In the early hours of September 28, 2025, Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, was rocked by one of the most intense and prolonged air assaults since the full-scale Russian invasion began. For over 12 hours, waves of drones and missiles screamed through the sky, sending residents fleeing for shelter and stretching Ukraine’s already limited air defense systems to their breaking point. The attack, which Ukrainian officials described as deliberate and targeted terror, left at least four dead—including a 12-year-old girl—and dozens wounded, while also causing substantial destruction to residential buildings, factories, and even a cardiology clinic.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia unleashed a staggering 595 drones and 48 missiles in the assault, a barrage that included Kinzhal hypersonic weapons. Ukrainian air defenses managed to shoot down 568 drones and 43 missiles, but the sheer volume overwhelmed protective measures and inflicted significant damage. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressing the nation and the world, condemned the attack as “a deliberate and targeted terror against ordinary cities,” as reported by KyivPost. He added, “In the space of more than 12 hours, Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine – brutal strikes, a deliberate and targeted terror against ordinary cities.”
As the sun rose over Kyiv, the aftermath became painfully clear. Reuters journalists described scenes of devastation in the city’s suburbs, with rows of newly built homes reduced to rubble and parked cars flattened by falling debris. Residents, some still in shock, sifted through the wreckage of their apartments, their windows shattered by the force of nearby blasts. Many had spent the night huddled in metro stations, anxiously following updates on their mobile phones as explosions and the thunder of air defenses echoed above.
The attack was not limited to Kyiv. The southern city of Zaporizhzhia was also struck, with local authorities reporting at least 27 people injured, including three children. Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, said two of the victims were in serious condition. The strikes there damaged industrial facilities and ignited fires in multi-story residential buildings, with emergency crews battling blazes that spread across several floors.
Russia’s defense ministry claimed the assault was aimed at military infrastructure, including airfields, and utilized long-range air and sea-based weapons alongside drones. Moscow, as it has repeatedly, denied intentionally targeting civilians. Yet the mounting death toll and extensive damage to civilian areas tell a different story—one that has unfolded repeatedly since the conflict began.
The scale and sophistication of the attack forced neighboring Poland to take extraordinary precautions. As reported by both Reuters and KyivPost, Polish authorities closed their airspace near the southeastern cities of Rzeszow and Lublin, scrambling fighter jets in response to the threat. The move followed what flight tracking service Flightradar24 called “unplanned military activity.” These defensive maneuvers were not unprecedented; earlier in September, over 90 Russian drones had been detected heading toward Poland, with some shot down by the Polish air force and others intercepted by Ukraine. The growing frequency of such incidents has left NATO allies on edge, prompting rapid upgrades to surveillance and air defense assets across the region.
The same night as the Kyiv assault, unidentified drones were observed over Danish military sites for the second consecutive day, according to Denmark’s army. This string of sightings across Northern Europe has led NATO to deploy additional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets, as well as at least one air-defense frigate, in the Baltic Sea. The alliance’s response reflects mounting concern over what officials describe as a campaign of Russian “hybrid air attacks,” which includes repeated violations of airspace by both military jets and unidentified drones. Only a week earlier, Estonian fighter jets had escorted Russian MIG jets out of their airspace during a reported 12-minute incursion.
President Zelenskyy, facing the aftermath of the latest assault, renewed his urgent appeals for international support. “The time for decisive action is long overdue, and we count on a strong response from the United States, Europe, the G7, and the G20,” he wrote on Telegram, as cited by Reuters. He specifically called for measures to cut off Russia’s energy revenues, which continue to fund its military campaign. Despite these pleas, Ukraine has so far struggled to secure the level of punitive sanctions and military aid it seeks from global partners—including additional advanced air defense systems.
Ukraine’s defenses have been pushed to the brink by the scale of recent attacks. President Zelenskyy announced the deployment of an additional Patriot missile system from Israel, with two more expected to arrive in the autumn of 2025. Yet these systems remain in short supply, and many Western nations are also eager to bolster their own defenses amid growing concerns about Russian aggression. The need for more advanced technology is pressing, as a former Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief recently highlighted the transformative impact of drones, electronic warfare, and artificial intelligence on the nature of the conflict from 2023 to 2025.
The war’s impact extends far beyond the battlefield. As KyivPost reports, Ukraine is in the throes of Europe’s largest mental health crisis since World War II. Millions are suffering in silence, particularly children, as the trauma of constant bombardment and displacement takes its toll. Yet, even in the midst of crisis, Ukraine is undertaking a rapid and ambitious transformation of its mental health services—a quiet but strategic effort to heal the nation’s psychological wounds. Senior Sergeant Olha Shypytsyna, a survivor of Russia’s notorious Olenivka prison, shared her journey of coping with severe PTSD, illustrating the profound and lasting scars left by the war.
Internationally, the political stakes remain high. At the United Nations in late September, former U.S. President Donald Trump declared that Ukraine should and would win back all territory lost since 2014. He also urged NATO allies to shoot down Russian aircraft encroaching on their airspace and pledged unwavering support for Ukraine and NATO in fending off Moscow. However, critics noted that Trump’s remarks failed to address the broader threat posed by Vladimir Putin and Russia’s ongoing sabotage of peacekeeping efforts at the UN.
The situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant adds another layer of complexity—and danger. The facility has been off the grid for four consecutive days, the longest blackout so far, with both Ukraine and Russia blaming each other for attacks on power lines. Experts warn that prolonged outages raise the risk of serious incidents at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, located perilously close to the front lines.
As the war grinds on, the resilience of Ukraine’s people is matched only by the urgency of the challenges they face. The latest assault on Kyiv and other cities is a stark reminder of the conflict’s evolving nature and the need for international action—not just in the realm of military aid, but also in supporting Ukraine’s efforts to rebuild, heal, and defend itself against an adversary that shows no sign of relenting.
