Russian Overnight Strikes Kill Eight in Ukraine as UN Weighs War's End

Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine overnight killed at least eight civilians, officials said Thursday, as Moscow's invasion entered its fifth year with no diplomatic breakthrough in sight.

A strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed six agricultural workers and wounded 12 others, Interior Minister Ihor Vyhivskyi said. In the capital Kyiv, a man and a woman were killed, while officials in the southern port of Odesa reported a major bombardment.

The Kyiv attack damaged more than 50 civilian sites, Vyhivskyi said, including apartment blocks, post offices, a maternity hospital and a textile plant. Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces struck arms factories, telecommunications and logistics facilities in the Kyiv and Odesa regions.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used a speech at the United Nations late Wednesday to urge countries to cut off Russia's revenue through sanctions and trade bans, arguing that Moscow needs the money to sustain the war. Similar appeals at past UN gatherings have failed to force a shift in Russian aims.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Moscow's position on Thursday, saying it wants a comprehensive settlement rather than a pause in fighting. "We believe it's necessary to seek peace, not a temporary truce," he told reporters. Russia's demand that Ukraine cede territory remains unacceptable to Kyiv.

The aerial campaign has intensified in recent months. Russia continues to fire cruise and ballistic missiles, glide bombs and jet-powered drones at Ukrainian cities, while Ukraine's long-range drones target oil refineries and businesses central to the Russian economy. Along the roughly 1,250-kilometer front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, positions have changed little since last year, with dense drone use limiting movement on both sides.

Residents in Kyiv described the toll of repeated attacks. Valentyna Kolosenko, 49, said a solid oak door shielded her from three blasts near her home. "Everything is paralyzed. Nothing works," she said, describing the difficulty and fear of simply getting to work. Liubov Paziuk, 74, whose windows were shattered, said she would not leave. "We don't get used to it, we adapt, because we have only one choice: to stay here, on our land, despite everything," she said.

The United Nations said last week that more Ukrainian civilians were killed and wounded in the first eight months of 2026 than in all of last year. Russian attacks in August alone killed at least 368 civilians and wounded 2,314, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X that the escalation showed diplomacy must be paired with pressure on Moscow and continued support for Ukraine's defense.

With another subzero winter approaching, Zelenskyy warned conditions could worsen but pledged to keep fighting. "Ukrainians understand that this winter could be very harsh for us. But in response, we will have no choice but to make it painful for Russia, too," he said on social media, adding that de-escalation steps were needed before winter.

Officials in western Russia reported Ukrainian long-range attacks on Thursday. In the Rostov region, drone fragments damaged an administrative building at an oil refinery without causing a fire, Gov. Yuri Slyusar said. In the Krasnodar region, fragments sparked a brief fire at an industrial facility, emergency officials said. Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment.

Romania's Ministry of National Defense said a drone violated its airspace for four minutes before crashing near a northern town close to the Ukrainian border. Two Romanian F-16s and two Spanish F-18s were scrambled after drones were detected near the border. Authorities did not identify the drone's origin. Moldova's Defense Ministry said it recorded several airspace incursions during the Russian attacks and closed part of its northern airspace in response.