At least nine people have been reported killed and more than 80 injured after a wave of Russian jet-powered drone strikes across Ukraine, including a strike on Kyiv's National Academy of Sciences. Officials say Moscow is increasingly using faster, high-altitude jet drones that are harder to intercept; current interception rates are reported to be around 57%. Separate attacks struck a business centre in Dnipro and infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia, while Kyiv appealed to allies for more air-defence support. Kyiv also cited intelligence claiming a new Russian mobilisation and reported North Korean troops in Russia; Moscow has denied ordering a new mobilisation.
Russian Jet-Powered Drones Strike Ukraine; Kyiv's National Academy Of Sciences Hit — At Least Nine Dead
Firefighters attempt to extinguish fire at the site of the Ukraine's Academy of Sciences building hit by a Russian jet-powered drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Sergiy Chalyi
At least two people were killed when a drone struck the National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv on Monday, part of a wider wave of Russian jet-powered drone attacks that struck cities across Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said nine people had been killed and more than 80 injured nationwide.
A firefighter works at the site of a building of a private medical centre hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Attack On Kyiv And Other Cities
Emergency services reported two deaths in the strike on the Academy building in the heart of Kyiv and later said one victim had been pulled from beneath rubble. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 24 people were injured across several strikes in the capital, six of whom were receiving hospital treatment. Sirens echoed across the city as smoke rose and air-raid warnings continued late into the day.
Firefighters work at the site of a building of a private medical centre hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Shifts In Tactics: Jet-Powered Drones
Ukrainian officials said Moscow has increasingly deployed faster, high-altitude jet-powered drones rather than slower propeller-driven models. Zelenskiy said defence data showed 90 of the 120 drones fired in the recent attacks were jet-propelled, and that the overall interception rate against them was about 57%.
Firefighters attempt to extinguish fire at the site of the Ukraine's Academy of Sciences building hit by a Russian jet-powered drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Sergiy Chalyi
"New interceptors are being actively tested," Zelenskiy said. "Some combat groups are using them, but some details still need to be refined to achieve enough effectiveness and scale. We are speeding up the developers."
Casualties And Targets
Separate strikes killed three people in the southeastern city of Dnipro after a Russian attack on a business centre; Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said 19 people were injured in that daytime strike. Regional officials also reported a fatality in a logistics office in Synelnykove and 32 injured in an attack on infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia.
Firefighters work at the site of a Russian jet-powered drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko
Officials said Russian strikes hit a range of civilian and commercial sites in Kyiv and beyond, including a pharmaceutical company, petrol stations, a medical facility, data centres and telecom infrastructure. Firefighters worked to extinguish blazes at the Academy building in Kyiv, where flames gutted interior sections and rubble covered the courtyard; rescue teams helped survivors from upper-storey windows.
Firefighters work at the site of a Russian jet-powered drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 28, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Mobilisation Claims And International Dimensions
Zelenskiy cited a report from Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) alleging that Russia had launched a new wave of mobilisation and was recruiting people by various methods. He also said some 8,000 North Korean troops, first sent to Russia in 2024, remained in the country and that a further 10,000 were being trained — claims Moscow has not acknowledged. Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed suggestions of a new mobilisation as "utter nonsense."
Ukraine's Response And International Appeal
Ukraine has stepped up strikes inside Russia, targeting oil refineries and other economic sites to try to undermine revenues and support for Moscow's war effort. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces had struck oil facilities in Russia's Krasnodar region and two defence plants.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the strike on the scientific institution as cynical and urged allies to provide more air-defence systems. "Russia is deliberately expanding the boundaries of what it believes the world will tolerate," he said.
Note: Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians. Reporting for this dispatch included contributions from Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk, Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv and Yuliia Dysa in London; writing by Dan Flynn in Kyiv; editing by Kevin Liffey, Ron Popeski and Nick Zieminski.
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