Russian drone hits school in Ukraine’s Kyiv as Moscow presses air assault

Russian drone strikes hit a school in Kyiv and the main bridge, disrupting transport in the latest wave of attacks.

A Russian drone has struck a school in Kyiv, officials said, as the Ukrainian capital endured another day of bombardment.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said children and staff were hiding in shelters when the drone hit and there were no immediate reports of casualties during the attack on Thursday.

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Elsewhere, two Russian drones hit an important bridge connecting eastern and western Kyiv, forcing the suspension of metro services and ground public transport.

In a statement on Thursday, Ukraine’s nuclear safety watchdog said a Russian drone hit the grounds of a nuclear research facility in Kyiv on Wednesday, causing a fire but leaving the facility’s test reactor undamaged.

“The fire that resulted from the attack was quickly extinguished. There were no injuries,” the regulator said in a statement, adding that the reactor was not damaged and had been shut down since 2022.

Ukraine’s air force said the number of Russian drone strikes on the country increased in September, with 3,177 attacks up to September 29. In August, 2,850 attacks were recorded.

Meanwhile, local authorities in Russia’s Belgorod region said one man was killed when a drone exploded in the town of Graivoron on Thursday.

Rescue workers evacuate an injured woman from a hospital damaged after a Russian drone attack in central Kyiv, Ukraine, in September [File: Dan Bashakov/AP Photo]

The attacks come as the United Kingdom announced a new package of 31 sanctions on Russia, aimed at stemming funding to the “Kremlin war chest, propagandists and torturers”.

In a statement, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the sanctions targeted “eight people involved in the arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian civilians” and a further “seven individuals are being targeted for their role in the indoctrination and militarisation of Ukrainian children”.

It said it was not seeking confrontation with Russia but would support Ukraine until the end of the “barbaric” war.