What did the strikes of 27–28 September 2026 hit in Kyiv?
A retrospective on a weekend of Russian drone attacks that reached a telecoms operator, data centres, a clinic and the National Academy of Sciences.
What did the Russian strikes of the final weekend of September 2026 reveal about the targets now in range? Looking back from 29 September 2026, the reports of the two preceding days point to attacks that went well beyond the battlefield, reaching communications networks, scientific institutions and homes in the capital.
Telecoms and data centres, 27 September
On 27 September, Russian strikes hit the headquarters of Kyivstar and several data centres in Kyiv. One facility was struck twice, and two children and an adult were injured there. Russia said it had targeted a Vodafone Ukraine data centre. The same day, Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged strikes that killed at least eight people in Ukraine and one in Russia. The attacks hit Kyiv and its outskirts, the Kharkiv and Odesa oblasts, Sumy and Russian-occupied Enerhodar, as well as Russia's Belgorod Oblast.
The Academy of Sciences, 28 September
On 28 September, Russian drones struck the building of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, a health clinic and a residential building in Kyiv. At least three people were killed and 24 others were injured. Among the injured was Volodymyr Horbulin, the former secretary of the National Security and Defence Council.
The attack also reached beyond Ukraine's borders in its effects. Polish military jets were scrambled in response to the Russian airstrikes, and people in Lublin Voivodeship were briefly urged to seek shelter before the alert was lifted.
A familiar pattern
Kyiv, a city of around 2.95 million people, has been frequently targeted by Russian forces during the war. Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure have, since 2022, hit civilian areas beyond the front line, particularly critical power infrastructure, which is considered a war crime. The strikes of 27 and 28 September fit that pattern: the targets included a telecoms operator, data centres, a clinic, a residential building and a scientific institution.
For a publication that follows public institutions, the weekend is a reminder of how much of Ukraine's civic life depends on buildings and networks that are within reach of Russian drones. Telecoms headquarters, data facilities and the national academy are among the institutions that keep the country running, and in those two days they were all hit.
