Russian strikes kill 16 civilians in Ukraine in one day
Russian strikes on 8 September 2026 killed 16 civilians in Kyiv and the Kyiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, the National Police reported. At least 82 others were injured, including in the Poltava Oblast.
A train hit by a Russian strike in the Sumy OblastThose killed in Russian strikes on 8 September:
- five people in Kyiv;
- two people in the Kyiv Oblast;
- an elderly man in the Sumy Oblast;
- an elderly woman in the Mykolaiv Oblast;
- two elderly men in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast;
- two people in the Kherson Oblast;
- a driver whose car Russian forces targeted with a drone in the Kharkiv Oblast;
- a man in the Chernihiv Oblast;
- a woman in Vilniansk in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
In Kyiv, Russian strikes throughout the day injured at least 23 civilians, while six more people were injured in the Kyiv Oblast.
Read more: Russian drone attacks on civilians amount to crimes against humanity – UN Commission
In the Sumy Oblast, Russian strikes injured 14 civilians the previous day. Another man was killed when an unidentified explosive device detonated.
In the Kherson Oblast, Russian forces injured 13 civilians the previous day. The daily report also included a woman injured in a Russian strike on Novovorontsovka several days earlier.
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Russian strikes injured eight civilians in the Kharkiv Oblast and seven more in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Six people, including two rescue workers, were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, while four others, including a teenage girl, were injured in the Mykolaiv Oblast, which came under a large-scale Russian attack.
A Russian strike also injured a woman in the Poltava region.
Previously, ZMINA reported that Russians killed three civilians in Ukraine on 7 September.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed he plans to meet Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Sunday. If that meeting goes ahead in Ukraine, it will be the first time the two US envoys have held talks there.
Previously, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) stated in its monthly report that at least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine in July 2026, a 30 per cent increase compared to June 2026 (298 killed; 2,041 injured). It is the highest monthly death toll since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN human rights experts have said.
Ukrainian experts point out that countries, including China, Greece, North Korea, Hungary, Slovakia, Iran, and Brazil, assist Moscow in killing Ukrainians in its war against Ukraine by funding the Russian budget through trade.
Human rights organisations and Ukrainian authorities emphasise that structural economic pressure remains a key tool to halt such atrocities. They urge every nation and individual government worldwide to strictly enforce global sanctions, close existing regulatory loopholes, and completely sever remaining commercial and technological ties with the Russian Federation. Civil society groups stress that any continued cooperation by foreign businesses directly contributes to the resources Moscow uses to sustain its ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
Chinese President Xi Jinping stated on 1 September in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, that China stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with all parties, “continue tackling both the symptoms and root causes of these issues, and promote political settlement”.
Although Xi Jinping continues to promote the idea of negotiations, Ukraine’s Western partners and analysts are increasingly questioning China’s status as an impartial peacemaker, citing its deepening economic and political ties with Moscow during the full-scale invasion.
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