with Putin in Moscow.
Zelensky on Sept. 5 dismissed the proposal to meet in Moscow, suggesting the Russian leader should come to Ukraine instead.
“He can come to Kyiv,” Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News, laughing and shaking his head after being asked about the Moscow invitation. “I can’t go to Moscow when my country’s under missiles, under attack, each day. I can’t go to the capital of this terrorist.”
Despite attempting to broker the meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a meeting was unlikely on Aug. 25, saying Putin didn’t want to meet with Zelensky because “he doesn’t like him.” On Aug. 28 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz became the first Western leader to write the meeting off, saying it “obviously” wasn’t going to go ahead.
Fico says Putin interested in meeting Zelensky outside Moscow, as Russian leader contradicts
Putin seemingly contradicted Fico on Sept. 3, a day after his meeting with the Slovak leader, again inviting Zelensky to Moscow for a meeting. Days later on Sept. 5, Putin said that he “doesn’t see much point” in a meeting with the Ukrainian president.
