[UPDATED: Oct. 7, 8:55 am
, Kyiv time. Updated with a second wave of explosions before dawn, and additional Air Force warnings.
Updated with a report on two fatalities in Kyiv.]
Multiple explosions rocked Kyiv in repeated waves in the early hours of Wednesday as Russia launched ballistic missiles toward the Ukrainian capital, with damage reported across several districts.
A Kyiv Post journalist in the capital reported several strong explosions after the Ukrainian Air Force warned that ballistic missiles were heading toward the city.
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Several hours later, Kyiv was rocked by explosions for a second time. Ukrinform reported renewed blasts at around 5:12 a.m., shortly after the Air Force detected several more ballistic missiles heading toward the capital. The air raid alert remained in force.
The attacks came only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in his nightly address that Ukrainian intelligence had received updated information indicating Russia was preparing a “massive strike.” He urged residents to take missile alerts seriously and said Ukrainian forces were ready to respond “as much as our defenses allow.”
Ukraine’s Air Force warned of ballistic missiles heading toward Kyiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia after reporting a threat from Russia’s Bryansk region and from the south.
The overnight assault also included jet-powered drones moving across several regions. The Air Force tracked such drones over northern Kyiv region, while cruise missiles were later reported over the Kharkiv and Poltava regions.
Damage reported across Kyiv
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and the Kyiv City Military Administration reported damage in several districts as the attack unfolded.
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In the Obolonskyi district, a strike was recorded in an area of non-residential development.
In Podilskyi, warehouse facilities were hit and damaged.
In Darnytskyi, burning debris fell on an open area, while in the Shevchenkivskyi district another strike hit a non-residential area.
The Kyiv City Military Administration later reported further consequences of the attack in Darnytskyi, where damage was recorded on the territory of a garage cooperative.
Air defenses were operating over the capital as officials repeatedly urged residents to remain in shelters.
Kyiv hit again before dawn
The second round of explosions came several hours after the initial ballistic missile attack.
Shortly before the renewed blasts, the Ukrainian Air Force detected several ballistic missiles heading toward Kyiv.
The repeated explosions formed part of a broader overnight Russian assault in which missiles and fast-moving drones were tracked across multiple regions of Ukraine.
The Kyiv City Military Administration reported in the morning that two people had been killed in the attack.
The State Emergency Service (DSNS) said firefighters extinguished a fire covering 200 square meters at a garage cooperative in the Darnytskyi district. The bodies of two victims were found during the firefighting operation, while two other people were rescued.
Kyiv under mounting pressure
The latest attack comes as Kyiv faces an intensifying Russian air campaign approaching winter.
Russia has increasingly targeted Ukraine’s energy and transport infrastructure, including railways, roads and bridges over the Dnipro.
The capital has also endured repeated daytime and nighttime drone attacks in recent days, while air raid sirens have sounded for prolonged periods and forced residents into shelters, basements and metro stations.
Scheduled power cuts had already plunged parts of Kyiv into darkness Tuesday evening in an effort to reduce strain on the damaged electricity grid.
Russian forces have also repeatedly struck Kyiv’s bridges in recent days, disrupting road and metro traffic across key crossings over the Dnipro.
Warning came hours before attack
Zelensky said Tuesday evening that Ukrainian intelligence had fresh information about Russian preparations for a large-scale attack.
“There is updated intelligence regarding Russia’s preparations for a massive strike,” he said, urging Ukrainians to respond to missile alerts.
He also stressed that Ukraine’s ability to repel incoming missiles remained dependent on continued weapons deliveries from allies.
The warning was followed later Tuesday by reports that three Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers had taken off from the Belaya air base.
Hours later, ballistic missiles were heading toward Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities, followed by renewed explosions in the capital before dawn.