Russian attacks turn Kyiv into a front-line city as residents sleep in the metro

With 140 killed in eight months, 2026 could be the deadliest year for the capital since the invasion began

By LineZotpaper AI staff

Published23 October 2026

Read Time3 min

Russian attacks are increasingly turning Kyiv into a front-line city, with residents sleeping in subway stations, a 14-year-old killed in his own home and the military administration warning that 2026 could be the deadliest year for the capital since the full-scale invasion began.

Until a few months ago, life in Kyiv was relatively peaceful compared with the front lines elsewhere in Ukraine. Now, as Russia expands its attacks, the capital has increasingly become a front-line city.

Each night from about 10pm, subway stations double as makeshift dormitories. With too few shelters for Kyiv's four million residents, families lay out mattresses and small tents; children snuggle up to adults and pets settle among strangers between the cold walls. "We're alive," Halyna told DW, holding her five-year-old son, Roman, close. "We've been lucky once again." Most evenings, even without an air-raid siren, she takes the boy to the nearest station. Her apartment is in the Lukyanivka district, which Russia has systematically targeted over the war's four years and eight months.

The danger has reached homes and classrooms. In September, 14-year-old Daniel Umanskyj was doing homework when a Russian drone struck his apartment building in the central Pechersk district. A neighbour, Vlad, who was in the hallway with his daughter, told DW that being late that day saved their lives. He called Daniel's death a tragedy. "These sick monsters don't care who they kill," he added.

In early October, a drone struck a school in southwestern Kyiv; pupils and teachers were already in the shelter. "We've been teaching all the pupils in person because we have a large shelter that can accommodate more than 500 students," principal Valentyna Chorna told DW.

Whether classes run depends on shelter capacity and on the sirens. If an alarm sounds while children are still at home, they may not reach school that day. "This is an enormous burden for parents," said a parent who works at DW's Kyiv bureau. "You have to go to work, and the child stays home alone." Even the walk to school is dangerous, she said, because an air-raid alarm can go off at any time. Her daughter attends a school near the Antonov aircraft factory. After one blast, the girl texted her: "You can't imagine what a huge explosion that was!" A September drone strike on the family's building caused no damage, but it was another reminder that survival has become a matter of luck.

Russia's attacks have grown deadlier. The military administration in Kyiv recorded 140 deaths in the first eight months of 2026, compared with 172 for all of 2025. If the trend continues, 2026 could be the deadliest year for the city since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Strikes on warehouses have caused supermarket shortages not seen since the early months of the war, emergency power outages resumed at the end of September, and an attack paralysed the subway. With the energy grid under fire, it is unclear how the capital will keep heat, electricity and water flowing through winter.

Yet most residents intend to stay: in September, 72% of Kyiv residents said they were prepared to endure the war as long as necessary, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology reported in early October. The authorities are trying to maintain normal life, with the curfew shortened to 1am to 5am and some facilities allowed to operate during yellow alerts. During red alerts, people must immediately seek shelter: this could mean ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or massive combined attacks.

Analysis

Why This Matters

Kyiv has moved from relative calm to the front line, and the strikes on homes, schools and the power grid mean civilians in the capital are now carrying the weight of the war's escalation.
The coming winter is the immediate test: with energy infrastructure under attack, the reliable supply of heat, electricity and water to millions of residents is in doubt.
The death toll carries wider significance: if current rates hold, 2026 will be the deadliest year for the capital since the invasion began, shaping the human cost of a conflict the world is watching.

Background

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the war has run more than four and a half years. Much of the heaviest fighting has been along the front lines elsewhere in Ukraine; until recently, Kyiv was comparatively peaceful, enduring periodic missile and drone attacks rather than sustained bombardment.

Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure have been a recurring feature of wartime winters. The current report shows that pattern returning: emergency power outages resumed in the capital at the end of September, and warehouses have been hit hard enough to cause supermarket shortages. Both the authorities and residents are trying to sustain ordinary life under attack, from keeping schools open to shortening the curfew, even as alerts and strikes continue.

