Kyiv death toll hits 140 in eight months, exceeding 2025 total

Kyiv's military administration reported that 140 people were killed in the capital during the first eight months of 2026. This figure already exceeds the 172 deaths recorded for the entire year of 2025. If the current rate continues, 2026 will become the deadliest year for the city since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

The city's 4 million residents face a critical shortage of safe spaces. Subway stations have become improvised dormitories where approximately 10 people gather each night to sleep. Mattresses and small tents line the cold walls as families seek refuge from aerial threats. Halyna, a resident of the Lukyanivka district, holds her 5-year-old son, Roman, in one such station. "We're alive," she said. "We've been lucky once again."

Lukyanivka has been repeatedly targeted during the four-year and eight-month conflict. Other parts of the city have also suffered direct hits. In September, a Russian drone struck an apartment building in the central Pechersk district. Daniel Umanskyj, a 14-year-old student, was inside his room doing homework when the impact occurred. Vlad, a neighbor who was in the hallway with his daughter, said the family had been late that day. "We were late that day, and this saved our lives," Vlad stated. Flowers now mark the damaged building in Daniel's memory.

Educational institutions are not spared from the attacks. In early October, a drone hit a school building in southwestern Kyiv. Principal Valentyna Chorna confirmed that students and teachers were already in shelters when the strike landed. The school continues in-person classes for grades one through nine because its shelter can hold more than 500 students. Attendance depends on the length of air raid sirens and the availability of safe spaces at home.

Parents face difficult choices during daytime alerts. One reporter at Deutsche Welle's Kyiv bureau described the strain of working while a child remains home alone. Her daughter attends a school near the Antonov aircraft factory, a frequent target. A drone struck their building in September, leaving the apartment undamaged while her daughter was at school. The risk exists even during the walk to school, as alerts can begin at any moment.

Strikes on warehouses have created supermarket shortages not seen since the early months of the war. Emergency power outages returned at the end of September, and a Russian attack temporarily paralyzed the subway system. With energy infrastructure under fire, the city faces uncertainty regarding heat, electricity, and water supply this winter.

Despite these challenges, a recent survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 72% of residents said in September they were ready to endure the war as long as necessary. Authorities have shortened the curfew to run from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Some facilities may operate during "yellow" alerts, while "red" alerts require immediate sheltering due to threats from ballistic or cruise missiles.