Casualties of a quiet week in Kyiv: 65
September 28th was one of those news-cycle-breaking attacks on Kyiv that occur every week or 10 days. A midday Russian drone attack on the centrally located Academy of Sciences killed two and injured 24. The pre-revolution building was engulfed in flames, and office workers clung to window ledges. An hour and a half later, another drone impacted a nearby medical office, amplifying the chaos that had reached the heart of the capital.
In the week or weeks between high-profile attacks, the real damage and casualties are dealt to Kyiv. Most of these attacks are against utilities, with the results censored, and the outlier attacks against civilian homes and businesses rarely make international headlines without dozens of casualties.
Between two headline-capturing attacks, Frontsight attempted to cover as many Russian attacks against the city as possible across a single week. Our failure is outlined in the following:
October 6th
2310 - Amid warnings of a Russian missile barrage from NATO governments and Ukrainian officials, Ukrainians crowd metro stations, filling the platforms before the 0100 curfew. Cat carriers in tow and shoes neatly at the threshold of tents. It’s a routine with the polish of practice.
October 7th
0116 - In the skies above Kyiv’s North Bridge, formerly Moscow Bridge, anti-aircraft rounds truck across the sky. Bridges in Kyiv have been struck three times in the past week. Of the 78 Russian missiles launched, two are intercepted above the bridge, illuminating the equipment of crews below who are stringing up protective netting.
Anti-air rockets look like the end of cigarettes in the night sky. The sound follows behind them by several seconds. The cigarette ember end grows to a hunter’s moon, and then the sound arrives to you.
0315 - Missiles hit an electrical utility in Kyiv.
0315 - Nearby, in the Obolon district, a Russian Iskander or KN-23 ballistic missile impacts a warehouse.
0418 - The warehouse and surrounding structures are engulfed in flames. A single firefighter surveys the scene while paramedics wait outside, wary of Russian double-tap attacks.
Another Russian missile impacts an hour later without incurring casualties, saving the firefighter some work.
0514 - Two missiles impact a collection of garages in western Kyiv, killing two civilians.
0706 - The sun rises through the opaque smoke over Kyiv. From smoldering buildings, black smoke rises, then sinks into the morning fog. There are a dozen people at Vladimiro Kalva Park watching the sun rise directly between two towers on Kyiv’s left bank. Someone is playing the piano in the overlooking gazebo.
2101 - An electrical substation is struck by multiple Geran-5 rocket drones.
2223 - A Geran-4 or Geran-5 jet-powered drone impacts a 12-story apartment complex in eastern Kyiv. It is more likely a Geran-4 drone, as these are commonly used against apartment buildings. The drone goes in wings-level, leaving a cartoon silhouette. The ensuing fire spreads to the floors above. Two civilians are killed and four are injured, including two children. Firefighters and volunteers evacuate the building as smoke fills the stairwells.
October 8th
0317 - A power plant is attacked by multiple Russian missiles.
0318 - Additional missile impacts are reported at the plant.
0352 - Additional missile impacts are reported.
0752 - A drone impact is reported.
0919 - An explosion is reported in western Kyiv, likely a strike on a power utilities substation.
0920 - A fire caused by falling debris is reported in western Kyiv. Eleven casualties have been caused so far by falling debris.
1110 - Two Geran-4 jet-powered drones impact simultaneously in the Solomianski neighborhood. The first kills two in a warehouse. The second impacts an electrical utilities site.
Firefighters, paramedics, and police pour onto the smoking site; nearby office buildings empty. Neighbors look on from the nearby apartments; bums continue looking through the trash; a woman feverishly hand-washes her soot-covered car. The firefighters run out again; there is another drone. The office workers and the neighbors run. The drone impacts two minutes later, striking the electrical site before the shelter door has closed in a nearby hospital basement. The bums are still leafing through the trash, and emergency services drive their damaged vehicles from the site, dragging bumpers.
1132 - A drone impacts a store, killing three and causing a fire in western Kyiv.
1435 - Kyiv returns to scheduled power outages for the first time since the previous winter.
1511 - A drone strikes a warehouse on the outskirts of Kyiv.
1729 - A drone strikes a school playground in a western suburb of Kyiv.
1752 - A drone is intercepted over central Kyiv.
1802 - Another drone is intercepted over central Kyiv.
1811 - An explosion is reported in central Kyiv, just above a stadium. The report is encapsulated by the bowl of the stadium. Neighbors in a nearby apartment complex notice nothing; neither do their skittish dogs. Police patrolling nearby have nothing to report. If an airstrike occurs, nobody hears it, and no damage is noted, did it really happen at all?
