Key facts
- Russian drone strikes on central Kyiv on Sept. 28 killed one woman and injured 21 others, including three children.
- The National Academy of Sciences building and a medical center were damaged in the Kyiv attacks.
- Ukrainian forces liberated three villages in northern Donetsk Oblast as part of Operation Vivaldi.
- Operation Vivaldi inflicted over 2,000 Russian losses and captured over 250 soldiers, according to Brigadier-General Andrii Biletskyi.
- U.S. President Donald Trump urged Ukraine to ease strikes on Russian oil refineries.
- Poland will ease rules for its military to shoot down drones and missiles entering its airspace from Russia.
Russian drone attacks struck central Kyiv on Sept. 28, killing one woman and injuring 21 others, including three children, as Moscow's bombardment of the Ukrainian capital continues. The Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office confirmed the casualties. Among the damaged sites were the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences building, which was set ablaze, and a medical center belonging to private provider Dobrobut.
An aide to former National Security and Defense Council Secretary Volodymyr Horbulin was killed in the strike on the National Academy of Sciences building, according to the academy's press service. Horbulin himself sustained a minor injury. The building is located near important city landmarks, including Taras Shevchenko National University and the German embassy.
Separately, Ukrainian forces under the command of the 3rd Army Corps liberated three villages in northern Donetsk Oblast as part of Operation Vivaldi, retaking 51 square kilometers of territory. Brigadier-General Andrii Biletskyi announced that the operation inflicted over 2,000 Russian losses and resulted in the capture of over 250 Russian soldiers.
In diplomatic news, U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Sept. 27 that he urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reduce attacks on Russian oil refineries, citing global diesel price increases. A Ukrainian official, however, told Kyiv Independent that Ukraine would only agree to an energy truce if Russia also committed to one, and that no agreement had been reached.
Poland announced on Sept. 28 that it would change its procedures to allow military aircraft to shoot down drones and missiles entering Polish airspace from Russia based on radar identification alone, rather than requiring visual confirmation. Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk cited the daily threat of drones entering Polish territory as the reason for the change.
Ukraine's state-owned oil company Ukrnafta is also installing concrete shelters at 13 gas stations in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast due to the threat to fuel infrastructure.