Ballistic strike on Kyiv: one killed, 10 injured; campus, metro and Southern Bridge hit

What happened on the evening of 26 October

At about 21:41 Ukraine’s Air Force warned of a ballistic missile threat from Russia’s Bryansk and then tracked several missiles heading towards the capital, Ukrainska Pravda reported. Explosions were heard in Kyiv minutes later.

According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko and the Kyiv City Military Administration, missiles struck near a metro station and near a university dormitory in the Desnianskyi district; the dormitory’s windows were blown out. A residential building, where people were initially feared trapped, and a general secondary school were also damaged.

An ambulance crew on its way to a call came under fire: a paramedic and an emergency medical technician were injured and the vehicle was damaged. In the Dniprovskyi district the blast wave shattered windows in the intensive care unit of one medical facility and in two departments of another. Klitschko said patients and staff were not hurt. A non-residential building in the same district was also hit, and one person was killed near a supermarket.

Casualties

As of 23:24, Klitschko reported one person killed and 10 injured, most of them students from the dormitory. Nine people were hospitalised; at least three were in serious condition according to preliminary information from doctors. Among the injured is a 20-year-old woman hospitalised after the strike near the dormitory.

Overnight hits: Podil and the Southern Bridge

The attack did not end there. At around 4 a.m. on 27 October Klitschko reported a hit on an administrative building in the Podilskyi district and on two non-residential buildings at other addresses.

The mayor later said the Southern Bridge had been hit and metro infrastructure on it damaged. The city administration said trains on the green (Syretsko-Pecherska) line were running in two separate sections, Syrets – Vydubychi and Osokorky – Chervonyi Khutir; service between Osokorky and Chervonyi Khutir was later suspended. Traffic over the Southern Bridge has been restricted, and residents are asked to plan their routes accordingly.

Zelensky’s reaction

President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote that Russian ballistic missiles struck a university and the area around it, “effectively a campus”, the Kyoto park, an area next to a metro station and residential buildings. He said there was no military facility nearby and warned of possible repeat strikes.

“Artificial delays in air defence for Ukraine help terror,” Zelensky said. He urged partners to implement political agreements quickly at the level of their teams and stressed that Ukraine needs the means to destroy Russian ballistic missile launchers, which he called the most effective way to save lives.

Context

According to Ukrinform, over the past week alone Russia launched about 1,600 guided aerial bombs, 48 missiles of various types, including ballistic ones, and almost 2,300 strike drones at Ukraine. The strike on Kyiv came on the same night that a local ceasefire around occupied Oleshky in the Kherson region took effect at 03:00.

What Kyiv residents should do

Follow the official channels of the Kyiv City Military Administration and the Kyiv Metro for updates on the green line and restrictions on the Southern Bridge. During an alert, stay away from windows and go to a shelter: ballistic missiles reach the capital within minutes.