Kyiv shrouded in smoke after Russia strikes power plants, kills 4
Ihor Malchevsky, 69, a deputy department head at Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences, evacuates the site of an administrative building hit by a Russian jet-powered drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sept. 30, 2026. (Reuters Photo)


At least four people were killed Wednesday when Russian drone and missile attacks targeted Kyiv and surrounding areas that also damaged energy infrastructure and shrouded the capital in smoke, Ukrainian officials said.

Two women and a 14-year-old child died in overnight strikes on the Ukrainian capital and a town ​on the northern outskirts. Another person was ​killed in ⁠an attack on a Kyiv warehouse Wednesday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Ukraine is expecting another winter assault on power and heating facilities after last year entire cities were plunged into darkness and cold for days or weeks.

Russia acknowledged the massive overnight assault, saying it had hit a data center in the capital supporting Ukraine's armed forces, various power plants in the Kyiv region, an industrial complex in Odesa region, and port infrastructure in ⁠Izmail.

Ukraine's ⁠air force said that Moscow had deployed anti-ship and ballistic missiles and 188 drones, with five missiles and 155 drones intercepted.

Smoke obscures the sky above Kyiv following Russia's missile and drone strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, Sept. 30, 2026. (AFP Photo)

Power company DTEK did not detail the damage to energy infrastructure in Kyiv but said workers had restored supply to 8,000 households.

On Wednesday morning, Kyiv was shrouded in thick fog from the smoke of attacks. Emergency services asked residents ⁠to keep windows closed.

Citing preliminary information, Klitschko said debris had been found at a Western embassy in the center of Kyiv. He did not specify which ​embassy.

Among neighboring nations, a drone crossed into Moldova's airspace and exploded near ​the eastern village of Hirbovet, while European Union and NATO members Romania and Poland both scrambled military jets, the ⁠countries said.

Flights ‌at ‌Polish airports Lublin and Rzeszow were temporarily suspended.

Ukraine ⁠has also increased attacks on Russia, ‌hitting refineries and online retailers to undermine Moscow's war effort.

One person was killed in ​drone attacks in Russia's ⁠Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, while a Ukrainian ⁠drone attack on the oil-producing Samara region damaged private houses, regional governors ⁠said.