Russia Launches 295 Drones on Ukraine, Killing a Kyiv Teenager

KYIV — September 25, 2026. Russia’s overnight air package against Ukraine climbed to 295 strike drones — including 52 jet-powered Shahed-type aircraft — and left a 14-year-old boy dead in a Kyiv high-rise even as Ukraine’s Air Force claimed 267 drones shot down or suppressed by 07:30 local time.

According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the assault began around 18:00 on Thursday, September 24, with launch corridors from Oryol, Kursk, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Shatalovo inside Russia plus temporarily occupied Donetsk and Hvardiiske in Crimea. The mix paired Shaheds with Gerbera decoys and Banderol/Dan-T and Parodiya-type systems. Aircraft, surface-to-air missile batteries, electronic warfare units, unmanned systems teams and mobile fire groups combined in the defense. Preliminary tallies recorded hits at 16 locations and falling debris at four more, with several enemy UAVs still in Ukrainian airspace when the morning bulletin was issued.

The deadliest civilian image of the day came in Kyiv’s Pecherskyi district. National Police said a Russian drone struck a 16-story residential building around the 10th and 11th floors near 08:00 Friday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring at least seven residents. Mayor Vitali Klitschko initially reported three people hospitalized, one in serious condition, before police raised the injury count. Separate damage and fires were reported in Solomianskyi and Podilskyi districts, while Kyiv Oblast authorities listed a woodworking fire in Boryspil district, warehouse damage in Brovary and damaged homes and vehicles in Obukhiv.

Hospitals Hit in Zaporizhzhia

Outside the capital, Zaporizhzhia officials said two hospitals were hit; rescuers evacuated five people from one facility and reported damage to rooms, an ambulance and civilian cars at another. The overnight wave landed on top of a grim prior-day ledger: Kharkiv regional authorities said three Russian S-8000 Banderol cruise missiles struck a farm and vegetable storage site in Stara Hnylytsia, Chuhuiv district, killing six workers and wounding 14. Across Ukraine, local tallies compiled by the Kyiv Independent put the past day’s toll near 10 killed and 61 injured before the Friday morning Kyiv strike was fully counted.

Moscow framed the night as pressure on Ukrainian logistics and industry; Kyiv framed it as deliberate terror against apartment blocks and clinics. Either way, the technical story is magazine depth. Fifty-two jet drones complicate cheaper interceptor economics that worked against slower Shaheds, and a 267-of-295 claim still left enough leakers to kill a child in central Kyiv. Until interceptor stocks and electronic-warfare coverage catch Russia’s production curve — or a verified pause appears — nights built from nearly 300 drones remain Moscow’s preferred answer to diplomatic talk of limited ceasefires.

Sources

• Hromadske: Russia launches 295 drones at Ukraine; 14-year-old killed in Kyiv
• Ukrinform: ADF down 267 out of 295 drones used by Russia to attack Ukraine overnight
• Ukrainska Pravda: Russia launches nearly 300 drones overnight, Ukraine destroys 267

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