Key Perspectives

Kyiv residents: Families such as Halyna's take their children to the metro most evenings, even without an air-raid siren, and describe survival as a matter of luck. A September poll found 72% of residents prepared to endure the war as long as necessary. School staff and parents: Principals such as Valentyna Chorna keep in-person classes running where shelters are large enough, but parents say the burden of deciding whether it is safe to send children to school, or to leave them home alone when alarms sound, has become enormous. Kyiv authorities: The military administration is trying to preserve normal life, shortening the curfew to 1am to 5am and allowing some facilities to stay open during yellow alerts, while red alerts require people to seek shelter immediately. It also publishes the casualty figures that track the rising death toll. Critics/Skeptics: The open question is winter. Strikes on the energy grid have already resumed, outages have returned and an attack has paralysed the subway, leaving the capital's ability to keep heat, power and water flowing uncertain.

What to Watch

Whether the casualty trend holds: with 140 deaths in the first eight months of 2026 against 172 for all of 2025, the year is on track to be the deadliest since 2022.
How Kyiv copes as winter sets in: further strikes on the grid, fresh outages and empty shelves would deepen the humanitarian pressure on the city.
Alert rules and mobility: any tightening of curfews or red-alert requirements, or another blow to the subway, would signal an escalation in the campaign against civilian life.

Sources

Russia's attacks on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, are intensifying. DW asked people on the ground what life is like · DW English

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 9 supported.

Show each claim

Partly supportedThe military administration warned that 2026 could be Kyiv’s deadliest year since the invasion began.DW English: “If this trend continues, 2026 could become Kyiv's deadliest year since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.”
Partly supported140 people were killed in Kyiv in eight months.DW English: “According to the military administration in Kyiv, 140 people were killed in the capital during the first eight months of the year”
Partly supportedThe projection is for the deadliest year since the full-scale invasion began.DW English: “If this trend continues, 2026 could become Kyiv's deadliest year since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.”
SupportedRussian attacks have increasingly made Kyiv a front-line city, while residents sleep in subway stations.DW English: “Now, as Russia expands its attacks on the capital, Kyiv has increasingly become a front-line city. With too few shelters for the 4 million residents of Kyiv, subway stations double as makeshift dormitories.”
SupportedA Russian drone killed 14-year-old Daniel Umanskyj when it struck his apartment building as he did homework in his room.DW English: “In September, 14-year-old Daniel Umanskyj was doing homework in his room when a Russian drone struck the apartment building in the central district of Pechersk.”
SupportedVlad said, “These sick monsters don't care who they kill.”DW English: “He added: "These sick monsters don't care who they kill."”
SupportedHalyna said, “We're alive” and “We've been lucky once again.”DW English: “"We're alive," Halyna told DW, holding her 5-year-old son, Roman, close. "We've been lucky once again."”
SupportedThe Kyiv death toll was 140 in the first eight months of 2026, compared with 172 for all of 2025.DW English: “According to the military administration in Kyiv, 140 people were killed in the capital during the first eight months of the year, compared with 172 for all of 2025.”
SupportedIn September, 72% of Kyiv residents said they were prepared to endure the war as long as necessary.DW English: “Despite Russia's attempts to render Kyiv uninhabitable, 72% of the city's residents said in September that they are prepared to endure the war for as long as necessary, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology reported in early October.”
SupportedA drone struck a school in southwestern Kyiv in early October while pupils and teachers were in the shelter.DW English: “In early October, a drone struck a school building in southwestern Kyiv. Fortunately, pupils and teachers were already in shelters at the time.”
SupportedA large school shelter can accommodate more than 500 students.DW English: “"We've been teaching all the pupils in person because we have a large shelter that can accommodate more than 500 students," Valentyna Chorna, the school's principal, told DW.”
SupportedThe curfew runs from 1am to 5am, and some facilities can operate during yellow alerts.DW English: “The authorities are striving to maintain normal life in the city, where the curfew has been shortened and now runs from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Some facilities have even been allowed to continue operating during "yellow" alerts.”