1821 - The Kyiv metro system goes dark, losing all power for the first time in nine months.
2017 - A drone impacts an apartment complex in another western Kyiv suburb. One woman is killed.
October 9th
0700 - A drone impacts an energy utilities site; power outages are reported. Much of the city goes dark; some areas are without power for 12 hours. Water is disrupted, as are cell service and internet.
1218 - Multiple drone attacks are reported on one of Kyiv’s largest power plants.
2214 - A residential building in southern Kyiv is struck by falling debris.
2251 - A Geran-4 drone impacts an office building.
October 10th
0445 - A drone strikes a house in western Kyiv.
0832 - A drone strikes central Kyiv.
1047 - An additional drone attack is reported on a power plant.
1249 - Drone debris strikes a 25-story residential building, killing one civilian.
1250 - A strike on a nearby office building by a Russian drone is reported.
1401 - Ukrainian Patriot missile batteries intercept three Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles.
1401 - An explosion is reported in northern Kyiv, striking a restaurant. Four people are reported injured.
1402 - It is perhaps the last day of Indian summer in Kyiv. It’s warm; winter is only in the breeze. The sky is clear except for the contrails of Russian rockets and anti-aircraft weapons. It is a beautiful day to go to the park, and many Kyivites do, including the 10 injured by falling missile debris in northern Kyiv.
1850 - A drone or drone debris strikes a school stadium in western Kyiv.
1952 - President Trump demands that President Zelenskyy stop oil refinery strikes and encourages Ukraine to elect a new president.
October 11th
0431 - NASA satellites detect a large fire on the northern outskirts of Kyiv. By 0800, locals are reporting billowing smoke on the city’s outskirts and speculating it was started by a Russian drone.
1156 - A drone strike is reported on one of Kyiv’s power plants.
1517 - Another drone strike is reported on an electrical utility site.
1719 - President Trump announces an “Energy Ceasefire” between Ukraine and Russia; government representatives of both sides are quick to state that they had not been notified of the ceasefire, or discussed it, beforehand.
1953 - Two separate drone strikes are reported in northern Kyiv.
October 12th
1136 - A drone impacts the southern suburbs of Kyiv; two are reported injured.
1535 - All power generation in Kyiv has been completely destroyed as a result of ballistic missile strikes, according to a public statement by city officials.
1614 - A popular chocolate company’s warehouse is attacked by a drone on the outskirts of Kyiv.
1913 - A downed drone impacts the courtyard of an apartment building in eastern Kyiv. One civilian is killed and four are injured.
2210 - A series of explosions is made more deafening by the lack of accompanying air-raid warning alarms. The sounds, disjointed from each other, cause panic. Rumors begin immediately that the US has stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. American intelligence has historically provided the Ukrainian government and public with warnings of large missile strikes in advance. Large missile salvos usually came with days’ warning, and missile launches were reported quickly enough to allow civilians 10 minutes to run to shelters.
October 13th
0702 - An explosion is reported at a major Kyiv power plant.
0717 - Drone debris strikes a residential building in eastern Kyiv.
1056 - An adviser to President Zelenskyy confirms that no early warning was received from the US before the recent missile attacks.
1120 - An explosion is reported in central Kyiv, with debris falling on a cafe.
1124 - An explosion is recorded at a warehouse in western Kyiv.
1715 - Two drone impacts are reported seconds apart in Kyiv. The first impacts an office building in central Kyiv, the second a power plant.
2253 - Without the usual warning from American intelligence, seven missiles impact across Kyiv, with alarms blaring just one minute before impact. Several detonate on electrical utility sites; one strikes a large apartment block, breaking its visage like a mirror and plunging the floors above into flame.
Firefighters and volunteers pull civilians from broken apartment stairwells, windows, and the roof. Two are killed and more than 21 are injured. Hundreds lose their homes. An older woman is one of the last to be carried out; the only thing distinguishing the pulp of flesh as a face is her miraculously perfect teeth. She speaks to the medic above her; he is startled, perhaps that she is alive, certainly that she can still speak with so much of her jaw missing.
City officials issue the first extreme cold weather warning of the winter; temperatures at night are expected to hover between 0 and -3 degrees Celsius.
It’s necessary to acknowledge that the strikes reported here, and covered directly, represent a minority of the actual Russian attacks against Kyiv, likely less than 50%. Attacks on utilities, infrastructure, and military institutions are reported, and those that are reported are heavily censored.
