Russia hits Kyiv with ballistic missiles and 152 drones overnight
Russia struck Kyiv overnight on 28–29 September 2025 with a combined barrage of ballistic missiles, an anti-ship missile and 152 drones. Air defenses reported shooting down all three missiles and 106 drones, but fires and injuries followed across multiple Kyiv districts and in Kyiv Oblast.
Key points
- Air raid sirens and a 'red' level alert sounded in Kyiv from around 01:20–01:21 on 29 September after high-speed ballistic targets were detected heading toward the capital from the Sumy direction.
- The overnight attack used one Zircon/Onyx anti-ship missile, two Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles and 152 strike UAVs (including 82 jet-powered Shaheds, Gerbera and Parodia decoy drones); missiles were launched from Kursk Oblast.
- By around 08:00 the Air Force said air defense had downed or suppressed 109 targets — all three missiles and 106 drones — with hits recorded at 24 locations and falling debris at another 16.
- In Kyiv, fires and damage were reported in the Solomiansky, Pechersky, Holosiivsky and Obolon districts, including hits on a building of an educational institution, an administrative infrastructure building, a three-story non-residential building, a 5-story residential roof and a 6-story apartment block.
- A drone struck a 6-story residential building in the Holosiivsky district, injuring one person and prompting the evacuation of 10 residents.
- In Kyiv Oblast's Buchansky district, a drone strike set a private house and a neighboring roof on fire across more than 300 square meters; two people were rescued from rubble and hospitalized.
- In Kyiv, trolleybus routes on Stepan Bandera Avenue and Zhylianska Street were delayed by damage to the contact network, and Kyiv City Express temporarily suspended trains in both directions before resuming service.
Why it matters
The strike combined high-end ballistic and anti-ship missiles with a 152-drone salvo, underscoring the escalating scale of Russia's overnight attacks on the Ukrainian capital. It produced direct hits on Kyiv residential buildings, with injuries and evacuations, and together with strikes earlier on 28 September left two people dead and 26 injured in Kyiv. Damage to the contact network and a temporary halt to Kyiv City Express trains also rippled through daily life in the capital.
What happened
Russia launched a combined missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv overnight on 28–29 September 2025. Air raid sirens and a 'red' level alert were declared in the city from around 01:20–01:21 on 29 September after the Air Force reported ballistic missiles heading toward Kyiv from the Sumy direction; the missiles had been fired from Kursk Oblast. The barrage included one Zircon/Onyx anti-ship missile, two Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles and 152 strike UAVs — including 82 jet-powered Shaheds, Gerbera drones and Parodia decoys — launched from Orel, Millerovo, Kursk and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia and from occupied Donetsk, Gvardiiske and Chauda in Crimea.
By around 08:00 the Air Force said air defense had downed or suppressed 109 targets — all three missiles and 106 drones — with hits recorded at 24 locations and falling debris at another 16. Fires and damage were reported across Kyiv: in the Solomiansky district, debris in a residential courtyard, a hit on an administrative infrastructure building (sources differ on whether it burned) and a fire in a building of an educational institution; in the Pechersky district, a fire in a three-story non-residential building; in the Holosiivsky district, a roof fire on a 5-story residential building and, in the morning, a drone strike on a 6-story apartment block that injured one person and led to the evacuation of 10 residents; and in the Obolon district, a drone fell on a roadway. In Kyiv Oblast's Buchansky district a drone strike set a private house and a neighboring roof on fire over more than 300 square meters; two people were rescued from rubble and hospitalized.
The attack also disrupted transport: trolleybus routes on Stepan Bandera Avenue and Zhylianska Street were delayed by damage to the contact network, and Kyiv City Express temporarily suspended trains in both directions before resuming service. Combined with earlier strikes on 28 September — which Ukrainian authorities said killed two people and injured 26 in the capital — the day highlighted the cumulative toll of Russia's sustained bombardment.
Where reporting differs
Sources do not agree on a couple of points. On the Solomiansky district administrative building, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said there was no fire, while the Kyiv City Military Administration (KMVA) reported the building was damaged. On the overnight tally, one set of reports says 106 drones were downed by about 08:00, while another says 109 targets in total were downed — two ballistic missiles, one anti-ship missile and 106 drones.
Background
Earlier on 28 September a Russian jet-powered UAV struck the main building of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv's historic center, and a building of the Ministry of Education and Science was also damaged. Rescue crews later recovered a second body from the NAS rubble, bringing the building's death toll to two, with at least six people injured including former NSDC secretary Volodymyr Horbulin.