Updated

Russian forces carried out a large overnight missile and drone attack on Kyiv that Ukrainian officials said killed at least five people, with the assault reported in the early hours and its aftermath dominating coverage on 8 September 2026. The strikes came immediately after the expiry of a short-lived understanding under which Moscow and Kyiv had refrained from aerial attacks on each other's capitals during a visit to the region by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Ukrainian emergency services worked through damaged residential and civil infrastructure sites in the city, and city and national officials characterised the assault as a complex attack combining different weapon types. The attack mattered because it signalled the collapse of the brief calm that had accompanied the American diplomatic mission, undercutting hopes that the pause could be extended into a broader ceasefire on long-range strikes. It also renewed pressure on Ukraine's air-defence stocks and on Western partners weighing further support, while Kyiv used the casualties to argue that Russia was negotiating and bombing simultaneously. Coverage of the strike appeared across international outlets including Al Jazeera, CNN, ABC News and the Kyiv Independent.