Updated

Russian forces resumed large-scale air attacks on Ukraine in the early hours of September 8, 2026, with Kyiv among the hardest-hit cities. Ukrainian officials reported that at least five people were killed and others wounded as drones and missiles struck residential and infrastructure targets in the capital. The strikes came immediately after a roughly three-day lull in long-range attacks that had coincided with visits by a United States envoy to the region, according to reporting by Al Jazeera. The timing was significant because the brief pause had been read by some observers as a possible goodwill gesture tied to renewed American diplomatic engagement. Its rapid collapse reinforced Ukrainian arguments that Moscow was continuing its long-range campaign regardless of talks, and it added pressure on Kyiv's Western partners over air-defence supplies. Emergency services worked through the day at damaged sites in the capital, and the attack fed directly into coverage of the war on and around September 9.