Russia Ukraine war: Putin slams Kyiv with cruise and ballistic missiles, damaging water plant and metro

Russian fighter jet downed over eastern Ukraine as oil depot set ablaze

Support truly
independent journalism

Find out moreClose

Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.

Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.

Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.

Russia fired at least 20 cruise and ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight in a major aerial assault that has damaged a water plant and metro station in the Ukrainian capital.

An unspecified number of drones were also fired at Kyiv during the attack, the Ukrainian military said, and air defence units were working to protect the city. All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts throughout this morning.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said a boiler house at a water plant in the Holosiivskyi district was partially destroyed by a Russian missile as emergency and rescue services rushed to the spot. The strikes also damaged a metro station serving as a shelter for displaced people during strikes, he said.

The attack prompted Ukraine’s neighbour Poland, a Nato member, to activate its air forces, with the country’s military saying both Polish and allied aircraft were scrambled to ensure the safety of its airspace.

Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine have escalated significantly in the past week. Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow had fired more than 1,300 missiles, drones and guided bombs in just the last seven days.

Key Points

Show latest update 1725252399

Zelensky’s aide vows retribution after Russia bombs Ukraine

One of Volodymyr Zelensky’s senior aides has immediately pledged retribution to Russia’s latest attack on Ukraine with dozens of missiles and drones.

“There will be an answer for everything. The enemy will feel it,” the head of the presidential office, Andrii Yermak, posted on his Telegram page following the attack.

Over 10 cruise missiles, about 10 ballistic missiles and a drone fired at the Ukrainian capital and its suburbs were destroyed by Ukraine’s air defences, said Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv’s city military administration.

An explosion was also heard in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, according to Ukrainian media. Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region, confirmed an early morning strike on Kharkiv’s Industrialnyi district and said it set a residential building and several others on fire.

Arpan Rai2 September 2024 05:46

1725250474

Russia pounds Kyiv with at least 20 cruise and ballistic missiles

Kyiv’s emergency services are responding after a major Russian attack involving cruise and ballistic missiles this morning caused damage and injuries across the city.

All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts, while neighbouring Nato member Poland activated its own and allied aircraft to ensure the safety of its airspace.

Ukraine’s air force said repeated launches of ballistic missiles targeted Kyiv, while city officials said air defence units were repelling the attacks.

A fire broke out in the Shevchenkivskyi district, where medics were attending to at least one person, the capital’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. The district is home to a cluster of universities and schools.

Emergency services also went to the districts of Svyatoshynksyi, Holosiivskyi, and Solomyanskyi, he added.

Solomyanskyi is home to a major train station and Kyiv’s main airport. The historic neighbourhood of Svyatoshynksyi is on the city’s western edge, while Holosiivskyi is in its southwest.

Reuters’ witnesses in Kyiv heard a series of loud explosions in what sounded like the work of air defence units, some in the central area.

The attack came exactly a week after Moscow launched more than 200 missiles and drones on Ukraine, killing seven people and striking energy facilities nationwide in what Kyiv called the war’s “most massive” air attack yet.

Arpan Rai2 September 2024 05:14

1725248532

Russian attack damages one of Kyiv’s water plants

A boiler house at a water plant in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district was partially destroyed by a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian capital early this morning, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Emergency and rescue services are working, he said. The impact and any injuries in the strike are not immediately clear.

The boiler was attacked in the early morning strikes by Russia against Ukraine. The strikes also damaged a metro station serving as a shelter for displaced people during strikes.

Arpan Rai2 September 2024 04:42

1725247891

Putin fired more than 1,300 missiles, drones and bombs on Ukraine last week

Russian forces fired more than 1,300 missiles, drones and bombs at Ukraine in the past week alone, president Volodymyr Zelensky said in yesterday.

