Russia pounds Kyiv with drones, killing 2 and wounding 41 before
Zelenskyy’s UN address
[September 24, 2026]
By SAMYA KULLAB
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia hammered Kyiv with drones in daylight
attacks on Wednesday hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy met with world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.
Two people were killed and 41 wounded in Ukraine’s capital as the
attacks stretched into Wednesday afternoon. Palls of black smoke floated
above the city following the latest in what have been daily Russian
attacks that torment Ukrainian civilians. The drones set off fires and
damaged buildings in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine overnight,
authorities said.
Zelenskyy was in New York for the annual U.N. gathering as part of his
diplomatic effort to shore up and recruit further international support
for his country’s grueling 4½-year fight against Russia’s invasion. He
addressed the General Assembly, met with European leaders and was also
due to hold talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. In his address
to the Assembly, Zelenskyy urged the international community to keep
limiting Russian oil revenues to prevent Russia’s ability to keep
financing its war in Ukraine.
“When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war
more time. And that is exactly why we insist on limiting trade with the
aggressor, and why we are burning Russia’s revenues ourselves,” he said.
Zelenskyy met on Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has shown
impatience with the lack of progress in talks aimed at ending the war
and the escalating aerial attacks by both sides this year.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin hasn’t traveled to the gathering in
years, sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead. Lavrov, who met
with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss Ukraine and other
issues, reaffirmed Wednesday that Moscow is open for talks on ending the
conflict in Ukraine, but wouldn’t accept a break in hostilities before a
peace deal is agreed.
Rubio told reporters on the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting
that Trump has invited Putin to the G20 meeting that he will host at his
Miami country club in December, adding that “we think it’s an
opportunity for him to engage not just with the president, but with
other world leaders.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was grateful for the
invitation, adding that the issue will be discussed further via
diplomatic channels.
Ukraine has hit back at Russia by damaging oil refineries that are a
vital pillar of the country’s economy.
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Firefighters extinguish a fire at a burning building following a
Russian drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026.
(AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
Speaking in New York, Zelenskyy said that “our target is Russia’s
ability to finance this war, to drag it out, to make it more brutal
and more destructive. Russia’s finances and Russia’s production are
what must be stopped.”
The Ukrainian leader said at the start of his U.S. visit that he had
proposals for a possible de-escalation in the war. Urgent issues for
Kyiv are halting devastating Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid
and ensuring Ukrainian grain can be shipped to world markets through
the Black Sea despite the war.
Ukraine also needs more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems as a
shield against Russian ballistic missiles, but Patriots are in short
supply after the war in Iran began.
In Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine, two men aged 37 and 39
were wounded by a strike that started a large fire at a shopping
mall. Emergency services said the fire spread across about 6,000
square meters (1.5 acres) before coming under control.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces struck Ukraine’s
military-industrial and energy sector facilities, logistics centers
and sea vessels in overnight attacks.
The ministry said its air defenses intercepted more than 500
Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as illegally
annexed Crimea and waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
In another development, the Polish military said a Russian military
helicopter briefly violated Poland’s airspace Wednesday on the
country’s border with Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. It said that
“the nature of the incident suggests that Russia is once again
testing the readiness of our air defense.”
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