Kyiv comes under heavy Russian missile attack, killing at least 13 — Russia running on imported gasoline as Ukrainian strikes hit refineries

20 August 2026 | Kyiv, Moscow, Washington — Updated 23:30 GMT

A heavy Russian bombardment has killed at least 13 people in Ukraine's capital and its surrounding region overnight, authorities have said.

A missile attack on Kyiv struck residential areas and warehouses, said the mayor, Vitali Klitschko. The attack damaged residential buildings, a medical facility and an educational institution. Thirteen people were killed and 33 injured, he said.

A children's hospital was struck in the Solomianskyi district to the west of the heart of the capital, with windows blown out and cars burned. At least two residential buildings were also reported hit in the area.

Russia has begun importing fuel, its government has confirmed, as a shipload of gasoline arrived from India. A fuel exporter in peacetime, Russia has been forced to turn to imports after Ukrainian strikes on its refineries and depots in response to the Russian invasion.

Welcome to the latest world headlines — where missile barrages, fuel shortages, and corruption scandals collide in the heart of the Ukraine war.

Heavy Russian Bombardment Kills 13 in Kyiv as Missiles Strike Residential Areas and Children's Hospital

A heavy Russian bombardment has killed at least 13 people in Ukraine's capital and its surrounding region overnight, authorities have said.

A missile attack on Kyiv struck residential areas and warehouses, said the mayor, Vitali Klitschko. The attack damaged residential buildings, a medical facility and an educational institution. Thirteen people were killed and 33 injured, he said.

A children's hospital was struck in the Solomianskyi district to the west of the heart of the capital, with windows blown out and cars burned. At least two residential buildings were also reported hit in the area.

Explosions could be heard from the city centre at about midnight on Wednesday, earlier than the normal timing of Russian missile strikes, and there was a further wave of attacks early on Thursday morning.

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched dozens of ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles and 168 drones in the overnight attack. It said Kinzhal and Zircon hypersonic missiles were used, as well as Iskander and North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles and Shahed drones.

Zelenskyy Urges Global Response: 'Russia Will Not Consider Peace Seriously' Without Air Defence

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urged a global response to the attacks. "While Moscow is investing in ballistic missiles and escalation, such strikes do not always receive the response they should from the world. And as long as Ukraine does not have enough anti-ballistic defence, Russia will not consider peace seriously," Zelenskyy said on social media.

An attack in Brovary district of the broader Kyiv region killed one man and wounded another, said the regional governor, Tymur Tkachenko. "One industrial facility has been damaged. All relevant services are on site, working to extinguish the fire," he said.

Ukraine's air force had warned of Russian Kalibr cruise missiles passing over the regional village of Kaharlyk and heading towards the capital.

Poland's military command said it had mobilised aircraft and activated air defences aimed at protecting Polish airspace, particularly in areas bordering Ukraine.

Romania's defence ministry said radar systems detected aerial targets near the Ukrainian border overnight, prompting the scrambling of two Spanish fighter jets deployed on Nato missions and a Romanian air force helicopter.

The ministry said a drone entered Romanian airspace near Galati before crashing in an unpopulated area in Tulcea county.

Russia Reports 250 Drones Targeted Moscow as Ukrainian Attacks Intensify

Russia also reported a large Ukrainian drone attack. Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said 250 drones had flown toward the Moscow region between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, with most destroyed at a significant distance from the capital itself.

On Wednesday a Russian drone hit a minibus in Kherson, killing four people, said Ukrainian prosecutors, while at Zhytomyr in central Ukraine a Banderol drone-missile hit the police headquarters, killing two officers and wounding at least 20 others, the police service said.

While Kyiv has faced near-nightly attacks, Ukraine has also escalated its retaliatory strikes on Russia in recent months, partly to put pressure on Moscow to come to the negotiating table after nearly four and a half years of war. In Russia's border regions of Belgorod and Bryansk two people were killed when drones hit cars, Russian officials said on Friday last week.

