Kyiv under sirens for almost 21 hours: massive Russian strike hits the energy grid, 4 killed and 8 wounded

Air raid sirens sounded over Kyiv for more than 20 hours on September 30 — 20 hours and 44 minutes under alert, possibly a wartime record and one of the longest sustained attacks on the capital since the start of the war, as the Kyiv Independent reports.

The toll is tragic: 4 killed and 8 wounded during the daytime attack. Two women were killed in the Sviatoshynskyi district after a Russian Geran-5 jet drone hit a house at around 3 a.m., while a child was found dead under the rubble in Vyshhorod.

The attack marks the first massive sustained strike on energy infrastructure since the end of the last heating season. The Trypilska thermal power plant was damaged, with generating equipment hit. Operator Ukrenergo announced emergency power cuts in Kyiv, ground electric transport was suspended in two districts, and DTEK announced it had restored power to 8,000 consumers.

Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi declared: “Since the summer, there has hardly been a day when the enemy has not attacked our energy infrastructure. But such a massive and combined attack has not happened since the end of the last heating season.” President Zelensky said: “Every interceptor missile saves lives. And the closer winter gets, the more protection is needed.”

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. air defense intercepted 254 of 285 drones; Russia launched 174 jet drones (146 intercepted), plus Zircon, Onyx and Iskander missiles.