Moscow’s Goal: Create As Much Pain as Possible

The gullible American negotiators probably had barely time to land in Washington after the truce expired when within hours Russia sent more than a 150 drones and anti-ship, ballistic and cruise missiles at the Kyiv – a deadly package built to overwhelm defenses.

Despite expressions of hopefulness from Washington, Russia will not stop the war. It has again launched a heavy, coordinated aerial barrage across Ukraine overnight on September 8 and into the morning. The overall picture from Kyiv today is one of massive devastation following the breakdown of the temporary pause in aerial strikes.

The morning headlines told the story of what Moscow intended. It envisioned creating as much harm as possible. Another headline screamed Putin Is “Throwing the Kitchen Sink” at Ukraine as drones and missiles attack Kyiv in a massive aerial assault.

The Ukrainian Air Force later reported that Russian forces launched 32 cruise missiles, 166 Shahed-type drones, of which “more than half” were jet-powered, and an unspecified number of ballistic missiles. Two ballistic missiles, 31 cruise missiles, and 142 drones were intercepted, it said.

It added that missile and drone strikes were recorded at 29 locations. The cost: 5 killed, 70 injured as Russia resumes mass attacks across Ukraine.

The mass attacks marked the end of a brief pause in strikes that was in place during a weekend visit by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv. The talks failed to produce a major breakthrough despite diplomatic hopefulness, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying afterward that he expected the war to continue into the winter.

The Scale and Weapons: According to reports by the Kyiv Independent and local authorities, Russian forces deployed a complex mix of weaponry designed to overwhelm air defenses. The Ukrainian Air Force reported tracking ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and jet-powered Shahed drones. Air defenses intercepted or suppressed over 140 drones and dozens of missiles, but strikes or falling debris hit dozens of locations nationwide.

Casualties & Direct Quote: President Zelenskyy specifically noted that it was a calculated barrage designed “to cause as much harm to life as possible.”

Impact on Kyiv: In the capital alone, multiple districts – including Holosiivskyi, Solomianskyi, Darnytskyi, Podilskyi, and Dniprovskyi – suffered severe damage. Hits and falling debris caused fires across non-residential high-rises, residential apartments, warehouses, and a school. Five staff members were injured when a building belonging to the We-Ukraine TV channel was hit during a live broadcast.

“It was a difficult attack, which the Russians deliberately tried to calculate to cause as much harm to life as possible: ballistic missiles, cruise and anti-ship missiles, jet-powered Shaheds,” Zelenskyy said.

As of 8:30 AM on September 8, with the attack still ongoing, air defenses had downed or suppressed two ballistic missiles, 31 cruise missiles, and 142 drones. Strikes were recorded at 29 locations, while debris from intercepted drones and missiles fell at nine additional sites, the Air Force said.

“Despite very good results against cruise missiles, ballistic missiles remain particularly difficult, and every day we make clear to our partners our need for interceptors,” Zelenskyy added.

As the attack continued, at nearly 12 noon, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said drone debris had fallen on a four-story office building in Solomianskyi district, causing a fire and structural damage. People were being evacuated from the upper floors, with preliminary reports indicating that there were casualties.

The assault also targeted communities in the surrounding region, injuring two men, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Oblast Administration.

Residential buildings, a school, and warehouses were damaged in the attack, signaling a violent end to the brief respite for the capital during a diplomatic visit by US envoys over the weekend.

“It’s like The Hunger Games, it’s just about survival," Dariia Kolisnyk, a resident of a building damaged by a missile in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, was quoted as saying by the Kyiv Independent.

“You just go to bed, wondering whether you’ll wake up or not. That’s life in Kyiv.”

Liudmyla Akhremenko, also a resident in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, said her home has been damaged for the second time in an attack in the area.
“The blast wave blew out the windows, and stones flew into the house. People’s furniture was damaged,” Akhremenko told The Kyiv Independent. According to her, no shelter has yet been built nearby, so she was at home when the attack occurred.
“It was very scary,” she said. “I was sleeping and woke up to the explosion. I saw that the windows had opened, the glass had shattered, and the flowers had fallen. Everything jumped up to the ceiling.”

Explosions rang out in the capital at around 3:30 AM local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground. Another loud blast occurred about 10 minutes later.

At around 4:14 AM. local time, Kyiv Independent journalist Yevheniya Doluda reported a series of up to six explosions in rapid succession.

“There was a very strong bang,” one resident said. “I opened my eyes and saw the window flying, and big flashes. I ran to the second room, where my child and my husband were sleeping, and climbed through the broken door and windows.”

“I got the child, thank God, sat him up, everything is fine. My husband was cut a little by the glass. But, thank God, everything is fine,” she added.

As of 8:30 a.m., with the attack still ongoing, air defenses had downed or suppressed two ballistic missiles, 31 cruise missiles, and 142 drones. Strikes were recorded at 29 locations, while debris from intercepted drones and missiles fell at nine additional sites, the Air Force said.

Wider Strikes: Beyond Kyiv, strikes were reported in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. In Sumy, Russian drones struck a passenger train, though emergency protocols allowed all 90 passengers and crew to evacuate safely.

In Donetsk Oblast, two people were killed, and 10 others were injured by Russian attacks, Governor Vadym Filashkin said.

Two people were killed in Kramatorsk, where six others were wounded. The security situation in the city has deteriorated as Russian forces continue their gradual advance toward it. Three people were also injured in Sloviansk and one in Raihorodok.

One person was killed, and 13 others were injured by Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, 12 people were injured in Russian attacks, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.

In Kharkiv Oblast, three people, including a 17-year-old boy, were injured by Russian attacks, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. The attacks continued into the morning, with Syniehubov reporting at 9:41 a.m. that a Russian drone had preliminarily struck central Kharkiv.

Three men aged 58, 54, and 48 were injured in a Russian attack on a market in the suburbs of Odesa, with the 58-year-old hospitalized in moderate condition, Governor Oleh Kiper said.

In Sumy Oblast, a 65-year-old man was injured in a Russian drone strike, local authorities said.

On the morning of Sept. 8, Russian drones struck a Kyiv-Sumy passenger train twice, but no one was injured after the train was stopped during an air raid alert and all 90 passengers and crew members were evacuated, Governor Oleh Hryhorov said.

In Chernihiv Oblast, a 40-year-old woman was injured in a Russian drone attack on the village of Pryluky, Governor Viacheslav Chaus said.

One person was injured by Russian attacks in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, local authorities said.

Moscow has reasserted its commitment to annihilating all Ukrainian men, women, and children, imprisoning the survivors, and then destroying the cities and countryside.

Ukraine needs Patriot Defense Systems.