Ukraine strikes Moscow with record 1,600 drones in largest attack
Ukraine launches record 1,600-drone attack on Moscow, damaging oil refinery and killing at least two.
Event / Geopolitics
Ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine involving military operations, sanctions, diplomatic negotiations, and international support.
2026-09-04 to 2026-10-29 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 4 Sept, 14:16 UTC
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The population of Olechky fell from roughly 24,000 residents to approximately 2,000 remaining residents, following the 2023 flooding and the Russian occupation of the city.
Strikes hit the Southern Bridge in Kyiv, damaging metro infrastructure. Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated that metro traffic was partially suspended.
Russian strikes in Kyiv on Monday evening killed one person near a supermarket and damaged medical installations, according to local authorities.
Olechky and its remaining residents are under the constant threat of explosive drones operated by both Russian and Ukrainian forces, which attack vehicles, and the roads leading to the city are mined, isolating the population.
Russia has refused a comprehensive ceasefire since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which has continued for about four and a half years.
Olechky, a city on the Dnipro River that marks the front line in the southern Kherson region, has been under Russian occupation since the first weeks of the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.
Ukrainian forces retook Kherson, the regional capital, during a counteroffensive in November 2022. Olechky lies less than 10 kilometres from Kherson in straight-line distance.
Melania Trump, First Lady of the United States, announced the localized truce on Friday to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid. She stated that residents wishing to evacuate would receive coordinated assistance and transport to the destination of their choice.
The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that overnight it targeted defense enterprises linked to drone and cruise missile production, transport infrastructure in Kyiv, and vessels it said were used by the Ukrainian armed forces.
A drone strike hit a bus travelling from Moscow to annexed Crimea in occupied Ukrainian territory, killing one person and injuring 31, according to the Russian-installed governor. Russian-installed authorities attribute the drone to Ukraine.
Residents remaining in Olechky have faced severe shortages of food and medicine over several weeks, as documented in interviews with former residents conducted in early October 2026.
The Kremlin stated that negotiations planned for November between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington would not require a slowdown of military operations. It also appeared to rule out a broader ceasefire of the kind requested by Kyiv and European countries.
Olechky was severely flooded in 2023 after a dam was destroyed by an explosion. Ukraine attributes the explosion to Russia, which the articles do not confirm.
On Monday, the Kremlin stated it was open to other humanitarian truces of this type and said Russia highly appreciated the efforts of the US negotiators, including those of Melania Trump.
Drone attacks killed two people in the Russian border regions of Bryansk and Belgorod, according to local authorities.
On Monday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine needs effective tools to destroy Russian ballistic missile launchers and called for political agreements to be implemented quickly.
Ukraine and Russia confirmed a localized suspension of combat in and around the city of Olechky, scheduled to begin at 01:00 GMT. The duration and geographic boundaries of the pause were not specified, and AFP could not immediately verify that hostilities had stopped.
Several salvos of ballistic missiles hit Kyiv overnight, damaging university facilities and the Southern Bridge, a heavily used crossing.
Russia's Ministry of Defence announced that its troops would carry out technical reconnaissance in Olechky to secure a passage for humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.
Speed restrictions capped Starlink and Starshield operations at about 100 mph for more than a week, hindering Ukraine's ability to intercept drones and disrupting military missions.
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