Russia pounds Kyiv for more than 12 hours, killing at least a dozen in
6th straight day of attacks
[September 02, 2026]
By SAMYA KULLAB
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia bombarded the Ukrainian capital for more
than 12 hours overnight and into Tuesday, killing at least a dozen
people in another aerial onslaught that authorities said was aimed at
menacing civilians.
The strikes marked an unprecedented sixth straight day of heavy Russian
attacks on Kyiv since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its
neighbor more than 4½ years ago. The consecutive aerial assaults are
designed to grind down civilians by disrupting daily life, Ukrainian
officials have said.
The cruise and ballistic missiles, jet-powered drones, glide bombs and
artillery salvos targeted Kyiv as well as eight other regions. The
strikes wounded more than a dozen people, including three children, just
as millions of Ukrainian schoolchildren returned to classes Tuesday to
start their fifth school year since the invasion.
The European Union’s top diplomat said Russia’s army is struggling to
make progress on the front line and wants to scare off Ukraine’s Western
backers with its air campaign.
“Russia’s war is becoming more ruthless and destructive, but it’s
unfortunately not closer to ending,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas
said at a meeting of the bloc’s defense ministers in Ireland. “Russia’s
army is bogged down on the ground, and that is why they are killing
civilians from the skies.”
Attack hit residential buildings
The latest attack struck civilian infrastructure and residential
buildings in several districts of Kyiv, authorities said, with eight
people killed in the city itself and four others in the surrounding
region.
Six employees of state-owned railway company Ukrzaliznytsia were among
those killed in Kyiv when a ballistic missile hit a depot and other
property, company Chairman Oleksandr Pertsovskyi said in a social media
post.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the dead included an Indian
citizen.
Nearly 350 emergency workers were deployed in Kyiv and the surrounding
region, Zelenskyy said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces carried out a “massive
strike” on Ukraine with “precision-guided weapons” and long-range
drones. The assault targeted facilities that manufacture and store
weapons as well as military-related infrastructure, it said.
Ukraine’s air force said the attack began at 6 p.m. Monday, using
ballistic, cruise and anti-radar missiles, as well as 218 drones and
decoys. About a third of the drones were jet-powered, making them much
harder to intercept than propeller-driven versions.
The main Russian targets were in the Kyiv and southern Odesa regions,
the air force said in a statement.
The attack on the Odesa region on the Black Sea damaged civilian
infrastructure and wounded one person, regional head Oleh Kiper said.
Two residential buildings were damaged, while a fire broke out at a
textile factory. Russian forces also struck the Orlivka international
ferry crossing on the border with Romania, he said.
Russia also shelled the northern Zhytomyr region, starting fires at an
industrial facility and a warehouse, Ukraine’s Emergency Service said.
In the capital, first responders worked to clear rubble from damaged
apartment buildings and free trapped residents.
Russia says it intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its air
defenses overnight intercepted 516 Ukrainian drones over 18 Russian
regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula and the
Black Sea.
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Firefighters work after a Russian drone attack struck a residential
building in Kyiv, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
In the Leningrad region, the drone attack sparked a fire in the port of
Ust-Luga, Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said, as Ukraine extended its
campaign to hurt Russia's oil sector, which is a mainstay of the
economy.
Ust-Luga is one of Russia’s largest oil and gas export terminals, more
than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away from Ukraine. It has been
repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone attacks this year.
Hours later, Zelenskyy warned foreign airlines that the skies over
Russia are not safe anymore.
“Although the Russian authorities are not properly informing people
about this, Russian airspace will effectively be closing. The war
started by Russia is closing its skies,” Zelenskyy said in a video
address. “For now, the skies over Russia are for drones — not for
civilian aviation.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin described Zelenskyy's statement as “an
application for state terrorism.”
“I’d like to point out that they’re asking us to resume negotiations.
They’re asking for personal meetings,” he said at a late-night news
conference on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
summit in Kyrgyzstan. “We don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
He also described Ukrainian drones as a challenge for Russia. “The main
challenge is, of course, drones, and in all environments: underwater, at
sea, on land and in the air. This is a challenge for us, a serious one.
We are meeting it.”
Putin also addressed reports that the Ukrainian military had used
British-made drones to strike targets inside Russia. Asked whether the
Kremlin would hit British military facilities if British weapons
continue to be used against Russia, he told reporters with a small smile
that such information was “a military secret.”
Germany blames Russia for airport attack
In other developments Tuesday, the German government blamed Russia for
an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month using a drone
laden with explosives. German leaders announced that they would shut
down a Russian consulate, among other measures against Moscow.
The drone was found near a Ukrainian plane on Aug. 4, and the device was
defused. Moscow has been widely accused by Western officials of running
a campaign of sabotage and disruption across Europe with the aim of
undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova rejected Germany's
claims, calling them a “far-fetched and contrived pretext” for Berlin to
escalate tensions and arguing that “no convincing or serious evidence
has been presented whatsoever,” Russian state news agency Tass reported.
Putin also rejected Germany's accusations, telling the news conference
that Berlin was making a mistake that he described as “counter to the
interests of the German people.”
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Associated Press Writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this
report.
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