During the night and morning of 23 September 2026, Kyiv came under attack by Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). According to the capital's mayor Vitali Klitschko, as reported by RBC-Ukraine citing his Telegram post, two people were killed in the attack: one man died in hospital, and the second died at the scene. As of 13:06, the mayor reported at least 22 injured residents of the city, of whom 16 were hospitalized in city hospital wards. Later, he said, the number of injured rose to 25. Residents of the capital were urged to remain in safe places, as reports indicated that the UAV attack on the city was continuing.
Geography of damage by district
The first consequences of the strike were recorded as early as the morning. In the Solomianskyi district, UAV debris fell between residential buildings, and a fire broke out on the territory of a transport enterprise. It was later reported that a drone struck a store building and that a UAV hit a nine-storey non-residential building at the level of the fourth floor. In the Holosiivskyi district, a fire was recorded in warehouse premises, as well as a drone strike on a gas station; in addition, a UAV fell on a four-storey business centre, the roof of a non-residential building, and the territory of a transport infrastructure facility. In the Darnytskyi district, a strike on a transport infrastructure facility was recorded, and a roof of one of the gas stations caught fire as a result of the attack. RBC-Ukraine had previously published footage of a "Ukrnafta" gas station in Kyiv after the strike, and the Protection Directorate (UZ) had issued clarifications regarding possible damage to the capital's central railway station.
Contradictory data
The dynamics of the official figures on the injured changed significantly over the course of the day, creating discrepancies between different reports. Initially, three injured were reported, all of whom were hospitalized, two of them in serious condition; the number subsequently rose to eight, and one of those hospitalized in serious condition died in hospital. By 13:06 the mayor named at least 22 injured, and then 25. Thus, different figures (3, 8, 22, 25) appear simultaneously in open sources, reflecting the step-by-step refinement of data as information arrived from hospitals and rescue services, rather than a final total figure. Contextually, Klitschko had earlier noted that each attack on Kyiv costs the city approximately 500 million hryvnias, which underscores the scale of the infrastructure damage, however the exact amount of losses from the current strike was not disclosed.
Operational situation
At the time the data were published, the UAV attack on Kyiv was, according to reports, still ongoing, and the authorities again recommended that residents stay in shelters. The final figures on the killed and injured, as well as the full list of damaged facilities, may be clarified once the operation is completed and the rescue services have compiled the final data.
