Kyiv strike kills one hours before Oleshky truce begins

Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv late on Monday, killing one person and wounding eight, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The attack damaged medical facilities, including an intensive care unit. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the missiles landed on the grounds of a university campus in a crowded area with no nearby military targets.

The strikes occurred just hours before a humanitarian truce was set to begin in Oleshky, a city in Ukraine's southern Kherson region. The ceasefire, which took effect at 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday, aims to allow aid into the Russian-occupied town. Residents of Oleshky have reported severe shortages of food, water, and medicine for months. No end date for the pause in fighting has been announced.

Neither Russia, Ukraine, nor the United States has specified who will monitor the truce. The Russian defense ministry said on Friday it would halt fire in the Kherson sector for the duration of the ceasefire. Ukraine has accused Moscow of preventing residents from leaving Oleshky, a claim the Russian side denies. Zelenskyy noted on social media that Ukraine is still waiting for U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to approve critical missile supplies for Patriot and NASAMS systems. He said he has been waiting for nearly a month for the sign-off.

In a separate development, Romanian authorities said a Russian-coordinated network started a fire near an arms factory in Brasov on September 14. The network included two Belarusians and one Ukrainian, all of whom are residents of EU countries. The organized crime office in Romania stated that two suspects were remanded in custody in Germany while preparing similar offenses. The third suspect remains at large in Poland. Russia's embassy in Bucharest did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Brasov fire is part of a wider campaign of sabotage and interference by the Kremlin, according to NATO and the EU. At least eight cargo ships have been hit off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria in the past three weeks. About 34 sailors are reported dead or missing from these incidents. Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in such accusations.

Ukraine's military began using specialized aerial rescue drones to evacuate wounded soldiers on Monday. The 475th Separate Assault Regiment said the new StarGate drone carried two stranded troops to safety near the Russian border in two separate missions over the past week. These were the first such operations. The six-rotor aircraft, built by the Ukrainian company SkyFall, features an enclosed evacuation capsule designed to reduce rescue times from hours to minutes. Monday marked day 1,707 of the war.