Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Kyiv and multiple regions of Ukraine early Sunday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens in one of the most sustained attacks of the war, which lasted more than 12 hours.
This marks the first major bombardment since a previous airstrike on Kyiv last month left at least 21 people dead.
People walk next to a damaged building and vehicles in a residential neighbourhood hit during a Russian drone and missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2025. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Scale of the Attack
Ukraine’s military reported that Russia fired 595 drones and 48 missiles overnight, with Ukrainian air defences successfully intercepting 568 drones and 43 missiles. The capital, Kyiv, was the primary target.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the strikes damaged factories, residential buildings, and a cardiology clinic, where a nurse and a patient were killed. Among the victims was also a 12-year-old girl.
A woman looks out of a window of a building hit by shrapnel next to an impact site at a residential neighbourhood after Russian drone and missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had carried out a “massive” attack on military infrastructure, including airfields, using long-range air and sea-based weapons and drones, and denied targeting civilians, despite extensive residential damage across Ukraine.
International Repercussions
Neighbouring Poland closed its airspace near two southeastern cities and scrambled fighter jets as a precaution until the threat subsided.
Zelenskiy urged the international community to take decisive action against Russia, particularly to cut off the energy revenues that fund its invasion. Writing on the Telegram messaging app, he said: “The time for decisive action is long overdue, and we count on a strong response from the United States, Europe, the G7, and the G20.”
Residents of Kyiv awoke to loud explosions, drones overhead, and the booming of air defences. Smoke from one of the strike sites lingered in the morning sky as the air raid alert ended at 09:13 a.m. (0613 GMT), nearly seven hours after it began.
A man removes debris from a damaged building opposite to an impact site at a residential neighbourhood after overnight Russian drone and missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The attack underscores the intense ongoing threat to civilians in Ukraine, as Russia continues its campaign of missile and drone strikes amid the ongoing war.
