Topic: Humanitarian situation
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Russia launches massive ballistic missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight
Russia struck Kyiv overnight on 23–24 September with a combined ballistic missile and drone barrage, killing two people and injuring at least eight across multiple districts. President Zelensky said 60% of the ballistic missiles aimed at Kyiv were intercepted and that the strike coincided with his meeting with U.S. congressmen about the Lindsey Graham sanctions bill. The attack came hours after Ukraine agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire and 51 UN member states called on Russia to follow suit.
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51 UN member states call on Russia to agree to unconditional ceasefire; US does not join
On 23 September, during the High-Level Week of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, a group of UN member states issued a joint statement calling on Russia to agree to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire and engage in meaningful peace negotiations. The statement, presented by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, notes that Ukraine had already agreed to such a ceasefire since March 2025. The United States did not join the appeal.
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Russian strike on Antigua and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship in Odesa Oblast kills Ukrainian captain
Russian forces struck a cargo vessel flagged in Antigua and Barbuda in Odesa Oblast during the night of September 23, killing the Ukrainian captain and prompting the evacuation of the remaining crew. In the same incident, warehouse facilities storing medications, household goods, and food products were hit twice, with firefighting lasting several hours. Ukraine's Navy evacuated the crew, and the Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine characterized the strike as a terrorist act against civilian shipping.
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Russian strike on cargo vessel off Odesa kills Ukrainian captain
Russian forces struck a civilian cargo vessel sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda in the Black Sea off Odesa Oblast overnight on September 23, killing the ship's Ukrainian captain. The remaining crew was evacuated and the resulting fire was extinguished. The same night, Russian forces twice hit warehouses storing medicines, household goods and food in Odesa Oblast.
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Russian drone strikes hit warehouses in Odesa Oblast, damaging WHO medical storage
Russian drone strikes on warehouse facilities in Odesa Oblast on 22 September caused large-scale fires, killing one person, injuring two, and damaging a World Health Organization warehouse in Chornomorsk that stored temperature-controlled medical supplies. WHO said it was the fourth time in three months that this particular warehouse was hit and the 21st strike on medical storage facilities in 2026.
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Russia strikes 13 oblasts and Kyiv in mass overnight drone and missile attack; four killed in Dnipro
Russian forces launched a combined drone and missile attack on the night of 21–22 September, striking 13 Ukrainian oblasts and Kyiv. In Dnipro, a missile strike killed four people and injured six, with a rescue operation ongoing. Ukrainian air defence intercepted 186 aerial targets, but hits and debris were recorded at 26 locations, with damage to energy and railway infrastructure, fuel storage, food warehouses and residential buildings.
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Russia strikes Kyiv overnight, hitting residential building and damaging five districts
Russia launched a combined missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight on 22 September 2026, hitting a five-story residential building in the Dnipro district and causing damage in at least four other city districts. Rescuers saved 15 residents from the damaged building; the number of injured reported rose from three to five over the course of the morning. No fatalities were reported from the Kyiv strikes.
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Russian combined strike hits industrial sites in three Dnipropetrovsk Oblast cities; two killed in Dnipro
On the night of September 22, Russian forces carried out a combined missile and drone attack that simultaneously struck industrial enterprises in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, and Pavlohrad in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Fires broke out at the impact sites. In Dnipro, two people were killed and six were injured, including a 25-year-old man in serious condition, and a search-and-rescue operation continued amid reports that people may remain trapped under rubble. The broader overnight assault also extended to Kyiv, parts of Chernihiv Oblast, and the Kremenchuk district of Poltava Oblast.
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Russia hits 10 Ukrainian oblasts in massive overnight drone salvo; Zelensky links it to signals of war expansion
Russian forces launched 172 strike drones at Ukraine overnight on 20–21 September, hitting 10 oblasts and damaging civilian and energy infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelensky described a strike on Zaporizhzhia as "harsh and targeted" and said Russia is sending signals about readiness to expand the war, tying the attack to upcoming UN General Assembly diplomacy.
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Russian drones hit Zaporizhzhia, damaging heritage-listed university building, shopping mall, and apartment blocks
Russian drone strikes hit Zaporizhzhia overnight on September 21, 2026, damaging two nine-story residential buildings, the Intrade shopping mall on Soborny Avenue, and three buildings of Zaporizhzhia National University, including a direct hit on its 1902 heritage-listed Building No. 3. Most Ukrainian sources report five civilians wounded, though later updates cite six. The strike was part of a nationwide overnight barrage of 172 strike UAVs and other munitions, with hits recorded at 14 locations across Ukraine.
