Russia Hits Kyiv With 198-Weapon Mass Barrage as Three-Day Capitals Truce Expires

Russia launched its largest strike on Kyiv in weeks in the early hours of September 8, ending the three-day pause on capital strikes that had coincided with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner's shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Kyiv. The Ukrainian Air Force said it downed 142 of 166 drones and 31 of 32 cruise missiles, but 2 ballistic missiles got through along with an unspecified number of anti-ship missiles. Damage and fires were reported in at least five Kyiv districts (Darnytskyi, Holosiivskyi, Podilskyi, Shevchenkivskyi, Solomianskyi) plus the outlying Boryspil and Fastiv districts, with at least 16 locations of civilian infrastructure damage citywide. Reported casualties varied by outlet: Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko's office and Al Jazeera cited 5 killed and 30 injured in the capital, while other tallies put it at 3 killed and 19 injured as of the morning of September 8, reflecting the toll's early and evolving state. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said 'his ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy,' referring to Vladimir Putin.