photo: Yan Dobronosov / Ukrainska Pravda on Telegram/The area near Kyiv's Central Station, struck by Russia
Two people were killed and at least 25 others wounded in Kyiv on 23 September as Russian drones hit transport infrastructure, petrol stations, businesses and areas close to the capital’s main railway station. One railway worker was injured, while passengers at Kyiv Central and Darnytsia were moved through underground passages during the attack.
Kyiv Central itself was not damaged, but for a station used by more than 20,000 people every day, the distinction between hitting the building and striking the surrounding railway area is rather thin.
Russia Hits Railway Infrastructure and Public Places Across Kyiv
Russia began attacking Ukraine with drones on the evening of 22 September and continued into the following day. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 161 drones and other unmanned weapons were launched, including 82 jet-powered Shaheds. Air defences shot down or suppressed 122 targets, while hits were recorded at 18 locations. Kyiv was among the cities hit.
The confirmed damage was spread across ordinary parts of the capital. Ukrainian authorities reported strikes or falling drones at petrol stations, warehouses, a business centre, a shop, transport facilities and a pharmaceutical plant. Two people were killed and the number of injured had reached at least 25 by early afternoon, with 17 people in hospital.
Railway infrastructure was also hit. Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi said on his Facebook page that a railway worker who was returning home after his shift suffered shrapnel wounds and was taken to hospital. He warned passengers and staff to leave railway facilities whenever an air raid alert is active.
Russia's Defence Ministry, as per usual, said its strikes targeted facilities connected with Ukrainian drone production. Ukrainian authorities, however, reported damage across civilian commercial and transport sites in several Kyiv districts.
Explosions and Fire Near Kyiv Central Station
Later in the morning, explosions were reported close to Kyiv Central railway station. UNIAN reported at least five explosions in the area, followed by a large column of smoke visible from different parts of the city. Ukrzaliznytsia confirmed that there had been an impact near the station but said the main station building remained undamaged.
The Village also reported an impact close to the station and repeated explosions afterwards. Local reports identified the fire as being around the former Shaiba railway market, although the first official statements referred more generally to damage to a retail site and transport infrastructure in the Solomianskyi district.
Passenger trains continued running. At both Kyiv Central and Darnytsia stations, boarding and alighting were moved into the underground passages during the attack.
Ukrzaliznytsia has previously said that more than 20,000 people pass through Kyiv Central every day. Across the whole network, the railway carried 8.14 million passengers during summer 2026, including more than 628,000 children. A strike in or around a major station exposes workers, passengers, families, people waiting for trains and people simply passing through one of the busiest public places in the city.
Six Railway Workers Were Killed in Kyiv Earlier This Month
The 23 September attack was not the first Russian strike on Kyiv's railway this month. On 1 September, a ballistic missile hit a railway depot and other railway facilities in the capital. Seven people were killed there, including six Ukrzaliznytsia employees. Another railway worker was injured.
Pertsovskyi described that attack as a strike specifically on the depot and railway facilities. Dozens of workers had managed to reach shelter before the impact, while one workshop was destroyed and sections of railway had to be temporarily closed.
In one recent five-day period, Ukrzaliznytsia said the railway was attacked 41 times. Eleven locomotives were damaged, passengers had to be evacuated from trains 350 times, and six railway workers were killed.
Railways are an obvious part of Ukraine's wartime logistics system. They are also the main form of long-distance civilian transport in a country where commercial aviation has been suspended since 2022.
Passenger Safety Now Starts With Leaving the Railway
Ukrzaliznytsia has changed how major stations operate during air alerts. Under Kyiv's yellow threat level, boarding and alighting at Kyiv Central and Darnytsia are moved into underground areas rather than taking place normally on open platforms, but while these procedures can reduce casualties, they cannot remove the threat.
The railway is still expected to move tens of thousands of people while drones are flying above cities, depots and stations. Faster jet-powered Shaheds make the warning time even shorter. Of the 161 drones reported by Ukraine during the latest attack, 82 were jet-powered variants, according to Ukrainska Pravda. Ukrainian officials regularly describe such strikes on civilian sites as Russian terror.