Russia Running on Imported Gasoline as Ukrainian Strikes Cripple Refineries

Russia has begun importing fuel, its government has confirmed, as a shipload of gasoline arrived from India. A fuel exporter in peacetime, Russia has been forced to turn to imports after Ukrainian strikes on its refineries and depots in response to the Russian invasion.

The campaign by Kyiv's military has been a major success, causing fuel shortages across Russia and in illegally occupied Crimea. At least one cargo of gasoline from India has just entered Russia's domestic market, three industry sources told Reuters and shipping data showed. Russia is also arranging rail imports of gasoline from Belarus and Kazakhstan, and has placed a ban on fuel exports. Reuters reported last week that Russia had also begun shipping in diesel from Asia.

An Oman-flagged tanker loaded about 68,000 tonnes of gasoline at the Port Said anchorage in a ship-to-ship transfer from the tanker Agni, which had been loaded at India's Vadinar port, sources told Reuters. The tanker unloaded at Russia's Arctic port of Vitino in early August, shipping data showed. India has been one of the keenest customers of Russian oil held at low prices by war sanctions.

The importation of refined Indian products is a reversal of the flow that speaks to the toll of the war on Russia's own processing capabilities. According to industry data, at least two more gasoline cargoes from India are expected to arrive at Russian ports within the next two weeks. Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak acknowledged on Wednesday that imports had begun but did not give details on the volumes or sources.

Fuel Stations Restrict Sales as Shortages Bite

Fuel stations in Moscow have reimposed purchasing limits, according to Reuters witnesses and fuel suppliers. State-owned Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil company, said petrol purchases were restricted to 30 litres at all its stations across the country.

It is a remarkable reversal of flow given that India has been one of the keenest buyers of Russian oil – sales of which can occur only through illicit channels such as Moscow's "shadow fleet" of tankers, or officially at a capped price that is held down by international sanctions.

Zelenskyy Fires Senior Aide Amid Fresh Corruption Investigation

Thursday's latest attack on Kyiv came as Zelenskyy grappled with renewed scandal extending into the upper reaches of his administration. Ukraine's president fired by decree one of his senior aides, Iryna Mudra, after reports in Ukrainian media that her house was being searched by officials investigating an alleged money-laundering scheme.

The Nabu anti-corruption agency said it was investigating a criminal conspiracy that involved "the participation of high-ranking officials from the office of the president" and several others. It is an extension of a high-level corruption scandal that has been running for months with government officials and wealthy influential figures variously being investigated, dismissed from office, arrested or fleeing the country.

Ukrainian Man Arrested in Croatia Over Nord Stream Pipeline Bombing

A Ukrainian man has been arrested in Croatia as part of an investigation into the 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Germany and Russia. Prosecutors identified the suspect only as Vladimir Z, but he is understood to be the same man arrested by Poland last year, then released after a Polish court ruled against executing a European arrest warrant issued by Germany. He was identified in that court as Volodymyr Zhuravlev. Prosecutors allege the trained scuba diver was directly involved in the explosions.

Berlin will seek the man's extradition to face trial at the federal court in Karlsruhe, in Germany. The German prosecutor's office said the suspect "belonged to a group of people, including the separately prosecuted Serhiy K, who planted explosives near the island of Bornholm in September 2022 on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines".

Russia and Ukraine Exchange 103 POWs as UN Humanitarian Chief Visits Kherson

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 103 prisoners of war each, officials from both sides said on Wednesday. Ukrainian intelligence said another swap was expected before the end of August.

The UN's humanitarian chief has visited Kherson, where he saw the impact of Russian drones and described the situation as chilling, with civilians and aid efforts targeted. Marked vehicles of aid workers had been hit despite being protected under international law, Tom Fletcher said. Particularly exposed were the local organisations carrying out aid missions on behalf of Ukraine's humanitarian fund. "They're the ones who are saying most loudly to us, we're not protected."

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