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Russian drone and missile strikes damage 34 civilian sites across five districts of Kyiv Oblast
Russian forces attacked Kyiv Oblast almost without pause overnight with drones and missiles, damaging 34 civilian objects across five districts and injuring at least one woman in Obukhiv district, according to the head of the Kyiv Oblast Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko. State Emergency Service teams extinguished fires at multiple sites, and the air raid alert lasted nearly a full day and night.
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Ukrainian churches appeal to Pope Leo XIV over humanitarian crisis in occupied Oleshky
The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations has appealed to Pope Leo XIV, the UN, the ICRC and other religious bodies to intervene in what it calls a humanitarian catastrophe in Russian-occupied Oleshky in Kherson Oblast. Ukraine says the city has had no food deliveries since late May 2026, with civilians cut off from supplies and prevented from leaving, and announced it will raise the situation at the UN General Assembly High-Level Week.
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Russian shelling across Kharkiv region kills five, wounds 15 in a single day
Russian shelling across Kharkiv region killed five civilians and injured 15 others over the course of a day, according to the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration. Head Oleh Syniehubov reported the figures via Telegram, detailing strikes on multiple communities including the city of Balakliya, where four of the five deaths occurred. The attacks combined missiles, KAB bombs and several drone types, damaging residential buildings, a preschool, warehouses and an electric train.
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Russia strikes Ukraine overnight with two Zircon missiles and 174 drones; 141 aerial targets intercepted
On the night of September 18–19, Russia attacked Ukraine with two Zircon anti-ship missiles launched from Kursk Oblast and 174 strike drones of various types. Ukrainian air defense reported shooting down or suppressing 141 of 176 aerial targets as of 08:00 on September 19. Main strike directions were Odesa and Kyiv oblasts. Earlier strikes on the evening of September 18 killed civilians in Sumy and Balakliya and injured people in Kyiv Oblast.
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Russian guided bombs hit residential building in Sumy, killing two city council employees
On the evening of 18 September, Russian forces struck Sumy with 6–7 guided aerial bombs (KABs), directly hitting a nine-storey residential building in the Kovpakivskyi district between the 3rd and 4th floors. Two Sumy City Council employees — Alla Korniienko (45) and Roman Trepalin (52) — were killed; their 7-year-old son was rescued from the rubble and placed in intensive care. Casualty figures rose through the night as rescue operations continued.
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UN report documents over 1,000 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in Ukraine since 2022
The UN Human Rights Office has documented around 1,004 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in Ukraine between 24 February 2022 and the end of July of the reporting year, attributing 89% of cases to representatives of Russian authorities. The report, based on confidential interviews with hundreds of victims as well as court documents and official records, details specific methods including rape, genital mutilation, and the use of Soviet-era "tapik" field telephones to deliver electric shocks to victims' genitals. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for the immediate cessation of hostilities and a full Russian withdrawal from Ukraine.
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Russian drone strike hits commuter train in Kharkiv Oblast, killing one
On 18 September, Russian forces struck a suburban electric train near the Lypkuvativka platform in the Novovodolazka hromada of Kharkiv Oblast with a Geran-4 jet drone. One person was killed and several others injured, even though Ukrzaliznytsia's monitoring group had detected the threat and ordered an evacuation before impact.
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Russian drone strike destroys Amstor shopping mall in Zaporizhzhia
A Russian drone strike hit the Amstor shopping mall in Zaporizhzhia on the evening of September 17, 2026, destroying the building and triggering a fire that covered more than 10,000 square meters. Firefighting was repeatedly interrupted by threats of follow-up strikes, and one injury was reported as of the morning of September 18.
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Russian drone attack damages schools, hospital, railway and homes in Konotop
Russian forces carried out a massive drone attack on the city of Konotop in Sumy Oblast overnight on September 18, damaging schools, a kindergarten, medical facilities, the railway, residential houses, shops, gas distribution infrastructure and power lines. Two women were injured. Konotop mayor Artem Semenikhin reported the consequences.
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Russian drone strikes Tanzania-flagged vessel heading to Ukrainian port, captain killed
A Russian drone attacked a civilian vessel sailing under the flag of Tanzania in the Black Sea on September 17 as it headed to a Ukrainian port. The captain was killed and three other crew members were injured. Ukraine's Ministry of Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport reported the strike and called for an international response to protect civilian shipping.