“Just in the past week, Russia has launched over 160 missiles of various types, 780 guided aerial bombs, and 400 strike UAVs of different kinds against our people. To fully protect and safeguard our cities from this aggression, we need greater support for Ukraine’s rightful response,” he said sharing a video yesterday showing the attacked Ukrainian sites.

He asked his allies to allow Kyiv to carry out long-range strikes on Russia’s missile launch sites.

“It is entirely justified for Ukrainians to respond to Russian terror by any means necessary to stop it. Every day and night, our cities and villages endure enemy attacks,” he said.

Arpan Rai2 September 2024 04:31

1725246529

Poland activates warplanes amid Russian missile attack on Ukraine

Polish and allied aircraft were activated early this morning to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched air strikes on Ukraine, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said.

“In the southeastern part of the country there may be an increased noise level related to the commencement of operations in our airspace by Polish and allied aircraft,” it said in a statement.

The southeastern part of Poland borders Ukraine and has previously witnessed airspace violations by Russian jets in the course of the invasion of Ukraine.

Arpan Rai2 September 2024 04:08

1725245487

Ukraine helicopter crashes during military training flight, killing two

At least two were killed after a Ukrainian helicopter on a military training flight crashed yesterday, the Air Force’s university said.

The two dead were the helicopter’s crew members. The Kharkiv Air Force University in a post on Facebook said investigators and officials from Ukraine’s defence ministry were working to determine the cause of the crash

Arpan Rai2 September 2024 03:51

1725245062

Russia fires fresh missile attack on Kyiv, blasts heard

Ukraine’s air defence units were engaged in repelling a Russian missile attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s military officials said this morning on Telegram.

Witnesses in Kyiv heard several loud explosions in what sounded like the work of air defence units, reported Reuters.

Arpan Rai2 September 2024 03:44

1725228006

Recap: With men at the front lines, women watch over Ukraine’s night sky for Russian drones

When the air raid siren bellows in the dead of night, the women in arms rush to duty.

Barely two months since joining the mobile air-defense unit, 27-year-old Angelina has perfected the drill to a tee: Combat gear fitted, anti-aircraft machine gun in place, she cruised behind the wheel of a pickup, singing along to a Ukrainian song about rebellion.

The rest unfolded in seconds: Under a tree-lined position near Kyiv’s Bucha suburb, she and her five-woman unit mounted the gun, checked the salvo and waited. The chirp of crickets filled the silence until the Russian-launched Shahed drone was shot down — on this August night, by a nearby unit — another menace to near daily life in Ukraine eliminated.

To shoot down a drone brings her joy. “It’s just a rush of adrenaline,” said Angelina, who like other women in the unit spoke to The Associated Press on condition only their first names or call signs be used, in keeping with military policy.

Women are increasingly joining volunteer mobile units responsible for shooting down Russian drones that terrorize Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure as more men are sent east to the front line.

Russia Ukraine War Female Drone Shooters (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Rebecca Thomas1 September 2024 23:00

1725224406

No surviors found in wrekage of Russian helicopter crash

Searchers found no survivors among the wreckage of a Russian helicopter that crashed in the far eastern peninsula of Kamchatka with 22 people on board, state news agency TASS said on Sunday.

Crash site of a Russian Mi-8T helicopter in the far eastern peninsula of Kamchatka, Russia (via REUTERS)

Rebecca Thomas1 September 2024 22:00

1725220806

Kremlin spokesman says Harris is more predictable than Trump

Russia sees U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris as a more predictable opponent than Republican Donald Trump, though in any case there is no prospect of an improvement in relations with Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

According to reports from Rueter’s, in an interview with Pavel Zarubin, a TV reporter with favoured access to the Kremlin, Peskov appeared dismissive of Trump’s boast that he could end the Ukraine war within 24 hours if U.S. voters returned him to the White House.

Peskov reportedly said “the Democrats are more predictable. And what Putin said about Biden’s predictability applies to almost all Democrats, including Ms. Harris.”

Rebecca Thomas1 September 2024 21:00