Russian drone and missile strikes killed at least eight civilians across Ukraine overnight into Thursday, officials said, as Moscow’s four-and-a-half-year invasion continued unabated despite renewed calls for a settlement at this week’s UN General Assembly.
Interior Minister Ihor Vyhivskyi said a strike on the northeastern Kharkiv region killed six agricultural workers and wounded twelve others, while an attack on the capital Kyiv killed a man and a woman; officials in the southern port of Odesa also reported a heavy bombardment, reports AP.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used a speech at the United Nations late Wednesday to urge countries to cut off Russia’s revenue through sanctions and trade bans, denying Moscow the funds needed to sustain the war — the latest in a series of appeals by Kyiv and its allies at successive General Assemblies that have so far failed to force any breakthrough.
The conflict continues to disrupt global food and energy supplies and has severely damaged relations between Russia and the West.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Thursday that Moscow was seeking a comprehensive peace agreement rather than a temporary halt in fighting, after Kyiv called for a full and unconditional ceasefire.
“We believe it’s necessary to seek peace, not a temporary truce,” Peskov told reporters, though Russia’s demands, which include Ukrainian territorial concessions, remain unacceptable to Kyiv.
The aerial campaign has intensified in recent months, with Russia deploying cruise and ballistic missiles, glide bombs and jet-powered drones against Ukraine, while Kyiv’s long-range drones target Russian oil refineries and other economic infrastructure.
The roughly 1,250-kilometre front line in eastern and southern Ukraine has seen little significant movement over the past year, with dense drone coverage on both sides limiting troop mobility.
Vyhivskyi said the Kyiv strike damaged more than fifty civilian sites, including apartment blocks, post offices, a maternity hospital and a textile plant.
Russian forces have repeatedly targeted trains, shopping centres, supermarkets and petrol stations in Ukraine, keeping residents on edge.
Kyiv resident Valentyna Kolosenko, 49, said a solid oak door had shielded her from three nearby blasts, telling AP she was frightened but determined to endure: “Everything is paralysed. Nothing works. Getting to work is incredibly difficult and frightening.”
Liubov Paziuk, a 74-year-old pensioner whose windows were shattered in the strike, said she remained resolved to stay: “We don’t get used to it, we adapt, because we have only one choice: to stay here, on our land, despite everything.”
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had struck arms factories and telecommunications and logistics facilities in Kyiv and the Odesa region overnight.
The United Nations reported last week that more Ukrainian civilians had been killed and injured in the first eight months of 2026 than throughout the whole of last year, with its human rights monitoring mission recording at least 368 civilian deaths and 2,314 injuries in August alone.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that Russia’s escalating attacks showed diplomacy must be paired with sustained pressure on Moscow and continued backing for Ukraine’s defence.
Zelensky warned the coming winter could prove harsh, but vowed Ukraine would respond in kind and pursue de-escalation before it sets in.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian drone fragments caused minor damage at an oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region and sparked a brief fire at an industrial site in Krasnodar, according to regional officials, who gave few further details.
Romania said a drone breached its airspace for four minutes before crashing near its northern border with Ukraine, prompting it to scramble fighter jets, while Moldova reported a series of airspace incursions during the Russian attacks, forcing the closure of part of its northern airspace.
