Kyiv Hit By Russian Drones As Moscow Targets School, Bridge And Energy Network

A Russian drone struck a school in Kyiv on Thursday as Moscow intensified a round-the-clock aerial campaign across Ukraine, killing at least six people and injuring 38 in attacks reported nationwide over the past 24 hours. Children and staff were sheltering inside the Kyiv school when the drone hit, and its warhead did not explode. No one at the school was injured.

The strike damaged the school's third floor, smashed windows and left a large hole and burn marks on the facade. Later, two Russian drones struck near the supports of Kyiv's Southern Bridge over the Dnipro River, temporarily disrupting metro traffic between the city's eastern and western banks. Other attacks damaged residential and warehouse facilities in the capital, with one person reported injured.

Russia launched 107 drones overnight, including 63 jet-powered drones, according to Ukraine's Air Force. Ukrainian air defences said they had shot down or suppressed 87 of them by 8 am, while strikes were recorded at 11 locations. The new jet-powered drones are faster and harder to intercept, giving Ukrainian air-defence crews less time to respond.

The attacks also hit Odesa, where one person was wounded after a business centre was struck, causing a fire and damaging nearby buildings. Russia said it had targeted a data centre in Odesa and a cargo vessel at nearby Chornomorsk, describing them as military-related targets.

The latest assault follows Russia's major attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure on Wednesday. Power disruptions continued in Kirovohrad, Rivne, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions on Thursday, while Ukrenergo urged consumers to reduce electricity use. Kyiv has warned that Moscow's strikes could be the beginning of a wider campaign to weaken Ukraine's power and heating systems before winter.

A Russian drone also struck Kyiv's Institute of Nuclear Research on Wednesday, although officials said radiation levels remained normal. Earlier this week, a drone attack on the National Academy of Sciences killed one person and wounded several others.

Ukraine has continued retaliatory strikes inside Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces hit a Russian drone storage and launch site in Oryol, an oil facility in Samara, a military supply depot in Bryansk and a target in the Black Sea. A Ukrainian drone also killed one person in Russia's Belgorod region, according to local authorities.